Reward Scale Research Articles

Caregiving Consequences Inventory: a measure for evaluating caregiving consequences from the bereaved family member's perspective

The aims of this study were to validate an instrument for measuring bereaved family members' perceptions of caregiving consequences and to examine the association between caregiving consequences and psychological distress. Cross-sectional questionnaires were administered to family members of patients who had died in regional cancer centers. We measured the Caregiving Consequences Inventory (CCI), respondent's optimism, overall reward scale, and psychological distress and collected background data. A retest was conducted. Bereaved families from two regional cancer centers were surveyed (N=189 and 109; effective response rate, 57 and 80%). By exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, we identified four perceived reward domains: 'mastery', 'appreciation for others', 'meaning in life', and 'reprioritization', and one perceived burden domain. Although the four reward domains were highly correlated with each other (0.47<r<0.69), the 4-domain model was superior. The respondents with less education, strong faith, and less optimism reported fewer perceived rewards, thus demonstrating known group validity. In addition, perceived reward had little or no correlation with psychological distress. The psychometric properties of this scale were good (alpha=0.78-0.93, ICC=0.60-0.73) and construct validity was supported (GFI=0.929; AGFI=0.819; CFI=0.749; RMSEA=0.097). The CCI is valid for measuring caregiving consequences from the bereaved family member's perspective in Japan. Furthermore, it is important to use perceived rewards and burdens as a measure of caregiving consequences for improving the quality of the caregiving and bereavement experience.

Measuring grandparenthood stress and reward: Developing a scale based on perceptions by grandparents with adolescent grandchildren in Hong Kong

To develop a Grandparent Stress and Reward Scale (GSRS) for grandparents with adolescent grandchildren in a Chinese context. Twenty-three grandparents with adolescent grandchildren were given in-depth interviews on perceived grandparenthood stress and reward to develop the GSRS. The GSRS was then tested on 107 older adults (mean age, 75.8 years) whose youngest grandchildren were aged 12 or older, living in the community, and were recruited from elderly service agencies. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with a standardized questionnaire which included the GSRS, Life Satisfaction Scale for Chinese Elders (LSS-C), a single-item measure on grandparenthood stress, and demographic measures. The GSRS has satisfactory structure validity. It measures three aspects of reward (self-esteem and life satisfaction, life-long learning opportunity, and grandchildren support), and two aspects of stress (relationship-oriented stress and grandchildren-oriented stress). GSRS was correlated with LSS-C and perceived grandparenthood stress as theoretically expected, which supported its criteria-related validity. It also had satisfactory reliability based on the internal consistency coefficient. The GSRS was a valid and reliable measure that assesses meaning given to grandparents' perception on reward and stress in relations with adolescent grandchildren in a Chinese context. The underlying construct of the scale suggested that the meaning given to grandparenthood in the Chinese context was still influenced by the Confucian tradition.

The Thai Version of Effort‐Reward Imbalance Questionnaire (Thai ERIQ): A Study of Psychometric Properties in Garment Workers

This study aimed to test the psychometric properties of the Thai version of the Effort-Reward Imbalance Questionnaire (T-ERIQ). The English version of the 23-item ERIQ was translated and back-translated. Content validity was examined by five experts and face validity was examined by twelve key informants before being tested for construct validity with 828 workers from six garment factories. Predictive validity was assessed through the relationship between the ERI constructs and psychological health outcomes including psychosomatic symptoms, state of anxiety, depression, and job satisfaction. The internal consistency of the Thai ERIQ was tested using the first survey (n=828), and test-retest stability was examined 2 to 4 wk later with a subsample (n=408). The results show that 2% of workers reported effort-reward imbalance (ERI ratio>/=1). The Thai ERIQ has good content validity with a Content Validity Index of 0.95. Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the effort, reward, and overcommitment scales were 0.77, 0.81, and 0.66, respectively. The 2-4 wk stability of these three constructs was moderate (r=0.496-0.576, p<0.001). Overall, the factorial validity was demonstrated as the best model fit, with high values of the goodness-of-fit indices, using confirmatory factor analysis, indicating accordance with the theoretical constructs of the ERI model. Logistic regression analyses supported significant associations of reward with all psychological health outcomes (p<0.05). The findings suggest that the Thai ERIQ has adequate reliability and validity to investigate the psychosocial work environment. The Thai ERIQ can be applied to the Thai working population, particularly industrial manufacturing workers.

