David E. Conroy

Multidimensional Fear of Failure Measurement: The Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory

The Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory (PFAI) is a multidimensional measure of cognitive-motivational-relational appraisals associated with fear of failure (FF). College students ( N = 544) completed the PFAI and a variety of other measures. Calibration sample analyses reduced the PFAI to 25 items measuring five appraisals in a higher-order factor structure that demonstrated tight cross-validity in the second half of the sample. The five aversive consequences of failure assessed by the PFAI included (a) experiencing shame and embarrassment, (b) devaluing ones self-estimate, (c) having an uncertain future, (d) important others losing interest, and (e) upsetting important others. A five-item short form also demonstrated tight cross-validity. FF was associated with (a) high levels of worry, somatic anxiety, cognitive disruption, and sport anxiety, and (b) low levels of optimism. General FF was unrelated to either perceived competence or fear of success.

Behavior Change Techniques in Top-Ranked Mobile Apps for Physical Activity

BACKGROUND Mobile applications (apps) have potential for helping people increase their physical activity, but little is known about the behavior change techniques marketed in these apps. PURPOSE The aim of this study was to characterize the behavior change techniques represented in online descriptions of top-ranked apps for physical activity. METHODS Top-ranked apps (n=167) were identified on August 28, 2013, and coded using the Coventry, Aberdeen and London-Revised (CALO-RE) taxonomy of behavior change techniques during the following month. Analyses were conducted during 2013. RESULTS Most descriptions of apps incorporated fewer than four behavior change techniques. The most common techniques involved providing instruction on how to perform exercises, modeling how to perform exercises, providing feedback on performance, goal-setting for physical activity, and planning social support/change. A latent class analysis revealed the existence of two types of apps, educational and motivational, based on their configurations of behavior change techniques. CONCLUSIONS Behavior change techniques are not widely marketed in contemporary physical activity apps. Based on the available descriptions and functions of the observed techniques in contemporary health behavior theories, people may need multiple apps to initiate and maintain behavior change. This audit provides a starting point for scientists, developers, clinicians, and consumers to evaluate and enhance apps in this market.

Fear of failure and achievement goals in sport: Addressing the issue of the chicken and the egg

The hierarchical model of achievement motivation proposes that, in addition to need achievement, fear of failure (FF) energizes achievement behaviour and predisposes individuals to adopt particular types of achievement goals. An impressive volume of cross-sectional support for this model has emerged, however, the causal assumptions of the model have never been tested. College students (N=356) enrolled in physical activity classes completed multidimensional measures of FF and achievement goals on four occasions in a 3-week interval. FF was positively related to mastery-avoidance (MAv), performance-approach (PAp), and performance-avoidance (PAv) achievement goals. FF scores predicted residualized change in MAv and PAv (but not MAp or PAp) goal scores across occasions. Goal scores did not reliably predict residualized change in FF scores across occasions. Results were consistent with the hierarchical model of achievement motivation and suggest that FF may indeed have a causal influence on achievement goals.

The Higher Order Factor Structure and Gender Invariance of the Pathological Narcissism Inventory.

The Pathological Narcissism Inventory (PNI) is a recently developed multidimensional inventory for the assessment of pathological narcissism. The authors describe and report the results of two studies that investigate the higher order factor structure and gender invariance of the PNI. The results of the first study indicate that the PNI has a higher order factor structure that conforms to the theoretical structure of pathological narcissism with one factor representing narcissistic grandiosity and the other capturing narcissistic vulnerability. These results uniquely place the PNI as the only measure to broadly assess the two phenotypic themes of pathological narcissism. In the second study, results from tests of measurement invariance indicate that the PNI performs similarly in large samples of men (n = 488) and women (n = 495). These results further establish the psychometric properties of the PNI and suggest that it is well suited for the assessment of pathological narcissism.

Validity and factorial invariance of the social physique anxiety scale

PURPOSE The present study 1) tested whether the two-factor model to the 12-item Social Physique Anxiety Scale (SPAS) was substantively meaningful or a methodological artifact representing positively and negatively worded items, 2) assessed the factorial validity of the nine-item unidimensional model to the SPAS, 3) examined whether modifying the number of SPAS items would improve the factorial validity. 4) evaluated the factorial invariance of the SPAS across gender, and 5) explored the construct validity of SPAS scores. METHODS Female (N = 146) and male (N = 166) college students (22.2 +/- 4.0 yr) in lecture (N = 103) and physical activity (N = 209) courses completed the SPAS, Physical Self-Efficacy Scale (PSES), Surveillance subscale of the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (S-OBCS), and short form of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (SDS-C). RESULTS Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) revealed that the two-factor model to the 12-item SPAS was a methodological artifact representing positively and negatively worded items. CFA indicated that the nine-item unidimensional model represented an acceptable fit to the SPAS, but it also could be improved. Modifications based on standardized residuals and item content led to the removal of two items and a seven-item unidimensional solution to the SPAS. The nine- and seven-item models demonstrated factorial invariance across gender. Correlation analyses between nine- and seven-item SPAS scores to PSES, S-OBCS, and SDS-C provided support for the construct validity. CONCLUSIONS The nine- and seven-item unidimensional models to the SPAS demonstrated evidence of factorial validity, factorial invariance, and construct validity; the two-factor model to the SPAS represented a methodological artifact.

