Browsing by Author "Williams M"

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    A cross-cultural test of competing hypotheses about system justification using data from 42 nations
    (Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Society of Political Psychology., 2024-09-25) Valdes EA; Liu JH; Williams M; Carr SC
    System justification theory (SJT) is a thriving field of research, wherein the primary questions revolve around why individuals and groups are motivated to see the systems they depend on as just, fair, and legitimate. This article seeks to answer how accurate the postulates of SJT are when compared to competing self-interest claims of social identity and social dominance theory. We addressed the ongoing debates among proponents of each theory by identifying who, when, and why individuals decide to system-justify. We used data comprised of 24,009 participants nested within 42 countries. Multilevel models largely supported the competing claims of social dominance and social identity theories over SJT. The most robust findings were: (1) greater objective socioeconomic status (SES) was associated with greater system justification; (2) the consistent positive relationship between subjective SES and system justification was partially mediated by life satisfaction; and (3) both ends of the political spectrum were willing to system-justify more when the political party they favored was in power. The results presented are used to discuss both the current state and the future directions for system justification research.
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    A reproduction of the results of Onyike et al. (2003)
    (2021) Brown NJL; van Rongen J; van der Velde J; Williams M; Schönbrodt, FD
    Onyike et al. (2003) analyzed data from a large-scale US-American data set, the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES-III), and reported an association between obesity and major depression, especially among people with severe obesity. Here, we report the results of a detailed replication of Onyike et al.’s analyses. While we were able to reproduce the majority of these authors’ descriptive statistics, this took a substantial amount of time and effort, and we found several minor errors in the univariate descriptive statistics reported in their Tables 1 and 2. We were able to reproduce most of Onyike et al.’s bivariate findings regarding the relationship between obesity and depression (Tables 3 and 4), albeit with some small discrepancies (e.g., with respect to the magnitudes of standard errors). On the other hand, we were unable to reproduce Table 5, containing Onyike et al.’s findings with respect to the relationship between obesity and depression when controlling for plausible confounding variables—arguably the paper’s most important results—because some of the included predictor variables appear to be either unavailable, or not coded in the way reported by Onyike et al., in the public NHANES-III data sets. We discuss the implications of our findings for the transparency of reporting and the reproducibility of published results.
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    Antecedents of bullying victimisation in adolescents: a fresh look at Aotearoa New Zealand
    (Taylor & Francis Group, 2024-08-13) Birchall M; Drummond A; Williams M
    Research has consistently demonstrated that the prevalence of school bullying in Aotearoa New Zealand exceeds those observed in other developed countries. Despite the need to understand the risk and protective factors for bullying victimisation, there remains a paucity of research in the New Zealand context. The present study aimed to investigate the risk factors for bullying victimisation by conducting a secondary data analysis on a large and representative sample of 15-year-olds from New Zealand using data collected during the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (N = 4137). A multiple regression analysis identified eight risk factors which were significantly associated with at least one form of school bullying. The strongest effects indicated that increased parental support and school belonging were associated with lower victimisation, while classroom disorder and school competitiveness were associated with greater victimisation risk. The implications of these findings for future research are discussed.
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    Behavioral Posology: A Novel Paradigm for Modeling the Healthy Limits of Behaviors
    (John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2023-09-01) Henry N; Pedersen M; Williams M; Donkin L
    One of the challenges faced by behavioral scientists is the lack of modeling methodologies for accurately determining when a behavior becomes problematic. The authors propose “behavioral posology” as a novel modeling paradigm for quantifying the healthy limits of behaviors through the concept of behavioral dose. As an example of this paradigm, a pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic model of a hypothetical digital behavior is presented, based on opponent process theory. The generic model can be adapted to simulate Solomon and Corbit's model of affective dynamics from 1974, and the model predicts features of addiction such as hedonic allostasis, withdrawal, and apparent tolerance. A behavioral frequency response analysis (BFRA) of the model demonstrates how behavior repetition may result in a hormetic dose–response relationship that depends on the frequency of the behavior. The model can be experimentally validated using Ecological Momentary Assessment, allowing researchers to hypothesize, model, and test causal mechanisms for behavioral addictions. The potential for behavioral posology to be applied as a clinical support tool in psychological medicine is discussed, as this modeling framework may help to detect and limit behaviors being performed too frequently based on factors such as the person's moral beliefs.
