German version of the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire – Appearance Scales (MBSRQ-AS): Confirmatory factor analysis and validation

The Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ) is a widely used questionnaire that measures body image as a multidimensional construct. The Appearance Scales (AS) of the MBSRQ (Appearance Evaluation, Appearance Orientation, Body Areas Satisfaction, Overweight Preoccupation and Self-Classified Weight) are subscales which facilitate a parsimonious assessment of appearance-related aspects of body image. The current study tested the psychometric properties and factor structure of a German translation of the MBSRQ-AS. Participants were n = 230 female patients with the SCID diagnosis of an eating disorder and n = 293 female healthy controls. In a confirmatory factor analysis, convincing goodness-of-fit indices emerged. The subscales of the questionnaire yielded good reliability and convergent and discriminant validity coefficients, with most items showing excellent characteristics. Like the English version, the German adaptation of the questionnaire can be recommended for a multidimensional assessment of appearance-related aspects of body image in both research and clinical practice.     

The organization of conspecific face space in nonhuman primates

Humans and chimpanzees demonstrate numerous cognitive specializations for processing faces, but comparative studies with monkeys suggest that these may be the result of recent evolutionary adaptations. The present study utilized the novel approach of face space, a powerful theoretical framework used to understand the representation of face identity in humans, to further explore species differences in face processing. According to the theory, faces are represented by vectors in a multidimensional space, the centre of which is defined by an average face. Each dimension codes features important for describing a face's identity, and vector length codes the feature's distinctiveness. Chimpanzees and rhesus monkeys discriminated male and female conspecifics’ faces, rated by humans for their distinctiveness, using a computerized task. Multidimensional scaling analyses showed that the organization of face space was similar between humans and chimpanzees. Distinctive faces had the longest vectors and were the easiest for chimpanzees to discriminate. In contrast, distinctiveness did not correlate with the performance of rhesus monkeys. The feature dimensions for each species’ face space were visualized and described using morphing techniques. These results confirm species differences in the perceptual representation of conspecific faces, which are discussed within an evolutionary framework.     

Influence of Cognitive Factors on Sexual Assault Recovery: Descriptive Review and Methodological Concerns

This article aims to verify whether the empirical data presented in the literature on sexually assaulted victims support the hypothesis advanced by various aetiological models, which is that cognitions play an important role in the development and maintenance of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The first objective is to present state-of-the-art results on sexually assaulted victims' post-traumatic cognitions and their link to post-assault symptomatology. The second objective is to analyse the various methodological facets of those studies. Finally, paths for future studies are traced and recommendations are made.     

How Much Older Do You Get When a Wrinkle Appears on Your Face? Modifying Age Estimates by Number of Wrinkles

ABSTRACT

The present study investigated the influence of wrinkles on facial age judgments. In Experiment 1, preadolescents, young adults, and middle-aged adults made categorical age judgments for male and female faces. The qualitative (type of wrinkle) and quantitative (density of wrinkles and depth of furrows) contributions of wrinkles were analyzed. Results indicated that the greater the number of wrinkles and the depth of furrows, the older a face was rated. The roles of the gender of the face and the age of the participants were discussed. In Experiment 2, participants performed relative age judgments by comparing pairs of faces. Results revealed that the number of wrinkles had more influence on the perceived facial age than the type of wrinkle. A MDS analysis showed the main dimensions on which participants based their judgments, namely, the number of wrinkles and the depth of furrows. We conclude that the quantitative component is more likely to increase perceived facial age. Nevertheless, other variables, such as the gender of the face and the age of the participants, also seem to be involved in the age estimation process.     

Examining the structure of emotional intelligence at the item level: New perspectives,new conclusions

Despite twenty years of research, many unknowns remain regarding the Mayer–Salovey (e.g., 1997) model of emotional intelligence (EI) and the validity of tests that have been designed to measure it. Evidence relevant to the internal structure of EI has come mainly from factor-analytic studies of the MSCEIT and the MEIS, utilising parcelled task scores rather than individual test items. This approach has several deficiencies: in addition to the loss of item-level information, it results in an insufficient number of observed variables per factor and an inability to separate structural sources of local item dependence (i.e., method variance) from construct-related variance. The present study (N=707) employed multidimensional item response modelling to investigate the dimensional structure of the MSCEIT, at the item level, for the first time. It is shown that item format and the specific choice of task explain far more of the variance in response patterns than does the hypothesised dimensional structure of EI, to the point that there is no empirical reason to prefer a higher-dimensional model of EI over a unidimensional model. It is argued that the advantage of an item-level perspective can be fundamental, rather than merely incremental.     

