Large Online Sample Research Articles

A Comparative Investigation of Indirect Measures of Sexual Attraction

Indirect measures of sexual attraction may be useful research tools, in addition to direct measures. In a large online sample (N = 50,535), we compared the validity and reliability of several indirect measures, including novel measures that we developed. Our main focus was single-gender indirect measures that assess sexual attraction to men and to women separately, as recommended by contemporary sexuality theories. The gender-comparative Men/Women Implicit Association Test (IAT) had the best psychometric qualities. The best single-gender measure was a novel measure: a sexual attraction Questionnaire-based IAT. For most indirect measures, we found suggestive evidence that they capture unintentional processes that reflect sexual attraction. There was also evidence that factors other than sexual attraction might also influence the indirect measures, potentially harming the validity of the measures. Our research contributes comparative knowledge that could guide further research on sexual attraction and on the use of indirect measures of psychological constructs.

Effect of childhood emotional abuse on depression and anxiety in adulthood is partially mediated by neuroticism: Evidence from a large online sample

Childhood trauma is widely recognized as a potential risk factor for psychiatric illness in adulthood, yet the precise mechanisms underlying this relationship remain incompletely understood. One proposed mechanism involves the impact of childhood trauma on personality development, particularly in relation to neuroticism, which may subsequently heighten susceptibility to psychiatric disorders.In this study, we aimed to investigate this hypothesis through an online survey involving 1116 participants (232 male, 21 %). Participants completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), assessing emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional neglect, and physical neglect, along with the Trait Self-Description Inventory (TSDI) for personality assessment and the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 clinical questionnaires for depression and anxiety symptoms evaluation, respectively.Our analyses revealed significant positive correlations between all facets of childhood trauma and neuroticism (all p < .01). Linear regression analysis demonstrated that emotional abuse significantly contributed to neuroticism (β = 0.267, p < .05), openness (β = 0.142, p < .05), and agreeableness (β = 0.089, p < .05), while sexual abuse was associated with agreeableness (β = 0.137, p < .01) Emotional neglect was negatively correlated with conscientiousness (β = −0.090, p < .01), extroversion (β = −0.109, p < .01) and agreeableness (β = −0.154, p < .01).Furthermore, linear regression analysis revealed that emotional abuse was positively and significantly correlated with PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores (r = 0.330, p < .01 and r = 0.327, p < .01, respectively). Mediation analysis supported a significant mediating role of neuroticism in the association between childhood emotional abuse and both depression (PHQ-9) (z = 8.681, p < .01) and anxiety (GAD-7) (z = 9.206, p < .01). Notably, the correlation between childhood emotional abuse and psychiatric symptoms was attenuated but not eliminated after controlling for neuroticism, suggesting partial mediation.While our cross-sectional design precludes causal inference, our findings support the notion that childhood emotional abuse may contribute to increased neuroticism, thereby elevating vulnerability to affective disorders in adulthood. These results underscore the importance of considering personality factors in understanding the long-term consequences of childhood trauma on mental health outcomes.

Development and psychometric validation of a novel scale for measuring ‘psychedelic preparedness’

Preparing participants for psychedelic experiences is crucial for ensuring these experiences are safe and, potentially beneficial. However, there is currently no validated measure to assess the extent to which participants are well-prepared for such experiences. Our study aimed to address this gap by developing, validating, and testing the Psychedelic Preparedness Scale (PPS). Using a novel iterative Delphi-focus group methodology (‘DelFo’), followed by qualitative pre-test interviews, we incorporated the perspectives of expert clinicians/researchers and of psychedelic users to generate items for the scale. Psychometric validation of the PPS was carried out in two large online samples of psychedelic users (N = 516; N = 716), and the scale was also administered to a group of participants before and after a 5–7-day psilocybin retreat (N = 46). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis identified four factors from the 20-item PPS: Knowledge-Expectations, Intention-Preparation, Psychophysical-Readiness, and Support-Planning. The PPS demonstrated excellent reliability (ω = 0.954) and evidence supporting convergent, divergent and discriminant validity was also obtained. Significant differences between those scoring high and low (on psychedelic preparedness) before the psychedelic experience were found on measures of mental health/wellbeing outcomes assessed after the experience, suggesting that the scale has predictive utility. By prospectively measuring modifiable pre-treatment preparatory behaviours and attitudes using the PPS, it may be possible to determine whether a participant has generated the appropriate mental ‘set’ and is therefore likely to benefit from a psychedelic experience, or at least, less likely to be harmed.

