Integrated learning communities as a peer support initiative for first year university students

Peer Mentoring schemes tend to be developed as retention strategies, however, they can also serve other purposes (psychosocial or career-related). However, evidence of the effectiveness of these presents mixed results and less is known about the horizontal peer support schemes which may help students capitalize on existing peer relationships. We developed an integrated learning communities (ILC) peer support scheme, building on the theoretical principles of social identity theory, which we embedded within our existing teaching framework and designed functional activities. Collective activities were undertaken to promote the processes of social identity with the intention that these may foster social and academic integration experiences. This intervention was undertaken with an entire cohort of first year undergraduate psychology students. We conducted semi-structured interviews with a self-selected sample of these students (N = 17). Thematic analysis revealed two main themes, each with two sub-themes. These were: “Divergent Experiences” with the sub-themes of “dependent on people” and “types of support”, and “Good idea in principle” with the sub-themes of “Theory ≠ Practice” and “Dependent on student engagement”. Although identifying with a peer group was not transparent in the interviews, the existence of a peer support scheme was perceived positively by students which might explain the success of the newly developed student-led Psychology Society. Indeed, this Psychology Society can provide a lasting framework for further amplification of the student voice. We conclude that our embedded ILC was both feasible and potentially valuable, but it is crucial for the peer support approach to have transactional significance.     

The role of phonology in processing morphologically complex words

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review - This study investigated the role of phonology in the processing of morphologically complex words in a masked priming experiment. An English stem word target was...     

It’s not only Work and Pay: The Moderation Role of Teachers’ Professional Identity on their Job Satisfaction in Rural China

All professions include work and pay and some prior studies have pointed to the role that professional identity might play in the relationship between work conditions and job satisfaction. Based on data collected from rural teachers in mainland China, this study used two-level modelling to examine the moderating effects of teacher’s professional identity (TPI) on their job satisfaction. Our research findings confirm that longer work hours, larger class size, and lower perception of income status are significantly associated with lower levels of job satisfaction, and TPI can moderate the negative effects caused by work hours and income status.

     

生命意义的缺失与追寻

生命意义(Meaning in life)指人们对自己生命中的目的、目标的认识和追求,主要包括意义存在(Presence of Meaning)和意义追求(Search for Meaning)两个维度。生命意义缺失(Absence of Meaning)指个体缺乏生活的目标、对自身存在价值和意义感的感知。意义缺失的体验一方面会带来焦虑、抑郁等消极影响,另一方面将激发起个体强烈的重构意义的动机,引导人们进行意义追求。未来研究应增加对生命意义的获取和提升、意义缺失的原因、含义与结构、意义追求的动机和效果的研究。     

生存优势效应的理论解释

生存优势效应指对学习材料进行“生存加工”,其提取正确率最高。研究者试图用主题加工、一致性效应、情绪加工和自然选择等理论对生存优势效应进行解释。研究发现主题加工、一致性效应和情绪加工不足以说明生存优势现象,自然选择理论似乎可以更好地对此加以解释,但目前自然选择理论尚缺乏直接的实验证据支持。文章结合已有研究具体分析了最近的未来研究应该关注的焦点问题,例如,自然选择理论的直接证明,并对直接证明的方案等进行了尝试性的讨论。     

酝酿期有效提示和无效提示的比较

采用中国汉字谜,通过模拟wallas(1926)关于顿悟问题解决的四个阶段,探讨了酝酿期有效提示和无效提示对猜字谜的影响。结果发现：有效提示组被试比无效提示组猜对了更多的靶字谜,反应时也更短;在脑电水平上,酝酿期的有效提示谜比无效提示谜在左前额叶分别于300ms-400ms,400ms-600ms,600ms-800ms内引发了更大的P300-400成分、P400-600成分、P600-800成分。表明有效提示谜比无效提示谜对靶字谜问题的解决有更大促进作用。     

Local influence analysis of nonlinear structural equation models

By regarding the latent random vectors as hypothetical missing data and based on the conditional expectation of the complete-data log-likelihood function in the EM algorithm, we investigate assessment of local influence of various perturbation schemes in a nonlinear structural equation model. The basic building blocks of local influence analysis are computed via observations of the latent variables generated by the Metropolis-Hastings algorithm, while the diagnostic measures are obtained via the conformal normal curvature. Seven perturbation schemes, including some perturbation schemes on latent vectors, are investigated. The proposed procedure is illustrated by a simulation study and a real example. Acknowledgment: This research is fully supported by a grant (CUHK 4243/02H) from the Research Grant Council of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region. The authors are indebted to ICPSR and the relevant funding agency for allowing use of their data, and to the Editor and reviewers for their valuable comments for improving the paper.     

职场排斥对培训行业员工建言行为的影响——有调节的中介作用模型

研究采用问卷法,以安徽、天津的培训机构中的401名在职员工为研究对象,以组织支持感作为中介变量,以积极心理资本作为调节变量,从资源保存理论的视角探讨了职场排斥对员工建言行为的影响。研究结果表明:(1)职场排斥对员工的建言行为具有负向预测作用,职场排斥水平越高,其建言行为水平越低。(2)组织支持感在职场排斥与建言行为之间起中介作用,职场排斥通过组织支持感影响员工的建言行为。(3)组织支持感的中介作用受到积极心理资本的调节,积极心理资本会增强组织支持感的中介作用。     

Effects of antecedent order and semantic context on Chinese pronoun resolution

Three reading time experiments were conducted in order to examine the relative contributions of order of antecedents and semantic context to the resolution of temporarily ambiguous Chinese pronouns. These pronouns were ambiguous because each of them was preceded by two antecedents, both of which were likely candidates for coreference. The identity of the pronoun was revealed by subsequent disambiguating information that constrained the pronoun to one particular interpretation. Experiment 1 showed that reading of the disambiguating phrase was slower when the phrase confined the pronoun to the second rather than to the first antecedent. Experiment 2 produced the same effect of antecedent order (first vs. second antecedent) regardless of whether the target antecedent was an action-performing or an action-receiving entity. In Experiment 3, the order effect was eliminated by a biasing modifier inserted immediately before the pronoun. These results indicate that in a semantically neutral environment, the first-appearing antecedent is the preferred candidate for coreferencing the ambiguous Chinese pronoun. The interaction between order of antecedents and semantic context (in the form of preposed biasing modifiers) suggests that the initial comprehension of Chinese pronouns depends as much on contextual as on structural factors.     

Characteristics of suicide attempters and nonattempters with schizophrenia in a rural community

In this study, demographic and clinical characteristics of individuals with schizophrenia in a Chinese rural community who had attempted suicide at some time in their lives and those who had not made a suicide attempt were compared. Among individuals with schizophrenia, subjects with (n = 38) and without (n = 472) a lifetime history of suicide attempt were assessed with the Present State Examination. The results indicate that attempters had a significantly younger age, higher level of education, higher rate of lifetime depressed mood and hopelessness, and a larger number of positive symptoms than patients without suicide attempts. The logistic regression models also indicated that hopelessness, the number of positive symptoms and age were the most important predictors. Early interventions focusing on reducing hopelessness and controlling positive symptoms may help reduce the risk of suicide attempts among patients with schizophrenia.