Psychological Research Findings Research Articles

Less Is More: Psychologists Can Learn More by Studying Fewer People.

Psychology has been embroiled in a professional crisis as of late. The research methods commonly used by psychologists, especially the statistical analyses used to analyze experimental data, are under scrutiny. The lack of reproducible research findings in psychology and the paucity of published studies attempting to replicate psychology studies have been widely reported (e.g., Pashler and Wagenmakers, 2012; Ioannidis et al., 2014; Open Science Collaboration, 2015). Although it is encouraging that people are aware of problems evident in mainstream psychology research and taking actions to correct them (e.g., Open Science Collaboration, 2015), one problem has received little or no attention: the reliance on between-subjects research designs. The reliance on group comparisons is arguably the most fundamental problem at hand because such designs are what often necessitate the kinds of statistical analyses that have led to psychology's professional crisis (Sidman, 1960; Michael, 1974; Parsonson and Baer, 1978). But there is an alternative. Single-case designs involve the intensive study of individual subjects using repeated measures of performance, with each subject exposed to the independent variable(s) and each subject serving as their own control (Sidman, 1960; Barlow et al., 2008; Johnston and Pennypacker, 2009; Kazdin, 2010). Comparisons of performance under baseline and experimental conditions are made for each subject, with any experimental effects replicated with the individual subject across time or across multiple subjects in the same experiment. Single-case experiments yield data that can be interpreted using non-inferential statistics and visual analysis of graphed data, a strategy characteristic of other natural sciences (Best et al., 2001). Single-case experimental designs are advantageous because they more readily permit the intensive investigation of each subject and they achieve replication within an experiment rather than across experiments. Thus, data from just a few subjects tells a story.

Supplemental Material for The Crisis of Confidence in Research Findings in Psychology: Is Lack of Replication the Real Problem? Or Is It Something Else?

Supplemental Material for The Crisis of Confidence in Research Findings in Psychology: Is Lack of Replication the Real Problem? Or Is It Something Else?

The crisis of confidence in research findings in psychology: Is lack of replication the real problem? Or is it something else?

There have been frequent expressions of concern over the supposed failure of researchers to conduct replication studies. But the large number of meta-analyses in our literatures shows that replication studies are in fact being conducted in most areas of research. Many who argue for replication as the “gold standard” consider a non-significant replication attempt to be strong evidence against the initial study, an interpretation that ignores statistical power, typically low in behavioral research. Many researchers also hold that there is no need to replicate a non-significant finding, believing it will always replicate perfectly, an erroneous belief. These beliefs lead to a widely accepted sequential model of the research process that is deficient because it assumes that a single study can answer a research question, a belief that meta-analysis has shown to be false. Meta-analysis can provide the solution to these problems if the problems of publication bias and questionable research practices are successfully addressed. The real problem is not a lack of replication; it is the distortion of our research literatures caused by publication bias and questionable research practices.

Assessing wisdom-related competence in the context of medical education

This article was migrated. The article was not marked as recommended. Background: Our model of wisdom-related competence distinguishes wisdom-relevant and wisdom-specific knowledge and attitudes (13 dimensions in total) as a basis for constructive action in complex social contexts such as professional therapeutic situations. Purpose: Based on this model reflecting modern challenges of medical education, we aimed at assessing medical students' wisdom-related competence in general and as a function of scenario content, age and study progress. Methods: We conducted scenario-based interviews with a sample of 15 medical students. All participants were faced with same four scenarios reflecting complex situations. Then, we performed a content analysis on the interview transcripts using a specific coding manual. Results: Findings indicate a low level of wisdom-related competence in the analysed sample; participants' mean total score was M = 156.47 (SD = 61.50) of 364 possible points. Corresponding to previous findings of psychological wisdom research, only few participants reached high scores. The students scored higher in wisdom-relevant dimensions than in wisdom-specific dimensions and higher in knowledge than in attitude dimensions. Conclusions: Regarding these results and the fact that wisdom-related knowledge and attitudes facilitate wise decisions and wise action in complex medical contexts, the curriculum of medical education should more largely integrate wisdom-related goals and learning opportunities.

Emotional labor in hospitality: Positive affective displays in service encounters

The study used web-based simulated hospitality scenarios to examine cultural differences in emotional cognition of facial expressions among Chinese and American subjects in an exploratory study. Results indicate that the two cultural groups interpreted smiling and direct eye-gaze similarly. Although a smiling face elicited positive emotional affective responses from both cultural groups, smiling alone was not sufficient to stimulate more positive subject reactions: Smiling needs to be accompanied by direct eye-gaze to fully elicit positive reactions from subjects. Study results suggest that global hospitality standards should reflect findings of psychological research on emotional labor and also that business normative guidelines should encourage the display of smiling faces along with direct eye-gaze to motivate a positive customer experience. No support was found for tailoring facial expressions related training to customers’ cultural backgrounds.

