Restricted Variance Research Articles

Revisiting situational strength: Do strong situations restrict variance in behaviors?

The idea that strong situations restrict variance in behaviors has been treated as a maxim in psychology. Prior work has, however, offered inconclusive support for this proposition. We aimed to overcome the limitations of prior research to conclusively test the restricted variance hypothesis derived from the situational strength framework. Specifically, we conducted a preregistered meta-analysis (k = 301, N = 25,670) in the context of cooperative behavior observed within the standard social dilemma paradigm. We found that strong, compared with weak, situations (theorized and validated via perception ratings) indeed restricted variance in behaviors. Moreover, ratings on perceived situational strength of specific experimental conditions (k = 138, nstudies = 41) further supported the hypothesis that higher levels of perceived situational strength were associated with less variance in behavior. Our findings have important theoretical implications for understanding the situational forces shaping social behavior and for advancing research on person-situation interactions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

A Story of Three Levels of Sophistication in SCF/KS-DFT Orbital Optimization Procedures.

In this work, three versions of self-consistent field/Kohn-Sham density functional theory (SCF/KS-DFT) orbital optimization are described and benchmarked. The methods are a modified version of the geometry version of the direct inversion in the iterative subspace approach (which we call r-GDIIS), the modified restricted step rational function optimization method (RS-RFO), and the novel subspace gradient-enhanced Kriging method combined with restricted variance optimization (S-GEK/RVO). The modifications introduced are aimed at improving the robustness and computational scaling of the procedures. In particular, the subspace approach in S-GEK/RVO allows the application to SCF/KS-DFT optimization of a machine learning technique that has proven to be successful in geometry optimizations. The performance of the three methods is benchmarked for a large number of small- to medium-sized organic molecules, at equilibrium structures and close to a transition state, and a second set of molecules containing closed- and open-shell transition metals. The results indicate the importance of the resetting technique in boosting the performance of the r-GDIIS procedure. Moreover, it is demonstrated that already at the inception of the subspace version of GEK to optimize SCF wave functions, it displays superior and robust convergence properties as compared to those of the standard state-of-the-art SCF/KS-DFT optimization methods.

Social media and disordered eating among middle-aged women: Not just an adolescent concern

Evidence suggests social media use is strongly linked to disordered eating (e.g., binge eating and dietary restraint) among adolescent and young adult women, in part because it promotes engagement in social comparison (the tendency to evaluate one's own standing or ability by comparing it to another's). Yet no study has examined the impact of social media use and comparison on disordered eating among middle-aged women. Participants (N = 347), ages 40–63, completed an online survey about their social media use, social comparison, and disordered eating (bulimic symptoms, dietary restraint, and broad eating pathology). Results indicated that 89 % (n = 310) of middle-aged women used social media in the past year. Most participants (n = 260; 75 %) used Facebook, and at least a quarter used Instagram or Pinterest. Approximately 65 % (n = 225) used social media at least daily. Controlling for age and body mass index, social media-specific social comparison was positively associated with bulimic symptoms, dietary restriction, and broad eating pathology (all ps < 0.001). Multiple regression models evaluating frequency of social media use and social media-specific social comparison together revealed that social comparison explained a significant amount of unique variance in bulimic symptoms, dietary restriction, and broad eating pathology (all ps < 0.001) above and beyond frequency of social media use. Instagram explained a significant proportion of variance of dietary restraint compared to other social media platforms (p = .001). Findings suggest a large percentage of middle-aged women frequently engage with some type of social media. Further, social media-specific social comparison, rather than frequency of social media use, may be driving disordered eating in this age group of women.

Smooth Things Come in Threes: A Diabatic Surrogate Model for Conical Intersection Optimization.

The optimization of conical intersection structures is complicated by the nondifferentiability of the adiabatic potential energy surfaces. In this work, we build a pseudodiabatic surrogate model, based on Gaussian process regression, formed by three smooth and differentiable surfaces that can adequately reproduce the adiabatic surfaces. Using this model with the restricted variance optimization method results in a notable decrease of the overall computational effort required to obtain minimum energy crossing points.

