Ulrich Schimmack
Biographic Data
| ID | 186954 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Ulrich Schimmack |
| GIVEN NAMES | Ulrich |
| FAMILY NAME | Schimmack |
| SIGNATURE | SCHIMMACK U |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Toronto |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9456-5536 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 51 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 422 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 51 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1996 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 13 |
A response to Pek et al.’s commentary on Z-curve: Clarifying the assumptions of selection models
) and raise concerns about the use of z-curve to evaluate the credibility of emotion research. Their central criticism is based on simulations showing that z-curve can overestimate the expected discovery rate when selection operates not only at the level of statistical significance but also within the set of significant results as a function of effect size. This point is correct: if researchers selectively publish larger significant effects while…
How credible are published significant results: Estimating average true power with P-Curve or Z-curve
Credibility of results in emotion science: A Z -curve analysis of results in the journals Cognition & Emotion and Emotion
curve estimates, we predict a 15% and 70% success rate in replication studies. Therefore, replication studies should increase sample sizes to avoid type-II errors. The risk of false positives with the traditional alpha level of 5% is between 5% and 33%. Lowering alpha to 1% is sufficient to reduce the false positive risk to less than 5%. In sum, our findings may alleviate concerns about high false positive rates among emotional researchers. Howev…
Valence explains how and why positive affects and negative affects correlate: A conceptual replication and extension of Diener et al.’s (1995) the personality structure of affect
Diener et al. (1995) used a multimethod approach to test a hierarchical model of trait affect. The model suggests that specific trait affects are related to each other by two, distinct, but negatively correlated factors. We report the results of a conceptual replication study that addressed several limitations of Diener et al.'s (1995) study. We used three ethnically diverse samples which included a group of undergraduates along with both of thei…
The Implicit Association Test: A Method in Search of a Construct
In 1998, Greenwald, McGhee, and Schwartz proposed that the Implicit Association Test (IAT) measures individual differences in implicit social cognition. This claim requires evidence of construct validity. I review the evidence and show that there is insufficient evidence for this claim. Most important, I show that few studies were able to test discriminant validity of the IAT as a measure of implicit constructs. I examine discriminant validity in…
Invalid Claims About the Validity of Implicit Association Tests by Prisoners of the Implicit Social-Cognition Paradigm
In a prior publication, I used structural equation modeling of multimethod data to examine the construct validity of Implicit Association Tests. The results showed no evidence that IATs measure implicit constructs (e.g., implicit self-esteem, implicit racial bias). This critique of IATs elicited several responses by implicit social-cognition researchers, who tried to defend the validity and usefulness of IATs. I carefully examine these arguments …
The Social Ecology of Covid-19 Cases and Deaths in New York City: The Role of Walkability, Wealth, and Race
The present research examined the zip code level (177 zip codes) prevalence of and deaths associated with COVID-19 in New York City as of May 22, 2020. Walkable zip codes had consistently lower prevalence of ( r = −.49) and deaths ( r = −.15) associated with COVID-19. The mediation analysis showed that the degree of reduction in actual geographical mobility during the lockdown (measured by smartphone GIS data) accounted for geographical variation…
Construct validity of global life-satisfaction judgments: A look into the black box of self–informant agreement
An integrated model of social psychological and personality psychological perspectives on personality and wellbeing
Extraversion and life satisfaction: A cross‐cultural examination of student and nationally representative samples
OBJECTIVE: Previous research on Extraversion and life satisfaction suggests that extraverted individuals are more satisfied with their lives. However, existing studies provide inflated effect sizes, as they were based on simple correlations. In five studies, the authors provide better estimates of the relationship between Extraversion and life satisfaction. METHOD: The current study examined student and nationally representative samples from Cana…
Progressive taxation, income inequality, and happiness
Income inequality has become one of the more widely debated social issues today. The current article explores the role of progressive taxation in income inequality and happiness. Using historical data in the United States from 1962 to 2014, we found that income inequality was substantially smaller in years when the income tax was more progressive (i.e., a higher tax rate for higher income brackets), even when controlling for variables like stock …
Sexual Frequency Predicts Greater Well-Being, But More is Not Always Better
Is it true that engaging in more frequent sex is associated with greater well-being? The media emphasizes—and research supports—the claim that the more sex you have, the happier you will feel. Across three studies ( N = 30,645), we demonstrate that the association between sexual frequency and well-being is best described by a curvilinear (as opposed to a linear) association where sex is no longer associated with well-being at a frequency of more …
The Role of Positive Self-Evaluation on Cross-Cultural Differences in Well-Being
Past studies have shown that North Americans have higher well-being compared with East Asians. Objective living conditions (e.g., wealth, education, personal and political freedom) have been found to substantially contribute to North Americans’ higher well-being. One other possible explanation is that North American culture fosters positive evaluations of the self to enhance self-esteem and to feel positive emotions, which may lead North American…
Stability and change of personality traits, self-esteem, and well-being: Introducing the meta-analytic stability and change model of retest correlations
The stability of individual differences is a fundamental issue in personality psychology. Although accumulating evidence suggests that many psychological attributes are both stable and change over time, existing research rarely takes advantage of theoretical models that capture both stability and change. In this article, we present the Meta-Analytic Stability and Change model (MASC), a novel meta-analytic model for synthesizing data from longitud…
The ironic effect of significant results on the credibility of multiple-study articles.
