Detecting inattentive respondents by machine learning: A generic technique that substitutes for the directed questions scale and compensates for its shortcomings

Web surveys are often used to collect data for psychological research. However, the inclusion of many inattentive respondents can be a problem. Various methods for detecting inattentive respondents have been proposed, most of which require the inclusion of additional items in the survey for detection or the calculation of variables for detection after data collection. This study proposes a method for detecting inattentive respondents in web surveys using machine learning. The method requires only the collection of response time and the inclusion of a Likert scale, eliminating the need to include special detection items in the survey. Based on data from 16 web surveys, a method was developed using predictor variables not included in existing methods. While previous machine learning methods for detecting inattentive respondents can only be applied to the same surveys as the data on which the models were developed, the proposed model is generic and can be applied to any questionnaire as long as response time is available, and a Likert scale is included. In addition, the proposed method showed partially higher accuracy than existing methods.

Therapists' perspective on acceptance of robot-assisted physical rehabilitation in a middle-income country: a study from Vietnam

Robot-assisted physical rehabilitation offers promising benefits for patients, yet its adoption among therapists remains a complex challenge. This study investigates the acceptance of robot-assisted physical rehabilitation technology among therapists in Vietnam, a middle-income country with a growing demand for rehabilitation services. Drawing on the Technology Acceptance Model 2 (TAM2) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), an online survey and semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore therapists' attitudes and intentions towards using this technology. The results show that Vietnamese therapists recognised its potential benefits and expressed a willingness to use it. Although having similar acceptance patterns compared to developed regions, they demonstrated significantly higher levels of agreement across acceptance constructs. This may be attributed to factors such as the novelty effect, cultural perceptions of robots, and the high workload of therapists in Vietnam. Gender and location were found to influence two acceptance constructs-subjective norms and image, respectively-highlighting the need for tailored strategies in technology implementation. The study underscores the importance of considering socio-cultural factors in the adoption of technology and provides insights for enhancing the acceptance and effectiveness of robot-assisted physical rehabilitation in Vietnam. This contributes to the global understanding of therapist acceptance of technology in this field.

On assessing trait rumination using the Ruminative Response Scale

Introduction

This study explores the stability of scores on psychometrically validated trait questionnaires over time. We illustrate potential pitfalls through a larger study that used the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) to categorize participants prior to study inclusion into two groups based on their habitual tendency to ruminate. Surprisingly, when we re-administered the RRS at the start of an experimental session, significant score changes occurred, resulting in participants shifting between the two groups.

Methods

To address this, we modified our recruitment process, aiming to reduce careless responses, including an online RRS assessment a week before the lab appointment. We analyzed the different samples prior to and after changing the recruitment procedure, as well as the total sample regarding the psychometric properties of the RRS. We also explored various indices to identify and predict score changes due to careless responding; however, only a subgroup of participants was successfully identified.

Results

Our findings suggest that Mahalanobis distances are effective for identifying substantial score changes, with baseline state rumination emerging as a marginally significant predictor.

Discussion

We discuss the importance of conducting manipulation checks and offer practical implications for research involving psychometrically validated trait questionnaires.

"And I still remember it to this day": A qualitative exploration of retrospective memories of school-based recess

Objectives

Previous research has shown the most common memory of physical education (PE) was embarrassment, and that childhood memories of PE relate to physical activity (PA) attitude, intention, and sedentary behavior in adulthood [13]. Recess memories may have a similar effect on adult attitudes towards PA, given that recess is a physically active part of the school day, yet is more autonomous and less supervised than PE. Recent literature has supported this, as Massey and colleagues (2021b) reported memories of recess enjoyment were associated with PA enjoyment in adulthood, whereas negative recess memories were associated with social isolation. In an effort to better understand recess memories, and how they may be related to adult behaviors, the purpose of this study was to examine qualitative descriptions of adults' worst recess memories as it related to physical and social health.

Study design

Mixed methods design; inductive content analysis and analysis of covariance.

Methods

As part of a larger project, 433 participants between the ages of 19 and 77 (M = 44.91; SD = 15.35) were asked to recall their worst recess memories and the grades in which those memories occurred. Participants identified as predominantly female (52%), White (72%), and college educated (46%). Data analysis was conducted via an inductive content analysis by three research team members.