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    Climate change, health, and psychology (Invited presentation: University of Auckland Health Psychology seminar series)
    Williams M
    Climate change is a problem that is caused by human behaviour, and that presents major risks to human health – including mental health. Psychology may have a crucial role to play in terms of investigating the health consequences of climate change, and also in terms of finding strategies to mitigate its extent. In this presentation, Matt will discuss some of his research on the effects of climate change on health and human behaviours such as assault, suicide, and self-harm. He will also discuss recent research on climate change communication and battling misinformation. Matt will argue that psychology could make a significant contribution to climate change research, but that producing effective and useful research on climate change may require psychologists to make significant changes to their standard research practices.
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    Conceptual replication of Seo (2008), “Self-efficacy as a mediator in the relationship between self-oriented perfectionism and academic procrastination”
    (12/12/2021) Williams M; Edwards SR
    Introduction Self-oriented perfectionism is the tendency to set high standards for oneself and evaluate one’s behaviour accordingly. Based on a study of 692 students in Korea, Seo (2008) reported finding a negative relationship between self-oriented perfectionism and academic procrastination – i.e., the tendency to procrastinate on academic tasks. Furthermore, Seo reported that this relationship was completely mediated by self-efficacy. Seo’s study has been influential in the literature but to our knowledge has not yet been independently replicated. In this study we report a preregistered conceptual replication testing five hypotheses based on Seo’s key findings. Material and methods A detailed preregistration (including data processing and analysis syntax) was lodged in advance of data collection at https://osf.io/xfvd8. Participants were 575 students recruited from OECD countries using prolific.co. Academic procrastination was measured via an adapted version of the Procrastination Assessment Scale – Students, while self-oriented perfectionism was measured via the 5-item self-oriented perfectionism subscale of the Big Three Perfectionism Scale. Self-efficacy was measured via the New General Self-Efficacy Scale. Both ordinary least squares regression and structural equation modelling were used to test hypotheses. Results We found no evidence of a bivariate relationship between self-oriented perfectionism and academic procrastination in either set of analyses. However, we did find evidence of a small and negative indirect effect of self-oriented perfectionism on academic procrastination via self-efficacy. Conclusions We were only able to partially replicate Seo’s key findings, having found no evidence of a negative relationship between self-oriented perfectionism and academic procrastination.
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    Dealing with Distributional Assumptions in Preregistered Research
    (PsyArXiv, 31/10/2018) Williams M; Albers C
    Virtually any inferential statistical analysis relies on distributional assumptions of some kind. The violation of distributional assumptions can result in consequences ranging from small changes to error rates through to substantially biased estimates. Conventionally, researchers have conducted assumption checks after collecting data, and then changed the primary analysis technique if distributional problems are observed. An approach to dealing with distributional assumptions that requires decisions to be made contingent on observed data is problematic, however, in preregistered research, where researchers attempt to specify all important analysis decisions prior to collecting data. Limited methodological advice is currently available about how to deal with the prospect of distributional assumption violations in preregistered research. In this article, we examine several strategies that researchers could use in preregistrations to reduce the potential impact of distributional assumption violations. We suggest that pre-emptively selecting analysis methods that are as robust as possible to assumption violations, performing planned sensitivity analyses, and/or supplementing preregistered confirmatory analyses with exploratory checks of distributional assumptions may all be useful strategies. On the other hand, we suggest prespecifying ‘decision trees’ for selecting data analysis methods based on the distributional characteristics of the data may not be practical in most situations.
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    Democracy and belief in conspiracy theories in New Zealand
    (Australian Political Studies Association, 2022) Marques MD; Hill SR; Clarke EJR; Williams M; Ling M; Kerr J; Douglas K; Cichocka A; Sibley C

    The COVID-19 pandemic supercharged the spread of fake news, misinformation, and conspiracy theories worldwide. Using a national probability sample of adults from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study during 2020 (17–99 years old; M = 48.59, SD = 13.86; 63% women, 37% men; N = 41,487), we examined the associations between agreement with general conspiracy beliefs and political indicators of intention to vote and satisfaction with government, alongside political factors including trust in politicians, political efficacy, identity centrality, and political ideology. Left-wing political ideology, trust in politicians, and political efficacy accounted for most of the explained variance in satisfaction with the government. General conspiracy belief was also a unique contributor to lower satisfaction with the government. We also found a curvilinear relationship between political ideology with heightened belief in conspiracies at both ideological extremes and the centre. Findings are discussed in terms of the consequences of conspiracy belief on democratic engagement.