Cohen (1962) pointed out the importance of statistical power for psychology as a science, but statistical power of studies has not increased, while the number of studies in a single article has increased. It has been overlooked that multiple studies with modest power have a high probability of producing nonsignificant results because power decreases as a function of the number of statistical tests that are being conducted (Maxwell, 2004). The dis…
Cultural differences in self- and other-evaluations and well-being: A study of European and Asian Canadians
Anusic, Schimmack, Pinkus, and Lockwood (2009) developed the halo-alpha-beta (HAB) model to separate halo variance from variance due to valid personality traits and other sources of measurement error in self-ratings of personality. The authors used a twin-HAB model of self-ratings and ratings of a partner (friend or dating partner) to test several hypotheses about culture, evaluative biases in self- and other-perceptions, and well-being. Particip…
The effects of romantic partners’ goal congruence on affective well-being
Stability and variability in the relationship between subjective well-being and income
Effect of Changes in Living Conditions on Well-Being: A Prospective Top-Down Bottom-Up Model
Examining sources of self-informant agreement in life-satisfaction judgments
Acquaintanceship length as a moderator of self-informant agreement in life-satisfaction ratings
For my eyes only: Gaze control, enmeshment, and relationship quality
Perceived closeness that preserves the distinctness of each partner enhances intimate relationship quality, whereas pseudocloseness or enmeshment--reflecting an inability to distinguish one's own thoughts and emotions from a partner's--may have more negative outcomes (R. J. Green & P. D. Werner, 1996). Two studies investigated whether a dispositional inability to differentiate self from other is manifested at the attentional level as reduced capa…
Residential mobility, well-being, and mortality
We tested the relation between residential mobility and well-being in a sample of 7,108 American adults who were followed for 10 years. The more residential moves participants had experienced as children, the lower the levels of well-being as adults. As predicted, however, the negative association between the number of residential moves and well-being was observed among introverts but not among extraverts. We further demonstrated that the negativ…
Environmental Influences on Well-Being: A Dyadic Latent Panel Analysis of Spousal Similarity
Stability and Change of Well Being: An Experimentally Enhanced Latent State-Trait-Error Analysis
Culture, personality, and subjective well-being: Integrating process models of life satisfaction
The authors examined the interplay of personality and cultural factors in the prediction of the affective (hedonic balance) and the cognitive (life satisfaction) components of subjective well-being (SWB). They predicted that the influence of personality on life satisfaction is mediated by hedonic balance and that the relation between hedonic balance and life satisfaction is moderated by culture. As a consequence, they predicted that the influence…
The Influence of Environment and Personality on the Affective and Cognitive Component of Subjective Well-being
The influence of chronically and temporarily accessible information on life satisfaction judgments
The authors examined the influence of temporarily and chronically accessible information on life satisfaction judgments. Meta-analyses revealed high retest-reliability of life satisfaction judgments and weak effects of the item order of domain and global satisfaction judgments. Study 1 (N=225) failed to replicate a widely cited finding of strong item-order effects. In Studies 2 (N=100), 3 (N=200), and 4 (N=222), chronically accessible information…
Self-Informant Agreement in Well-Being Ratings: A Meta-Analysis
Effect of Changes in Living Conditions on Well-Being: A Prospective Top-Down Bottom-Up Model
The nature and structure of correlations among Big Five ratings: The halo-alpha-beta model
In light of consistently observed correlations among Big Five ratings, the authors developed and tested a model that combined E. L. Thorndike's (1920) general evaluative bias (halo) model and J. M. Digman's (1997) higher order personality factors (alpha and beta) model. With 4 multitrait-multimethod analyses, Study 1 revealed moderate convergent validity for alpha and beta across raters, whereas halo was mainly a unique factor for each rater. In …
Stability and Change of Well Being: An Experimentally Enhanced Latent State-Trait-Error Analysis
Residential mobility, well-being, and mortality
We tested the relation between residential mobility and well-being in a sample of 7,108 American adults who were followed for 10 years. The more residential moves participants had experienced as children, the lower the levels of well-being as adults. As predicted, however, the negative association between the number of residential moves and well-being was observed among introverts but not among extraverts. We further demonstrated that the negativ…
