Through a glass, less darkly? Reassessing convergent and divergent validity in measures of implicit self-esteem

Self-esteem has been traditionally assessed via self-report (explicit self-esteem: ESE). However, the limitations of self-report have prompted efforts to assess self-esteem indirectly (implicit self-esteem: ISE). It has been theorized that ISE and ESE reflect the operation of largely distinct mental systems. However, although low correlations between measures of ISE and ESE empirically support their discriminant validity, similarly low correlations between different measures of ISE do not support their convergent validity. We explored whether such patterns would reemerge if more recently developed, specific, and reliable ISE measures were used. They did, although some convergent validity among ISE measures emerged once confounds resulting from conceptual mismatch, individual differences, and random variability were minimized. Nonetheless, low correlations among ISE measures are not primarily caused by the usual psychometric suspects, and may be the result of other factors including subtle differences between structural features of such measures

It's All About Power: Validation of Trait and State Versions of the German Personal Sense of Power Scale

The present research was aimed at providing a German version of the Personal Sense of Power Scale (GPSPS; Anderson et al., 2012) and testing its psychometric properties. A personal sense of power describes the perception of one's ability to influence others. Probably every human relationship can be characterized by differences in power, which means that the measurement of experienced power is highly relevant. The availability of appropriate measures in different languages will help improve research and cross-cultural comparisons. Five studies were conducted. Internal consistency was high across all studies. Stability across 6 and 12 weeks was also high. A good fit was observed for a 6-item unidimensional version. Correlations with a variety of psychological and sociodemographic variables were in the expected directions, supporting nomological and criterion validity (Study 1). Measurement invariance across gender was demonstrated. In support of construct validity, a clinical sample scored significantly lower than others. Finally, two studies showed the sensitivity of a state version of the scale. We encourage researchers to use this scale as a reliable and valid instrument for assessing trait and state power

Compensating for low topic interest and long surveys: a field experiment on nonresponse in web surveys

Certain survey characteristics proven to affect response rates, such as a survey’s length and topic, are often under limited control of the researcher. Therefore, survey researchers sometimes seek to compensate for such undesired effects on response rates by employing countermeasures such as material or nonmaterial incentives. The scarce evidence on those factors’ effects in web survey contexts is far from being conclusive. This study is aimed at filling this gap by examining the effects of four factors along with selected interactions presumed to affect response rates in web surveys. Requests to complete a web-based, selfadministered survey were sent to 2,152 owners of personal websites. The 2 X 2 X 2 X 2 fully crossed factorial design encompassed the experimental conditions of (a) high versus low topic salience, (b) short versus long survey, (c) lottery incentive versus no incentive, and (d) no feedback and general feedback (study results) versus personal feedback (individual profile of results). As expected, highly salient and shorter surveys yielded considerably higher unit-response rates. Moreover, partial support was found for interaction hypotheses derived from the leverage-salience theory of survey participation. Offering personalized feedback compensated for the negative effects of low topic salience on response rates. Also, the lottery incentive tended to evoke more responses only if the survey was short (versus long), but this interaction effect was only marginally significant. The results stress the usefulness of a multifactorial approach encompassing interaction effects to understand participation differences in web surveys. (auhtor'S abstract

Transition to Parenthood: How Does it Affect Men's and Women's Satisfaction in Various Life Domains? A 4-year Longitudinal Examination

Becoming a parent is a major, privotal life course event (Galdiolo& Roskam, 2012). While many people desire having children, research on parenthood and life satisfaction suggests that the emotional benefits of parenthood are outweighed by time, psychosocial stress and financial costs (Polmann-Schult, 2014). It has been suggested that parenthood has a more negative effect on life satisfaction for women as compared to men (Hansen, 2012). The aim of the current study is to extend findings regarding gender and life satisfaction across Transition to parenthood, by looking at changes in satisfaction in various life domains across a 4-year time period

Singles by choice differ from singles by circumstance in their perceptions of the costs and benefits of romantic relationships

Past research has found that the well-being of singles who desire a romantic relationship ("singles by circumstance") is poorer than that of singles who choose to remain single, in terms of loneliness, depression and self-esteem (Slonim& Schütz, 2015). Therefore, it is important to understand why some singles are satisfied with their relationship status while others are highly motivated to change it. Could it be that the two groups of singles differ regarding their expectations from romantic relationships

Dominance and prestige in romantic relationships: Actor and partner links to relationship quality

