Symptom structure in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a confirmatory factor-analytic study

Although obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has long been a unitary diagnosis, there is much recent interest in its potential heterogeneity, as manifested by symptom subgroups. This study evaluated existing models of symptom structure in a sample of 203 individuals with OCD. Using confirmatory factor analysis, we examined the ability of each model to account for two levels of data: a priori symptom groupings (second-order) and individual symptoms, identified by the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale symptom checklist. Four models were examined: a single-factor, a two-factor (i.e., obsessions and compulsions), and two multidimensional models, comprising three and four factors. Adequate fit was found solely for the four-factor model--specifying obsessions/checking, symmetry/ordering, contamination/cleaning, and hoarding--but only at the second-order level; it did not account for relationships among discrete symptoms. Parameter estimates showed within-factor heterogeneity, as well as overlap between factors, most notably the two representing checking and contamination-related symptoms. The implications of these findings are discussed. Results provide evidence for the multidimensionality of OCD symptoms, but suggest that a comprehensive model has yet to be identified. They also point to the inadequacy of groupings based solely upon overt behavioural similarities (e.g., 'checking'). Recommendations are made for future research.     

Zoonotic and non-zoonotic diseases in relation to human personality and societal values: Support for the parasite-stress model

The parasite-stress model of human sociality proposes that humans' ontogenetic experiences with infectious diseases as well as their evolutionary historical interactions with these diseases exert causal influences on human psychology and social behavior. This model has been supported by cross-national relationships between parasite prevalence and human personality traits, and between parasite prevalence and societal values. Importantly, the parasite-stress model emphasizes the causal role of non-zoonotic parasites (which have the capacity for human-to-human transmission), rather than zoonotic parasites (which do not), but previous studies failed to distinguish between these conceptually distinct cate- gories. The present investigation directly tested the differential predictive effects of zoonotic and non-zoonotic (both human-specific and multihost) parasite prevalence on personality traits and societal values. Supporting the parasite-stress model, cross-national differences in personality traits (unrestricted sexuality, extraversion, openness to experi- ences) and in societal values (individualism, collectivism, gender equality, democratiza- tion) are predicted specifically by non-zoonotic parasite prevalence.     

A Closer Look Into the Multi‐Layer Structure of Motivational Intensity Theory

Drawing on the idea that humans aim to avoid wasting energy that is important for survival, motivational intensity theory postulates that task difficulty and success importance determine energy investment. Additionally, the theory makes predictions on how task characteristics moderate the relationship between task difficulty, success importance, and energy investment. In this article, I will show how the different predictions of motivational intensity theory relate to one another and to what extent they can be derived from the fundamental principle of energy conservation. I will also discuss the application of the theory to effort mobilization and cardiovascular reactivity. Specifically, I will discuss the additional assumptions and predictions that are necessary to link these applications to motivational intensity theory’s basic rationale, the energy conservation principle.     

The response styles theory of depression: A test of specificity and causal mediation

This prospective study tested the diathesis-stress and causal mediation components of the response styles theory of depression. In addition, it examined whether rumination predicts increases in anxious as well as depressive symptoms. At Time 1, 87 college students completed measures of rumination, hopelessness, depressive symptoms, and anxious symptoms. Participants also completed measures of hopelessness, depressive symptoms, and anxious symptoms at three time points later in the semester: immediately after receiving their most difficult midterm exam grade (Time 2), 4–8 hours later (Time 3), and 4 days later (Time 4). Regardless of exam outcome, the tendency to ruminate in response to depressed mood was associated with: (1) increases in anxious symptoms between Time 1 and Time 3; and (2) increases in both anxious and depressive symptoms between Time 1 and Time 4. In addition, the relationship between rumination and increases in both depressive and anxious symptoms was mediated by hopelessness. In other words, individuals with a ruminative response style exhibited increases in both depressive and anxious symptoms because they exhibited increases in hopelessness.     