Environmental Influences on Well-Being: A Dyadic Latent Panel Analysis of Spousal Similarity
Predictive validity of explicit and implicit self-esteem for subjective well-being
Stability and change of personality traits, self-esteem, and well-being: Introducing the meta-analytic stability and change model of retest correlations
The stability of individual differences is a fundamental issue in personality psychology. Although accumulating evidence suggests that many psychological attributes are both stable and change over time, existing research rarely takes advantage of theoretical models that capture both stability and change. In this article, we present the Meta-Analytic Stability and Change model (MASC), a novel meta-analytic model for synthesizing data from longitud…
Income and well-being: How big is the gap between the rich and the poor
Affect intensity: Separating intensity and frequency in repeatedly measured affect
frequency as separable components in repeatedly measured affect. In this article, an improved way of differentiating intensity and frequency of affect is proposed that permits one to measure affect intensity separately for each emotion of interest. The results of 3 studies using this method provide further support for the affect intensity construct and demonstrate the superiority of the new approach. In addition, a new measure based on intensity …
The effects of romantic partners’ goal congruence on affective well-being
For better and for worse: Everyday social comparisons between romantic partners
The authors examined the frequency, direction, and impact of social comparisons between romantic partners. Comparisons were expected to occur on a daily basis, owing to regular interactions between partners. To the extent that one empathizes and shares outcomes with one's partner, one might respond more positively to upward than to downward comparisons. Study 1a was an experience-sampling study in which participants reported comparisons made to t…
The measurement of values across cultures: A pairwise comparison approach
Examining sources of self-informant agreement in life-satisfaction judgments
Acquaintanceship length as a moderator of self-informant agreement in life-satisfaction ratings
Stability and variability in the relationship between subjective well-being and income
Cultural differences in self- and other-evaluations and well-being: A study of European and Asian Canadians
Anusic, Schimmack, Pinkus, and Lockwood (2009) developed the halo-alpha-beta (HAB) model to separate halo variance from variance due to valid personality traits and other sources of measurement error in self-ratings of personality. The authors used a twin-HAB model of self-ratings and ratings of a partner (friend or dating partner) to test several hypotheses about culture, evaluative biases in self- and other-perceptions, and well-being. Particip…
The contextual and systematic nature of life satisfaction judgments
Cultural Influences on the Recognition of Emotion by Facial Expressions: Individualistic or Caucasian Cultures
Cross-cultural studies on the recognition of facial expressions of emotions were reanalyzed. It was found that (a) number of emotions included in the stimulus set influenced the accuracy scores; and (b) that Caucasian judges recognized emotions better than non-Caucasian ones. The latter effect may have been due to the culturally biased stimulus sets used in the studies, or to stricter display rules in non-Caucasian cultures. Correlations of the a…
Validity of a happiness Implicit Association Test as a measure of subjective well-being
The value-congruence model of memory for emotional experiences: An explanation for cultural differences in emotional self-reports
In 3 studies, the authors found support for the value-congruence model that accounts for cultural variations in memory for emotional experiences. In Study 1, the authors found that in the made-in-the-U.S. scenario condition, European Americans were more accurate than were Asian Americans in their retrospective frequency judgments of emotions. However, in the made-in-Japan scenario condition, European Americans were less accurate than were Asian A…
Individual differences in the memory representation of emotional episodes: Exploring the cognitive processes in repression
Two studies investigated the influence of a repressive coping style on the availability and accessibility of emotion memories. In Study 1 participants rated the presence and intensity of emotions in several scenarios and then estimated the frequency of emotions in the scenarios. Repressors did not process the scenarios more superficially. Repressors indicated the presence of unpleasant emotions in the scenarios less frequently, but not less inten…
Cultural Influences on the Recognition of Emotion by Facial Expressions: Individualistic or Caucasian Cultures