A cognitive neuroscience approach to individual differences in sensitivity to reward

The Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory proposes that a neurobiological system, the Behavioral Activation System, defines individual differences on the subject's sensitivity and reactivity to appetitive stimuli associated with mesocorticolimbic structures, while this system does not mediate aversive stimulus processing. However, Jeffrey A. Gray's model also predicts the system's antagonism between this appetitive system and another aversive stimulus sensitive system, the Behavioral Inhibitory System/Fight-Flight-Freeze System, mostly associated with limbic structures. Therefore, direct modulation of brain activation during appetitive stimulus processing should be expected from the Behavioral Activation System, while inverse modulation during aversive stimulus processing may be expected to reflect the system's antagonism. Using the Sensitivity to Reward scale of the SPSR questionnaire to assess individual differences in the activity of the reward system, we present different behavioral and neuroimaging data to illustrate our view. The first experiment was based on a simple letter-judgment task while viewing erotic and aversive pictures selected from the International Affective Picture System. A second experiment employed a task performed by participants to detect infrequent aversive (i.e., stop) signals when responding to reward. The results from these studies were consistent with the idea that Behavioral Activation System-related personality traits mediate the brain activation associated with appetitive stimulus processing in reward-related areas, while it also showed its antagonism to aversive systems through a negative mediation on the limbic cortex activation. To conclude, sensitivity to reward may be understood as a form of impulsivity related to both better appetitive learning and poorer aversive learning.

Alcohol use as a behavioural sign of disinhibition: Evidence from J.A. Gray's model of personality

Based on Gray's Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory, the influence of behavioural disinhibition upon alcohol consumption was studied. A sample of undergraduates answered different questionnaires related to the Behavioural Inhibition System and Behavioural Activation System. In relation to alcohol use, three aspects of alcohol consumption were assessed: frequency, quantity of alcohol intake and the age at first drink. From a series of correlation and regression analyses, we found that both high scores on BAS-related scales and low scores on those scales related to the BIS were jointly associated with current alcohol-taking habits. Additionally, the Sensitivity to Reward (SR) scale (BAS) was negatively correlated with, and a predictor of, the onset age of alcohol use. We conclude by proposing that research on alcohol use can benefit from this well-grounded theory of the neuropsychology of the individual differences.

Striatum gray matter reduction in males with an overactive behavioral activation system

Using optimized voxel-based morphometry, we studied the relationship between gray matter volume in brain areas associated with reward and scores on a behavioral activation system measure (the Sensitivity to Reward scale) in a sample of 50 male undergraduates. Voxel-based morphometry analysis revealed a negative correlation between Sensitivity to Reward scores and gray matter volume in the dorsal striatum and prefrontal cortex. Results indicate that a reduced volume in the striatum might be associated with enhanced reward sensitivity and deficits in inhibitory control.

Personality differences in suppression of behavior as a function of the probability of punishment

A card-playing task developed by Siegel (1978) was used to study differences in expectation development as a function of probability of punishment. Four personality groups of males were formed on the basis of their extreme scores on the Sensitivity to Punishment (SP) and Sensitivity to Reward (SR) scales, which measure Gray’s anxiety and impulsivity dimensions, respectively. Subjects completed eight different sequences of 40 rewards and punishments. Each sequence had a different percentage of punishment from 20% to 90%. When compared with high scorers, subjects scoring low on the SP scale made more responses when the percentage of punishment was from 40% to 70%, and responded faster after punishment. When considering all subjects, results showed that shorter processing after punishment was correlated with lesser response suppression. The SR groups did not yield any difference in performance. Discussion is focused on the role played by anxiety and impulsivity in response suppression and expectation formation.

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF THE AMSTERDAM MOTIVES FOR DRINKING SCALE (AMDS): AN ATTEMPT TO DISTINGUISH RELIEF AND REWARD DRINKERS

