Individual Difference Variables Research Articles

The Relationships Between Neural Activity and In-Game Hitting Performance in Baseball.

The current study examines the relationships between hitters' neural activity and their in-game hitting performance. Collegiate baseball players completed a computerized video task assessing whether thrown pitches were balls or strikes while their neural activity was recorded. In addition, each player's hitting statistics were collected for the following baseball season. Results showed that neural activity during the computerized task was associated with in-game hitting performance, even after accounting for other individual difference variables. These findings indicate that players' neural activity measured in a laboratory environment shows a translational relationship with in-game hitting performance over time. Neural activity provides a more objective analysis of players' ongoing self-regulatory processes during hitting and a better understanding of the cognitive processes associated with hitting performance. Self-regulatory cognitive control is adaptable and trainable, and this research advances the measurement of cognitive variables related with in-game hitting performance in baseball.

Individual differences in psychological rigidity and beliefs about system fitness predict attitudes about social determinants of disaster risk

Although events triggered by phenomena such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and landslides are routinely referred to as “natural disasters”, scholars have long argued that they are not natural at all; rather their disastrous consequences are a result of sociopolitical decisions surrounding the accumulation of risk. In the current work, we seek to understand who is more likely to accept or reject the importance of risk reduction by examining two constructs:1) perceived blamelessness in the face of disasters, and 2) lack of support for disaster risk reduction. Across two studies (combined n = 1732), higher perceived blamelessness and lower support for risk reduction via socio-political means were reliably related to individual difference measures of psychological rigidity as well as beliefs about socio-economic system fitness. Specifically, higher levels of system justification, belief in a just world, fair market ideology, need for cognitive closure, intolerance of ambiguity, social dominance orientation, and right-wing authoritarianism were consistently related to lower likelihood of assigning human blame for disaster damages as well as less endorsement of socio-political interventions to stem disaster risks. Both blamelessness and intervention-avoidance were also related positively to political conservatism. Importantly, observed relationships remained significant after controlling for political ideology which correlates with each of the measured variables. We argue that observed relationships between individual difference variables and support for risk reduction policies around natural hazards that are not reducible to co-relationships with political ideology may be particularly important to consider when crafting successful interventions.

Who is cooperative in negotiations? The impact of political skill on cooperation, reputation and outcomes

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to predict cooperation in negotiation through the lens of individual differences. Specifically, this paper examines how a social competence variable called “political skill” relates to cooperation and subsequent effects on negotiation process, outcomes and negotiator reputation. The authors demonstrate how political skill fits in the evolving literature focusing on individual differences in negotiation by comparing political skill to a wide range of other individual difference measures.Design/methodology/approachThis study was conducted by assessing individual difference measures at the beginning of graduate-level negotiation courses and tracking negotiation behaviors and outcomes over several months. This approach was chosen to minimize the potential for short, time-limited interactions to mask existing relationships. It also allowed the authors to include multiple negotiation interactions, which takes a broader view of negotiation performance, and assess negotiator reputation by allowing it to emerge over time.FindingsThe results of this study show that political skill, self-rated at the beginning of this study, is significantly related to a negotiator’s overall use of cooperative behavior as rated by peers. Political skill also showed a significant relationship with reputation for cooperativeness and aggregate outcomes in negotiations. These results control for other individual difference measures such as personality, implicit negotiation beliefs, social value orientation and negotiation self-efficacy.Originality/valueUsing a method that allows the effects of an individual difference to materialize over time, this study empirically establishes the connection between political skill and negotiation reputation, process and outcomes. The methodological contributions of this study explore the relations between self-rated individual difference variables, peer-rated cooperative behaviors and objective coded negotiation outcomes in evaluating political skill in negotiation.