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    Development and Validation of the Affective Polarization Scale
    (Ubiquity Press, 2024-06-05) McMurtrie B; Philipp M; Hebden R; Williams M
    Affective polarization – an expressed aversion and dislike of members of one’s political outgroup – has increased in many polities in recent years, and thus published research on the topic has proliferated. Studies have asserted that affective polarization is tied to prejudice and authoritarianism, among other potentially harmful phenomena, and is buffered by intellectual humility. We assert that this literature is hindered by the use of ad hoc, heterogeneous measures of affective polarization which have not been properly psychometrically evaluated, and which limit research clarity and make cumulative science on the topic difficult. Informed by the common extant measures of affective polarization we constructed a new scale and investigated its reliability and construct validity. In Study 1 we generated items and had them rated by subject matter experts for content validity (N = 6). In Study 2, a sample of US participants completed the scale (N = 326), an EFA suggested a three-factor model, which had good reliability. In Study 3, a CFA (N = 331) confirmed that a three-factor model fit the data, with subscales labelled Social Distance, Aversion, and Incivility. We also showed that our Affective Polarization Scale had good reliability, through the results of the α- and ω-indicators of reliability. Construct validity analyses supported all pre-registered hypotheses, showing that scores on our scale were positively correlated with authoritarianism, need for closure, and identity strength, and negatively correlated with intellectual humility. We make suggestions for future research and scale usage, such as investigating measurement invariance in different populations, or with different outgroup targets.
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    Differences in perceived sources of uncertainty in natural hazards science advice: lessons for cross-disciplinary communication
    (Frontiers Media S.A., 2024-04-04) Doyle EEH; Thompson J; Hill SR; Williams M; Paton D; Harrison SE; Bostrom A; Becker JS; Tagliacozzo S
    Introduction: We conducted mental model interviews in Aotearoa NZ to understand perspectives of uncertainty associated with natural hazards science. Such science contains many layers of interacting uncertainties, and varied understandings about what these are and where they come from creates communication challenges, impacting the trust in, and use of, science. To improve effective communication, it is thus crucial to understand the many diverse perspectives of scientific uncertainty. Methods: Participants included hazard scientists (n = 11, e.g., geophysical, social, and other sciences), professionals with some scientific training (n = 10, e.g., planners, policy analysts, emergency managers), and lay public participants with no advanced training in science (n = 10, e.g., journalism, history, administration, art, or other domains). We present a comparative analysis of the mental model maps produced by participants, considering individuals’ levels of training and expertise in, and experience of, science. Results: A qualitative comparison identified increasing map organization with science literacy, suggesting greater science training in, experience with, or expertise in, science results in a more organized and structured mental model of uncertainty. There were also language differences, with lay public participants focused more on perceptions of control and safety, while scientists focused on formal models of risk and likelihood. Discussion: These findings are presented to enhance hazard, risk, and science communication. It is important to also identify ways to understand the tacit knowledge individuals already hold which may influence their interpretation of a message. The interview methodology we present here could also be adapted to understand different perspectives in participatory and co-development research.
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    Do stress and anxiety lead to belief in conspiracy theories? [version 1; peer review: 5 approved].