Heinz L. and Rowena R. Ansbacher Lecture: Pragmatics and Operational Principles of Positive Psychology Research and Clinical Findings with Implications for Adlerian Psychology

Heinz L. and Rowena R. Ansbacher Lecture: Pragmatics and Operational Principles of Positive Psychology Research and Clinical Findings with Implications for Adlerian Psychology

Investigative interviews based on psychological research findings

Investigative interviews based on psychological research findings

Educating to Tolerance: Effects of Communicating Social Psychology Research Findings.

The effect of communicating social psychology research findings on ingroup bias in a classroom setting has been investigated. Two hundred and twenty one high school students either read or did not read a brief report about three classical social psychological studies, then completed evaluation scales for the ingroup and the outgroup. Participants’ motivation was manipulated, and the messages were different as regards the congruency between the content and participants’ actual intergroup experience. Results showed that communication exerted a significant effect in reducing ingroup bias for participants in the high motivation/high congruency condition, that is, the communication effect was moderated by the individual’s level of motivation and the content of the arguments proposed in the report. Practical implications of results for education work and stereotype change, limitations of the study, as well as possible directions for future research are discussed.

A Bayesian approach to mitigation of publication bias.

The reliability of published research findings in psychology has been a topic of rising concern. Publication bias, or treating positive findings differently from negative findings, is a contributing factor to this "crisis of confidence," in that it likely inflates the number of false-positive effects in the literature. We demonstrate a Bayesian model averaging approach that takes into account the possibility of publication bias and allows for a better estimate of true underlying effect size. Accounting for the possibility of bias leads to a more conservative interpretation of published studies as well as meta-analyses. We provide mathematical details of the method and examples.

Biophilic Design and Bio-Collaboration

Background : Growing concerns on environmental degradation are urging the design communities to drastically re-evaluate our approach to the production and delivery of goods and services in order to be more socially and ecologically responsible. Among the numerous efforts of promoting sustainable progress, biophilic design - which encourages the integration of nature into our built environment as a strategy to re-establish a strong connection between humans and their natural environment as well as to improve human health and well-being - has played a significant role in the recent green architecture movement and sustainable urban development. While incorporating biophilia, the innate human need for nature, into design has been quite actively implemented by several leading architects and city planners, its potential applications in the production of mainstream industrial goods have been relatively unexplored so far. Methods : This paper examines the concept of biophilia and its relevance as a design strategy offering integrated solutions to our social, cultural, and ecological challenges. In discussing this close link between human and nature, recent scientific evidence supporting the physiological and psychological human needs for nature are examined; in particular, focusing on the positive influence that natural settings and live organisms have on our health, work productivity and living conditions. In addition, practical applications of biophilic design elements and attributes are analyzed through several examples of architectural and urban constructions; and current biophilic design cases within the field of industrial design are assessed as an indicator for future application. Results : Various research findings in environmental science and environmental psychology highlight the value of natural processes and the benefits of the biophilic design approach on human psychological and physiological well-being. Growing scientific evidence provides critical insights for possible improvement of current sustainable design strategies: solutions transitioning from mainly focusing on minimizing the negative impact on environment to embracing nature’s system and their ability to enhance the quality of human experience and well-being, and replace or complement common techniques for the production of goods and services. Conclusion : Expanding upon current definitions of sustainable design, biophilic design methodology demonstrates the potential as a sustainable design strategy allowing the design community to overcome the current superficiality of greening trends. However, as current examples of biophilic design are yet relatively limited, the conceptual framework for potential industrial design applications is to be more clearly defined through further investigations. In order to support the development of this new design strategy, multi-disciplinary collaborations between the scientific community and professional designers should be encouraged as well as integrated within the industrial design curriculum.

Simmel's time-space theory: Implications for experience of modernization and place

Recent perspectives on ecological environmental psychology have called for greater attention to the role of temporal-spatial variables in psychological experience, and for better integration of theory and research on this subject. Despite resurgent interest in the psychology of time-space, Georg Simmel's relevant theory of modernity has received scant attention. This paper presents an in-depth theoretical overview of Simmel's insights into the links between modernization, space, time, and psychology. A review of contemporary research findings in environmental and social psychology demonstrates the integrative potential of Simmel's theory. Finally, we present a comprehensive test of Simmel's theory in an empirical case study exploring the impacts of modernization within a sample of Midwestern U.S. Mennonites. In line with Simmel's ideas, we find evidence in this sample for relationships between more ecological variables (modernized habitus), orientations toward time and goals (modernized consciousness), collectivist and individualist values, and a place attachment outcome.

