Longitudinal hierarchical linear models of the Memory Functioning Questionnaire.

Three hypotheses about the nature of self-rated memory as measured by the Memory Functioning Questionnaire (MFQ; M. J. Gilewski, E. M. Zelinski, & K. W. Schaie, 1990) were tested: that ratings reflect memory performance, that personality traits underlie ratings, and that ratings reflect implicit theories of memory change. Baseline scores and 19 year change slopes for the 4 MFQ factor ratings of a sample of 97 participants aged 30-81 were investigated. There were significant mean declines for all MFQ ratings except Frequency of Forgetting and significant individual differences in slopes for Frequency, Retrospective Functioning, and Mnemonics. Personality predicted baseline Frequency and Seriousness ratings and list and text recall slopes predicted Mnemonics slopes. Different mechanisms may underlie baseline ratings and changes in ratings for different factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal multilevel models of the big-fish-little-pond effect on academic self-concept: Counterbalancing contrast and reflected-glory effects in Hong Kong schools.

Longitudinal multilevel path models (7,997 students, 44 high schools, 4 years) evaluated effects of school-average achievement and perceived school status on academic self-concept in Hong Kong, which has a collectivist culture with a highly achievement-segregated high school system. Consistent with a priori predictions based on the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE), higher school-average achievements led to lower academic self-concepts (contrast effect), whereas higher perceived school status had a counterbalancing positive effect on self-concept (reflected-glory, assimilation effect). The negative BFLPE is the net effect of counterbalancing influences, stronger negative contrast effects, and weaker positive assimilation effects so that controlling perceived school status led to purer—and even more negative— contrast effects. Attending a school where school-average achievement is high simultaneously resulted in a more demanding basis of comparison for one's own accomplishments (the stronger negative contrast effect) and a source of pride (the weaker positive assimilation effect), (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using the Implicit Association Test to measure self-esteem and self-concept.

Experiment 1 used the Implicit Association Test (IAT; A. G. Greenwald, D. E. McGhee, & J. L. K. Schwartz, 1998) to measure self-esteem by assessing automatic associations of self with positive or negative valence. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed that two IAT measures defined a factor that was distinct from, but weakly correlated with, a factor defined by standard explicit (self-report) measures of self-esteem. Experiment 2 tested known-groups validity of two IAT gender self-concept measures. Compared with well-established explicit measures, the IAT measures revealed triple the difference in measured masculinity–femininity between men and women. Again, CFA revealed construct divergence between implicit and explicit measures. Experiment 3 assessed the self-esteem IAT's validity in predicting cognitive reactions to success and failure. High implicit self-esteem was associated in the predicted fashion with buffering against adverse effects of failure on two of four measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reply to McLaughlin: Proper path models for theoretical partialing.

Replies to S. D. McLaughlin's (1980) critique of M. H. Birnbaum's (1979) article on sex bias in salaries of psychologists, presenting Birnbaum's theoretical treatment for comparability with McLaughlin. These analyses show that the traditional regression approach is not appropriate to test for evidence of salary bias. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal Stability of the Group Environment Questionnaire With Elite Female Athletes.

The Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ) has been used extensively in previous research, yet factorial validity for this measure has been inconclusive, and the temporal stability of scores has not been previously investigated. As argued by D. E. Conroy, J. N. Metzler, and S. M. Hofer (2003), investigations into stability are invaluable in providing support for the structural and generalizability of scores over time. In this study, elite female netball players completed the GEQ at 4 different times across the 10-week playing season (Weeks 1, 2, 6, and 10). Results supported strong factorial invariance for social and task cohesion scores, whereas differential stability was achieved only by the task cohesion scales. Linear trajectory models showed a lack of fit, indicating that the latent mean stability of GEQ scores was not established. Overall, both social and task constructs revealed a moderate decrease in perceived cohesion over the competitive playing period. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using theory to evaluate personality and job-performance relations: A socioanalytic perspective.

The authors used socioanalytic theory to understand individual differences in people's performance at work. Specifically, if predictors and criteria are aligned by using theory, then the meta-analytic validity of personality measures exceeds that of atheoretical approaches. As performance assessment moved from general to specific job criteria, all Big Five personality dimensions more precisely predicted relevant criterion variables, with estimated true validities of .43 (Emotional Stability), .35 (Extraversion-Ambition), .34 (Agreeableness), .36 (Conscientiousness), and .34 (Intellect-Openness to Experience). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The stability of the self-concept in adolescence.

"A study of the stability of the self-concept over two years in adolescence resulted in the following conclusions:… Relative stability… was demonstrated… between Q sorts… . Subjects whose self-concept was negative at the first setting were significantly less stable in self-concept than subjects whose self-concept was positive… . Subjects who persisted in a negative self-concept over the two year period gave evidence of significantly more maladjustment." 16 refs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between stressors and creativity: A meta-analysis examining competing theoretical models.

Competing theoretical models and equivocal evidence leave unanswered questions regarding stressors’ effect on creativity. The present meta-analysis of 76 experimental studies (including 82 independent samples) aims to clarify this association and identify factors that may explain differences between studies. Our results suggest that the effect of stressors on creative performance depends on how stress-inducing the stressor is and what type of stress is induced. We found a curvilinear relationship between evaluative stress and creativity such that low evaluative contexts increased creative performance over control conditions, whereas highly evaluative contexts decreased creative performance. We found a linearly negative relationship between uncontrollability and creativity such that more uncontrollability decreased creative performance. The results suggest that stressors’ effect on creativity is more complex than previously assumed and points to the need for understanding boundary conditions that shed light on inconsistent findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Causal effects of academic self-concept on academic achievement: Structural equation models of longitudinal data.