The influence of need for cognition and need for emotion on elderly responses to advertising: an exploratory study and implications for change in management

PurposeThis paper examines the relationship between “chronological age” and the individual difference variables: “Need for cognition” (NFC) and “Need for emotion” (NFE). More specifically, this study investigates the influence of these individual difference variables on elderly responses towards advertising.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on a sample of 600 individuals. 300 elderly aged between 60 and 75 years old (average age: 67.67 years old), recruited from institutions and third age universities in Paris and 300 young adults, aged between 20 and 35 years old (average age: 25.14 years old) from academic institutions in Paris.FindingsThe findings show that NFC and NFE have different levels depending on age. Indeed, NFC is lower among older than younger individuals, and NFE is higher among older than younger individuals. Moreover, different levels in NFC and NFE may affect responses to ads. Thus, a high NFC can elicit more favorable cognitive responses to ads and a high NFE triggers more favorable affective responses.Research limitations/implicationsThe study investigates specifically the effects of chronological age on the individual difference variables NFC and NFE; however, the influence of chronological age on these individual variables may be affected by other variables such as subjective age, level of education and physical condition.Practical implicationsGiven that NFC and NFE are dynamic variables that change with age and that they influence responses to advertising, it would be necessary to take them into account and to integrate them when building management persuasion models specifically targeting the elderly.Originality/valueThis study focuses on the influence of individual variables (NFE and NFC) on responses to advertising, of an underexplored population: the elderly. This could help to better understand the persuasion mechanisms when it comes to targeting the elderly both outside and inside organizations, with deriving implications for change in management.

Social Aspects of Variability of Individual Differences in Higher Mental Functions in Preschool Children

Individual variability of higher mental functions depends on the family environment. An appropriate psychological environment is able to harmonize individual development while the ontogenetic individuality of human psychology depends on many systemic factors. This empirical study focused on the socio-demographic characteristics of the family, namely the income and background of the parents. Different socio-cultural family environment caused uneven development of higher mental functions and differences in the main information processing strategy in preschoolers. The financial status of the family and the level of education of the parents proved to be the most significant factors responsible for the individual differences in the development of higher mental functions in preschoolers. The sociocultural environment of the family affected the long-term individual variability of functions connected with block III of the brain, as well as those provided by the left hemisphere.

Materialistic Consumers Who Need To Signal Their Status: Examination of Antecedents and Consequences of Consumers’ Luxury Brands Engagement on Social Media

The purpose of this research is to understand the key drivers and outcomes of consumer brand engagement (CBE) with luxury brands on social media. Specifically, this study aims to examine the mediating effect of CBE between antecedents (materialism, need for status signaling) and brand outcomes (brand attitude and brand usage intention) when consumer involvement (CI) is controlled. A survey was administered to 547 non-student young consumers who follow luxury brands on Instagram. The empirical findings show that antecedents (materialism, need for status signaling) positively influence brand outcomes (brand attitude, brand usage intention). Further, the results show a partially supportive mediating role of CBE between antecedents and brand outcomes. This research found prominent effects of materialism and need for status signaling. There are limited studies on CBE with luxury brands on social media. This research is a pioneer, as it extends the CBE framework by adding two individual difference variables as antecedents and two brand outcome variables.

Communicating Extremity: Fitness Efficacy and Standards Relate to Using Extreme Imagery and Messaging to Create Fitness-Related Media

ABSTRACT Health-related social media increasingly competes with other forms of health communication for public attention. To advance understanding of the genesis of health-related social media communicating extreme fitness standards, we investigated women’s creation of fitspiration, social-media content combining fitness images with effortful messages. In a pre-registered study, we hypothesized that creating extreme fitspiration content would relate positively to fitness fantasizing and to exercise self-efficacy, fitness perfectionism, physical activity, thin- and muscular-ideal internalizations, and self-objectification. Undergraduate women (N = 277) created their own fitspiration content by selecting from fitness images and messages that varied in extremity. Fitness fantasizing related positively to creating more extreme fitspiration. When controlling statistically for all other individual-difference variables, exercise self-efficacy and perfectionistic strivings emerged as key variables associated with creating extreme fitspiration content. Results suggest that women who are confident and strive toward challenging goals may create fitspiration content that communicates extreme standards. This work has implications for understanding a potential disconnect between fitspiration creators and consumers, which may illuminate ways to promote healthy fitness communications online.

The Moderating Role of Intolerance of Uncertainty in the Relationship Between Health Anxiety and Pandemic-Related Stress.

