Construct Validation of Experimental Manipulations in Social Psychology: Current Practices and Recommendations for the Future.

Experimental manipulations in social psychology must exhibit construct validity by influencing their intended psychological constructs. Yet how do experimenters in social psychology attempt to establish the construct validity of their manipulations? Following a preregistered plan, we coded 348 experimental manipulations from the 2017 issues of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Representing a reliance on "on-the-fly" experimentation, the vast majority of these manipulations were created ad hoc for a given study and were not previously validated before implementation. A minority of manipulations had their construct validity evaluated by pilot testing before implementation or via a manipulation check. Of the manipulation checks administered, most were face valid, single-item self-reports, and only a few met criteria for "true" validation. In aggregate, roughly two fifths of manipulations relied solely on face validity. To the extent that they are representative of the field, these results suggest that best practices for validating manipulations are not commonplace-a potential contributor to replicability issues. These issues can be remedied by validating manipulations before implementation using validated manipulation checks, standardizing manipulation protocols, estimating the size and duration of manipulations' effects, and estimating each manipulation's effects on multiple constructs within the target nomological network.

On Attenuated Interactions, Measurement Error, and Statistical Power: Guidelines for Social and Personality Psychologists.

The replication crisis has seen increased focus on best practice techniques to improve the reliability of scientific findings. What remains elusive to many researchers and is frequently misunderstood is that predictions involving interactions dramatically affect the calculation of statistical power. Using recent papers published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (PSPB), we illustrate the pitfalls of improper power estimations in studies where attenuated interactions are predicted. Our investigation shows why even a programmatic series of six studies employing 2 × 2 designs, with samples exceeding N = 500, can be woefully underpowered to detect genuine effects. We also highlight the importance of accounting for error-prone measures when estimating effect sizes and calculating power, explaining why even positive results can mislead when power is low. We then provide five guidelines for researchers to avoid these pitfalls, including cautioning against the heuristic that a series of underpowered studies approximates the credibility of one well-powered study.

Gray (Literature) Matters: Evidence of Selective Hypothesis Reporting in Social Psychological Research.

Selective reporting practices (SRPs)-adding, dropping, or altering study elements when preparing reports for publication-are thought to increase false positives in scientific research. Yet analyses of SRPs have been limited to self-reports or analyses of pre-registered and published studies. To assess SRPs in social psychological research more broadly, we compared doctoral dissertations defended between 1999 and 2017 with the publications based on those dissertations. Selective reporting occurred in nearly 50% of studies. Fully supported dissertation hypotheses were 3 times more likely to be published than unsupported hypotheses, while unsupported hypotheses were nearly 4 times more likely to be dropped from publications. Few hypotheses were found to be altered or added post hoc. Dissertation studies with fewer supported hypotheses were more likely to remove participants or measures from publications. Selective hypothesis reporting and dropped measures significantly predicted greater hypothesis support in published studies, supporting concerns that SRPs may increase Type 1 error risk.

Debunking the Stanford Prison Experiment.

The Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE) is one of psychology's most famous studies. It has been criticized on many grounds, and yet a majority of textbook authors have ignored these criticisms in their discussions of the SPE, thereby misleading both students and the general public about the study's questionable scientific validity. Data collected from a thorough investigation of the SPE archives and interviews with 15 of the participants in the experiment further question the study's scientific merit. These data are not only supportive of previous criticisms of the SPE, such as the presence of demand characteristics, but provide new criticisms of the SPE based on heretofore unknown information. These new criticisms include the biased and incomplete collection of data, the extent to which the SPE drew on a prison experiment devised and conducted by students in one of Zimbardo's classes 3 months earlier, the fact that the guards received precise instructions regarding the treatment of the prisoners, the fact that the guards were not told they were subjects, and the fact that participants were almost never completely immersed by the situation. Possible explanations of the inaccurate textbook portrayal and general misperception of the SPE's scientific validity over the past 5 decades, in spite of its flaws and shortcomings, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Debriefed but still troubled? About the (in)effectiveness of postexperimental debriefings after ego threat.

