A sixth personality domain that is independent of the Big Five domains: The psychometric properties of the HEXACO Personality Inventory in a Japanese sample

We investigated the reliability of the HEXACO‐Personality Inventory (HEXACO‐PI) using the NEO Five‐Factor Inventory (NEO‐FFI) and the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) Big Five scales in a Japanese sample of 492 respondents (mean age = 20.4 years). The psychometric properties of the HEXACO‐PI were examined and found to be satisfactory. The results of the factor analysis showed that the six hypothesized personality domains were found independently. A total of 307 participants responded to the NEO‐FFI and the IPIP Big Five scales. The results showed that the five domains of the HEXACO model corresponded to the Five‐Factor domains and were relative to the Big Five personality domains as a whole, but the sixth domain, Honesty‐Humility, showed weak to moderate correlations with some factors of the NEO‐FFI and the IPIP Big Five scales. These results suggest that the Honesty‐Humility domain is independent of the five fundamental personality factors and that the HEXACO‐PI is a useful and reliable questionnaire for investigating personality structure in cross‐cultural and other context.     

Transfer effects between moral dilemmas: A causal model theory

Evaluations of analogous situations are an important source for our moral intuitions. A puzzling recent set of findings in experiments exploring transfer effects between intuitions about moral dilemmas has demonstrated a striking asymmetry. Transfer often occurred with a specific ordering of moral dilemmas, but not when the sequence was reversed. In this article we present a new theory of transfer between moral intuitions that focuses on two components of moral dilemmas, namely their causal structure and their default evaluations. According to this theory, transfer effects are expected when the causal models underlying the considered dilemmas allow for a mapping of the highlighted aspect of the first scenario onto the causal structure of the second dilemma, and when the default evaluations of the two dilemmas substantially differ. The theory’s key predictions for the occurrence and the direction of transfer effects between two moral dilemmas are tested in five experiments with various variants of moral dilemmas from different domains. A sixth experiment tests the predictions of the theory for how the target action in the moral dilemmas is represented.     

Análisis factorial de ítems de respuesta forzada: una revisión y un ejemplo

Forced-choice tests are widely used in order to reduce the impact of different response set biases typically associated to psychological tests (e.g. acquiescence or social desirability). However, these tests produce ipsative data which have undesirable properties, thereby making an inappropriate application of classical factor analysis techniques for psychometric evaluation commonly used by researchers. This paper explains the analytical properties of forced-choice tests, along with an example that illustrates how these properties have an impact on the application of conventional statistical techniques and produce improper results. Additionally, one of the current proposals is presented in order to analyze these data based on the comparative judgment model by Thurstone, along with the results of a simulation study which illustrates its implementation and effectiveness in recovering the original factor structure.     

Análisis factorial confirmatorio de la Escala de habilidades sociales en universitarios chilenos

This paper presents a psychometric study performing a confirmatory factor analysis of Gismero's Social Skills Scale. A background review is conducted on evaluation tools generally used for social skills, and the general characteristics of the scale are presented for the tool studied. A review is also conducted on psychometric properties of this tool. The sample consisted of 1206 college students at the Universidad Católica de Temuco, Chile. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted using a polychoric correlation matrix, and the structure proposed by Gismero was analyzed. Reliability assessment procedures, such as internal consistency (Ordinal Alpha) and discriminant validity analysis, were also conducted using AF5 factors. The results show good internal reliability of the tool, suitability of the model to the data, and good discriminant validity. In conclusion, the Gismero's Social Skills Scale is considered as a suitable tool for assessing social skills in Chilean university students. A slight modification of the model structure in the second order factor level is proposed.     

Attitudes towards seeking psychological help among a sample of Turkish university students: the roles of rumination and internal working models

The current study investigates how attitudes towards seeking psychological help relate to internal working models of attachment (self-model and other-model) and ruminative tendencies. The study includes 589 Turkish university students (278 females, 308 males and 3 unknown) by implementing a convenient sampling procedure. The average age of the participants was 22.4 years (SD = 2.2). Participants were administered the Attitudes toward Seeking Psychological Help-Short, the Relationship Questionnaire and the Rumination Scale. The results of the study indicate that the other-model and rumination have a relationship to women's help-seeking attitudes whereas the self-model has a relationship to men's help-seeking attitudes. The results are discussed in light of the related literature.     