On the reliability of value-modulated attentional capture: An online replication and multiverse analysis

Stimuli predicting rewards are more likely to capture attention, even when they are not relevant to our current goals. Individual differences in value-modulated attentional capture (VMAC) have been associated with various psychopathological conditions in the scientific literature. However, the claim that this attentional bias can predict individual differences requires further exploration of the psychometric properties of the most common experimental paradigms. The current study replicated the VMAC effect in a large online sample (N = 182) and investigated the internal consistency, with a design that allowed us to measure the effect during learning (rewarded phase) and after acquisition, once feedback was omitted (unrewarded phase). Through the rewarded phase there was gradual increase of the VMAC effect, which did not decline significantly throughout the unrewarded phase. Furthermore, we conducted a reliability multiverse analysis for 288 different data preprocessing specifications across both phases. Specifications including more blocks in the analysis led to better reliability estimates in both phases, while specifications that removed more outliers also improved reliability, suggesting that specifications with more, but less noisy, trials led to better reliability estimates. Nevertheless, in most instances, especially those considering fewer blocks of trials, reliability estimates fell below the minimum recommended thresholds for research on individual differences. Given the present results, we encourage researchers working on VMAC to take into account reliability when designing studies aimed at capturing individual differences and provide recommendations to improve methodological practices.

Differentiating paranoia and conspiracy mentality using a network approach

Although mostly considered distinct, conspiracy mentality and paranoia share conceptual similarities (e.g., persecutory content, resistance to disconfirming evidence). Using self-report data from a large and multinational online sample (N = 2510; from the UK, the US, Hong Kong, Germany, and Australia), we examined whether paranoia and conspiracy mentality represent distinct latent constructs in exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Utilising network analysis, we then explored common and unique correlates of paranoia and conspiracy mentality while accounting for their shared variance. Across sites, paranoia and conspiracy mentality presented distinct, yet weakly correlated (r = 0.26), constructs. Both were associated with past traumatic experiences, holding negative beliefs about the self and other people, sleep problems, and a tendency to worry. However, paranoia was related to increased negative affect (i.e., anxiety) and decreased social support, whereas the opposite pattern was observed for conspiracy mentality (i.e., decreased anxiety and depression, increased social support). Paranoia and conspiracy mentality are related but not the same constructs. Their similar and distinct correlates point to common and unique risk factors and underlying mechanisms.

User perceptions of long-term costs and benefits of MDMA use: findings from a large online sample

BackgroundPrevious research has focused on risks associated with non-clinical MDMA use, contrasting short-sighted hedonistic motivations with negative long-term consequences. User perceptions may be more nuanced, incorporating numerous underexplored positive long-term effects. We aimed to: (1) Assess MDMA user perceptions regarding both positive and negative long-term effects, and (2) Generate a large, open dataset with correlates to explore for future research.Methods886 non-clinical MDMA users completed an online, opt-in survey, with self-reported measures of acute, subacute, and long-term effects, motivations, use context, and polydrug use.ResultsUser perceptions of MDMA’s long-term effects were far more positive than negative. Respondents endorsed long-term increases in aesthetic appreciation, deeper social connections, and positive changes in life perspectives, among other positive outcomes. A minority of users reported negative effects (e.g. on concentration/memory and mood), which remain important. Long-term effects showed several correlations with acute effects and motivations, with use due to peer influence being repeatedly linked to lower positive and higher negative long-term effects.ConclusionMDMA users report getting much more than a momentary high from taking the drug. A nuanced appreciation of user perceptions can inform drug safety communication, and advance our understanding of drug effects by highlighting targets for further investigation.