Psychological researchers often use powerful experimental manipulations to temporarily reduce participants' well-being. Postexperimental debriefings are intended to eliminate such detrimental effects. However, experimentally induced beliefs can persevere even when the underlying information is explicitly discredited. The present research investigates, in the context of ego-threatening manipulations, whether postexperimental debriefings reestablish participants' prestudy conditions. In 6 studies, participants received false feedback about their intelligence (Studies 1 and 5) or their attractiveness and likability (Studies 2-4 and 6), completed dependent variables indicative of well-being (Studies 1, 2, and 4-6), or aggressive behavior and hostile attributions (Study 3), and were thoroughly debriefed. Participants reported lower well-being and exhibited more hostile attributions after receiving negative compared with neutral or positive feedback. These effects were not eliminated when participants had been debriefed before completing the dependent variables, either in writing (Studies 1-6), in person (Studies 4 and 5), or when additionally writing a self-affirming essay (Studies 4 and 5). A prolonged and extensive personal debriefing (Study 6) was most effective in reducing the aversive effects of ego threat. Follow-up assessments revealed that affective consequences of the ego threat persevered for 2 weeks and longer. Internal meta-analyses corroborated these results, but also showed that all debriefing versions, even if not fully effective, ameliorated the effects of ego threat at least to some extent. Taken together, the present findings illustrate the only partial effectiveness of different debriefing procedures, stress the importance of carefully designing postexperimental debriefings to avoid ethical concerns, and more generally point to potentially effective ways to deal with negative feedback and personal threats. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The state of social and personality science: Rotten to the core, not so bad, getting better, or getting worse?

The scientific quality of social and personality psychology has been debated at great length in recent years. Despite research on the prevalence of Questionable Research Practices (QRPs) and the replicability of particular findings, the impact of the current discussion on research practices is unknown. The current studies examine whether and how practices have changed, if at all, over the last 10 years. In Study 1, we surveyed 1,166 social and personality psychologists about how the current debate has affected their perceptions of their own and the field's research practices. In Study 2, we coded the research practices and critical test statistics from social and personality psychology articles published in 2003-2004 and 2013-2014. Together, these studies suggest that (a) perceptions of the current state of the field are more pessimistic than optimistic; (b) the discussion has increased researchers' intentions to avoid QRPs and adopt proposed best practices, (c) the estimated replicability of research published in 2003-2004 may not be as bad as many feared, and (d) research published in 2013-2014 shows some improvement over research published in 2003-2004, a result that suggests the field is evolving in a positive direction. (PsycINFO Database Record

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: Attitudes and social cognition.

In this editorial, the new incoming editor for the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JPSP)addresses the upcoming challenges and the issue of replicability. Although people vary (often dramatically) in their views on the nature and extent of this issue, that we have an issue to address is something that the new editor thinks most scholars would agree on. It is her hope that engaging in these efforts will return our community to a place that young talent willingly and safely bets their futures on. It is with this sense of mission that she feel honored to serve in this role over the next five years. As Editor, she would like to address the current challenges by actively promoting three principles: rigor, innovation, and inclusiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record

Psychometric properties of the unidimensional relationship closeness scale (URCS) for a Brazilian sample

The present research brings psychometric evidences for the Unidimensional Relationship Closeness Scale (URCS), aiming at verifying its adequacy for use in the Brazilian context. Participants were 468 university students with mean age of 21.2 years. They completed a survey composed by the URCS, the Basic Values Survey (BSV), and demographic questions. Through Exploratory (Eigenvalue = 6.61) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFI = .937, TLI = .923), the results showed that the same one-factor structure from the original version of the scale was found. These results were also invariant across gender and relationship status (ΔSRMR < .03), and presented evidences of internal consistence (α = .94), temporal stability (ICC = .903, p < .001), and convergent validity (rmale = .32, rfemale = .25, p < .001). In conclusion, this measure has shown to be psychometrically adequate for use in Brazil (AU)

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Evidence in promoting positive parenting through the Program-Guide to Develop Emotional Competences / Evidencias del fomento de la parentalidad positiva mediante el Programa-Guía para el Desarrollo de Competencias Emocionales, Educativas y Parentales

This study aims at providing evidence of the effectiveness of the Program-Guide to Develop Emotional Competences in promoting positive parenting. Contextual, institutional, methodological and professional issues were taken into account to develop a social innovation experience to support parenting as a preventive measure to family conflicts. The study describes both the contents of the Program-Guide and the methodological and evaluation issues that trained professionals need to consider when delivering the Program-Guide to families in natural contexts. Information was gathered and analyzed from 259 parents with children of ages 1-18 who participated in 26 parent training groups. A pre- and post-test design showed that after finishing the sessions parents perceived themselves more competent as parents according to the five dimensions of parenting competences considered: (1) emotional self-regulation abilities; (2) self-esteem and assertiveness; (3) communication strategies; (4) strategies to solve conflicts and to negotiate; and (5) strategies to establish coherent norms, limits and consequences to promote positive discipline. The study presents a discussion on these results from evidence-based parenting programs, as well as some strengths and limitations of the study, together with some suggestions for further research

