Response Bias Research Articles

Evaluation of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) Unlikely Virtues Scale in the detection of underreporting.

The current investigation was designed to examine the impact of underreporting response bias on the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) and the utility of the Unlikely Virtues scale in detecting such responding. Study participants were randomly assigned to either the underreporting (n = 100) or standard instruction (n = 224) conditions. All participants first completed a series of extratest measures under standard instruction prior to the MPQ administration. The results showed that individuals in the underreporting condition scored significantly higher on MPQ scales that reflect positive emotionality and self-control and lower on scales that indicate negative emotionality compared to those in the standard instruction. Moreover, the psychometric validity of MPQ scale scores against extratest measures was substantially attenuated in the underreporting condition compared to the standard instruction condition. The Unlikely Virtues scale differentiated between the conditions at a large effect size magnitude (Hedges' g = 1.21) and showed promising classification accuracy though lower cut scores than those reported in the MPQ manual performed substantially better with respect to sensitivity. Future research needs to replicate these findings in more naturalistic settings with other research designs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Differential effects of negative valence and memory type on accuracy, confidence, and metacognitive efficiency

Emotion enhances the subjective experience of recollection. Previous research examined associations between memory accuracy and metamemory confidence judgments, but these studies have not quantified the relationship between accuracy and metacognitive confidence judgments. In this study we utilize signal detection theory frameworks to investigate how memory accuracy (measured by discrimination sensitivity) and the alignment between metamemory confidence judgments and memory accuracy (ie. metacognitive efficiency) varies for neutral and negative valence, as well as item and associative detail memory types. Our results indicate that valence and memory type have different effects on accuracy, confidence, and metacognitive efficiency. Negative valence was associated with enhanced accuracy for both items and associated details, but its relationship with response bias varied across memory types, with conservative recognition responses observed for items and liberal responses for associative details. We also observed a double dissociation between metamemory confidence judgements across valence and memory type with negative valence associated with increased confidence for item memory, but decreased confidence for associated details. Examining the association between memory accuracy and metamemory confidence revealed that metacognitive efficiency was greater for negatively valenced items compared to neutral, but this effect did not generalize to details associated with negatively valenced items. These findings advance our understanding of how arousing, negatively valenced information modulates memory and metacognition.

Psychological value theory: predicting health-seeking behavior from symptom perception.

We recruit Psychological Value Theory (PVT) to understand how symptom value influences health-seeking decisions. Estimates of the Psychological Value of relief from a particular symptom were previously collected and used to predict the speed of participants' decision and the choice they make in three discrete choice experiments. Experiment 1 presented participants with a scenario and asked them to identify which of two symptoms they would seek healthcare services to treat. For each participant on every trial, two randomly chosen symptoms were inserted into the scenario. Experiment 2 addressed how the Psychological Value of a group of symptoms is predicted from the individual symptoms. Experiment 2 replicated Experiment 1 using groups of two symptoms, and predicted choice based on three grouping functions. Experiment 3 replicated Experiment 2 using a yes/no task, whereby participants were asked if they would pursue a health care visit for a single set of symptoms. The results showed that PVT accurately predicted speed and choice in all three experiments. The Psychological Value of relief from a symptom was the primary driver of choice along with a response bias in favor of avoiding symptoms labeled "severe."Health-seeking decisions are well modeled by a general-purpose, value-based computational model (PVT), with the Psychological Value of relief from health symptoms as a primary driver of health-seeking behavior.

A spatially explicit assessment of factors shaping attitudes toward African elephant conservation.

