Imputation of Missing Item Responses: Some Simple Techniques

Among the wide variety of procedures to handle missing data, imputingthe missing values is a popular strategy to deal with missing itemresponses. In this paper some simple and easily implemented imputationtechniques like item and person mean substitution, and somehot-deck procedures, are investigated. A simulation study was performed based on responses to items forming a scale to measure a latent trait ofthe respondents. The effects of different imputation procedures onthe estimation of the latent ability of the respondents wereinvestigated, as well as the effect on the estimation of Cronbach'salpha (indicating the reliability of the test) and Loevinger'sH-coefficient (indicating scalability). The results indicate thatprocedures which use the relationships between items perform best,although they tend to overestimate the scale quality.     

Asking sensitive questions: the impact of forgiving wording and question context on social desirability bias

Sensitive questions are prone to systematic measurement error due to the respondents?? social desirability concerns. Literature on empirical social research often recommends either positive ??loading?? of sensitive questions, e.g. using ??forgiving?? wording, or manipulating the question context to reduce social desirability bias. We derive theoretical explanations of how manipulations of question wording and context could elicit more socially undesirable answers in sensitive surveys. In an experimental online survey (N?=?1,176), we evaluate the effects of (1) forgiving wording and (2) question context on social desirability bias in different sensitive questions. The empirical evidence on the assumed bias-reducing effects shows inconsistent results. It is indicated however, that the perceived social norm has the strongest and most consistent effect on the respondents?? propensity to self-report socially undesirable behavior.     

The effects of sampling on measures of association between variables based on sample means

Many studies that involve people's perceptions or behaviors focus on aggregate rather than individual responses. For example, variables describing public perceptions for some set of events may be represented as mean scores for each event. Event mean scores then become the unit of analysis for each variable. The variance of these mean scores for a variable is not only a function of the variation among the events themselves, but is also due to the variation among respondents and their possible responses. This is also the case for the covariances between variables based on event mean scores. In many contexts the variance and covariance components attributable to the sampling of respondents and their responses may be large; these components can be described as measurement error. In this paper we show how to estimate variances and covariances of aggregate variables that are free of these sources of measurement error. We also present a measure of reliability for the event means and examine the effect of the number of respondents on these spurious components. To illustrate how these estimates are computed, forty-two respondents were asked to rate forty events on seven risk perception variables. Computing the variances and covariances for these variables based on event means resulted in relatively large components attributable to measurement error. A demonstration is given of how this error is removed and the resulting effect on our estimates.     

On the validity and reliability of self-reported vote: validity without reliability?

Data from seven Swedish election study panels, 1973-1994, were analyzed to assess simultaneously the validity and reliability of self-reported vote. Eight categories were created, based on self-report at Time 1, an external check, and self-report at Time 2. Overall the validity and reliability of this measure were quite high. However, the cases in which the measure was valid but not reliable outnumbered those in which it was reliable but not valid. Subsequent turnout behavior was most strongly predicted by what people had done previously, but the two self-report measures were also significant predictors in the regression analysis. The eight categories were then compared on a series of demographic and political variables.     

Explaining interviewer effects and respondent behavior: Theoretical models and empirical analysis

The behavior of respondents in interview situations has been dealt on the one hand with respect to many empirical studies and on the other hand in connection with different theoretical approaches (Hyman 1954; Cannell & Kahn 1968). In this paper the most relevant theoretical explanations are discussed and systematized from the point of view of the theory of reasoned action (Ajzen & Fishbein 1980). Whereas this theory program has been used in many substantive fields, it has rarely been applied to the problem of interviewer effects and response sets. In this approach one assumes that the actors in interview situations decide according to cost-benefit calculations. The theory of reasoned action is viewed as an operationalized theory, discussed in more detail and formalized via structural equation models. These models are empirically tested with the data of a survey specifically designed to perform such a method study. The reported contact rates of German with foreigners is the dependent variable under study. First, a model without interviewer variables is tested to explain respondent behavior in terms of norms, attitudes and some other determinants. Then the status and the age of interviewers are introduced as situational determinants of the respondents' behavior. For subgroup analyses the respondents are divided into three groups varying in the amount of the need for social approval. The models are tested according to two subgroups (low and high need for social approval) with the technique of multiple group comparison in LISREL (Jöreskog/Sörbom 1988). All models and results are interpreted in terms of the theory of reasoned action. At the end some conclusions for modelling interviewer effects and respondent behavior are discussed.     