WEIRDness abounds! Sample characteristics, restricted variance, and why they matter for international selection and assessment research

AbstractThere is increasing awareness that reliance on samples from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic (WEIRD) countries may have skewed our view of human phenomena. Nowhere is this more true than in international selection and assessment (ISA) research. In the present paper, we describe a way of understanding the impact of WEIRDness on ISA phenomena: restricted variance (RV). The WEIRDness problem is usually one of cross level interactions in which a country‐level variable (e.g., individualism/collectivism) might moderate the relationship between two individual‐level variables. RV can help to see not only where such cross level interactions might exist, but also provide a specific, mathematical reason for their existence. We use several examples from IJSA and related sources to illustrate the role of RV in ISA‐based WEIRDness.

Untying the climate strength knot: A meta-analytic examination of restricted variance effects in climate strength relations.

Climate strength is often included in organizational climate models, however, its role in such models remains unclear. We propose that the inconsistent findings regarding the effects of climate strength are due in part to its complicated relationship with climate level. Specifically, we propose that the relationship between level and strength is heteroscedastic and nonlinear due to restricted variance (RV) and potential leniency bias in climate ratings. We examine how this relationship between level and strength affects relations between climate strength and work-related outcomes, as well as the implications that this has for bilinear interactions between level and strength. In this meta-analysis, we analyzed 81 independent samples from 77 articles and find support for a heteroscedastic, curvilinear relationship between climate level and climate strength, consistent with the notion that variance compression and leniency bias are present in climate ratings. With regard to the three proposed roles of climate strength in organizational models, we find some support for an additive effect of strength on outcomes, but only at high levels of climate level, and little support for strength as a bilinear moderator of level-outcome relations or for strength as a nonlinear predictor of outcomes. We do find, however, some support for nonlinear interaction effects between level and strength. We discuss implications of our findings for the role of climate strength in future research and for multilevel theory in general. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Restricted Variance Interactions in Entrepreneurship Research: A Unique Basis for Context-as-Moderator Hypotheses

In this methodological brief, we demonstrate the usefulness of the restricted variance (RV) interaction to entrepreneurship research. RV reasoning can help scholars to specify precise roles for contextual moderators. This specificity allows for strengthening of arguments and for testing of one of the reasons for an interaction. In some cases, it points to otherwise unexpected interaction patterns. We illustrate the power of RV reasoning with a data set of 503 biotech firms to show how RV explains geographic differences in the relationship between number of alliances and initial public offering value. Finally, we show how these interactions can be tested given typical distributions.

Can we measure individual differences in cognitive measures reliably via smartphones? A comparison of the flanker effect across device types and samples

Research deployed via the internet and administered via smartphones could have access to more diverse samples than lab-based research. Diverse samples could have relatively high variation in their traits and so yield relatively reliable measurements of individual differences in these traits. Several cognitive tasks that originated from the experimental research tradition have been reported to yield relatively low reliabilities (Hedge et al., 2018) in samples with restricted variance (students). This issue could potentially be addressed by smartphone-mediated administration in diverse samples. We formulate several criteria to determine whether a cognitive task is suitable for individual differences research on commodity smartphones: no very brief or precise stimulus timing, relative response times (RTs), a maximum of two response options, and a small number of graphical stimuli. The flanker task meets these criteria. We compared the reliability of individual differences in the flanker effect across samples and devices in a preregistered study. We found no evidence that a more diverse sample yields higher reliabilities. We also found no evidence that commodity smartphones yield lower reliabilities than commodity laptops. Hence, diverse samples might not improve reliability above student samples, but smartphones may well measure individual differences with cognitive tasks reliably. Exploratively, we examined different reliability coefficients, split-half reliabilities, and the development of reliability estimates as a function of task length.

