Nudge to Health: Harnessing Decision Research to Promote Health Behavior

We review selected literature that examines how biases in decision making can be utilized to encourage individual health behavior, such as vaccination, and promote policy decisions, such as resource allocation. These studies use simple interventions to nudge people towards more optimal health decisions without restricting decision‐makers’ freedom of choice. Examples include framing effects, defaults, implementation intentions, position effects, social norm, incentives, and emotions. We suggest that nudges are an effective way to promote healthy behavior.     

Interpersonal Goals and Close Relationship Processes: Potential Links to Health

A substantial body of empirical evidence suggests that social relationships buffer people from poor health. We review a program of research demonstrating how interpersonal goals create relationship processes that shape the quality of close relationships, which we argue may have consequences for own and others’ health. Self‐image goals to construct, maintain, and defend desired images of the self create negative interpersonal dynamics that undermine close relationships and mental health, while compassionate goals to support others’ well‐being create positive interpersonal dynamics that promote close relationships and mental health. We discuss the potential implications of social goals and close relationship processes for health. Finally, we suggest that exploring the independent benefits of giving and receiving in close relationships may inform how social relationships affect health and well‐being.     

More Research Questions: Rebuttal to Bornstein, Langer, and Stickney

Stickney (2010), Bornstein (2010), and Langer (2010) expand the research recommendations for experimental writing research that Range and Jenkins (2010) generated from gender schema, gender role, and socialization theory. Stickney derives research questions from communication and emotion theory. Bornstein and Langer focus on assessment in this paradigm. Bornstein’s multimodal assessment strategy might improve understanding of apparently inconsistent findings, indicate unstudied processes of interest, and show how changing instructions might maximize writing benefits. Langer’s recommendations to examine gender differences in pre/post/and follow-up emotional outcomes, and in subjective, expressive, and physiological indicators of emotion, identify potential new outcome measures in this research. All three commentaries show promise of advancing our understanding of how writing about trauma might help women and men.     

Four Methods for Analyzing Partial Interval Recording Data,with Application to Single-Case Research

Partial interval recording (PIR) is a procedure for collecting measurements during direct observation of behavior. It is used in several areas of educational and psychological research, particularly in connection with single-case research. Measurements collected using partial interval recording suffer from construct invalidity because they are not readily interpretable in terms of the underlying characteristics of the behavior. Using an alternating renewal process model for the behavior under observation, we demonstrate that ignoring the construct invalidity of PIR data can produce misleading inferences, such as inferring that an intervention reduces the prevalence of an undesirable behavior when in fact it has the opposite effect. We then propose four different methods for analyzing PIR summary measurements, each of which can be used to draw inferences about interpretable behavioral parameters. We demonstrate the methods by applying them to data from two single-case studies of problem behavior.     

成就目标、社会目标、自我效能及学习成绩与学业求助的关系

本研究以152名初中二年级学生为被试,采用问卷法研究了成就目标、社会目标、自我效能及学习成绩与学业求助的关系。结果表明：(1)自我取向的成就目标的确可以区分出自我一趋向型目标和自我一逃避目标,它们对学业求助的影响模式是不同的,自我一逃避型目标对学业求助有更大的负面作用。(2)社会目标与学业求助有显著关系,支持本研究的假设。(3)自我效能低及学习成绩差的学生更不愿求助,支持脆弱假说。     

关于耳蜗传出神经系统功能研究的启示

对卫生管理中具有战略地位的卫生政策的理论与实践领域的背景和文献进行分析,认为卫生政策基本理论与方法论研究、卫生政策分析方法及技术研究、卫生决策科学化研究、卫生决策体制与过程的研究,社会公众参与卫生决策的研究等,是当前我国卫生政策的理论与实践中值得研究的主要问题。     

Emotional (Non-)Expression and Health: Data,Questions, and Challenges

The available evidence on the relationship between expression and non-expression of emotions (E/NE) and health is selectively and critically reviewed. It is concluded that research in this field still lacks conceptual lucidity with regard to the many existing E/NE concepts. Despite the fact that few studies adopted appropriate designs for examining causal relationships, some intriguing results have been reported showing promise for the future. These results involve prospective associations between E/NE and chronic disease, such as cardiovascular disease and HIV infection related outcomes. Future studies have to better discriminate between (i) various forms of E/NE, (ii) different (social) contexts of E/NE as well as different cognitive decision processes underlying E/NE, and (iii) individuals for whom different forms of E/NE may be adaptive. We recommend that besides (quasi)experimental studies on the potential mechanisms involved, more prospective studies are conducted in this field in order to allow for causal inferences.     