Examining the Joint Factor Structure of Mania, Internalizing, and Thought Disorder Symptoms in a Large Online Sample

The optimal classification of mania symptoms within dimensional models of psychopathology remains unclear, due in part to most prior research using composite categorical ratings of mania/bipolar disorder rather than ratings of specific symptoms. We addressed this gap by examining the structure of self-reported symptom-level ratings of mania, internalizing, and thought disorder in adults (N = 1,112) recruited online who self-identified as having significant mental health histories. Although prior research suggests that mania symptoms overlap strongly with both internalizing and thought disorder, our results indicated much closer alignment with thought disorder than internalizing when examining a two-factor structure. Even when examining a three-factor structure, manic symptoms such as grandiosity loaded strongly onto a common factor with positive psychosis symptoms. However, symptoms such as racing thoughts and excessive energy loaded strongly onto a separate Agitation factor potentially representing a subspectrum within thought disorder. Agitation showed some unique correlates (e.g., with stimulant medication use), indicating heterogeneity within the broader thought disorder spectrum. Future directions extending this research include incorporating assessment of other psychopathology (e.g., externalizing), examining the cross-method consistency of results (e.g., when using interviews), and determining symptom course and interrelations using intensive longitudinal designs.

Nothing Is Certain Except Taxes and the Other Thing: Searching for Death Anxiety in a Large Online Sample

Philosophical and psychological literature has suggested that death anxiety has a profound impact on people’s lives and is a fundamental aspect of what it means to be human. Such claims motivated us to examine how people express their emotions and attitudes toward death in short free-text responses. We explored a qualitative dataset where 803 Americans stated their thoughts about either death or physical pain (toothache). Comparing these, we found that death prompts caused the expression of less negative affect and more positive affect than toothache prompts. The reactions to death were quite diverse and did not appear to be dominated by existential anxiety. We discuss whether this pattern may be due to psychological defense against death causing negative emotions, or whether the pattern reveals a “true” preference for contemplating death rather than toothache. The article serves as a companion for an open dataset, to allow other researchers to explore and reuse it.

“Losses disguised as wins” in electronic gambling machines contribute to win overestimation in a large online sample

IntroductionLosses disguised as wins (LDWs) are a salient type of losing outcome common to electronic gambling machines (EGMs). These events occur when a gambling payout is less than the amount wagered (i.e., a net loss) but is nonetheless accompanied by the sounds and animations that accompany genuine wins. Previous lab-based studies have reported that participants tend to overestimate genuine wins when LDWs are present. This study reports an independent replication of these findings in a large online sample that included a substantial number of individuals reporting high-risk gambling and frequent EGM users. MethodsThis online study recruited a sample of 940 participants who were randomly assigned to view one of two brief videos. Each video displayed a short period of simulated online slot machine gambling and included 2 genuine wins and either 3 or 0 LDWs. Participants were asked to estimate the number of times a win occurred that was more than the amount bet. Participants also completed the Problem Gambling Severity Index. ResultsThe mean estimated number of genuine wins was significantly larger for the condition displaying LDWs, 3.02 [95% CI = 2.82, 3.21] than the control condition, 2.14 [1.98, 2.30], t(887.66) = 6.78, d = 0.44, p <.001. ConclusionsWe replicated the LDW‐triggered win overestimation effect previously reported in lab-based experiments that have recruited smaller samples. This effect was robust in both low-risk and high-risk groups, indicating that even experienced gamblers remain susceptible. Exploratory modelling suggested only a minority of individuals were uninfluenced by LDWs.

Instruction effects on randomness in sequence generation.

Randomness is a fundamental property of human behavior. It occurs both in the form of intrinsic random variability, say when repetitions of a task yield slightly different behavioral outcomes, or in the form of explicit randomness, say when a person tries to avoid being predicted in a game of rock, paper and scissors. Randomness has frequently been studied using random sequence generation tasks (RSG). A key finding has been that humans are poor at deliberately producing random behavior. At the same time, it has been shown that people might be better randomizers if randomness is only an implicit (rather than an explicit) requirement of the task. We therefore hypothesized that randomization performance might vary with the exact instructions with which randomness is elicited. To test this, we acquired data from a large online sample (n = 388), where every participant made 1,000 binary choices based on one of the following instructions: choose either randomly, freely, irregularly, according to an imaginary coin toss or perform a perceptual guessing task. Our results show significant differences in randomness between the conditions as quantified by conditional entropy and estimated Markov order. The randomization scores were highest in the conditions where people were asked to be irregular or mentally simulate a random event (coin toss) thus yielding recommendations for future studies on randomization behavior.

