Personality and Individual Differences, Aug 1, 2021
Abstract While forgivingness has been associated with health and psychosocial variables, previous... more Abstract While forgivingness has been associated with health and psychosocial variables, previous cross-sectional studies could not address the temporal characteristics of their relationships. To overcome this limitation, the present study investigated longitudinally the antecedents and consequences of forgivingness, as well as the association of mood states and Big Five personality traits with forgivingness. We obtained complete data on forgivingness, Big Five personality traits, and moods across three waves of surveys over six years from 294 participants, and from more participants who completed only one or two waves. Structural equation modelling for the cross-lagged longitudinal analysis was applied, controlling for auto-correlations and effects of external variables. Our data revealed a weak link from conscientiousness to later forgivingness. More importantly, forgivingness predicted emotional stability, agreeableness and less negative moods longitudinally. Our findings challenged the previously-assumed causative roles of Big Five personality traits in forgivingness but corroborated the desirable predictive effects of being forgiving in developing more positive moods and personality characteristics.
Logit models are popular tools for analyzing discrete choice and ranking data. The models assume ... more Logit models are popular tools for analyzing discrete choice and ranking data. The models assume that judges rate each item with a measurable utility, and the ordering of a judge's utilities determines the outcome. Logit models have been proven to be powerful tools, but they become difficult to interpret if the models contain nonlinear and interaction terms. We extended the logit models by adding a decision tree structure to overcome this difficulty. We introduced a new method of tree splitting variable selection that distinguishes the nonlinear and linear effects, and the variable with the strongest nonlinear effect will be selected in the view that linear effect is best modeled using the logit model. Decision trees built in this fashion were shown to have smaller sizes than those using loglikelihood-based splitting criteria. In addition, the proposed splitting methods could save computational time and avoid bias in choosing the optimal splitting variable. Issues on variable selection in logit models are also investigated, and forward selection criterion was shown to work well with logit tree models. Focused on ranking data, simulations are carried out and the results showed that our proposed splitting methods are unbiased. Finally, to demonstrate the feasibility of the logit tree models, they were applied to analyze two datasets, one with binary outcome and the other with ranking outcome.
The extreme scarcity of material resources related to survival needs often hurts wellbeing. This ... more The extreme scarcity of material resources related to survival needs often hurts wellbeing. This occurred during COVID-19 outbreaks when the shortage of face masks and other personal protective equipment intensified the threat. Under this context, we proposed and tested a new model of how better sleep and greater hope may predict less worries, preserving quality of life and wellbeing. Participants aged 18 years or above were recruited from the community in Hong Kong. There were 1,091 online survey responses collected near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals with greater hope or better sleep quality worried less and had better wellbeing, even after accounting for the effects of mask-stock. Moreover, hope and sleep quality have a significantly multiplicative effect to produce superior quality of life and psychological wellbeing, despite a shortage of personal protective equipment. Furthermore, sleep quality, but not mask-stock, predicted flourishing. Our findings underscore the importance of raising awareness of sleep health. During crises, a supply of material resources is critical; yet, boosting hope and promoting sleep quality also support quality of life and flourishing.
Sleep and optimism are important psycho-biological and personality constructs, respectively. Howe... more Sleep and optimism are important psycho-biological and personality constructs, respectively. However, very little work has examined the causal relationship between them, and none has examined the potential mechanisms operating in the relationship. This study aimed to understand whether sleep quality was a cause or an effect of optimism, and whether depressive mood could explain the relationship. Method: Internet survey data were collected from 987 Chinese working adults (63.4% female, 92.4% full-time workers, 27.0% married, 90.2% Hong Kong residents, mean age = 32.59 at three time-points, spanning about 19 months). Measures included a Chinese attributional style questionnaire, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale. Results: Cross-sectional analyses revealed moderate correlations among sleep quality, depressive mood, and optimism. Cross-lagged analyses showed a bidirectional causality between optimism and sleep. Path analysis demonstrated that depressive mood fully mediated the influence of optimism on sleep quality, and it partially mediated the influence of sleep quality on optimism. Conclusion: Optimism improves sleep. Poor sleep makes a pessimist. The effects of sleep quality on optimism could not be fully explained by depressive mood, highlighting the unique role of sleep on optimism. Understanding the mechanisms of the feedback loop of sleep quality, mood, and optimism may provide insights for clinical interventions for individuals presented with mood-related problems.
