Virtual reality: A new track in psychological research

One major challenge of social interaction research is to achieve high experimental control over social interactions to allow for rigorous scientific reasoning. Virtual reality (VR) promises this level of control. Pan and Hamilton guide us with a detailed review on existing and future possibilities and challenges of using VR for social interaction research. Here, we extend the discussion to methodological and practical implications when using VR.     

Comparison of Griffiths-II and Bayley-II tests for the developmental assessment of high-risk infants

IntroductionTwo important risk factors for abnormal neurodevelopment are preterm birth and neonatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. The new revisions of Griffiths Mental Development Scale (Griffiths-II, [1996]) and the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID-II, [1993]) are two of the most frequently used developmental diagnostics tests. The Griffiths-II is divided into five subscales and a global development quotient (QD), and the BSID-II is divided into two scales, the Mental scale (MDI) and the Psychomotor scale (PDI).The main objective of this research was to establish the extent to which developmental diagnoses obtained using the new revisions of these two tests are comparable for a given child.Material and methodsRetrospective study of 18-months-old high-risk children examined with both tests in the follow-up Unit of the Clinic of Neonatology of our tertiary care university Hospital between 2011 and 2012. To determine the concurrent validity of the two tests paired t-tests and Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were computed. Using the BSID-II as a gold standard, the performance of the Griffiths-II was analyzed with receiver operating curves.Results61 patients (80.3% preterm, 14.7% neonatal asphyxia) were examined. For the BSID-II the MDI mean was 96.21 (range 67–133) and the PDI mean was 87.72 (range 49–114). For the Griffiths-II, the QD mean was 96.95 (range 60–124), the locomotors subscale mean was 92.57 (range 49–119). The score of the Griffiths locomotors subscale was significantly higher than the PDI (p < 0.001). Between the Griffiths-II QD and the BSID-II MDI no significant difference was found, and the area under the curve was 0.93, showing good validity. All correlations were high and significant with a Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient >0.8.ConclusionsThe meaning of the results for a given child was the same for the two tests. Two scores were interchangeable, the Griffiths-II QD and the BSID-II MDI.     

Survival from the Brain's Perspective

The concern about man's harmful impact on the environment focuses attention on the external environment, i.e., the real world out there, which may not survive in a form to support life. But supporting life of an individual is in the hands of that individual's brain, which is primarily concerned with various needs of the internal environment, also referred to as the self. Confronted with diverse and often competing needs, the brain has evolved a complexity in man, which makes it doubtful that any one collective strategy may be effective in preserving the external environment.     

The Match Between Recruiters’ Perceptions of Organizational Climate and Personality of the Ideal Applicant for a Management Position

The relationship between recruiters’ perception of the ideal applicant for a managerial position and their perception of organizational climate was examined in real selection procedures. Recruiters (n = 124) from 83 organizations in three sectors of industry participated in this study. They assessed the ideal applicant for the vacant managerial position with personality attributes derived from the Abridged Big Five Circumplex (Hofstee et al. 1992). Furthermore, they described the existing organizational climate with 14 climate scales based on the Competing Values framework of Quinn (1988). Results indicate that recruiters’ perceptions of goal oriented climate dimensions are related to the sector of industry. These perceptions influence the way in which recruiters perceive the ideal manager regarding conscientiousness and compliance. Recruiters’ perceptions concerning other dimensions of organizational climate are not related to the sector of industry and the personality profile of the ideal manager. Homogeneity of personality in organizations will exist for only some personality attributes.     

Reliability and validity of measures of anger/hostility in singapore: Cook & Medley Ho Scale, STAXI and Buss-Durkee hostility inventory

As part of a larger research programme concerned with the role of anger/hostility in heart disease in Singapore, three commonly used measures of anger/hostility (Cook & Medley Ho Scale, STAXI, Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory) were examined for reliability and validity in an Asian population. A total of 968 Singaporean Chinese, Malay and Indian respondents completed one or more of these measures together with measures of symptom and illness experience. In addition, blood pressure and heart rate measures were taken for 201 respondents. Overall, the Ho and STAXI measures had reasonably high internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability for the Buss Durkee measure were high for the total score but variable for the component scales. Correlation and regression showed that the Ho and STAXI appeared to be tapping a common core of variance, which can be characterized as trait anger. Correlations of the Ho and STAXI with health measures produced modest but statistically significant correlations for measures of symptom and illness experience and generally low and non-significant correlations for heart rate and blood pressure.     

Examination of efficacious,efficient, and socially valid error‐correction procedures to teach sight words and prepositions to children with autism spectrum disorder

Prior research shows that learners have idiosyncratic responses to error‐correction procedures during instruction. Thus, assessments that identify error‐correction strategies to include in instruction can aid practitioners in selecting individualized, efficacious, and efficient interventions. The current investigation conducted an assessment to compare 5 error‐correction procedures that have been evaluated in the extant literature and are common in instructional practice for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Results showed that the assessment identified efficacious and efficient error‐correction procedures for all participants, and 1 procedure was efficient for 4 of the 5 participants. To examine the social validity of error‐correction procedures, participants selected among efficacious and efficient interventions in a concurrent‐chains assessment. We discuss the results in relation to prior research on error‐correction procedures and current instructional practices for learners with ASD.     

Psychometric properties of the General Health Questionnaire-12 in a sample of Hong Kong employees

The General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) is a widely used instrument for measuring psychological strain, but the factor structure of the GHQ-12 is inconclusive. The present study examined one-factor, two- and three-factor models of the GHQ-12 using structural equations modelling in a longitudinal data-set of Hong Kong employees. The findings supported a two-factor model consisting of a ‘Social Dysfunction’ factor measured by three items, and an ‘Anxiety/Depression’ factor measured by four items. Implications and limitations are discussed.     

The role of ecological validity in hazard perception assessment

Hazard perception is one of the few quantifiable components of driving competency that can explain the high crash risk of novice drivers (see Horswill & McKenna, 2004). Some studies focused on investigating the stimulus part of hazard perception items by comparing several design features of the displayed traffic scenarios (e.g. Malone et al., 2012; Scialfa et al., 2013). Other empirical studies have been conducted to address the reaction part of hazard perception items (e.g. Vlakveld, 2014). Among others, existing hazard perception tests differ with respect to the ecological validity – the similarity to real-world demands – of the task that has to be completed by the participants (simple reaction, hazard localization, simulated driving, etc.). Based on the findings of general expertise research (see Glaser & Chi, 1988), the hypothesis of the present experiment was that an increased ecological validity of a hazard perception task has a positive effect on the magnitude of performance differences between more and less experienced drivers. 104 learner drivers and 51 experienced drivers were randomly assigned either to a less ecological valid version (multiple choice task) or a higher ecological valid version (reaction task) of a hazard perception test. In both conditions, the same 20 animated hazardous or non-hazardous traffic scenarios were presented. Overall, the experienced drivers outperformed the learner drivers. Principally, both of the applied versions of the test provided a criterion valid measure of driving expertise. However, increasing the ecological validity of the test by using a reaction task was especially beneficial for certain types of scenarios, leading to higher expertise-related differences. In addition, the reaction task provides response time measure as a further valid performance indicator. This allows the identification of those participants who are indeed able to detect a hazard in a certain scenario, but still have deficits in response time, compared to more experienced drivers. According to the present study, it is recommended to choose the reaction task over the multiple choice task to test hazard perception. Whether a further increase in ecological validity of the task would be useful, should be tested empirically in future research.