Results

The most common negative memories included isolating experiences, physical injuries, victimization, and contextual factors (e.g., weather). Through a series of analysis of covariance, self-reported isolation and self-efficacy of exercise were significantly related to participants with social isolation and physical injury memories respectively.

Conclusions

This study adds to a growing line of research documenting the importance of recess as a developmentally impactful environment with implications for physical and emotional health.

Too Anecdotal to Be True? Mechanical Turk Is Not All Bots and Bad Data: Response to Webb and Tangney (2022)

In response to Webb and Tangney (2022) we call into question the conclusion that data collected on Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) was "at best-only 2.6% valid" (p. 1). We suggest that Webb and Tangney made certain choices during the study-design and data-collection process that adversely affected the quality of the data collected. As a result, the anecdotal experience of these authors provides weak evidence that MTurk provides low-quality data as implied. In our commentary we highlight best practice recommendations and make suggestions for more effectively collecting and screening online panel data.

Inattentive responding can induce spurious associations between task behaviour and symptom measures

Although online samples have many advantages for psychiatric research, some potential pitfalls of this approach are not widely understood. Here we detail circumstances in which spurious correlations may arise between task behaviour and symptom scores. The problem arises because many psychiatric symptom surveys have asymmetric score distributions in the general population, meaning that careless responders on these surveys will show apparently elevated symptom levels. If these participants are similarly careless in their task performance, this may result in a spurious association between symptom scores and task behaviour. We demonstrate this pattern of results in two samples of participants recruited online (total N = 779) who performed one of two common cognitive tasks. False-positive rates for these spurious correlations increase with sample size, contrary to common assumptions. Excluding participants flagged for careless responding on surveys abolished the spurious correlations, but exclusion based on task performance alone was less effective.

Comparing Person-Fit and Traditional Indices Across Careless Response Patterns in Surveys

Methods to identify carelessness in survey research can be valuable tools in reducing bias during survey development, validation, and use. Because carelessness may take multiple forms, researchers typically use multiple indices when identifying carelessness. In the current study, we extend the literature on careless response identification by examining the usefulness of three item-response theory-based person-fit indices for both random and overconsistent careless response identification: infit MSE outfit MSE, and the polytomous lz statistic. We compared these statistics with traditional careless response indices using both empirical data and simulated data. The empirical data included 2,049 high school student surveys of teaching effectiveness from the Network for Educator Effectiveness. In the simulated data, we manipulated type of carelessness (random response or overconsistency) and percent of carelessness present (0%, 5%, 10%, 20%). Results suggest that infit and outfit MSE and the lz statistic may provide complementary information to traditional indices such as LongString, Mahalanobis Distance, Validity Items, and Completion Time. Receiver operating characteristic curves suggested that the person-fit indices showed good sensitivity and specificity for classifying both over-consistent and under-consistent careless patterns, thus functioning in a bidirectional manner. Carelessness classifications based on low fit values correlated with carelessness classifications from LongString and completion time, and classifications based on high fit values correlated with classifications from Mahalanobis Distance. We consider implications for research and practice.

Relationship Between Freshmen's Psychological Health and Family Economic Status in Chinese Universities: A Latent Profile Analysis

Purpose

With the rapid social changes, psychological health problems among freshmen in universities have become increasingly serious. Many researchers have studied the psychological health status of college freshmen using quantitative methods. However, most researchers have studied the psychological health of college freshmen by treating variables as the central concept and analysis unit, which has limitations on the variable-centered research method. Therefore, this study aims to explore the impact of family economic status and demographic variables on the psychological health of college freshmen, as well as the potential types of psychological health among college freshmen.

Methods

Based on the SCL-90 and the self-evaluation of the family economic status of college freshmen, latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to analyze the psychological health of 1497 college freshmen selected through a whole-group sampling method. Freshmen completed the questionnaire from October 18 to October 20, 2022. Then, multinomial logistic regression analysis and variance analysis were conducted using SPSS 25.0 to analyze the impact of family economic status and demographic variables on different psychological health subtypes of college freshmen from a university in Eastern China.

Results

There is obvious heterogeneity in the psychological health of college freshmen, which can be divided into three groups: psychological health group (69.54%), psychological distress group (24.65%), and psychological risk group (5.81%). The latent categories of psychological health among college freshmen differ by gender and family economic status. The psychological health status of female students is significantly better than that of male students. In addition, the lower the self-evaluation of family economic status of college freshmen, the lower their psychological health level.