Global pandemics, including COVID-19, have a significant effect on mental health, and this may be especially true for individuals with health anxiety. Although health anxiety is related to both pandemic-related fears and perceptions of health risks, there is a paucity of research on individual difference variables that might exert an influence on these relationships. The present study examined intolerance of uncertainty (IU) as a potential moderator of the relationship between health anxiety and COVID-related stress, and the relationship between health anxiety and perceived risk of contracting COVID. A nationally representative sample of North American adults (N = 204) completed self-report measures of health anxiety, IU, COVID-related stress, and perceived risk of contracting COVID. Prospective IU moderated the positive relationship between health anxiety and COVID-related stress, as the relationship was strengthened at average and higher levels of prospective IU. Neither IU subscale moderated the relationship between health anxiety and perceived risk. These results suggest that individuals with elevated health anxiety and high prospective IU may be at higher risk of experiencing COVID-related stress, illuminating the interplay of risk factors that place anxious populations at an increased risk of experiencing stress during acute health risks. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10608-023-10365-w.

Reasons for Moral-Based Opposition to Pornography in a U.S. Nationally Representative Sample

Pornography use is a common-but-controversial activity that many people object to or morally disapprove of. Despite this, there is a limited understanding of the reasons for such moral opposition. Although some prior research has assessed characteristics that influence moral opposition to pornography, most research has done so using various forced-choice methods. The present study aimed to better understand the reasoning behind moral-based opposition to pornography by using open-ended questioning and exploring the relationship between these reasons and pornography use habits. To achieve these aims, we analyzed data from a nationally representative U.S. sample, specifically studying individuals who reported moral beliefs opposing pornography (N = 1,020). Results revealed 14 general themes (e.g., religion/spirituality; concerns about abuse; disgust) in the reasons participants reported for their moral disapproval of pornography, many of which were related to individual difference variables such as gender, age, religiousness, and political preferences. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are also discussed.

Language learning aptitude in older adults

Recent developments in language learning aptitude research have generated renewed interest in the topic, especially with regard to the distinction between aptitude for explicit and implicit learning. This work is complemented by ongoing improvements to the LLAMA aptitude test. To date, studies of aptitude have relied primarily on data from younger adults and adolescents, although the importance of understanding older adults’ abilities and needs is increasingly being acknowledged. In a first attempt to assess the suitability of existing aptitude measures for older adults, to establish the relationship between aptitude for explicit and implicit learning in such a population, and to explore the role of other individual difference variables, 64 healthy volunteers aged 61–79 completed the LLAMA and a probabilistic serial reaction time (SRT) task. We examined to what extent participants’ occupational status, chronological age, level of multilingualism, self-concept, emotional state and leisure activities were associated with their performance on the aptitude measures. Both the LLAMA and the SRT proved challenging for the participants, but the hypothesised distinction between implicit and explicit aptitude was supported empirically. We found that retired participants were at a disadvantage on implicit aptitude measures compared with participants who were still working. Level of multilingualism and a more positive self-concept in terms of memory and cognition correlated with performance on the implicit aptitude measures, while age had an impact on performance on the explicit aptitude measures. We discuss possible interpretations of these results in the context of existing research on third-age language learning and use.

The perceived usefulness of a degree as a function of discipline

ABSTRACT Over 500 British respondents rated the extent to which a degree in 35 different subjects/disciplines (Anthropology to Zoology) would lead to useful skills acquisition and thence a well-paid job. These ratings factored into five groups: Social/Applied Natural Sciences and Humanities; Professional and Applied STEM; Languages; People and Information Management; and Pure Science. These ratings were then related to eight individual difference variables (demography, ideology, self-evaluations) through correlational and regression analysis. Applied STEM and Pure Science factors were considered the most useful (with minimal disagreement), whereas there were a number of demographic correlates on the factors considered to be less useful. Speculations are made about the origin and validity of these beliefs. Implications of these results, and limitations are acknowledged.

Individual differences in the frequency of voluntary & involuntary episodic memories, future thoughts, and counterfactual thoughts.

Voluntary and involuntary mental time travel can take the form of episodic memory, episodic future thinking, and episodic counterfactual thinking. This study uses an individual-differences approach to understand why people engage in these forms of mental time travel. The individual-differences variables include trait-level personality, boredom proneness, depression, anxiety, stress, emotion regulation, mindfulness, mind-wandering, positive and negative affect, rumination, optimism, thinking styles, and time perspective. Across two studies, our results indicate that individual differences underlie these forms of mental time travel. The most unique, episodic counterfactual thinking, was alone positively correlated with negative emotionality and negatively correlated with optimism. We also observe differences as a function of voluntariness and discuss these findings in relation to the cognitively demanding nature of constructing future and counterfactual thoughts. We discuss the importance of distinguishing voluntary from involuntary thinking and assessing episodic counterfactual thinking in relation to episodic memory and episodic future thinking.