Factorial Invariance and Latent Mean Stability of Performance Failure Appraisals

Accumulating evidence points to the validity of fear of failure (FF) score interpretations for the Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory (PFAI); however, the temporal stability of scores has not been established previously. Female and male college students participating in exercise activity classes (N = 356) completed long- and short-form versions of the PFAI on 4 occasions over a 3-week period. An evaluation of the factor structure, latent mean stability, and individual differences in change of PFAI scores was performed using longitudinal factorial invariance (LFI) and latent growth curve (LGC) analyses. Evidence was obtained for LFI of all first-order factors on the long form and the general FF factor (long and short forms). Differential stability estimates for 6 time intervals ranging from 2 to 21 days exceeded conventional minimum values for all factors. A small decrease in latent mean scores due to a skills test and a possible habituation effect was observed after the first occasion for several factors.

A Daily Analysis of Physical Activity and Satisfaction With Life in Emerging Adults

OBJECTIVE Subjective well-being has well-established positive health consequences. During emerging adulthood, from ages 18 to 25 years, peoples global evaluations of their well-being (i.e., satisfaction with life [SWL]) appear to worsen more than any other time in the adult life span, indicating that this population would benefit from strategies to enhance SWL. In these studies, we investigated top-down (i.e., time-invariant, trait-like) and bottom-up (i.e., time-varying, state-like) influences of physical activity (PA) on daily SWL. METHODS Two daily diary studies lasting 8 days (N = 190) and 14 days (N = 63) were conducted with samples of emerging adults enrolled in college to evaluate relations between daily PA and SWL while controlling for established and plausible top-down and bottom-up influences on SWL. RESULTS In both studies, multilevel models indicated that people reported greater SWL on days when they were more active (a within-person, bottom-up effect). Top-down effects of PA were not significant in either study. These findings were robust when we controlled for competing top-down influences (e.g., sex, personality traits, self-esteem, body mass index, mental health symptoms, fatigue) and bottom-up influences (e.g., daily self-esteem, daily mental health symptoms, daily fatigue). CONCLUSIONS We concluded that SWL was impacted by peoples daily PA rather than their trait level of PA over time. These findings extend evidence that PA is a health behavior with important consequences for daily well-being and should be considered when developing national policies to enhance SWL.

Evaluative Criteria and Consequences Associated with Failure and Success for Elite Athletes and Performing Artists

Fears of failure and success are widely regarded as salient threats to performance in a variety of domains yet scientific understanding of these constructs is still in its infancy. Sixteen elite athletes and performing artists participated in in-depth interviews to shed light on the nature of the cognitive-motivational-relational appraisals associated with these fears. Results revealed distinct criteria for evaluations of failure and success, as well as the perceived consequences of failure and success. It was concluded that the criteria used to evaluate failure and success are sufficiently distinct to suggest that perceptions of failure and success should not be thought of as a bipolar phenomenon. The consequences of failure and success were used to form multidimensional models of fear of failure and fear of success.

FACTORIAL AND CRITERION VALIDITY OF SCORES OF A MEASURE OF BELONGING IN YOUTH DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

Many youth development programs, including the Boys & Girls Clubs ofAmerica, feature belonging as a central piece in their theories ofchange. From a psychometric perspective, little is known about measures ofbelonging. This research examined the factorial validity, internal consistency, and predictive validity of scores from one measure of belonging to an after-school youth development program. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded a five-item measure from a calibration analysis that demonstrated “tight” cross validity in a cross-validation sample as well as factorial invariance between females and males. Internal consistency estimates for this 5-item scale exceeded .90 in both samples. Belonging scores were positively related to actual program attendance over a 6-month period, self-reported attendance in the last week, and protective factors found in communities. Belonging scores were moderately and negatively related to community-based risk factors.

Sedentary behavior as a daily process regulated by habits and intentions

OBJECTIVE Sedentary behavior is a health risk but little is known about the motivational processes that regulate daily sedentary behavior. This study was designed to test a dual-process model of daily sedentary behavior, with an emphasis on the role of intentions and habits in regulating daily sedentary behavior. METHOD College students (N = 128) self-reported on their habit strength for sitting and completed a 14-day ecological momentary assessment study that combined daily diaries for reporting motivation and behavior with ambulatory monitoring of sedentary behavior using accelerometers. RESULTS Less than half of the variance in daily sedentary behavior was attributable to between-person differences. People with stronger sedentary habits reported more sedentary behavior on average. People whose intentions for limiting sedentary behavior were stronger, on average, exhibited less self-reported sedentary behavior (and marginally less monitored sedentary behavior). Daily deviations in those intentions were negatively associated with changes in daily sedentary behavior (i.e., stronger than usual intentions to limit sedentary behavior were associated with reduced sedentary behavior). Sedentary behavior also varied within people as a function of concurrent physical activity, the day of week, and the day in the sequence of the monitoring period. CONCLUSIONS Sedentary behavior was regulated by both automatic and controlled motivational processes. Interventions should target both of these motivational processes to facilitate and maintain behavior change. Links between sedentary behavior and daily deviations in intentions also indicate the need for ongoing efforts to support controlled motivational processes on a daily basis.