Teachers’ Perspective on Scientific Literacy in Science Learning: Descriptive Survey

Survey of questionnaire-based research was conducted to assess the perspective of junior high school (JHS) science teachers on scientific literacy in science learning. Four perspectives for teachers in JHS on scientific literacy were obtained from the research results of the experiments, namely the reading of scientific texts, scientific knowledge, the use of science in everyday life and the use of science-based learning tools. The majority of participants chose the response choice to train all students to apply science learning results in decision-making on daily life challenges. Thus, JHS Science Teachers in Purwakata Regency have a variety of scientific literacy perspectives, but there is no perspective that is considered outside the context of scientific literacy

Psychometric validation and refinement of the Interoception Sensory Questionnaire (ISQ) in adolescents and adults on the autism spectrum

Background Individuals on the autism spectrum are reported to display alterations in interoception, the sense of the internal state of the body. The Interoception Sensory Questionnaire (ISQ) is a 20-item self-report measure of interoception specifically intended to measure this construct in autistic people. The psychometrics of the ISQ, however, have not previously been evaluated in a large sample of autistic individuals. Methods Using confirmatory factor analysis, we evaluated the latent structure of the ISQ in a large online sample of adults on the autism spectrum and found that the unidimensional model fit the data poorly. Using misspecification analysis to identify areas of local misfit and item response theory to investigate the appropriateness of the seven-point response scale, we removed redundant items and collapsed the response options to put forth a novel eight-item, five-response choice ISQ. Results The revised, five-response choice ISQ (ISQ-8) showed much improved fit while maintaining high internal reliability. Differential item functioning (DIF) analyses indicated that the items of the ISQ-8 were answered in comparable ways by autistic adolescents and adults and across multiple other sociodemographic groups. Limitations Our results were limited by the fact that we did not collect data for typically developing controls, preventing the analysis of DIF by diagnostic status. Additionally, while this study proposes a new 5-response scale for the ISQ-8, our data were not collected using this method; thus, the psychometric properties for the revised version of this instrument require further investigation. Conclusion The ISQ-8 shows promise as a reliable and valid measure of interoception in adolescents and adults on the autism spectrum, but additional work is needed to examine its psychometrics in this population. A free online score calculator has been created to facilitate the use of ISQ-8 latent trait scores for further studies of autistic adolescents and adults (available at https://asdmeasures.shinyapps.io/ISQ_score/).

The Processing of Visual Signals in Major Depressive Disorder

The balanced processing of the internal mental world and the external world is a crucial aspect of everyday well-being. An extensive control of the internal emotional and cognitive world that often results in an internal expression of distress is a common feature of internalizing disorders. However, how depression affects the processing of the external world is still an open question. We, therefore, tested the processing of visual signals in major depressive disorder (MDD). To this end, we recorded the electroencephalogram of 38 MDD patients and 38 controls, while they performed a response-choice task with informative feedback and a passive viewing task. MDD patients differed significantly from controls in the early information processing of visual stimuli. The vertex positive potential (VPP) evoked by feedback in the response-choice task and pictures in the passive viewing task were smaller in MDD patients than in controls. This outcome suggests that depression might subtract attentional resources from external signal processing, with potential consequences in various cognitive domains.

Psychometric Validation and Refinement of the Interoception Sensory Questionnaire (ISQ) in Adolescents and Adults on the Autism Spectrum

Background: Individuals on the autism spectrum are reported to display alterations in interoception, the sense of the internal state of the body. The Interoception Sensory Questionnaire (ISQ) is a 20-item self-report measure of interoception specifically intended to measure this construct in autistic people. Thus far, the ISQ has not undergone psychometric evaluation in a large sample.Methods: Using confirmatory factor analysis, we evaluated the latent structure of the ISQ in a large online sample of adults on the autism spectrum and found that the unidimensional model fit the data poorly. Using misspecification analysis to identify areas of local misfit and item response theory to investigate the appropriateness of the 7-point response scale, we removed redundant items and collapsed the response options to put forth a novel 8-item, 5-response choice ISQ.Results: The revised, 5-response choice ISQ (ISQ-8) showed much improved fit while maintaining high internal reliability. Differential item functioning (DIF) analyses indicated that the items ISQ-8 were answered in comparable ways by autistic adolescents and adults and across multiple other sociodemographic groups.Limitations: Our results were limited by the fact that we did not collect data for typically developing controls, preventing the analysis of DIF by diagnostic status. Additionally, while this study proposes a new 5-response scale for the ISQ-8, our data were not collected using this method, and thus the psychometric properties for the revised version of this instrument require further investigation.Conclusion: The ISQ-8 shows promise as a reliable and valid measure of interoception in adolescents and adults on the autism spectrum, but additional work is needed to examine its psychometrics in this population. A free online score calculator has been created to facilitate the use of ISQ-8 latent trait scores for further studies of autistic adolescents and adults (available at https://asdmeasures.shinyapps.io/ISQ_score/).

