A Comparison Of Alternative Bias-Corrections In The Bias-Corrected Bootstrap Test Of Mediation,
2018
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
A Comparison Of Alternative Bias-Corrections In The Bias-Corrected Bootstrap Test Of Mediation, Donna Chen
College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Although the bias-corrected (BC) bootstrap is an oft recommended method for obtaining more powerful confidence intervals in mediation analysis, it has also been found to have elevated Type I error rates in conditions with small sample sizes. Given that the BC bootstrap is used most often in studies with low power due to small sample size, the focus of this study is to consider alternative measures of bias that will reduce the elevated Type I error rate without reducing power. The alternatives examined fall under two categories: bias correction and transformation. Although the bias correction methods did not significantly decrease …
Applying Conditional Distributions To Individuals: Using Latent Variable Models,
2018
Illinois State University
Applying Conditional Distributions To Individuals: Using Latent Variable Models, Feng Ji
Theses and Dissertations
This study proposes a new method to interpret individual results of psychological test batteries. The Mahalanobis distance is a commonly-used measure of how unusual an individual’s profile of scores is compared to a population of score profiles. In models in which there is a set of predictors and a set of dependent variables (e.g., cognitive abilities predicting academic abilities), it is useful to distinguish between a profile of dependent scores that is unusual because its profile of predictor scores is unusual and a profile of dependent scores that is unusual even after controlling for the predictors. The conditional Mahalanobis distance …
Internalizing Outcomes Of Self-Objectification As Predictors Of Behavior In Sexual Situations,
2018
Illinois State University
Internalizing Outcomes Of Self-Objectification As Predictors Of Behavior In Sexual Situations, Kyla Marie Cary
Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of the current study was to examine various outcomes of self-objectification by creating latent variables encompassing several outcomes. Self-objectification was expected to predict self-surveillance, the behavioral manifestation of self-objectification. Self-surveillance was then expected to predict a latent variable termed internalizing states which encompassed: body shame, appearance anxiety, and sexual self-esteem. Finally, the latent variable of internalizing states was expected to predict a latent variable termed behavior in sexual situations which encompassed: sexual assertiveness, control over sexual encounters, and risky sexual behavior. The participants were 383 undergraduate women between the ages of 18 and 25. The majority of participants …
Measuring Symmetry In Real-World Scenes Using Derivatives Of The Medial Axis Radius Function,
2018
McGill University
Measuring Symmetry In Real-World Scenes Using Derivatives Of The Medial Axis Radius Function, Morteza Rezanejad, John D. Wilder, Kaleem Siddiqi, Sven Dickinson, Allan Jepson, Dirk B. Walther
MODVIS Workshop
Symmetry has been shown to be an important principle that guides the grouping of scene information. Previously, we have described a method for measuring the local, ribbon symmetry content of line-drawings of real-world scenes (Rezanejad, et al., MODVIS 2017), and we demonstrated that this information has important behavioral consequences (Wilder, et al., MODIVS 2017). Here, we describe a continuous, local version of the symmetry measure, that allows for both ribbon and taper symmetry to be captured. Our original method looked at the difference in the radius between successive maximal discs along a symmetric axis. The number of radii differences in …
Global Estimation Of Signed 3d Surface Tilt From Natural Images,
2018
University of Pennsylvania
Global Estimation Of Signed 3d Surface Tilt From Natural Images, Seha Kim, Johannes Burge
MODVIS Workshop
The ability of human visual systems to estimate 3D surface orientation from 2D retinal images is critical. But the computation to calculate 3D orientation in real-world scenes is not fully understood. A Bayes optimal model grounded in natural statistics has explained 3D surface tilt estimation of human observers in natural scenes (Kim and Burge, 2018). However, the model is limited because it estimates only unsigned tilt (tilt modulo 180deg). We extend the model to predict signed tilt estimates and compared with human signed estimates. The model takes image pixels as input and produces optimal estimates of tilt as output, using …
Discovery Of Activities Via Statistical Clustering Of Fixation Patterns,
2018
NASA Ames Research Center
Discovery Of Activities Via Statistical Clustering Of Fixation Patterns, Jeffrey B. Mulligan
MODVIS Workshop
No abstract provided.