    (F1000 Research Limited on behalf of Taylor and Francis Ltd., 2023-09-05) Fox N; Williams M
    Conspiracies happen, and some conspiracy theories are warranted by evidence. Nevertheless, a non-trivial proportion of the public express belief in conspiracy theories that are not warranted by evidence. Psychological research has therefore investigated the motives that might lead someone to believe a conspiracy theory even where the available evidence for the theory is weak. Two potential causes that have been proposed in the literature and embedded in theorising are psychological stress and anxiety. Prior studies have provided some evidence that stress and anxiety are positively correlated with belief in conspiracy theories, but it remains unclear whether this apparent effect might be accounted for by plausible confounding variables. Furthermore, there have been few preregistered examinations of the proposed effects of stress and anxiety, rendering it unclear to what degree this proposition has yet been subjected to a severe test. In two preregistered cross-sectional survey studies, we tested whether higher perceived stress and anxiety significantly predicted belief in conspiracy theories while controlling for plausible confounding variables (age, education, subjective social status, and political orientation). We analysed data using structural equation models, allowing measurement error to be explicitly modelled and accounted for. In Study 1 (N =502), a cross-sectional survey of Australasian participants indicated that perceived stress and anxiety did not have significant estimated effects on belief in conspiracy theories. In Study 2 (N =1020), a cross-sectional survey of US participants showed a small significant positive effect of perceived stress, but not anxiety, on belief in conspiracy theories. The present results provide very tentative evidence for an effect of perceived stress on belief in conspiracy theories. However, it is increasingly evident that this effect, if it exists at all, is not large. [version 1; peer review: 5 approved]
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    Eliciting mental models of science and risk for disaster communication: A scoping review of methodologies
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2022-07-01) Doyle EEH; Harrison SE; Hill SR; Williams M; Paton D; Bostrom A
    We present a scoping review of methods used to elicit individuals' mental models of science or risk. Developing a shared understanding of the science related to risk is crucial for diverse individuals to collaboratively manage disaster consequences. Mental models, or people's psychological representation of how the ‘world works’, present a valuable tool to achieve this. Potential applications range from developing effective risk communication for use in short-warning situations to community co-development of future communication protocols for the co-management of risk. A diverse range of tools, in diverse fields, have thus been developed to elicit these mental models. Forty-four articles were selected via inclusion criteria from 561 found through a systematic search. We identified a wide range of direct and indirect elicitation techniques (concept, cognitive, flow, information world, knowledge, mind, and fuzzy cognitive maps, and decision influence diagrams) and interview-based techniques. Many used multiple elicitation techniques such as free-drawing, interviews, free-listing, sorting tasks, attitudinal surveys, photograph elicitation, metaphor analysis, and mapping software. We identify several challenges when designing elicitation methods, including researcher influence, the importance of external visualization, a lack of evaluation, the role of ‘experts’, and ethical considerations due to the influence of the process itself. We present a preliminary typology for elicitation and analysis and suggest future research should explore methods to assess the evolution of mental models to understand how conceptualisations change through time, experience, or public education programs. These lessons have the potential to benefit both science and disaster risk communication activities, given best practice calls for mutually constructed understanding.
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    Exploring the needs and coping strategies of New Zealand parents in the neonatal environment
    (Wiley, 17/02/2022) Dodge A; Gibson C; Williams M; Ross K
    Aim Having an infant admitted to a neonatal care facility can be highly distressing for parents given the fragile state of their child and the often-unfamiliar environment. This study aimed to explore the needs and coping strategies of parents in this setting. Methods An online qualitative survey was used to explore the needs of parents who had a child discharged from a New Zealand neonatal unit in the past 12 months. A total of 394 parents participated in the study (387 mothers, 5 fathers), providing 970 responses across three open-ended questions examining their needs, unmet needs and coping strategies. The study included participants across both neonatal intensive care units and special care baby units, with prematurity (47%) the most common reason for admission. An inductive form of thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results Four themes were developed that capture the needs and coping strategies expressed by parents in this study: communication and information; physical contact and access to the baby; emotional and non-medical support; and involvement, autonomy and respect. Conclusions The themes developed largely centre around the struggle parents face when confronting the uncertainty of the neonatal environment and the difficulty in establishing their parental role. Parental distress may be reduced through communicating accurate information regularly and providing empathetic understanding, while opportunities for physical contact and involvement may assist in raising parental confidence and scaffolding the journey to independent care of their infant.
