Rank-order Consistency Research Articles

Higher adiposity predicts greater intra-individual inconsistencies in postprandial glycemic measurements-an analysis of three randomized controlled trials in Asian populations.

Acute glycemic responses offer important insights into glucose homeostasis although the repeatability of these measurements particularly in Asian populations remains unclear. This research aimed to critically investigate the inconsistencies of the postprandial glycemic profile within individuals, and identify potential variables predicting greater inconsistencies. This was a secondary analysis of three randomized controlled trials which fed subjects with glucose (and other carbohydrate-rich foods), and measured postprandial blood glucose at regular intervals. Intra-individual rank-order consistency in the glycemic profile between acute glucose treatments was evaluated and compared against demographic, anthropometric and cardio-metabolic health related indicators to delineate potential confounding variables. Correlations between the incremental area under curve at 120 min (iAUC120 min) for glucose and the carbohydrate-rich foods were further explored. Rank-order consistency was identified to be moderate, with intra-individual inconsistencies marginally lower than inter-individual inconsistencies. Notably, greater inconsistencies within individuals were directly correlated with BMI and fat-mass index (P < 0.01) albeit non-significant for age, ethnicity, and other cardio-metabolic health-related risk indicators. Across the trials, there were positive monotonic correlations between the iAUC120 min for glucose and simple sugars (sucrose, isomaltulose), as well as different varieties of rice (jasmine white, Bapatla brown, Bapatla white; p < 0.05). However, there were a lack of associations between iAUC120 min for glucose with pastas (semolina and wholegrain penne, spaghetti) and mee pok noodles. There are inherent inconsistencies in postprandial glycemic measurements within individuals, particularly among those with higher adiposity. These confounders need to be kept in mind for appropriate and meaningful interpretations of glycemia.

The development of personality-From metatraits to facets-Across adolescence and into adulthood in a sample of Mexican-origin youth.

The time between adolescence and adulthood is a transformative period of development. During these years, youth are exploring work, relationships, and worldviews while gaining the capacities needed to take on adult roles. These social and psychological processes are reflected in how personality develops across this period. Most youth personality development research has focused on the Big Five domains, ignoring the hierarchical structure of personality and missing broader, higher order processes and more specific, lower order processes. Toward a more comprehensive account, this study examines how personality develops from adolescence into the early years of adulthood at the metatrait (stability, plasticity), domain (Big Five), and facet levels. Data come from a longitudinal study of Mexican-origin youth (N = 645) with few socioeconomic resources who were assessed 5 times from Ages 14 to 23. We used latent growth curve models to investigate mean-level change, rank-order consistency, and the maintenance of trajectories for self-reported personality metatraits, domains, and facets. We found distinct developmental processes unfolding at each level of the hierarchy, including (a) mean-level changes in the metatraits and domains indicating increases in exploratory tendencies (i.e., plasticity) and maturity (i.e., increases in agreeableness and conscientiousness, decreases in neuroticism), and divergent change patterns between facets within each domain indicating nuanced maturational processes; (b) comparable levels of rank-order consistency for metatraits, domains, and facets; and (c) evidence that deviations from youth's developmental trajectories did not persist over time. Our findings offer insights into personality development that would be impossible to glean from the domain-level alone and adds needed sociocultural diversity to the literature. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Accounting for careless and insufficient effort responding in large-scale survey data—development, evaluation, and application of a screen-time-based weighting procedure

Careless and insufficient effort responding (C/IER) poses a major threat to the quality of large-scale survey data. Traditional indicator-based procedures for its detection are limited in that they are only sensitive to specific types of C/IER behavior, such as straight lining or rapid responding, rely on arbitrary threshold settings, and do not allow taking the uncertainty of C/IER classification into account. Overcoming these limitations, we develop a two-step screen-time-based weighting procedure for computer-administered surveys. The procedure allows considering the uncertainty in C/IER identification, is agnostic towards the specific types of C/IE response patterns, and can feasibly be integrated with common analysis workflows for large-scale survey data. In Step 1, we draw on mixture modeling to identify subcomponents of log screen time distributions presumably stemming from C/IER. In Step 2, the analysis model of choice is applied to item response data, with respondents’ posterior class probabilities being employed to downweigh response patterns according to their probability of stemming from C/IER. We illustrate the approach on a sample of more than 400,000 respondents being administered 48 scales of the PISA 2018 background questionnaire. We gather supporting validity evidence by investigating relationships between C/IER proportions and screen characteristics that entail higher cognitive burden, such as screen position and text length, relating identified C/IER proportions to other indicators of C/IER as well as by investigating rank-order consistency in C/IER behavior across screens. Finally, in a re-analysis of the PISA 2018 background questionnaire data, we investigate the impact of the C/IER adjustments on country-level comparisons.