Cross-cultural studies on the recognition of facial expressions of emotions were reanalyzed. It was found that (a) number of emotions included in the stimulus set influenced the accuracy scores; and (b) that Caucasian judges recognized emotions better than non-Caucasian ones. The latter effect may have been due to the culturally biased stimulus sets used in the studies, or to stricter display rules in non-Caucasian cultures. Correlations of the a…
Cognitive processes involved in similarity judgments of emotions
This article challenges the prevailing, semantic view of the cognitive processes underlying similarity judgments of emotions, which assumes that these judgments are based on a property comparison process. An alternative view is proposed, according to which judgments of emotion similarity reflect impressions of the degree of co-occurrence of emotions in everyday life. This episodic model of similarity judgments was compared in 2 studies with the m…
Individual differences in the memory representation of emotional episodes: Exploring the cognitive processes in repression
Two studies investigated the influence of a repressive coping style on the availability and accessibility of emotion memories. In Study 1 participants rated the presence and intensity of emotions in several scenarios and then estimated the frequency of emotions in the scenarios. Repressors did not process the scenarios more superficially. Repressors indicated the presence of unpleasant emotions in the scenarios less frequently, but not less inten…
Affect intensity: Separating intensity and frequency in repeatedly measured affect
frequency as separable components in repeatedly measured affect. In this article, an improved way of differentiating intensity and frequency of affect is proposed that permits one to measure affect intensity separately for each emotion of interest. The results of 3 studies using this method provide further support for the affect intensity construct and demonstrate the superiority of the new approach. In addition, a new measure based on intensity …
Cultural influences on the relation between pleasant emotions and unpleasant emotions: Asian dialectic philosophies or individualism-collectivism?
The present study examined the hypothesis that Asian cultures' dialectical way of thinking influences emotion reports. A dialectical way of thinking sees emotions of the opposite valence (e.g., happy, sad) as compatible with each other. In contrast, Western philosophy considers these emotions to be in conflict with each other. We examined correlations between frequency estimates of pleasant emotions (FPE) and frequency estimates of unpleasant emo…
Life‐Satisfaction Is a Momentary Judgment and a Stable Personality Characteristic: The Use of Chronically Accessible and Stable Sources
Social cognition research indicates that life‐satisfaction judgments are based on a selected set of relevant information that is accessible at the time of the life‐satisfaction judgment. Personality research indicates that life‐satisfaction judgments are quite stable over extended periods of time and predicted by personality traits. The present article integrates these two research traditions. We propose that people rely on the same sources to fo…
Experiencing activation: Energetic arousal and tense arousal are not mixtures of valence and activation
Experiencing activation: Energetic arousal and tense arousal are not mixtures of valence and activation
R. E. Thayer (1989) proposed 2 types of activation: energetic arousal (awake-tired) and tense arousal (tense-calm). This view has been challenged by claims that energetic arousal and tense arousal are mixtures of valence and a single activation dimension. The authors present a direct test of this hypothesis by computing the correlation between the residuals of energetic arousal and tense arousal after removing the shared variance with valence. Wh…
Culture, personality, and subjective well-being: Integrating process models of life satisfaction
The authors examined the interplay of personality and cultural factors in the prediction of the affective (hedonic balance) and the cognitive (life satisfaction) components of subjective well-being (SWB). They predicted that the influence of personality on life satisfaction is mediated by hedonic balance and that the relation between hedonic balance and life satisfaction is moderated by culture. As a consequence, they predicted that the influence…
Predictive validity of explicit and implicit self-esteem for subjective well-being
The contextual and systematic nature of life satisfaction judgments
Personality and Life Satisfaction: A Facet-Level Analysis
At the global level of the Big Five, Extraversion and Neuroticism are the strongest predictors of life satisfaction. However, Extraversion and Neuroticism are multifaceted constructs that combine more specific traits. This article examined the contribution of facets of Extraversion and Neuroticism to life satisfaction in four studies. The depression facet of Neuroticism and the positive emotions/cheerfulness facet of Extraversion were the stronge…
