Measuring rail passenger crowding: Scale development and psychometric properties

Research on rail passenger crowding often tacitly subscribes to a measurement of crowding based on density (i.e. physical conditions involving space limitations) and rarely considers the possible role psychological factors may play in measuring this construct. This paper describes the development of an instrument that captures the dimensionality of rail passenger crowding and its relationship to the experience of stress and feelings of exhaustion. The proposed instrument is a 20-item self-rating questionnaire consisting of three sub-scales designed to assess subjective crowding experiences among rail users (n = 525). Findings from the factor analyses generally support the hypothesised three-factor structure of the measurement model (evaluation of the psychosocial aspects of the crowded situation, evaluation of the ambient environment of the crowded situation, and affective reactions to the crowded situation). All sub-scales demonstrate excellent internal consistency and construct validity as well as good convergent and discriminant validity values. The instrument was further tested using structural equation modelling to examine the impact of crowding on commuters’ stress and feelings of exhaustion. With the addition of the “passenger density” variable as an indicator of objective measurement of crowding operating in tandem with the crowding sub-scales, the results reveal that: (1) commuters’ evaluations of the psychosocial aspects of the crowded situation and of its ambient environment, alongside their rating of passenger density, significantly predict affective reactions to the crowded situation; (2) these affective reactions, in turn, significantly predict stress and feelings of exhaustion; and (3) evaluations of the psychosocial aspects of the crowded situation and of its ambient environment as well as passenger density do not directly predict stress and feelings of exhaustion. The link between rail passenger crowding and the negative outcomes therefore does not appear as a simple, direct relationship, but is mediated by affective feelings of crowdedness. Overall, these results provide satisfactory psychometric properties for the proposed instrument and support its use as an assessment tool for measuring crowding experience in the rail setting.     

Seeing the world through GREEN‐tinted glasses: Green consumption values and responses to environmentally friendly products

The primary goal of this research is to conceptualize and develop a scale of green consumption values, which we define as the tendency to express the value of environmental protection through one's purchases and consumption behaviors. Across six studies, we demonstrate that the six-item measure we develop (i.e., the GREEN scale) can be used to capture green consumption values in a reliable, valid, and parsimonious manner. We further theorize and empirically demonstrate that green consumption values are part of a larger nomological network associated with conservation of not just environmental resources but also personal financial and physical resources. Finally, we demonstrate that the GREEN scale predicts consumer preference for environmentally friendly products. In doing so, we demonstrate that stronger green consumption values increase preference for environmentally friendly products through more favorable evaluations of the non-environmental attributes of these products. These results have important implications for consumer responses to the growing number of environmentally friendly products.     

French validation of the 7-item Game Addiction Scale for adolescents

IntroductionThe Game Addiction Scale (GAS: Lemmens, Valkenburg, & Peter, 2008, 2009) is a short instrument (7-item) for evaluating video game playing by adolescents.ObjectiveThe aim of the current research was to investigate the psychometric properties of a French version of the 7-item Game Addiction Scale for adolescents.MethodTwo studies were conducted with two samples of French adolescents between the ages of 10 and 18 (study 1: n = 159; study 2: n = 306). First, we examined the factor structure and internal consistency. Second, we added a concurrent validity analysis with estimation of the daily time spent playing video games and an assessment of depression and anxiety.ResultsIn both studies, the factor analysis revealed a one-factor structure that had good psychometric properties and fit the data well. The analysis also confirmed good internal consistency of the scale. Correlation analysis in the second study showed that the GAS score had significant positive relationships with the time spent playing video games, depression, anxiety, and the fact of being a boy, thereby supporting the concurrent validity of the scale.ConclusionThis French version of the GAS seems to be a reliable tool for identifying and assessing problematic use of video games.     

Stability and change in generative concern: Evidence from a longitudinal survey

Longitudinal data taken at a ten-year interval from a large, nationally representative sample were used to examine stability and change in generative concern, as measured by a reduced form of the Loyola Generativity Scale (LGS). Rank-order stability over a ten year period was high (r > .6) among those respondents 30 or older at the time of first measurement. Mean scores on the LGS increased for men aged 24–29 and decreased for men and women aged 60–69, but the size of these changes was small. First marriage and childbearing were not associated with an increase in LGS scores. The evidence suggests both life-long stability and a small mid-life peak in generative concern.     

Measuring thirty facets of the Five Factor Model with a 120-item public domain inventory: Development of the IPIP-NEO-120

The IPIP-NEO (Goldberg, 1999) is a 300-item inventory that measures constructs similar to those in the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R; Costa & McCrae, 1992). Despite evidence for its reliability and validity, the IPIP-NEO is even longer than the original 240-item NEO PI-R. This article details the development of a 120-item version of the IPIP-NEO from an Internet sample (N = 21,588) and the subsequent testing of its psychometric properties in Goldberg’s (2008) Eugene-Springfield community sample (N = 481), two additional large Internet samples (Ns = 307,313 and 619,150) and a local sample (N = 160). Results indicate that the psychometric properties of the 120-item IPIP-NEO compare favorably to the properties of the longer form.     

