A cross-cultural study of the psychometric properties of the Reactive–Proactive Aggression Questionnaire among Italian nonclinical adolescents.

Five independent studies were used to test the hypothesis that a reliable 2-factor structure underlies the Reactive–Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ) items and that the 2 scales show distinct patterns of association with personality and bullying behavior measures. Study 1 (N = 1,447) gave evidence of a clear 2-factor structure of RPQ items with factor loading matrices closely matching reactive (congruence coefficient = .90) and proactive (congruence coefficient = .91) models of item assignment. The RPQ 2-factor structure was consistently replicated in Study 2 (N = 662), as well as across the remaining 3 studies. In Study 3 (N = 536), Neuroticism differentiated reactive and proactive forms of aggression. In Study 4 (N = 674), self-reports of bullying behaviors were selectively correlated with proactive aggression. Findings confirm and extend the differential correlates of proactive–reactive aggression and also support the psychometric properties of the RPQ in a different cultural context. Finally, in Study 5 (N = 347), the RPQ scales showed adequate 2-month test–retest reliability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of sad mood on memory in older adults: A test of the mood congruence effect.

Mood congruence effects have long been studied in younger adults. but not in older adults. Socioemotional selectivity theory (SST) suggests that mood congruence could operate differently in older adults. One hundred and nineteen younger and 78 older adults were randomly assigned to sad or neutral mood inductions, using combined Velten and music induction procedures. Results indicated that during sad mood induction both older and younger adults showed enhanced recall of sad words on delayed word list recall task and in autobiographical memory. However, only older adults displayed mood congruence effects on lexical ambiguity and lower recall of positive words in the word list task. Results provided partial support for developmental effects on mood congruence derived from SST. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extraversion and Emotional Reactivity.

Six mood induction studies and a meta-analysis were conducted to test 2 models of the extraversion-pleasant affect relation. The affect-level model suggests that extraverts should be happier than introverts in both neutral and positive mood conditions. The reactivity model posits that extraverts react particularly strongly to pleasant stimuli and that they should be happier than introverts only in positive conditions. In all studies, extraverts failed to exhibit greater emotional reactivity when pleasantness items were analyzed. When activated positive affect items were analyzed, results were mixed. The meta-analysis confirmed that there is only a slight reactivity effect overall, and this effect emerges only in activated positive affect items. Furthermore, the meta-analysis showed that the correlation in neutral conditions is strong enough to support the affect-level model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exhaustive memory scanning in Rattus norvegicus: Recognition for food items.

Eight male and 8 female Long-Evans rats were trained with a forced correct decision technique to find and freely consume 1–6 foods in a modified food item recognition task to further test the suggestion in previous research of a convergence of human and nonhuman memory strategies. Results show that older, maze-wise, richly experienced Ss exhibited serial, exhaustive memory scanning of food items in the task. This strategy was observed whether the test food item matched or did not match a memorized set. There was no serial position effect noted, but there was an error phenomenon, which suggested an interaction between the opportunity to self-order handling of food items and a memory capacity limit. Findings provide support for convergence of memory strategies across mammalian species and suggest the need for thinking within a natural-selection framework. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An empirical investigation of the factor stability of Owens' Biographical Questionnaire.

Investigated the factor structure stability of the Biographical Questionnaire (BQ). It was hypothesized that the factor structure obtained would be similar to that found in a previous study reported by W. A. Owens and L. F. Schoenfeldt (see record 1981-00218-001) with 1,037 male and 897 female undergraduates. In the present study, 379 male and 437 female undergraduates were administered the BQ. Product-moment correlations between analog factors in the present study and the previous study were used to augment the analysis of common items between the 2 factor structures. Both analyses supported the idea of factor congruence across the 2 male samples. Only partial support was obtained for congruence in the comparisons of the female biodata factors. Several factors in the earlier study did not emerge in the present study. An explanation for this lack of congruence involved the recognition of the changing life experiences of females. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Striving for Unwanted Goals: Stress-Dependent Discrepancies Between Explicit and Implicit Achievement Motives Reduce Subjective Well-Being and Increase Psychosomatic Symptoms.

