时间变量对大学新生人格特质的影响

以台湾地区某大学新生,从1998至2003共六届3141人为对象,分析人格改变情形,统计结果发现13项人格特质的赖氏人格量表中达显著差异的有6项,包括社会外向、攻击性、变异性、神经质、自卑感及虚伪性。性别分析达显著差异的共7项,包括活动性、客观性、协调性、攻击性、变异性、自卑感及神经质;男学生显著高于女学生的有活动性及攻击性,女学生显著高于男学生的有客观性、协调性、变异性、自卑感及神经质。结果显示在时间变量中,大学新生的人格的确发生了转变。     

Prediction Consistency: A Test of the Equivalence Assumption Across Different Indicators of the Same Construct.

Prominent theoretical constructs such as the Big Five personality factors often inspire the development and use of different inventories. This practice rests on the vital assumption that different indicators equivalently assess the same construct—otherwise, it would often be inappropriate to draw conclusions on the construct level. In comparison to the evidence typically relied on to support this equivalence assumption, we argue that a direct test of prediction consistency will provide further insights: prediction consistency is a necessary condition for the equivalence assumption that indicators from different inventories predict an external criterion to the same extent. Here, we outline guidelines how to design studies to establish prediction consistency and illustrate this approach in an experiment testing the prediction consistency of the Agreeableness indicators from three prominent Big Five inventories. Specifically, we considered prediction consistency with respect to honesty (vs. cheating) as the behavioral criterion for which a specific a priori hypothesis can be derived on theoretical grounds. Results contradicted predictions consistency and thus the equivalence assumption by showing qualitatively different relations to behavioral honesty, thereby also emphasizing that the interchangeability of inventories should generally be subjected to a strict test, rather than assumed. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Psychological Predictors of Neurobehavioral Symptoms in a Polytrauma Veteran Sample

Given the high prevalence of comorbid conditions found in polytrauma settings, effective screening measures are needed. Several screening tools are commonly used in polytrauma clinics within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This study examined the use of three screening measures—the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and PTSD Checklist–Civilian Version (PCL-C)—to predict scores on the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory (NSI). Research suggests that the presence of mental health conditions, such as PTSD, shares a significant amount of variance with postconcussive symptoms. The investigators hypothesized that the PCL-C would be the best predictor of scores on the NSI. All subjects were administered the screening measures as part of an evaluation in an outpatient Level III polytrauma clinic. Regression analysis was used to determine which instrument might serve as the best predictor of NSI total scores. Regression analysis revealed that BAI, BDI-II, and PCL-C total scores were good predictors of NSI total scores, with the BAI accounting for the majority of the variance. Mental health conditions can account for higher scores on the NSI, and screening of other mental health conditions should be taken into account when reviewing the NSI for individuals in polytrauma settings.     

Coping Style Following Acute Stress in Competitive Sport

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to ascertain coping styles among competitive athletes in response to various acute stressors. Specifically, the authors used a 134-item survey to measure approach and avoidance coping styles, with task-focused and emotion-focused coping tendencies nested hierarchically as subdimensions under each. Australian and U.S. college-aged participants indicated the extent to which they used approach, avoidance, task-focused, and emotion-focused coping strategies (a 4-factor model) in response to selected acute stressors experienced during sport competition. The authors computed confirmatory factor analysis to test the theoretically driven model. The criterion loading of .30 and above for each of the factors reduced the survey to 65 items. Findings indicated stronger links between the 2 approach constructs of task- and emotion-focused coping than between the 2 avoidance constructs of those subdimensions. The goodness-of-fit indices for the 4-factor model were 0.58 and 0.57 for Australian and U.S. samples, respectively, and .71 overall. Concomitant low correlations between the 2 approach (0.18) and the 2 avoidance dimensions (0.43) reflected relatively high residuals between stressors. In general, psychometric analyses suggest that coping style may be more prevalent in some situations than others, lending partial support for the transactional model of coping.     

Psychotherapy and problem-solving appraisal: Science informing practice to help people solve unsolvable problems

Clients come to psychotherapy because they have difficult and stressful problems that they are unable to resolve on their own. Advances in the applied problem-solving literature can now inform clinical interventions. This article focuses on the most commonly used problem-solving assessment tool, the Problem-Solving Inventory (PSI); empirical findings from well over 120 studies are used to inform clinical practice. The article will first discuss the PSI, what it measures, and then summarize the empirical research findings most relevant for clinical interventions. Second, based on the PSI empirical research, therapeutic and preventative implications will be discussed with clinical illustrations. The article concludes with a number of implications for psychotherapy both in terms of remedial and preventative interventions.     

