Deception Detection: Using Eye-Tracking Technology to Measure Faking in a Simulated Applicant Setting

The impact of faking on selection assessments and the need for methods to detect such behavior has drawn increased attention of researchers in the selection field over the last quarter century. The overarching purpose of this study was to assess the validity of utilizing eye-tracking technology in the detection of applicant faking on personality measures. Specifically, this study examined the physiological cues of response latency, eye fixation, and pupil dilation and their association with deception in the context of personality assessment in a job seeking scenario. The results indicated that individuals engaged in faking behavior had significantly more eye fixations and recorded significantly higher scores on the paper and pencil measure of cognitive load. In addition, results suggest that the experimental conditions likely accounted for the alterations in cognitive load regardless of the level of social desirability of items

Older adolescents\u27 perceptions of social support and their willingness to seek help for a dating problem from same-sex and other-sex friends

This study examined relations among expectations of support (i.e., emotional and instrumental) and late adolescents\u27 willingness to seek help for a dating problem from female and male friends. It also examined whether teens\u27 willingness to seek help differed by past help seeking and gender, and aspects of help seeking perceived as most and least helpful. Online survey data were collected from 122 adolescents (94 females, 28 males) aged 17-18 years. Results showed that expectations of emotional support from male and female friends were related to greater willingness to seek help from friends of the same gender. Previous help-seeking experience was related to greater willingness to seek help from female friends, but less willingness to seek help from male friends for males. Findings also suggest that adolescents prefer emotional support for a dating problem

Large language models for aspect-based sentiment analysis

Large language models (LLMs) offer unprecedented text completion capabilities. As general models, they can fulfill a wide range of roles, including those of more specialized models. We assess the performance of GPT-4 and GPT-3.5 in zero shot, few shot and fine-tuned settings on the aspect-based sentiment analysis (ABSA) task. Fine-tuned GPT-3.5 achieves a state-of-the-art F1 score of 83.8 on the joint aspect term extraction and polarity classification task of the SemEval-2014 Task 4, improving upon InstructABSA [@scaria_instructabsa_2023] by 5.7%. However, this comes at the price of 1000 times more model parameters and thus increased inference cost. We discuss the the cost-performance trade-offs of different models, and analyze the typical errors that they make. Our results also indicate that detailed prompts improve performance in zero-shot and few-shot settings but are not necessary for fine-tuned models. This evidence is relevant for practioners that are faced with the choice of prompt engineering versus fine-tuning when using LLMs for ABSA

Manipulating Common Method Variance via Experimental Conditions

Research data collected from single respondents may raise concerns regarding common method variance (CMV), which is believed to threaten the validity of findings. The primary concern is that CMV can inflate substantive relationships, such that they appear statistically significant when they are not. Thus, understanding the nature of CMV is critical, especially when one considers the popularity—and sometimes necessity—of using self-report data. Research examining CMV has found conflicting evidence about the impact of CMV. Researchers who believe CMV influences findings have proposed solutions to combat any real or perceived potential bias, including changing survey instructions and using marker variables, but few studies have examined the efficacy of these approaches. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of these techniques and the nature of CMV using an experimental design. To conduct the experiment, multiple versions of a survey, which vary in their use of the remedial approaches, are utilized to collect data, which resulted in 1,069 usable responses. The experimental design was based on the faking literature and included instructions intended to induce or reduce the levels of CMV. Further, two different marker variables are used to determine the degree to which they create a psychological separation in substantive variables. Correlation analysis and measurement invariance are used to analyze the data. This study posits that, if CMV is a substantial concern for self-report data and these approaches are effective, then findings will differ in surveys that incorporate such approaches from surveys that do not. Results indicate few differences in experimental conditions, meaning that regardless of instructions or marker variable, substantive item correlations remained statistically similar. The results indicate this is likely due to the minimal impact of CMV, given that the proposed methods of correction did not significantly influence research findings. These findings have implications for researchers in that they do not support that CMV, or at least its proposed remedies, significantly alter findings. However, support for the null conclusions, in spite of appropriate statistical power, warrant future research examining the nature and impact of CMV