Determinants of Public Opinion Toward Gender-Affirming Surgery in the United States.

National polling data indicate that Americans support the right of transgender persons to undergo gender-affirming surgery (GAS). It remains unknown whether public perceptions of GAS differ depending on patient subpopulations, anatomical site, or insurance coverage and whether the public widely believes that transgender people will regret GAS. We built a Qualtrics™ survey derived from an online validated 2017 Ipsos survey and distributed it to American adults through Amazon Mechanical Turk. Associations of demographic characteristics with perception of GAS were determined using multinomial logistic regression. Respondents (n=312) were predominantly non-Hispanic White (69.2%), held a bachelor's degree (64.7%), and reported an annual income of $25,000 to $74,999 (64.4%). Approximately half of respondents identified as socially liberal (50.3%); 34.0% as socially conservative; and 15.7% as neither. Respondents supported a right to GAS independent of anatomy and insurance. Support for transgender children (62%) was less than for adult transgender men (84%) and women (83%). Despite supporting a right to GAS, respondents agreed that transgender adults (67%) and children (74%) would regret GAS. Education was the strongest predictor of support for GAS rights. Socially conservative respondents were significantly more likely than nonideological or liberal respondents to believe that transgender people would regret GAS. This large online sample of American adults with diverse ideologies demonstrated support for GAS independent of anatomical site and insurance. Support of GAS for transgender children is robust, although lower than support for adults. Despite broad support, most laypersons believe that transgender people would regret GAS.

Characterizing the role of impulsivity in costly, reactive aggression using a novel paradigm.

A lack of self-control has long been theorized to predict an individual's likelihood to engage in antisocial behaviors. However, existing definitions of self-control encompass multiple psychological constructs and lab-based measures of aggression have not allowed for the examination of aggression upon provocation where self-control is needed most. We introduce two versions of a novel paradigm, the Retaliate or Carry-on: Reactive AGgression Experiment (RC-RAGE) to fill this methodological gap. Using large online samples of US adults (N = 354 and N = 366), we evaluate to what extent dispositional impulsivity, self-control, aggression, and state anger contribute to aggression upon provocation when there is a financial cost involved. Results showed that costly retaliation on this task was related to trait aggression and being in an angry emotional state, but not related to social desirability. Importantly, we show that the tendency to act impulsively is a better predictor of costly retaliation than other forms of self-control, such as the ability to delay gratification, resist temptation, or plan ahead. As a browser-based task, the RC-RAGE provides a tool for the future investigation of reactive aggression in a variety of experimental settings.

The Structure of Compulsive Sexual Behavior: A Network Analysis Study

Compulsive sexual behavior is a phenomenon characterized by a persistent failure to control intense, repetitive sexual impulses or urges, resulting in repetitive sexual behavior that causes marked distress or impairment in personal, familial, social, educational, or occupational areas of functioning. Despite its major impact on mental health and quality of life, little is known about its internal structure and whether this phenomenon differs across genders, age groups, and risk status. By considering a large online sample (n = 3186; 68.3% males), ranging from 14 to 64 years old, compulsive sexual behavior was explored by means of network analysis. State-of-the-art analytical techniques were adopted to investigate the pattern of association among the different elements of compulsive sexual behavior, identify possible communities of nodes, pinpoint the most central nodes, and detect differences between males and females, among different age groups, as well as between individuals at low and high risk of developing a full-blown disorder. The analyses revealed that the network was characterized by three communities, namely Consequence, Preoccupation, and Perceived Dyscontrol, and that the most central node was related to (perceived) impulse dyscontrol. No substantial differences were found between males and females and across age. Failing to meet one’s own commitments and responsibilities was more central in individuals at high risk of developing a full-blown disorder than in those at low risk.