Este estudio tiene como objetivo proporcionar evidencias de la eficacia del Programa-Guía para el Desarrollo de Competencias Emocionales, Educativas y Parentales para promover la parentalidad positiva. Se exponen aspectos contextuales, institucionales, metodológicos y profesionales llevados a cabo en una iniciativa de innovación social de apoyo a la parentalidad positiva como medida de prevención de conflictos familiares. Se han analizado datos de 259 familias con hijo/as de entre 1-18 años que han participado en 26 ediciones del Programa-Guía desarrolladas en otros tantos municipios de Asturias (España). A través de un diseño pre-test y post-test con análisis de medidas repetidas utilizando como instrumento de recogida de información la Escala de Competencias Parentales Emocionales y Sociales, se encuentra que tras finalizar el programa los padres y madres incrementan sus competencias parentales en cinco dimensiones de estudio: 1) habilidades de regulación emocional; 2) autoestima y asertividad; 3) habilidades de comunicación; 4) estrategias de resolución de conflictos y de negociación y 5) estrategias para establecer límites, normas y consecuencias coherentes para promover disciplina positiva. Se finaliza con la discusión de resultados sobre programas basados en evidencias, así como con aportaciones y limitaciones del estudio, y con futuras líneas de investigación

The pitfall of experimenting on the web: How unattended selective attrition leads to surprising (yet false) research conclusions.

The authors find that experimental studies using online samples (e.g., MTurk) often violate the assumption of random assignment, because participant attrition-quitting a study before completing it and getting paid-is not only prevalent, but also varies systemically across experimental conditions. Using standard social psychology paradigms (e.g., ego-depletion, construal level), they observed attrition rates ranging from 30% to 50% (Study 1). The authors show that failing to attend to attrition rates in online panels has grave consequences. By introducing experimental confounds, unattended attrition misled them to draw mind-boggling yet false conclusions: that recalling a few happy events is considerably more effortful than recalling many happy events, and that imagining applying eyeliner leads to weight loss (Study 2). In addition, attrition rate misled them to draw a logical yet false conclusion: that explaining one's view on gun rights decreases progun sentiment (Study 3). The authors offer a partial remedy (Study 4) and call for minimizing and reporting experimental attrition in studies conducted on the Web. (PsycINFO Database Record

Marginally Significant Effects as Evidence for Hypotheses: Changing Attitudes Over Four Decades.

Some effects are statistically significant. Other effects do not reach the threshold of statistical significance and are sometimes described as "marginally significant" or as "approaching significance." Although the concept of marginal significance is widely deployed in academic psychology, there has been very little systematic examination of psychologists' attitudes toward these effects. Here, we report an observational study in which we investigated psychologists' attitudes concerning marginal significance by examining their language in over 1,500 articles published in top-tier cognitive, developmental, and social psychology journals. We observed a large change over the course of four decades in psychologists' tendency to describe a p value as marginally significant, and overall rates of use appear to differ across subfields. We discuss possible explanations for these findings, as well as their implications for psychological research.

Coping, rumination and posttraumatic growth in people affected by an earthquake / Afrontamiento, rumiación y crecimiento postraumático en personas afectadas por un terremoto

BACKGROUND: In this article, the evaluation of a structural model that seeks to identify predictors and mediators of posttraumatic growth (PTG) of people affected by a natural disaster is presented. METHOD:The sample was composed of 349 adult men and women who experienced the earthquake and tsunami on February 27, 2010 in Chile. A modeling with structural equations was used, contrasting two predictive models of PTG. The latent variables assessed were subjective severity, social sharing of emotion, intrusive rumination, deliberate rumination, problem-focused coping and posttraumatic growth. RESULTS:The best fit was obtained with the model that shows a direct influence of the subjective severity, problem-focused coping, and deliberate rumination in the presence of PTG. Problem-focused coping mediated the relation between subjective severity and social sharing with PTG. In turn, deliberate rumination mediated the relation of problem-focused coping and intrusive rumination with PTG.CONCLUSIONS: The results show the relevant role of cognitive processes such as deliberate rumination and behavioral processes such as problem-focused coping in the presence of PTG

