Kenneth M. Cramer

The virtual lecture hall: utilisation, effectiveness and student perceptions

We presently introduce the Virtual Lecture Hall (VLH), an instructional computer-based platform for delivering Microsoft PowerPoint slides threaded with audio clips for later review. There were 839 male and female university students enrolled in an introductory psychology class who had access to review class lectures via the VLH. This tool was made available through the course website following the first midterm. Approximately 20% used the resource, and 18% completed a five-item survey tapping their perceptions of whether the VLH enhanced learning or increased grades; and whether they wanted the resource in other courses. The total number of student accesses was calculated, as was the total duration (in minutes) that students used the VLH. After accounting for initial midterm test score differences, results showed that students who used the VLH for 100 minutes or more scored, on average, 15% higher in their second midterm. The student perceptions of the VLH were also highly favourable. Directions for future research in resource development and implications for educators are also discussed.

Psychometric properties and confirmatory factor analysis of the Self-Concealment Scale.

Abstract The present study assessed the psychometric properties of the Larson and Chastain, 1990 [Larson, D. G. and Chastain, R. L. (1990). Self-concealment: conceptualization, measurement and health implications. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology , 9 , 439–455.] Self-Concealment Scale. Based on a university student population, internal consistency ( α =0.83 to 0.87) and retest reliability estimates ( r =0.74) suggested good stability both within the instrument and over time. Although exploratory methods suggested two subscales ( keeping secrets and personal concealment ), both the reliability and confirmatory factor analyses of an independent sample supported scale unidimensionality. Directions for further scale validation research are suggested.

The attitudes to chocolate questionnaire: A psychometric evaluation.

Abstract The present investigation evaluated the psychometric integrity of the Attitudes to Chocolate Questionnaire, an instrument recently developed to assess various aspects of this specific craving experience. The scale consists of three subscales: Cravings (preoccupation with chocolate); Guilt (negative affect following chocolate consumption); and Function (practical uses for chocolate). A confirmatory factor analysis (n=701) did not support the 3-factor solution, but an exploratory factor analysis identified only 2 stable factors: Craving and Guilt. Internal consistency estimates were high for both subscales, and females scored significantly higher than males on both. In the test of subscale validity and temporal reliability (n=96), the retest correlation after 3 months for both subscales was high (above 0.68; n=47). High Craving scores were associated with high depression and obsession; but low self-esteem and social desirability. High Guilt scores were associated with high anxiety, depression, disordered eating patterns, and obsession; but with low self-esteem. Implications for the diagnosis of eating disorders and directions for future research are discussed.

Virtual Lecture Hall for In-Class and Online Sections: A Comparison of Utilization, Perceptions, and Benefits

Abstract We further evaluated the Virtual Lecture Hall (VLH) (Cramer, Collins, Snider, & Fawcett, in press), an instructional computer-based platform to deliver PowerPoint slides threaded with audio clips for later review. Students from either an in-class or online section (ns = 810 and 74 respectively) of introductory psychology had access to live recorded lectures via the VLH, made available through the course Web site. Approximately 45% of in-class and 78% of online students used the resource prior to each of two course midterms; 32% of in-class and 50% of online students completed a five-item survey assessing student perceptions of whether the VLH enhanced learning or increased grades, and whether they wanted the resource in other courses. Number of VLH accesses and total duration were calculated. Results showed that regardless of course section, greater VLH use was linked to higher midterm scores, and student perceptions of the VLH were highly favorable. Curiously, whereas in-class students’ VLH use and duration were negatively related to expected grade, that same link was positive for online students. Directions for future research in resource development and implications for educators are discussed.