Determination of alcoholic subtypes is a promising strategy for patient treatment matching with anti-craving interventions. The aim of this study is to develop and validate a questionnaire on drinking motives that can distinguish relief and reward drinkers. A 103-item self-report questionnaire was developed: the Amsterdam Motives for Drinking Scale (AMDS). The AMDS was tested in two samples of alcoholics (Sample A: n = 251; Sample B: n = 197). The psychometric properties were examined in Sample A and cross-validated in B. The AMDS consists of a relief scale and a reward scale, both containing distinct subscales. All (sub)scales had good internal consistency. However, the relief and reward scales were highly correlated (Sample A: r = 0.84, P < 0.01; Sample B: r = 0.76, P < 0.01), and convergent and divergent validity was only partly confirmed. The lowest correlations were found between the relief subscale 'stress and vulnerability' and the reward subscale 'stimulation seeking' (Sample A: r = 0.33, P < 0.01; Sample B: r = 0.13, P > 0.01). The AMDS reliably measures two types of motives. However, the relief and reward scales are highly correlated. Lower correlations were found only at the subscale level. It is concluded that most treatment-seeking alcoholics have both relief and reward motives. More research is needed on the relationship between motives for drinking and other phenotypic, endophenotypic and genetic indicators of relief and reward drinking, and appropriate cut-off points. Only than we can draw firm conclusions regarding the potential of drinking motives for patient treatment matching.

Developing a scale for measuring professional equity among Canadian physicians

This paper reports on progress made in defining and measuring the concept of professional equity through the development of a summative measure of professional equity and three of its components: financial, intrinsic and recognition equity. The study sample consisted of a stratified sample of 8375 Canadian physicians with usable responses from 2749 (32.8%). Following preliminary components analysis, items were grouped into constructs. Reliability of the constructs was then determined using Cronbach's alpha and total inter-item correlations followed by confirmatory factor analysis. A summary scale using all 15 equity items yielded a reliability: Cronbach's alpha=0.86. The sub-scales reliabilities were: financial equity (Cronbach's alpha=0.91); intrinsic equity (Cronbach's alpha=0.86); and recognition equity (Cronbach's alpha=0.70). The professional equity measures reported are therefore capable of assessing different aspects of equity and represent an advance over more general effort–reward scales or those that only measure the range of rewards.

Psychological Variables for Identifying Susceptibility to Mental Disorders in Medical Students at the University of Barcelona

:Introduction: This study analyses some psychological variables related to susceptibility to mental disorders in medical students.Methods: A sample of 209 first- and second-year medical students was evaluated using the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and three questionnaires: Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire (SPSRQ), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and UNCAHS scale of STRAIN.Results: Thirty percent of the students suffered from emotional distress as measured by de GHQ-28, and showed significantly higher scores on trait anxiety, sensitivity to punishment and reward scales, and had higher levels of strain both in the academic environment and their personal life. Women scored significantly higher than men on trait anxiety and sensitivity to reward. Logistical regression found that trait anxiety and strain in non-academic life were the best predictors of the development of a mental disorder.Conclusions:The study confirms the usefulness of the STAI for detecting psychological distress and the validity of the SPSRQ for identifying subjects likely to present emotional distress when facing high environmental demands. Subjects most likely to present with mental illness are those who evaluate their personal (non-academic) lives as more stressful.

Personality, expectations, and response strategies in multiple‐choice question examinations in university students: a test of Gray's hypotheses

The relation between personality and type of error made in multiple‐choice examinations when correction for guessing is applied was investigated across two studies. Our general hypothesis was that disinhibited subjects (those scoring high on the Sensitivity to Reward (SR) scale and/or low on the Sensitivity to Punishment (SP) scale) would make more incorrect responses and fewer omission errors (blanks) than inhibited subjects (those with high SP and/or low SR scores). The meta‐analyses of 19 examinations in study 1 confirmed our hypotheses for SP, SR, and extraversion. Regression analyses on effect sizes revealed that SP differences were obtained in examinations with low marks, whereas SR differences were obtained in examinations with more responses and fewer questions. Study 2 showed that a low‐mark expectation increased omissions in high‐SP subjects, whereas a high‐mark expectation increased incorrect responses in high‐SR subjects. These results suggest two different mechanisms mediating inhibition/disinhibition: one associated with aversive motivation, and the other with appetitive motivation. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

BRIEF REPORT

The objective of this study was to investigate personality correlates of set-shifting behaviour using a task sensitive to dopaminergic activity. As expected, set-shifting behaviour was positively correlated with scores on the Sensitivity to Reward scale, a measure of Gray's impulsivity. Discussion is focused on the relationship between this greater ability for set-shifting and the proneness to disinhibition.

Testing global and specific indicators of rewards in the Effort-Reward Imbalance Model: Does it make any difference?