ANTECEDENTES: este artículo presenta la evaluación de un modelo estructural que busca identificar predictores y mediadores de crecimiento postraumático (CPT) en personas afectadas por un desastre natural. MÉTODO: la muestra estuvo conformada por 349 hombres y mujeres adultos que vivieron el terremoto y tsunami del 27/F del 2010 en Chile. Se empleó modelamiento con ecuaciones estructurales contrastando 2 modelos predictivos de CPT. Las variables latentes fueron la subjetive severity, social sharing, rumiación intrusiva, rumiación deliberada, afrontamiento centrado en el problema y CPT. RESULTADOS: el mejor ajuste se obtuvo con el modelo que muestra una influencia directa de la severidad subjetiva, el afrontamiento centrado en el problema y la rumiación deliberada en la presencia de CPT. El afrontamiento centrado en el problema medió la relación de la severidad subjetiva y compartir social con el CPT; a su vez, la rumiación deliberada medió la relación del afrontamiento centrado en el problema y la rumiación intrusiva con el CPT. CONCLUSIONES: los resultados muestran el rol relevante de procesos cognitivos como la rumiación deliberada y procesos conductuales como el afrontamiento centrado en el problema en la presencia de CPT

Prejudice, social dominance, and similarity among people who favor integration of minorities

This study examines differences in prejudice, perceived similarity, and social dominance in members of the majority who favor integration as a means of minority acculturation. A total of 342 non-Gypsy Spanish participants filled out a questionnaire about their relationship to one of three outgroups: Maghrebians, Gypsies, and Latin Americans. Hierarchical cluster analysis showed that a three-cluster solution was most fitting for every outgroup. ANOVAs applied to the three clusters indicated significant differences in prejudice, perceived similarity, and social dominance. Referring to Gypsies the largest effect size was observed in manifest prejudice (η2 = .63), in Maghrebians, the largest effect size was observed in subtle prejudice (η2 =.77), while for Latin Americans, perceived similarity had the largest effect size η2 ( = .60). The results reveal a need to modify existing measures of integration; we recommend using questionnaires to measure behaviors that members of the majority would be willing to implement (AU)

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Considering Community Psychology Competencies: A Love Letter to Budding Scholar-Activists Who Wonder if They Have What It Takes.

Recently, community psychologists have re-vamped a set of 18 competencies considered important for how we practice community psychology. Three competencies are: (1) ethical, reflexive practice, (2) community inclusion and partnership, and (3) community education, information dissemination, and building public awareness. This paper will outline lessons I-a white working class woman academic-learned about my competency development through my research collaborations, using the lens of affective politics. I describe three lessons, from school-based research sites (elementary schools serving working class students of color and one elite liberal arts school serving wealthy white students). The first lesson, from an elementary school, concerns ethical, reflective practice. I discuss understanding my affect as a barometer of my ability to conduct research from a place of solidarity. The second lesson, which centers community inclusion and partnership, illustrates how I learned about the importance of "before the beginning" conversations concerning social justice and conflict when working in elementary schools. The third lesson concerns community education, information dissemination, and building public awareness. This lesson, from a college, taught me that I could stand up and speak out against classism in the face of my career trajectory being threatened. With these lessons, I flesh out key aspects of community practice competencies.

A cluster analysis on student's perceived motivational climate. Implications on psycho-social variables

The aim of this study was to examine how students' perceptions of the class climate influence their basic psychological needs, motivational regulations, social goals and outcomes such as boredom, enjoyment, effort, and pressure/tension. 507 (267 males, 240 females) secondary education students agreed to participate. They completed a questionnaire that included the Spanish validated versions of Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire (PMCSQ-2), Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise (BPNES), Perceived Locus of Causality (PLOC), Social Goal Scale- Physical Education (SGS-PE), and several subscales of the IMI. A hierarchical cluster analysis uncovered four independent class climate profiles that were confirmed by a K-Means cluster analysis: «high ego», «low ego-task», «high ego-medium task», and «high task». Several MANOVAs were performed using these clusters as independent variables and the different outcomes as dependent variables (p < .01). Results linked high mastery class climates to positive consequences such as higher students' autonomy, competence, relatedness, intrinsic motivation, effort, enjoyment, responsibility and relationship, as well as low levels of a motivation, boredom and pressure/tension. Students' perceptions of a performance class climate made the positive scores decrease significantly. Cluster 3 revealed that a mastery oriented class structure undermines the negative behavioral and psychological effects of a performance class climate. This finding supports the buffering hypothesis of the achievement goal theory (AU)

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Evaluación de las habilidades sociales: estructura factorial y otras propiedades psicométricas de cuatro medidas de autoinforme / Assessing social skills: the factorarial structure and other psychometric properties of four self-report measures