Supplemental Material for Untying the Climate Strength Knot: A Meta-Analytic Examination of Restricted Variance Effects in Climate Strength Relations

Supplemental Material for Untying the Climate Strength Knot: A Meta-Analytic Examination of Restricted Variance Effects in Climate Strength Relations

Situation strength as a basis for interactions in psychological models.

One of the most important methods that psychological scientists use to understand behavior and cognition is theorizing. Increasingly, theorizing is used to support not only additive hypotheses, but also multiplicative ones. And yet, authors often struggle to provide adequate theoretical justifications for multiplicative hypotheses. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, W. Mischel averred that, in "strong" situations, behavior is relatively uniform regardless of one's personality characteristics. In "weak" situations, that is, those that lack clear behavioral expectations, behavior is not constrained by the situation and is free to covary with personality. This is the situational strength interaction, and although this reasoning has been applied to personality-behavior models, we show that it can be used to justify many interaction models in psychology more generally. In some cases, such reasoning may serve to bolster the more traditional interaction arguments. In other cases, it shows that the traditional interaction arguments must be incorrect. In this tutorial, we describe a generalized situation strength phenomenon, called the restricted variance interaction, that can be used to pinpoint the nature, direction, and even the magnitude of many interaction hypotheses in the psychological sciences. We illustrate the value and application of restricted variance reasoning using examples from the workplace mistreatment literature and then extrapolate to several other areas of psychology. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Early Findings from the Development and Validation of the Patient/Caregiver-Reported Hydroxyurea Evaluation of Adherence for Life (HEAL) Scale

Introduction: Until recently, hydroxyurea (HU) was the only FDA-approved treatment for sickle cell disease (SCD). Despite well-documented benefits, HU is underutilized in the US. Not all patients treated with HU have a clinical response, and nonadherence to treatment is a common reason for non-response. While not fully understood, reasons for nonadherence involve concerns about side effects, benefit, and knowledge. We report on the validation of our patient- and caregiver-reported Hydroxyurea Evaluation of Adherence for Life (HEAL) scale to assess adherence among persons with SCD.Methods: Persons with SCD who had HU prescribed for ≥ 6 months prior to enrollment were eligible for our IRB-approved single site prospective study. A focus group and pilot study helped refine HEAL scale items. The scale consisted of 24 items with 8 subscales (Dose, Remember, Plan, Cost, Understand, Benefit/Harm [one subscale], Laboratory, and Pharmacy). To validate psychometric properties of HEAL we enrolled 40 pediatric and adult participants. We collected demographic information, relevant biomarkers, and medication possession ratio (MPR) at baseline and throughout the study period. Validity measures included a global adherence rating (GAR) from subjects and a visual analog scale (VAS) rating from subjects and from two healthcare providers per subject. Cronbach's alpha (α) was calculated to assess internal consistency reliability of the scale and subscales. Pearson product-moment correlations (r) between adherence measures and scale and subscale scores were used to assess validity. Principal component analysis was used to evaluate correlated factors (using eigenvalues >1) and a pattern matrix was used to create composite scales.Results: Participants included 24 adults (self-report) and 16 children (caregiver-report). Self- versus caregiver-report subsamples differed in age but not in gender or race. Median participant age was 30 years (range 1.8 - 65.0 years). 24 subjects (60%) were female; and 31 (77.5%) had HbSS.All items and subscales were negatively skewed. Three subscales (Dose, Cost, Effectiveness) comprising 9 items demonstrated ceiling effects. Three items (one in Dose and two in Cost) had restricted variance, defined as ≥ 75% of cases scoring at ceiling (e.g., score of 7) or skewness >2.Principal component analysis revealed two composite scales: 1. Administer (Dose [0.539], Remember [.740], Plan [.688], Pharmacy [.683]); and 2. Value (Cost [-.584], Effectiveness [-.916], Understand [-.831]).Correlations of adherence measures to Dose and Remember subscales, Total scale, and composite Administer scale were r= 0.340, 0.472, 0.380 and 0.321 respectively indicating validity of these HEAL components.Test-retest reliability of the overall scale was good (kappa = 0.82); and acceptable (kappa > 0.6) on all subscales but Cost (kappa = 0.06).Patient report VAS correlated significantly with Dose and Remember subscales, Administer composite scale, and Total scale score.Discussion: Our data show HEAL subscales and composite scales have strong internal consistency and test-retest reliability. HEAL item and subscale distributions indicate high levels of adherence but sufficient variability for analysis and valid use. Data showed that the Of all subscales the Remember subscale correlated most with adherence measures indicating a critical aspect of patient adherence. The Cost subscale data demonstrated poor internal consistency reliability.Adherence to HU is important because of its positive impact on patient quality of life when taken as directed. A self-/caregiver-report adherence scale that identifies areas where a patient needs additional support or resources may help increase adherence and improve quality of life. In previous research, implementation of a text message reminder for patients prescribed HU was associated with improved HU treatment adherence. The HEAL scale may help identify patients who would benefit most from targeted text message reminders.While cost was not a barrier among participants in this study, that may not be the case for patients in other clinical settings. A larger study sample will enhance assessment of reliability and validity of HEAL scale and subscales and describe adherence in a broader patient population. Our initial findings support the use of HEAL, the first adherence scale to monitor HU adherence in patients with SCD. DisclosuresMeier: CDC,: Other: grant funding; Global Blood Therapeutics: Other: Steering Committee membership, grant funding; NHLBI: Other: Data Safety Monitoring Board membership; Novartis,: Other: Data Safety Monitoring Board membership; NovoNordisk: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Forma Therapeutic: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; CVS Caremark: Consultancy; Indiana Department of Health: Other: grant funding .