Factor structure of the silencing the self scale in women and men

The present study compared the underlying factor structure of the 31-item Silencing the Self Scale between 227 male and 598 female college students. Because the scale designers argued the measure assessed self-repressive schemas found in women only, the hypothesized 4-factor solution should not be replicable for male respondents. Confirmatory factor analyses failed to verify any of the three 4-factor oblique models (two complete and one reduced), but subsequent exploratory analyses uncovered a 4-factor solution for females (excluding 2 items) and a 3-factor solution for males (excluding 4 items). There was sufficient overlap between solutions to believe males were utilizing a comparable self-silencing schema. That is, the solutions were reasonably identical but for two factors identified in the female sample (viz. Divided Self and External Self-Perception) that collapsed into a single factor in the male sample. Means analysis showed that for the original subscale scores, males scored significantly higher on three of the four subscales. The psychometric profile of the Self-Silencing Scale is then reviewed, and directions for future research are explored.

Personality, blood type, and the five-factor model

Equivocal results continue to beset investigations into the relation between blood type and personality. When results are significant, there is little consensus as to the personality characteristics of members of any one blood type. The present study evaluated seven hypotheses (as taken from previous research), using the conceptualization of personality based on the Five-Factor Model. Over 400 Canadian university students indicated their sex and blood type, and then completed the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI), consisting of five subscales: Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience. Results showed males had lower Agreeableness and Neuroticism scores than females; however, there was neither a main effect for blood type, nor a sex by blood type interaction.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Group Environment Questionnaire with Co-Acting Sports:

To assess whether the Group Environment Questionnaire is applicable to athletes in co-acting sports such as track and field, the factor structure of the Group Environment Questionnaire among a heterogeneous sample of 199 co-acting team sport athleres was investigated. A confirmatory factor analysis did not support the hypothesized four-factor model. A subsequent exploratory facror analysis yielded two independent factors chat had no interpretable pattern of the four Group Environment Questionnaire factors within them. While this finding requires replication and confirmation, rhe four-factor model of the Group Environment Questionnaire does nor appear ro be as valid for co-acting sports as for interacting sports.

The Lennox and Wolfe Revised Self-Monitoring Scale: latent structure and gender invariance

Abstract The present investigation examined the factor structure and gender invariance of the Revised Self-Monitoring Scale (RSMS), a 13-item scale to assess personal changes in self-presentation to fit the social setting. Scale responses from 836 Canadian university students were analyzed by confirmatory factor methods to determine whether the data fit according to an hypothesized two-factor model (Ability to Modify Self-Presentation and Sensitivity to the Expressive Behavior of Others). Though results failed to support this model, there was support for a three-factor correlated solution: (1) the Lennox and Wolfe Sensitivity subscale; (2) a modified Ability subscale; and (3) a new subscale (“Difficulty Modifying Self Presentation”), composed of the two negatively worded items from the Lennox and Wolfe Ability subscale. Whereas the omnibus assumption of factorial invariance was applicable (invariant) to male and female respondents with respect to factor loadings, factor correlations, and error variances, a few individual parameters were not. Implications for scale utility, practitioner interpretation, future research directions are discussed.

Calibrating Canadian Universities: Rankings for Sale Once Again.

A summary and update on recent research by the authors and others concerning rankings of Canadian universities is presented. Some specific data are reported in regard to the 2005 and 2006 ranking data published by Macleans magazine. Some criticisms and difficulties with the use of rank-based data are outlined with regard to the issues of university selection and the interpretation of commonly used ranking indices. Also, aside from statistical and related matters, several implications of ranking exercises for the personal and academic welfare of Canadian students, at all educational levels, are described.

An abbreviated form of the social and emotional loneliness scale for adults (SELSA)

Abstract In two independent studies of university undergraduates, the present investigation created and evaluated an abbreviated (15-item) version of the 37-item Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults (SELSA), a multidimensional instrument that assesses family, romantic, and social loneliness. In Study 1 ( N =340), participants completed the SELSA; in Study 2 ( N =211), participants completed the SELSA and five other loneliness inventories. Results showed that the three abbreviated SELSA subscales each (a) demonstrated very high internal consistency, (b) correlated very highly to the full respective subscales, and (c) correlated with theoretically related loneliness scales. In addition, both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis supported the hypothesized 3-subscale factor solution. In sum, results showed that the abbreviated SELSA subscales represent a psychometrically reliable and valid alternative to the full inventory.