<Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis> squared effect-size measures and overlap between direct and indirect effect in mediation analysis

In a recent article in this journal (Fairchild, MacKinnon, Taborga & Taylor, 2009), a method was described for computing the variance accounted for by the direct effect and the indirect effect in mediation analysis. However, application of this method leads to counterintuitive results, most notably that in some situations in which the direct effect is much stronger than the indirect effect, the latter appears to explain much more variance than the former. The explanation for this is that the Fairchild et al. method handles the strong interdependence of the direct and indirect effect in a way that assigns all overlap variance to the indirect effect. Two approaches for handling this overlap are discussed, but none of them is without disadvantages.     

The differential effects of brief exposures and surrounding contours on direct and indirect tilt illusions

Four experiments in which logarithmic intervals between 25 and 1600 ms were used for stimulus duration in tests for the tilt illusion are reported. It is demonstrated that the direct and the indirect tilt illusions both increase in magnitude inversely with length of stimulus presentation. The data suggest that whereas the direct effect peaks with a value of about +7 degrees at the shortest flash duration used (25 ms), peak indirect effects (of about +2 degrees) do not occur at this duration. In addition, whereas direct effects level out after 100 ms stimulus exposure times, to the usual magnitude obtained with long presentations (about +2 degrees), indirect effects reach their standard magnitude (-0.5 degrees to -1.0 degrees) later, at exposures of about 400 ms. Even at very short flash durations, a luminance square frame surrounding the illusion display reduces the indirect effect by two thirds of its magnitude but has no effect at all on the direct effect. It is suggested that direct effects arise early in visual processing, in area V1, where there are transient mechanisms and where corruption of orientation analysis by the inducing grating would occur prior to later, extrastriate, global analysis of the surrounding peripheral frame. Indirect effects, on the other hand, may arise later, along the sustained parvocellular colour-form pathway, where more global processing occurs and susceptibility to surrounding fields might be expected.     

POWER STRATEGIES IN INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS The Effects of Expertise and Gender

The present study was designed to examine the effects of both power and gender in the use of influence strategies. Women and men responded to three scenarios in which they interacted with an imagined partner in situations with different levels of interpersonal power: more power than their partner (expert), less power (novice), and the same amount of power (equivalent). Partners were either same sex or other sex. Participants used more direct strategies when they were experts and more indirect strategies when they were novices, and women and men were very similar in the strategies they selected. Overall, power differences had a more profound effect than gender in predicting the choice of influence strategies. What are often construed as gender differences in social influence probably are perceived power differences. As such, gender differences in behavior must be understood within a context of status and power.     

母亲心理控制与青少年问题性网络使用：非适应性认知的中介作用

本研究旨在考察母亲心理控制对青少年问题性网络使用（PIU）的直接和间接作用路径,以及这些路径是否受到性别的调节。以四所初级中学660名青少年为被试,要求其报告母亲的心理控制、非适应性网络认知以及问题性网络使用的情况。结果表明：（1）在控制了性别、年龄、家庭经济状况后,母亲心理控制对青少年PIU具有显著的正向预测作用;（2）非适应性认知在母亲心理控制与PIU之间具有部分中介作用;（3）母亲心理控制与PIU的直接关系（包括总效应和残余效应）以及间接关系（包括心理控制与非适应性认知的关系和非适应性认知与PIU的关系）均未受到性别的调节。研究结果说明母亲心理控制既直接影响青少年PIU,同时也通过非适应性认知产生间接影响,这些直接和间接路径在本研究中未表现出性别差异。     

Scaling of saturation and hue

The study concerns the relation of saturation to the purity and luminance of aperture colors viewed in a dark surround. For the primary hues, red, yellow, green, and blue, and the intermediate hues, orange and yellowish green, the saturations increased as power functions of colorimetric purity. An IS-dB increase in luminance caused a threefold increase in the exponent for yellow, but luminance had little effect on the exponents of the other colors. The direct heterochromatic matching of saturation to saturation confirmed the validity of the scales determined by magnitude estimation and led to the construction of families of saturation scales based on a common unit called a crome. Equisection and jnd scales were also determined. Their nonlinearity suggests that saturation is a prothetic continuum. It was found that mixing red or green with yellow behaves much the same as mixing red or green with achromatic light. The changes in hue behave as prothetic continua, for the equisection and jnd scales are nonlinearly related to the power-function scales obtained by magnitude estimation and matching.     