Measuring Community Integration: Development and Psychometrics of the Community Connections and Engagement Scale.

The objective of this community-based participatory research project was to develop a clinically useful, psychometrically-sound scale to measure community integration for adults with severe mental illness. Two researchers and an administrator of a behavioral health agency (BHA) recruited a group of providers, half with lived-experience of severe mental illness. Through a series of five focus groups, provider participants guided identification of four major domains of community integration and the development of 95 scale items; items and domains were reviewed by three external researchers with subject matter expertise. Initial pilot: BHA providers administered the scale to clients (n = 51) with 19 completing it twice to investigate internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and restricted variance and collinearity of items. Further piloting: providers at two BHAs administered the scale to clients (n = 178) to conduct exploratory factor analysis and analyze internal consistency. After initial pilot, 50 items remained post item reduction for restricted variance and collinearity, with Cronbach's alpha of .95 and test-retest reliability of .90. After a larger pilot, a four-factor solution emerged, aligning conceptually with the four domains as anticipated; 33 items loaded (factor loadings ≥ .4), with RMSEA of .069 and overall Cronbach's alpha of .89 (subdomains ranging .78-.86). The scale has good preliminary psychometric properties and appears to be feasible for use in BHAs for the purposes of research and evaluation, with clinical utility for assessment and treatment planning.

Situational strength interactions: Are variance patterns consistent with the theory?

Mischel's (1973, 1977) theory of situational strength has been used widely within the organizational sciences to help explain why contextual factors moderate predictor-criterion relationships. Situational strength interactions represent a particular type known as a restricted variance (RV) interaction (Cortina, Köhler, & Nielsen, 2015). The theory proposes that the strength of a given situation constrains or compresses the variance of the dependent variable, weakening its prediction from other variables. Other theories and models, such as self-determination theory and the job characteristics model, also make implicit references to variance compression based on the level of autonomy in a given situation and to the interactions that this compression creates. It is unclear, however, whether differences in strength (or degree of constraint) actually yield variance differences that are consistent with the theoretical framework. In this meta-analysis, we reviewed 132 articles that imply RV effects, 100 of which allowed for variance comparisons. We found that only a handful of authors explicitly connect their theoretical arguments and interaction hypotheses to changes in variance in the Introduction section of their articles. Moreover, our findings also reveal that, for the most part, variance differences between weak and strong situations are minimal. Where differences exist, they are often in the opposite of the expected direction (i.e., larger variance in "strong" situations). We discuss our findings and their theoretical and practical implications. We also provide recommendations for designing studies and testing for such interactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Hand-foot syndrome and its impact on daily activities in breast cancer patients receiving docetaxel-based chemotherapy.

