Is Psychology Based on a Methodological Error?

It is believed a proven fact that variables in social and personality psychology match to normal distribution with its single peak. Multiple peaks are explained by independent variables. However, after a comprehensive data analysis of more than 8.000 patients and on the basis of a bio-psycho-social model with 27 scales, we arrived at the conclusion that normal distribution and the psychometric error theory cannot withstand critical analysis in large samples. Beyond the “truth” that is proved by distribution-dependent statistical inferences, there exists another “truth” that is denied by the empirical doctrine. This “truth” is influenced by compensatory belief systems and explains paradoxes in quality of life research. We hypothesize that items, referred to life risks are micro-stressors, triggering self-regulatory processes as a humanly inherent response, deeply anchored in human evolution. Especially when exposed to threatening experiences, self-focused attention generates amplified multimodal distributions and subverts the methodological premises by an ambivalence-bias between thrill and threat, hopes and fears, pleasure and pain, success and failure, etc. In this article we want to focus attention to the incommensurability between test theoretical axioms and the way people usually respond to self-focused items. We discuss basic distribution patterns and approach to an evolutionary theory of fluctuation of validity.

Emotional and behavioral reactions to social undermining: A closer look at perceived offender motives

This study examined how perceptions of underlying offender motives affect victims’ emotional and behavioral reactions toward their offender. Perceived offender motives of malice and greed were embedded in a cognition–emotion–behavior model based on theories of attribution, forgiveness and revenge, and tested in the context of social undermining. Findings suggested that victims distinguished between offender malice and greed, and that these attributions shaped subsequent emotional reactions, which in turn demonstrated independent relations with revenge, avoidance, and reconciliation.     

A Psychometric Analysis of the Child Behavior Checklist DSM-Oriented Scales

The Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6–18 (CBCL/6-18) possesses newly developed DSM-Oriented Scales, constructed through expert clinical judgment to match selected categories for behavioral/emotional problems as described in the DSM-IV. The present investigation examined the basic psychometric properties for all six DSM-Oriented Scales (i.e., Affective, Anxiety, Somatic, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity, Oppositional, and Conduct Scales) in a large clinical sample of children and adolescents (N = 673). Findings from the present study provide strong evidence for the reliability, as well as convergent and discriminative validity, of these scales. It appears that the DSM-Oriented Scales may provide accurate supplementary information that may be considered when formulating clinical diagnoses.

Diagnostic Discrimination of Patients with Different OCD Main Symptom Domains from each Other and from Anxious and Depressive Controls

The extent to which the subscales of multidimensional OCD measures accurately distinguish patients with specific OCD main symptom domains from controls at different cutscores has not yet been examined. Diagnostic accuracy of OCD measures usually is determined by comparing the total scores of heterogeneous OCD samples and controls and therefore may underestimate the measures’ discrimination potential. In the current study, subtype-specific diagnostic accuracy and criterion-related validity of the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R) subscales were examined in 327 patients with OCD, anxiety, and/or depressive disorders. All subscales demonstrated good to excellent criterion-related validity and diagnostic accuracy for distinguishing patients with specific OCD main symptom domains from controls. As expected, the single OCI-R subscales lead to more accurate diagnostic decisions than the total scale. Thus, the subscale-specific cutscores significantly improve the OCI-R’s utility for subtype-specific treatment planning and outcome measurement. Furthermore, an alternative classification algorithm distinguishing patients with OCD from controls based on subscale cutscores leads to a better sensitivity, but also to a lower specificity than discrimination based on the total scale cutscore.     