A meta-analysis of the relationship between general mental ability and nontask performance.

Although one of the most well-established research findings in industrial-organizational psychology is that general mental ability (GMA) is a strong and generalizable predictor of job performance, this meta-analytically derived conclusion is based largely on measures of task or overall performance. The primary purpose of this study is to address a void in the research literature by conducting a meta-analysis to determine the direction and magnitude of the correlation of GMA with 2 dimensions of nontask performance: counterproductive work behaviors (CWB) and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB). Overall, the results show that the true-score correlation between GMA and CWB is essentially 0 (-.02, k = 35), although rating source of CWB moderates this relationship. The true-score correlation between GMA and OCB is positive but modest in magnitude (.23, k = 43). The 2nd purpose of this study is to conduct meta-analytic relative weight analyses to determine the relative importance of GMA and the five-factor model (FFM) of personality traits in predicting nontask and task performance criteria. Results indicate that, collectively, the FFM traits are substantially more important for CWB than GMA, that the FFM traits are roughly equal in importance to GMA for OCB, and that GMA is substantially more important for task and overall job performance than the FFM traits. Implications of these findings for the development of optimal selection systems and the development of comprehensive theories of job performance are discussed along with study limitation and future research directions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Expectations of emotions during testimony: the role of communicator and perceiver characteristics.

This study investigated the influence of communicator (child victim) and perceiver (adult participant) characteristics on expectations about witnesses' emotional displays during testimony. In total, 191 adults were asked whether or not they expected child victims who were testifying about sexual abuse to display sadness, fear, anger, disgust, happiness, or a neutral demeanor, and how intensely the adults expected each emotion to be displayed. In describing the victims, child age (5 vs. 13 years old) and child gender (female vs. male) were factorially combined as within-subject factors. Results included that victim gender predicted expectations of fear, and victim age predicted expectations of anger and disgust. There was a significant interaction of victim age and victim gender for expectations of sadness. Of participants who expected multiple emotions, a combination of negative and neutral emotions was expected more from 13-year-old female victims than from 5-year-old female victims. Child victim empathy predicted ratings of how intensely sad and fearful the child victim would look. Implications of these findings for psychological research and the legal system are discussed.

Honesty in projects

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how the concept of honesty can shed light on misreporting issues in projects. Research on honesty can be useful for practitioners and researchers in project management, in order to understand and counter the withholding and distortion of relevant information from projects. In moral psychology, dishonesty is often explained as a result of moral neutralization. The paper provides an account of how neutralization can lead to dishonesty in projects. Design/methodology/approach – The current study is based on a literature review of research on misreporting and dishonesty in projects, and of relevant generic studies of honesty. Findings – The author concludes that the phenomenon of moral neutralization can explain dishonesty and misreporting in projects. Honesty can be encouraged by identifying attempts at moral neutralization, and rendering them unacceptable. At the core of this position is the view that the level of honesty amongst project members is most adequately understood and explained from a circumstance rather than a character approach. Research limitations/implications – The paper is based on a literature review, and needs to be supported by further empirical studies within project management. Practical implications – The suggested primacy of a circumstance approach to honesty implies that project practitioners should be aware of the phenomenon of moral neutralization. Even people of good moral character can become involved in neutralization, in order to render misreporting acceptable. The central practical challenge can thus be to recognize tendencies of neutralization in one's own and other people's moral reasoning. Originality/value – The main contribution of this paper is to introduce the concept of honesty in general, and the concept of moral neutralization in particular, to project management research and practice. The paper also suggests concrete ways to redirect attention from character to circumstances, based on more general research findings in social and moral psychology.

The critical role of research in diversity training: how research contributes to an evidence-based approach to diversity training

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to outline a diversity training framework in which research literatures and findings in psychology and human resource management (HRM) are used to guide organizations in the delivery of diversity training. The author proposes improvements to the current state of diversity training practices and implementations within organizations through the use and integration of research literature. Design/methodology/approach The paper is both a conceptual and a general review paper. It involves the discussion of research on diversity training, as well as diversity and training separately (conceptual), and includes a general analysis of diversity training (review). Findings The paper offers a general review about how psychological and HRM research findings can help organizations better implement diversity training. It suggests that successful diversity training involves a three-part approach: follow established psychological theory to guide selection of diversity training initiatives, use a framework for HR diversity management and adopt practical steps to better manage diversity initiatives (paying careful attention to a needs assessment, linking diversity strategy to business results and establishing metrics and evaluating effectiveness). Practical implications Diversity training has not been and continues to not be research- or evidence-based. This paper outlines some suggestions for integrating psychological and HRM research findings into the delivery of diversity training. The practical implication is that organizations and stakeholders will use a more evidence-based approach to diversity training. Originality/value This paper meets the needs of organizations seeking a more research- and evidence-based approach to diversity training.

