Climatic warmth and national wealth: some culture‐level determinants of national character stereotypes

National character stereotypes are widely shared, but do not reflect assessed levels of personality traits. In this article we present data illustrating the divergence of stereotypes and assessed personality traits in North and South Italy, test hypotheses about the associations of temperature and national wealth with national character stereotypes in 49 cultures, and explore possible links to national values and beliefs. Results suggest that warmth and wealth are common determinants of national stereotypes, but that there are also idiosyncratic influences on the perceptions of individual nations. Published in 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social laws in alternating time: effectiveness,feasibility, and synthesis

Since it was first proposed by Moses, Shoham, and Tennenholtz, the social laws paradigm has proved to be one of the most compelling approaches to the offline coordination of multiagent systems. In this paper, we make four key contributions to the theory and practice of social laws in multiagent systems. First, we show that the Alternating-time Temporal Logic (atl) of Alur, Henzinger, and Kupferman provides an elegant and powerful framework within which to express and understand social laws for multiagent systems. Second, we show that the effectiveness, feasibility, and synthesis problems for social laws may naturally be framed as atl model checking problems, and that as a consequence, existing atl model checkers may be applied to these problems. Third, we show that the complexity of the feasibility problem in our framework is no more complex in the general case than that of the corresponding problem in the Shoham–Tennenholtz framework (it is np-complete). Finally, we show how our basic framework can easily be extended to permit social laws in which constraints on the legality or otherwise of some action may be explicitly required. We illustrate the concepts and techniques developed by means of a running example. This paper was presented at the Social Software conference in May 2004, Copenhagen, organised by PHILOG. We thank the organisers for providing the opportunity, and the participants for their useful feedback.     

Are indigenous personality dimensions culture-specific? Mexican inventories and the Five-Factor Model

The universality versus cultural specificity of Mexican personality dimensions was investigated by examining: (a) the replicability of Mexican personality dimensions assessed by indigenous inventories; and (b) the extent to which Mexican dimensions are encompassed by the Five-Factor Model (FFM), one hypothesized universal model of personality structure. Mexican university students (N = 794) completed nine indigenous inventories and the Spanish version of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. The FFM replicated well, although reliability was poor for a few facet scales. Reliability was acceptable for the indigenous Mexican scales. However, for most indigenous instruments, a cross-sample replication criterion suggested alternative structures of fewer, more replicable dimensions. Multiple regression and joint factor analyses revealed that most of the Mexican dimensions were well subsumed by the FFM. Thus, cultural differences did not involve clearly culture-specific dimensions, but more subtle differences in the salience or cultural flavor of particular traits.     

Measuring Big-Five personality dimensions with the implicit association test – Implicit personality traits or self-esteem?

We examined whether the implicit association test (IAT) could serve as an implicit measure of the dimensions of the Five-Factor Model of Personality. In the first study (N = 84) IAT-effects of the Big-Five (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism and Openness) were found and the IAT showed good internal consistencies and convergent validity with an explicit Big-Five questionnaire (NEO-FFI-30). In a second study (N = 50), conducted to determine the overlap of the personality-IATs with implicit self-esteem, the Extraversion and the Neuroticism-IAT were shown to correlate with a self-esteem-IAT only moderately.     

Understanding and the facts

If understanding is factive, the propositions that express an understanding are true. I argue that a factive conception of understanding is unduly restrictive. It neither reflects our practices in ascribing understanding nor does justice to contemporary science. For science uses idealizations and models that do not mirror the facts. Strictly speaking, they are false. By appeal to exemplification, I devise a more generous, flexible conception of understanding that accommodates science, reflects our practices, and shows a sufficient but not slavish sensitivity to the facts.