Connecting to our future, healthier selves: Associations between self-continuity measures and eating behaviors in daily life

In the pursuit of healthy eating, as with many other health goals, most benefits for one's health are not realized immediately, but instead occur after a person engages in consistent patterns of healthy eating across many weeks, months, and years. Thus, being able to represent temporally distant benefits when making seemingly trivial daily eating decisions (e.g., choosing fruit salad rather than ice cream for dessert) should be a key determinant of healthy eating. Here, we tested a priori, preregistered hypotheses in a large online sample of adults (N = 360) by examining the role of self-continuity in people's daily eating behaviors, as well as the relationship between self-continuity and motivational factors behind people's decisions to eat healthy. We also examined the moderating influence of self-continuity on training in self-regulatory strategies intended to promote healthy eating. Overall, we garnered support for our hypotheses, as there were links between self-continuity measures, autonomous motivation levels, and daily eating of healthy and unhealthy foods, with participants’ ability to consider future consequences associated with unhealthy eating measures, and participants’ connectedness to their future selves associated with healthy eating measures. Taken together, the present findings suggest that continuity with one's future self is an important factor underlying daily eating decisions and successful goal pursuit in the eating domain.

Beyond prosociality: Recalling many types of moral behavior produces positive emotion.

Prosocial acts can increase positive emotions and contribute to emotional well-being, but it is unclear whether other types of moral behavior have similar effects. Respondents from a large online sample (N = 1783) were randomly assigned to recall recent instances when they had performed moral, self-indulgent, or routine acts. Those who recalled self-indulgent behaviors or acts associated with care, fairness, loyalty, authority, and sanctity-based morality increased in positive emotions relative to routine acts controls. Initial evidence suggests that effects for recalling moral acts occurred in part because individuals who recalled these behaviors generated positive moral self-appraisals and satisfied a basic psychological need for relatedness. Study results are consistent with the recent claim that morality is a basic psychological need.

Normative data and socio-demographic determinants of the Dermatology Life Quality Index in a large online sample of the Hungarian population

Background Population norms are available for several generic health-related quality of life questionnaires, but rarely for disease- or specialty-specific questionnaires. Objectives The aim of our study was to calculate population norms for the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) score. Methods We conducted an online self-completed questionnaire survey on a large sample of the general Hungarian adult population. Respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics and dermatology-related quality of life aspects were recorded. Results A total of 2,001 participants completed the questionnaire, with the average age of 48.2 (SD = 16.6) years, half of the respondents in our sample (n = 981) reported long-standing health problems. The average DLQI score was 1.9 (SD = 4.0) with women having a higher average (2.0, SD = 3.9) than men (1.8, SD = 4.0; p=<0.001). The DLQI score differed among age-groups with younger people having relatively higher DLQI averages. When the multivariate linear regression model was applied, it showed that young age, lower income and unemployment status were associated with higher DLQI scores, while controlling for the existence of skin disease (p<0.05). Conclusions This study esthablished DLQI population norms among the general population, which may provide a reference point in health-policy and financing decision-making.

Value-free random exploration is linked to impulsivity

Deciding whether to forgo a good choice in favour of exploring a potentially more rewarding alternative is one of the most challenging arbitrations both in human reasoning and in artificial intelligence. Humans show substantial variability in their exploration, and theoretical (but only limited empirical) work has suggested that excessive exploration is a critical mechanism underlying the psychiatric dimension of impulsivity. In this registered report, we put these theories to test using large online samples, dimensional analyses, and computational modelling. Capitalising on recent advances in disentangling distinct human exploration strategies, we not only demonstrate that impulsivity is associated with a specific form of exploration—value-free random exploration—but also explore links between exploration and other psychiatric dimensions.