Conclusion

Three categories of mental health exist for college freshmen, with significant group heterogeneity. Gender and family economic status significantly influenced mental health outcomes with female students faring better. The study's significance lies in providing useful recommendations for educational administrators and developing targeted interventions for college freshmen. Given the practical realities of mental health education efforts, personalized strategies that utilize peer support, counseling, and psychological services can be adopted to assist freshmen in acclimating to university life and maintaining mental wellness. The findings suggest considering the role of family economic status and gender in promoting mental health and the need for further research to develop comprehensive and effective interventions.

Willingness of university students to continue using e-Learning platforms after compelled adoption of technology: Test of an extended UTAUT model

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted the adoption of an e-Learning pedagogy. This forced teachers and students to shift to online learning and thus was compelled to adopt online educational technology. Educational institutes have been facing challenges like insufficient infrastructure and a shortage of quality teachers. Online learning can help to address these challenges as online classes can accommodate more students. However, before implementing e-Learning technology management of institutes wants to be sure whether students will adopt new technology. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to unveil which factors are important to adopt new technology if implemented mandatorily. We tested the most popular technology acceptance model the UTAUT to understand students' intentions to continue using the e-Learning system in a mandatory environment. The study used a quantitative approach of research. The participants for this study were selected from a private university in India. The questionnaire for the study was adapted from previous studies. The survey was conducted by sharing an online link while students were attending classes online during the pandemic. Thus, the study utilized a convenience sampling technique. The data were analyzed using structural equation modelling. The findings revealed that the UTAUT model can partially explain the forceful adoption of technology. The study found 'Performance expectancy' and the 'availability of resources' as significant indicators of 'intention for continued usage'. This study recommends educational institutes should ensure students attain academic goals by using e-Learning platforms and ensuring the availability of essential resources to use the e-Learning technology.

Total reward satisfaction profiles and work performance: A person-centered approach

It has recently become an incentive management challenge for organizations to implement a total reward system. Existing variable-centered studies have neglected to explore the incentive effect of a total reward system from the perspective of individual differences. Our study aimed to initially investigate the profiles of total reward satisfaction (TRS) and the impact of these profiles on work performance. Using a person-centered approach, two studies were conducted using retail industry employees in China as samples. Study 1 identified the TRS profiles of 429 samples using latent profile analysis. Study 2 replicated Study 1's configuration of profiles and examined the relationship of these profiles with demographic variables and work performance using 885 samples. Our results were as follows: (1) there were four quantitatively and qualitatively distinct profiles (subpopulations) of TRS, namely, dissatisfied (DS), development and career opportunities satisfied-dominant (DOS-dominant), work-life balance satisfied-dominant (WLS-dominant), and compensation satisfied-dominant (CS-dominant); (2) demographic variables involving gender, age, education, and position level affected the likelihood of membership in each TRS profile; and (3) the four profiles predicted different levels of work performance, or more specifically, different levels of task and contextual performance. The task and contextual performance of the four subpopulations listed from best to worst were WLS-dominant, DOS-dominant, CS-dominant, and DS. For practical management, organizations should customize a classified total reward system according to employee subpopulations to improve work performance.

Dealing with Careless Responding in Survey Data: Prevention, Identification, and Recommended Best Practices

Surveys administered online have several benefits, but they are particularly prone to careless responding, which occurs when respondents fail to read item content or give sufficient attention, resulting in raw data that may not accurately reflect respondents' true levels of the constructs being measured. Careless responding can lead to various psychometric issues, potentially impacting any area of psychology that uses self-reported surveys and assessments. This review synthesizes the careless responding literature to provide a comprehensive understanding of careless responding and ways to prevent, identify, report, and clean careless responding from data sets. Further, we include recommendations for different levels of screening for careless responses. Finally, we highlight some of the most promising areas for future work on careless responding.

