Rough‐and‐tumble play in human children

Rough and tumble (R&T) play is a unique set of behaviors that can be reliably distinguished from aggression and other childhood activities. Although it may be the most fundamental form of play, it has received comparatively little experimental attention in the human species. Forty children, ages three to six, were allowed to play in pairs (10 male pairs, 10 female pairs) during a 30 minute videotaped session with no toys available while music played in the background during every other five‐minute time period. The incidence frequency of children's play and related behavioral activities were scored using 20 behavioral categories. The major findings show only modest gender differences in the frequency of play behaviors in such controlled social encounters; the main difference is that boys engaged in slightly more physical play solicitations than girls. Music facilitated General Motor Activities (e.g., Running and Walking behaviors), but not specific R&T play actions (e.g., Wrestling, Ventral and Dorsal contacts). Finally, most play behaviors as well as general activities declined systematically over the course of each recording session. This experiment highlights how human social play can be systematically studied in a controlled laboratory setting. Aggr. Behav. 29:539–551, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

汉语词汇产生中音、形、义三种信息激活的时间进程

采用图-词干扰范式和图片命名方法,探讨语音、语义、字形在汉语词汇产生中激活的时间进程与特点。选择与目标图片名称(如“羊”)具有同音(“阳”)、语义相联(“牛”)、字形相似(“丰”)或无关控制(“冷”)等四种关系的干扰字,依SOA条件呈现在将要被命名的图片上,发现图片命名时间受干扰字的影响：语义干扰效应存在于较早期的SOA(0ms)条件中,在较晚期SOA(150ms)时有很大的减弱;语音促进效应和字形促进效应同时强烈地存在于早期和晚期SOA。实验发现了词条选择(语义激活)和音位编码(语音提取)在激活时间上的重叠现象,与传统的独立两阶段模型的预期存在明显矛盾,倾向于支持交互作用理论的观点。     

A Biodata Inventory Administered via Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Technology: Predictive Validity, Utility, and Subgroup Differences

Although organizations are increasingly using interactive voice response (IVR) systems to help screen and select job applicants, few if any published studies have investigated the effectiveness of such systems. The current study responded to this need by evaluating a biodata inventory administered via IVR technology. A predictive validity study revealed that both a 42-item biodata measure and a more parsimonious 6-item composite correlated with supervisor ratings of performance and did not result in adverse impact or differential prediction. In addition, a utility analysis indicated that both IVR biodata measures would likely result in considerable financial gains to the hiring organization. The implications of these results for selection research and practice are discussed.     

The capacity to be an analyst: A contribution from attachment research to the study of candidate selection

In this paper the author discusses how the study of candidate selection, once a topic of vibrant research, has unfortunately languished. Certain qualities were thought to characterize the successful candidate. However, they were never successfully operationalized nor empirically tested. Possibly because of this lack of empirical data, selectors today have difficulty articulating their criteria and are relying on intuition. In order to provide a more rational basis for contemporary selection, the author looks to the attachment literature. This makes sense because attachment theory shares some basic assumptions of contemporary psychoanalysis. The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) is a research tool that predicts the ability of a parent to convey attachment security. It is scored by attending to how a person speaks about his early attachment experiences. The AAI appears to tap into similar qualities to those selection researchers have sought in their candidates. Further, the scoring method of the AAI appears to be similar to the last attempt by selection researchers to operationalize them. Given these similarities, the author recommends an empirical study using the AAI to operationalize these qualities in analytic candidates. The study would test their importance for success in the training program, thus offering selectors some empirical grounding for their choices.     

Mothers’ physical interventions in toddler play in a low-income,African American sample

This mixed method study examined 28 low-income African American mothers’ physical interventions in their 14-month-old toddlers’ play. Inductive methods were used to identify six physical intervention behaviors, the affect accompanying physical interventions, and apparent reasons for intervening. Nonparametric statistical analyses determined that toddlers experienced physical intervention largely in the context of positive maternal affect. Mothers of boys expressed highly positive affect while physically intervening more than mothers of girls. Most physically intervening acts seemed to be motivated by maternal intent to show or tell children how to play or to correct play deemed incorrect. Neutral affect was the most common toddler affect type following physical intervention, but boys were more likely than girls to be upset immediately after physical interventions. Physical interventions intended to protect health and safety seemed the least likely to elicit toddler upset.     

Validity of Stimulus and Response Components in a Video Test of Social Competence

Various stimulus components (video, orally-presented questions) and response components (multiple-choice, written, orally-given replies) of situational judgement tests of occupational social competency were investigated as to their impact upon the validity for a behavior-oriented role playing criterion while keeping test content constant. The stimulus component video alone had no impact upon validity. The response components contributed to validity. Validity increased with improved fidelity of response components. Concerning stimulus-response-combinations, the validity of two video tests (r = 0.17 and r = 0.36) was not higher than the validity of similar oral questioning (r = 0.13 and r = 0.37) but was significantly lower than a situational interview (r = 0.59). Response fidelity proved to be a bottleneck regarding validity of video tests. As a result, it is recommended that, in order to maximize validity of video and multimedia efforts, the developers of video- and multimedia tests focus special attention on response fidelity.     

Book Reviews

Schabracq, Marc J., Winnibst, Jacques A.M. and Cooper, Cary L., Handbook of Work and Health Psychology Bandura, Albert, Self-efficacy: the exercise of control Wiggins, Jerry S. The Five-Factor Model of Personality. Theoretical Perspectives Arredondo, Patricia, Successful diversity management initiatives: a blueprint for planning and implementation     

Bayesian Factor Analysis as a Variable-Selection Problem: Alternative Priors and Consequences

Factor analysis is a popular statistical technique for multivariate data analysis. Developments in the structural equation modeling framework have enabled the use of hybrid confirmatory/exploratory approaches in which factor-loading structures can be explored relatively flexibly within a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) framework. Recently, Muthén & Asparouhov proposed a Bayesian structural equation modeling (BSEM) approach to explore the presence of cross loadings in CFA models. We show that the issue of determining factor-loading patterns may be formulated as a Bayesian variable selection problem in which Muthén and Asparouhov's approach can be regarded as a BSEM approach with ridge regression prior (BSEM-RP). We propose another Bayesian approach, denoted herein as the Bayesian structural equation modeling with spike-and-slab prior (BSEM-SSP), which serves as a one-stage alternative to the BSEM-RP. We review the theoretical advantages and disadvantages of both approaches and compare their empirical performance relative to two modification indices-based approaches and exploratory factor analysis with target rotation. A teacher stress scale data set is used to demonstrate our approach.     

Probabilistic Inferences Under Emotional Stress: How Arousal Affects Decision Processes

Many models of decision making neglect emotional states that could affect individuals' cognitive processes. The present work explores the effect of emotional stress on people's cognitive processes when making probabilistic inferences. Two contrasting hypotheses are tested against one another: the uncertainty‐reduction and attention‐narrowing hypotheses of how emotional stress affects decision making. In the experimental study, emotional stress was induced through the use of highly aversive pictures immediately before each decision. Emotional state was assessed by both subjective (state anxiety, arousal, and pleasantness ratings) and objective (skin conductance) measures. The results show that emotional stress impacts decision making; in particular, emotionally aroused participants seem to have focused on the most important information and selected simpler decision strategies relative to participants in a control condition. The results are in line with the attention‐narrowing hypothesis and suggest that emotional stress can impact decision making through limited predecisional information search and the selection of simpler decision strategies. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.