Generalizing the dynamic field theory of spatial cognition across real and developmental time scales

Within cognitive neuroscience, computational models are designed to provide insights into the organization of behavior while adhering to neural principles. These models should provide sufficient specificity to generate novel predictions while maintaining the generality needed to capture behavior across tasks and/or time scales. This paper presents one such model, the Dynamic Field Theory (DFT) of spatial cognition, showing new simulations that provide a demonstration proof that the theory generalizes across developmental changes in performance in four tasks—the Piagetian A-not-B task, a sandbox version of the A-not-B task, a canonical spatial recall task, and a position discrimination task. Model simulations demonstrate that the DFT can accomplish both specificity—generating novel, testable predictions—and generality—spanning multiple tasks across development with a relatively simple developmental hypothesis. Critically, the DFT achieves generality across tasks and time scales with no modification to its basic structure and with a strong commitment to neural principles. The only change necessary to capture development in the model was an increase in the precision of the tuning of receptive fields as well as an increase in the precision of local excitatory interactions among neurons in the model. These small quantitative changes were sufficient to move the model through a set of quantitative and qualitative behavioral changes that span the age range from 8 months to 6 years and into adulthood. We conclude by considering how the DFT is positioned in the literature, the challenges on the horizon for our framework, and how a dynamic field approach can yield new insights into development from a computational cognitive neuroscience perspective

Un campus universitaire dans la zone péri-urbaine d'Accra (Ghana) comme un refuge pour les espèces de forêt sèche

Die Valley-View Universität (VVU) ist eine private Universität, die in der Trockenwaldzone der Accra Plains liegt; einem Gebiet, welches sehr stark von Urbanisierung und Zersiedlung betroffen ist. Das Campus-Gelände umfasst ca. 105 ha. Beachtliche Flächen davon sind bislang nicht bebaut und noch mit Savannengebüschen bedeckt. Im Jahre 2002 hat sich die VVU zum Ziel gesetzt, die erste "ökologische Universität" Afrikas zu werden. Im Rahmen zweier Projekte wurden bedeutende Fortschritte im Abwassersystem und der Wasserversorgung sowie beim Bau energiesparender Gebäude und der ökologischen Landwirtschaft erzielt. Die weitere konzeptionelle Entwicklung des Campus wurde in einem detaillierten "Ökologischen Masterplan" festgehalten. In diesem Rahmen führten wir eine floristische Bestandserhebung in den Savannengebüschen durch und fanden mehr als 100 Pflanzenarten. In der Mehrzahl handelte es sich dabei um den Artenpool der für die Region typischen Kombination aus Trockenwald- und Savannenarten. Da die verbliebenen Reste von Trockenwäldern und Savannengebüschen in den Accra Plains zunehmend durch (ungeplante) Zersiedlung und Überbeweidung bedroht sind, hat die VVU-Verwaltung sich bereit erklärt, die artenreichen Gebüsche auf dem Campus-Gelände zu erhalten. Sie leistet damit einen wertvollen Beitrag zu einer etwas nachhaltigeren Entwicklung der Region.Valley View University (VVU) is a private university located within the dry forest zone of the Accra plains; an area strongly affected by urban sprawl. The campus covers approx. 105 ha. Considerable portions of it are yet undeveloped and covered with savannah thickets. In 2002, the university has committed itself to become Africa's first "ecological university". In the context of two projects, substantial improvements have been made in terms of sanitation, water supply, energy-saving buildings and organic agriculture. The further development of the campus was designed in a detailed "ecological masterplan". In this context, we carried out a floristic inventory of the savannah thickets and found more than 100 plant species; the majority of which represent the species pool of the unique mixture of dry forest and savannah thicket species, which is typical for the region. As the remainder of dry forests and savannah thickets in the Accra plains become increasingly threatened by urban sprawl and overgrazing, the VVU administration has agreed to preserve the species-rich thickets. This is a valuable contribution to a more sustainable development of the region.Valley View University (VVU) est une université privée située dans la zone de forêt sèche des plaines d'Accra; une zone fortement affectée par l'expansion urbaine. Le campus couvre approximativement 105 ha. Des parties importantes de celui-ci sont encore peu développées et couvertes de fourrées de savane. En 2002, l'université s'est engagée à devenir la première "université écologique" d'Afrique. Dans le cadre de deux projets, des améliorations substantielles ont été apportées en matière d'assainissement, d'approvisionnement en eau, de bâtiments peu consommateurs d'énergie et d’agriculture biologique. Le développement ultérieur du campus a été conçu dans un "schéma directeur écologique" détaillé. C'est dans ce contexte, que nous avons réalisé un inventaire floristique des fourrées de savane et avons trouvé plus de 100 espèces végétales; dont la majorité représente le pool est composé uniquement d'espèces de forêt sèche et de fourrées de savane, typiques à la région. Comme le reste des forêts sèches et des fourrés de savane des plaines d'Accra deviennent de plus en plus menacées par l'expansion urbaine et le surpâturage, l'administration VVU a accepté de préserver les fourrés riches en espèces. C'est une précieuse contribution à un développement plus durable de la région

