Individual Difference Factors Research Articles

A theoretical paradigm proposal of music arousal and emotional valence interrelations with tempo, preference, familiarity, and presence of lyrics

This article proposes a theoretical paradigm encapsulating the interrelations of music arousal and emotional valence with four commonly-studied musical factors: tempo, preference, familiarity, and presence of lyrics. We first posit music valence-arousal classifications and descriptors in accordance with the Circumplex model and a combination of several existing arousal theories. The subsequent section encompasses concise literature reviews on each of the four musical factors based on their interrelations with arousal, valence, individual difference, music-listening and engagement-related factors, while proposing delineations on their methodological considerations and classifications. Finally, a novel theoretical paradigm of interrelations among the pertaining musical factors, arousal theories, and potential differential effects among extroversion and neuroticism traits is constructed with several gap identifications following. Nevertheless, we emphasise the need in accounting for the intricate interrelations among musical factors in order to avoid confoundments in future music intervention research, while remaining open to further refinements of the proposed framework.

Impulsivity typologies and simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use.

Simultaneous use of alcohol and cannabis or marijuana ("SAM") use is prevalent among young adults and associated with adverse outcomes. Impulsivity is a key construct associated with alcohol and other substance use in this age group, but scant work has considered the role of individual facets of impulsivity on SAM use. The present study compared latent profiles defined by facets of impulsivity (negative urgency, lack of perseverance, lack of premeditation, sensation seeking, and positive urgency) and examined whether profiles were associated with recent SAM use relative to alcohol without cannabis use. Participants were 542 young adults (53% female) recruited through Qualtrics Panels who reported past-year alcohol use and blackout drinking behavior. Participants completed online questionnaires regarding their past-year substance use behavior and typical impulsivity. Regression analysis examining the five impulsivity facets revealed that only sensation seeking predicted the likelihood of recent SAM use relative to alcohol without cannabis use. Using latent profile analysis, four profiles were identified: "low impulsivity," "high sensation seeking/urgency impulsivity," "moderate impulsivity," and "high lack of premeditation/perseverance impulsivity." Individuals in the high sensation seeking/urgency group were more likely to engage in SAM use. Impulsivity may be an important individual difference factor associated with SAM use. Young adults who engage in SAM use may be particularly vulnerable for impulsivity related to sensation seeking and urgency, which may further heighten their risk for hazardous use and related outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Predictors of long-term neutralizing antibody titers following COVID-19 vaccination by three vaccine types: the BOOST study

As concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic continue, it is critical to understand the impact of vaccination type on neutralizing antibody response durability as well as to identify individual difference factors related to decline in neutralization. This was a head-to-head comparison study following 498 healthy, community volunteers who received the BNT162b2 (n = 287), mRNA-1273 (n = 149), and Ad26.COV2.S (n = 62). Participants completed questionnaires and underwent blood draws prior to vaccination, 1 month, and 6 months after the vaccination series, and neutralizing antibody (nAB) titers at 1- and 6-months post vaccination were quantified using a high-throughput pseudovirus assay. Over 6 months of follow-up, nABs declined in recipients of BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273, while nABs in recipients of Ad26.COV2.S showed a significant increase. At the 6-month time point, nABs to Ad26.COV2.S were significantly higher than nABs to BNT162b2 and equivalent to mRNA-1273. Irrespective of follow-up timing, being older was associated with lower nAB for participants who received BNT162b2 and Ad26.COV2.S but not for those who received mRNA-1273. A higher baseline BMI was associated with a lower nAB for Ad26.COV2.S recipients but not for recipients of other vaccines. Women and non-smokers showed higher nAB compared to men and current smokers, respectively. The durability of neutralizing antibody responses differed by vaccine type and several sociodemographic factors that predicted response. These findings may inform booster recommendations in the future.

Opioid coping motives and pain intensity among adults with chronic low back pain: associations with mood, pain reactivity, and opioid misuse.