The Impact of Reading Medium on the Comprehension and Judgment of Performance of Moroccan EFL Readers

Technology use in Moroccan higher education classrooms is growing at an exponential rate. However, current knowledge about the pedagogical effectiveness of Information Communication Technology (ICT) usage for reading and self-efficacy beliefs of Moroccan EFL readers is inconclusive. The main purpose of the present study was to examine the impact of reading texts on paper versus on-screen on reading comprehension and judgment of performance, while controlling for relevant individual difference variables. In a between-subjects design, three groups of first-year university students (N = 83) read an expository text on a sheet of paper versus on a laptop. Before reading, topic knowledge was assessed. After reading, participants were asked to answer three open-ended questions (main idea, key points, and other relevant ideas) and one closed-ended question (true-false). Next, based on the medium used for reading, participants were asked to rate how confident they were that the answers they provided were correct. Results of the t-test showed that reading medium did not affect overall reading comprehension, but slight differences between groups emerged. Calculated means indicated that participants who read on paper scored somewhat better on the main idea and other-relevant ideas questions; whereas, participants who read on-screen scored a little bit better on the key points and true-false questions. Moreover, results suggested no influence of the reading medium on students’ post-task judgments, indicating that participants who read on-screen were about as accurate in judging their comprehension performance as those who read on paper. These results suggest that reading short factual texts on the screen has no detrimental effects on the cognitive and metacognitive abilities of EFL readers.

Anxiety Sensitivity and Internalizing Symptoms: Co-Predictors of Persistent Peer Victimization in Elementary School Children

ABSTRACT Previous research suggests both social contextual and individual difference variables contribute to chronic peer victimization. We tested whether two individual difference variables – anxiety sensitivity (AS) and internalizing symptoms (IS) – predicted persistent peer victimization in elementary school children. Participants were 677 fourth-grade students (51.8% girls) from 10 public elementary schools. We hypothesized that persistent victims would report the highest levels of AS and IS. We also expected that IS would mediate the link between AS and persistent peer victimization. Results indicated that persistent victims reported significantly higher levels of AS and IS than transient or limited victims, and we found evidence that IS functioned as an intermediate variable between AS and persistent peer victimization status. Implications and directions for research are discussed.

The test-retest reliability of the retrieval practice effect.

Retrieving information from memory, compared with different control conditions, improves subsequent retention of that information. Given the ubiquitous demonstration of this retrieval practice effect, researchers have asked whether such benefit is moderated by individual-difference variables. An implicit assumption in individual-difference research is that the retrieval practice effect at the participant level is reliable across participants. In this study, we tested this reliability assumption. In two sessions, 54 participants studied foreign-native word pairs, repeatedly restudied half of the word pairs, repeatedly retrieval-practised the other half, and, finally, took a final test for all pairs. Different word pairs were used in each session. We replicated the retrieval practice effect at the group level in Sessions 1 (d = 0.54, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.27, 0.80]) and 2 (d = 0.79 [0.53, 1.05]). In addition, we found that the retrieval practice effect at the participant level was reliable over a 1-week span both for absolute agreement, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = .33 [.12, .51], and for consistency estimates, ICC = .35 [.14, .53]. The result bridges a gap in the literature of individual differences on the retrieval practice effect. We suggest that future studies identify whether, and under which experimental conditions, the retrieval practice effect at the participant level may show even greater reliability estimates than the ones reported here. The finding may also pave the way for studies assessing whether the magnitude of the retrieval practice effect is domain-general or paradigm-specific.

Individual differences in contingencies between situation characteristics and personality states.