Individualism: A Valid and Important Dimension of Cultural Differences Between Nations
Oyserman, Coon, and Kemmelmeier's (2002) meta-analysis suggested problems in the measurement of individualism and collectivism. Studies using Hofstede's individualism scores show little convergent validity with more recent measures of individualism and collectivism. We propose that the lack of convergent validity is due to national differences in response styles. Whereas Hofstede statistically controlledfor response styles, Oyserman et al.'s meta…
Attentional Interference Effects of Emotional Pictures: Threat, Negativity, or Arousal
Attentional interference arising from emotional pictures was examined. Participants had to ignore emotional pictures while solving math problems (Study 1, N = 126) or detecting the location of a line (Study 2, N = 60). Data analyses tested predictions of 3 theories. Evolutionary threat theory predicts interference by snake pictures. Categorical negativity theory predicts interference by negative pictures regardless of their intensity. According t…
The measurement of values across cultures: A pairwise comparison approach
The influence of chronically and temporarily accessible information on life satisfaction judgments
The authors examined the influence of temporarily and chronically accessible information on life satisfaction judgments. Meta-analyses revealed high retest-reliability of life satisfaction judgments and weak effects of the item order of domain and global satisfaction judgments. Study 1 (N=225) failed to replicate a widely cited finding of strong item-order effects. In Studies 2 (N=100), 3 (N=200), and 4 (N=222), chronically accessible information…
The role of attention and relatedness in emotionally enhanced memory
Examining the positive and negative pictures separately revealed that emotionally enhanced memory (EEM) for positive pictures was mediated by attention, with no significant influence of emotional arousal, whereas the reverse was true of negative pictures. Consistent with this finding, in Experiment 2 EEM for negative pictures was found even when task emphasis was manipulated so that equivalent attention was allocated to negative and neutral pictu…
The value-congruence model of memory for emotional experiences: An explanation for cultural differences in emotional self-reports
In 3 studies, the authors found support for the value-congruence model that accounts for cultural variations in memory for emotional experiences. In Study 1, the authors found that in the made-in-the-U.S. scenario condition, European Americans were more accurate than were Asian Americans in their retrospective frequency judgments of emotions. However, in the made-in-Japan scenario condition, European Americans were less accurate than were Asian A…
Validity of a happiness Implicit Association Test as a measure of subjective well-being
The role of dorsolateral prefrontal function in relationship commitment
For better and for worse: Everyday social comparisons between romantic partners
The authors examined the frequency, direction, and impact of social comparisons between romantic partners. Comparisons were expected to occur on a daily basis, owing to regular interactions between partners. To the extent that one empathizes and shares outcomes with one's partner, one might respond more positively to upward than to downward comparisons. Study 1a was an experience-sampling study in which participants reported comparisons made to t…
The Influence of Environment and Personality on the Affective and Cognitive Component of Subjective Well-being
Well-Being for Public Policy
The case is made for implementing national accounts of well-being to help policy makers and individuals make better decisions. Well-being is defined as people's evaluations of their lives, including concepts such as life satisfaction and happiness, and is similar to the concept of “utility” in economics. Measures of well-being in organizations, states, and nations can provide people with useful information. Importantly, accounts of well-being can…
Income and well-being: How big is the gap between the rich and the poor
The nature and structure of correlations among Big Five ratings: The halo-alpha-beta model
In light of consistently observed correlations among Big Five ratings, the authors developed and tested a model that combined E. L. Thorndike's (1920) general evaluative bias (halo) model and J. M. Digman's (1997) higher order personality factors (alpha and beta) model. With 4 multitrait-multimethod analyses, Study 1 revealed moderate convergent validity for alpha and beta across raters, whereas halo was mainly a unique factor for each rater. In …
Psychology (46 works) · Social Psychology (45 works) · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction (28 works) · Developmental psychology (26 works) · Life satisfaction (17 works) · Cultural Differences and Values (15 works) · Social Psychology (15 works) · Personality (14 works) · Cognitive psychology (13 works) · Behavioral Health and Interventions (11 works)