Semantic Self-Images and Well-Being in Young and Older Adults: Does the Accessibility Matter?

In the present study we investigated whether and how age group, dimensions of well-being and their interactions predicted the phenomenological properties of semantic self-images, taking also into account the different levels of accessibility of self-images (i.e., order of generation). Results on the first self-image revealed that, independently of age, higher levels of life satisfaction predicted higher likelihood of positive than negative statement and higher levels of negative affect and life satisfaction predicted higher levels of personal relevance of the self-image. When all self-images were considered, for higher levels of life satisfaction neutral and positive self-images were more likely than negative ones, and for lower levels of positive affect, neutral images were more likely than negative ones. Moreover, young adults were more likely than older adults to report neutral rather than negative self-images and, for higher levels of positive affect, they were more likely to report neutral and positive images instead of negative ones. These results suggest that the accessibility of semantic self-images should be taken into account in the investigation of the complex association between well-being and semantic self-images. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed

Validity of Space Responses: What Can We Learn from Rorschach Protocols of Divorcing Couples Fighting for Child Custody?

Divorcing couples who require the intervention of the court system to resolve their child custody disputes usually exhibit intense anger and experience strong resentment. The Rorschach Inkblot Method (RIM) is one of the most commonly used tests in child custody evaluations, in which one crucial issue is affectivity and its regulation, and, specifically, negative emotions such as anger and resentment. White Space (S) is one of the Rorschach Comprehensive System (CS) variables usually taken into account to assess anger and resentment, but to date the construct validity of S responses for this purpose is far from established. Our study addresses this issue by exploring the association between S responses (coded on the basis of the following classifications: the CS, the Rorschach Performance Assessment System, and Rosso, Chiorri, and Denevi, 2015) and the motor, emotional, and cognitive components of aggression reported by clinicians in a sample of divorcing couples engaged in child custody litigation (n = 85). Our findings support the hypothesis that Space fusion responses may be a marker of separation and emptiness anxiety, whereas no support is provided by this study for the hypothesis that Space reversal and Space integration responses are indicative of anger

Development and Validation of a New Measure of Work Annoyance Using a Psychometric Network Approach

Existing measures of the impact of job characteristics on workers' well-being do not directly assess the extent to which such characteristics (e.g., opportunity to learn new skills) are perceived as positive or negative. We developed a measure, the Work Annoyance Scale (WAS), of the level of annoyance that workers feel about certain aspects of the job and evaluated its psychometric properties. Using archival data from two cohorts (n = 2226 and 655) of workers that had undergone an annual medical examination for occupational hazard, we show the usefulness of the network psychometric approach to scale validation and its similarities and differences from a traditional factor analytic approach. The results revealed a two-dimensional structure (working conditions and cognitive demands) that was replicable across cohorts and bootstrapped samples. The two dimensions had adequate structural consistency and discriminant validity with respect to other questionnaires commonly used in organizational assessment, and showed a consistent pattern of association with relevant background variables. Despite the need for more extensive tests of its content and construct validity in light of the organizational changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic and of an evaluation of the generalizability of the results to cultural contexts different from the Italian one, the WAS appears as a psychometrically sound tool for assessment and research in organizational contexts

Comparison of alternate and original forms of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA): an Italian normative study

Objective: The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a screening test widely used in clinical practice and suited for detection of Mild Cognitive Impairment. Alternate forms of the MoCA were developed to avoid \u201clearning effect\u201d in serial assessments, and the present study aimed at investigating inter-form parallelism and at providing normative values for the Italian versions of MoCAs 2 and 3. Method: Three separate convenience samples were recruited: the first (n = 78) completed three alternate MoCA versions for ascertaining inter-form parallelism; the second (n = 302) and the third (n = 413) samples were administered MoCA 2 or 3 to compute normative data. Results: A three-step procedure complemented by confirmatory factor analysis and a mixed factorial ANOVA suggested that the three MoCA versions are not strictly parallel. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that age and education significantly influenced MoCA 2 and 3 total scores. No significant effect of sex was found. From the derived linear equation, correction grids for MoCA 2 and 3 raw scores were built and equivalent scores computed. Inferential cutoff for adjusted scores, estimated using a non-parametric technique, were 17.49 for MoCA 2 and 18.34 for MoCA 3. Correlation analysis showed strong correlations of MoCA 2 (r = 0.69, p <.001) and MoCA 3 (r = 0.61, p <.001) adjusted total scores with MMSE adjusted scores. Conclusion: The three MoCA forms are not strictly parallel. Specifically developed normative data must be adopted for using MoCA in serial cognitive assessments for clinical and research studies

Farm efficiency related to animal welfare performance and management of sheep farms in marginal areas of Central Italy: a two-stage DEA model