More Kindness, Less Prejudice against Immigrants? A Preliminary Study with Adolescents

Prejudice against immigrants is a relevant research topic within social psychology. Researchers identified several individual variables affecting anti-immigrant prejudice, such as morality and personality. However, until now, prejudice has never been studied in relation to kindness, which might be a significant protective factor against prejudice. Based on Kohlberg's theory of moral judgement, four stage dimensions of kindness were identified, from egocentric to authentic kindness (i.e., a means for social progress and improvement). This study aims to explore the relationship between the four kindness dimensions and blatant and subtle prejudice against immigrants in adolescence, by also considering the moderating role of adolescents' sex. It involved 215 Italian participants (77% girls), who were asked to fill in a self-report questionnaire. Results showed that boys scored higher on egocentric kindness than girls, but no sex differences emerged for prejudice. Egocentric and extrinsically motivated kindness appeared to be risk factors for prejudice, whereas the most authentic form of kindness was a protective factor. In addition, adolescents' sex moderated the relationship between egocentric kindness and blatant prejudice, whereby this association was stronger for boys. The implications of these findings, the study's limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

An explanatory mixture IRT model for careless and insufficient effort responding in self-report measures

Careless and insufficient effort responding (C/IER) on self-report measures results in responses that do not reflect the trait to be measured, thereby posing a major threat to the quality of survey data. Reliable approaches for detecting C/IER aid in increasing the validity of inferences being made from survey data. First, once detected, C/IER can be taken into account in data analysis. Second, approaches for detecting C/IER support a better understanding of its occurrence, which facilitates designing surveys that curb the prevalence of C/IER. Previous approaches for detecting C/IER are limited in that they identify C/IER at the aggregate respondent or scale level, thereby hindering investigations of item characteristics evoking C/IER. We propose an explanatory mixture item response theory model that supports identifying and modelling C/IER at the respondent-by-item level, can detect a wide array of C/IER patterns, and facilitates a deeper understanding of item characteristics associated with its occurrence. As the approach only requires raw response data, it is applicable to data from paper-and-pencil and online surveys. The model shows good parameter recovery and can well handle the simultaneous occurrence of multiple types of C/IER patterns in simulated data. The approach is illustrated on a publicly available Big Five inventory data set, where we found later item positions to be associated with higher C/IER probabilities. We gathered initial supporting validity evidence for the proposed approach by investigating agreement with multiple commonly employed indicators of C/IER.

Parents’ perceptions of school recess policies and practices

Background

Previous research has shown that school recess can provide children with physical, social and cognitive benefits; yet, recess opportunities and experiences may be different for different groups of children, specifically for children living in lower income environments, children of different racial groups other than white, and for children with disabilities. Parent perceptions of recess are important to consider as they serve as advocates for their children’s access and opportunities at school as well as an additional informant for children’s experiences at recess that may be useful for policymakers and school boards to consider.

Objective

To examine parent perceptions of recess by children’s disability status, children’s race and ethnicity, and family household income.

Method

Participants included 473 parents from the U.S.A. stratified across six household income levels. Data were collected through an online survey using Prolific in May of 2020]. Confirmatory factor analyses were run for measures assessing parents’ perception of belonging and victimization at recess, recess policies, and recess procedures. Regression analyses were run to examine if parents’ perception of recess were predicted by race, income, or child disability status.

Results

Results revealed that parents’ perceptions of recess were predicted by child disability status but not race or income. Specifically, parents’ perceptions were significantly predicted by child disability status regarding victimization (b = .13, SE = .06, p = .05), recess policies about withholding recess (b = .171, SE = .07, p = .01), and finally, student engagement at recess (b = .165, SE = .07, p = .02).

Conclusion

Results show that parents of children with a disability perceive a different recess experience for their child that involves more instances of victimization compared to parents of typically developing children. Based on these findings, school, district, and state policy makers could consider ensuring that recess includes multiple activities, is supervised by adults, and is a space where conflict resolution occurs, for creating a more inclusive environment for children with disabilities.

Systematic Bias in Self-Reported Social Media Use in the Age of Platform Swinging: Implications for Studying Social Media Use in Relation to Adolescent Health Behavior

Public health researchers are increasingly interested in the potential relationships between social media (SM) use, well-being, and health behavior among adolescents. However, most research has assessed daily SM time via self-report survey questions, despite a lack of clarity around the accuracy of such reports given the current tendency of youth to access SM on multiple electronic devices and cycle between multiple SM platforms on a daily basis (i.e., platform swinging). The current study investigates the potential for systematic reporting biases to skew findings. Three hundred and twenty incoming college students downloaded software on their computers, tablets, and smartphones to track their active use of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat over a 2-week surveillance period and then self-reported their average daily minutes on each platform immediately after. Larger proportions of students over-estimated than under-estimated their use, with the largest overestimations found on the most heavily used platforms. Females logged significantly more SM time and were less accurate in reporting than were males and, independently, the likelihood of substantial inaccuracies in reporting total SM time and time on most individual platforms increased with each additional SM platform participants reported using. Findings demonstrate that self-reported estimates of SM time among adolescents in the age of SM platform swinging are prone to substantial error and may lead to biased conclusions about relationships between variables. Alternative measurement approaches are suggested to improve the validity of future research in this area.

