Alternative Predictors Research Articles

Self-efficacy expectancies, outcome expectancies, and the persistence of pain control in childbirth.

Bandura's (1977) self-efficacy theory of mastery behavior distinguishes self-efficacy expectancies from outcome expectancies. The relative roles of self-efficacy expectancies, outcome expectancies, and importance were studied as predictors of persistence of pain control in medication-free childbirth. Fifty-two primiparous women made self-efficacy judgments before and during labor and then reported in postdelivery interviews the timing and amount of medication use during labor and delivery. Self-efficacy expectancies predicted persistence in pain control without medication better than outcome expectancies, importance, and seven other alternative predictors, supporting several aspects of construct validation of the self-efficacy expectancy construct. However, self-efficacy and outcome expectancies were very highly correlated and largely redundant in their correlations with mastery. Three possible reasons and implications for the lack of differentiation of self-efficacy and outcome expectancies are discussed.

Endomycorrhizal Role for Interspecific Transfer of Phosphorus in a Community of Annual Plants

Phosphorus-32 applied to leaves of Plantago erecta in a serpentine annual grassland reached the shoots of about 20 percent of the close neighbors. Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae connect the root systems of neighbors of different species and probably mediate nutrient transfers among them. Spatial patterns of transfer show that taxonomic affinity, distance from donor, and size of recipient do not serve as predictors of transfer and that models of transfer by simple diffusion are not appropriate. No alternative predictor was discovered. The results underscore the importance of belowground interactions in explaining neighbor effects, but the factors controlling nutrient transfer and its consequences for community structure appear complex.

A comparison of projective and objective fear-of-success and sex-role orientation measures as predictors of women's performance on masculine and feminine tasks

This study compared projective and objective measures of fear of success (FOS) with each other and with a measure of sex-role orientation as alternative predictors of 309 college women's achievement behavior on masculine and feminine tasks. Neither the sex role nor the FOS measures predicted substantial performance differences on the masculine or feminine tasks, although the objective FOS scales and the Bem Sex Role Inventory did predict subjects' stated investment in the task and attributions for success in a manner generally consistent with FOS theory. In addition, the objective FOS scales showed strong relationships with achievement motivation and sex-role orientation, while TAT (Thematic Apperception Test) FOS was unrelated to either of these variables. The results provide partial support that objective FOS scales tap actual avoidance tendencies characteristic of traditionally feminine women, while the TAT measure reflects, at most, an ambivalence over success which may be equally characteristic of high achieving, nontraditional women and low achieving, traditional women.

Predictors for the first-order autoregressive process

The error made in predicting a first-order autoregressive process with unknown parameters is investigated. It is shown that the least squares predictor is unbiased for symmetric error distributions. Alternative predictors for stationary and non-stationary processes are studied using the Monte Carlo method. The ordinary least squares statistics perform reasonably well for one period predictions with samples as small as ten for both stationary and non-stationary processes. It is demonstrated that there is a considerable loss in efficiency when outdated estimators are used to construct predictors.

Predictions from ARMAX models

This paper gives an expression for the minimum mean squared error predictor of the single equation ARMAX model when all the parameters are known. A formula is then derived for the asymptotic prediction mean squared error when the parameters are replaced by their maximum likelihood estimates. These general results are then specialised to the regression model with ARMA errors; for this case we also consider the properties of an alternative predictor which can sometimes be marginally more efficient than the conventional predictor.

Predicting Success for Graduate Study in Business for English-Speaking and Non-English-Speaking Students

The purpose of the present study was to examine the predictive validity of the Admissions Test for Graduate Study in Business (ATGSB) and alternative predictors for English-speaking and non-English speaking students in a Master's Degree Business Administration Program. Seven criterion variables (e.g., cumulative graduate GPA, number of incompletes received, number of months to graduation) were chosen to represent a variety of indices of academic success. Results indicated that seven of the 77 bivariate correlations were significantly different from zero for the English-speaking students in contrast to 24 statistically significant correlations for the non-English-speaking students.

ASSESSMENT CENTERS—VALID OR MERELY PRESCIENT1

Published validation studies of assessment centers are reviewed with respect to criteria used, staff composition, and the number of organizations involved. Impressive, consistent results are noted, but a trend is identified: Acceptance of the method is based on relatively few studies, conducted by fewer organizations, using a limited range of criteria. It is argued that perhaps the assessment center staff is evaluating candidates based on its familiarity with the preferences of the decision makers who will actually promote, thus merely duplicating already existing decision procedures. What is needed are comparative predictive studies incorporating alternative predictors and criteria.

FACTOR ANALYSIS APPLIED TO PREDICTORS OF INNOVATIVE BEHAVIOR

AbstractStudies concerning innovative behavior have applied many predictor variables, to the point where a purge to reduce redundancy now appears in order. Factor analysis with orthogonal varimax rotation was applied to product perception and demographic, socioeconomic, and predispositional variables in order to reduce their numbers without a significant loss of information. The derived rotated factors were then related by way of factor scores obtained from respondent data to a surrogate measure of innovative behavior using multiple regression equations. The resulting coefficients of determination, while smaller than those originally derived using all of the perceptual and predispositional variables individually, were not reduced by any massive amounts. Thus, the gain from reducing the number of predictor variables through the use of factor analysis seems to more than off‐set the modest reduction in explained variance. Moreover, the resulting factors and their item loadings suggest possible alternative predictor variables to those that have commonly been used in past studies concerning the diffusion of innovations.

Tests for Specification Errors in Classical Linear Least-Squares Regression Analysis

Summary The effects on the distribution of least-squares residuals of a series of model mis-specifications are considered. It is shown that for a variety of specification errors the distributions of the least-squares residuals are normal, but with non-zero means. An alternative predictor of the disturbance vector is used in developing four procedures for testing for the presence of specification error. The specification errors considered are omitted variables, incorrect functional form, simultaneous equation problems and heteroskedasticity.

Estimating the number of different selection decisions resulting from the use of alternate predictor composites.

Estimating the number of different selection decisions resulting from the use of alternate predictor composites.

FORECASTING BY STATISTICAL INFERENCES

Abstract In recognition of the fact that a weather forecast is rarely 100 per cent accurate, this paper considers the value of figures for the probability of a meteorological event in meeting specified operational requirements. An objective method is presented for deciding between alternative meteorological predictors. It is emphasized that there is no essential qualitative difference between this technique and the methods normally applied in a more subjective manner.