The aim of the present study was to investigate relationships between Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) and employee adverse health (i.e., psychosomatic complaints, physical symptoms, and exhaustion). The Effort-Reward Imbalance Model was extended by discriminating three specific rewards separately (i.e., salary, esteem, and job security). A sample of 167 health-care workers was used to test the relationship between ERI (i.e., high effort accompanied with low reward) and employee adverse health with multiple univariate logistic regression analyses. Separate analyses were carried out with a composite reward scale and with each of the three specific reward scales as independent variables. The results indicate that the health outcomes of ERI vary depending on the specific reward that was used. Generally, the most adverse health effects were found for employees who reported both high efforts and low rewards, thus supporting the ERI Model. Moreover, the strongest effects of ERI on employee health were found when esteem was used as a reward indicator. Job security also appeared to be an important reward in this respect, whereas salary did not have strong effects as a result of ERI. Although the ERI Model was merely supported by the results, current findings also indicate it is important to separate different kinds of rewards, especially in health-care work in order to capture the complexity of working with clients as well.

Individual differences in reward sensitivity and attentional focus

Two priming experiments were conducted to study the relation between attentional focusing and J.A. Gray's personality dimension of impulsivity. Pre-target primes were centrally presented before expected and unexpected targets that appeared after 100 or 500 ms in the same location. In Experiment 1 primes and expected targets matched physically, whereas in Experiment 2 did not match physically. Participants completed the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire, a measure of Gray's anxiety and impulsivity dimensions. Both experiments showed that, at the 500-ms stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA), participants with higher scores on the Sensitivity to Reward Scale (i.e. impulsives) obtained greater differences between response times to expected and non-expected targets than low scorers. Discussion is centered on the nature of over-focusing of attention in individuals with an overactive Behavioral Activation System (BAS).

The Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire (SPSRQ) as a measure of Gray's anxiety and impulsivity dimensions

Gray [In H. J. Eysenck, A model for personality (pp. 246–276). New York: Springer; 1981; The neuropsychology of anxiety: an enquiry into the functions of the septo-hippocampal system. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 1982] has described two motivational systems, the Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS) and the Behavioural Activation System (BAS), that control aversive and appetitive behaviour, respectively. Research on Gray's model of personality has been hindered by the lack of specific self-report measures of the reactivity and responsivity of these systems. We describe a set of studies that illustrate the main psychometrical characteristics of the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire (SPSRQ). The two scales of the questionnaire were developed by writing items to assess BIS and BAS functioning, respectively. Results showed that both scales were independent, and presented satisfactory internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Studies 2–5 reported data related to convergent and discriminant validity of the scales. The Sensitivity to Punishment scale was: (1) positively related to Eysenck's neuroticism dimension; (2) negatively related to extraversion; (3) not related to psychoticism; (4) significantly related to the STAI-Trait scale of Spielberger; and (5) related to the somatic, behavioral, and cognitive anxiety scales of Lehrer and Woolfolk [Behavioral Assessment, 4, (1982) 167–177.]. The Sensitivity to Reward scale was: (1) positively related to Eysenck's extraversion and neuroticism; (2) moderately related to psychoticism; (3) positively related to the Eysenck's Impulsiveness scale [Psychological Reports, 43, (1978) 1247–1255] and the Zuckerman's Sensation Seeking Scales [Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 46, (1978) 139–149]. Although future construct validity studies are needed, discussion is focused on the importance of using specific designed measures to evaluate and develop Gray's model.

Personality and inhibitory deficits in the stop-signal task: the mediating role of Gray’s anxiety and impulsivity

The stop-signal task has become one of the most important paradigms for the study of general inhibitory problems in children and adults. The objective of this research has been to study the relationship between personality and performance in the stop-signal task in a sample of female undergraduates. Subjects completed the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and the Spielberger trait-anxiety measure. They also completed the stop-task using the tracking method to estimate stop-signal reaction time (SSRT). As expected, higher scores on the Sensitivity to Reward scale and lower scores on the Sensitivity to Punishment scale were associated with general inhibitory deficits. However, the other personality measures were not correlated with SSRT. Discussion concentrates on highlighting the importance of this task for measuring inhibitory deficits, and on the possibility of the existence of different pathways to demonstrate them.

Is the Behavioural Inhibition System the core vulnerability for cluster C personality disorders?