Effects of Anonymity versus Examinee Name on a Measure of Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents

There is evidence in the literature that anonymity when investigating individual variables could increase the objectivity of the measurement of some psychosocial constructs. However, there is a significant gap in the literature on the theoretical and methodological usefulness of simultaneously assessing the same measurement instrument across two groups, with one group remaining anonymous and a second group revealing identities using names. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the psychometric characteristics of a measure of depressive symptoms in two groups of adolescents as a consequence of identification or anonymity at the time of answering the measuring instrument. The participants were 189 adolescents from Metropolitan Lima; classrooms were randomly assigned to the identified group (n = 89; application requesting to write one’s own name) or to the anonymous group (n = 100; application under usual conditions), who responded to the Childhood Depression Inventory, short version (CDI-S). Univariate characteristics (mean, dispersion, distribution), dimensionality, reliability, and measurement invariance were analyzed. Specific results in each of the statistical and psychometric aspects evaluated indicated strong psychometric similarity. The practical and ethical implications of the present results for professional and research activity are discussed.

Strategies and Lessons Learned During Cleaning of Data From Research Panel Participants: Cross-sectional Web-Based Health Behavior Survey Study

Background

The use of web-based methods to collect population-based health behavior data has burgeoned over the past two decades. Researchers have used web-based platforms and research panels to study a myriad of topics. Data cleaning prior to statistical analysis of web-based survey data is an important step for data integrity. However, the data cleaning processes used by research teams are often not reported.

Objective

The objectives of this manuscript are to describe the use of a systematic approach to clean the data collected via a web-based platform from panelists and to share lessons learned with other research teams to promote high-quality data cleaning process improvements.

Methods

Data for this web-based survey study were collected from a research panel that is available for scientific and marketing research. Participants (N=4000) were panelists recruited either directly or through verified partners of the research panel, were aged 18 to 45 years, were living in the United States, had proficiency in the English language, and had access to the internet. Eligible participants completed a health behavior survey via Qualtrics. Informed by recommendations from the literature, our interdisciplinary research team developed and implemented a systematic and sequential plan to inform data cleaning processes. This included the following: (1) reviewing survey completion speed, (2) identifying consecutive responses, (3) identifying cases with contradictory responses, and (4) assessing the quality of open-ended responses. Implementation of these strategies is described in detail, and the Checklist for E-Survey Data Integrity is offered as a tool for other investigators.

Results

Data cleaning procedures resulted in the removal of 1278 out of 4000 (31.95%) response records, which failed one or more data quality checks. First, approximately one-sixth of records (n=648, 16.20%) were removed because respondents completed the survey unrealistically quickly (ie, <10 minutes). Next, 7.30% (n=292) of records were removed because they contained evidence of consecutive responses. A total of 4.68% (n=187) of records were subsequently removed due to instances of conflicting responses. Finally, a total of 3.78% (n=151) of records were removed due to poor-quality open-ended responses. Thus, after these data cleaning steps, the final sample contained 2722 responses, representing 68.05% of the original sample.

Conclusions

Examining data integrity and promoting transparency of data cleaning reporting is imperative for web-based survey research. Ensuring a high quality of data both prior to and following data collection is important. Our systematic approach helped eliminate records flagged as being of questionable quality. Data cleaning and management procedures should be reported more frequently, and systematic approaches should be adopted as standards of good practice in this type of research.

Conducting organizational survey and experimental research online: From convenient to ambitious in study designs, recruiting, and data quality

Conducting organizational research via online surveys and experiments offers a host of advantages over traditional forms of data collection when it comes to sampling for more advanced study designs, while also ensuring data quality. To draw attention to these advantages and encourage researchers to fully leverage them, the present paper is structured into two parts. First, along a structure of commonly used research designs, we showcase select organizational psychology (OP) and organizational behavior (OB) research and explain how the Internet makes it feasible to conduct research not only with larger and more representative samples, but also with more complex research designs than circumstances usually allow in offline settings. Subsequently, because online data collections often also come with some data quality concerns, in the second section, we synthesize the methodological literature to outline three improvement areas and several accompanying strategies for bolstering data quality.