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a significant public health problem that is associated with opioid misuse and use disorder. Despite limited evidence for the efficacy of opioids in the management of chronic pain, they continue to be prescribed and people with CLBP are at increased risk for misuse. Identifying individual difference factors involved in opioid misuse, such as pain intensity as well as reasons for using opioids (also known as motives), may provide pertinent clinical information to reduce opioid misuse among this vulnerable population. Therefore, the aims of the current study were to examine the relationships between opioid motives-to cope with pain-related distress and pain intensity, in terms of anxiety, depression, pain catastrophizing, pain-related anxiety, and opioid misuse among 300 (Mage= 45.69, SD = 11.17, 69% female) adults with CLBP currently using opioids. Results from the current study suggest that both pain intensity and motives to cope with pain-related distress with opioids were associated with all criterion variables, but the magnitude of variance explained by coping motives was larger than pain intensity in terms of opioid misuse. The present findings provide initial empirical evidence for the importance of motives to cope with pain-related distress with opioids and pain intensity in efforts to better understand opioid misuse and related clinical correlates among adults with CLBP.

Behavioral and brain reactivity to uncertain stress prospectively predicts binge drinking in youth.

Prior studies show that individuals with alcohol use disorder exhibit exaggerated behavioral and brain reactivity to uncertain threats (U-threat). It is posited this brain-based factor emerges early in life and contributes to the onset and escalation of alcohol problems. However, no study to date has tested this theory using a longitudinal within-subjects design. Ninety-five young adults, ages 17-19, with minimal alcohol exposure and established risk factors for alcohol use disorder participated in this multi-session study with a 1-year tracking period. Startle eyeblink potentiation and brain activation were collected at separate baseline sessions during the well-validated No-Predictable-Unpredictable (NPU) threat-of-shock task designed to probe reactivity to U-threat and predictable threat (P-threat). Participants self-reported their drinking behavior over the past 90 days at baseline and one-year later. We fit a series of multilevel hurdle models to model the binary outcome of whether binge drinking occurred and the continuous outcome of number of binge drinking episodes. Zero-inflated binary submodels revealed that greater baseline startle reactivity, bilateral anterior insula (AIC) reactivity, and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) reactivity to U-threat were associated with increased probability of binge drinking. There were no other associations between reactivity to U- and P-threat and probability of binge drinking and number of binging episodes. These results demonstrate that exaggerated reactivity to U-threat is a brain-based individual difference factor that connotes risk for problem drinking. These findings also add to a growing literature implicating AIC and dACC dysfunction in the pathophysiology of alcohol use disorder.

Cameras Optional? Examining Student Camera Use from a Learner-Centered Perspective.

In this paper, we offer a holistic look at undergraduate and graduate students' experiences with using cameras for synchronous online learning via Zoom. Analysis of the data using the American Psychological Association's learner-centered psychological principles revealed that social, cognitive, metacognitive, motivational, affective, and individual difference factors influenced student camera use and the level of influence of each of these factors varied from student to student, time to time, and space to space within a class. Findings suggest that there is a multifaceted, dynamic relationship between the student, video conferencing technology, and instructor's pedagogical actions that shapes camera use. Based on the findings, we offer suggestions for online synchronous course design, teaching, and research.

A daily diary investigation of self-regulation in gambling.

Limit-setting strategies have the potential to assist in reducing problem gambling, but there is little research on self-imposed gambling limits and factors that restrain self-regulation once gambling has been initiated. Using daily diary approach, we investigated individual difference and proximal factors associated with gambling limit violations. Participants were 103 individuals who gambled regularly and had set a goal to limit their gambling. Participants completed a baseline measure of trait self-control and questions about gambling and limit violations over 21 days. We examined factors associated with setting and maintaining limits across episodes of gambling as well as within-person factors associated with limit violations, including the moderating role of trait self-control. We found that episodes of gambling where limits were set and violated were associated with riskier gambling and more negative emotional responses. In addition, gambling limits were more likely to be violated on days when temptations to violate limits were high and by people with low trait self-control, whereas urges to gamble were associated with a reduced likelihood of limit violations. Trait self-control moderated the relationship between daily stress/tension and limit violations. Low stress/tension was associated with greater limit violations for those with lower trait self-control, but the likelihood of violating limits increased on high stress days for those with higher trait self-control. Individuals may benefit from greater awareness of temptations to violate gambling limits and the impact of daily stressors, particularly for those with high trait self-control who are most successful when stress/tension is low. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Risky Sexual Behaviors as a Transaction of Individual Differences and Situational Context.