Theory and teen dating violence victimization: Considering adolescent development

Teen dating violence is an important public health problem, with implications for the future health and well-being of adolescents. However, most work on teen dating violence has developed separately from literature on normative adolescent romantic relationships and development; understanding teen dating violence within the framework of adolescent psychosocial development may provide new areas for research. Thus, the present paper summarizes five theories of adolescent development that are relevant to the study of teen dating violence victimization, as well as empirical literature that demonstrates support for key theoretical tenets in research examining adolescent romantic relationships. We also present questions for future dating violence study that arise from these key theoretical tenets and past empirical research. Researchers interested in dating violence victimization can use the presented theories to guide new directions in research inquiry, so that findings are situated within the broader field of adolescent development.     

Working memory retrieval differences between medial temporal lobe epilepsy patients and controls: A three memory layer approach

Multi-store models of working memory (WM) have given way to more dynamic approaches that conceive WM as an activated subset of long-term memory (LTM). The resulting framework considers that memory representations are governed by a hierarchy of accessibility. The activated part of LTM holds representations in a heightened state of activation, some of which can reach a state of immediate accessibility according to task demands. Recent neuroimaging studies have studied the neural basis of retrieval information with different states of accessibility. It was found that the medial temporal lobe (MTL) was involved in retrieving information within immediate access store and outside this privileged zone. In the current study we further explored the contribution of MTL to WM retrieval by analyzing the consequences of MTL damage to this process considering the state of accessibility of memory representations. The performance of a group of epilepsy patients with left hippocampal sclerosis in a 12-item recognition task was compared with that of a healthy control group. We adopted an embedded model of WM that distinguishes three components: the activated LTM, the region of direct access, and a single-item focus of attention. Groups did not differ when retrieving information from single-item focus, but patients were less accurate retrieving information outside focal attention, either items from LTM or items expected to be in the WM range. Analyses focused on items held in the direct access buffer showed that consequences of MTL damage were modulated by the level of accessibility of memory representations, producing a reduced capacity.     

SAwSu: An Integrated Model of Associative and Reinforcement Learning

Successfully explaining and replicating the complexity and generality of human and animal learning will require the integration of a variety of learning mechanisms. Here, we introduce a computational model which integrates associative learning (AL) and reinforcement learning (RL). We contrast the integrated model with standalone AL and RL models in three simulation studies. First, a synthetic grid‐navigation task is employed to highlight performance advantages for the integrated model in an environment where the reward structure is both diverse and dynamic. The second and third simulations contrast the performances of the three models in behavioral experiments, demonstrating advantages for the integrated model in accounting for behavioral data.     

Personality and Serum Lipids: Does Lifestyle Account for Their Concurrent and Long‐term Relationships

This study evaluates concurrent and over time associations of personality with measures of three serum lipids associated coronary heart disease morbidity, namely, high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C), low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride (TRI). Participants were individuals who underwent a health examination at two points of time, T1 (N = 3835) and T2 (N = 2283), about 2.5 years apart. Personality was assessed by the Five‐Factor Model. Health, socioeconomic status and healthy lifestyle behaviours (smoking intensity, physical activity and body weight) were controlled. Regression analyses indicate that the personality factors of neuroticism, extraversion and conscientiousness are each significantly associated with HDL‐C and TRI, both concurrently and over time. However, most of these associations decreased to marginal significance when adjusted for body weight or physical activity as possible mediators. Both concurrent and over time associations of the openness personality trait with HDL‐C and TRI were significant and persisted after adjustment for measures of a healthy lifestyle. This study emphasizes the importance of collecting measures of a healthy lifestyle to better understand how personality might influence serum lipids. Copyright © 2013 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Taking religion to heart: the relationship between the Five Factor Model and the New Indices of Religious Orientation among religious students

The relationship between religious orientation and personality has been investigated using several different measures and diverse samples. As part of a larger study, 114 undergraduate students were given the Duke University Religion Index (DUREL) to include only those participants who were considered religious. The final sample of 80 participants were given the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO PI-R) and the New Indices of Religious Orientation (NIRO). Based on the results of the bivariate correlations, higher levels of intrinsic religious orientation were associated with greater Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Multivariate analyses further revealed that Agreeableness was the most important personality variable when predicting intrinsic and quest religious orientations, with higher levels of Agreeableness predicting greater intrinsic and lower quest orientations. While lower levels of Neuroticism predicted greater intrinsic orientation, higher levels of Neuroticism predicted greater quest orientations. Higher Conscientiousness predicted greater intrinsic and lower quest orientations. Implications of these findings are discussed.