Conservation plans that explicitly account for the social landscape where people and wildlife co-occur can yield more effective and equitable conservation practices and outcomes. Yet, social data remain underutilized, often because social data are treated as aspatial or are analyzed with approaches that do not quantify uncertainty or address bias in self-reported data. We conducted a survey (questionnaires) of 177 households in a multiuse landscape in the Kenya-Tanzania borderlands. In a mixed-methods approach, we used Bayesian hierarchical models to quantify and map local attitudes toward African elephant (Loxodonta africana) conservation while accounting for response bias and then combined inference from attitude models with thematic analysis of open-ended responses and cointerpretation of results with local communities to gain deeper understanding of what explains attitudes of people living with wildlife. Model estimates showed that believing elephants have sociocultural value increased the probability of respondents holding positive attitudes toward elephant conservation in general (mean increase=0.31 [95% credible interval, CrI, 0.02-0.67]), but experiencing negative impacts from any wildlife species lowered the probability of respondents holding a positive attitude toward local elephant conservation (mean decrease=-0.20 [95% CrI -0.42 to 0.03]). Qualitative data revealed that safety and well-being concerns related to the perceived threats that elephants pose to human lives and livelihoods, and limited incentives to support conservation on community and private lands lowered positive local attitude probabilities and contributed to negative perceptions of human-elephant coexistence. Our spatially explicit modeling approach revealed fine-scale variation in drivers of conservation attitudes that can inform targeted conservation planning. Our results suggest that approaches focused on sustaining existing sociocultural values and relationships with wildlife, investing in well-being, and implementing species-agnostic approaches to wildlife impact mitigation could improve conservation outcomes in shared landscapes.

Are Rituals Causally Opaque?

Xygalatas (2022) states that rituals are causally opaque, meaning they have symbolic value and lack a practical outcome in the external world. In this commentary, I address my concerns with Xygalatas’ definition of ritual, which are framed as follows: first, are rituals causally opaque, or does the way researchers think and ask about rituals create a response bias? Second, if rituals consist of transparent outcomes, does this negate their classification as a ritual? Third, must a ritual lead to impractical outcomes to still be considered a ritual? I focus primarily on fasting and drug use in reference to the stated questions to illustrate the complexity underlying the definition of ritual. Using ethnographic examples, I highlight the need for further discussion of the definition of ritual to discern if causal opacity is truly necessary to establish a series of behaviors as ritualistic.

Signal detection analysis of affective prosody recognition in forensic inpatients who have committed sexual offenses

ABSTRACT Socio-affective functioning, or the way we interact and relate to others, is one of the four dynamic sexual recidivism risk domains. Accurately recognizing emotions enables the inference of mental and affective states supporting social adaptation. As little attention has been paid to affective prosody recognition in forensic inpatients who have committed sexual offenses (FICSOs), this study assessed the accuracy and sensitivity scores of 111 male participants assigned into three groups: FICSOs (n = 35), forensic inpatients who have committed non-sexual offenses (FICNSOs, n = 26) and community members (CoM, n = 50). Collected data also include response bias, emotion labeling reflection time, task easiness and task easiness reflection time. Using non-parametric group comparisons (Kruskal–Wallis H and Mann–Whitney U), results highlight, overall, a pervasive impairment of affective prosody recognition in FICSOs and FICNSOs compared to CoM. However, there was no difference in disgust sensitivity scores between FICSOs and CoM. FICSOs and FICNSOs took significantly longer than CoM to select an emotional label, especially for happiness. In addition, a metacognitive impairment was found in FICSOs and FICNSOs as they found the task significantly easier than CoM while being less sensitive.

Social media use and mistrust in authority: an examination of Kohlberg’s moral development model