Age Effects on Women’s and Men’s Dyadic and Solitary Sexual Desire

While most studies on sexuality in later life report that sexual desire declines with age, little is known about the exact nature of age effects on sexual desire. Using self-reported dyadic sexual desire relating to a partner, dyadic sexual desire relating to an attractive person, and solitary sexual desire from a large (N > 8000) and age diverse (14.6–80.2 years) online sample, the current study had three goals: First, we investigated relationships between men and women’s sexual desire and age. Second, we examined whether individual differences such as gender/sex, sexual orientation, self-rated masculinity, relationship status, self-rated attractiveness, and self-rated health predict sexual desire. Third, we examined how these associations differed across sexual desire facets. On average, the associations between age and both men and women’s sexual desire followed nonlinear trends and differed between genders/sexes and types of sexual desire. Average levels of all types of sexual desire were generally higher in men. Dyadic sexual desire related positively to self-rated masculinity and having a romantic partner and solitary desire was higher in people with same-sex attraction. We discuss the results in the context of the evolutionary hypothesis that predict an increase of sexual desire and female reproductive effort prior to declining fertility. Our findings both support and challenge beliefs about gender/sex specificity of age effects on sexual desire and highlight the importance of differentiating between desire types.

Psychometric validation of a brief self-report measure of misophonia symptoms and functional impairment: The duke-vanderbilt misophonia screening questionnaire.

Misophonia is a newly described disorder of sound tolerance characterized by strong negative emotional reactions to specific “trigger” sounds, resulting in significant distress, pathological avoidance, and impairment in daily life. Research on misophonia is still in its infancy, and most existing psychometric tools for assessing misophonia symptoms have not been extensively validated. The purpose of the current study was to introduce and psychometrically validate the duke-vanderbilt Misophonia Screening Questionnaire (DVMSQ), a novel self-report measure of misophonia symptoms that can be used to determine misophonia “caseness” in clinical and research settings. Employing large online samples of general population adults (n = 1403) and adults on the autism spectrum (n = 936), we rigorously evaluated the internal structure, reliability, validity, and measurement invariance of the DVMSQ. Results indicated that 17 of the 20 original DVMSQ items fit well to a bifactor structure with one “general misophonia” factor and four specific factors (anger/aggression, distress/avoidance, impairment, and global impact). DVMSQ total and subscale scores were highly reliable in both general population and autistic adult samples, and the measure was found to be approximately invariant across age, sex, education level, and autism status. DVMSQ total scores also correlated strongly with another measure of misophonia symptoms (Duke Misophonia Questionnaire–Symptom Scale), with correlations between these two measures being significantly stronger than correlations between the DVMSQ and scales measuring other types of sound intolerance (Inventory of Hyperacusis Symptoms [General Loudness subscale] and DSM-5 Severity Measure for Specific Phobia [modified for phonophobia]). Additionally, DVMSQ items were used to operationalize diagnostic criteria for misophonia derived from the Revised Amsterdam Criteria, which were further updated to reflect a recent consensus definition of misophonia (published after the development of the DVMSQ). Using the new DVMSQ algorithm, 7.3% of general population adults and 35.5% of autistic adults met criteria for clinically significant misophonia. Although additional work is needed to further investigate the psychometric properties of the DVMSQ and validate its theory-based screening algorithm using best-estimate clinical diagnoses, this novel measure represents a potentially useful tool to screen for misophonia and quantify symptom severity and impairment in both autistic adults and the general population.

The good, the bad, and the mixed: Experiences during COVID-19 among an online sample of adults.

Studies have outlined the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic to psychological health. However, the potential within-individual diversity of experiences during COVID-19, and how such experiences relate to indices of psychological distress and COVID-19-specific stressors, remains to be explored. A large online sample of American MTurk Workers (N = 3,731; Mage = 39.54 years, SD = 13.12; 51.70% female) completed short assessments of psychological distress, COVID-19-specific stressors (e.g., wage loss, death), and seven items assessing negative and positive COVID-19 experiences. Latent profile analyses were used to identify underlying profiles of COVID-19 experiences. A four-profile solution was retained representing profiles that were: (1) predominantly positive (n = 839; 22.49%), (2) predominantly negative (n = 849; 22.76%), (3) moderately mixed (n = 1,748; 46.85%), and (4) high mixed (n = 295; 7.91%). The predominantly positive profile was associated with lower psychological distress, whereas both the predominantly negative and high mixed profiles were associated with higher psychological distress. Interestingly, specific COVID-19 stressful events were associated with the high mixed profile. The present study challenges the narrative that the impacts of COVID-19 have been unilaterally negative. Future directions for research are proposed.