The semantic congruity effect: Some tests of the expectancy hypothesis

Subjects comparing items in memory along some dimension are usually quicker to specify the lesser (than the greater) of two low magnitude items and the greater (than the lesser) of two high magnitude ones. One account explains this congruity effect as due to subjects instructed to specify the higher as expecting high magnitude items to follow and the reverse being true for subjects specifying the lesser. Three experiments tested this expectancy hypothesis. In experiment 1, subjects were set to the actual size range of each pair before the pair was shown but the congruity effect still occurred. In experiments 2 and 3, subjects compared critical pairs from a narrow size range plus more from either the same or much broader ranges. Times to compare the critical pairs were the same regardless of the range of the other pairs that subjects were exposed to. These results are strong evidence against the expectancy hypothesis.     

Use of indirect addition in adults' mental subtraction in the number domain up to 1,000

This study examined adults' use of indirect addition and direct subtraction strategies on multi-digit subtractions in the number domain up to 1,000. Seventy students who differed in their level of arithmetic ability solved multi-digit subtractions in one choice and two no-choice conditions. Against the background of recent findings in elementary subtraction, we manipulated the size of the subtrahend compared to the difference and only selected items with large distances between these two integers. Results revealed that adults frequently and efficiently apply indirect addition on multi-digit subtractions, yet adults with higher arithmetic ability performed more efficiently than those with lower arithmetic ability. In both groups, indirect addition was more efficient than direct subtraction both on subtractions with a subtrahend much larger than the difference (e.g., 713 - 695) and on subtractions with a subtrahend much smaller than the difference (e.g., 613 - 67). Unexpectedly, only adults with lower arithmetic ability fitted their strategy choices to their individual strategy performance skills. Results are interpreted in terms of mathematical and cognitive perspectives on strategy efficiency and adaptiveness.     

Stevens vs Fechner: A plea for dismissal of the case

Fechner's Law is based on the assumption that jnd's can be concatenated in order to get a measure of sensation. Stevens contended this assumption; he argued that measurement of sensation by measuring jnd's is ‘indirect’. His ‘direct’ methods, however, appear to be much less direct than originally assumed. Especially Stevens' (implicit) assumption that subjects use numbers on an absolute scale appears to be unwarranted. Ratio scaling is therefore nothing more than cross-modality matching between the number scale and another modality. This view has two consequences. Firstly, it is quite natural to find power functions by cross-modality matching, even when Fechner's Law holds for both modalities. Secondly, if Stevens' power law is true, there will be an overestimation of all exponents by a factor 2.5. All typical power functions will be concave downward after correction for this effect. The discussion boils down to a discrimination between two quite similar curve families: log functions and power functions with an exponent below 0.6. The practical significance of this discussion is doubted.     

大学生核心自我评价、学业倦怠对厌学现象的影响

采用问卷法对362名大学生进行问卷调查, 探讨核心自我评价、学业倦怠对厌学现象的影响。结果发现:(1)核心自我评价、学业倦怠各维度与厌学现象有不同程度的相关关系;(2)结构方程模型结果显示:a.核心自我评价对厌学情绪、厌学行为存在直接和间接效应;b.厌学情绪-厌学行为存在分离现象;c.核心自我评价对厌学情绪的直接效应和间接效应相当, 对厌学行为的直接效应明显大于间接效应;d.学业倦怠在核心自我评价对厌学情绪和厌学行为的影响中存在中介作用。     

Donation to charity and purchase of cause‐related products: The influence of existential guilt and experience

Charity donation is an important prosocial behaviour that is often generated/strengthened by emotional stimuli from advertising. A similar strategy is often used to trigger the purchase of cause‐related products. The two activities represent direct and indirect methods of financial support and are important topics for researchers and practitioners. Charity donation and purchase of cause‐related products are typically investigated on the basis of different theoretical backgrounds; therefore, they are almost never directly compared with each other. However, the two share some similarities from the perspectives of the donor/buyer and the donation recipient. This article aims to analyse how direct and indirect donation behaviours are influenced by the same emotional stimulus (existential guilt generated by a visual advertisement). In parallel, this article examines the possible moderation effect of similar past behaviours. The study is performed by surveying 374 respondents in Lithuania. Results confirmed that the same emotion (existential guilt) had a direct positive impact on the intention towards both studied behaviours. However, the moderation effect of experience was observed only in the relationship between existential guilt and the intention to donate to charity, signalling the difference in its influence on the two behaviours. These findings enrich the knowledge of the similarities and differences between direct (donating to charity) and indirect (purchasing cause‐related products) donation behaviours. Additionally, it fills in the knowledge gap regarding the relation between the intentions of prosocial behaviours and existential guilt as an advertising appeal.     

