Internet versus paper‐and‐pencil survey methods in psychological experiments: Equivalence testing of participant responses to health‐related messages

Despite experiments being increasingly conducted over the Internet, few studies have tested whether such experiments yield data equivalent to traditional methods' data. In the current study, data obtained via a traditional sampling method of undergraduate psychology students completing a paper‐and‐pencil survey (N = 107) were compared with data obtained from an Internet‐administered survey to a sample of self‐selected Internet‐users (N = 94). The data examined were from a previous study that had examined the persuasiveness of health‐related messages. To the extent that Internet data would be based on a sample at least as representative as data derived from a traditional student sample, it was expected that the two methodologies would yield equivalent data. Using formal tests of equivalence on persuasion outcomes, hypotheses of equivalence were generally supported. Additionally, the Internet sample was more diverse demographically than the student sample, identifying Internet samples as a valid alternative for future experimental research.     

Accounting for the Richness of Daily Activities

ABSTRACT— Serious consideration is being given to the impact of private behavior and public policies on people's subjective well-being (SWB). A new approach to measuring well-being, the day reconstruction method (DRM), weights the affective component of daily activities by their duration in order to construct temporal aggregates. However, the DRM neglects the potentially important role of thoughts. By adapting this method to include thoughts as well as feelings, we provide perhaps the most comprehensive measure of SWB to date. We show that some activities relatively low in pleasure (e.g., work and time with children) are nonetheless thought of as rewarding and therefore contribute to overall SWB. Such information may be important to policymakers wishing to promote behaviors that are conducive to a broader conception of SWB.     

A computational technique for improving estimates of discriminability and bias across multiple dimensions of choice

Brown and White (2009) proposed measures of discriminability and bias that accommodate additional dimensions of choice—and hence, bias—in conditional discriminations such as matching-to-sample and the yes-no signal detection task. Their proposed measures increase the statistical independence of discriminability and bias estimates, thus improving their accuracy. Because Brown and White’s (2009) equations partition response data more than do standard equations, however, their measures have a slightly lower ceiling. Consequently, measurements can be less accurate when there are few trials and discriminability and bias are extreme. We introduce a computational estimation technique that overcomes this limitation. It estimates Brown and White’s (2009) discriminability and bias measurements from an array of related measures that have a higher ceiling. Simulations show that resulting estimates of discriminability and bias are either comparable to or more accurate than measurements calculated from traditional equations or Brown and White’s (2009) direct measures, even with few trials. A worked example of our technique may be downloaded from brm.psychonomic-journals.org/ content/supplemental.     

The discrimination of discrete and continuous amounts in African grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus)

A wealth of research in infants and animals demonstrates discrimination of quantities, in some cases nonverbal numerical perception, and even elementary calculation capacities. We investigated the ability of three African grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) to select the largest amount of food between two sets, either discrete food items (experiment 1) or as volume of a food substance (experiment 2). The two amounts were presented simultaneously and were visible at the time of choice. Parrots were tested several times for all possible combinations between 1 and 5 seeds or 0.2 and 1 ml of food substance. In both conditions, subjects performed above chance for almost all combinations. Accuracy was negatively correlated with the ratio, that is performance improved with greater differences between amounts. Therefore, these results with both individual items and volume discrimination suggest that parrots use an analogue of magnitude, rather than object-file mechanisms to quantify items and substances.     

Media and violence: The case of professional football championship games

Recently much research has linked media violence with actual violence. The most serious violence, suicides, and homicides have been connected to events portrayed in the mass media. In this study I examine the effect of NFL football playoff games on the relative incidence of homicides between standard metropolitan statistical areas (SMSAs) with and without participating teams. Results show that homicides may be related to participation. Specifically, SMSAs with losing teams experience significantly more homicides than SMSAs with winning teams.     

