Correcting for Extreme Response Style: Model Choice Matters.

Extreme response style (ERS), the tendency of participants to select extreme item categories regardless of the item content, has frequently been found to decrease the validity of Likert-type questionnaire results. For this reason, various item response theory (IRT) models have been proposed to model ERS and correct for it. Comparisons of these models are however rare in the literature, especially in the context of cross-cultural comparisons, where ERS is even more relevant due to cultural differences between groups. To remedy this issue, the current article examines two frequently used IRT models that can be estimated using standard software: a multidimensional nominal response model (MNRM) and a IRTree model. Studying conceptual differences between these models reveals that they differ substantially in their conceptualization of ERS. These differences result in different category probabilities between the models. To evaluate the impact of these differences in a multigroup context, a simulation study is conducted. Our results show that when the groups differ in their average ERS, the IRTree model and MNRM can drastically differ in their conclusions about the size and presence of differences in the substantive trait between these groups. An empirical example is given and implications for the future use of both models and the conceptualization of ERS are discussed.

Assessing Emotional Intelligence Abilities, Acquiescent and Extreme Responding in Situational Judgment Tests Using Principal Component Metrics.

Principal Component Metrics is a novel theoretically-based and data-driven methodology that enables the evaluation of the internal structure at item level of maximum emotional intelligence tests. This method disentangles interindividual differences in emotional ability from acquiescent and extreme responding. Principal Component Metrics are applied to existing (Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test) and assembled (specifically, the Situational Test of Emotion Understanding, the Situational Test of Emotion Management, and the Geneva Emotion Recognition Test) emotional intelligence test batteries in an analysis of three samples (total N = 2,303 participants). In undertaking these analyses important aspects of the nomological network of emotional intelligence, acquiescent, and extreme responding are investigated. The current study adds a central piece of empirical validity evidence to the emotional intelligence domain. In the three different samples, theoretically predicted internal structures at item level were found using raw item scores. The validity of the indicators for emotional intelligence, acquiescent, and extreme responding was confirmed by their relationships across emotional intelligence tests and by their nomological networks. The current findings contribute to evaluating the efficacy of the emotional intelligence construct as well as the validity evidence surrounding the instruments that are currently designed for its assessment, in the process opening new perspectives for analyzing existing and constructing new emotional intelligence tests.

Examining associations between two different jumping to conclusions scores with positive schizotypy and recent distress.

Introduction: Jumping to conclusions is associated with delusions. It is unclear whether positive schizotypy, which refers to delusion-like and hallucination-like symptoms, is associated with jumping to conclusions. Relatedly, the relative validity of two jumping to conclusions scores, extreme responding and draws to decision, is unclear, particularly whether extreme responding (responding after one or two draws) reflects the same bias as decreased draws to decision on non-extreme responding trials.Methods: Extreme positive schizotypy individuals with increased psychosis risk (n = 69) and controls (n = 95) completed the Probabilistic Reasoning Task and reported on recent distress, which was previously associated with jumping to conclusions. We calculated extreme responding, draws to decision (number of draws), and draws to decision/non-extreme responding (number of draws on trials with three or more draws).Results: Positive schizotypy was associated with extreme responding, but not draws to decision/non-extreme responding. Furthermore, draws to decision and draws to decision/non-extreme responding were associated with recent distress, whereas extreme responding was not.Conclusion: Positive schizotypy was specifically associated with extreme responding and not draws to decision/non-extreme responding, which suggests that the nature of extreme responding and of draws to decision might be different. This could have relevance for assessing and treating jumping to conclusions.

Dysfunctional attitudes or extreme response style as predictors of depressive relapse and recurrence after mobile cognitive therapy for recurrent depression.