Risky sexual behaviors (RSBs) incur large societal and personal costs. Despite widespread prevention efforts, RSBs and associated consequences (e.g., sexually transmitted infections) continue to rise. A proliferation of research has emerged on situational (e.g., alcohol use) and individual difference (e.g., impulsivity) factors to explain this rise, but these approaches assume an unrealistically static mechanism underlying RSB. Because this prior research has resulted in few compelling effects, we sought to innovate by examining the interaction of situation and individual differences in explaining RSBs. A large sample (N = 105) completed baseline reports of psychopathology and 30 daily diary reports of RSBs and associated contexts. These data were submitted to multilevel models including cross-level interactions to test a person-by-situation conceptualization of RSBs. Results suggested that RSBs are most strongly predicted from interactions of person- and situation-level factors in both protective and facilitative directions. These interactions outnumbered main effects and commonly included partner commitment as a central mechanism. These results point to theoretical and clinical gaps in preventing RSB and urge a departure from prior ways of conceptualizing sexual risk as a static outcome.

Differences in Career Outcome Expectations of College Students by Race/Ethnicity and Gender

This study examined how U.S. college students’ career outcome expectations—what they hope to get out of their careers—vary by intended career path, racial/ethnic groups, gender, and other individual difference factors. The data were drawn from the Persistence Research in Science and Engineering (PRiSE) survey, a national study of U.S. college students enrolled in college English courses (n = 7505). An exploratory factor analysis revealed four foci of career outcome expectations, which we labeled as follows: extrinsic (rewards are external, such as money or status), work-life balance (work does not consume all of a person’s time/energy), pioneering (work is intellectually stimulating and cutting edge), and people-related (work involves working with and helping others). While controlling for career interest, our findings indicate that students’ gender and race/ethnicity influence their career outcome expectations in a wide variety of ways. Due to the differences in career outcome expectations associated with student backgrounds and demographics beyond career interest, recruiters and program directors looking to attract more diverse populations may benefit from matching the career outcomes they present and offer with those populations’ outcome expectations.

The role of connectedness in sustainable behaviour: A parallel mediation model examining the prosocial foundations of pro-environmental behaviour

Understanding individual difference factors that underpin pro-environmental behaviours (PEB) is important in this age of global climate change. This research extends recent research on the prosocial foundation of PEB which has shown that connectedness to nature and connectedness to community to mediate the effect of prosocial propensity on PEB. This research, however, has not considered connectedness to other social categorisations, such as to one's nation, or all humanity, which is important given the positive interrelations of these constructs. As such, this research examined the contribution of each of these four levels of connectedness in determining PEB. Participants (Australian adults, N = 632) completed measures of these constructs in an online study. Results showed that prosocial propensity increased PEB via connectedness to nature, connectedness to community, and connectedness to humanity, and reduced PEB via connectedness to nation. This was despite positive bivariate relations between the constructs. Results also showed that connectedness to nature was the strongest mediator and predictor in the model. These findings are important because they demonstrate the unique effects of these levels of connectedness and highlight the importance of considering them in unison. Implications particularly regarding the role of connectedness to nation in promoting PEB are discussed.