The aim of the present study was to determine if Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS) functioning, as described by Gray (Gray, J.A.C. (1982). The Neuropsychology of anxiety: an enquiry into the functions of the Septo-Hippocampal system . Oxford: Oxford University Press), would be a core vulnerability for cluster C personality disorders (PD), that is, if these patients would show a higher anxiety trait (i.e. in Gray's terms) than patients with other PD or without Axis II disorders. A total sample of 77 out-patients was assessed with the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Scales, Karolinska Scales of Personality, and the Structured-Interview for DSM-III-R Personality Disorders (SCID-II). Analyses were conducted considering the following groups: presence of cluster C personality disorder/s, presence of clusters A/B personality disorder/s, absence of personality disorder (non-PD). As a second step, cluster C and non-PD groups were also subdivided according to the presence/absence of anxiety or affective Axis I symptoms. Overall, results showed higher scores on anxiety trait-related scales in the cluster C group. However, only Somatic Anxiety, Psychasthenia and Sensitivity to Punishment scales (SP) clearly distinguished cluster C from each one of the other two groups. After a second analysis, only the Sensitivity to Punishment scale showed independence from Axis I status while discriminating between cluster C and non-PD patients. Results were similar when only behavioural items from the SP scale were considered. From these results we can conclude that a higher BIS functioning would differentiate cluster C personality disorders from patients with other PD or without PD, and that considering only the behavioural anxiety component in their assessment, a low Axis I influence is obtained.

Prosocial and antisocial aspects of personality in women: a replication study

Abstract Several studies seem to favour the existence of a continuum between prosociality and antisociality. The aim of the present study was to replicate the functions found in men in a sample of women. Physical-risk taking activities can be classified along a continuum ranging from prosociality to antisociality, the risky sports being in an intermediate point of that hypothetical dimension. The sample consisted of 43 antisocial risk takers incarcerated for having committed armed robbery, 52 risk-taker sportswomen, 74 prosocial risk takers, and 58 women not engaged in any risky activity. Subjects were administered the Sensation Seeking scale, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, the Impulsiveness scale of the Impulsiveness–Venturesomeness–Empathy Questionnaire, the Socialization scale of the California Psychological Inventory, and the Susceptibility to Punishment and Reward scales. Discriminant analysis identified in females the same three different profiles of physical risk-taking personality found in males: (1) the Impulsive Unsocialized Sensation Seeker; (2) the Venturesomeness; and (3) the Seeker of Experiences by a nonconforming life style. Moreover, the results seem to support the validity and generalizability across gender of the model being considered. The four personality variables that best discriminate among the risk-taking types are: Socialization, Thrill and Adventure Seeking, Experience Seeking, and Neuroticism.

The role of Gray's impulsivity in anxiety-mediated differences in resistance to extinction

Choice behaviour and extinction learning were studied in a group of 108 undergraduates classified according to the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward scales (that measure Gray's anxiety and impulsivity dimensions, respectively). The learning task consisted of continuous choosing between two response alternatives: one was continuously reinforced with a small reward and the other was partially reinforced with a greater reward. After 200 trials, one of the responses remained as in the previous phase, and the other was never rewarded in order to attain extinction. The main aims of the study were: (i) to replicate Avila's finding of lesser resistance to extinction of subjects having high scores on the Sensitivity to Punishment scale; (ii) to investigate whether impulsives (subjects having high scores on the Sensitivity to Reward scale) chose more than non-impulsives the response associated with a continuous, small reward; and (iii) to test, following the model of Patterson and Newman, whether impulsive subjects had a great resistance to extinction of responses highly associated with reward. Results supported all three predictions. Discussion is based on the compatibility of the models of disinhibition of Gray and of Patterson and Newman. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The role of Gray's impulsivity in anxiety-mediated differences in resistance to extinction

Choice behaviour and extinction learning were studied in a group of 108 undergraduates classified according to the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward scales (that measure Gray's anxiety and impulsivity dimensions, respectively). The learning task consisted of continuous choosing between two response alternatives: one was continuously reinforced with a small reward and the other was partially reinforced with a greater reward. After 200 trials, one of the responses remained as in the previous phase, and the other was never rewarded in order to attain extinction. The main aims of the study were: (i) to replicate Avila's finding of lesser resistance to extinction of subjects having high scores on the Sensitivity to Punishment scale; (ii) to investigate whether impulsives (subjects having high scores on the Sensitivity to Reward scale) chose more than non-impulsives the response associated with a continuous, small reward; and (iii) to test, following the model of Patterson and Newman, whether impulsive subjects had a great resistance to extinction of responses highly associated with reward. Results supported all three predictions. Discussion is based on the compatibility of the models of disinhibition of Gray and of Patterson and Newman. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.