Purpose The study explores how social media impacts institutional trust through the lens of Kohlberg’s stages of moral development. Specifically, this study aims to understand how moral relativism and moral intuitionism can moderate the relationship between social media use and perception of social authorities. Design/methodology/approach The study analyzes a large data set from the World Values Survey, covering responses from approximately 52,000 individuals across 45 countries between 2017 and 2022. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to test for interactions between social media use and stages of moral development on trust in social institutions. Findings The study finds that different stages of moral development significantly moderate the relationship between social media use and institutional trust. Specifically, higher moral development buffers the negative effect of social media use on trust in three main social institutions: law enforcement, parliament and the legal system. In contrast, individuals with higher levels of moral relativism and moral intuitionism are more susceptible to the negative influence of social media on institutional trust. Research limitations/implications The study relies on self-reported data from the World Values Survey, which may introduce response biases. In addition, while the large-scale data set offers insights into correlations, it does not allow for conclusive causal inferences. Originality/value This research contributes to understanding technology’s impact on modern societies by highlighting the role of individual moral development in shaping perceptions of key social institutions. The study uniquely integrates Kohlberg’s moral development theory with the influence of social media, offering a novel perspective on how personal moral systems can moderate the effect of digital media use.

Seasonal biases in fluorescence-estimated chlorophyll-a derived from biogeochemical profiling floats

Marine phytoplankton biomass and chlorophyll-a concentration are often estimated from pigment fluorescence measurements, which have become routine despite known variability in the fluorescent response for a given amount of chlorophyll-a. Here, we present a near-global, monthly climatology of chlorophyll-a fluorescence measurements from profiling floats combined with ocean color satellite estimates of chlorophyll-a concentration to illuminate seasonal biases in the fluorescent response and expand upon previously observed regional patterns in this bias. Global biases span over an order of magnitude, and can vary seasonally by a factor of 10. An independent estimate of chlorophyll-a from light attenuation shows similar global patterns in the chlorophyll-fluorescence bias when compared to biases derived from satellite estimates. Without accounting for these biases, studies or models using fluorescence-estimated chlorophyll-a will inherit the seasonal and regional biases described here.

Bayesian inference in arm posture perception.

To configure our limbs in space the brain must compute their position based on sensory information provided by mechanoreceptors in the skin, muscles, and joints. Because this information is corrupted by noise, the brain is thought to process it probabilistically, and integrate it with prior belief about arm posture, following Bayes' rule. Here, we combined computational modeling with behavioral experimentation to test this hypothesis. The model conceives the perception of arm posture as the combination of a probabilistic kinematic chain composed by the shoulder, elbow, and wrist angles, compromised with additive Gaussian noise, with a Gaussian prior about these joint angles. We tested whether the model explains errors in a VR-based posture matching task better than a model that assumes a uniform prior. Human participants were required to align their unseen right arm to a target posture, presented as a visual configuration of the arm in the horizontal plane. Results show idiosyncratic biases in how participants matched their unseen arm to the target posture. We used maximum likelihood estimation to fit the Bayesian model to these observations and estimate key parameters including the prior means and its variance-covariance structure. The Bayesian model including a Gaussian prior explained the response biases and variance much better than a model with a uniform prior. The prior varied across participants, consistent with the idiosyncrasies in arm posture perception, and in alignment with previous behavioral research. Our work clarifies the biases in arm posture perception within a new perspective on the nature of proprioceptive computations.

Evaluation of a cross-border field simulation exercise on the response to outbreaks of infectious diseases in Namanga, Kenya and Tanzania.

Travel and trade, whilst playing a critical role in economic development, contribute to the spread of infectious diseases, including novel or emerging diseases, which can threaten health security locally, regionally and globally. The World Health Organization mandates preparedness through field simulation exercises to address infectious disease outbreaks, as highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study assessed the impact of the 2019 Namanga field simulation exercise, conducted in the border town shared by Kenya and Tanzania, on improving cross-border outbreak preparedness and response. It focused on participants' knowledge, skills acquisition and real-world application. An anonymous online survey was administered to participants 37 months post-field simulation exercise. In addition, key informant interviews and a focus group discussion with the Joint Border Management Committee in Namanga were conducted. The June 2019 field simulation exercise enhanced the skills, knowledge, and confidence of participants, including members of the border community, in preparing for and responding to outbreaks including COVID-19. The skills and knowledge gained were deemed valuable, relevant, and effective for use in future response activities. The analysis is limited by potential response bias, as only participants with positive experiences of the field simulation exercise may have responded more favourably. Addressing the limitations of design and implementation of the field simulation exercise and the challenges of cross-border response identified in this study are critical to optimising future responses.

