Faking it: Personality and individual difference predictors of willingness to buy counterfeit goods

Counterfeiting is now widely regarded as a serious social, economic, and political issue. This study examined demographic, personality, and individual difference predictors of willingness to buy counterfeit goods (WBCG) in a community sample of British adults. Two-hundred and thirty-seven participants completed a questionnaire that assessed their willingness to buy 19 types of counterfeit goods, attitudes towards counterfeiting, material values, Big Five personality traits, and demographics. Structural equation modelling showed that attitudes towards counterfeiting were the strongest predictors of WBCG. In addition, material values predicted both WBCG directly and indirectly through attitudes towards counterfeiting. Older participants showed lower WBCG, although this effect was moderated by participants’ conscientiousness, material values, and attitudes towards counterfeiting. There were no sex differences in WBCG once participants’ age and conscientiousness had been taken into account. These results are discussed in relation to the extant literature on the profiles of consumers who buy counterfeit products.     

Psychometric Evaluation of the Tagalog and German Subjective Happiness Scales and a Cross-Cultural Comparison

The Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) has recently been developed as a more complete measure for the assessment of molar subjective happiness. In the present study, we report on the translation and validation of German and Tagalog versions of the SHS and conduct an initial cross-cultural examination of subjective happiness. In Study 1, 960 participants in Austria completed a German version of the SHS, which showed a unidimensional structure, good internal consistency, and good convergent validity with other measures of subjective well-being. In Study 2, 182 participants in the Philippines completed a Tagalog version of the scale, which likewise had a unidimensional structure, high internal consistency, and good convergent validity. Finally, the results of Study 3 indicate that there were significant cross-cultural differences in subjective happiness. Specifically, participants in individualist Austria and Britain had higher SHS scores than their counterparts in collectivist Malaysia and the Philippines. Limitations of these studies are discussed.     

Reanalysis of Dose-Response Data from the Iraqi Methylmercury Poisoning Episode

Applying a hockey stick parametric dose-response model to data on late or retarded development in Iraqi children exposed in utero to methylmercury, with mercury (Hg) exposure characterized by the peak Hg concentration in mothers'hair during pregnancy, Cox et al. calculated the "best statistical estimate" of the threshold for health effects as 10 ppm Hg in hair with a 95% range of uncertainty of between 0 and 13.6 ppm.⁽¹⁾A new application of the hockey stick model to the Iraqi data shows, however, that the statistical upper limit of the threshold based on the hockey stick model could be as high as 255 ppm. Furthermore, the maximum likelihood estimate of the threshold using a different parametric model is virtually zero. These and other analyses demonstrate that threshold estimates based on parametric models exhibit high statistical variability and model dependency, and are highly sensitive to the precise definition of an abnormal response. Consequently, they are not a reliable basis for setting a reference dose (RfD) for methylmercury. Benchmark analyses and statistical analyses useful for deriving NOAELs are also presented. We believe these latter analyses—particularly the benchmark analyses—generally form a sounder basis for determining RfDs than the type of hockey stick analysis presented by Cox et al. However, the acute nature of the exposures, as well as other limitations in the Iraqi data suggest that other data may be more appropriate for determining acceptable human exposures to methylmercury.     

Psychometric Evaluation of the Malay Satisfaction With Life Scale

The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) is one of the most widely used scales for the measurement of subjective well-being across the globe, but no satisfactory version exists for use among Malay-speaking populations. The present study reports on the translation of a new Malay SWLS and examines its psychometric properties in a community sample of 816 Malay and 738 Chinese participants from Malaysia. Results showed that the Malay SWLS had good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.83). Confirmatory factor analysis showed support for a unidimensional factor structure which remained invariant across sex and ethnic group. These results suggest that the Malay SWLS is a valid and reliable measure of life satisfaction for Malay-speaking samples, and extends the list of available scales for measuring subjective well-being among such groups.     

Translation and Validation of the Malay Subjective Happiness Scale

The Subjective Happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky and Lepper, Social Indicators Research, 46, 137–155, 1999) is a brief measure for assessing subjective happiness. The reliability and validity of the Malay version of the Subjective Happiness Scale was investigated in a community sample of 290 Chinese and 227 Malays in Malaysia. Results showed that the Malay Subjective Happiness Scale has excellent internal consistency, a unitary structure, and stability over a 30-day period and across ethnic groups. Moreover, the Malay version of the scale exhibited good convergent validity with single-item happiness scales. The availability of the Malay Subjective Happiness Scale is expected to facilitate the examination of happiness in Malay-speaking populations.