Test višestrukih rešenja - deo II - evidencija o konstrukt i prediktivnoj validnosti

In this study, we complement data on Multiple solutions test (MST) by examining its construct and predictive validity. Unlike conventional matrices where a single solution is required, MST sets three types of problems before the participants, requiring them to solve matrices for the best, the second-best, and the least accurate solution. A total sample of 235 individuals (age M = 22.65, SD = 3.33, 199 females) participated in the study. Construct validity of each task within MST was tested in relation to the KOG9 battery of intellectual abilities (N = 156), while predictive value of individual tasks and full-scale performance was tested in relation to scholastic achievement measured by GPA (N = 235). The results have shown high between-task correlations, but also pointed to the specificities of each of them. Additionally, differential difficulties among the tasks were found with the least accurate task being the most difficult, followed by the second-best, and the best one. The test showed satisfactory convergent validity in relation to Gf/Gv test markers within KOG9 battery. Furthermore, MST has shown predictive validity, along with the incremental value of alternative tasks above the standard one (when the scholastic achievement was taken as a criterion), as well as incremental validity in predicting GPA above the KOG9 battery. In general, MST has shown to be a valid instrument for an intelligence assessment, and its alternative tasks have a potential to be a useful addition to standard matrices with one type of solution.U ovom istraživanju dopunjujemo podatke o Testu višestrukih rešenja (eng. Mutiple solutions test - MST) ispitujući konstrukt i prediktivnu validnost instrumenta. Za razliku od konvencionalnih matrica gde se traži samo jedno rešenje, MST pred ispitanike postavlja tri tipa problema, tražeći od njih da reše matricu navodeći najbolje, drugo najbolje i najmanje tačno rešenje. U istraživanju je učestvovalo ukupno 235 ispitanika (starosti M = 22.65, SD = 3.33, 199 ženskog pola). Konstrukt validnost svakog od zadataka MST testirana je u odnosu na bateriju intelektualnih sposobnosti KOG9 (N = 156), dok je prediktivna validnost pojedinačnih zadataka i postignuća na testu u celini testirana u odnosu na školsko postignuće koje je operacionalizovano kao prosečna ocena (N = 235). Rezultati su pokazali visoke korelacije između zadataka, ali i ukazali na specifičnosti svakog od njih. Dodatno, dobijene su i razlike u težinama između zadataka, pri čemu je zadatak nalaženja najmanje tačnog rešenja bio najteži, potom zadatak nalaženja drugog najboljeg rešanja i naposletku zadatak nalaženja najboljeg rešenja. Test je pokazao zadovoljavajuću konvergentnu validnost u odnosu na testovne markere Gf/Gv iz KOG9 baterije. MST je pokazao i prediktivnu validnost, kao i inkrementalnu vrednost alternativnih zadataka u odnosu na standardni (kada se školski uspeh uzme za kriterijum), kao i inkrementalnu validnost u predviđanju prosečne ocene u odnosu na KOG9 bateriju. U celini, MST se pokazao kao valjan instrument za procenu inteligencije, a njegovi alternativni zadaci pokazuju potencijal da budu koristan dodatak standardnim matricama sa jednom vrstom rešenja