Capturing age-group differences and developmental change with the BASC Parent Rating Scales

Estimation of age-group differences and intra-individual change across distinct developmental periods is often challenged by the use of age-appropriate (but non-parallel) measures. We present a short version of the Behavior Assessment System (Reynolds & Kamphaus, 1998) Parent Rating Scales for Children (PRS-C) and Adolescents (PRS-A), which uses only their common-items to derive estimates of the initial constructs optimized for developmental studies. Measurement invariance of a three-factor model (Externalizing, Internalizing, Adaptive Skills) was tested across age-groups (161 mothers using PRS-C; 200 mothers using PRS-A) and over time (115 mothers using PRS-C at baseline and PRS-A five years later) with the original versus short PRS. Results indicated that the short PRS holds a sufficient level of invariance for a robust estimation of age-group differences and intra-individual change, as compared to the original PRS, which held only weak invariance leading to flawed developmental inferences. The importance of test–content parallelism for developmental studies is discussed.     

Effects of a Center-Based Parent Training Package on Parents’ Accuracy of Generalized Program Implementations at Home

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a parent training package on parents’ accuracy of program implementations and their children’s goal achievements on parent-implemented programs at home. Parents also completed a quiz with questions about three-contingencies before and after the training. Three mother-child dyads participated in this study. All three children were 4-year-old boys with developmental delays. We employed a multiple baseline across three parent-child dyads as the primary design combined with a pretest and posttest. The individual parent training sessions consisted of office meetings and in-vivo classroom coaching sessions on program implementations. Each parent was trained individually to mastery criteria on program implementations using the Teacher Performance Rate Accuracy Scale (TPRA). After completing the parent training package, all parents acquired program implementations skills, and their program implementation skills were generalized to teach new behaviors at home with a high level of fidelity. Their quiz scores on three-term contingencies also increased to a relatively high level.     

The effect of cognitive load on faking interrogative suggestibility on the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale

In the light of recent studies into the impact of cognitive load on detecting deception, the impact of cognitive load on faking on the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (GSS) was investigated. Eighty undergraduate students participated in the study, and were randomly assigned to one of four conditions resulting from a combination of the factors: instruction type (genuine or instructed faking, see Hansen, Smeets, & Jelicic, 2009) and concurrent task (yes or no). Findings show that instructed fakers, not performing a concurrent task, score significantly higher on yield 1 in comparison to genuine interviewees. This is in-line with previous studies into faking on the GSS. However, instructed fakers, performing a concurrent task, achieved significantly lower yield 1 scores than instructed fakers not performing a concurrent task. Genuine (non fakers) showed a different response to increased cognitive load during the dual-task paradigm. This study suggests that increasing cognitive load may potentially indicate (and preclude) faking attempts on the yield dimension of the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale.     

The Chronotype-Academic Performance Model (CAM): Daytime sleepiness and learning motivation link chronotype and school performance in adolescents

Many adolescents experience a discrepancy between their biological time, which is shifted toward eveningness, and early school starting times. Due to this social jetlag, eveningness is negatively correlated with school performance. On the basis of the here presented data, we derived a model for the association of chronotype and school performance, the Chronotype-Academic Performance Model (CAM), including daytime sleepiness and achievement motivation as mediating factors. The sample comprised N = 273 adolescents aged 14–16 years. Circadian preference, daytime sleepiness, learning and achievement motivation, and information about participants’ last school certificate were assessed online. Chronotype was not directly related to academic performance, but was mediated by daytime sleepiness and learning motivation. Morning-orientation was negatively associated with daytime sleepiness and positively with learning motivation, which, in turn, affected performance. In evening-types, we found the strongest association between sleepiness and refusal to work. The CAM suggests that chronotype may not directly influence academic performance, but be mediated by daytime sleepiness and learning motivation. Evening types seem to be at high risk to suffer from daytime sleepiness and to display dysfunctional attitudes toward work. Measures of reducing sleepiness and modifying attitudes toward academic achievement might attenuate the disadvantages of evening-types due to social jetlag.     

Factor structure of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale for Children (BPRS-C) among Hospital Patients and Community Clients

The factor structure, reliability and concurrent validity of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale for Children (BPRS-C) was examined. The BPRS-C was designed to measure child psychopathology with seven scales consisting of three items each. Two large samples of intake assessments at admission to the public mental health system of state psychiatric hospitals (n = 6712) and community mental health centers (n = 21,459) for children aged 3–17 were examined. In both samples exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis found seven factors that generally supported the BPRS-C seven scale structure. Reliability as measured by internal consistency was acceptable with an average alpha of .72 (SD = .09). Mean scale scores across diagnoses and concurrent correlations with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) were consistent with expectations.