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    Levels of measurement and statistical analyses
    (24/05/2021) Williams M
    Most researchers and students in psychology learn of S. S. Stevens’ scales or “levels” of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio), and of his rules setting out which statistical analyses are admissible with each measurement level. Many are nevertheless left confused about the basis of these rules, and whether they should be rigidly followed. In this article, I attempt to provide an accessible explanation of the measurement-theoretic concerns that led Stevens to argue that certain types of analyses are inappropriate with data of particular levels of measurement. I explain how these measurement-theoretic concerns are distinct from the statistical assumptions underlying data analyses, which rarely include assumptions about levels of measurement. The level of measurement of observations can nevertheless have important implications for statistical assumptions. I conclude that researchers may find it more useful to critically investigate the plausibility of the statistical assumptions underlying analyses than to limit themselves to the set of analyses that Stevens believed to be admissible with data of a given level of measurement.
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    mHealth Technologies for Managing Problematic Pornography Use: Content Analysis.
    (JMIR Publications, 2022-10-13) Henry N; Donkin L; Williams M; Pedersen M
    Background: Several mobile apps are currently available that purportedly help with managing pornography addiction. However, the utility of these apps is unclear, given the lack of literature on the effectiveness of mobile health solutions for problematic pornography use. Little is also known about the content, structure, and features of these apps. Objective: This study aims to characterize the purpose, content, and popularity of mobile apps that claim to manage pornography addiction. Methods: The phrase “pornography addiction” was entered as a search term in the app stores of the two major mobile phone platforms (Android and iOS). App features were categorized according to a coding scheme that contained 16 categories. Apps were included in the analysis if they were described as helpful for reducing pornography use, and data were extracted from the store descriptions of the apps. Metrics such as number of user ratings, mean rating score, and number of installations were analyzed on a per-feature basis. Results: In total, 170 apps from both app stores met the inclusion criteria. The five most common and popular features, both in terms of number of apps with each feature and minimum possible number of installations, were the ability to track the time since last relapse (apps with feature=72/170, 42.4%; minimum possible number of installations=6,388,000), tutorials and coaching (apps with feature=63/170, 37.1%; minimum possible number of installations=9,286,505), access to accountability partners or communities (apps with feature=51/170, 30%; minimum possible number of installations=5,544,500), content blocking or content monitoring (apps with feature=46/170, 27.1%; minimum possible number of installations=17,883,000), and a reward system for progress (apps with feature=34/170, 20%; minimum possible number of installations=4,425,300). Of these features, content-blocking apps had the highest minimum possible number of installations. Content blocking was also the most detected feature combination in a combinatorial analysis (with 28 apps having only this feature), but it also had the lowest mean consumer satisfaction rating (4.04) and second-lowest median rating (4.00) out of 5 stars. None of the apps reviewed contained references to literature that provided direct evidence for the app’s efficacy or safety. Conclusions: There are several apps with the potential to provide low- or zero-cost real-time interventions for people struggling to manage problematic pornography use. Popular app features include blockers of pornographic content, behavior monitoring, and tutorials that instruct users how to eliminate pornography use. However, there is currently no empirical evidence to support the effectiveness and safety of these apps. Further research is required to be able to provide recommendations about which apps (and app features) are safe for public consumption.
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    Research methods in psychology
    (22/11/2018) Williams M
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    Testing the status-legitimacy hypothesis: Predicting system justification using objective and subjective socioeconomic status in China and the United States
    (Asian Association of Social Psychology and John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd, 2022-06) Valdes EA; Liu JH; Williams M
    The status-legitimacy hypothesis proposes that those who are most disadvantaged by unequal social systems are even more likely than members of more advantaged groups to provide ideological support for the very social system that is responsible for their disadvantages. Li, Yang, Wu, and Kou (2020, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin) sought to expand the generalizability of this hypothesis by testing it in China, addressing inconsistencies surrounding the empirical support for this hypothesis by postulating that the construct of status should be separated into an objective and subjective status marker. They reported that objective socioeconomic status (SES; income and education) negatively predicted system justification, while subjective SES positively predicted system justification. In the present study we attempt to replicate and extend the work of Li et al. in a cross-cultural comparison of demographic stratified quota online samples in China and the United States. We test the status-legitimacy hypothesis using objective and subjective SES to predict system justification using cross-sectional and cross-lagged regression analyses. We received partial support for Li et al.'s findings. Specifically, subjective SES positively predicted system justification for both societies during cross-sectional and cross-lagged longitudinal analyses. However, we failed to replicate Li et al.'s findings surrounding objective SES in China during cross-sectional and cross-lagged analyses.