We investigated in a real-life setting if entity theorists are less likely than incremental theor... more We investigated in a real-life setting if entity theorists are less likely than incremental theorists to change their perception of a target person accordingly with the person’s behavioral changes. While supporting our hypothesis, this study complements previous laboratory studies in implicit personality theory by addressing overlooked ecological validity concerns
In sport, testosterone has been positioned as a substrate for motivation with both directional an... more In sport, testosterone has been positioned as a substrate for motivation with both directional and time dependencies. However, evidence is scarce when considering the complexities of competitive sport and no work has explicitly modeled these dependencies. To address these gaps, we investigated the bidirectional and time-dependent interrelationships between testosterone and training motivation in an elite rugby environment. Thirty-six male athletes were monitored across training weeks before and after eight international rugby matches. Prebreakfast measures of salivary testosterone and training motivation (1-10 rating) were taken on training, competition, and recovery days (up to 40 tests). Using a continuous-time (CT) model, within-person estimates of autoregressive effects (persistence) and cross-lagged effects (relationships) were derived. A stronger, more persistent temporal association was identified for testosterone than for motivation. Cross-lagged effects verified that training motivation was positively related to testosterone at latter time points (p < 0.001). Discrete-time analyses revealed a non-linear association; increasing in strength from a zero-time lag to peak after 2.83 days (standardized effect = 0.25), before dissipation over longer lagged intervals. The testosterone relationship with ensuing training motivation was also positive, but non-significant. Match effects also appeared (p < 0.001) with a predicted decline in training motivation, but a rise in testosterone, at match onset. In summary, a positive association emerged between within-person fluctuations in self-appraised motivation to train and testosterone concentration in an elite rugby environment. The lagged, non-linear nature of this relationship and match predictions on both outcomes support, and extend, theoretical models linking testosterone and competitive behaviors. can affect, both consciously and unconsciously, broad-spectrum motivations to act (Aarts and van Honk, 2009). Furthermore, descriptive and experimental studies indicate that many elements of social motivation (e.g., persistence, perceived physical dominance, status-seeking, competitive endurance, fear reduction) are related, positively, to individual changes or differences in testosterone (
This prospective study explored psychological changes during faith exit and attempted to identify... more This prospective study explored psychological changes during faith exit and attempted to identify individual characteristics of believers who would within a 3-year time frame become disengaged from their faith. Data were collected from 632 Chinese Protestant Christians, of whom 188 left their faith within 3 years after the 1st survey. The faith exiters’ subsequent changes in personality, beliefs, and values, if any, were not any different from what were observed among other Christians. The only exceptions were that fate control belief and stimulation value increased more and religiosity social axiom declined more among the exiters than among those who stayed in faith. Latent growth mixture modeling indicated that about half of the faith exiters would initially experience an improvement in psychological symptoms, and the other half a deterioration. Poor quality of life at baseline was a risk factor for increase in psychological symptoms postexit. Besides being more likely to be a university student, the would-be exiters had a beliefs and values profile that was more similar to that of the nonbelievers than of the believers in other studies. However, with the exception of low emotional stability, the Big Five did not predict exit. The findings strongly suggest that changes in beliefs and values might have begun long before the actual faith exit, whereas personality change, if any, might take a long time after the transition. Changes in psychological symptoms after faith exit can be multitrajectory.
Track 1: Organizational Behavior, Theory, and Development - Paper Session: Evaluations in Organiz... more Track 1: Organizational Behavior, Theory, and Development - Paper Session: Evaluations in Organizations
A. Basic and Translational Sleep Science X. Behavior and Performance Conclusion: Time within a mi... more A. Basic and Translational Sleep Science X. Behavior and Performance Conclusion: Time within a mission and group differentially modulated sleep duration, alertness, fatigue and mood during a 72-hour mission training exercise. Follow-up studies are needed to determine the relationship of these variables to performance outcomes. These findings have important implications for identifying targets of intervention for sustained performance in the military context.
This research was supported in part by a grant from the Hong Kong General Research Fund (Project ... more This research was supported in part by a grant from the Hong Kong General Research Fund (Project number: 17604915). We thank Doris Mok, who passed away in 2016, for her suggestions at the design phase of this project, Sing-hang Cheung for his valuable input on dataanalysis, Wai-Luen Kwok for insights from a theological perspective, and Jasmine Lam for her assistance in data management.