Plain Language Summary: These days, many theories from the fields of organizational psychology and organizational behavior are tested online simply because it is easier. The point of this paper is to illustrate the unique advantages of the Internet beyond mere convenience—specifically, how the related technologies offer more than simply the ability to mirror offline studies. Accordingly, our paper first guides readers through examples of more ambitious online survey and experimental research designs within the organizational domain. Second, we address the potential data quality drawbacks of these approaches by outlining three concrete areas of improvement. Each comes with specific recommendations that can ensure higher data quality when conducting organizational survey or experimental research online.

Development and evaluation of an online questionnaire to identify women at high and low risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus

BACKGROUND

Established risk factors for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) include age, ethnicity, family history of diabetes and previous GDM. Additional significant influences have recently been demonstrated in the literature. The oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) used for GDM diagnosis has sub-optimal sensitivity and specificity, thus often results in GDM misdiagnoses. Comprehensive screening of risk factors may allow more targeted monitoring and more accurate diagnoses, preventing the devastating consequences of untreated or misdiagnosed GDM. We aimed to develop a comprehensive online questionnaire of GDM risk factors and triangulate it with the OGTT and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) parameters to better evaluate GDM risk and diagnosis.

METHODS

Pregnant women participating in two studies on the use of CGM for GDM were invited to complete the online questionnaire. A risk score, based on published literature, was calculated for each participant response and compared with the OGTT result. A total risk score (TRS) was then calculated as a normalised sum of all risk factors. Triangulation of OGTT, TRS and CGM score of variability (CGMSV) was analysed to expand evaluation of OGTT results.

RESULTS

Fifty one women completed the questionnaire; 29 were identified as 'high-risk' for GDM. High-risk ethnic background (p < 0.01), advanced age, a family diabetic history (p < 0.05) were associated with a positive OGTT result. The triangulation analysis (n = 45) revealed six (13%) probable misdiagnoses (both TRS and CGMSV discordant with OGTT), consisting of one probable false positive and five probable false negative by OGTT results.

CONCLUSIONS

This study identified pregnant women at high risk of developing GDM based on an extended evaluation of risk factors. Triangulation of TRS, OGTT and CGMSV suggested potential misdiagnoses of the OGTT. Future studies to explore the correlation between TRS, CGMSV and pregnancy outcomes as well as additional GDM pregnancy biomarkers and outcomes to efficiently evaluate OGTT results are needed.

Career Planning and Self-Efficacy as Predictors of Students’ Career-Related Worry: Direct and Mediated Pathways

The current study seeks to shed light on social-cognitive resources that mitigate master students’ experience of dysfunctional career-related worry before graduation. Based on the career self-management model (CSM; Lent & Brown, 2013 ), we investigate concurrent and time-lagged direct and mediated relationships between career planning, career-related self-efficacy, and career-related worry among a sample of 482 students shortly before graduation. Using data collected at three time points, a negative relationship was found between career planning (T1) and career-related worry (T3) via career-related self-efficacy (T2). Our findings shed light on the role of career planning and career-related self-efficacy as malleable social-cognitive resources that diminish dysfunctional thinking before graduation in sequential order. These findings imply that career planning and career-related self-efficacy are relevant predictors of affective states and can be incorporated into the CSM.

Activating Self-Transcendence Values to Promote Prosocial Behaviors among Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Moderating Role of Positive Orientation

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected people's health, daily routine, and behaviors. Its effects have been most pronounced for the youngest and oldest generations. Their daily lives have completely changed throughout the pandemic. Self-transcendence values and positive orientation could facilitate optimal adjustment to this situation by promoting prosociality. The present study aimed to discover if applying a new, web-based intervention could activate self-transcendence values in a group of Italian adolescents, fostering COVID-19 prosocial behaviors while also considering the role of positive orientation. The study adopted a longitudinal, web-based, and quasi-experimental design. One hundred and forty adolescents between 15 and 19 years of age were involved in the study two times (T1-T2). Participants were assigned to an intervention or control group. All participants completed the self-transcendence subscale extracted from the 21-item Portrait Values Questionnaire, the Positive Orientation Scale, and the COVID-19 Prosocial Experiences Scale. The results showed that adolescents' self-transcendence values and positive orientation were positively associated with COVID-19 prosociality. However, the relationship between self-transcendence values and COVID-19 prosocial behaviors was significantly more robust in the intervention group. Finally, a three-way interaction (self-transcendence*group*positive orientation) emerged as significant. For the intervention group, the effect of self-transcendence values on COVID-19 prosocial behaviors was significant only for adolescents who reported a strong positive orientation. Limitations of the study, future research developments, and practical implications are discussed.