Expectations for Replications

Failures to replicate published psychological research findings have contributed to a “crisis of confidence.” Several reasons for these failures have been proposed, the most notable being questionable research practices and data fraud. We examine replication from a different perspective and illustrate that current intuitive expectations for replication are unreasonable. We used computer simulations to create thousands of ideal replications, with the same participants, wherein the only difference across replications was random measurement error. In the first set of simulations, study results differed substantially across replications as a result of measurement error alone. This raises questions about how researchers should interpret failed replication attempts, given the large impact that even modest amounts of measurement error can have on observed associations. In the second set of simulations, we illustrated the difficulties that researchers face when trying to interpret and replicate a published finding. We also assessed the relative importance of both sampling error and measurement error in producing variability in replications. Conventionally, replication attempts are viewed through the lens of verifying or falsifying published findings. We suggest that this is a flawed perspective and that researchers should adjust their expectations concerning replications and shift to a meta-analytic mind-set.

A Facet Theory Model for Integrating Contextual and Personal Experiences of International Students

The purpose of this article is to use a facet theory research approach to provide a clear, coherent, and integrated model of international students’ experiences based upon the findings of psychological research into students when studying abroad. In research that employs a facet theory approach events are classified in terms of their constituent parts or facets and the sub-elements of facets. The specification of facets serves to allow accumulative knowledge and theory construction. A model is proposed in the form of a mapping sentence with three background facets and four content facets. How the mapping sentence forms a flexible template for designing, conducting and analyzing research into international students’ experiences is discussed, as is the potential in using facet theory to develop a cumulative body of knowledge about this student group.

Psychoneurobiochemistry of tourism marketing

This study offers a unique approach to consumer/tourist behaviour called psychoneurobiochemistry and aims to explore the possible and potential influences of psychoneurobiochemical factors on tourism marketing. The study with a multidisciplinary approach analyzes and syntheses the psychological, neurological, biological and chemical research findings in terms of their implications for tourism marketing. The study particularly looks at neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine; melatonin hormone; photoperiod and circadian rhythm and emotions.

Self-explaining effect in general chemistry instruction: eliciting overt categorical behaviours by design

Self-explaining refers to the generation of inferences about causal connections between objects and events. In science, this may be summarised as making sense of how and why actual or hypothetical phenomena take place. Research findings in educational psychology show that implementing activities that elicit self-explaining improves learning in general and specifically enhances authentic learning in the sciences. Research also suggests that self-explaining influences many aspects of cognition, including acquisition of problem-solving skills and conceptual understanding. Although the evidence that links self-explaining and learning is substantial, most of the research has been conducted in experimental settings. There remains a need for research conducted in the context of real college science learning environments. Working to address that need, the larger project in which this work is embedded studied the following: (a) the effect of different self-explaining tasks on self-explaining behaviour and (b) the effect of engaging in different levels of self-explaining on learning chemistry concepts. The present study used a multi-condition, mixed-method approach to categorise student self-explaining behaviours in response to learning tasks. Students were randomly assigned to conditions that included the following: explaining correct and incorrect answers, explaining agreement with another's answer, and explaining one's own answer for others to use. Textual, individual data was gathered in the classroom ecology of a university, large-enrolment general chemistry course. Findings support an association between the self-explaining tasks and students' self-explaining behaviours. Thoughtful design of learning tasks can effectively elicit engagement in sophisticated self-explaining in natural, large-enrolment college chemistry classroom environments.

Past and Present Environmental Psychology

In my commentary on the papers in this special section of European Psychologist, I note that the focus of past environmental psychology on changing the human environment to increase people’s well-being has in contemporary environmental psychology been replaced by a focus on changing people and their behavior to preserve the human environment. This change is justified by current concerns in society about the ongoing destruction of the human environment. Yet, the change of focus should not lead to neglecting the role of changing the environment for changing people’s behavior. I argue that it may actually be the most effective behavior change tool. I still criticize approaches focusing on single behaviors for frequently being insufficient. I endorse an approach that entails coercive measures implemented after research has established that changing consumption styles harming the environment does not harm people. Such a broader approach would alert researchers to undesirable (in particular indirect) rebound effects. My view on application is that research findings in (environmental) psychology are difficult to communicate to those who should apply them, not because they are irrelevant but because they, by their nature, are qualitative and conditional. Scholars from other disciplines failing to disclose this have an advantage in attracting attention and building trust.