Using Resource Utilization in Spine Healthcare to Complement Patient-Reported Outcome Measurements in Assessing Surgical Success

ObjectivePatient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are utilized to assess surgical success but are limited by data collection, response bias, and subjectivity. The large volume of digital healthcare data offers a new method to utilize healthcare utilization as a longitudinal, individualized, and objective proxy for health needs among surgical patients. This study aimed to design and evaluate a novel resource utilization in spine healthcare (RUSH) clustering method that complements PROMs in evaluating post-operative patient outcomes. MethodsThis retrospective cross-sectional study conducted at a large, tertiary healthcare system included all adult patients undergoing cervical or lumbar surgery between 2014 to 2020 with at least 3 months follow-up. Post-operative healthcare utilization was analyzed using clinic visits, inpatient encounters, telephone encounters, MyChart messages, opioid use, physical therapy, injections, and imaging. Latent profile analysis determined RUSH clusters and changes in PROM Information System Physical Health (PROMIS-PH) scores pre- and 12-months post-operation. ResultsThis study included 5,602 surgeries (mean age 61.3 ± 13.1, 49.9% female). Four RUSH groups were identified: low utilizers (21.5%), moderate utilizers without advanced imaging (34.7%), moderate utilizers with advanced imaging (10.7%), and high utilizers (33.1%,). Utilization patterns varied by surgery type, with lower-utilization patterns among non-fusion procedures and a consistent sub-population of high utilizers across all surgery types. High RUSH utilizers had the lowest pre-operative PROMIS-PH scores and the worst average postoperative change. ConclusionsRUSH clustering provides a novel, data-driven approach to measure surgical success, complementing traditional PROMs, and leveraging big data to monitor and respond to surgical outcomes.

Validation of the European Obstructive Sleep Apnea Screening (EUROSAS) in Professional Male Drivers.

(1) Background: The European Union Driver License Committee recently developed a questionnaire as a screening tool for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), named the European Obstructive Sleep Apnea Screening (EUROSAS) questionnaire for drivers. The aim of the current study was to investigate the diagnostic performance of the EUROSAS to predict risk of OSA in professional male drivers. (2) Methods: Fifty-eight drivers were included in the current study. All participants were asked to fill out the EUROSAS before an overnight polysomnography (PSG) in the hospital. OSA was defined as an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) 5 events/hour on the PSG. (3) Results: Out of 58 participants, the EUROSAS correctly identified 39 (67.2%) cases as having high-risk OSA and one patient as having low-risk OSA, using AHI ≥ 5 events/h. The results indicated that the EUROSAS has a sensitivity of 67.2%, a specificity of 33.3%, a positive predictive value of 94.8%, and a negative predictive value of 5.2%. Similar results were obtained using AHI cut-offs of 15 and 30 events/h. (4) Conclusions: The EUROSAS provides a moderate level of accuracy for the screening of OSA in the professional male drivers. It seems that the diagnostic performance of the EUROSAS is not promising as an alternative questionnaire to identify professional drivers with OSA, probably due to participant response bias. Despite its limited evidence, the EUROSAS might have potential as a clinical screening tool in the general population.

Do People Answer Honestly When Asked About a No Honest Behavior?