Breast cancer patients who undergo docetaxel-based chemotherapy regimens can have hand-foot syndrome (HFS), which negatively impacts their ability to perform daily activities. The purpose of the study was to assess, in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy: the perceived levels of HFS-related symptoms of the feet, hands or fingers; and HFS-related restrictions in daily activities; as well as to identify factors associated with these symptoms and restrictions. This cross-sectional study examined breast cancer patients who received docetaxel-based chemotherapy from the general surgery outpatient department and oncology outpatient department of a medical center in northern Taiwan. A set of structured questionnaires were used to measure patients' HFS-related symptoms and HFS-related restrictions in daily activities. Of the 85 breast cancer patients studied, 41.2% reported HFS. Patients had higher level of HFS-related foot symptoms than HFS-related hand or fingers symptoms. Greater restriction in HFS-related daily activities was associated with more HFS-related hand or fingers symptoms and more HFS-related foot symptoms; these factors explained 44.7% of the variance in restriction of activities. Skin care and patient education should be provided to manage the HFS of breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

Linear Minimax Filtering of a Stationary Random Process under the Condition of the Interval Fuzziness in the State Matrix of the System with a Restricted Variance

The equations for the transition functions of optimal minimax filters are derived under the condition of the interval fuzziness of the linear dynamic system with the parametric uncertain assignment of only the state matrix in the context of Hurwitz stability. The method by which the required filter is synthesized as the suboptimal minimax filter of the stable and unstable first-order systems with the given degree of stability is discussed.

Restricted Variance Interaction Effects: What They Are and Why They Are Your Friends

Although interaction hypotheses are increasingly common in our field, many recent articles point out that authors often have difficulty justifying them. The purpose of this article is to describe a particular type of interaction: the restricted variance (RV) interaction. The essence of the RV interaction is that, as the value of one variable in a system changes, certain values of another variable in the system become less plausible, thus restricting its variance. This, in turn, influences relationships between that variable and other variables. These types of interactions are quite common, even if they are not recognized as RV interactions, and they exist at every level of analysis. The advantage of the RV interaction is that, as compared with other interaction types, it is relatively simple to justify. The different forms of RV interaction do, however, contain complexities of which a researcher must be aware. This article explains and illustrates the forms that RV interactions can take and their often counterintuitive implications. It also describes how one should go about testing them. Our intention is to help researchers strengthen and focus their interaction arguments.

Baseline Performance and Psychometric Properties of the Child Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 3 (Child-SCAT3) in 5- to 13-year-old Athletes.

To determine the normative, baseline performance and psychometric properties of the Child Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 3 (Child-SCAT3) in 5- to 13-year-old athletes. Cross-sectional study. Practice fields. Contact sport athletes (N = 155) 5 to 13 years old. Age, gender, verbal intellectual functioning (receptive vocabulary). Child-SCAT3: self-reported and parent-reported symptoms, cognitive performance (child form of the Standardized Assessment of Concussion; SAC-C), and balance (modified Balance Error Scoring System, mBESS-C; tandem gait). A subset of the sample repeated the Child-SCAT3 at another date. Some subjects also completed the Adult-SCAT3 version of the symptom checklist and mBESS. Small-to-medium-sized effects of age were observed on all Child-SCAT3 components. Effects of gender and receptive vocabulary were observed on select components of the SCAT3. Younger age and lower receptive vocabulary were independently associated with greater symptom endorsement, yet parents rated higher symptom burden for older children. Internal consistency reliability and stability of symptom ratings was good to excellent. Stability was more modest for SAC-C and tandem gait scores and very poor for mBESS-C scores, perhaps due to restricted variance. Inter-rater reliability (self-rated vs parent-rated symptoms) was fair. The Child-SCAT3 self-report symptom checklist may be inappropriate to administer to younger school-aged children. Some of the age effects observed warrant use of demographically appropriate norms in Child-SCAT3 interpretation. The findings can provide guidance for clinicians assessing children of varying ages and point to directions for further development of refined approaches for pediatric concussion assessment.