The Quick and the Careless: The Construct Validity of Page Time as a Measure of Insufficient Effort Responding to Surveys

Several recent studies have examined the prevention, causes, and consequences of insufficient effort responding (IER) to surveys. Scientific progress in this area, however, rests on the availability of construct-valid IER measures. In the current paper we describe the potential merits of the page time index, which is computed by counting the number of questionnaire pages to which a participant has responded more quickly than two seconds per item (see Huang et al., 2012 ). We conducted three studies (total N = 1,056) to examine the page time index's construct validity. Across these studies, we found that page time converged highly with other IER indices, that it was sensitive to an experimental manipulation warning participants to respond carefully, and that it predicted the extent to which participants were unable to recognize item content. We also found that page time's validity was superior to that of total completion time and that the two-seconds-per-item rule yielded a construct-valid page time score for items of various word lengths. Given its apparent validity, we provide practical recommendations for the use of the page time index.

An Experimental Simulation of Heat Effects on Cognition and Workload of Surgical Team Members

OBJECTIVE

To isolate heat exposure as a cause of cognitive impairment and increased subjective workload in burns surgical teams.

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA

Raising ambient temperature of the operating room can improve burns patient outcomes, but risks increased cognitive impairment and workload of surgical team members. Prior research indicates ambient heat exposure depletes physiological and cognitive resources, but these findings have not been studied in the context of burns surgical teams.

METHODS

Seventeen surgical team members completed 2 surgery simulations of similar complexities in a hot and in a normothermic operating room. During each simulation, participants completed multiple cognitive tests to assess cognitive functioning and the SURG-TLX to self-assess workload. Order effects, core body temperature changes due to menstruation, and circadian rhythms were controlled for in the experimental design. Descriptive statistics, correlations, and mixed ANOVAs were performed to assess relationships between ambient heat exposure with cognitive functioning and perceived workload.

RESULTS

Heat had a main effect on executive functioning and verbal reasoning. Duration of heat exposure (heat ∗ time) increased response times and negatively impacted executive functioning, spatial planning, and mental rotation. Perceived workload was higher in the hot condition.

CONCLUSIONS

We provide causal evidence that over time, heat exposure impairs cognitive speed and accuracy, and increases subjective workload. We recommend building on this study to drive best-practices for acute burns surgery and design work to enable burns teams to maintain their cognitive stamina, lower their workload, and improve outcomes for patients and surgeons.

Value Consistency across Relational Roles and Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of Self-Concept Clarity

Living in today’s complex social world can contribute to the development of a multi-faceted personal identity and to the risk of identity dispersion. This study focused on values, which are conceptualised as the core of one’s personal identity. It aimed to explore the within-person value consistency across relational roles (i.e., relationships with parents, partners, and friends) and to analyse the association between value consistency, self-concept clarity, and basic psychological needs satisfaction. One hundred ninety-five Italian young adults (F = 85%; Mage = 26.65, SD = 3.83) participated in the study. They completed the Values in Context Questionnaire, the Self-Concept Clarity Scale, and the satisfaction subscale from the Basic Needs Satisfaction and Frustration Scale. Findings showed high value consistencies across the relational roles. Specifically, consistency is higher when values as a partner and values as a friend are considered. Moreover, the relation between value consistency and basic psychological needs satisfaction was fully mediated by self-concept clarity. Limitations of the study, future research developments, and practical implications of the results are discussed.