BACKGROUND: According to previous research, dysfunctional attitudes and/or scoring extreme on the end-point anchors of questionnaires of dysfunctional thinking predict depressive relapse/recurrence. Evidence that these two methods represent a risk for depressive relapse/recurrence is however mixed, due to differential or poorly defined concepts. The current study aimed to test the two methods. METHODS: Remitted recurrently depressed patients with low residual depressive symptoms (N = 264) were recruited as part of a randomized controlled trial of the effectiveness of mobile Cognitive Therapy for recurrent depression versus treatment as usual. In the current secondary analysis, Cox regression models were conducted to test dysfunctional attitudes and extreme responding variables (assessed on the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale [DAS]) as predictors of depressive relapse/recurrence within two years after randomization. RESULTS: Data from 255 participants were analyzed. Results showed that DAS total scores at baseline significantly predicted depressive relapse/recurrence (Hazard Ratio [HR] = 1.01, p = .042). An index that reflects endorsement of habitual relative to functional responses was a significant predictor of depressive relapse/recurrence (HR = 2.11, p = .029). LIMITATIONS: The current study employed a single measure to identify extreme responses and dysfunctional attitudes. Secondly, various statistical analyses were performed without correcting for multiple testing, which in turn increased the likelihood to finding significant results. CONCLUSIONS: Current study confirmed both methods: People who scored higher on the DAS or had relatively more habitual than functional responses on the extreme positive ends of the DAS had a decreased time to depressive relapse/recurrence.

Linguistic markers of moderate and absolute natural language.

In social, personality and mental health research, the tendency to select absolute end-points on Likert scales has been linked to certain cultures, lower intelligence, lower income and personality/mental health disorders. It is unclear whether this response style reflects an absolutist cognitive style or is merely an experimental artefact. In this study, we introduce an alternative, more informative, flexible and ecologically valid approach for estimating absolute responding, that uses natural language markers. We focussed on 'function words' (e.g. particles, conjunctions, prepositions) as they are more generalizable because they do not depend on any specific context. To identify such linguistic markers and test their generalizability, we conducted a text analysis of online reviews for films, tourist attractions and consumer products. All written reviews were accompanied by a rating scale (akin to Likert scale), which allowed us to label text samples as absolute/moderate. The data was split into independent 'training' and 'test' sets. Using the training set we identified a rank order of linguistic markers for absolute and moderate text, which were evaluated in a classifier on the test set. The top three markers alone ("but", "!" and "seem") produced 88% classification accuracy, which increased to 91% using 31 linguistic markers.

The '10 Excess' Phenomenon in Responses to Survey Questions on Happiness.

Happiness in nations is typically measured in surveys using a single question. A common question is: 'all things considered, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your life as-a-whole these days on a scale from 0 to 10?'. The responses typically follow a uni-modal distribution with highest frequencies between 5 and 8. Yet in some nations, the percentage of 10 responses stands out and is higher than the percentage of 9 responses. This is particularly present in Latin America and in the Middle East. In this paper we explore the prevalence of the '10-excess' pattern and check some possible explanations. We conclude that the 10-excess phenomenon is partly due to cultural influence.

Positive extreme responding after cognitive therapy for depression: Correlates and potential mechanisms.

"Extreme responding" is the tendency to endorse extreme responses on self-report measures (e.g., 1s and 7s on a 7-point scale). It has been linked to depressive relapse after cognitive therapy (CT), but the mechanisms are unknown. Moreover, findings of positive extreme responding (PER) predicting depressive relapse do not support the original hypothesis of "extreme" negative thinking leading to extreme negative emotional reactions. We assessed the relationships between post-treatment PER on the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale (DAS) and Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ) and these constructs: coping skills, in-session performance of cognitive therapy skills, age, and estimated IQ. Significant correlates were entered into a model predicting rate of relapse to determine whether these constructs explained the relationship between PER and relapse. The sample consisted of 60 individuals who participated in CT for moderate to severe depression. Results indicated the following relationships: a negative correlation between ASQ PER and IQ, negative correlations between DAS PER and performance of CT skills and planning coping, and a positive correlation between DAS PER and behavioral disengagement coping. IQ scores fully accounted for the relationship between ASQ PER and relapse. These results suggest two potential mechanisms linking PER to relapse: cognitive limitations and coping deficits/cognitive avoidance.