Effect of Shared History of Alcoholism on Client Perceptions of Counselor Characteristics

Applied Behavioral Science

Storytelling vs. Dashboards – Wie Sie die richtige Methode zur Datenvisualisierung auswählen

aus dem Inhalt: „Datenvisualisierung wird immer wichtiger in der Kommunikation. Gerade in der Zeit der Corona-Pandemie spielt Datenvisualisierung eine zentrale Rolle, um die Lage und Dynamik zu kommunizieren. Wenn Daten erhoben und mit immer neuen Methoden analysiert werden, ist es wichtig, diese Daten addressatengerecht aufzubereiten.

Perceptions of severity and the role of coping in university students\u27 experiences with online partner aggression victimization

Despite the frequency with which individuals are currently communicating via forms of technology and the unique features of online communication (i.e., lack of verbal and nonverbal cues, ability to send messages with greater frequency, opportunity to make personal information public, etc.), few studies have considered individuals\u27 perceptions of and experiences with online partner aggression victimization. Through quantitative and qualitative methods, the present research investigated university students\u27 ( N = 349; 82.1% female) experiences of online partner aggression victimization occurring via email, instant messaging, and social networking sites and their perceptions of severity of the aggressive acts. In addition, information was collected about participants\u27 dispositional coping strategies and their psychological and adaptive functioning as well as the indirect effects of coping on associated outcomes. Findings revealed that a large number (82.1%) of participants were victimized by online partner aggression at least once in the past year and that victimization occurred most frequently (71.8%) via instant messaging. Women were found to perceive all categories of online partner aggression as more severe than men. Path analysis indicated that maladaptive coping indirectly affected outcomes for individuals who had experienced online partner aggression such that this method of coping resulted in poorer psychological functioning, but better adaptive functioning. These findings provide support for the seriousness of online partner aggression and the importance of coping style with respect to outcomes. Limitations and clinical implications are discussed

The influence of shyness on the use of Facebook in an undergraduate sample

Researchers have suggested that individual differences will help to determine which online communication tools appeal to and are used by different individuals. With respect to the domain of computer-mediated communication, shyness is a particular personality trait of interest, as forums provide opportunities for social interactions that shy individuals might otherwise avoid. The present study investigated the personality trait of shyness and its relation with certain features of an online communication tool (Facebook). We hypothesized that shyness would be significantly related to the quantity of time spent on Facebook, the number of contacts added to one’s Facebook profile, and attitudes toward Facebook. Our findings supported that shyness was significantly positively correlated with the time spent on Facebook and having favorable attitudes toward the social networking site. Furthermore, shyness was significantly negatively correlated with the number of Facebook “Friends.” Limitations of the present study and suggestions for future research are addressed