Public Opinion on Refugee Policy in the United States, 1938-2019: Increasing Support for Refugees and the Sympathy Effect

Eight decades of opinion polls (1938–2019) on US refugee policies show that most Americans have historically opposed admitting refugees but this trend has been reversed in the twenty-first century. An examination of the questions pollsters asked reveals that when respondents were offered a middle response choice (e.g. “the number of refugees is about right”), their opposition often morphed into approval of the admissions status quo. Findings also show some evidence of a fait-accompli effect: The public tended to be more supportive of refugees when welcoming policies were enacted and when refugees were already on US soil. Furthermore, the United States public reported more supportive attitudes toward refugees when asked about any type of policy — welcoming or restrictive — and when asked questions concerning the context of reception of admitted refugees. I label this pattern a “sympathy effect,” whereby respondents revealed more support for refugees when answering contextualized rather than abstract questions. This finding implies that pro-refugee policies might have more popular support than often assumed and that the extremely restrictive policies toward refugee admissions of the current US government are out-of-sync with both historical trends and current American public opinion.

Emotional Reactions to a Mental Health Chatbot Among Adolescents: An Experimental Study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Psychological distress increases across adolescence and has been associated with a number of important health outcomes, with consequences that can extend into adulthood. One type of technological innovation that may serve as a unique intervention for youth experiencing psychological distress is the conversational agent (CA), otherwise known as a chatbot. Further research is needed on mental health chatbots - notably those designed for adolescents. The experimental mental health chatbot used in this study was designed to support adolescents experiencing psychological distress. OBJECTIVE The current study aimed to assess adolescents’ perceived emotional reactions to questions posed by a mental health chatbot and to evaluate adolescents’ preferences concerning the formulation of the chatbot’s questions. METHODS We recruited 21 adolescents aged 14 to 17 to participate in a pilot study with a 2x2x3 within-subjects factorial design. Each participant was sequentially presented with 96 chatbot questions for a duration of eight seconds per question. Following each presentation, participants were asked to indicate how likely they were to respond to the question, as well as their perceived affective reaction to the question. Demographic data and participant feedback were also collected. RESULTS Participants were an average of 15.4 years old (SD 1.05) and mostly female (60%; 12 females; 8 males). Logistic regressions showed that presence of GIFs (Graphics Interchange Format) predicted perceived emotional valence (β = -.40; P < .001), such that questions without GIFs were associated with a lower perceived emotional valence. Question type predicted emotional valence, such that yes/no questions (β = -.23; P = .03) and open-ended questions (β = -.26; P = .01) were associated with a lower perceived emotional valence compared to multiple response choice questions. Question type also predicted likelihood of response, such that yes/no questions were associated with a lower likelihood of response compared to multiple response choice questions (β = -.24; P = .03) and a higher likelihood of response compared to open-ended questions (β = .54; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS The findings of this study add to the rapidly growing field of teen-computer interaction and contribute to our understanding of adolescent user experience in their interactions with a mental health chatbot. The insights gained from this study may be of assistance to developers and designers of mental health chatbots.

A direct and conceptual replication of post-loss speeding when gambling

To investigate the response to suboptimal outcomes, Verbuggen et al. (Verbruggen F, Chambers CD, Lawrence NS, McLaren IPL. 2017 Winning and losing: effects on impulsive action. J. Exp. Psychol.: Hum. Percept. Perform. 43 , 147. ( doi:10.1037/xhp0000284 )) conducted a study in which participants chose between a gamble and a non-gamble option. The non-gamble option was a guaranteed amount of points, whereas the gamble option was associated with a higher amount but a lower probability of winning. The authors observed that participants initiated the next trial faster after a loss compared to wins or non-gambles. In the present study, we directly replicated these findings in the laboratory and online. We also designed another task controlling for the number of trials per outcome. In this task, participants guessed where a reward was hidden. They won points if they selected the correct location, but lost points if they selected the incorrect location. We included neutral trials as a baseline. Again, participants sped up after a loss relative to wins and neutral trials (but only with a response choice in neutral trials and a large sample size). These findings appear inconsistent with cognitive-control frameworks, which assume that suboptimal outcomes typically lead to slower responses; instead, they suggest that suboptimal outcomes can invigorate behaviour, consistent with accounts of frustrative non-reward and impulsive action.

A direct and conceptual replication of post-loss speeding when gambling

To investigate the response to sub-optimal outcomes, Verbruggen et al. (2017) conducted a study in which participants chose between a gamble and a non-gamble option. The non-gamble option was a guaranteed amount of points, whereas the gamble option was associated with a higher amount but a lower probability of winning. The authors observed that participants initiated the next trial faster after a loss compared to wins or non-gambles. In the present study, we directly replicated these findings in the lab and online. We also designed another task controlling for the number of trials per outcome. In this task, participants guessed where a reward was hidden. They won points if they selected the correct location, but lost points if they selected the incorrect location. We included neutral trials as a baseline. Again, participants sped up after a loss relative to wins and neutral trials (but only with a response choice in neutral trials and a large sample size). These findings appear inconsistent with cognitive-control frameworks, which assume that sub-optimal outcomes typically lead to slower responses; instead, they suggest that sub-optimal outcomes can invigorate behaviour consistent with accounts of frustrative non-reward and impulsive action.