Contingencies between situational variables and psychological states have been proposed as key individual difference variables by many theoretical approaches to personality. Despite their relevance, the basic properties, nomological correlates, and factor structure of individual differences in contingencies have not been examined so far. We address these fundamental questions in five studies with overall N = 952 participants and N = 32,052 unique assessments. Individual differences in situation characteristic-state contingencies (SCSCs) between DIAMONDS situation characteristics and Big Five personality states were examined in everyday life. SCSCs showed substantial variation across participants, and individual differences in them were moderately reliable (average meta-analytic reliability = .47) and short-term stable (average meta-analytic latent stability = .43). They were weakly and inconsistently related to average personality states, self-reported personality traits, subjective happiness, and sociodemographic variables across studies. However, there were meaningful intercorrelations among SCSCs that could be described by four factors: contingencies involving (1) positive states and situational problems, (2) positive states and situational rewards, (3) thinking/work and requirements of thinking/work, and (4) neurotic states. Overall, our findings support the notion of SCSCs as potentially important individual difference variables, and we sketch future lines of research on contingencies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Evaluating the effectiveness of vegetarian appeals in daily life: Comparing positive and negative imagery, and gauging differential responses

Persuasive appeals designed to reduce meat consumption often employ graphic images of the harms perpetuated by eating meat (e.g., cruel factory farming practices). However, because people are motivated to see themselves as moral, appeals that highlight omnivores’ moral failings might be resisted or even backfire. Furthermore, individuals differ in ways that may influence their motivations and attitudes toward animals and meat-eating, and their responses to these appeals. Thus, in a two-week intervention study (N = 427), we compared effects of two vegetarian appeals—one employing graphic negative imagery (footage of factory farming cruelty), the other employing positive imagery (footage from farmed animal sanctuaries)—on daily meat consumption and related affects and cognitions. We also examined several personality traits and other individual differences that may confer differential effects of these appeals. Although neither appeal significantly reduced meat consumption, both the positive and negative appeal increased intentions to eat less meat, and led to more negative affect and cognition when eating meat. Moreover, several individual difference variables moderated the effects of these appeals on actual and intended meat consumption. Findings are discussed in relation to the difficulty of changing morally troublesome behaviour, and the use of graphic appeals despite their unclear impact on behaviour.

A Meta-Analysis of Test-Retest Reliability in Language Anxiety Research: Is Language Anxiety Stable or Variable?

Researchers have agreed that language anxiety is situation-specific; however, whether existing instruments measure stable or transient components of this anxiety remains controversial. Therefore, this study examined language anxiety’s trait stability and state variability. The results from synthesizing 21 test-retest correlations based on existing scales showed a large effect ( r = .82). Meta-regression and subgroup analyses revealed that the aggregated correlation varied with target languages, but not with age, measuring scales, or retest intervals. The overall results provide evidence that situation-specific language anxiety, as measured by existing scales, is as stable as broad personality traits are, but it is not a personality trait. This finding suggests a need to develop anxiety instruments for transient state language anxiety that will complement rather than replace existing scales that are capable of measuring the temporal stability of language anxiety. This finding also provides implications for language research and practice with regard to anxiety, and for research on other individual-difference variables and their measurement.

Explicitness, disgust, and safe sex behavior: A message experiment with U.S. adults

Sexual health risks are challenging to communicate given the potential negative reactions of target audiences to explicit language. Grounded in research on pathogen avoidance, the current study examined the impact of varying levels of explicit language on message perceptions and safe sex behavioral intentions. U.S. adults (N = 498) were randomly assigned to view messages detailing pandemic safe sexual behavior that contained either low or high levels of explicit language. High explicit language significantly increased perceived disgust which also indirectly linked high explicit language with increased intentions to engage in safe sex behavior. Individual difference variables moderated the impact of message explicitness; dispositional hygiene disgust moderated the impact of high explicit, hygiene-focused messages on safe sex intentions. Those with relatively low levels of dispositional disgust were more positively impacted by explicit language. The results suggest the value of increased message explicitness for sexual health communication and have implications for pathogen avoidance behaviors, the behavioral immune system, and dispositional and affective forms of disgust.

Increasing Employee Motivation to Lead Through an Understanding of Communication Apprehension

This study expanded on current theoretical understanding of motivation to lead by testing a model that includes communication apprehension as a key predictor of motivation to lead. The hypotheses were tested with hierarchical multiple regression applied to cross-sectional data collected from 170 retail employees at stores on the east coast of the United States. The results revealed a strong, negative relationship between communication apprehension and affective-identity, social-normative, and noncalculative motivation to lead. Communication apprehension was a stronger predictor of motivation to lead than other individual difference variables. The results also revealed that although communication apprehension is significantly negatively related to all dimensions of motivation to lead, it accounts for more variance in the affective-identity dimension than the social-normative and noncalculative dimensions. Theoretical and practical implications for communication and leadership development are presented and suggestions for future research are discussed.