Moral psychology from the lab to the wild: Relief registries as a paradigm for studying real-world altruism

Experimental psychology’s recent shift toward low-effort, high-volume methods (e.g.,self-reports, online studies) and away from the more effortful study of naturalistic behavior raises concerns about the ecological validity of findings from these fields, concerns that have become particularly apparent in the field of moral psychology. To help address these concerns, we introduce a paradigm allowing researchers to investigate an important, widespread form of altruistic behavior – charitable donations – in a manner balancing competing concerns about internal validity, ecological validity, and ease of implementation: relief registries, which leverage existing online gift registry platforms to allow research subjects to choose among highly neededdonation items to ship directly to charitable organizations. Here, we demonstrate the use of relief registries in two experiments exploring the ecological validity of the finding from our own research that people are more willing to help others after having imagined themselves doing so. In this way, we sought to provide a blueprint for researchers seeking to enhance the ecological validity of their own research in a narrow sense (i.e., by using the relief registry paradigm we introduce) and in broader terms by adapting paradigms that take advantage of modern technology to directly impact others’ lives outside the lab.

The use of a tablet-based app for investigating the influence of autistic and ADHD traits on performance in a complex drawing task

This paper describes a smart tablet-based drawing app to digitally record participants’ engagement with the Rey-Osterrieth complex figure (ROCF) task, a well-characterised perceptual memory task that assesses local and global memory. Digitisation of the tasks allows for improved ecological validity, especially in children attracted to tablet devices. Further, digital translation of the tasks affords new measures, including accuracy and computation of the fine motor control kinematics employed to carry out the drawing Here, we report a feasibility study to test the relationship between two neurodevelopmental conditions: autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The smart tablet app was employed with 39 adult participants (18-35) characterised for autistic and ADHD traits, and scored using the ROCF perceptual and organisational scoring systems. Trait scores and conditions were predictor variables in linear regression models. Positive correlations were found between the attention-to-detail, attention-switching and communication subscales of the autistic trait questionnaire and organisational scores on the ROCF task. These findings suggest that autistic traits might be linked to differential performance on the ROCF task. Novelty and future applications of the app are discussed.

New Developments in Virtual Reality-Assisted Treatment of Aggression in Forensic Settings: The Case of VRAPT

Aggression is a known problem in individuals being cared for in forensic settings, yet the evidence base for its treatment is scarce. Virtual Reality (VR) has been proposed as a promising addition to interventions in forensic settings, as it may increase the motivation among participants, bridge the gap between real life, therapeutic and laboratory experiences, and increase the ecological validity of psychological research. Recently, a new treatment for aggression using VR as the treatment environment, Virtual Reality Aggression Prevention Training (VRAPT), was developed to provide realistic and safe environments for participants to practice aggression management. In its current revised version, VRAPT is conceptualized as a form of cognitive behavioral therapy with its theoretical background in the General Aggression Model. Its purpose is to increase awareness of, and improve control over, one’s own aggression and that of others through social interactions in individually tailored virtual environments. This manuscript describes how the lessons learned from the first randomized controlled trial of VRAPT have been applied to further develop the method and discusses challenges and future directions for VR-assisted treatment of aggression in forensic settings. VRAPT is a new psychological treatment for aggression and the coming years will provide expanded scientific evidence for further developments and adaptations.

Validation of a Classroom Version of the Eating in the Absence of Hunger Paradigm in Preschoolers