Dominance and prestige reflect different forms of power and can affect relationship outcomes. Whereas dominance is a conflict-oriented way of dealing with people and grabbing status, prestige is derived from respect and esteem that is granted by others due to superior skills and knowledge. In this research, we tested three partially competing perspectives on potential associations of dominance and prestige with relationship quality (RQ). Sociobiological perspectives suggest that both concepts ensure the provision of valuable resources, and thus predict that both dominance and prestige would be positively linked to RQ. From a sociocultural perspective, men are expected to be dominant and prestigious whereas being dominant (and perhaps being prestigious) would violate the feminine gender-role stereotype; thus, both variables should relate positively to RQ only for men. From a personality perspective, dominance is characterized by undesirable attributes, whereas prestige is characterized by more desirable attributes; as such, only prestige should be positively related to RQ. We conducted four studies with individuals in romantic relationships in three different countries (Germany, Israel, and the US; Ntotal = 2,010 participants). The participants completed measures of dominance-prestige (as general attributes, as relationship-specific attributes, or in comparison with their partner) and measures of RQ. Although not entirely consistent across studies, our results were most consistent with the personality-based perspective. Prestige seems to benefit a relationship for both actors and partners whereas dominance is detrimental to relationship happiness. Yet, as some results showed that the negative link between dominance and RQ was stronger for women than for men, and the positive link between prestige and RQ was weaker for women than for men; thus some weak support for the sociocultural perspective was also found

She's single, so what? How are singles perceived compared with people who are married?

'In den vergangenen Jahrzehnten haben sich klassische Beziehungsmuster geändert. Neben der traditionellen Ehe finden sich heute nichteheliche Lebensgemeinschaften, Paare, die getrennte Haushalte führen (LATs) und gleichgeschlechtliche Paare. Daneben wurden Singles zu einer viel diskutierten Gruppe. In Anbetracht der Vielzahl an Lebensformen könnte man annehmen, dass negativ geprägte Stereotype gegenüber Singles zurückgegangen sind. Die Studie zeigt allerdings, dass noch immer verheiratete Personen positiver beurteilt werden als Singles. Beispielsweise werden Singles als einsamer, weniger einfühlsam und weniger fürsorglich eingeschätzt. Es zeigt sich aber auch eine tendenzielle Aufweichung des negativen Stereotyps: (jungen) Singles werden einige positive Eigenschaften zugeschrieben. Hierbei moderieren Merkmale der bewertenden Person die Einschätzung. Vor allem jüngere Frauen und ältere Singles haben ein relativ positives Bild von Singles und beurteilen sie im Vergleich zu verheirateten Personen als geselliger und weltgewandter.' (Autorenreferat)'Over the past few decades, relationship patterns have become more diverse. Besides classical marriage we find cohabitation, romantic partners living apart, and same-sex couples. Furthermore, single people have become an important and intensely discussed segment of society. Due to the increasing plurality of living arrangements, one might assume that stereotypes about singles have changed over the years. The study shows that married people are generally still seen more positively than singles. Singles were seen as more lonely, less warm and caring than married people. However, some positive features are ascribed to singles, too. Importantly, characteristics of the perceiver moderate his or her perceptions. Some groups rated single people as more sophisticated and sociable than married people.' (author's abstract

Comparing Immersive Virtual Reality and PowerPoint as Methods for Delivering Safety Training: Impacts on Risk Perception, Learning, and Decision Making

In two experimental studies, we compared safety training given via immersive virtual reality with safety training given via PowerPoint in their effects on risk perception, learning, and risky choices. In Study 1, we compared the two methods in a sample of apprentices (N = 53) and also investigated whether participants’ conscientiousness and locus of control moderated the effects of safety training. In Study 1, we found an effect of training method on the change in risk perception in terms of probability judgments and on risky decisions but not on learning. In Study 2 (N = 68), we sought to replicate Study 1 and also tested whether domain-specific risk attitudes affected risk perception and choice. Furthermore, long-term effects of safety training on information recall and risk perception after a 6-month interval were assessed. The effects found in Study 1 could not be replicated in Study 2. Neither study found an interaction between presentation medium and personality. We conclude that the costly procedure of immersive virtual reality (VR) does not seem justified for safety training because the less costly PowerPoint procedure with vivid film scenes did not fare significantly worse with respect to changes in risk perception, learning outcomes, or decision making

Profillinie 5: Kommunikation, Medien, Technik:

Die Forschungsprofillinie 5 “Kommunikation, Medien, Technik” entstand im Jahr 2005 aus der ursprünglichen Profillinie “Medien, Kommunikation und Informationstechnologien”. Sie zeigt heute eine deutlich stärkere Vernetzung über die verschiedenen Fakultäten hinweg, als das die bisherige Ausrichtung des Profils leisten konnte. Der wesentliche Unterschied zu den anderen Forschungsprofillinien der Technischen Universität Chemnitz besteht darin, dass hier der Mensch als der Nutzer technischer Systeme im Zentrum steht. Dies bedeutet jedoch nicht, dass vor allem sozial-, verhaltens- und kulturwissenschaftlich orientierte Professuren die Forschungsprofillinie tragen. Ganz im Gegenteil ist gerade in diesem Themenbereich eine enge Kooperation von naturwissenschaftlichen und technischen Disziplinen auf der einen Seite und sozialwissenschaftlichen Fächern auf der anderen Seite gefordert