Physical Activity Dynamics During a Digital Messaging Intervention Changed After the Pandemic Declaration.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic adversely impacted physical activity, but little is known about how contextual changes following the pandemic declaration impacted either the dynamics of people’s physical activity or their responses to micro-interventions for promoting physical activity.PurposeThis paper explored the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the dynamics of physical activity responses to digital message interventions.MethodsInsufficiently-active young adults (18–29 years; N = 22) were recruited from November 2019 to January 2020 and wore a Fitbit smartwatch for 6 months. They received 0–6 messages/day via smartphone app notifications, timed and selected at random from three content libraries (Move More, Sit Less, and Inspirational Quotes). System identification techniques from control systems engineering were used to identify person-specific dynamical models of physical activity in response to messages before and after the pandemic declaration on March 13, 2020.ResultsDaily step counts decreased significantly following the pandemic declaration on weekdays (Cohen’s d = ‐1.40) but not on weekends (d = ‐0.26). The mean overall speed of the response describing physical activity (dominant pole magnitude) did not change significantly on either weekdays (d = ‐0.18) or weekends (d = ‐0.21). In contrast, there was limited rank-order consistency in specific features of intervention responses from before to after the pandemic declaration.ConclusionsGeneralizing models of behavioral dynamics across dramatically different environmental contexts (and participants) may lead to flawed decision rules for just-in-time physical activity interventions. Periodic model-based adaptations to person-specific decision rules (i.e., continuous tuning interventions) for digital messages are recommended when contexts change.

Is self-esteem increasing during emerging adulthood? A two-wave case from Russia

The current study investigates stability and change in self-esteem among Russian emerging adults. Self-esteem of 1004 undergraduates (Mage = 19.50, SDage = 1.25) was assessed during their bachelor's program (T1). Eight years later, 242 of them took part in an online follow-up (T2). Self-esteem was measured with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. We conducted a longitudinal confirmatory factor analysis with strict measurement invariance constraints. Self-esteem showed substantial mean-level stability and rank-order consistency, both for women and men. No sex differences, effects of parenthood and change in the place of residence were found. Those participants who had had higher self-esteem at T1 were more likely married by T2 compared to singles, and those who cohabited with their partner by T2. Although individual differences in the self-esteem change cannot be excluded, the findings support the idea of self-esteem stability during emerging adulthood, both in the mean-level and rank-order terms.

Can exposure to arguments pro and contra extraversion affect self-reports of the trait and the attitude toward it?

Changeability of personality over short-term intervals has increasingly become a focus of research. However, the role played by argumentation interventions in short-term variations has scarcely been examined. In two experiments (N=363 and 320), we investigated how processing positive and negative argumentation regarding extraversion (Study 1: watching a lecture; Study 2: elaborating self-invented arguments) affects self-reports on this trait and attitude toward it. The experiments included three waves of measurements with argument manipulation (in favor of or against extraversion) immediately prior to Time 2 (Study 2 also included a control group). Mean-level changes in extraversion across time moments, measured with the longitudinal confirmatory factor analysis, were consistently negligible. Conversely, there were some indications that argumentation about extraversion could have immediate short-term effects on attitudes toward this trait. The random-intercept cross-lagged model showed that rank-order consistency stemmed from a trait-like intercept, which was particularly large for trait extraversion compared with the attitude. The autoregressive and cross-lagged effects of residual within-person variation were consistently small and mostly nonsignificant. Our findings suggest that extraversion and the attitude toward it maintained their temporal continuity within 3months, even under a single exposure to arguments pro and contra this trait.

Stability and change in adults' literacy and numeracy skills: Evidence from two large-scale panel studies

We investigated the development of literacy (reading competence) and numeracy (mathematical competence) across three to six years of adulthood. Data came from two large-scale multi-wave surveys: the PIAAC-longitudinal Study (PIAAC-L, N = 2779) and the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS; N = 3140). We examined mean-level change (ΔT1, T2) and rank-order consistencies (rT1, T2) in the total population and in sociodemographic subgroups defined by age, gender, and education. To account for measurement error, we employed plausible values (PV) methodology. Results revealed that literacy and numeracy are highly but not perfectly rank-order stable (.61 ≤ r ≤ .85 in the total population). Mean-level change was negligible for both skills and studies, but there were considerable individual differences in change. Apart from moderate mean-level gains in literacy in young adults (18–29 years) and losses among the highly educated (in NEPS), there were few subgroup differences in mean-level change or rank-order consistency, and most differences did not replicate across studies. Our findings suggest that adults' literacy and numeracy are malleable throughout adulthood and can change even over a three- to six-year period. Individual difference in change dominate the picture and warrant further investigation. Our findings can serve as a benchmark against which to compare future longitudinal findings.