Abstract: Recently assessment of bullshitting has gained considerable interest. However, self-report measures of bullshitting are at risk of socially desirability (SD) responding because people are questioned about a sensitive and personal topic (i.e., their tendency to embellish or modify the truth to portray themselves positively). This study aims to identify the impact of SD on the Bullshitting Frequency Scale (BSF) to ensure that the scale can provide sound measures. Italian ( N = 298, 69.80% female) and English participants ( N = 301, 72.76% female) were recruited. To overcome some limitations of the classical procedures used to deal with SD, factor analysis was employed to identify and control this response bias. At the same time, the validation of the Italian version of the BSF (BSF-I) was conducted to provide evidence that the scale maintains its psychometric properties once translated into Italian. Factor analysis confirmed the two-factor structure of the scale and factor loadings indicated a minimal impact of SD. Multidimensional IRT showed moderate to excellent MDISC values and strong conditional reliability. Multigroup CFA indicated strict invariance across genders and metric invariance across Italian and English versions. The BSF-I showed sound psychometric properties and these findings suggest that people answer honestly when asked about bullshitting.

Empowering commitment: unraveling the impact of motivating language and the mediating role of trust

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the direct and indirect effects of motivating language on organizational commitment, as this phenomenon has drawn the attention of researchers.Design/methodology/approachThis study employs social exchange theory and motivating language theory to examine data collected from 217 full-time employees across various US-based companies. The proposed hypotheses were analyzed using the PLS-SEM method.FindingsThis study’s findings demonstrate that motivating language positively affects employees’ organizational commitment and affective trust but not cognitive trust, which mediates the relationship between motivating language and organizational commitment.Research limitations/implicationsThere are some limitations of our study that need to be mentioned. First, there are concerns about survey data collection via M-Turk (Shapiro et al., 2013). We attempted to overcome some of these problems by including questions to identify careless respondents. Also, we eliminated many respondents who completed the surveys in unreasonably short periods of time. Hence, we believe we accounted for response bias with these check points. Also, while we believe our final sample is a representative sample due to the significant amount of data elimination during the data collection, we believe that checking for non-response bias, as Armstrong and Overton (1977) suggest, is imperative. Unfortunately, due to the nature of M-Turk, that is impossible. However, M-Turk recruits respondents based on the parameters provided by the researchers, so we expect the non-respondents to be not significantly different from the respondents. In parallel to that, we acknowledge the limitations of our study sample. Due to that reason, our findings must be considered within the context of our sample parameters. We urge future researchers of this area to further validate our findings in different types of samples.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, they are the first to analyze the impact of motivating language on organizational commitment and the mediating role of trust (cognitive and affective) in this relationship.

AI-Enhanced GraphoText Analysis for Tracking Counselling Therapy Progress: Integrating Multimodal Graphology and Machine Learning

Despite the robustness of existing instruments, routine manual observation in psychotherapy faces significant challenges, including lack of time, labour, high implementation costs, and potential biases such as response bias and social desirability. This study proposes a dynamic assessment approach using machine learning and multimodal features extracted from handwriting, incorporating graphology-based and content-based features. The integration of content-based and graphology-based features involves combining text and handwriting features with the Support Vector Machine (SVM) using the Radial Basis Function Kernel (RBF). The results show that this approach achieves an impressive accuracy rate of 86.25%. The proposed framework not only improves psychotherapeutic practise, but also offers new insights into human cognition and emotional dynamics by revealing intricate patterns in handwriting. This advance facilitates data-driven decision-making, improves the quality of patient care, and overcomes challenges associated with manual monitoring, including social desirability bias and response set bias. This research paves the way for innovative methods at the interface of mental health and technology, and promises a more objective and efficient approach to monitoring the progress of psychotherapy.

Political ideology, emotion response, and confirmation bias

AbstractMotivated reasoning can serve to help resolve emotional discomfort, which suggests emotion as a likely moderator of such reasoning. This paper addresses a gap in the literature by examining emotion and confirmation bias in the political domain. Results from two preregistered studies, which involved over 900 unique participants, document a confirmation bias across distinct dimensions of belief and preference formation. Also, ideologically dissonant information significantly worsens self‐reported emotion. With some exceptions, the evidence generally supports the hypothesis that negative emotion moderates the strength of the bias, which highlights the importance of emotion response in understanding and potentially counteracting confirmation bias.

