Further evidence for a bifactor solution for the Consideration of Future Consequences Scale: Measurement and conceptual implications

The Consideration of Future Consequences construct has been found to relate meaningfully to several positive outcomes in temporal research. Researchers have proposed 1-factor, 2-factor, and bifactor solutions to the Consideration of Future Consequences Scale (CFCS). Using 313 British University undergraduates, we tested four competing models: (a) a 12-item unidimensional model, (b) a model fitted for two uncorrelated factors (CFC-Immediate and CFC-Future), (c) a model fitted for two correlated factors (CFC-I and CFC-F), and (d) a bifactor model. Results supported the bifactor model, suggesting that the two hypothesized factors are better understood as grouping factors. Accordingly, the present study supports the CFCS as a unidimensional global future orientation measure. These results have important implications for the study of future orientation using the CFCS. Researchers using the CFCS are encouraged to examine a bifactor solution for the scores.     

Initial development and validity evidence for the processes of change in Psychological Skills Training Questionnaire

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to create and provide validity evidence for the Processes of Change in Psychological Skills Training Questionnaire (PCPSTQ).DesignThe current study used a cross-sectional research design.MethodsFive hundred fifty nine NCAA Division I, professional, and Olympic level athletes participated in the current study. To create the PCPSTQ, an initial pool of 114 items was generated by the research team. After a content validity process, 65 items were retained for analysis. Exploratory structural equation modeling was used as an analytic strategy to identify the most appropriate factor structure for the PCPSTQ. Decisions about the most appropriate model were made using multiple fit indices. To examine the construct validity of the PCPSTQ, a series of one-way ANOVAs were conducted to examine differences in processes of change use across stage of change.ResultsIn the current study, validity evidence provided support for a 7-factor process of change measure (χ² = 325.84, p < .001; Comparative Fit Index = .971; Tucker Lewis Index = .945; Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = .037; Standard Root Mean Square Residual = .020). Results also supported the construct validity of the scale as a significant difference in process of change use across stage of change was reported for all seven processes.ConclusionsResults of the current study support the factor structure and construct validity of the PCPSTQ. It appears that the processes of behavior change reported across multiple behavior change domains might also be viable for sport psychology professionals.     

Within-subject consistency and between-subject variability in Bayesian reasoning strategies

It is well known that people tend to perform poorly when asked to determine a posterior probability on the basis of a base rate, true positive rate, and false positive rate. The present experiments assessed the extent to which individual participants nevertheless adopt consistent strategies in these Bayesian reasoning problems, and investigated the nature of these strategies. In two experiments, one laboratory-based and one internet-based, each participant completed 36 problems with factorially manipulated probabilities. Many participants applied consistent strategies involving use of only one of the three probabilities provided in the problem, or additive combination of two of the probabilities. There was, however, substantial variability across participants in which probabilities were taken into account. In the laboratory experiment, participants’ eye movements were tracked as they read the problems. There was evidence of a relationship between information use and attention to a source of information. Participants’ self-assessments of their performance, however, revealed little confidence that the strategies they applied were actually correct. These results suggest that the hypothesis of base rate neglect actually underestimates people’s difficulty with Bayesian reasoning, but also suggest that participants are aware of their ignorance.     

Evaluating Food Policy Councils Using Structural Equation Modeling

At least 282 Food Policy Councils (FPCs) are currently working to improve access to healthy foods in their communities by connecting food system sectors, gathering community input, and advising food policy. Empirical research on FPCs is limited. This study empirically evaluates FPCs to better understand the relationships between Organizational Capacity, Social Capital, and Council Effectiveness by testing a FPC Framework adapted from Allen and colleagues (2012). Members of all FPCs in the U.S., Canada, and Native American Tribes and First Nations were invited to complete the Food Policy Council Self‐Assessment Tool (FPC‐SAT). Structural equation modeling was used to test the FPC Framework. Three hundred and fifty‐four FPC members from 95 councils completed the FPC‐SAT. After slight modification, a revised FPC Framework was a good fit with the data (χ² = 40.085, df = 24, p‐value = .021, comparative fit index = 0.988, Tucker Lewis index = 0.982, root mean squared error of approximation = 0.044, p‐close = .650). A moderation analysis revealed that community context influences the relationship between Social Capital and Council Effectiveness within the FPC Framework. The FPC Framework can guide capacity building interventions and FPC evaluations. The empirically tested framework can help FPCs efficiently work toward achieving their missions and improving their local food system.     