Establishing a trait anxiety threshold that signals likelihood of anxiety disorders

Abstract

Evidence suggests that the State Trait Inventory for Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety (STICSA) may be a more pure measure of anxiety than other commonly used scales. Further, the STICSA has excellent psychometric properties in both clinical and nonclinical samples. The present study aimed to extend the utility of the STICSA – Trait version by identifying a cut-off score that could differentiate a group of clinically diagnosed anxiety disorder patients (n=398) from a group of student controls (n =439). Two receiver operating characteristic curve analyses indicated cut-off scores of 43 (sensitivity=.73, specificity=.74, classification accuracy=.74) and 40 (sensitivity=.80, specificity=.67, classification accuracy=.73), respectively. In a large community sample (n =6685), a score of 43 identified 11.5% of individuals as probable cases of clinical anxiety, while a score of 40 identified 17.0% of individuals as probable cases of clinical anxiety. As a result of differences in sensitivity and specificity, the present findings suggest a cut-off score of 43 is optimal to identify probable cases of clinical anxiety, while a cut-off score of 40 is optimal to screen for the possible presence of anxiety disorders.     

Readdressing Gender Bias in the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory-Short Form

The short form of the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI) was evaluated for gender bias. The authors replicated a study by L. Francis and D. James (1998) and administered the SEI to 361 middle and high school students (146 boys, 215 girls). They found that gender bias existed in 6 of the 25 items on the SEI, with 5 of those items favoring boys. Because recent literature indicates that male and female adolescents experience problems in different areas of their lives, the authors suggest that researchers consider such differences when selecting items for a standardized measure.     

The link between preschoolers' executive function and theory of mind and the role of epistemic states

The aim of this study was to assess the specific relation between 3- to 6-year-olds’ performance on a task measuring executive function (EF), the Dimensional Change Card Sort task (DCCS), and different developmental attainments in their theory of mind (ToM) by employing a battery of scaled ToM tasks that were comparable in task format and task demands. In addition, individual differences on the temperamental dimensions emotionality, activity, sociability, and shyness were assessed by parental rating. The main findings show that children’s (N = 195) performance on the DCCS related to their overall performance on the ToM scale but that this relation was specific to those ToM tasks that tap children’s understanding of epistemic states such as knowledge access, diverse beliefs, and false beliefs regarding content and location. The relation between children’s EF and overall ToM performance remained significant after controlling for age, sentence comprehension, child temperament, and parental education. Individual differences in child activity showed consistent negative relation to EF and ToM abilities. The findings point to a differential involvement of the various EF components in reasoning about different mental concepts.     

Maternal postpartum depressive symptoms predict delay in non-verbal communication in 14-month-old infants

We investigated the potential relationship between maternal depressive symptoms during the postpartum period and non-verbal communication skills of infants at 14 months of age in a birth cohort study of 951 infants and assessed what factors may influence this association. Maternal depressive symptoms were measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, and non-verbal communication skills were measured using the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories, which include Early Gestures and Later Gestures domains. Infants whose mothers had a high level of depressive symptoms (13+ points) during both the first month postpartum and at 10 weeks were approximately 0.5 standard deviations below normal in Early Gestures scores and 0.5–0.7 standard deviations below normal in Later Gestures scores. These associations were independent of potential explanations, such as maternal depression/anxiety prior to birth, breastfeeding practices, and recent depressive symptoms among mothers. These findings indicate that infants whose mothers have postpartum depressive symptoms may be at increased risk of experiencing delay in non-verbal development.     

人员选拔中人格问卷可用性之争

个性调查问卷旨在通过一系列专门设计问题的施测结果来预测候选人的工作绩效。以往的研究由于对工作绩效内涵及对应参照效标的界定、问题设计的逻辑基础等方面存在各自的局限, 一直以来对个性调查问卷的有效性存在分歧。文章对此进行了全面综述与分析, 并提出了从平衡计分卡四个维度定义工作绩效参照效标, 采用内嵌并纵贯模式跟踪候选人工作绩效参照效标, 应是检验并提升个性调查问卷预测效度值得探索的研究方向。