Moderation effects in multiple regression, tested usually by the inclusion of a product term, are... more Moderation effects in multiple regression, tested usually by the inclusion of a product term, are frequently investigated in health psychology. However, several issues in presenting the moderation effects in standardized units and their associated confidence intervals are commonly observed. While an old method had been proposed to standardize variables in moderated regression before fitting a moderated regression model, this method was rarely used due to inconvenience and even when used, the confidence intervals derived were biased. Here, we attempt to solve these two problems by providing a tool to conveniently conduct standardization in moderated regression without the step of standardizing the variables beforehand and to accurately form the nonparametric bootstrapping confidence intervals for this standardized measure of moderation effects. Health psychology researchers are now equipped with a tool that can be used to report and interpret standardized moderation effects correctly. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
Personality and Individual Differences, Aug 1, 2021
Abstract While forgivingness has been associated with health and psychosocial variables, previous... more Abstract While forgivingness has been associated with health and psychosocial variables, previous cross-sectional studies could not address the temporal characteristics of their relationships. To overcome this limitation, the present study investigated longitudinally the antecedents and consequences of forgivingness, as well as the association of mood states and Big Five personality traits with forgivingness. We obtained complete data on forgivingness, Big Five personality traits, and moods across three waves of surveys over six years from 294 participants, and from more participants who completed only one or two waves. Structural equation modelling for the cross-lagged longitudinal analysis was applied, controlling for auto-correlations and effects of external variables. Our data revealed a weak link from conscientiousness to later forgivingness. More importantly, forgivingness predicted emotional stability, agreeableness and less negative moods longitudinally. Our findings challenged the previously-assumed causative roles of Big Five personality traits in forgivingness but corroborated the desirable predictive effects of being forgiving in developing more positive moods and personality characteristics.
Logit models are popular tools for analyzing discrete choice and ranking data. The models assume ... more Logit models are popular tools for analyzing discrete choice and ranking data. The models assume that judges rate each item with a measurable utility, and the ordering of a judge's utilities determines the outcome. Logit models have been proven to be powerful tools, but they become difficult to interpret if the models contain nonlinear and interaction terms. We extended the logit models by adding a decision tree structure to overcome this difficulty. We introduced a new method of tree splitting variable selection that distinguishes the nonlinear and linear effects, and the variable with the strongest nonlinear effect will be selected in the view that linear effect is best modeled using the logit model. Decision trees built in this fashion were shown to have smaller sizes than those using loglikelihood-based splitting criteria. In addition, the proposed splitting methods could save computational time and avoid bias in choosing the optimal splitting variable. Issues on variable selection in logit models are also investigated, and forward selection criterion was shown to work well with logit tree models. Focused on ranking data, simulations are carried out and the results showed that our proposed splitting methods are unbiased. Finally, to demonstrate the feasibility of the logit tree models, they were applied to analyze two datasets, one with binary outcome and the other with ranking outcome.
The extreme scarcity of material resources related to survival needs often hurts wellbeing. This ... more The extreme scarcity of material resources related to survival needs often hurts wellbeing. This occurred during COVID-19 outbreaks when the shortage of face masks and other personal protective equipment intensified the threat. Under this context, we proposed and tested a new model of how better sleep and greater hope may predict less worries, preserving quality of life and wellbeing. Participants aged 18 years or above were recruited from the community in Hong Kong. There were 1,091 online survey responses collected near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals with greater hope or better sleep quality worried less and had better wellbeing, even after accounting for the effects of mask-stock. Moreover, hope and sleep quality have a significantly multiplicative effect to produce superior quality of life and psychological wellbeing, despite a shortage of personal protective equipment. Furthermore, sleep quality, but not mask-stock, predicted flourishing. Our findings underscore the importance of raising awareness of sleep health. During crises, a supply of material resources is critical; yet, boosting hope and promoting sleep quality also support quality of life and flourishing.
Sleep and optimism are important psycho-biological and personality constructs, respectively. Howe... more Sleep and optimism are important psycho-biological and personality constructs, respectively. However, very little work has examined the causal relationship between them, and none has examined the potential mechanisms operating in the relationship. This study aimed to understand whether sleep quality was a cause or an effect of optimism, and whether depressive mood could explain the relationship. Method: Internet survey data were collected from 987 Chinese working adults (63.4% female, 92.4% full-time workers, 27.0% married, 90.2% Hong Kong residents, mean age = 32.59 at three time-points, spanning about 19 months). Measures included a Chinese attributional style questionnaire, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale. Results: Cross-sectional analyses revealed moderate correlations among sleep quality, depressive mood, and optimism. Cross-lagged analyses showed a bidirectional causality between optimism and sleep. Path analysis demonstrated that depressive mood fully mediated the influence of optimism on sleep quality, and it partially mediated the influence of sleep quality on optimism. Conclusion: Optimism improves sleep. Poor sleep makes a pessimist. The effects of sleep quality on optimism could not be fully explained by depressive mood, highlighting the unique role of sleep on optimism. Understanding the mechanisms of the feedback loop of sleep quality, mood, and optimism may provide insights for clinical interventions for individuals presented with mood-related problems.