Continuity and Stability of Parenting of Infants by Women at Risk for Perinatal Depression

SYNOPSIS Objective. The present study aimed to enhance understanding of continuity and stability of positive parenting of infants, across age and different settings in women with a history of depression who are at elevated risk for postpartum depression. Design. Mothers (N = 103) with a history of major depression and their infants were observed during 5-min play and feeding interactions when their infants were 3, 6, and 12 months of age. Summary scores representing mothers’ positive parenting were computed separately for each age and context based on ratings of five parenting behaviors. Mothers’ depressive symptom levels were assessed at each infant age. Results. Continuity (consistency of level) and stability (consistency of rank order) were assessed across age and context at both the group and individual level. Across-age analyses revealed continuity in the play context and discontinuity in the feeding context, albeit only at the group level, as well as weak to moderate stability. Across-context analyses revealed higher positive parenting scores in play than feeding at all time points as well as weak to moderate stability. Variations in positive parenting across age and context were independent of mothers’ postpartum depressive symptom levels. Conclusions. Findings based on normative samples may not generalize to women with a history of depression, who may benefit from interventions aimed at enhancing their positive parenting over the course of infancy, regardless of postpartum depressive symptom level. Results also underscore the importance of assessing parenting at multiple age points and across varying contexts.

You're still so vain: Changes in narcissism from young adulthood to middle age.

To date, there have been no long-term longitudinal studies of continuity and change in narcissism. This study investigated rank-order consistency and mean-level changes in overall narcissism and 3 of its facets (leadership, vanity, and entitlement) over a 23-year period spanning young adulthood (Mage = 18, N = 486) to midlife (Mage = 41, N = 237). We also investigated whether life experiences predicted changes in narcissism from young adulthood to midlife, and whether young adult narcissism predicted life experiences assessed in midlife. Narcissism and its facets showed strong rank-order consistency from age 18 to 41, with latent correlations ranging from .61 to .85. We found mean-level decreases in overall narcissism (d = -0.79) and all 3 facets, namely leadership (d = -0.67), vanity (d = -0.46), and entitlement (d = -0.82). Participants who were in supervisory positions showed smaller decreases in leadership, and participants who experienced more unstable relationships and who were physically healthier showed smaller decreases in vanity from young adulthood to middle age. Analyses of the long-term correlates of narcissism showed that young adults with higher narcissism and leadership levels were more likely to be in supervisory positions in middle age. Young adults with higher vanity levels had fewer children and were more likely to divorce by middle age. Together, the findings suggest that people tend to become less narcissistic from young adulthood to middle age, and the magnitude of this decline is related to the particular career and family pathways a person pursues during this stage of life. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Robustness of the Maladaptive Personality Plaster: An Investigation of Stability of the PSY-5-r in Adults over 20 Years

The long-term stability of maladaptive personality traits in the general population has been under-investigated. The current study examined the longitudinal 20-year mean-level stability and rank-order consistency of five maladaptive personality traits—as measured with the Personality Psychopathology-5-r scales. Correlations and regression analysis were conducted to test both types of stability comparing raw scores of scale administrations in a general population sample in both 1992 and 2012 (N = 65). Repeated measures analysis of variance demonstrated significant mean-level stability of the PSY-5-r traits over 20 years. The PSY-5-r scales demonstrated significant rank-order consistency as evidenced by correlational analyses and reliability coefficients. The scales Aggressiveness-r (r = .73), Neuroticism/Negative Emotionality-r (r = .65), Introversion/Low Positive Emotionality-r (r = .63), and Disconstraint-r (r = .56), evidenced strong rank-order stability, whereas Psychoticism-r (r = .3) showed moderate rank-order consistency. The results of the present study indicate that maladaptive personality traits as measured with the PSY-5-r scales are relatively stable over 20 years in an adult community population.

The malleability of thinking styles over one year

Whether or not styles are malleable is one of the major controversial issues in the field of intellectual styles. Taking thinking styles (one of the intellectual style constructs) as the theoretical basis, the present study aimed at clarifying the issue by examining the change of thinking styles over one year from multiple perspectives. Seven hundred and forty-three university students completed the same questionnaire assessing demographic factors and thinking styles twice with a one-year interval. Results revealed different levels of change and stability in thinking styles in terms of mean-level change, rank-order consistency, individual stability, and ipsative consistency. Research findings indicated that thinking styles are stable state, but still changeable. Implications of the research findings are discussed. Highlights Thinking styles had significant mean-level changes. Thinking styles had strong rank-order consistency. Albeit with small portions, real changes at the individual level did occur. Thinking styles showed remarkable profile consistency. Thinking styles are stable states, not fixed characteristics.