Test višestrukih rešenja - deo I - razvoj i psihometrijska evaluacija

As people outside the context of testing seldom find themselves in situations where they are presented with limited options and a single correct answer, with all others being equally wrong, a modification of traditional intelligence tests (in terms of increasing its flexibility), can potentially provide a more comprehensive and a more valid measure of intelligence. Therefore, the aim of this study is the development and psychometric evaluation of the figural reasoning test in the form of matrices with multiple solutions. Unlike conventional intelligence tests, in this test the subjects are faced with more than one task, i.e., to detect: 1) the best solution - a figure that completes a given matrix best; 2) the second-best solution - a figure that would complete the matrix in the best way if the best answer was absent; 3) the least accurate option - a figure that completes the given matrix in the least accurate way. In the process of test development, an initial set of 80 items was designed and administrated to a sample of 41 participants, with the goal of gaining insight into the quality and the need for adjustments of the initial item pool. Psychometric characteristics of the instrument consisting of 74 items with three types of tasks have been evaluated on a sample of 263 participants, after which the short version of the instrument is proposed. All three tasks within the test and test as a whole have shown good internal psychometric properties (α the best = .92, α the second-best = .90, α the least accurate = .87; α full-scale = .95) offering a possibility of reliable measurement of intelligence with a brother scope.Kako se ljudi van testovnog konteksta retko nalaze u situacijama gde su suočeni sa ograničenim opcijama i samo jednim tačnim odgovorom, pri čemu su svi ostali odgovori podjednako pogrešni, izmena tradicionalnih testova inteligencije (u smislu povećanja fleksibilnosti) može potencijalno da obezbedi obuhvatniju i validniju meru inteligencije. Stoga, cilj ove studije je razvoj i psihometrijska evaluacija testa figuralnog rezonovanja u formi matrica sa višestrukim rešenjima. Za razliku od konvencionalnih testova inteligencije, u ovom testu ispitanici su suočeni sa više od jednog zadatka, tj. oni treba da otkriju: 1) najbolje rešenje - figuru koja najbolje kompletira datu matricu; 2) drugo najbolje rešenje - figuru koja bi najbolje upotpunila matricu ukoliko ne bi bilo prvog, najboljeg odgovora; 3) najmanje tačnu opciju - figuru koja upotpunjava datu matricu na najmanje tačan način. U procesu razvoja testa, konstruisan je početni skup od 80 stavki i zadat uzorku od 41 ispitanika, sa ciljem sticanja uvida u kvalitet i potrebu za prilagođavanjem početnog skupa stavki. Psihometrijske karakteristike instrumenta koji se sastoji od 74 stavke sa tri tipa zadataka proverene su na uzorku od 263 ispitanika, nakon čega je predložena kratka verzija instrumenta. Sva tri zadatka unutar testa, kao i test u celini pokazali su dobra interna psihometrijska svojstva (α najbolje rešenje = .92, α drugo najbolje rešenje = .90, α najmanje tačno rešenje = .87; α ukupni skor = .95) nudeći mogućnost pouzdanog i obuhvatnijeg merenja inteligencije

A six-factor model of brand personality and its predictive validity

The study examines applicability and usefulness of HEXACO-based model in the description of brand personality. Following contemporary theoretical developments in human personality research, Study 1 explored the latent personality structure of 120 brands using descriptors of six personality traits as defined in HEXACO model: Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness. The results of exploratory factor analyses have supported HEXACO personality six-factor structure to a large extent. In Study 2 we addressed the question of predictive validity of HEXACO-based brand personality. Brand personality traits, but predominantly Honesty-Humility, accounted for substantial amount of variance in prediction of important aspects of consumer-brand relationship: attitude toward brand, perceived quality of a brand, and brand loyalty. The implications of applying HEXACO-based brand personality in marketing research are discussed

Blinding in tDCS Studies: Correct End-of-Study Guess Does Not Moderate the Effects on Associative and Working Memory

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has become a valuable tool in cognitive neuroscience research as it enables causal inferences about neural underpinnings of cognition. However, studies using tDCS to modulate cognitive functions often yield inconsistent findings. Hence, there is an increasing interest in factors that may moderate the effects, one of which is the participants’ beliefs of the tDCS condition (i.e., real or sham) they received. Namely, whether participants’ correct guessing of sham condition may lead to false-positive tDCS effects. In this study, we aimed to explore if participants’ beliefs about received stimulation type (i.e., the success of blinding) impacted their task performance in tDCS experiments on associative (AM) and working memory (WM). We analyzed data from four within-subject, sham-controlled tDCS memory experiments (N = 83) to check if the correct end-of-study guess of sham condition moderated tDCS effects. We found no evidence that sham guessing moderated post-tDCS memory performance in experiments in which tDCS effects were observed as well as in experiments that showed null effects of tDCS. The results suggest that the correct sham guessing (i.e., placebo-like effect) is unlikely to influence the results in tDCS memory experiments. We discuss the results in light of the growing debate about the relevance and effectiveness of blinding in brain stimulation research

Effects of online parietal transcranial electric stimulation on associative memory: a direct comparison between tDCS, theta tACS, and theta-oscillatory tDCS