Will the Questions Ever End? Person-Level Increases in Careless Responding During Questionnaire Completion

Is there a point within a self-report questionnaire where participants will start responding carelessly? If so, then after how many items do participants reach that point? And what can researchers do to encourage participants to remain careful throughout the entirety of a questionnaire? We conducted two studies (Study 1 N = 358; Study 2 N = 129) to address these questions. Our results found (a) consistent evidence that participants responded more carelessly as they progressed further into a questionnaire, (b) mixed evidence that participants who were warned that carelessness would be punished displayed smaller increases in carelessness, and (c) mixed evidence that increases in carelessness were greater within an unproctored online study (Study 1) than within a proctored laboratory study (Study 2). These findings help address when and why careless responding is likely to occur, and they suggest effective preventive strategies.

Altered States or Much to Do About Nothing? A Study of When Cannabis Is Used in Relation to the Impact It Has on Performance

As more local, state, and national governments change laws regarding the legality of cannabis use, it is essential for organizations to understand how the workplace may be influenced by these changes. The current study begins to answer this question by examining the relationship between three temporal-based cannabis measures and five forms of workplace performance. Using data from 281 employees and their direct supervisors, our results indicate that cannabis use before and during work negatively relate to task performance, organization-aimed citizenship behaviors, and two forms of counterproductive work behaviors. At the same time, after-work cannabis use was not related (positively or negatively) to any form of performance as rated by the user’s direct supervisor. We discuss methodological, theoretical, and practical implications for researchers, organizations, and governmental agencies concerned with cannabis use.

Detecting computer-generated random responding in questionnaire-based data: A comparison of seven indices

With the development of online data collection and instruments such as Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk), the appearance of malicious software that generates responses to surveys in order to earn money represents a major issue, for both economic and scientific reasons. Indeed, even if paying one respondent to complete one questionnaire represents a very small cost, the multiplication of botnets providing invalid response sets may ultimately reduce study validity while increasing research costs. Several techniques have been proposed thus far to detect problematic human response sets, but little research has been undertaken to test the extent to which they actually detect nonhuman response sets. Thus, we proposed to conduct an empirical comparison of these indices. Assuming that most botnet programs are based on random uniform distributions of responses, we present and compare seven indices in this study to detect nonhuman response sets. A sample of 1,967 human respondents was mixed with different percentages (i.e., from 5% to 50%) of simulated random response sets. Three of the seven indices (i.e., response coherence, Mahalanobis distance, and person-total correlation) appear to be the best estimators for detecting nonhuman response sets. Given that two of those indices-Mahalanobis distance and person-total correlation-are calculated easily, every researcher working with online questionnaires could use them to screen for the presence of such invalid data.

Psychometrical Properties of a French Version of the General Self-Efficacy Short Scale (ASKU)

Abstract. General self-efficacy is a central personality trait often evaluated in surveys as context variable. It can be interpreted as a personal coping resource reflecting individual belief in one’s overall competence to perform across a variety of situations. The German-language Allgemeine-Selbstwirksamkeit-Kurzskala (ASKU) is a reliable and valid instrument to assess this disposition in the German-speaking countries based on a three-item equation. This study develops a French version of the ASKU and tests this French version for measurement invariance compared to the original ASKU. A reliable and valid French instrument would make it easy to collect data in the French-speaking countries and allow comparisons between the French and German results. Data were collected on a sample of 1,716 adolescents. Confirmatory factor analysis resulted in a good fit for a single-factor model of the data (in total, French, and German version). Additionally, construct validity was assessed by elucidating intercorrelations between the ASKU and different factors that should theoretically be related to ASKU. Furthermore, we confirmed configural and metric as well as scalar invariance between the different language versions, meaning that all forms of statistical comparison between the developed French version and the original German version are allowed.

Using Facebook in Recruiting Kidney Transplant Recipients for a REDCap Study

This web-based study recruited kidney transplant recipients from Facebook using three recruiting methods over a 5-week period. Participants completed 125 survey items via REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) survey. Facebook recruitment generated 153 eligible participants who completed surveys. The average survey response time was 15.07 min (SD = 6.12; range: 4-43), with a low missing item rate (<5%). Facebook's standard ads were most effective for recruiting subjects (n = 78, 51%), followed by three targeted Facebook kidney transplant support groups (n = 52, 34%) and a pay-to-promote study page (n = 12, 7.8%). The average cost paid for each valid survey was US$2.19 through standard Facebook ads and US$2.92 from the study page. The cost for online survey completion is economically feasible even for those with limited funds. Issues related to online surveys including extreme survey response times and participant misrepresentation were reported in this study.