Boosting Attachment Security to Promote Mental Health,Prosocial Values,and Inter-Group Tolerance

In this article, we conceptualize the sense of attachment security as an inner resource and present theory and research on the broaden and build cycle of attachment security generated by the actual or symbolic encounter with external or internalized loving and caring relationship partners. We also propose that the body of research stimulated by attachment theory offers productive hints about interventions that might increase positive experiences and prosocial behavior by bolstering a person's sense of security. On this basis, we review recent experimental studies showing how interventions designed to increase attachment security have beneficial effects on mental health, prosocial behavior, and intergroup relations, and discuss unaddressed issues concerning the mechanism underlying the beneficial effects of these interventions, the temporal course of these effects, and their interaction with countervailing forces.     

A New Frontier: Integrating Behavioral and Digital Technology to Promote Health Behavior

Modifiable behavioral risk factors such as cigarette smoking, physical inactivity, and obesity contribute to over 40 % of premature deaths in the USA. Advances in digital and information technology are creating unprecedented opportunities for behavior analysts to assess and modify these risk factors. Technological advances include mobile devices, wearable sensors, biomarker detectors, and real-time access to therapeutic support via information technology. Integrating these advances with behavioral technology in the form of conceptually systematic principles and procedures could usher in a new generation of effective and scalable behavioral interventions targeting health behavior. In this selective review of the literature, we discuss how technological tools can assess and modify a range of antecedents and consequences of healthy and unhealthy behavior. We also describe practical, methodological, and conceptual advantages for behavior analysts that stem from the use of technology to assess and treat health behavior.     

Dare to Dream: Personal Values,Life Goals,and International Students in New Zealand

It has been well identified and supported in the literature that values and life goals are associated with one’s general well-being. However, there have been few studies on values and life goals among international students in New Zealand. This study addressed this lack of research by focusing on the life goals and personal values among international students in three tertiary institutes in New Zealand. Based on the literature review, the hypothesis of this study is that international students’ intrinsic life goals are positively correlated with their spiritual values. In contrast, extrinsic goals did not have similar effects. The Aspirations Index, which was used to assess life goals, and the Schwartz’ value survey, which measured the students’ personal values, were both distributed to the participants. Follow-up interviews with 24 of the participants were also conducted. Findings revealed that spiritual values were positively correlated with intrinsic goals and that extrinsic goals did not have similar effects. As the research findings showed that spiritual values were positively correlated with intrinsic goals, helping international students to find meaning and purpose in life may promote their well-being, and the learning and growth of international students can be improved by incorporating spiritual values and cultural aspects in college education. The authors also argue that a holistic approach to college education for international students is needed.     

Evolutionary Epistemology: Two Research Avenues,Three Schools,and A Single and Shared Agenda

Journal for General Philosophy of Science - This special issue for the Journal for General Philosophy of Science is devoted to exploring the impact and many ramifications of current...     

共享心智模型：分布、层次与准确性初探

共享心智模型理论在理论和应用上已经有20多年的历史了,但它尚留有若干基本问题。共享应当包括多种形式,可从同异质和依赖性的关系上进行分析和测量;共享应是多层次多内容的,包括具体的底层构架和上层的抽象构架,以及指向共享内容的态度和信念;在共享心智的准确性和相似性上,唯一的专家心智模型可能不存在,且共享心智模型的演变发展过程较向专家靠近而言更有意义。共享不是团队过程的简单输出,共享心智模型可能包含一套团队加工过程