Associative memory (AM) is the ability to remember and retrieve multiple items bound together. Previous studies aiming to modulate AM by various transcranial electric stimulation (tES) techniques were inconclusive, although overall suggestive that tES could be a tool for AM enhancement. However, evidence from a direct comparison between different tES techniques is lacking. Here, in a sham-controlled cross-over experiment, we comparatively assessed the effects of three types of tES—anodal tDCS, theta-band transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), and theta-oscillatory tDCS (otDCS), delivered over the left posterior parietal cortex, during a short-term digit-color AM task with cued-recall. The effects were tested in 40 healthy young participants while both oscillatory tES were delivered at a previously determined individual theta frequency (4–8 Hz). All three active stimulations facilitated the overall AM performance, and no differences could be detected between them on direct comparison. However, unlike tDCS, the effects of which appeared to stem mainly from the facilitation of low-memory demand trials, both theta-modulated tACS and otDCS primarily promoted AM in high memory demand trials. Comparable yet differential effects of tDCS, theta tACS, and otDCS could be attributed to differences in their presumed modes of action

Ambulatory assessment of language use: Evidence on the temporal stability of Electronically Activated Recorder and stream of consciousness data

The ambulatory assessment offers a wide range of methods enabling researchers to investigate psychological, behavioral, emotional, and biological processes. These methods enable us to gather data on individual differences in language use for psychological research. Two studies were conducted with an aim to evaluate and compare the temporal stability of language measures extracted by LIWC software form data obtained by two frequently used methods for assessment of language use, i.e., Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR) and stream of consciousness (SOC) task. Additionally, we examined the amount of variance in language use (assessed by both methods) that can be attributed to intra-individual variability and stable individual differences. Study 1 was focused on investigating language use obtained from 74 respondents using the EAR for 3 consecutive days. Study 2 was conducted on 250 respondents participating in a SOC task where verbal production was collected at ten time points over a 2-month period. Results show that measures obtained using the SOC task have higher temporal stability and consistency, and to a certain extent enable better detection of individual differences. Taking into account certain situational variations improves the reliability of EAR measures

Psychometric evaluation of the Serbian dictionary for automatic text analysis - LIWCser

LIWC (Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count) is widely used word-level content analysis software. It was used in large number of studies in the fields of clinical, social and personality psychology, and it is adapted for text analysis in 11 world languages. The aim of this research was to validate empirically newly constructed adaptation of LIWC software for Serbian language (LIWCser). The sample of the texts consisted of 384 texts in Serbian and 141 texts in English. It included scientific paper abstracts, newspaper articles, movie subtitles, short stories and essays. Comparative analysis of Serbian and English version of the software demonstrated acceptable level of equivalence (ICCM=.70). Average coverage of the texts with LIWCser dictionary was 69.93%, and variability of this measure in different types of texts is in line with expected. Adaptation of LIWC software for Serbian opens entirely new possibilities of assessment of spontaneous verbal behaviour that is highly relevant for different fields of psychology

Konstrukcija i empirijska provera testa homofobije

The paper presents development and empirical evaluation of the Homophobia scale (H25). The Homophobia scale consists of 25 items with a five-point Likert type scale. The sample of 476 subjects participated in the research. The results shown good psychometric properties of the H25 (KMO = .99, α = .97). Factor analysis revealed two highly correlated underlying dimensions of homophobia, which can be interpreted as 'homosexuality as a threat to a society' and 'homosexuality as a threat to me'. Convergent and predictive validities of the scale were also demonstrated. The H25 correlated with alternative measures of homophobia (feeling thermometer and connotative differential) as well as with discriminatory attitudes toward homosexuals. Additionally, homophobia was related to gender, political orientation, religiousness, contact with homosexuals and basic personality traits (i.e., Openness and Conscientiousness). In conclusion, the H25 proves to be a reliable and valid measure of homophobia in heterosexuals, which can be used for both research and practical purposes.U ovom radu predstavljena je konstrukcija i evaluacija Testa homofobije koji u sadržinskom smislu objedinjuje dosadašnja znanja i ideje o prirodi ovog fenomena. Test homofobije (H25) sastoji se od 25 stavki u formi tvrdnji kojima je pridružena petostepena skala Likertovog tipa. Na uzorku od 476 ispitanika proverene su psihometrijske karakteristike testa i njegova faktorska struktura. U celini test pokazuje dobre psihometrijske karakteristike (KMO = .99, α = .97). Faktorskom analizom ekstrahovana su dva visoko korelirana faktora, koja su interpretirana kao 'homoseksualnost kao pretnja za društvo' i 'homoseksualnost kao pretnja za mene'. Takođe, test je pokazao zadovoljavajuću konvergentnu validnost spram dve alternativne mere homofobije, kao i visoku predikciju diskriminatornih stavova prema osobama homoseksualne orijentacije. Dodatno, pokazano je da homofobija, merena konstruisanim instrumentom, ima veći broj socio-demografskih i personalnih korelata. Homofobiji su sklonije osobe muškog pola, religiozne osobe, osobe konzervativne političke orijentacije, zatim osobe koje imaju manje kontakta sa homoseksualnom populacijom, i osobe nižih skorova na dimeziji Otvorenosti, a viših na dimenziji Savesnosti. U celini, konstruisani instrument predstavlja pouzdanu i validnu meru heteroseksualnog stava prema homoseksualnoj populaciji, te predstavlja ekonomičan instrument pogodan za primenu, kako u istraživačke tako i u praktične svrhe