Posterior Predictive Model Checking Of Local Misfit For Bayesian Confirmatory Factor Analysis,
2018
James Madison University
Posterior Predictive Model Checking Of Local Misfit For Bayesian Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Chi Hang Au
Masters Theses, 2010-2019
Posterior predictive model checks (PPMC) are one Bayesian model-data fit approach. Thus far, PPMC for Confirmatory Factor Analytic applications focused primarily on global fit evaluation, ignoring the nuanced information in local misfit diagnostics. This study developed a PPMC approach for local misfit and applied it to a test-taking motivation scale. If the PPMC approach is effective, fit conclusions derived from the PPMC approach should be congruent with the fit conclusions derived from the Frequentist approach. Number of item-pairs flagged as misfitting and number of disagreements were computed to evaluate congruence. Congruence is achieved if the number of item-pairs flagged as …
Beyond Motivation: Differences In Score Meaning Between Assessment Conditions,
2018
James Madison University
Beyond Motivation: Differences In Score Meaning Between Assessment Conditions, Nikole Gregg
Masters Theses, 2010-2019
Written communication is a skill necessary for not only the success of undergraduate students, but for post-graduates in the workplace. Furthermore, according to employers the writing skills of post-graduates tend to be below expectations. Therefore, the assessment of such skills within higher education is in high demand. Written communication assessments tend to be administered in one of two conditions: 1) course embedded and 2) a low-stakes, non-embedded condition. The current study investigated possible construct-irrelevant variance in writing assessment scores by using data from a mid-sized public university in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Specifically, 157 student products were …
The Influence Of Covariate Measurement Error On Treatment Effect Estimates And Numeric Balance Diagnostics Following Several Common Methods Of Propensity Score Matching: A Simulation Study,
2018
James Madison University
The Influence Of Covariate Measurement Error On Treatment Effect Estimates And Numeric Balance Diagnostics Following Several Common Methods Of Propensity Score Matching: A Simulation Study, Heather D. Harris
Dissertations, 2014-2019
In applied intervention studies, researchers frequently aim to make inferences about the impact of a treatment program on participants. However, applied researchers are often faced with threats to the internal validity of their studies, or the extent to which changes in participants’ outcomes can be attributed to the intervention. When researchers are unable to randomly assign study participants to treatment conditions, changes in the intervention outcome might be confounded with systematic differences in participants’ baseline characteristics. Propensity score matching is one technique that allows researchers to account for threats to the internal validity of a study. Specifically, using propensity score …
In Search Of Equality: Developing An Equal Interval Likert Response Scale,
2018
James Madison University
In Search Of Equality: Developing An Equal Interval Likert Response Scale, Elisabeth M. Spratto
Dissertations, 2014-2019
Attitude scales are an important component of educational and psychological research. One consideration when seeking to make valid inferences from attitudinal data is the issue of the degree to which response options can be assumed to have equal intervals. Many response options on attitudinal measures may produce ordinal-level data rather than interval. This poses a problem for the statistical tests that may be used, as many analyses assume interval-level data. It also poses an interpretational issue if the conceptual distance between response options is not the same – for example, if a researcher believes that someone who answered Agree differs …
The Effect Of An Extinction Procedure On Level Of Responding To Visual Stimuli In An Evaluative Conditioning Procedure,
2018
CUNY Graduate Center
The Effect Of An Extinction Procedure On Level Of Responding To Visual Stimuli In An Evaluative Conditioning Procedure, Allison Hirsch
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Evaluative conditioning is a type of learning that results in the acquisition of likes and dislikes in humans. The procedure that produces evaluative learning is similar to that of Pavlovian conditioning. A consistent observation is that evaluative conditioned responses are less sensitive to extinction procedures than would be expected given the Pavlovian-type conditioning procedure used for acquisition. The present study sought to determine what the effect of an extinction condition was on the level of responding to visual conditioned stimuli in a visual-gustatory evaluative conditioning paradigm. Two dependent measures were used: an explicit measure, and a choice-based preference measure. The …
A Laboratory-Based Experimental Test Of Reasons For Living: Effects On Behavioral Approach Toward A Suicide-Related Stimulus,
2018
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
A Laboratory-Based Experimental Test Of Reasons For Living: Effects On Behavioral Approach Toward A Suicide-Related Stimulus, Sasha Micaella Rojas
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
There are few laboratory-based experiments that examine the effects of suicide-related risk or protective factors on suicide-related outcomes. Consistent with extant evidence-based theoretical models and treatments for suicidal behavior, it appears that increasing awareness of reasons for living may reduce risk for suicidal behavior. Thus, the current study represents an initial effort to experimentally examine the impact of bringing awareness to one’s most important reason for living on behavioral approach towards a suicide-related stimulus. Random assignment was used to assign an unselected undergraduate sample of 78 participants to complete either a script-driven imagery procedure specific to the most important reason …
Marginal Mediation Analysis: A New Framework For Interpretable Mediated Effects,
2018
Utah State University
Marginal Mediation Analysis: A New Framework For Interpretable Mediated Effects, Tyson S. Barrett
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Mediation analysis is built to answer not only if one variable affects another, but how the effect takes place. However, it lacks interpretable effect size estimates in situations where the mediator (an intermediate variable) and/or the outcome is categorical or otherwise non-normally distributed. By integrating a powerful approach known as average marginal effects within mediation analysis—termed Marginal Mediation Analysis (MMA)—the issues regarding categorical mediators and/or outcomes are, in large part, resolved. This new approach allows the estimation of the indirect effects (those effects of the predictor that affect the outcome through the mediator) that are interpreted in the same way …