Three studies investigated the relevance of affect regulation, stressful life events, and congruence between explicit achievement orientation and implicit achievement motive for subjective well-being and symptom formation. According to personality systems interactions (PSI) theory, stressful life events were expected to reduce motive congruence when the ability to self-regulate affect was impaired (i.e., state orientation). Consistent with expectations, the State Orientation × Stress interaction predicted incongruence in healthy participants (Studies 1 and 3) and in patients (Study 2). Furthermore, incongruence partially mediated the direct State Orientation × Stress effect on subjective well-being (Studies 1 and 3) and the course of psychosomatic complaints over 3 months (Study 2). In Study 3, the experimental induction of threat reduced motive congruence in state-oriented participants compared with an acceptance condition. Findings underscore the importance of assessing motive congruence as a "hidden stressor" and validate a new operant multimotive test. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship formation and relational control as correlates of psychotherapy quality and outcome.

This study examined the nature of therapist–client interactions within and across seven psychotherapy cases (a) to test whether therapeutic outcome is a function of a transition from relational incongruence to relational congruence (S. Strong, 1982), and (b) to investigate the relation of relational congruence and control to qualitative aspects of the therapy relationship and to therapy outcome. Measures of therapist and client response patterning served as indices of relational congruence and of relational control. Relationship quality was assessed in terms of therapist and client ratings of their working alliance and of therapy session depth and smoothness. Outcome was operationalized in terms of symptom reduction. Results showed limited support for a relationship between relational congruence and therapy outcome and suggested that relational control is not a significant factor in client or therapist evaluations of relationship quality or therapy outcome. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive activity and physiological arousal: processes that mediate mood-congruent memory

This research proposes that the cognitive activity associated with the experience of an emotional state mediates the occurrence of mood-congruent processing. Two experiments examined the role of cognitive activity in selective processing of words in a mood congruence paradigm. Four induction procedures were used: a depressed-mood induction, a schema induction organized around the theme of writing a paper, an arousal induction, and a control neutral-mood induction. The memory task consisted of recalling a word list composed of negatively associated and thematically organized words. Selective processing was demonstrated in conjunction with the depressed-mood and organizational-schema induction procedures. In contrast, the arousal and neutral induction procedures did not produce selective processing of words from the list. The findings support the thesis that cognitive activity mediates the selective processing typical of mood congruence as distinct from arousal processes per se. The findings are discussed with respect to the resource allocation model and semantic network theory.     

An alternative method for evaluating congruence coefficients with Procrustes rotation: A bootstrap procedure.

Comparing factor structures across samples has long been an important topic in psychological research. Traditionally, the congruence coefficient is used to measure the degree of similarity between 2 factor matrices. However, as the congruence coefficients do not have known sampling distributions, it is difficult to assess factor replicability statistically. In this study, a bootstrap procedure was proposed to test factor invariance by examining the statistical significance of 3 types of congruence coefficients. A Monte Carlo study evaluated the performance of the proposed bootstrap procedure. Results provide strong support for this procedure as a powerful tool to assess factor replicability across groups. Two real examples demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed method. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward higher education and course evaluation.

Tested the hypothesis that course evaluations are related to (a) students' and instructors' own and perceived attitudes toward higher education and college teaching and (b) congruence between students' and instructors' own and perceived attitudes. Two experiments were conducted with 24 college instructors and 889 students. The evaluation measure contained 18 5-step items drawn from previous studies; factor analysis yielded 4 factors—Intellectual Challenge, Student–Instructor Rapport, Content/Structure, and Teaching Method—accounting for 64% of the variance in the final instrument. Regression analyses show that attitudes accounted for close to 50% of evaluative variance. The most efficient subset of predictors was instructors' attitudes as perceived by students such that the attribution to instructors of attitude items preferred by students was associated with positive course evaluation. These items tended to be progressive or social in orientation. Results support the hypotheses which were derived from directive state and balance theories. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reconsidering the support for Holland's congruence–achievement hypothesis.