个人主义文化价值观对疫情控制效果的影响及其计算心理机制

COVID-19疫情是一场重大的全球健康危机, 一些国家在控制COVID-19感染和死亡率上存在明显困难。我们提出, 个人主义的文化价值观不利于对疫情的控制。跨文化分析结果显示, 个人主义文化价值观正向预测COVID-19死亡数、每百万死亡数和死亡率, 独立自我建构负向预测疫情前期控制速度。演化博弈模型和跨文化实验进一步提示, 个人主义文化通过增强个体在疫情背景下的死亡恐惧, 增加个体违反疫情管控的流动性倾向, 从而降低了整体疫情控制的效率。我们的结果支持自然-行为-文化协同进化的理论模型, 提示文化对COVID-19病毒传播管控和死亡可能性的影响, 为各国应对全球公共卫生危机提供了重要科学参考。     

Applying social cognitive career theory to predict interests and choice goals in statistics among Spanish psychology students

This study investigated the usefulness of social cognitive career theory—SCCT (Lent, Brown, and Hackett, 1994) in predicting interests and goals relating to statistics among psychology students. The participants were 1036 Spanish students who completed measurements of statistics-related mastery experiences, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, interests and goals/intentions. Structural equation modeling (including multi-group analysis) was used to test the fit of the hypothesized models to the data. Results indicated support for SCCT as a way to predict students' interests in statistics and their intentions of engaging in academic or professional activities where statistics is used. Collectively, the predictors accounted for 50% of the variance in interests and for 77% of the variance in goals. Implications both for future research on SCCT and for intervention in statistics education are discussed.     

Predicting the biological variability of environmental rhythms: Weak or strong anticipation for sensorimotor synchronization?

The internal processes involved in synchronizing our movements with environmental stimuli have traditionally been addressed using regular metronomic sequences. Regarding real-life environments, however, biological rhythms are known to have intrinsic variability, ubiquitously characterized as fractal long-range correlations. In our research we thus investigate to what extent the synchronization processes drawn from regular metronome paradigms can be generalized to other (biologically) variable rhythms. Participants performed synchronized finger tapping under five conditions of long-range and/or short-range correlated, randomly variable, and regular auditory sequences. Combining experimental data analysis and numerical simulation, we found that synchronizing with biologically variable rhythms involves the same internal processes as with other variable rhythms (whether totally random or comprising lawful regularities), but different from those involved with a regular metronome. This challenges both the generalizability of conclusions drawn from regular-metronome paradigms, and recent research assuming that biologically variable rhythms may trigger specific strong anticipatory processes to achieve synchronization.     

On the Computation of the RMSEA and CFI from the Mean-And-Variance Corrected Test Statistic with Nonnormal Data in SEM

A new type of nonnormality correction to the RMSEA has recently been developed, which has several advantages over existing corrections. In particular, the new correction adjusts the sample estimate of the RMSEA for the inflation due to nonnormality, while leaving its population value unchanged, so that established cutoff criteria can still be used to judge the degree of approximate fit. A confidence interval (CI) for the new robust RMSEA based on the mean-corrected (“Satorra-Bentler”) test statistic has also been proposed. Follow up work has provided the same type of nonnormality correction for the CFI (Brosseau-Liard & Savalei, 2014). These developments have recently been implemented in lavaan. This note has three goals: a) to show how to compute the new robust RMSEA and CFI from the mean-and-variance corrected test statistic; b) to offer a new CI for the robust RMSEA based on the mean-and-variance corrected test statistic; and c) to caution that the logic of the new nonnormality corrections to RMSEA and CFI is most appropriate for the maximum likelihood (ML) estimator, and cannot easily be generalized to the most commonly used categorical data estimators.     

结构方程在心理学研究中的应用

近年来,在教育、社会及心理学等研究领域,结构方程模型(SEM,Structural Equation Modeling)已成为重要的多变量分析方法,并日益受到广大研究者的重视。本文旨在对SEM作简要概述,并讨论其在心理学研究中的应用,以及在应用过程中应该遵循的标准和需要注意的一些问题。     

Does online ticket booking system make people better off? An empirical study on railway service

The Spring Festival Travel Rush (SFTR) as the largest annual migration on earth has been a serious challenge for the railway system in China. In order to reduce the difficulty of ticket purchase, Chinese government has adopted information and communications technology (ICT) include online ticket booking system so that more ticket channels are available for passengers to choose from. However, whether the online ticket booking system in transportation can improve passengers’ well-being with the Spring Festival experience remains unknown. In this study, a structural equation model is developed to investigate the impact of online ticket booking system, socioeconomic status and perceived control on passengers’ well-being during SFTR. Results show that online ticket booking system has a direct positive influence on passengers’ well-being. In addition, the application of online ticket booking system and perceived control play an important mediating role between socioeconomic status and passengers’ well-being of Spring Festival. In particular, online ticket booking system had made it easier for people of lower socioeconomic status to purchase tickets and thus significantly raised their well-being.