两种条件下的妒忌分离:间接测量的优势

通过间接测量和直接测量考察被试的妒忌感受(实验1),并测量两种测量条件下被试的敏感性和反应偏向的分离(实验2).结果发现:间接测量组的被试比直接测量组报告更多的妒忌感受,两种条件下被试所采用的判定标准没有变化,但间接测量中被试的敏感性高于直接测量,这说明两种测量测得了妒忌的不同层面,间接测量在测量妒忌的无意识方面更具优势;而两种条件下被试对于妒忌者都比被妒忌者要更为敏感,则表明了被试在无意识中对妒忌者更为偏好;两种条件下对于妒忌的评定均无性别差异.     

The effects of exposure duration and surrounding frames on direct and indirect tilt aftereffects and illusions

Direct and indirect tilt illusions (TIs) have been shown to have different mechanisms, because spatial parameters that affect the one do not affect the other, and vice versa. The indirect TI, for example, is reduced markedly by a surrounding vertical square frame, a manipulandum that has no effect on the direct TI (Wenderoth & Johnstone, 1988a). In six experiments, we show that both direct and indirect TIs are enhanced in magnitude with short (10-60 msec) exposures; that tilt aftereffects (TAEs) induced with short test exposures are entirely comparable in magnitude; that a surrounding square frame reduces indirect TAEs but not direct TAEs, just as occurs with the TI; and that when the surrounding frame is present during adaptation only, test only, and both or neither, the greatest indirect TAE reduction occurs when the frame is present during the test. These results are consistent with the view (Wenderoth & Johnstone, 1987, 1988a, 1988b) that indirect TIs and TAEs may not reflect temporary neural modification based on V1 lateral inhibitory processes but rather the operation of more global, possibly extrastriate, orientation-constancy mechanisms.     

Gender,Parental Control,and Adolescent Risk-Taking

This study examines the relationship between gender, control, and adolescent risk-taking in a sample of 599 adolescents and explores the relation of paternal and maternal direct and indirect control with adolescent risk-taking, controlling for potentially confounding effect of family-related stressors and differential association. Gender differences in levels and effects of direct and indirect control, in levels and effects of family-related strain and in differential association are found. Although the variables related to direct control had a larger explanatory power in girls than in boys—and were in part mediated by differential association—none of the variables explains a substantial part of the gender gap in aggressive and/or non-aggressive risk-taking.     

汉语口语句子产生中句法启动效应的眼动研究

研究利用眼动技术考察了汉语口语句子产生中的句法启动效应及其眼动模式。实验采用双宾语句(主语+谓语+间接宾语+直接宾语)、介宾语句(主语+谓语+直接宾语+间接宾语)和简单句三种启动句类型,听觉呈现启动句后呈现图片要求被试用句子进行描述,目标句类型为双宾语句或介宾语句。结果发现,启动句类型影响了目标句的句法选择及对图片中不同客体的注视时间比率及注视顺序。无论产生的目标句是否与启动句句法结构一致,双宾语句启动下对间接宾语的客体注视时间比率更高,且更多地优先注视间接宾语,介宾语句启动下对直接宾语的客体注视时间比率更高且更多地优先注视直接宾语,而在简单句启动条件下,眼动注视模式则会受到所产生目标句句法结构的影响。行为结果和眼动指标都支持了两阶段理论中结构选择和内容计划两阶段的观点。     

Social sanction and threat explanations of gender effects on direct and indirect aggression

The present study examined two explanations for gender differences in expression of direct and indirect aggression. The social sanction model suggests that aggressor and target gender effects may be accounted for in terms of social sanctions against behaving aggressively; indirect aggression is the likely outcome of inhibitions against expression of direct aggression. The threat argument suggests that high levels of direct aggression in male‐male dyads as well as apparent inhibitions against harming females might be accounted for by the fact that males are more threatening targets than are females. Research participants completed a questionnaire measure of direct and indirect aggression twice, once with reference to their behavior toward a same‐gender target and once with reference to their behavior toward an other‐gender target. Although most direct aggression was reported by male aggressors toward male targets, gender of target did not relate to indirect aggression. Males reported approximately equal levels of indirect and direct aggression. Although females reported using more indirect than direct aggression, they did not differ from males in their reports of the frequency of use of indirect aggression. These results provided some support for both models of gender effects on human aggression and suggest the appropriateness of a relatively complex model of gender effects on aggression. Aggr. Behav. 25:425–434, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The association between children's numerical magnitude processing and mental multi-digit subtraction