Provides evidence that is used to reconsider studies that have been reported to support J. L. Holland's (1985) hypothesis that person–environment congruence relates positively to achievement. It is argued that W. E. Werner's (see record 1974-28747-001) article, which Holland (1985) cited as supporting his congruence–achievement hypothesis, says nothing about that hypothesis and that Holland's (1985) book and Holland's (see record 1968-06191-001) data support the notion that achievement orientation (not congruence) may be responsible for the positive associations that researchers have found between academic achievement and congruence. Other evidence for reconsideration of Holland's hypothesis includes the present finding of a negative relationship between the annual incomes and the conventional scores on the Occupations scale of the Self-Directed Search: A Guide to Educational and Vocational Planning of 555 female and 498 male accountants (mean age 36 yrs). It is concluded that the congruence–achievement hypothesis may not have been supported by the studies that have been reported to support it. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal tests of competing factor structures for the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale: Traits, ephemeral artifacts, and stable response styles.

Self-esteem, typically measured by the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE), is one of the most widely studied constructs in psychology. Nevertheless, there is broad agreement that a simple unidimensional factor model, consistent with the original design and typical application in applied research, does not provide an adequate explanation of RSE responses. However, there is no clear agreement about what alternative model is most appropriate—or even a clear rationale for how to test competing interpretations. Three alternative interpretations exist: (a) 2 substantively important trait factors (positive and negative self-esteem), (b) 1 trait factor and ephemeral method artifacts associated with positively or negatively worded items, or (c) 1 trait factor and stable response-style method factors associated with item wording. We have posited 8 alternative models and structural equation model tests based on longitudinal data (4 waves of data across 8 years with a large, representative sample of adolescents). Longitudinal models provide no support for the unidimensional model, undermine support for the 2-factor model, and clearly refute claims that wording effects are ephemeral, but they provide good support for models positing 1 substantive (self-esteem) factor and response-style method factors that are stable over time. This longitudinal methodological approach has not only resolved these long-standing issues in self-esteem research but also has broad applicability to most psychological assessments based on self-reports with a mix of positively and negatively worded items. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correction to Eberhardt and Muchinsky.

Reports an error in the original article by Eberhardt and Muchinsky(Journal of Applied Psychology. Vol 67(2) Apr 1982, 138-145). The departmental affiliation of the authors was incorrectly listed as Department of Industrial Relations. The authors were actually affiliated with the Department of Psychology. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1982-20126-001.) Investigated the factor structure stability of the Biographical Questionnaire (BQ). It was hypothesized that the factor structure obtained would be similar to that found in a previous study reported by W. A. Owens and L. F. Schoenfeldt (see record 1981-00218-001) with 1,037 male and 897 female undergraduates. In the present study, 379 male and 437 female undergraduates were administered the BQ. Product-moment correlations between analog factors in the present study and the previous study were used to augment the analysis of common items between the 2 factor structures. Both analyses supported the idea of factor congruence across the 2 male samples. Only partial support was obtained for congruence in the comparisons of the female biodata factors. Several factors in the earlier study did not emerge in the present study. An explanation for this lack of congruence involved the recognition of the changing life experiences of females. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The development of category-based induction: Reexamining conclusions from the induction then recognition (ITR) paradigm.

Three studies examined the development of category-based induction using an induction then recognition (ITR) procedure in which participants make category-based predictions about study items and are then given a surprise recognition test that requires discrimination between old and new category members. Exposure duration for study items was either self-paced (Experiment 1) or fixed for 5-year-olds and adults (Experiments 2a-b). Adults always showed a decrement in recognition performance following induction. Children showed the same decrement when exposure duration was equated across age groups. These results show that both young children and adults spontaneously access category-level information during induction. When study exposure time is self-paced, however, children may process additional, noncategorical aspects of study stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal test of the influence of congruence: Job satisfaction, competency utilization, and counterproductive behavior.

The assumption that congruence between workers and jobs results in job satisfaction is fundamental to vocational theory. Evidence that person–job congruence goes with satisfaction is mixed; correlations are often too small to be of practical value. A hypothesis that interest congruence is more closely linked with job satisfaction for workers with clearly defined interests as opposed to workers with poorly defined interests is tested. Hypotheses about other consequences of person–job incongruence—counterproductive behavior, low job involvement, and turnover—also are tested in a predictive study. The hypothesis that differentiation moderates the relation between congruence and satisfaction and other hypotheses about the consequences of incongruence did not receive support, but the results do imply that congruence is a moderately efficient predictor of satisfaction when between-occupation sources of variance are excluded by the research design. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patient preference for and reports of provider behavior: Impact of symmetry on patient outcomes.