Management Challenges in Implementing the Merdeka Curriculum

This study focuses on implementing the Merdeka curriculum from the perspective of its management challenges, exploring the experiences and perceptions of stakeholders related to implementing the Merdeka Curriculum at MAN Jombang and using a qualitative study, interviews, observations, and documentation as data collection techniques. Data analysis used data reduction, coding, and theme identification stages. To ensure data validity, the researcher applied source triangulation. The study findings indicate that implementing the Merdeka Curriculum faces challenges related to technology access and teacher readiness. Technology limitations, including unequal access to devices, hinder effective project-based learning, and administrative staff acknowledge the need for infrastructure improvements. Students appreciate the curriculum's focus on personal interests but need more guidance to navigate independent learning. Teachers have received training in project-based learning, but many teachers need help implementing new methods effectively. Although progress has been made, continued support, increased resources, and collaborative efforts among stakeholders are critical to successfully implementing the Merdeka Curriculum and improving educational outcomes. Limitations of the study include limited observation time and potential bias in participant responses. This study has yet to explore the long-term impacts of implementing the Merdeka Curriculum. Stakeholder collaboration research can provide deeper insights into practical strategies to address challenges and improve educational outcomes in Islamic education.

Revisiting citizen preferences for who should govern and how. the case of cross-national surveys

ABSTRACT A growing body of literature suggests that many citizens reject representative politics and demand instead that people or unelected experts direct governmental decision-making. This study contributes to this literature by highlighting how undetected response biases and other sources of measurement error have misled previous inquiries about patterns of support for political processes. Using recent cross-national surveys with innovative measurement proposals, the article finds that theorized dimensions of the political process represent citizens’ views consistently across citizen backgrounds only when measurement errors are corrected. This technical adjustment has substantive theoretical and empirical implications for further explanatory analyses. First, it shows when indicators measuring the political process are comparable across citizens’ groups, sharing understandings about and abilities to identify the dimensions of the political process with low response bias. Second, it finds that uncontrolled measurement errors obscure analyses of who supports political processes. Several patterns in explaining citizens’ preferences turn statistically non-significant, and new predictors emerge –mostly associated with citizens’ conservatism and resource mobilization theory. The findings offer new insights and methodological suggestions for future comparative research on citizens’ preferences for who should govern and how.

The Effect of Communication Emails on Web Survey Response Rate, Representativeness, and Response Bias: Results from a Factorial Randomized Control Trial in a College Student Population

The Effect of Communication Emails on Web Survey Response Rate, Representativeness, and Response Bias: Results from a Factorial Randomized Control Trial in a College Student Population

Impact of renality-CASE training on knowledge, skills, and practices in peritoneal dialysis catheter placement among nephrologists.

Despite being an effective home-based kidney replacement therapy, peritoneal dialysis (PD) remains underutilized. The aim of the Renality-CASE training program was to assess its impact on nephrologists by expanding their knowledge of PD therapy and enhancing their catheter placement skills to better offer the PD option. The Renality-CASE program provided two days of training, including theoretical lectures, virtual reality sessions, and hands-on practice of PD catheter placement on live pigs. Eighty-eight participants attended four sessions. An anonymized online questionnaire collected demographic data, self-assessments of knowledge and skills, and feedback. Pre- and post-training comparisons were analyzed using paired samples t-tests and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, with significance at p < 0.05. Fifty-seven out of 88 participants responded to the survey one-year post-training. Post-training, 94.7% felt at least moderately knowledgeable compared to 61.4% pre-training (p < 0.001). Confidence in skills increased to 73.6% post-training from 26% pre-training (p < 0.001). The number of PD catheters placed by participants also rose significantly (p = 0.012). The program received positive feedback and high satisfaction rates. The Renality-CASE program significantly improved nephrologists' PD catheter placement skills through comprehensive training. Despite limitations such as sample size and response bias, the study highlights the need for standardized PD training to enhance clinical practice and increase PD utilization in CKD management.