La evaluación de las habilidades sociales por medio de medidas de autoinforme sigue realizándose con instrumentos desarrollados en los años 70, como el "inventario de asertividad de Rathus" (RAS), el "Inventario de aserción" (AI) o la "Escala de autoexpresión universitaria" (CSES). Este estudio llevado a cabo con 421 estudiantes universitarios (76,5% mujeres) halló las estructuras factoriales de dichos instrumentos así como el nuevo "Cuestionario de habilidades sociales" (CHASO-I). Las soluciones factoriales obtenidas fueron de 6, 8, 11 y 12 factores respectivamente. La fiabilidad (dos mitades de Guttman y alfa de Cronbach) de todos los cuestionarios fue alta y las correlaciones entre el CHASO-I y el resto de los cuestionarios fueron moderadas. Se encontraron diferencias de sexo en la puntuación total del RAS y en los factores de «Hablar o actuar en público/ interaccionar con superiores», "Interaccionar con personas que me atraen" e "Interaccionar con desconocidos", con los hombre más habilidosos que las mujeres, y en el factor "Pedir disculpas/Reconocer errores propios" con las mujeres más habilidosas que los hombres. El estudio concluye señalando algunos problemas comunes a las medidas de autoinforme de las habilidades sociales así como algunas virtudes del nuevo CHASO-I

The self-reporting of social skills continues to be assessed through the assertiveness inventories developed in the 1970s, such as the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (RAS), the Assertion Inventory (AI), and the College Self Expression Scale (CSES). The study report here involved 421 university students (7, 5% women) and obtained the factor structures for the aforementioned instruments, plus the new Social Skills Questionnaires (SSQ-I) (Cuestionario de habilidades sociales, CHASO-I). The factorial solutions obtained were 6,8, 11 and 12 factors, respectively. The reliability (Guttman split-half and Cronbach’s alpha) of all the questionnaires was high, and the correlations between the CHASO-I and all the other questionnaires were moderate. The sex differences found involved the total scores Of the RAS and the factors "Speakings or performing in public/Interacting with figures in authority", "Interacting with persons I am attracted to", and "Interacting with strangers", with men being more skilled than women, and the factor "apologizing/recognizing their own mistakes", with women being more skilled than men. The study concluded by recognizing certain common problems affecting the self-report measures of social skills, as well as certain advantages of the new CHASO-I

Dar sentido al proceso de rehabilitación psicosocial: una escucha intesubjetiva / No disponible

En este artículo se describe lo que los autores entienden por escucha intersubjetiva, y la importancia que ésta tiene para dar sentido al proceso terapéutico del usuario dentro de un contexto de rehabilitación comunitaria. A la definición del término intersubjetividad le seguirán las características que pensamos son importantes para poder hablar de una actitud de escucha. Se hará hincapié en el comienzo de la relación terapéutica, y la importancia de fomentar una actitud de colaboración versus una actitud o relación jerárquica. A continuación se reflexionará sobre el impacto que este proceso de escucha basado en la intersubjetividad puede tener para la red de servicios, y para el profesional. Por último, se mencionarán los beneficios que este modelo de intervención ofrece al usuario

This paper describes the author' understanding on intersubjective listening and its importance in order to enlighten the person’s therapeutic process when he is in the context of a psychosocial rehabilitation. Once the term intersubjectivity is clearly defined, the authors continue explaining the fundamental characteristics of an attitude of listening. This is followed by the beginning of the therapeutic alliance and the importance of promoting a collaborative attitude vs. a hierarchic attitude or relationship. Then, the authors offer a reflection about the impact that this type of therapeutic intervention, based on the intersubjectivity, could have both for the mental health nertwork and for the professionals that put it in practice. To finish, the benefits that this model of intervention offer the person user of the service, are mentioned

The wisdom of select crowds.

Social psychologists have long recognized the power of statisticized groups. When individual judgments about some fact (e.g., the unemployment rate for next quarter) are averaged together, the average opinion is typically more accurate than most of the individual estimates, a pattern often referred to as the wisdom of crowds. The accuracy of averaging also often exceeds that of the individual perceived as most knowledgeable in the group. However, neither averaging nor relying on a single judge is a robust strategy; each performs well in some settings and poorly in others. As an alternative, we introduce the select-crowd strategy, which ranks judges based on a cue to ability (e.g., the accuracy of several recent judgments) and averages the opinions of the top judges, such as the top 5. Through both simulation and an analysis of 90 archival data sets, we show that select crowds of 5 knowledgeable judges yield very accurate judgments across a wide range of possible settings-the strategy is both accurate and robust. Following this, we examine how people prefer to use information from a crowd. Previous research suggests that people are distrustful of crowds and of mechanical processes such as averaging. We show in 3 experiments that, as expected, people are drawn to experts and dislike crowd averages-but, critically, they view the select-crowd strategy favorably and are willing to use it. The select-crowd strategy is thus accurate, robust, and appealing as a mechanism for helping individuals tap collective wisdom.