Eating in the absence of hunger (EAH), a measure of children's propensity to eat beyond satiety in the presence of highly palatable food, has been associated with childhood obesity and later binge eating behavior. The EAH task is typically conducted in a research laboratory setting, which is resource intensive and lacks ecological validity. Assessing EAH in a group classroom setting is feasible and may be a more efficient alternative, but the validity of the classroom assessment against the traditional individually-administered paradigm has not been tested. The objective of this study was to compare EAH measured in a classroom setting to the one-on-one version of the paradigm in a sample of Head Start preschoolers. Children (n = 35) from three classrooms completed both classroom and individual EAH tasks in a random, counterbalanced order. In the group condition, children sat with peers at their classroom lunch tables; in the individual condition, children met individually with a researcher in a separate area near their classroom. In both conditions, following a meal, children were provided free access to generous portions of six snack foods (~750 kcal) and a selection of toys for 7 min. Snacks were pre- and post-weighed to calculate intake. Parents completed a survey of their child's eating behaviors, and child height and weight were measured. Paired t-tests and intraclass correlation coefficients were used to compare energy intake between conditions, and correlations between EAH intake and child BMI, eating behaviors, and parent feeding practices were examined to evaluate concurrent validity. Average intake was 63.0 ± 50.4 kcal in the classroom setting and 53.7 ± 44.6 in the individual setting, with no significant difference between settings. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.57, indicating moderate agreement between conditions. Overall, the EAH protocol appears to perform similarly in classroom and individual settings, suggesting the classroom protocol is a valid alternative. Future studies should further examine the role of age, sex, and weight status on eating behavior measurement paradigms.

The Impact of Cognitive Biases on Professionals’ Decision-Making: A Review of Four Occupational Areas

The author reviewed the research on the impact of cognitive biases on professionals’ decision-making in four occupational areas (management, finance, medicine, and law). Two main findings emerged. First, the literature reviewed shows that a dozen of cognitive biases has an impact on professionals’ decisions in these four areas, overconfidence being the most recurrent bias. Second, the level of evidence supporting the claim that cognitive biases impact professional decision-making differs across the areas covered. Research in finance relied primarily upon secondary data while research in medicine and law relied mainly upon primary data from vignette studies (both levels of evidence are found in management). Two research gaps are highlighted. The first one is a potential lack of ecological validity of the findings from vignette studies, which are numerous. The second is the neglect of individual differences in cognitive biases, which might lead to the false idea that all professionals are susceptible to biases, to the same extent. To address that issue, we suggest that reliable, specific measures of cognitive biases need to be improved or developed.

Instrumento para mensuração do conhecimento tático declarativo no basquetebol feminino: validade de conteúdo da versão preliminar (Instrument for measurement of declarative tactical knowledge in women's basketball: validity of preliminary version content