Risk Factors for Adolescent Marijuana Use Across Cultures and Across Time

An integrated analysis of the data from 3 different studies was conducted to examine the early psychosocial predictors of later marijuana use among adolescents. Longitudinal analysis of interview data was performed. The data used in the analysis were derived from (a) a sample of 739 predominantly White adolescents representative of the northeastern United States, (b) a sample of 1,190 minority adolescents from the East Harlem section of New York City, and (c) a sample of 1,374 Colombian adolescents from two cities in Colombia. South America. In 2 of the samples, participants were interviewed in their homes, and in the 3rd study, participants were assessed in school. The predictors included a number of variables from (a) the personality domain, reflecting the adolescents' conventionality and intrapsychic functioning; (b) the family domain, representing the parent-child mutual attachment relationship and parental substance use; (c) the peer domain, reflecting the peer group's delinquency and substance use; and (d) the adolescents' own use of legal drugs. The dependent variable was adolescent marijuana use. The results of the analysis demonstrated remarkable consistency in the risk and protective factors for later marijuana use across the 3 samples, attesting to the robust nature of these predictors and their generalizability across gender, time, location, and ethnic/cultural background. These findings have important implications for designing intervention programs. Programs aimed at preventing adolescent marijuana use can be designed to incorporate universal features and still incorporate specific components that address the unique needs of adolescents from different groups.     

The risky side of inspirational appeals in personal selling: when do customers infer ulterior salesperson motives?

In personal selling, the inspirational appeal (IA) is a widely promoted tactic that aims at stimulating customers' values and ideals, thereby evoking emotions and arousing their enthusiasm for a product. However, whether IAs in fact improve or undermine salespeople's success in sales talks remains controversial. Therefore, this study examines consequences and key contingencies of IAs in customer–salesperson interactions in a retailing context, using multisource data from several retailing industries for three quantitative studies, comprising a total sample of 590 customer and 174 salesperson responses. Drawing on the Multiple Inferences Model (MIM), the authors show that an IA is likely to drive the customer's inference that the salesperson holds ulterior motives. IAs seem to be particularly detrimental for salespeople with a lack of customer orientation. Beyond expanding research on influence tactics and the ambivalent role of IAs in retailing interactions, these findings can guide practitioners about when to refrain from using an IA.     

Transparency in Structured Interviews: Consequences for Construct and Criterion-Related Validity

Although researchers agree on the use of structured interviews in personnel selection, past research has been undecided on whether these interviews need to be conducted nontransparently (i.e., without giving interviewees any indication of the evaluated criteria) or transparently (i.e., by revealing to interviewees the dimensions assessed in the interview). This article presents two independent studies examining the effects of interview transparency on interviewees' performance and on the interview's construct and criterion-related validity in the context of an application training program. Results from both Study 1 (N = 123) and Study 2 (N = 269) indicate an improvement in interviewees' performance under transparent interview conditions. Both studies further support the assumption that transparent interviews show satisfactory construct validity, whereas nontransparent interviews do not. Moreover, Study 2 showed no significant difference between the interview's criterion-related validity under transparent versus nontransparent conditions. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

“I Know What You Want to Know”: The Impact of Interviewees' Ability to Identify Criteria on Interview Performance and Construct-Related Validity

The current study tested whether candidates' ability to identify the targeted interview dimensions fosters their interview success as well as the interviews' convergent and discriminant validity. Ninety-two interviewees participated in a simulated structured interview developed to measure three different dimensions. In line with the hypotheses, interviewees who were more proficient at identifying the targeted dimensions received better evaluations. Furthermore, interviewees' ability to identify these evaluation criteria accounted for substantial variance in predicting their performance even after controlling for cognitive ability. Finally, the interviewer ratings showed poor discriminant and convergent validity. However, we found some support for the hypothesis that the quality of the interviewer ratings improves when one only considers ratings from questions for which interviewees had correctly identified the intended dimensions.     

Composition and consistency of the desired affective state: The role of personality and motivation

Using longitudinal and experience sampling designs, the consistency and composition, and personality and motivational predictors, of the desired affective state are explored. Findings indicate that, while the desired affect is relatively malleable throughout one semester, it is relatively stable throughout 1 week. Personality and motivations/goals were related to the content of the desired affective state. Extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness were related to the content of the desired affective state. In addition, higher-order goals predicted the content of the desired affective state. Our results suggest that the content of the desired affective state may be largely dependent on personality, motivation, and, potentially, an interaction between personality and motivation.     

Identifying persons feigning limitations in their competence to proceed in the legal process

Accurate assessment of the response styles criminal defendants adopt when undergoing evaluations of their competence to proceed with the legal process is critical because some feign limitations in their abilities in an attempt to delay or avoid prosecution. This study examined the utility of the Inventory of Legal Knowledge (ILK) to identify persons motivated to feign competence related limitations. That the ILK has good potential as a screening tool is indicated by findings that the measure (1) has adequate test–retest reliability and (2) classified correctly the large majority of participants in two samples (i.e., college students and psychiatric patients) who completed the measure under “honest” or “fake bad” conditions. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.