Academic self-concept, school marks, and teacher ratings of achievement were collected in 3 high-school subjects in each of 3 years (N?=?603). In the structural equation models (SEMs) considered, both school-based performance and academic self-concept were measured with multiple indicators for each school subject. SEMs were used to evaluate the effects of prior academic self-concept on subsequent achievement after controlling for the effects of prior achievement, and the effects of prior achievement on subsequent academic self-concept after controlling for the effects of prior academic self-concept. Although the effects of achievement tended to be larger and more systematic, there was clear support for both academic self-concept and achievement effects. Although there was support for this reciprocal effects model for all 3 school subjects, self-concept effects tended to be larger and more systematic for mathematics than for science and, particularly, English. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Top-down, bottom-up, and horizontal models: the direction of causality in multidimensional, hierarchical self-concept models

A new structural equation modeling approach to questions of the direction of causal flow between global and specific multidimensional measures of self-concept (SC) in two 2-wave, longitudinal studies demonstrated that (a) higher order factors were unable to explain relations among first-order factors at Time 1 (T1), at Time 2 (T2), or between T1 and T2; (b) T1 global SC had little effect on specific SC factors at T2 (a top-down model), but specific factors at T1 had even less effect on T2 global SC (a bottom-up model); and (c) many specific factors were more stable than global factors, but higher order factors were most stable. Results provide little support for top-down, bottom-up, or reciprocal models, instead arguing for a horizontal model in which each T2 SC factor is primarily a function of the matching T1 SC. This casts further doubt on the usefulness of hierarchical representations of SC.     

用神经网络评价矿山经营状况

本文视矿山经营状况的评价为多目标决策问题，提出了基于神经网络的矿山经营状况综合评价方法，阐述了该方法的基本原理，并结合实例说明了其应用。     

Investigations of absenteeism: Using event history models to study the absence-taking process.

Traditional correlational and regression analyses of aggregated absences are ill-suited for estimating parameters of the absence-taking process. A class of event history models is described that effectively deals with the distributional and temporal properties of absences. One such model, a proportional hazard rate model, was applied to the daily attendance records of 2,130 incumbent, white-collar employees of a national financial service organization. Temporal and historical variables affected the hazard rate of voluntary absence taking. Demographic variables that were significantly correlated with aggregated absences did not improve prediction of the hazard rate. Consequences of violating the modeling assumptions of independent observations and large samples were examined empirically. Results indicated that the model was robust to such violations. Implications of the findings and of the successful application of the model are discussed. Several recommendations are made for using the model in organizations and for future studies of absence taking and other low base-rate events in organizations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Emergence of Cultural Self-Constructs: Autobiographical Memory and Self-Description in European American and Chinese Children.

This study examined the emergence of cultural self-constructs as reflected in children's remembered and conceptual aspects of the self. European American and Chinese children in preschool through 2nd grade participated (N=180). Children each recounted 4 autobiographical events and described themselves in response to open-ended questions. American children often provided elaborate and detailed memories focusing on their own roles, preferences, and feelings; they also frequently described themselves in terms of personal attributes, abstract dispositions, and inner traits in a positive light. Chinese children provided relatively skeletal accounts of past experiences that centered on social interactions and daily routines, and they often described themselves in terms of social roles, context-specific characteristics, and oven behaviors in a neutral or modest tone. Findings are discussed in light of the self as a constructed meaning system of culture that emerges early in life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The structure of academic self-concept: The Marsh/Shavelson model.

New academic self-concept instruments were used to measure self-concepts in 13 (Grades 5–6) or 16 (Grades 7–10) school subjects and to test the structure of academic self-concept posited in the Marsh/Shavelson model. First-order factor analyses identified the scales each instrument was designed to measure, demonstrating that academic self-concept is remarkably subject-specific. As posited, 2 higher order factors were sufficient to explain relations among core academic subjects, but additional higher order factors were needed to explain other school subjects (e.g., physical education, art, and music). The hierarchy, however, was weak, and much of the variance in specific subject self-concepts was unexplained by the higher order factors. Researchers interested in self-concepts in particular subjects are advised to use self-concept scales specific to those subject areas in addition, perhaps, to other measures of academic self-concept. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aspects of the self-concept related to level of self-esteem.

Studied aspects of the phenomenal self-concept of 30 male Ss varying in self-esteem, using a numerical self-report approach. 10 Ss were from each of the 3 categories (high, medium, low) of the Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI). Numerical ratings of importance and salience of self-enumerated positive and negative characteristics were used to generate a series of scores. Significant differences were found on an overall self-esteem score, which correlated .59 with scores on the SEI. No significant differences were found on ratings of positive characteristics, while striking differences were noted for negative characteristics. Results suggest that it is how individuals experience negative rather than positive characteristics that plays a determining role in self-esteem. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The self-concept revisited: Or a theory of a theory.

Attempts to integrate phenomenological theories of the self-concept into a broader framework compatible with an objective approach. The phenomenological theories that identify the self-concept as the nucleus of the personality with directive and integrative properties become intelligible when the self-concept is redefined as a "self-theory" that the individual has unwittingly constructed about himself as an experiencing, functioning individual. The self-theory supplements a "world theory," which encompasses the remaining significant aspects of experience. An individual's self-theory consists of a hierarchical arrangement of major and minor postulates. The postulates can be operationally identified by the cognitions implicit in the individual's emotional responses to events. The individual develops his self-theory to assist in the maintenance of a favorable pleasure-pain balance, assimilate the data of experience, and maintain self-esteem. A failure in any of these functions produces mounting stress, and ultimately collapse of the self-theory, which can be adaptive in providing an opportunity for drastic reorganization. (22 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)