O objetivo do estudo foi verificar as evidências de validade de conteúdo de cenas de vídeo extraídas de partidas oficiais de basquetebol para a construção da versão preliminar do Instrumento para Mensurar o Conhecimento Tático Declarativo para Basquetebol Feminino (IMCTD-BF). Editou-se, para o processo de validação de conteúdo, 70 cenas extraídas de jogos entre equipes que disputaram o LBF (Liga de Basquete Feminina). As cenas passaram pela análise de cinco peritos, treinadores (as) de basquetebol, nos quesitos: clareza da imagem, pertinência prática e representatividade do item. Calculou-se o Coeficiente de Validade do Conteúdo (CVC) para verificar a concordância entre os peritos, sendo o ponto de corte .80. Encontrou-se valores de CVC de .956 para clareza da imagem, .997 para pertinência prática e .960 para representatividade do item. Os procedimentos de validade ecológica e a concordância entre peritos, referentes à tomada de decisão e ao tipo de ataque, resultaram na seleção de 38 cenas. Conclui-se que foi possível construir a versão preliminar do IMCTD-BF a partir de 38 cenas que apresentaram evidências de validade de conteúdo. Abstract. The aim of the study was to verify the evidence of content validity of video scenes extracted from official basketball matches for the construction of the preliminary version of the Instrument to Measure Declarative Tactical Knowledge for Women's Basketball (IMCTD-BF). For the content validation process, 70 scenes extracted from games between teams that competed in the LBF (Women's Basketball League) were edited. The scenes were analyzed by five experts, basketball coaches, in the following items: clarity of the image, practical relevance and representativeness of the item. The Content Validity Coefficient (CVC) was calculated to verify the agreement between experts, with a cutoff point of .80. CVC values ​​of .956 were found for image clarity, .997 for practical relevance and .960 for item representativeness. The ecological validity procedures and the agreement between experts, regarding decision-making and the type of attack, resulted in the selection of 38 scenes. It is concluded that it was possible to build the preliminary version of the IMCTD-BF from 38 scenes that presented evidence of content validity. Resumem. El objetivo del estudio fue verificar la evidencia de validez de contenido de escenas de video extraídas de partidos oficiales de baloncesto para la construcción de la versión preliminar del Instrumento para Medir el Conocimiento Táctico Declarativo para el Baloncesto Femenino (IMCTD-BF). Para el proceso de validación de contenido se editaron 70 escenas extraídas de partidos entre equipos que compitieron en la LBF (Liga de Baloncesto Femenino). Las escenas fueron analizadas por cinco expertos, entrenadores de baloncesto, en los ítems: claridad de imagen, relevancia práctica y representatividad del ítem. Se calculó el Coeficiente de Validez de Contenido (CVC) para verificar la concordancia entre expertos, con un punto de corte de .80. Se encontraron valores CVC de .956 para claridad de imagen, .997 para relevancia práctica y .960 para representatividad de ítems. Los procedimientos de validez ecológica y el acuerdo entre expertos, en cuanto a la toma de decisiones y el tipo de atentado, dieron como resultado la selección de 38 escenas. Se concluye que fue posible construir la versión preliminar del IMCTD-BF a partir de 38 escenas que presentaban evidencia de validez de contenido.

Wargaming for International Relations research

Political scientists are increasingly integrating wargames into their research. Either by fielding original games or by leveraging archival wargame materials, researchers can study rare events or topics where evidence is difficult to observe. However, scholars have little guidance on how to apply this novel methodological approach to political science research. This article evaluates how political scientists can use wargames as a method of scholarly inquiry and sets out to establish a research agenda for wargaming in International Relations. We first differentiate wargames from other methodological approaches and highlight their ecological validity. We then chart out how researchers can build and run their own games or draw from archival wargames for theory development and testing. In doing so, we explain how researchers can navigate issues of recruitment, bias, validity, and generalizability when using wargames for research, and identify ways to evaluate the potential benefits and pitfalls of wargames as a tool of inquiry. We argue that wargames offer unique opportunities for political scientists to study decision-making processes both in and beyond the International Relations subfield.

Virtual Reality for Aggression Assessment: The Development and Preliminary Results of Two Virtual Reality Tasks to Assess Reactive and Proactive Aggression in Males

Validly measuring aggression is challenging because self-reports are plagued with biased answer tendencies and behavioral measures with ethical concerns and low ecological validity. The current study, therefore, introduces a novel virtual reality (VR) aggression assessment tool, differentially assessing reactive and proactive aggression. Two VR tasks were developed, one in an alley environment (N = 24, all male, Mage = 23.88, 83.3% students) and an improved second one in a bar (N = 50, all male, Mage = 22.54, 90% students). In this bar VR task, participants were randomly assigned to either the reactive condition where they were triggered by a cheating and insulting dart-player or to the proactive condition where they could earn extra money by aggressing. Participants’ level of self-reported aggression and psychopathy was assessed, after which they engaged in either the reactive or proactive VR task. Changes in affect and blood pressure were also measured. Aggression in the reactive VR task was evidenced to mostly display convergent validity because it positively correlated with self-reported aggression and total and fearless dominance factor scores of psychopathy, and there was a trend relationship with increased systolic blood pressure. The validity of the proactive aggression variant of our VR bar paradigm received less support, and needs more refinement. It can be concluded that VR is a potentially promising tool to experimentally induce and assess (reactive) aggression, which has the potential to provide aggression researchers and clinicians with a realistic and modifiable aggression assessment environment.