The role of dark pattern stimuli and personality in online impulse shopping: An application of S-O-R theory

Online impulse shopping is a growing industry. This paper uses the Stimulus-Organism-Response framework to model online impulse purchase behavior using a novel combination of stimuli and organism characteristics. The stimuli: social proof, limited-quantity scarcity, and high-demand, are three commonly used website features known as dark patterns. The organism characteristic personality is measured by the big 5 personality traits and persona generated through latent profile analysis. Using the machine learning algorithm XGBoost, impulse purchasing response was predicted separately for each dark pattern stimuli. Results show personality characteristics are important features when predicting consumer impulse purchasing in response to dark pattern messages. Moreover, the personality traits (and personas) most predictive of impulse shopping behavior varied by type of dark pattern. Findings suggest personality influences susceptibility to different dark patterns, indicating a need for tailored interventions to mitigate individual consumer vulnerabilities to impulse shopping.     

What are the possibilities for coordinating education information databases?

ERIC is the closest thing to a national database covering the field of education and yet ERIC's coverage is not comprehensive and responsibility for providing information concerning educational resources of all types is fragmented. Given that ERIC cannot obtain the resources to increase its coverage, this article outlines what can be done to coordinate the various existing education information databases. Coordination is seen as possible both during database generation and the later search and retrieval phase. Specific recommendations are provided for four defined stages: (1) Coverage/Acquisitions/Selection; (2) Processing (Cataloging/Indexing/Abstracting); (3) Finding the Right Database to Search (Referral); (4) Retrieval. Ted Brandhorst is the director of the ERIC Processing and reference Facility, the centralized editorial, computerized processing, and database management facility for the ERIC network. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1955 and obtained his M.L.S. there in 1957. He came to the Library of Congress in 1959 as a Special Intern and has worked in virtually every division of that library. From 1962–1969 he served as the Assistant Director of the NASA Scientific and Technical Information Facility. He joined ERIC as Director of the ERIC Facility in 1970.     

DAVID BOHM, POSTMODERNISM, AND THE DIVINE

Abstract. This is an exposition and critique of physicist David Bohm's theory of wholeness and the implicate order in light of the wider emerging postmodern consciousness. Postmodernity is defined primarily as advocacy for wholistic thinking over against the alleged fragmentation characteristic of the modern mind since Rene Descartes and Isaac Newton. When Bohm attempts to unite all things in the explicate order with his implicate "multidimensional ground," theological questions are raised and, in this article, addressed. The thesis is advanced that there is no whole which presently exists, meaning that the future is presently open, and that the unity of the cosmos awaits the eschatological act of God.     

Detoxification at Home: A Brief Solution-Oriented Family Systems Approach

The authors propose an outpatient, solution-oriented, family systems approach to detoxification from alcohol and/or drugs. Research indicates that outpatient detoxification is a viable option, one that will likely be utilized even more frequently as health care costs continue to rise. Nontraditional assumptions about the process of detoxification are suggested that challenge traditional notions about detoxification being only a biomedical, pretreatment event. Criteria are provided for determining the appropriateness of clients for outpatient detoxification and offer information about typical withdrawal symptoms and guidelines for the detoxification environment at home. A case example illustrates the application of this approach in a community mental health program. Suggestions for adapting this approach to various settings are also offered.     

The Scope of WebCounseling: A Survey of Services and Compliance With NBCC Standards for the Ethical Practice of WebCounseling

A survey of 136 Web sites offering counseling through computer chat rooms and e‐mail revealed a wide range of credentials of providers, fees for service, and low levels of compliance with the ethical standards for WebCounseling published by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC). Eight months after the first data collection point, more than a third of the WebCounseling sites were no longer in operation. Credentialed professionals provided significantly higher levels of compliance with NBCC standards than did noncredentialed providers. Implications of Web services for professional practice and public confidence in the profession in this medium are discussed.     

Initial probability,rehearsal, and constraint in associative class selection

After determining verbal preferences in baseline, separate groups of children observed a model select, for the same stimulus nouns, high probability noun, intermediate probability verb, or low probability (arbitrary) color associates. Under strong directions to emulate the model, all experimental groups increased selection of the associate classes modeled. Later, in a free-preference phase, both noun and arbitrary choices were reduced but not choice of intermediate probability verbs. Overt rehearsal did not affect response. Under permissive emulation directions, all groups increased selection of the modeled associate classes in imitation, with no significant drops found in free-preference. Overt rehearsal's only effect was to reduce color associate choices.     

Shifting attention among working memory representations: testing cue type, awareness, and strategic control

It is well known that visual working memory (VWM) performance is modulated by attentional cues presented during encoding. Interestingly, retrospective cues presented after encoding, but prior to the test phase also improve performance. This improvement in performance is termed the retro-cue benefit. We investigated whether the retro-cue benefit is sensitive to cue type, whether participants were aware of their improvement in performance due to the retro-cue, and whether the effect was under strategic control. Experiment 1 compared the potential cueing benefits of abrupt onset retro-cues relying on bottom-up attention, number retro-cues relying on top-down attention, and arrow retro-cues, relying on a mixture of both. We found a significant retro-cue effect only for arrow retro-cues. In Experiment 2, we tested participants' awareness of their use of the informative retro-cue and found that they were aware of their improved performance. In Experiment 3, we asked whether participants have strategic control over the retro-cue. The retro-cue was difficult to ignore, suggesting that strategic control is low. The retro-cue effect appears to be within conscious awareness but not under full strategic control.     

Assessments of learning‐related skills and interpersonal skills constructs within early childhood environments in Singapore

Social skills are necessary for developing successful relationships and promoting learning. Interpersonal skills (IPS) are needed for maintaining friendships while learning‐related skills (LRS) are required for positive classroom behaviours. In this study, we investigated the construct validity of LRS and IPS within two existing assessments: the Child Behavior Rating Scales (CBRS) and the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales—2nd edition (PKBS‐2). Teachers completed the CBRS and PKBS‐2 for 117 Singaporean children aged 3–6 years. Rasch analysis was used to identify items that fit the unidimensional constructs of LRS and IPS within each instrument. Specific items from within the CBRS were found to measure LRS and IPS. Within the PKBS‐2, items were found to measure IPS and a new construct labelled Compliance. Instead of creating new assessment tools to measure new constructs, this study innovatively demonstrated how Rasch analysis can be used to document the existence of new constructs within already existing tools. The identification of new constucts and the use of these tools in an Asian context are presented. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.