Anxiety and Depression: Evidence for the Differentiation of Commonly Cooccurring Constructs

Anxiety and depression frequently cooccur diagnostically. This observation has led researchers to investigate whether anxiety and depression can be meaningfully distinguished as unique theoretical constructs or whether they are better conceptualized as features of a general psychological distress. In the present study, we attempted to differentiate self-reported state and trait anxiety from depression in a university sample (N = 593) using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Endler Multidimensional Anxiety Scales (EMAS). In addition, we examined the relationship among self-reported anxiety, depression, and neuroticism to determine the extent to which the Anxiety and Depression facet scales of the NEO Personality Inventory—Revised represent distinct and mutually exclusive measures of anxiety and depression. Principal-components analyses and a series of multiple regression models were used to conduct this investigation. Results indicate that both state and trait anxiety and depression can be reliably differentiated with the BDI and the EMAS. Results also suggest that invoking a single general distress factor to explain the strong interrelationships between anxiety and depression in nonclinical samples is premature.     

多维测验项目参数的估计：基于SEM与MIRT方法的比较

作者简要回顾了SEM框架下分类数据因素分析(CCFA)模型和MIRT框架下测验题目和潜在能力的关系模型, 对两种框架下的主要参数估计方法进行了总结。通过模拟研究, 比较了SEM框架下WLSc和WLSMV估计方法与MIRT框架下MLR和MCMC估计方法的差异。研究结果表明：(1) WLSc得到参数估计的偏差最大, 且存在参数收敛的问题; (2)随着样本量增大, 各种项目参数估计的精度均提高, WLSMV方法与MLR方法得到的参数估计精度差异很小, 大多数情况下不比MCMC方法差; (3)除WLSc方法外, 随着每个维度测验题目的增多参数估计的精度逐渐增高; (4)测验维度对区分度参数和难度参数的影响较大, 而测验维度对项目因素载荷和阈值的影响相对较小; (5)项目参数的估计精度受项目测量维度数的影响, 只测量一个维度的项目参数估计精度较高。另外文章还对两种方法在实际应用中应该注意的问题提供了一些建议。     

The underlying structure of the Beck Depression Inventory II: A multidimensional scaling approach

The purpose of the present study was to confirm Beck’s six symptom categorization of depression through the most recent version of Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) by employing a confirmatory multidimensional scaling (MDS). This analysis indicates two independent dimensions in the BDI-II. The disturbance domain dimension relates to the domains wherein the disturbances occur, and validates Beck’s six symptom categorization dividing the items into disturbances in basic need-satisfaction, energy regulation, focused attention, regulation of emotion, motivation, and cognitive distortion in self-evaluation. The level of arousal dimension relates to how the disturbances are expressed, namely in an under-active, regular, or over-active manifestation. The MDS solution suggests 18 (6 × 3) symptom areas of depression, and may serve as a guide for constructing additional items.     

Optimal Scoring of the Multidimensional Pain Inventory in a Chronic Pain Sample

The Multidimensional Pain Inventory (MPI) is one of the most commonly used self-report instruments in pain settings. The MPI can be used to classify patients into three clusters or its nine scales can be treated as dimensions in efforts to understand patient heterogeneity. Previous research suggests the existence of a fourth cluster, whose members have been labeled ‘repressors,’ that emerges with the addition of a defensiveness scale to the MPI. The current paper compared the abilities of MPI cluster and dimensional models with and without a measure of defensiveness to capture variability in validating variables related to personality, psychopathology, physical functioning, and treatment outcome in a chronic pain sample. Results suggest that dimensional models consistently outperform cluster models in explaining variance in outcome variables, and that the addition of a measure of defensiveness increments the validity offered by the MPI scales. Implications for the assessment of pain patients are discussed.

Multidimensional scaling of hierarchical sorting data applied to facial expressions

A new algorithm for multidimensional scaling analysis of sorting data and hierarchical-sorting data is tested by applying it to facial expressions of emotion. We construct maps in “facial expression space” for two sets of still photographs: the I-FEEL series (expressions displayed spontaneously by infants and young children), and a subset of the Lightfoot series (posed expressions, all from one actress). The analysis avoids potential artefacts by fitting a map directly to the subject's judgments, rather than transforming the data into a matrix of estimated dissimilarities as an intermediate step. The results for both stimulus sets display an improvement in the extent to which they agree with existing maps. Some points emerge about the limitations of sorting data and the need for caution when interpreting MDS configurations derived from them.