The Role of Women’s and Men’s Body Shapes in Explicit and Implicit Fat Stigma

Beyond being painful, fat stigma might facilitate pernicious consequences; over and above one’s weight, fat stigma is associated with lesser wellbeing, poorer health, greater all-cause mortality, and weight gains that perpetuate the weight-stigma cycle. To combat fat stigma effectively requires an understanding of the perceptual calculus underlying it. Here, we seized upon new work asserting that importance of a previously overlooked variable in this calculus—fat deposition location (body shape)—and we examine basic but fundamental open questions about the role of body shape in fat stigma via two experiments (one pre-registered). We replicate and extend work investigating how body shape—over and above body size—drives stigma toward women, using a figure set created specifically to test predictions about the role of body shape as well as size. We asked: (1) Are findings of greater explicit stigma toward adult women with abdominal (gut) versus gluteofemoral fat depositions (hips, thighs, buttocks) replicated—and (2) does this same finding hold for implicit stigma?; (3) Are male targets similarly stigmatized as a function of shape? (4) Do individual difference factors known to predict anti-fat stigma, e.g., Protestant Work Ethic, play a role here? We examined these questions by presenting American participants with women and men targets varying in both body size and shape—assessing participants’ explicit stigma (via self-report) and implicit stigma (via the Attitude Misattribution Procedure; AMP). We replicated the pattern that explicit fat stigma toward women is shape-sensitive and extend that to implicit stigma—finding, for example, that, of two women with the same exact heights and higher weights, the woman with abdominal fat deposition is more stigmatized than the woman with gluteofemoral fat deposition. We found no consistent results regarding the role of body shape in driving fat stigma toward men. We also found that some individual difference factors predicting anti-fat stigma were also attuned to body shape as well as body size. The results underscore the importance of integrating body shape into future work on fat stigma (toward women).

Review of Lessons from exceptional language learners who have achieved nativelike proficiency: Motivation, cognition and identity by Zoltán Dörnyei and Katarina Mentzelopoulos

Let me start this review by saying that it is a huge privilege to be able to review the book co-authored by the late Zoltán Dörnyei, a scholar who not only managed to put the countries of Eastern and Central Europe on the map of research into individual difference (ID) factors in the realm of second language acquisition (SLA) but in many ways shaped and spearheaded the development of such research.

Role of perceived discrimination and anxiety sensitivity in cigarette smoking among english-speaking latinx adults living in the United States.

The Latinx/Hispanic (hereafter, Latinx) population in the United States (US) experiences significant tobacco-related health disparities. Extant work suggests social determinants of health (SDoH) such as perceived discrimination is an individual differences factor for cigarette smoking behavior among Latinx individuals who smoke cigarettes. Other research has suggested sensitivity to internal cues, referred to as anxiety sensitivity, is related to smoking among Latinx adults, but this work has not explored whether anxiety sensitivity may moderate the association between perceived discrimination and smoking behavior. Therefore, the present investigation sought to explore the main and interactive association of perceived discrimination and anxiety sensitivity in relation to cigarettes smoked per day, severity of problems experienced when quitting, and perceived barriers for smoking cessation among 338 English-speaking Latinx individuals living in the US (Mage = 35.5 years; SD = 8.65; age range 18-61; 37.3% female) who smoke cigarettes. Results supported statistically significant main effects for perceived discrimination and anxiety sensitivity in relation to increased severity of problems experienced when quitting and perceived barriers for smoking cessation. These associations were evident after adjusting for a sociodemographic covariates. Overall, the present investigation suggests that both perceived discrimination and anxiety sensitivity are important constructs relevant to understanding smoking processes among Latinx adults who smoke cigarettes and should be integrated in theoretical models of smoking among this population.

Predicting Older Adults' Continued Computer Use After Initial Adoption.