How to find what's in a name: Scrutinizing the optimality of five scoring algorithms for the name‐letter task

Although the name‐letter task (NLT) has become an increasingly popular technique to measure implicit self‐esteem (ISE), researchers have relied on different algorithms to compute NLT scores and the psychometric properties of these differently computed scores have never been thoroughly investigated. Based on 18 independent samples, including 2690 participants, the current research examined the optimality of five scoring algorithms based on the following criteria: reliability; variability in reliability estimates across samples; types of systematic error variance controlled for; systematic production of outliers and shape of the distribution of scores. Overall, an ipsatized version of the original algorithm exhibited the most optimal psychometric properties, which is recommended for future research using the NLT. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Psychometric properties of scales in the General Nordic Questionnaire for Psychological and Social Factors at Work (QPSNordic): Confirmatory factor analysis and prediction of certified long-term sickness absence

Psychometric properties, particularly predictive validity, of scales in the General Nordic Questionnaire for Psychological and Social Factors at Work (QPS_Nordic) were assessed. The analysis is confined to the scales in the QPS_Nordic, and 24 of the 26 scales are included. A large group of Swedish county council employees ( n = 3,976; response rate = 65%) participated in a study and were given the QPS_Nordic. Register data for long-term sick leave (>90 days), with diagnosis, were used for predictive analysis. The following main results were obtained: Reliability was generally satisfactory, confirmatory factor analysis indicated good fit, concurrent validity was good, some less often investigated organizational variables predicted sickness absence, and scales were differentially associated with absence due to psychiatric and musculoskeletal disorders. In conclusion, the psychometric testing of the QPS_Nordic so far suggests that it is a good instrument for assessing health-related factors at work.     

Testing the latent factor structure and construct validity of the Ten-Item Personality Inventory

Recent efforts have aimed to develop relatively short measures of the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality, particularly for when time and/or space is limited. We evaluate the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI), a non-proprietary FFM measure with two items per dimension. We use a latent variable methodology to examine the TIPI’s factor structure and convergent validity with the 50-item International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) FFM measure. We provide correlations between the scale scores and latent factors, and compare each measure’s pattern of correlations with measures of other individual difference constructs. Results were favorable in terms of the factor structure and convergent validity of the TIPI, particularly regarding the correlations between the respective latent factors of the TIPI and the IPIP–FFM measures.     

计算机自动化项目生成概述

近年来,计算机自动化项目生成作为应对测验项目曝光问题的很具前景的一项技术,逐渐得到越来越多研究者的重视。这种技术是以认知心理学和心理测量学为基础,在测试过程中借助计算机自动生成目标难度水平的项目。该文首先简要介绍了这种技术的理论基础和两种具体方法,然后以项目设计系统法为例说明自动化项目生成研究的具体步骤与优点,最后评述了这种技术的局限性及未来的发展趋势     

近乎完美量表修订版（APS-R）的中文修订

对近乎完美量表修订版（APS-R）进行中文修订,并考察其信度和效度。1174名大学生参加正式测试,321名学生7周后参加了复测。结果显示,量表的内部一致性信度、分半信度和重测信度比较理想;探索性因素分析和验证性因素分析均支持APS-R的高标准、差异和秩序的理论建构;高标准分量表与自尊、自我效能感、正性情绪呈正相关,差异分量表与抑郁、特质焦虑、状态焦虑和负性情绪呈正相关。APS-R中文修订版具有较高的信效度,可以作为国内完美主义研究、心理咨询和治疗工作的一个有效工具。     

情绪状态对学生创造性的影响

研究了情绪状态对学生创造性影响的问题。被试为上海师范大学第三附属中学初二的学生 2 2 0名 ,其中男生 10 4人 ,女生 116人 ,年龄 13～ 14岁。由于国外已有研究的结果并不统一 ,研究的方法也缺乏生态化效度 ,因此本文试图通过教学现场实验 ,运用实际教学情境中的刺激来诱发学生愉快—难过情绪 ,以探索在教学情境中学生情绪状态对其创造性影响状况。研究结果表明 ,学生在愉快情绪状态下的创造性总体发挥水平显著高于难过情绪状态 (t=2 0 2 5 ,p =0 0 4 5 ) ,且主要体现在流畅性和变通性两个方面