The 3‐day Week of 1974 and Earnings Data Reliability in the Family Expenditure Survey and the National Child Development Study*

In early 1974, an energy conservation policy limited the British workweek to 3 days. Researchers fear that earnings reports given by survey respondents during this period may not be comparable with those given in more typical circumstances. This study uses responses during and after the 3‐day week policy to estimate the degree of misreporting in the National Child Development Study (NCDS) and the Family Expenditure Survey (FES). The estimates show that very few respondents gave ‘incorrect’ 3‐day figures. In the FES, the estimated fraction of misreports is no larger than 3.2%; in the NCDS, the best estimate is 0.     

新疆高校体育专业学生目标定向研究

目标定向在当今体育运动动机的研究中占据统治地位。目标定向规范着个体的行为动机模式,而不同的动机模式造就不同的个体综合素质,以新疆四所高校的体育专业学生为调查对象,主要调查了不同组别学生在体育教学中的目标定性情况,结果表明:新疆高校体育专业学生的任务定向得分高于自我定向得分,两者之间存在极其显著性。体育专业学生男生任务定向得分均值低于总体均值,女生任务定向得分高于总体均值,男生的任务定向得分低于女生。自我定向相反。不同生源体育专业学生在任务得分和自我得分上有非常显著差异。三个年级的学生在任务定向与自我定向得分各个年级之间不存在显著性差异。     

Psychometrically and qualitatively validating a cross-national cumulative measure of fear-based xenophobia

The article reports the results of a Mokken Scale Procedure (MSP) developing a hierarchical cross-national scale to measure xenophobia, and a qualitative validation of this scale. A pool of 30 xenophobic scale items were collected from several sources and edited according to established unidimensional criteria. The survey was administered to 608 undergraduate students in the USA, 193 undergraduate students in the Netherlands, and 303 undergraduate students in Norway. Fourteen scale statements measuring perceived threat or fear and meeting the criteria of the Stereotype Content Model (e.g., Fiske et al. in Trends Cogn Sci 11:77–83, 2006) were selected for further analysis. A separate item analysis and subsequently MSP analysis yielded a cumulative scale with the same five items for each of the three samples meeting criteria for homogeneity in all samples with H >.40. The result, a cross-national 5-item scale measuring fear-based xenophobia, was tested by means of the Three-Step Test-Interview (Hak et al. in Surv Res Methods 2:143–150, 2008) with 10 students in The Netherlands and 10 students in Norway. The analysis of these qualitative interviews shows that individual respondents’ criteria for the ranking of the scale items strongly depend on the way immigrants are framed. Ranking according to different levels of fear turned out to be only one criterion out of several possible ones used by individual respondents.     

Wavelet decomposition of heterogeneous investment horizon

Building on the assumptions that investors are heterogeneous and that not all of them are fully rational, the market for trading any financial instrument can be separated into several segments, each associated with a different investment horizon. Thus, the expected return on an asset for each horizon maintains a different functional relationship with an expected market return. In other words, the trading of an asset by investors with heterogeneous investment horizons results in the coexistence of multiple security market lines. This proposed theory, which offers an alternative interpretation of investment behavior from that of the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) and the efficient markets hypothesis (EMH), is verified by using the newly introduced amalgamated discrete wavelet transform.     

Models for comparative analysis of culture: the case of Poland

This paper examines the main theoretical frameworks for analysis comparative cultural attitudes. A critical discussion of the work by Kluckhohn Strodtbeck, Hofstede and Trompenaars leads to a new theoretical approach for study the national cultural attitudes and norms of behaviour. A methodology based on research is designed to compare the 'internalized' norms of behaviour with 'perceived' norms. Two different but complementary techniques are applied to a sample of Polish students to investigate Polish cultural attitudes using Hofstede's dimensions. Significant discrepancy is found between what people perceive communicate in public as the 'national cultural norm', and what they have internalized cultural attitude and norm of behaviour. The findings from this exploratory research indicate that there are different levels of internalization of cultural attitudes, and respondents express different cultural values in response to different research tools.     

On the estimation of the parameters for the Littlewood model in software reliability

A very well-known model in software reliability theory is that of Littlewood (1980). The (three) parameters in this model are usually estimated by means of the maximum likelihood method. The system of likelihood equations can have more than one solution. Only one of them will be consistent, however. In this paper we present a different, more analytical approach, exploiting the mathematical properties of the log-likelihood function itself. Our belief is that the ideas and methods developed in this paper could also be of interest for statisticians working on the estimation of the parameters of the generalised Pareto distribution. For those more generally interested in maximum likelihood the paper provides a 'practical case', indicating how complex matters may become when only three parameters are involved. Moreover, readers not familiar with counting process theory and software reliability are given a first introduction.     