Personalized Frequency Modulated Transcranial Electrical Stimulation for Associative Memory Enhancement

Associative memory (AM) is the ability to remember the relationship between previously unrelated items. AM is significantly affected by normal aging and neurodegenerative conditions, thus there is a growing interest in applying non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques for AM enhancement. A growing body of studies identifies posterior parietal cortex (PPC) as the most promising cortical target for both transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) to modulate a cortico-hippocampal network that underlines AM. In that sense, theta frequency oscillatory tES protocols, targeted towards the hallmark oscillatory activity within the cortico-hippocampal network, are increasingly coming to prominence. To increase precision and effectiveness, the need for EEG guided individualization of the tES protocols is proposed. Here, we present the study protocol in which two types of personalized oscillatory tES–transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) and oscillatory transcranial direct current stimulation (otDCS), both frequency-modulated to the individual theta-band frequency (ITF), are compared to the non-oscillatory transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and to the sham stimulation. The study has cross-over design with four tES conditions (tACS, otDCS, tDCS, sham), and the comprehensive set of neurophysiological (resting state EEG and AM-evoked EEG) and behavioral outcomes, including AM tasks (short-term associative memory, face–word, face–object, object-location), as well as measures of other cognitive functions (cognitive control, verbal fluency, and working memory)

Socijalno kognitivni deficiti u psihijatrijskim poremećajima

Social cognition is the ability of the construction of relation representation between you and the others and the possibility of flexible mental constructs using as social interactions guide. Social cognition is represented as a multidimensional construct including different subcomponents: 1) the theory of mind (ToM), 2) social perception, 3) social knowledge, 4) emotion recognition and 5) attribution style. Biological bases of social and cognitive abilities are complex and only partly clarified. 'Social brain' within social cognition should not be bond to only one anatomic area, considering the fact that the network underlying social functioning includes both, cortical and subcortical regions. Amygdales, medial, orbital and frontal cortex, upper temporal girus act like so called 'temporal brain' as Braders proposed, and are considered to be significant in the processes of social interaction. Social and cognitive deficits are described in numerous psychiatric conditions, and their association with clinical pathology and social functioning aspects points out to the importance of cognitive assessment and emphasizes the need to development adequate measurements of neuropsychological rehabilitation.Socijalna kognicija je sposobnost izgradnje prikaza odnosa između sebe i drugih i mogućnost korišćenja fleksibilnih mentalnih konstrukata u svojstvu vodiča socijalnih interakcija. Socijalna kognicija predstavljena je kao multidimenzionalni konstrukt koji obuhvata različite supkomponente: 1) teorija uma (ToM), 2) socijalna percepcija, 3) socijalna znanja, 4) prepoznavanje emocija, i 5) atribucioni stil. Biološke osnove socijalno-kognitivnih sposobnosti su složene i samo delimično poznate. 'Socijalni mozak' u okviru socijalne kognicije ne treba vezivati samo za jednu anatomsku regiju, obzirom da je u osnovi socijalnog funkcionisanja mreža međusobno povezanih sistema koji uključuju kako kortikalne, tako i supkortikalne oblasti. Amigdala, medijalni i orbitofrontalni korteks, gornji temporalni girus čine tzv. 'socijalni mozak' kako je predložio Braders i smatraju se značajnim u procesima socijalne interakcije. Socijalno kognitivni deficiti su opisani kod brojnih psihijatrijskih poremećaja, a njihova povezanost sa kliničkom patologijom i aspektima socijalnog funkcionisanja ističe važnost kognitivne procene i naglašava potrebu razvoja adekvatnih mera neuropsihološke rehabilitacije