Bayesian estimation of a multilevel IRT model using gibbs sampling

In this article, a two-level regression model is imposed on the ability parameters in an item response theory (IRT) model. The advantage of using latent rather than observed scores as dependent variables of a multilevel model is that it offers the possibility of separating the influence of item difficulty and ability level and modeling response variation and measurement error. Another advantage is that, contrary to observed scores, latent scores are test-independent, which offers the possibility of using results from different tests in one analysis where the parameters of the IRT model and the multilevel model can be concurrently estimated. The two-parameter normal ogive model is used for the IRT measurement model. It will be shown that the parameters of the two-parameter normal ogive model and the multilevel model can be estimated in a Bayesian framework using Gibbs sampling. Examples using simulated and real data are given.     

基于HO-DINA模型的多级评分认知诊断模型的开发

本文对具有较好发展前景的HO-DINA模型进行拓展,将仅适用于0-1评分题型的HO-DINA模型拓广至可用于多级评分题型,采用MCMC算法实现了对模型参数的估计,并对新模型性能进行了研究。研究发现: （1）本文拓展的多级评分HO-DINA模型参数估计精度较高且诊断正确率较高。（2）多级评分的HO-DINA模型诊断的属性个数越多,属性参数（ 和 ）和s参数估计的精度越差、属性诊断的正确率（MMR和PRM）越低,但能力参数（ ）和g参数的估计精度反而越高。（3）在当前条件下,若想保证属性模式判准率在80%以上,建议诊断的属性个数不宜超过7个。     

LP方法及其与三种常用DIF检测方法的比较

本研究基于项目反应理论,提出了一种检验力高且犯Ⅰ类错误率小的检测DIF的新方法：LP法（Likelihood Procedure）,且以2PLM下对题目进行DIF检验为例介绍此法。本文通过与MH方法、Lord卡方检验法和Raju面积测量法三种常用的检验DIF的方法比较研究LP法的有效性,同时探讨样本容量、测验长度、目标组和参照组能力分布的差异、DIF值大小等相关因素对LP法有效性可能产生的影响。通过模拟研究,得到以下结论：(1)LP法比MH法及Lord卡方法更灵敏且更稳健;(2) LP法比Raju面积测量法更合理;(3)LP法的检验力随着被试样本容量或DIF值的增大而增大;（4）当参照组与目标组的能力无差异时,LP法在各种条件下的检验力比参照组与目标组的能力有差异时的检验力高;（5）LP法对一致性DIF和非一致性DIF都有良好的检验力,且LP法对一致性DIF的检验力比对非一致性DIF的检验力高。LP法可以简便的扩展并运用到多维度、多级评分项目上。     

逻辑－信念冲突与推理难度对逻辑和信念判断的影响

双加工理论框架下的平行竞争模型和默认干涉模型对推理过程中启发式和分析式加工的启动次序和相互作用的性质提出了不同假设。本研究通过考察被试在信念判断和逻辑判断两种指导语下解决不同难度和不同类型推理问题的正确率和反应时,对两个模型的预测进行了检验。实验结果表明,解决简单问题时,问题类型对信念判断有显著影响,对逻辑判断无显著影响;解决复杂问题时,问题类型对逻辑判断的影响显著大于对信念判断的影响。实验结果支持平行竞争模型的假设,即两类加工在推理过程中同时启动,共同竞争最终的推理反应。     

暴力电子游戏对攻击行为的影响及其争论

以Anderson为核心的研究者通过数十年研究发现, 暴力电子游戏是攻击行为产生的前因变量, 并且提出可以用一般攻击模型(General Aggression Model, GAM)来解释这一结论。然而, Ferguson等人的研究表明, 暴力电子游戏不是攻击行为产生的前因变量, 而是攻击行为产生的催化剂, 并提出催化剂模型(Catalyst Model, CM)来解释该结论。由于社会心理研究中, 实验研究难以严格控制, 导致研究结果大径相庭, 暴力电子游戏影响攻击行为的争论还在不断扩大。未来要加强对暴力电子游戏和攻击行为的测量, 同时还需整合一般攻击模型和催化剂模型指导实证研究, 最后从认知偏差以及社会认知神经科学视角寻求暴力电子游戏对攻击行为影响的新证据。