Won't stop or can't stop? Food restriction as a habitual behavior among individuals with anorexia nervosa or atypical anorexia nervosa

Food restriction among individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN) is regarded as a goal-directed behavior. However, Walsh (2013) theorized that, although restriction is initially maintained by operant conditioning (with successful weight loss and external praise as salient rewards), it ultimately becomes a classically conditioned habit, persisting regardless of the presence of these once-salient rewards. Understanding food restriction as a well-ingrained habit may provide insight into treatment resistance. Further, it is not clear whether habitual food restriction is present among individuals with atypical AN (i.e. who engage in food restriction but are not low-weight). This study evaluated whether strength of habit predicted self-reported restriction above and beyond cognitive restraint. Seventy-eight individuals with AN or atypical AN completed the Eating Pathology Symptoms Inventory Restriction (EPSI-R) and Cognitive Restraint (EPSI-CR) subscales and the Self-Report Habit Index (SRHI) adapted for food restriction. We used a hierarchical multiple regression model to test whether habit strength predicted food restriction above and beyond cognitive restraint. After adding illness duration (step 1) and diagnosis (step 2) to the model, cognitive restraint (step 3) was not significant in explaining variation in restriction, whereas adding habit strength to the model (step 4) explained 27.9% of the variance in restriction (p<0.001). This is the first study to test a key component of Walsh's theory. Results provide support for food restriction maintenance through habit, rather than through effortful cognitive restraint. Because current models of AN characterize food restriction as purposeful, further research is needed to better understand habitual restriction in AN.

Restriction of variance interaction effects and their importance for international business research

A recent Journal of International Business Studies editorial on interaction effects within and across levels highlighted the importance of and difficulty associated with justifying and reporting of such interaction effects. The purpose of this editorial is to describe a type of interaction hypothesis that is very common in international business (IB) research: the restricted variance (RV) hypothesis. Specifically, we describe the nature of an RV interaction and its evidentiary requirements. We also offer several IB examples involving interactions that could have been supported with RV arguments. Our hope is that IB researchers can use this paper to bolster their arguments for interaction hypotheses by explaining them in terms of RV.

Design and analysis of three-arm trials with negative binomially distributed endpoints.

A three-arm clinical trial design with an experimental treatment, an active control, and a placebo control, commonly referred to as the gold standard design, enables testing of non-inferiority or superiority of the experimental treatment compared with the active control. In this paper, we propose methods for designing and analyzing three-arm trials with negative binomially distributed endpoints. In particular, we develop a Wald-type test with a restricted maximum-likelihood variance estimator for testing non-inferiority or superiority. For this test, sample size and power formulas as well as optimal sample size allocations will be derived. The performance of the proposed test will be assessed in an extensive simulation study with regard to type I error rate, power, sample size, and sample size allocation. For the purpose of comparison, Wald-type statistics with a sample variance estimator and an unrestricted maximum-likelihood estimator are included in the simulation study. We found that the proposed Wald-type test with a restricted variance estimator performed well across the considered scenarios and is therefore recommended for application in clinical trials. The methods proposed are motivated and illustrated by a recent clinical trial in multiple sclerosis. The R package ThreeArmedTrials, which implements the methods discussed in this paper, is available on CRAN.