The impact of local comparison feedback on test performance related evaluations

It has previously been shown that local comparison – the comparison within a small group of individuals – affects people’s self-evaluations more than general – or objective comparison (overall ranking, etc) (Zell & Alicke, 2009, 2010). In this paper, I was investigating whether the dominance of local comparisons emerges in people’s self-evaluations regarding performance, satisfaction with the performance, and in Weiner’s attribution theory’s (1985, 2010) central categories: ability, test-difficulty, effort, and luck. In total, 126 students participated in the study; however, 114 persons’ data was used in subsequent analyses. Participants took a mental abilities test and received bogus feedback regarding their performance. After receiving the feedback, participants evaluated their performance, their satisfaction with the performance, their mental abilities, test-difficulty, their effort and the role of luck in their performance. A 2 x 2 rank-based analysis of covariances controlled for test score was conducted to analyze the effect of local comparison on the participants’ evaluations. Results showed that local comparisons affected the evaluations of performance and the satisfaction with the performance. In the discussion section the meaning of the results, their theoretical and practical implications, the limitations of the study, and ideas for further research were discussed.http://www.ester.ee/record=b4511773*es

Boredom proneness and fear of missing out mediate relations between depression and anxiety with problematic smartphone use

Depression and anxiety severity are found in numerous studies to correlate with increased levels of problematic smartphone use. Yet there are less available data on other psychopathology‐related correlates of such use. Two potentially important variables related to depression and anxiety, and recently found related to problematic smartphone use severity, are boredom proneness and the fear of missing out (FOMO). Our aims were to (a) assess boredom proneness and FOMO in relation to problematic smartphone use severity and (b) assess the mediating roles of boredom proneness and FOMO in relationships between depression/anxiety severity with problematic smartphone use severity. We recruited 297 American college students for a web survey, assessing constructs including FOMO, boredom proneness, depression, anxiety, problematic smartphone use, and smartphone use frequency. We tested a structural equation model to assess relations between depression and anxiety severity with boredom proneness and FOMO, and relations between these psychopathology constructs with levels of smartphone use frequency and problematic use. Results demonstrate that FOMO was significantly related to problematic smartphone use severity. FOMO also mediated relations between boredom proneness and problematic smartphone use severity. Furthermore, boredom proneness and FOMO serially mediated relations between both depression and anxiety severity with problematic smartphone use severity. Results are discussed in the context of Compensatory Internet Use Theory and the I‐PACE model in understanding factors driving problematic smartphone use.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153150/1/hbe2159.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153150/2/hbe2159_am.pd

Lokaalse domineerimise efekt – replikatsioon

Selles seminaritöös uurisin lokaalse ja üldise sotsiaalset võrdlust soodustava informatsiooni mõju enesehindamisele; tegemist on Zell’i ja Alicke’i publikatsiooni (2009) esimese uuringu osalise replikatsiooniga. Käesolevas uuringus osales 144 naissoost üliõpilast. Katseisikud täitsid sõnavaratesti, mille järel said nad valetagasisidet tulemuste kohta koos sotsiaalset võrdlust võimaldava informatsiooniga, ja hindasid seejärel oma sooritust ning verbaalseid võimeid. Analüüs näitas, et lokaalne võrdlusallikas avaldab enesehindamisele statistiliselt olulist mõju, kusjuures üldine informatsioon ei avalda enesehindamisele mõju, kui esitatakse ka lokaalne võrdlusallikas. Samuti ilmnes, et paremad katseisikud kehvasti sooritanud grupis hindavad end kõrgemalt kui kehvemate tulemustega katseisikud paremini sooritanud grupis. Seega lokaalne info domineerib üldise ees – see on kooskõlas lähteuurimusega (Zell & Alicke, 2009). Ühtlasi arutlen seminaritöös tulemuste, nende võimalike tekkepõhjuste, töö kriitika ning potentsiaalsete jätku-uuringusuundade üle.http://tartu.ester.ee/record=b2654391~S1*es

The role of microtransactions in Internet Gaming Disorder and Gambling Disorder: a preregistered systematic review

Recently there has been increased interest in understanding the relationship between microtransactions, gaming, and gambling. This review aimed to synthesise the evidence on the relationship between microtransactions, ‘Internet Gaming Disorder’ (IGD), and Gambling Disorder in order to report on the: psychometric assessments used, sampling and demographic information, study design and sampling methods, relationships between microtransactions and both IGD and gambling disorder. Inclusion criteria included: refereed studies quantifying microtransactions and/or loot boxes examining their relationship with IGD and/or gambling disorder that were published between 2013 and 2021. Electronic databases were searched and the results were synthesised qualitatively. 14 studies were included. The quality of the evidence was ‘Good’ and clear positive relationships between microtransactions and both IGD and gambling disorder were identified. These relationships apply more to loot boxes than other microtransactions, and risky loot box use was identified as a possible mediator of these relationships. Additionally, microtransaction expenditure increased with the risk of gambling disorder. There is some evidence that adolescents who purchase loot boxes may be more at risk of developing gambling disorder. External validity is limited due to the cross-sectional nature of the evidence, the use of convenience sampling, and the predominantly Western samples resulting in non-representative samples. Prevalence rates of IGD and gambling disorder varied significantly across studies and were different to general prevalence rates. We conclude that there is a need to develop consistent methods for assessing IGD and microtransaction engagement in future research. Implications for policy-makers and future research are discussed

Disordered gaming, loneliness, and family harmony in gamers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

The aim of this study was to investigate if and how disordered gaming, loneliness, and family relations have changed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic (from 2019 to 2021), and if there were any changes in the association between these variables across three samples of gamers (for each respective year). Samples from 2019, 2020, and 2021 were matched by using propensity score matching across socio-demographic characteristics. The total effective sample comprised 897 gamers (N = 299 per year). These samples were compared in disordered gaming – separately as Gaming Disorder (GD; WHO framework) and Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD; APA framework), loneliness, and family harmony scores with analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs), with age and gender as covariates. Steiger tests were used for correlation differences testing. ANCOVAs showed that while IGD and GD scores have increased significantly during the pandemic years, loneliness and family harmony did not change significantly. However, the correlation differences tests in correlations between IGD/GD and loneliness and family harmony showed that the correlations between both IGD and GD with loneliness as well as poorer family harmony have increased during the pandemic years. This study provides empirical evidence that the well-being of gamers might have been negatively affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. While loneliness and family harmony did not increase, the stronger correlations between gaming and other variables might suggest that gaming may have been used to cope with loneliness and poorer family harmony

Internet voting: the role of personality traits and trust across three parliamentary elections in Estonia

Some countries offer options to vote in elections remotely via the internet. However, not all voters take up this opportunity. This study investigates the role of the Five-Factor Model personality traits in the choice to use internet voting, and the potential mediating effects of trust in internet voting, controlling for sociodemographic variables. Survey data collected after national elections in Estonia in 2011 (N = 482), 2015 (N = 535), and 2019 (N = 546) were analyzed. Agreeableness was positively correlated with trust in internet voting in all samples. Additionally, Agreeableness was related to internet voting via trust, but not in all samples. Internet voting was predicted by higher trust in internet voting, better PC literacy, and speaking Estonian at home, across all samples. These results indicate that easy access to, and trust in, internet voting may play a bigger role in the decision to use internet voting than personality traits