407 publications from this institution
Multivariate psychological processes have recently been studied, visualized, and analyzed as networks. In this network approach, psychological constructs are represented as complex systems of interacting components. In addition to insightful visualization of dynamics, a network perspective leads to a new way of thinking about the nature of psychological phenomena by offering new tools for studying dynamical processes in psychology. In this article, we explain the rationale of the network approach, the associated methods and visualization, and illustrate it using an empirical example focusing on the relation between the daily fluctuations of emotions and neuroticism. The results suggest that individuals with high levels of neuroticism had a denser emotion network compared with their less neurotic peers. This effect is especially pronounced for the negative emotion network, which is in line with previous studies that found a denser network in depressed subjects than in healthy subjects. In sum, we show how the network approach may offer new tools for studying dynamical processes in psychology.
One of the key concepts in the research on political attitudes is attitude strength. Strong attitudes are durable and impactful, while weak attitudes are fluctuating and inconsequential. Recently, the Causal Attitude Network (CAN) model was proposed as a comprehensive measurement model of attitudes. In this model, attitudes are conceptualized as networks of causally connected evaluative reactions (i.e., beliefs, feelings, and behavior toward an attitude object). Here, we test the central postulate of the CAN model that strong attitudes correspond to highly connected attitude networks. We use data from the American National Election Studies 1980-2012 on attitudes toward presidential candidates (total n = 18,795). The results show that attitude strength and connectivity of attitude networks are strongly related. Additional analyses show that connections between non-behavioral evaluative reactions (i.e., beliefs and feelings toward presidential candidates) are highly predictive of the connections between behavior (i.e., voting decisions) and non-behavioral evaluative reactions. This result indicates that connectivity of political attitude networks accounts for differences between strong and weak attitudes in attitude-behavior consistency with respect to voting decisions. We conclude that network theory provides a promising framework to advance the understanding of attitude strength.
Descriptives per condition. We implemented experimental conditions in eight time slots. SDSs were only handed out during these times. Six experimental conditions lasted two hours, while two lasted one hour. Except in the buzzer conditions, the SDS was covered in a black bag so the flashing light was invisible.