Aggregate expectations under the stable laws

Following Lucas, expectations have become central to macroeconomic theory. Empirical implementations generally start from tendency surveys, where respondents indicate the expected direction of change. Carlson and Parkin, and others, turn this into quantitative measures by assuming aggregate expectations followed a normal distribution. These show signs of irrationality. However, the Central Limit Theorem requires only that such a distribution lie in the class of ‘stable probability laws’. Indeed, the Lucas information assumptions, and evidence on individual survey responses, argue against the limiting case of normality. Experiments on European Business Surveys show that substitution of skewed stable distributions can eliminate symptoms of irrationality previously found in survey-based expectations measures.     

Retrospective questions: data quality,task difficulty,and the use of a checklist

Data from a national panel study with waves in 1987 and 1991 (N=1257), present evidence of the low accuracy of responses to retrospective questions, concerning both attitudes and behaviour. Applying a split ballot design, it is investigated whether using a checklist improves the response accuracy for a retrospective question about one single event: how respondents (N=363) did obtain the job they had four years ago. Furthermore interaction effects of ‘task difficulty’ are examined. The response accuracy indeed increases by using a checklist; however, this increase is not statistically significant. The expected increase of the checklist effect with higher ‘task difficulty’ appears for longer recall intervals, but not for more frequent changes of jobs. It turned out that for male respondents all the predicted effects are indeed clearly present. But for female respondents the checklist appeared to have no effect, irrespective of the task difficulty. A tentative explanation for this unexpected gender effect is suggested by pointing at indications that the male and female respondents differed in the way they obtained their job.     

Money donations intentions among Muslim donors: an extended theory of planned behavior model

• The investigation into determinants of money donation intentions while employing an extended theory of planned behavior model is limited to developed country contexts. However, given the challenges facing charitable organizations and scant theoretical evidence from developing world, such an examination can contribute pragmatically. The current study establishes the impact of subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, past behavior, and attitude on respondents' money donation intentions to charities in Pakistan. The respondents (N = 223), a non‐student population living in the city of Gujranwala, completed a survey. The collected data are analyzed by means of a multivariate analysis, which was comprised of regression and correlation. The results reveal a strong support to the extended theory of planned behavior model in establishing the relationship between identified independent and dependent variables in a developing country context of Pakistan. The study contributes to the establishment of a few strategies, which are useful for managers working in charitable organizations to attract and retain donors to support several causes.

Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Impact of Compulsory Arbitration on Bargaining Behavior: An Experimental Study

A series of experiments compares bargaining behavior under three different settings: no arbitration, conventional and final-offer arbitration. Under no arbitration, disputes with zero payoffs were around 10%, while the pie was equally split in less than half of the cases. Under conventional arbitration – where the arbitrator is free to choose his award – every third negotiation ended in dispute, evidencing a modified chilling effect. Under final-offer arbitration – where the arbitrator must award the bargainers either one of their final offers – there was only a small increase in disputes, while equal splits doubled to 80%. The experiment shows that final-offer arbitration, despite having lower dispute rates, interferes more with bargaining behavior than conventional arbitration, where bargaining behavior is similar to that seen in the no-arbitration treatment. Under final-offer arbitration, negotiators adjust their bargaining strategy on the arbitrator’s expected award.     

God and green: Investigating the impact of religiousness on green marketing

As the population increases, more people are now aware of the impact of their consumption on the natural environment. Nonetheless, 1 important factor that is often neglected is religiousness. Studies of the impact of religiousness on individual behavior have become increasingly important because the majority of the world population belongs to 1 of the major world religions. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of consumers' religiousness toward proenvironmental identity, attitudes toward environmental issues, and subjective norms about the environment. Subsequently, this study investigates the impact of these variables on purchase intention of green products. Using sampling from Indonesia (n = 649), which has the largest Muslim population, the results show significant differences between religions. In general, similar findings were found in both samples of Muslim and Christian consumers, where intrinsic religiousness has a positive impact on proenvironmental identity, attitudes towards environmental issues, and subjective norms about the environment. The study also found that the 3 variables (proenvironmental identity, attitudes towards environmental issues, and subjective norms) are positive determinants of intention to purchase green products. Nevertheless, the role of extrinsic religiousness is different for the 2 samples. Extrinsic religiousness is negatively related to attitude towards environmental issues for Muslim consumers, where it has a positive influence on proenvironmental identity among Christian consumers. The results of this study have significant implications not only to managers but also religious leaders on how to encourage more positive attitudes toward the environment.     