We investigated in a real-life setting if entity theorists are less likely than incremental theor... more We investigated in a real-life setting if entity theorists are less likely than incremental theorists to change their perception of a target person accordingly with the person’s behavioral changes. While supporting our hypothesis, this study complements previous laboratory studies in implicit personality theory by addressing overlooked ecological validity concerns
In sport, testosterone has been positioned as a substrate for motivation with both directional an... more In sport, testosterone has been positioned as a substrate for motivation with both directional and time dependencies. However, evidence is scarce when considering the complexities of competitive sport and no work has explicitly modeled these dependencies. To address these gaps, we investigated the bidirectional and time-dependent interrelationships between testosterone and training motivation in an elite rugby environment. Thirty-six male athletes were monitored across training weeks before and after eight international rugby matches. Prebreakfast measures of salivary testosterone and training motivation (1-10 rating) were taken on training, competition, and recovery days (up to 40 tests). Using a continuous-time (CT) model, within-person estimates of autoregressive effects (persistence) and cross-lagged effects (relationships) were derived. A stronger, more persistent temporal association was identified for testosterone than for motivation. Cross-lagged effects verified that training motivation was positively related to testosterone at latter time points (p < 0.001). Discrete-time analyses revealed a non-linear association; increasing in strength from a zero-time lag to peak after 2.83 days (standardized effect = 0.25), before dissipation over longer lagged intervals. The testosterone relationship with ensuing training motivation was also positive, but non-significant. Match effects also appeared (p < 0.001) with a predicted decline in training motivation, but a rise in testosterone, at match onset. In summary, a positive association emerged between within-person fluctuations in self-appraised motivation to train and testosterone concentration in an elite rugby environment. The lagged, non-linear nature of this relationship and match predictions on both outcomes support, and extend, theoretical models linking testosterone and competitive behaviors. can affect, both consciously and unconsciously, broad-spectrum motivations to act (Aarts and van Honk, 2009). Furthermore, descriptive and experimental studies indicate that many elements of social motivation (e.g., persistence, perceived physical dominance, status-seeking, competitive endurance, fear reduction) are related, positively, to individual changes or differences in testosterone (
This prospective study explored psychological changes during faith exit and attempted to identify... more This prospective study explored psychological changes during faith exit and attempted to identify individual characteristics of believers who would within a 3-year time frame become disengaged from their faith. Data were collected from 632 Chinese Protestant Christians, of whom 188 left their faith within 3 years after the 1st survey. The faith exiters’ subsequent changes in personality, beliefs, and values, if any, were not any different from what were observed among other Christians. The only exceptions were that fate control belief and stimulation value increased more and religiosity social axiom declined more among the exiters than among those who stayed in faith. Latent growth mixture modeling indicated that about half of the faith exiters would initially experience an improvement in psychological symptoms, and the other half a deterioration. Poor quality of life at baseline was a risk factor for increase in psychological symptoms postexit. Besides being more likely to be a university student, the would-be exiters had a beliefs and values profile that was more similar to that of the nonbelievers than of the believers in other studies. However, with the exception of low emotional stability, the Big Five did not predict exit. The findings strongly suggest that changes in beliefs and values might have begun long before the actual faith exit, whereas personality change, if any, might take a long time after the transition. Changes in psychological symptoms after faith exit can be multitrajectory.
Track 1: Organizational Behavior, Theory, and Development - Paper Session: Evaluations in Organiz... more Track 1: Organizational Behavior, Theory, and Development - Paper Session: Evaluations in Organizations
A. Basic and Translational Sleep Science X. Behavior and Performance Conclusion: Time within a mi... more A. Basic and Translational Sleep Science X. Behavior and Performance Conclusion: Time within a mission and group differentially modulated sleep duration, alertness, fatigue and mood during a 72-hour mission training exercise. Follow-up studies are needed to determine the relationship of these variables to performance outcomes. These findings have important implications for identifying targets of intervention for sustained performance in the military context.
This research was supported in part by a grant from the Hong Kong General Research Fund (Project ... more This research was supported in part by a grant from the Hong Kong General Research Fund (Project number: 17604915). We thank Doris Mok, who passed away in 2016, for her suggestions at the design phase of this project, Sing-hang Cheung for his valuable input on dataanalysis, Wai-Luen Kwok for insights from a theological perspective, and Jasmine Lam for her assistance in data management.
Moderation effects in multiple regression, tested usually by the inclusion of a product term, are... more Moderation effects in multiple regression, tested usually by the inclusion of a product term, are frequently investigated in health psychology. However, several issues in presenting the moderation effects in standardized units and their associated confidence intervals are commonly observed. While an old method had been proposed to standardize variables in moderated regression before fitting a moderated regression model, this method was rarely used due to inconvenience and even when used, the confidence intervals derived were biased. Here, we attempt to solve these two problems by providing a tool to conveniently conduct standardization in moderated regression without the step of standardizing the variables beforehand and to accurately form the nonparametric bootstrapping confidence intervals for this standardized measure of moderation effects. Health psychology researchers are now equipped with a tool that can be used to report and interpret standardized moderation effects correctly. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
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