Sensory cues that elicit ultrasonic vocalizations in female rats (Rattus norvegicus)

Female rats emit ultrasonic vocalizations during copulation. Female vocalizations are associated with darting and other proceptive behavior. In addition, females frequently call while approaching the male. A series of experiments was undertaken to determine whether female rats emit ultrasonic vocalizations in response to other rats or to their odors. Females were exposed either to bedding soiled by males or females or to devocalized conspecifics separated from the subject by a barrier. Females vocalized more to male cues than to female cues, regardless of whether the odor cues were from soiled bedding or from a devocalized conspecific. In addition, subjects vocalized more when presented with a devocalized female rather than a neutral stimulus. Furthermore, devocalized adult males, separated by a barrier, were more effective than either devocalized castrated or juvenile males in eliciting vocalizations; in turn, castrates and juveniles were more effective than neutral stimuli. Female calling was likely induced by odors from the male. In one experiment, the female subject was positioned in such a way that she could neither see or touch the stimulus male. Presentation of tape-recorded male vocalizations did not affect calling by the female. Vocalizations emitted by females in response to male odors may attract males or may facilitate subsequent copulatory behavior by the male.     

Family dynamics as predictors of infant disposition

In this longitudinal study of mothers, their families, and their infants, both discriminant and regression analyses showed that prenatal reports of family dynamics predicted infant disposition at 8 months with considerable accuracy. The most important predictive component was organization and consistency within the family unit as well as the dependability of other family members. Possible mechanisms by which family dynamics might affect the infant's developing disposition are discussed.     

Women's aggression in heterosexual conflicts

Using a longitudinal design, prior experience with violence as a victim and opportunity to aggress were examined as predictors of college women's verbal and physical aggression toward romantic partners. Five additional categories of predictors identified in previous research (experienced and witnessed parental aggression during childhood, attitudes accepting of aggression, aggressive/impulsive personality attributes, psychopathology, and prior use of aggression) were also examined. Blockwise hierarchical regression analyses were performed to reveal the best predictors of verbal and physical aggression during the first year of college. Significant predictors of verbal aggression were prior use of verbal aggression in heterosexual conflicts during adolescence, witnessed parental aggression, level of adolescent sexual victimization, being a target of rational conflict strategies during adolescence, and use of physical aggression in romantic adolescent relationships, as well as self-reported verbal aggression as an index of personality, weak emotional ties, number of sexual partners, and approval of sexual intimacy in many types of relationships. Significant predictors of physical aggression were prior use of physical aggression during adolescence, witnessing and experiencing parental aggression, being a victim of physical aggression in adolescent romantic relationships, weak emotional ties, low levels of alcohol/drug use, and opportunity to aggress. A developmental model of aggression in which childhood experiences with family violence contribute to the likelihood of subsequent involvement in relationship violence seems appropriate. Past experience with aggression may be particularly important for women. Cultural expectations about women's roles do not provide the social support for female aggression that is provided for male aggression. Adolescent sexual victimizations and general involvement in conflictual relationships (as target and perpetrator) predicted subsequent verbal aggression, whereas experiencing family violence and sustaining physical aggression in romantic relationships predicted subsequent physical aggression. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Leadership Image-Building: After Clinton and Watergate

Leadership images are built collectively by leaders and their relevantconstituencies—elected officials, the news media, and the public. The process of buildingleadership image rests on prior expectations about the leader, policy outputs, the course ofevents, and the disposition of political resources. In building images of leadership, each of thethree constituencies puts more weight on some aspects of image-building than on others: Thepublic sees the president primarily in terms of his previous behavior, the media view thepresident through the lens of immediate events, and other elected officials focus on politicalresources. One of the president's most important resources is his public image. It can helphim to maintain the loyalty of other officials, which in turn contributes to balanced newscoverage, even in times of crisis. President Clinton was able to preserve his public image throughthe impeachment debacle in large part because of low public expectations about his personalmoral behavior and satisfaction with his economic leadership. Conversely, President Nixon wasforced to resign because of high public expectations about his personal probity anddisappointment with his management of the economy.