Long-term stability of the French WISC-IV: Standard and CHC index scores

IntroductionThe assumption of the stability of intelligence is the source of the predictive value of the Intelligence Quotient (e.g., Full Scale IQ). However, few studies have investigated the long-term stability of one of the most frequently used tests in the field of cognitive assessment: the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – 4th edition (WISC-IV). ObjectiveFor a deeper understanding and a better use of intelligence test scores, this study examined the long-term stability of the standard index scores and five CHC composite scores of the French WISC-IV. MethodA test–retest procedure was used, with an average retest interval of 1.77 year (SD=0.56 year). This study involved 277 French-speaking Swiss children aged between 7 and 12 years. Three types of stability analysis were conducted: (a) mean-level changes, (b) rank-order consistency and change, and (c) individual-level of change. ResultsThe observed pattern of mean-level changes suggested a normative mean-level stability for the Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI), the Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI), the General Ability Index (GAI), Comprehension-Knowledge (Gc), and Visual Processing (Gv). Regarding individual differences stability, only the FSIQ and the GAI reached a reliability of .80 required for making decisions about individuals. Using a two standard errors of measurement confidence interval (± 2 SEM), we examined individual-level stability. Results indicated that more than 70% of the children presented stable performances for the GAI, Gc, and Gv scores. ConclusionTogether, nomothetic and idiographic perspectives suggested that the GAI, Gc, and Gv were the most stable scores in our non-clinical sample.

The Autobiographical Author Through Time

We examined continuity and change in the tendencies to construct a life story (i.e., narrative identity) that was redemptive or contaminated in nature. In Study 1, college freshmen and seniors wrote accounts of several autobiographical key scenes pertinent to narrative identity twice over a 3-year period. In Study 2, midlife adults provided, via a semistructured interview, key scenes twice over a 5-year period and also indicated whether their employment status had changed between assessments. Across studies, the rank-order consistency of redemptive and contaminated stories was moderate and low to moderate, respectively. In Study 1, the frequency of redemptive and contaminated stories increased throughout college. Furthermore, the frequency of contaminated stories decreased following graduation. In Study 2, changes in employment status corresponded with reduced redemptive imagery. These results suggest a possible narrative acculturation of young adults as well as a correspondence between changes in life circumstances and narrative identity.

An Investigation of Five Types of Personality Trait Continuity: A Two-Wave Longitudinal Study of Spanish Adolescents from Age 12 to Age 15.

The present study investigated five types of personality trait continuity using two measurement waves of Spanish adolescents (N = 234). Personality traits were measured with the short form of the Junior Spanish NEO-PI-R (JS NEO-S) at ages 12 and 15. The results showed stability in the personality trait structure, as well as decreases in the mean levels of agreeableness and conscientiousness. The results also showed moderate rank-order consistency. Individual-level changes were more pronounced for neuroticism and conscientiousness. Approximately 90% of the participants showed ipsative consistency. The findings showed some personality trait changes occurred from age 12 to 15, but the changes were less marked than expected during this period of biological and social development. Our results also support the disruption hypothesis, as we found dips in conscientiousness and, to a lesser degree, agreeableness.

Rank-Order Consistency and Profile Stability of Self- and Informant-Reports of Personal Values in Comparison to Personality Traits

Abstract. This study compares the three-year rank-order consistency of informant-reports of values with stability estimates of self-rated values as meta-analytically reviewed and within the same sample. Whether the hierarchy of values attributed to an individual is as stable as in target’s self-reports was assessed with profile correlations. Self- and informant-reports of personality traits were available for direct comparison. Results indicated that informant-reports of values were not less stable across time than self-rated values or than other-ratings of traits. This was true for the relative position of a person within a sample as well as the relative ordering of these measures within the same individuals. The observed longitudinal stability of informant-reports of values implies that they can serve as a reliable source of information. Moreover, the temporal stability of value/trait profiles was found to predict subjective well-being.

Who cares and who is careless? Insufficient effort responding as a reflection of respondent personality.