Sustained computer and internet use have the potential to help older adults in various aspects of their lives, making predicting sustained use a critical goal. However, some factors related to adoption and use (e.g., computer attitudes) change over time and with experience. To understand these dynamics, the current study modeled changes in constructs related to computer use after initial computer adoption and examined whether these changes predict continued use. We used data from the computer arm (N = 150, MAge = 76.15) of a 12-month field trial examining the potential benefits of computer use in older adults. Individual differences identified in the technology acceptance literature (perceived usefulness, ease of use, computer interest, computer self-efficacy, computer anxiety, quality of life, social isolation, and social support) were measured before (baseline), during (Month 6), and after the intervention (post-test). Univariate and bivariate latent change score models examined changes in each predictor and their potential causal relationship with use. Results demonstrated large interindividual differences in the change patterns of individual difference factors examined. Changes in perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, computer interest, computer self-efficacy, and computer anxiety were correlated with but not predictive of change in use. Our findings demonstrate the limitation of popular constructs in technology acceptance literature in predicting continued use and point out important gaps in knowledge to be targeted in future investigations.

Is it time to stock up? Understanding panic buying during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT Background Lockdowns to reduce the spread of COVID-19 have triggered sharp increases in consumer purchasing behaviour, labelled panic buying. Panic buying has detrimental consequences as it leads to product shortages and disrupts supply chains, forcing retailers to adopt quotas to manage demand. Developing an understanding of the psychological correlates of panic buying can provide targets for public messaging aimed at curbing the behaviour. Objective The study aimed to identify the psychological, individual difference, and demographic factors associated with increased purchasing of non-perishable, cleaning, and hygiene products during COVID-19 lockdowns in Australia. Methods The study used a cross-sectional design (N = 790) with online survey measures administered to community members in Australia during April and May 2020. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling. Results Structural equation models revealed that 1) attitudes, subjective norms, and risk perceptions predicted increased purchasing of non-perishable products; 2) attitudes, risk perceptions, social anxiety sensitivity, and the non-impulsivity facet of trait self-control predicted increased purchasing of hygiene products; and 3) attitudes and risk perceptions predicted increased purchasing of cleaning products. Conclusion Findings provide an understanding of the factors that were associated with panic buying during COVID-19 lockdowns in Australia. Future studies should investigate whether messages designed to influence risk perceptions, attitudes, and subjective norms are effective in curbing the behaviour.

Intraindividual change in pain tolerance and negative affect over 20 years: findings from the MIDUS study

ABSTRACT Pain tolerance, defined as the ability to withstand physical pain states, is a clinically important psychobiological process associated with several deleterious outcomes, including increased pain experience, mental health problems, physical health problems, and substance use. A significant body of experimental work indicates that negative affect is associated with pain tolerance, such that increased negative affect is associated with decreased pain tolerance. Although research has documented the associations between pain tolerance and negative affect, little work has examined these associations over time, and how change in pain tolerance is related to changes in negative affect. Therefore, the current study examined the relationship between intraindividual change in self-reported pain tolerance and intraindividual change in negative affect over 20 years in a large, longitudinal, observation-based national sample of adults (n = 4,665, M age = 46.78, SD =12.50, 53.8% female). Results from parallel process latent growth curve models indicated that slope of pain tolerance and negative affect were associated with each other over time (r = .272, 95% CI [.08, .46] p = .006). Cohen’s d effect size estimates provide initial, correlational evidence that changes in pain tolerance may precede changes in negative affect. Given the relevance of pain tolerance to deleterious health outcomes, better understanding how individual difference factors, including negative affect, influence pain tolerance over time, are clinically important to reduce disease-related burden.

Intelligent prediction of sudden cardiac death based on multi-domain feature fusion of heart rate variability signals