Revealed preference theory on the choice of lotteries

The choice behavior of a decision-maker is said to be consistent with expected utility maximization if there exists a utility function defined on the set of prizes such that the decision-maker chooses lotteries with the highest expected utility. We present a revealed preference characterization of choice behavior that is consistent with expected utility maximization. A necessary and sufficient condition for expected utility maximization is that there does not exist a way to compound lotteries such that the probability distribution over the final prizes generated by the chosen lotteries of each observation is equal to that generated by the rejected lotteries of each observation. Our result is quite general and can be applied to any compact set of prizes and any choice correspondence.     

Gendered giving: the influence of social norms on the donation behavior of men and women

• We study if men and women are subject to different influences when determining their level of charitable giving. In particular, we examine differential sensitivities to social norms among donors to a public radio station. Our survey of 975 donors finds that male donors are more likely than female donors to use social norms to inform their own behavior. We conduct a laboratory experiment to investigate the influence of social information on social norm formation and giving. Our results suggest that temporarily created social norms influence giving by men significantly more than by women. This result replicates and establishes the causal relationship between social norms and donations suggested by our field findings. We conclude with a discussion of theoretical and practical implications of these results.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Social Norms of Discrete Consumer Exchange

Abstract Social norms have been recognized as an important influence in long-term relational exchange between firms. It is here argued that social norms are equally important in short-term discrete exchange that takes place between firms and consumers. The norms of consumer exchange are, however, of a different kind. To clarify the difference, a classification system is presented. Based on the classification, the social norms of discrete consumer exchange are defined and a method of quantifying these norms is proposed. This method should help in the ongoing effort to understand how the social macro-environment influences individual behavior in dyadic exchange. Gundlach, Achrol, and Mentzer (1995)) note a recent shift in the marketing research paradigm toward a concern for the social determinants of economic exchange behavior. As they point out, this shift requires the analysis of often ambiguous concepts. One of these concepts is that of the social norm. Marketing researchers have recognized that social norms are a valuable explanatory variable. Their influence has been depicted in marketing models (e.g., Bagozzi 1978: Kalapurakal. Urbany, and Dickson 1992), tested in relational exchanges (e.g., Dant and Schul 1992; Heide and John 1992; Kaufmann and Stern 1988), and cited in the marketing orientation literature (e.g. Hurley and Hull 1998: Slater and Narver 1995). The focus here is on the social norms of economic exchange, a subset of the social norms of a given society. In economic exchange, the investigation of social norms has considered primarily the norms of long-term, relational transactions common in inter-firm exchange. Little-research has considered the social norms of the more short-term, discrete transactions common in exchanges between businesses and consumers. However, Kaufmann and Stern (1988: 535) suggest that norms “exist in all exchange behavior, from very discrete transactions to highly relational exchange.” The identification of the social norms of discrete consumer exchange is important to the understanding of the social structure of markets. On a practical level, it also helps marketers minimize consumer hostility. For example, consumers were outraged when Merck distributed its AIDS drug through a channel that charged a 37% markup (Wall Street Journal,May 7, 1996: B1). Merck did not consider the social norms that evidently sanction a 300% markup by consulting firms but not a 37% markup by distributors of pharmaceuticals. To avoid such blundering infractions of social norms. it behooves sellers to understand the social norms of discrete consumer exchange.     

A reservation-based parking behavioral model for parking demand management in urban areas

The rapid increase in car ownership has become a land-use problem in many cities which have limited land for parking. It also has adverse impacts on congestion, air quality, energy consumption, as well as losses in productivity, among other consequences. The problem worsens in some cities due to the adoption of inefficient mandatory minimum parking policies for new projects, according to a building's use and size, which incentivizes driving. Therefore, it is necessary to assess appropriate parking management policies that maximize social welfare. In this regard, this paper presents a reservation-based parking behavioral hybrid choice model for parking demand management policies in urban areas, that appropriately represents the behavior of private vehicle users when choosing their parking site. The proposed model is statistically significant and consistent with expected behavior and microeconomic theory. The results demonstrate that the possibility of reserving a parking space has a significant impact on car parking market share on- and off-street. The three latent variables included in the model (pro-parking attitude, perception of risk for parking on- and off-street) have a significant effect on the modal split and the evaluation of appropriate parking policies that consider heterogeneity. The latent variable that most impacts the modal shift is the pro-parking attitude, which can generate up to 7% change in the modal partition.