Systems Of Quantity Judgment In Various Species: A Meta-Analysis,
2018
University of Southern Mississippi
Systems Of Quantity Judgment In Various Species: A Meta-Analysis, Tiffany A. Woodard Baker
Dissertations
An abundance of behavioral and neuroimaging literature supports the presence of two cognitive systems for quantity judgments (Agrillo & Bisazza, 2014). In particular, small quantities are thought to be guided by the object-file system, a precise system that uses mental files to map onto real world objects, and large quantities by the approximate number system, an imprecise, estimation system (Dehaene, 1997). Evidence supporting both systems exists in a variety of species including nonhuman primates (Boysen & Hallberg, 2000), birds (Garland, Low, & Burns, 2012), amphibians (Uller, Jaeger, Guidry, & Martin, 2003), and fish (Agrillo, Dadda, Serena, Bisazza, 2009), but support …
Examining Quadratic Relationships Between Traits And Methods In Two Multitrait-Multimethod Models,
2018
Utah State University
Examining Quadratic Relationships Between Traits And Methods In Two Multitrait-Multimethod Models, Fredric A. Hintz
All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023
Psychological researchers are interested in the validity of the measures they use, and the multitrait-multimethod design is one of the most frequently employed methods to examine validity. Confirmatory factor analysis is now a commonly used analytic tool for examining multitrait-multimethod data, where an underlying mathematical model is fit to data and the amount of variance due to the trait and method factors is estimated. While most contemporary confirmatory factor analysis methods for examining multi-trait multi-method data do not allow relationships between the trait and method factors, a few recently proposed models allow for the examination of linear relationships between traits …
Assessing The Ordinality Of Response Bias With Item Response Models: A Case Study Using The Phq-9,
2018
CUNY Graduate Center
Assessing The Ordinality Of Response Bias With Item Response Models: A Case Study Using The Phq-9, Venessa N. Singhroy
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Improper scale usage in psychological and clinical assessment is an important problem. If respondents do not use the scales in a consistent manner, the reliability of a composite is likely to be attenuated. This is particularly problematic when particular items are singled out for special treatment or when subscales are of interest, not just a total score. This study used both non-parametric and parametric item response theory (IRT) methods to gain further insight into the validity of the PHQ-9, a dual purpose instrument that assesses the severity of depressive symptoms using nine Likert-scale items and allows the investigator to establish …
Summer Camp As A Force For 21st Century Learning: Exploring Divergent Thinking And Activity Selection In A Residential Camp Setting,
2018
Johns Hopkins University
Summer Camp As A Force For 21st Century Learning: Exploring Divergent Thinking And Activity Selection In A Residential Camp Setting, Myles Lynch, Jonathan A. Plucker, C Boyd Hegarty, Nate Trauntvein
Education
This study investigated change in divergent thinking (DT), an indicator of creative potential, at two gender-specific residential summer camps. Additionally, this study examined whether the change in DT varied by gender and by the type of activities campers self-select. Quantitative methods, using a quasi-experimental design was used in order to understand differences in camper scores. A total of 189 youth, 100 girls, 89 boys, between the ages of 9 and 14 years participated in the current study. Participants were administered a modified version of Guilford's (1967) alternate uses task, a measure of DT, in which respondents were asked questions such …
The Influence Of A Proposed Margin Criterion On The Accuracy Of Parallel Analysis In Conditions Engendering Underextraction,
2018
Western Kentucky University
The Influence Of A Proposed Margin Criterion On The Accuracy Of Parallel Analysis In Conditions Engendering Underextraction, Justin M. Jones
Masters Theses & Specialist Projects
One of the most important decisions to make when performing an exploratory factor or principal component analysis regards the number of factors to retain. Parallel analysis is considered to be the best course of action in these circumstances as it consistently outperforms other factor extraction methods (Zwick & Velicer, 1986). Even so, parallel analysis could benefit from further research and refinement to improve its accuracy. Characteristics such as factor loadings, correlations between factors, and number of variables per factor all have been shown to adversely impact the effectiveness of parallel analysis as a means of identifying the number of factors …
Life Chaos As A Predictor Of Diet Quality In U.S. Adults,
2018
Walden University
Life Chaos As A Predictor Of Diet Quality In U.S. Adults, Heidi Barbara Buchert Egan
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Poor diet quality is a source of morbidity and mortality within the United States. Previous researchers have examined psychosocial influences on diet; however, the relationship between life chaos, a psychosocial measure, and diet quality was not known. The purpose of this cross-sectional survey study was to use the Life Chaos Scale and the Healthy Eating Index-2010 to collect data on life chaos and diet quality, consistent with the biopsychosocial model of health, from a sample of 103 U.S. adults. Regression analysis was used to construct a predictive model. According to the study results, life chaos was not a significant predictor …
Amputee Social Support: A Quantitative Investigation Of Peer-To-Peer And Group Influence,
2018
Walden University
Amputee Social Support: A Quantitative Investigation Of Peer-To-Peer And Group Influence, Dirrick Anthony Williams
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Previous research has indicated that vascular disease, trauma, and cancer lead to amputations and that 1.7 million Americans are living with an amputation. The social problem of this study is that amputees have limited places to obtain social support. Alderfer's Existence, Relatedness, and Growth Theory provided the foundation for this research. The current study examined the following questions. First, does type of social support impact amputee perceived social support satisfaction? Second, does type of social support impact life satisfaction? Survey methodology was used following attendance at either peer-to-peer or group support. A purposeful sample of 184 participants were assessed using …