Insufficient effort responding (IER) to surveys, which occurs when respondents fail to carefully read questionnaire instructions or item content, has recently gained attention as a source of inaccuracy in self-report data (Huang, Curran, Keeney, Poposki, & DeShon, 2012; Johnson, 2005; Maniaci & Rogge, 2014; Meade & Craig, 2012). Whereas previous studies have focused on IER as a methodological nuisance, the current studies examined IER as a substantive variable. Specifically, we hypothesized that IER is a reflection of enduring individual differences. In Study 1, we found that IER displayed rank-order consistency over the course of 13 months; in Studies 2 and 3, we found that IER displayed rank-order consistency across multiple research situations; in Study 4, we found that acquaintance-reported conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion, and emotional stability were each negatively related to IER; and in Study 5, we found that IER was related to college grade point average and class absences. Together, these 5 studies suggest that IER is in part a manifestation of enduring individual differences. (PsycINFO Database Record

Studying the Motivated Agent Through Time: Personal Goal Development During the Adult Life Span.

This research examined the rank-order and mean-level consistency of personal goals at two periods in the adult life span. Personal goal continuity was considered among a group of young adults (N = 145) who reported their goals three times over a 3-year period and among a group of midlife adults (N = 163) who specified their goals annually over a 4-year period. Goals were coded for a series of motive-based (viz., achievement, affiliation, intimacy, power) and domain-based (viz., finance, generativity, health, travel) categories. In both samples, we noted a moderate degree of rank-order consistency across assessment periods. In addition, the majority of goal categories exhibited a high degree of mean-level consistency. The results of this research suggest that (a) the content of goals exhibits a modest degree of rank-order consistency and a substantial degree of mean-level consistency over time, and (b) considering personality continuity and development as manifest via goals represents a viable strategy for personality psychologists.

Validity Stability Across Entering College Cohorts: Exploring the temporal generalizability of local validity estimates

Local validity studies rely on the assumption that validity estimates from one incumbent sample approximate validity for future applicant pools. We test this assumption using SAT scores and high school grades as predictors of first year college grade point average across multiple college applicant pools for over 100 schools. We present evidence for substantial absolute and rank order consistency in validity estimates. However, this consistency is far less than perfect, resulting in potentially meaningful utility differences over time. In addition, observed fluctuations are not fully explained by sampling error alone.

Diel and life-history characteristics of personality: consistency versus flexibility in relation to ecological change

Despite the potential benefits of modifying behaviour according to changing ecological conditions, many populations comprise individuals that differ consistently in behaviour across situations, contexts and points in time (i.e. individuals show personality). If personalities are adaptive, the balance between consistency and flexibility of behavioural traits should reflect the ability of individuals to detect and respond to changing conditions in an appropriate and timely manner and, thus, depend upon the pace and predictability of changing conditions. We investigated the balance between individual consistency and flexibility in the subsocial spider Anelosimus studiosus by assaying boldness across the diel cycle and correlating these data with patterns of prey and threat abundance in the natural habitat. We found significant diel flexibility in boldness correlating with drastic and predictable changes in prey availability. Moreover, the strength of within-individual flexibility in boldness was comparable to the strength of rank-order consistency among individuals. We also found evidence that mean boldness level and among-individual variation in boldness are correlated with reproductive status. These data emphasize the interplay between behavioural consistency and flexibility and suggest that temporal characteristics of ecological conditions may be vital in assessing the strength, stability and adaptive value of animal personalities.

The Stability of Organizational Commitment

Whereas a number of longitudinal studies have examined organizational commitment (OC), a more comprehensive examination of the forms of consistency in OC has never been conducted. Consistent with the dispositional view of commitment (Becker, 1960), adaptation-level theory (Helson, 1948), and opponent process theory (Solomon & Corbit, 1973, 1974), a meta- analytic examination of 78 studies revealed that all three OC mindsets have a relatively high level of rank-order consistency: affective (AC, = .75, N = 14,758, k = 50), continuance (CC, = .72, N = 538, k = 4), and normative (NC, = .79, N = 706, k = 2). In contrast, meta-analytic analyses of mean-level consistency revealed a small negative trajectory for AC ( = -.17, N = 35, 272, k = 76), a slight positive trajectory for CC ( = .11, N = 1,108, k = 3), and less mean-level change for NC ( = -.06, N = 1, 504, k = 2). Several potential moderators for AC stability were tested including age, tenure, and measure. In addition, a unique survey archive allows for an examination of intraindividual change in AC and CC components over a twelve year period for a sample of 183 U.S. Army officers. Second-order factor latent growth curve modeling revealed that AC and CC low alternatives (CCloalt) displayed positive trajectories while CC high sacrafices (CChisac) was relatively stable over time. The greater change in AC, the greater change rate in both CCloalt and CChisac. These findings have theoretical implications for theories about socialization, work adjustment, and turnover as well as applied implications for the timing of interventions designed to enhance OC.