Objective: Research has suggested that congruence between patient characteristics and contextual characteristics is a more robust predictor of outcomes than either patient or context characteristics alone. The goal of the present study was to examine the degree of congruence between patient preferences for the clinical encounter and reports of analogous dimensions of provider behavior and the effects of this congruence on patient outcomes. Design: Two hundred eighteen patients with diabetes (predominately Type II) completed measures of preference for and ratings of perceived provider behavior in three domains (1) information sharing, (2) behavioral involvement, and (3) socioemotional support. Main Outcome Measures: Patient satisfaction, self-reported adherence, and a clinical marker of diabetic control (hemoglobin A1c) were the outcomes of interest. Results: Congruence in information sharing and congruence in behavioral involvement were predictive of glycemic control and self-reported adherence, respectively. Congruence in behavioral involvement and congruence in socioemotional support were predictive of greater patient satisfaction. Conclusion: These findings provide further support for the importance of congruence between patient characteristics and contextual characteristics in predicting patient outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An analysis and evaluation of test and item bias in the prediction context.

Presents a perspective on test and item bias in predicting the performance of individuals in majority and minority groups. It is suggested that a difference between groups in the slope of the regression of the criterion on a test used for prediction represents bias that can frequently be corrected. Given a criterion with adequate measurement properties, the selection of items with essentially equivalent discrimination indices is expected to produce approximately parallel slopes. Accordingly, items having different discrimination indices are themselves biased. Intercept bias, on the other hand, is essentially not under the control of the test constructor. It is argued that the goal of producing a test without intercept bias is an unreasonable one. These problems are illustrated by factor models of intercept bias. It is concluded that relative differences in item-difficulty levels from group to group, given items with adequate discrimination indices, should not be labeled as bias. Such items are not automatic candidates for discard. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender and reporting differences in measures of depression.

135 female and 75 male undergraduates (aged 18–30 yrs) responded to the Beck Depression Inventory and to 9 items assessing depression from the Hopkins Symptom Checklist. The hypothesis was explored that males particularly would endorse test items in a less "depressed" direction when presented explicitly as constituting a test of depression, but would endorse more depressive content when items were presented in a context not portrayed as measuring depression. Some support was obtained for the view that males may approach and respond differently to depression inventories compared to females. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Congruence of personality and life events in depression.

Consistent with the personality–event congruence hypothesis, highly sociotropic depressed patients (n?=?19) reported more recent negative interpersonal events than negative autonomy events and more negative interpersonal events than did highly autonomous depressed patients (n?=?22), for whom the hypothesis was not supported. There was no evidence of such congruence among nondepressed schizophrenic patients (n?=?44). In a 2nd study, there was significant personality–event congruence in dysphoric students (n?=?26) but not in nondysphoric students (n?=?56). Both the high-sociotropy and high-autonomy dysphoric groups separately yielded nonsignificant trends consistent with congruence. These findings add to the growing support for the importance of the sociotropy construct in depression and weaker support for the autonomy construct or its measurement, and they suggest that the congruence effect does not generalize to all psychopathologies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unities in inductive reasoning.

Three experiments determined the sources of communalities in performance on 3 inductive reasoning tasks: analogies, series completions, and classifications. In Exp I, 30 undergraduates completed an untimed pencil-and-paper test in which they were asked to solve 90 induction items with names of mammals as content. Items were equally divided among the 3 kinds of induction tasks. Ss' task was to rank order 4 response options in terms of their goodness of fit as completions for each particular item. Data sets for the 3 tasks were highly intercorrelated, and a single exponential model of response choice provided a good fit to each data set. In Exp II, 36 Ss completed a timed test in which they were asked to solve 90 mammal-name induction items. Items were again equally divided among the 3 kinds of tasks. Ss' task was to choose the better of 2 response options as a completion for each particular item. Data sets for the tasks were again highly intercorrelated, and a single linear model of response times provided a good fit to each data set. In Exp III, 18 Ss were timed while solving 1,440 induction items with schematic picture, verbal, and geometric content. Items were approximately equally divided among the 3 kinds of tasks. Both analysis of stimulus and of S variance supported the notion of highly related performance algorithms on the 3 tasks. It is concluded that a common or highly similar model of response choice and of information processing can account for at least some of the previously observed relationships in performance across induction tasks. (59 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)