Children apply various strategies to mentally solve multi-digit subtraction problems and the efficient use of some of them may depend more or less on numerical magnitude processing. For example, the indirect addition strategy (solving 72–67 as “how much do I have to add up to 67 to get 72?”), which is particularly efficient when the two given numbers are close to each other, requires to determine the proximity of these two numbers, a process that may depend on numerical magnitude processing. In the present study, children completed a numerical magnitude comparison task and a number line estimation task, both in a symbolic and nonsymbolic format, to measure their numerical magnitude processing. We administered a multi-digit subtraction task, in which half of the items were specifically designed to elicit indirect addition. Partial correlational analyses, controlling for intellectual ability and motor speed, revealed significant associations between numerical magnitude processing and mental multi-digit subtraction. Additional analyses indicated that numerical magnitude processing was particularly important for those items for which the use of indirect addition is expected to be most efficient. Although this association was observed for both symbolic and nonsymbolic tasks, the strongest associations were found for the symbolic format, and they seemed to be more prominent on numerical magnitude comparison than on number line estimation.     

The retrieval of controlled and automatic aspects of meaning on direct and indirect tests

The literature concerning implicit memory presents conflicting evidence on the importance of meaning in recovering recently studied words. When the same cues are used during testing, indirect instructions reduce levels of processing effects relative to those obtained with direct instructions, suggesting that meaning is not as likely to be retrieved on indirect tests. However, with certain cues, meaning set size of the studied words affects performance even under indirect instructions, suggesting that meaning is retrieved on such tests. The purpose of the present experiments was to resolve this apparent inconsistency. In Experiment 1, the effects of levels of processing and meaning set size were evaluated under direct and indirect test instructions, with the use of stem and word-fragment cues. In other experiments, beginning and ending stem cues were compared, and levels, set size, and instructional effects were evaluated using meaning cues. The findings indicated that levels effects were determined more by test instructions than by test cues, and that set size effects were determined more by test cues than by test instructions. Implications are discussed for transfer-appropriate processing viewpoints and for a model in which it is assumed that performance is determined by searching either explicit or implicit memories.     

Aging and memory for new associations: direct versus indirect measures.

Three experiments examined adult age differences in memory for new associations between unrelated words. On the indirect (word-stem completion) test, age differences appeared under the less-than-optimal study conditions of Experiments 1 and 3 but not under the self-paced study conditions of Experiment 2. In contrast, all experiments revealed significant age-related deficits on the direct tests, even those (word-stem cued recall) in which the cue was identical to those provided on the indirect test. The findings show that although age-related deficits in memory for new associations are particularly pronounced on tests requiring conscious recollection, age differences are not limited to such tests. Age deficits on both direct and indirect tests are related to the precision of elaborations produced during study. Similarities and differences between normal aging and amnesia are discussed, as are functional dissociations between direct and indirect measures.     

CODEPENDENCY, LOSS OF SELF, AND POWER

The feminist critique that codependency and loss of self are related to power was tested in a sample of 122 college women and men in committed relationships. Participants completed two codependency measures, a loss of self scale, and three indices of power: perceived power, use of specific influence strategies, and decision making. Among both women and men, codependency and loss of self were positively related to the use of indirect strategies and negatively related to perceived power, and loss of self was negatively related to use of the direct strategies. Among women alone, codependency was also negatively related to use of direct strategies and loss of self negatively related to decision making. These correlational data provide support for a feminist critique of codependency as related to power; however, gender similarities suggest that the relations between power, loss of self, and codependency hold for college men as well as college women.     

Spirituality and the Current Adjustment of Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse

We explore the role of spirituality in the current adjustment of adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). A sample of 101 men and women survivors of CSA completed questionnaires on spirituality (relationship with God or higher power), person factors (blame attributions, self-acceptance, hope), and current adjustment (mood, personal growth, resolution of the abuse). Results indicated that relationship with a benevolent God or higher power is related to the experience of less negative mood and a greater sense of personal growth and resolution of the abuse. Also, relationship with a higher power is related to other person factors such as self-acceptance and hope. Relationship with a benevolent God appears to have an indirect link to depressive mood and resolution of abuse through the mediating pathways of hope and self-acceptance. In contrast, relationship with God appears to have a more direct association to the outcome of personal growth for these survivors .