Spatial knowledge of a real school environment acquired from virtual or physical models by able-bodied children and children with physical disabilities

In Experiment 1, 2 groups of able-bodied children were exposed to both a complex single-tier virtual environment (VE) and a physical model of a different environment. For 1 group, the VE accurately modeled a real school, and for the other group the physical model did so. In transfer testing in the real school, orientation accuracy was greater in the group exposed to the VE of the real school. In Experiment 2, children with physical disabilities explored the VE model of the real school and were tested as in the 1st experiment. Measures of orientation accuracy and map-placing were significantly better in this group than in the guessing adult control group. The results illustrate the potential for VEs as useful spatial training media.     

Preliminary psychometric properties of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II: a revised measure of psychological inflexibility and experiential avoidance

The present research describes the development and psychometric evaluation of a second version of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II), which assesses the construct referred to as, variously, acceptance, experiential avoidance, and psychological inflexibility. Results from 2,816 participants across six samples indicate the satisfactory structure, reliability, and validity of this measure. For example, the mean alpha coefficient is .84 (.78–.88), and the 3- and 12-month test–retest reliability is .81 and .79, respectively. Results indicate that AAQ-II scores concurrently, longitudinally, and incrementally predict a range of outcomes, from mental health to work absence rates, that are consistent with its underlying theory. The AAQ-II also demonstrates appropriate discriminant validity. The AAQ-II appears to measure the same concept as the AAQ-I (r = .97) but with better psychometric consistency.     

Comparing Illicit Trades in Wildlife and Drugs: An Exploratory Study

This article is an exploratory study into the similarities, differences, and overlaps between the illegal wildlife trade and the illegal drug trade, using original and literature-based research from the Russian Far East and Western Europe, respectively. The purpose of such a comparison is to gain further insight into the illegal wildlife trade through the examination of the more thoroughly studied illegal drug trade. We first examine the global size of these markets and then detail and compare actors and smuggling operations found in each. This leads to a possible typology of features that the trades have in common and to discussion of the direct linkages between these two illicit markets.     

Predictors of complicated grief

Abstract

This study examined whether process variables predict an outcome of complicated grief. A turbulent and prolonged grief was predicted to occur after the death of a spouse in subjects who had self-blame, used the deceased for an extension of self, had ambivalence toward the deceased, or overcontrolled emotional responses. Ninety subjects were examined at 6, 14, and 25 months after the loss via a self-report battery of process variables and a structured clinical interview designed to assess symptoms. Subjects with complicated grief were compared with those with normative grief. Predictions were supported only in tertiary data analyses; they were not supported well in the primary and secondary statistical analyses. The authors concluded that either self-reports of process variables are inadequate measures or the theory that led to these measures and predictions is in need of revision.     

Studying judgement: General issues

The previous papers raise a number of issues. How should we develop task typologies both to separate judgement from related cognitive tasks and to classify tasks within the judgement domain? Are there grounds for selecting between models of judgement when empirical tests fail to do so? What techniques can be used to find out more about the cognitive processes underlying judgement behaviour? I discuss these issues and give a brief assessment of the current state of play in this rapidly changing area.     

Improving the peer-review process for grant applications: reliability, validity, bias, and generalizability

Peer review is a gatekeeper, the final arbiter of what is valued in academia, but it has been criticized in relation to traditional psychological research criteria of reliability, validity, generalizability, and potential biases. Despite a considerable literature, there is surprisingly little sound peer-review research examining these criteria or strategies for improving the process. This article summarizes the authors' research program with the Australian Research Council, which receives thousands of grant proposals from the social science, humanities, and science disciplines and reviews by assessors from all over the world. Using multilevel cross-classified models, the authors critically evaluated peer reviews of grant applications and potential biases associated with applicants, assessors, and their interaction (e.g., age, gender, university, academic rank, research team composition, nationality, experience). Peer reviews lacked reliability, but the only major systematic bias found involved the inflated, unreliable, and invalid ratings of assessors nominated by the applicants themselves. The authors propose a new approach, the reader system, which they evaluated with psychology and education grant proposals and found to be substantially more reliable and strategically advantageous than traditional peer reviews of grant applications.     

Carry on winning: The gamblers’ fallacy creates hot hand effects in online gambling

People suffering from the hot-hand fallacy unreasonably expect winning streaks to continue whereas those suffering from the gamblers’ fallacy unreasonably expect losing streaks to reverse. We took 565,915 sports bets made by 776 online gamblers in 2010 and analyzed all winning and losing streaks up to a maximum length of six. People who won were more likely to win again (apparently because they chose safer odds than before) whereas those who lost were more likely to lose again (apparently because they chose riskier odds than before). However, selection of safer odds after winning and riskier ones after losing indicates that online sports gamblers expected their luck to reverse: they suffered from the gamblers’ fallacy. By believing in the gamblers’ fallacy, they created their own hot hands.