Background and objectiveSudden cardiac death (SCD) is one of the leading causes of death in cardiovascular diseases. Monitoring the state of the heart in real time and giving early warning of possible dangers by using ambulate electrocardiogram signals are the keys to prevent cardiovascular death. However, due to the diversity inducing factors of SCD and great individual differences, accurate prediction of SCD using electrocardiogram is a hard task, especially applied in portable electrocardiograph.MethodsThis paper proposed a multi-domain features fusion algorithm to predict SCD. Heart rate variability (HRV) signals was used to investigate the characters of SCD. A multiscale variation feature extracted from multiscale poincare plots was proposed to demonstrate the dynamic changes of HRV along different scales. A time-domain feature, Shannon entropy and this multiscale variation feature were combined by using SVM classifier to classify SCD. HRV signals from different time periods prior to SCD onset were used to test the effectiveness of the SCD prediction algorithm. And the dynamic variation characteristics of SCD prediction accuracy for each minute were also studied.ResultsIn the prediction of SCD using the 70-min HRV signals before the onset of SCD, the average prediction accuracy only using the multiscale variation feature reached to 85.83%, which verified the effectiveness and high specificity of this multiscale variation feature. By combining time domain, Shannon entropy and the multiscale variation feature, the average prediction accuracy was improved to 91.22%. Through fusing multi-domain feature extracted in this paper, the advance prediction time was increased to 70 min before the onset of SCD.ConclusionsA feature with high sensitivity and specificity is proposed to predict SCD. By fusing multi-domain features of HRV signals, a high prediction accuracy is achieved and the advance prediction ability is improved. The algorithm is low computational complexity and easy to integrate into cardiovascular intelligent monitoring equipment, making the intelligent monitoring and real-time early warning of SCD becomes possible.

Individual differences in sarcasm interpretation and use: Evidence from the UK and China.

Sarcasm is commonly used in everyday language; however, little is currently known about cultural and individual differences in sarcasm interpretation and use, particularly across Western and Eastern cultures. To address these gaps in the literature, the present study investigated individual differences in sarcasm interpretation and use in the UK and China. Participants first rated literal and sarcastic comments regarding degree of perceived sarcasm, aggression, amusement, and politeness. They then completed tasks which assessed their theory of mind (ToM) ability, perspective taking ability, and sarcasm use tendency. The results showed that UK participants were more sarcastic than Chinese participants. In terms of interpretation, UK participants rated sarcasm as being more amusing and polite than literal criticism, whereas the Chinese data showed that sarcasm was rated as being more amusing but also more aggressive than literal criticism. ToM ability and perspective taking ability positively predicted sarcasm perception in both cultural groups, while the effects of ToM on other rating dimensions varied across cultures. Sarcasm use tendency negatively predicted perception of sarcasm and aggression in UK participants, whereas the opposite was found for Chinese participants. The decomposition of individual difference effects showed that different facets of interpretation and socio-emotional impact of sarcasm are differentially associated with different cultural and individual differences factors. From this, we propose that both cultural and individual differences factors modulate sarcasm interpretation and use: Participants from different cultures and with different traits may view sarcasm differently, which, in turn, affects their interpretation and use of sarcastic language. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The inner workings of anxiety in second language learning

AbstractThe paper examines anxiety as an important emotion for language learning and communication, using the intraindividual, dynamic emotional experience as a grounding for understanding the antecedents and consequences of anxiety arousal. The bulk of the existing literature, as reflected in three recent meta-analyses, treats language anxiety as a stable individual difference (ID) factor, documenting its correlations with test performance, course grades, and other indices of language proficiency. This literature contributes to understanding the impact of language anxiety on various linguistic processes. However, the typical ID approach has difficulty documenting the inner workings of language anxiety, and especially its dynamic relationships with other emotions, language processing, and the ebb and flow of anxiety in social situations. To address the limitations of the typical ID approach, this paper will argue that starting from an intrapersonal and dynamic perspective allows more detailed consideration of the myriad ways anxiety interacts with language, situating it among other influential processes that unfold in real time, including the complex interactions among positive and negative emotions. The paper will draw on the work emerging from the perspective of complex dynamic systems, with a focus on the value of individual-level methods for generating new types of research questions. The idiodynamic approach to research will be used to document the complexity of language anxiety in practice. The paper concludes with a call for more individual-level, highly contextualized research to document the inner workings of anxiety within individuals.

Smoking Abstinence Expectancies Among Latinx Smokers: An Initial Test and Evaluation of Individual Difference Factors

Smoking Abstinence Expectancies Among Latinx Smokers: An Initial Test and Evaluation of Individual Difference Factors