Bayesian Data-Model Fit Assessment for Structural Equation Modeling

Bayesian approaches to modeling are receiving an increasing amount of attention in the areas of model construction and estimation in factor analysis, structural equation modeling (SEM), and related latent variable models. However, model diagnostics and model criticism remain relatively understudied aspects of Bayesian SEM. This article describes and illustrates key features of Bayesian approaches to model diagnostics and assessing data–model fit of structural equation models, discussing their merits relative to traditional procedures.     

Stressors,coping, and coping effectiveness: Gender,type of sport,and skill differences

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine stressors, coping, and coping effectiveness as a function of gender, type of sport, and skill. The sample consisted of 749 undergraduate athletes (455 males, 294 females) aged 18 – 38 years (mean = 19.8 years). Skill was classified as international/national, county, university, and club standard. Participants completed a stressor and coping concept map (Novak & Gowin, 1984 Novak, J. D. and Gowin, D. B. 1984. Learning how to learn, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). The results revealed gender, type of sport, and skill differences in relation to stressor frequencies, coping strategy deployment, and coping effectiveness. In contrast to previous research, females used a variety of problem-focused (e.g. planning, communication, technique-orientated coping) strategies more frequently than males. Team sport athletes reported a variety of sport-specific stressors relating to the demands of playing in a team environment. The group of national/international athletes reported using more planning, blocking, and visualization, and also reported that their coping was more effective than that of less-skilled athletes.     

Factors Associated With Transitional Shifts in College Students' Physical Activity Behavior

The Transtheoretical Model (Prochaska & Marcus, 1994) has been widely used as a framework for understanding exercise behavior change. The purpose of this study was to clarify equivocal research findings reported for model predictions when examining stage movement over time rather than static stages and to provide some evidence of the construct validity of transitional stages. Participants were female (n = 285) and male (n = 243) undergraduates (M age = 19.9 years, SD = 2.7) who completed previously validated questionnaires twice, separated by 9 weeks, that assessed stage of change, exercise behavior, processes of change, pros and cons of exercise, and exercise self-efficacy. Participants were classified into one of five transitional shift groups based on their responses at baseline and follow up: (a) stable sedentary, (b) stable active, (c) activity adopters, (d) activity relapsers, and (e) perpetual preparers. Results of a 5 (group) x 2 (time) repeated measures (RM) analysis of variance (ANOVA) examining exercise behavior revealed a significant interaction (p < .001) and supported transitional stage classification, with activity adopters and stable actives increasing exercise over time and relapsers decreasing activity. Separate 5 (group) x 2 (time) RM ANOVAs examining model constructs revealed no significant interaction for cognitive processes of change; however, activity adopters and stable actives reported significant (p < .01) increases in the use of behavioral processes over time, while only the activity relapsers and perpetual preparers reported decreases. Activity relapsers also reported significant (p < .05) decreases in the pros of exercise. No significant interactions were found for the cons of exercise behavior. Unlike findings reported in cross-sectional studies, increases in self-efficacy did not accompany increases in exercise stage. The findings strongly support examination of stage movement classifications rather than static stages, as these transitions provide greater insight into the mechanisms of exercise behavior change.     

The role of children's lay theories about the malleability of human attributes in beliefs about and volunteering for disadvantaged groups

Two studies with 9- to 12-year-old children supported the hypothesis that lay theories about the malleability of human traits impact judgments of and behavior toward groups in need of volunteer help. The more children endorsed an incremental view (attributes can change), the more they reported liking, desiring social contact with, and perceiving similarity between themselves and a disadvantaged outgroup (homeless, UNICEF-funded children). Moreover, children endorsing more of a malleable view reported greater past volunteering, active participation in collecting money for a UNICEF event, and intentions to volunteer again. These findings held when controlling for the effects of participants' gender, self-esteem, and perceived social pressure to help others. How a malleable view and intergroup volunteerism may be mutually sustaining is discussed.     

BIRGing,CORFing, and Twitter Activity Following a Political Referendum: Examining Social Media Activity Concerning the 2014 Scottish Independence Vote

A sizable body of research has examined BIRG, or Basking in Reflected Glory, as the psychological process of associating with the successes of others. A sample of 253,188 tweets related to the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum were collected leading up to and following the vote. Results support BIRG processes on the part of anti-independence tweeters, and Cutting Off Reflected Failure (CORF) responses by those favoring independence. Evidence does not support the notion that CORF was attenuated by high involvement.     

Fluency Transfer: Differential Gains in Reading Speed and Accuracy Following Isolated Word and Context Training

While fluent reading is recognized as a primary goal of educational instruction, the methods that best promote the development of fluency remain unclear. Two experiments are reported that examined increases in reading fluency of a novel passage following two types of training. In the context training condition, children learned to read a set of target words in a story context, while in the isolated word training condition, fluency with a target word set was gained from a computerized word naming game. Transfer of fluency to reading these words in a new context was then measured by gains in reading speed, accuracy, and comprehension of a novel story. Results indicated that young readers showed speed benefits on transfer stories following both context and isolated word training, but the increases were larger following context training.     

Letter Processing and the Formation of Memory Representations in Children with Naming Speed Deficits

The ability to recognize letter patterns within words as a single unit is important for fluent reading. This skill is based on previously established memory representations of common letter patterns. The ability to form these memory representations may be impaired in some poor readers, particularly readers with naming speed deficits (NSD). This study explored factors that influence letter processing and the subsequent formation of memory representations of letter strings in children with and without a NSD. Children were presented with a letter string, followed by a probe unit that was either a single letter, a two-letter cluster, or a repetition of the whole string. Children indicated whether or not the probe had been present in the preceding string. Two factors were manipulated: (a) amount of time to process the initial letter string, and (b) level of orthographic structure present in the letter string. Results indicated that overall, children with NSD performed less accurately than children without NSD. However, children with NSD showed no differential benefit in performance as a result of longer time to process a letter string. In addition, all readers were able to make use of the orthographic structure in a letter string to aid performance. Implications of results for establishing memory representations of letter strings are discussed.