The development of specific actions to increase animal health and welfare is indicated as a strategy to improve the efficiency and sustainability of many livestock systems, including sheep farming. In this paper, efficiency measures are provided to confirm the hypothesis that farms that are higher-performing in terms of animal welfare and management are also more technically efficient. A two-stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach was adopted with the following twofold objectives: 1) to evaluate the efficiency and super-efficiency of 76 meat-producing sheep farms situated in marginal lands in central Italy, through DEA and Super-DEA (S-DEA) models; and 2) to assess the influence of animal welfare and management indicators on technical efficiency values through the application of a Tobit regression model. An overall efficiency performance varying within a range of 0.44–1 was estimated, with an average value of 0.80, implying a potential increase of 20% in terms of output production from both management and scale improvements. The ‘pure’ technical inefficiency was found to contribute three times more than scale inefficiency in determining the overall technical inefficiency. Adopting a more extensive farming system and increasing replacement rate were found to affect negatively the efficiency scores. On the other hand, having less than 5% of animals with body condition score beyond acceptable limits, presence of access control structures, well managed lambing pens, and dedicated feed stocking areas resulted in a positive influence on efficiency. Improvements in animal welfare aspects did not appear to be farm-scale-dependent.Highlights DEA and Super-DEA models were applied to assess sheep farm technical efficiency in Central Italy. An overall potential 20% increase in output production was estimated. Animal welfare factors were found to significantly affect efficiency performance

Memory Phenotypes In Early, De Novo Parkinson's Disease Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment.

BACKGROUND: Memory deficits in mild cognitive impairment related to Parkinson's disease (PD-MCI) are quite heterogeneous, and there is no general agreement on their genesis. OBJECTIVES: To define memory phenotypes in de novo PD-MCI and their associations with motor and non-motor features and patients' quality of life. METHODS: From a sample of 183 early de novo patients with PD, cluster analysis was applied to neuropsychological measures of memory function of 82 patients with PD-MCI (44.8%). The remaining patients free of cognitive impairment were considered as a comparison group (n = 101). Cognitive measures and structural magnetic resonance imaging-based neural correlates of memory function were used to substantiate the results. RESULTS: A three-cluster model produced the best solution. Cluster A (65.85%) included memory unimpaired patients; Cluster B (23.17%) included patients with mild episodic memory disorder related to a "prefrontal executive-dependent phenotype"; Cluster C (10.97%) included patients with severe episodic memory disorder related to a "hybrid phenotype," where hippocampal-dependent deficits co-occurred with prefrontal executive-dependent memory dysfunctions. Cognitive and brain structural imaging correlates substantiated the findings. The three phenotypes did not differ in terms of motor and non-motor features, but the attention/executive deficits progressively increased from Cluster A, through Cluster B, to Cluster C. This last cluster had worse quality of life compared to others. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrated the memory heterogeneity of de novo PD-MCI, suggesting existence of three distinct memory-related phenotypes. Identification of such phenotypes can be fruitful in understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying PD-MCI and its subtypes and in guiding appropriate treatments. © 2023 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society

Neural network-based exploration of construct validity for russian version of the 10-item big five inventory

peer reviewedThis study aims to present a new method of exploring construct validity of questionnaires based on neural network. Using this test we further explore convergent validity for Russian adaptation of TIPI (Ten-Item Personality Inventory by Gosling, Rentfrow, and Swann). Due to small number of questions TIPI-RU can be used as an express-method for surveying large number of people, especially in the Internet-studies. It can be also used with other translations of the same questionnaire in the intercultural studies. The neural network test for construct validity can be used as more convenient substitute for path model

Many Labs 5:Testing pre-data collection peer review as an intervention to increase replicability

Replication studies in psychological science sometimes fail to reproduce prior findings. If these studies use methods that are unfaithful to the original study or ineffective in eliciting the phenomenon of interest, then a failure to replicate may be a failure of the protocol rather than a challenge to the original finding. Formal pre-data-collection peer review by experts may address shortcomings and increase replicability rates. We selected 10 replication studies from the Reproducibility Project: Psychology (RP:P; Open Science Collaboration, 2015) for which the original authors had expressed concerns about the replication designs before data collection; only one of these studies had yielded a statistically significant effect (p < .05). Commenters suggested that lack of adherence to expert review and low-powered tests were the reasons that most of these RP:P studies failed to replicate the original effects. We revised the replication protocols and received formal peer review prior to conducting new replication studies. We administered the RP:P and revised protocols in multiple laboratories (median number of laboratories per original study = 6.5, range = 3?9; median total sample = 1,279.5, range = 276?3,512) for high-powered tests of each original finding with both protocols. Overall, following the preregistered analysis plan, we found that the revised protocols produced effect sizes similar to those of the RP:P protocols (?r = .002 or .014, depending on analytic approach). The median effect size for the revised protocols (r = .05) was similar to that of the RP:P protocols (r = .04) and the original RP:P replications (r = .11), and smaller than that of the original studies (r = .37). Analysis of the cumulative evidence across the original studies and the corresponding three replication attempts provided very precise estimates of the 10 tested effects and indicated that their effect sizes (median r = .07, range = .00?.15) were 78% smaller, on average, than the original effect sizes (median r = .37, range = .19?.50)