Processes Underlying Gender‐Role Flexibility: Do Androgynous Individuals Know More or Know How to Cope?

This research examined gender-role flexibility across a variety of stressful events, and tested two proposed hypotheses that explicate the processes underlying gender-role flexibility. The knowing-more hypothesis posits that androgynous individuals have a broad coping repertoire. The knowing-how hypothesis posits that androgynous individuals know how to cope according to changing situational characteristics. The coping responses of Chinese university students were assessed in both real-life (Study 1) and hypothetical (Study 2) stressful situations. Results revealed that androgynous participants, who were less depressed than others, were characterized by (a) cognitive astuteness in distinguishing among situational characteristics and (b) deployment of strategies that fit specific situational demands. Results supported the knowing-how hypothesis only.     

“行高人非”还是“见贤思齐”？职场上行比较对员工行为的双刃剑效应

本研究基于压力认知评估理论,从理性认知视角探讨了职场上行比较存在的提升自我和贬损他人效应,以及驱动不同路径效应生效的边界条件和传导机制。本研究通过轮询设计,在3个时间点收集了来自60个团队240位成员的720份人际配对样本,并采用社会关系模型分析数据得出以下结论:在低水平绩效证明目标导向情况下,员工倾向于将上行比较对象评估为挑战,进而激发员工向上行比较对象的学习行为;相反,在高水平绩效证明目标导向情况下,员工倾向于将上行比较对象评估为威胁,进而驱使员工采取针对上行比较对象的社会阻抑。     

A pragmatic trial evaluating the effectiveness of web versus live training in functional behavior assessment and interventions among special educators

This study adopted a pragmatic trial with randomization to investigate the relative effectiveness of web versus live training on special educators' competence and perceived skills in functional behavior assessments (FBA) and behavior interventions. Pragmatic trials seek to determine the effectiveness of an intervention in a real-world setting to ensure better application and generalizability in routine practice conditions. The live training group received an in-person workshop delivered in a lecture format via powerpoint slides. The web training group received asynchronous online instruction via a secure website. The same training content was delivered to both groups. Participants were randomly assigned across both instructional modalities and completed two pre- and post-test measures. Results indicated that participants (N = 104) in both groups showed a significant increase in theoretical competence of FBA and behavior interventions post training. Only participants in the live workshop group reported a significant increase in perceived skill scores. When comparing outcomes across groups, the live training group gained significantly more theoretical competence in FBA and behavior interventions than that in the web training group. These results shed light on the practical implications of online platforms for professional development among in-service teachers in behavior management for schools with children having disabilities and challenging behavior.     

Consumer privacy concerns in entrepreneurial contexts: Evidence from an online experiment

The causal link between customer privacy concerns and organizational nature—specifically, entrepreneurial startups versus mature enterprises—remains unexplored. Using an online experiment, this study examines whether consumers' privacy concerns differ between these two types of organizations. Drawing on protection motivation theory, the study investigates whether customers' privacy concerns are stronger toward entrepreneurial startups than toward mature firms when both declare privacy protection. It further explores whether consumer participation in designing privacy protection mechanisms differently affects consumers' privacy concerns toward start-ups versus mature firms. The empirical results of an online experiment using a sample of 373 college students support the study hypotheses that (i) for unilateral privacy protection declarations, consumers' privacy concerns are higher toward entrepreneurial startups, and (ii) when consumers are invited to participate in designing privacy protection mechanisms, consumers' privacy concerns toward entrepreneurial startups significantly decrease. Our findings complement the literature on consumer privacy defensive behaviors by highlighting that consumer privacy concerns are associated with the organizational nature and privacy protection initiatives.     

Experiencing Buddhist practices promotes nonbelievers’ preference for future rewards in intertemporal choices

Religious individuals often prefer future rewards more in intertemporal decision-making than nonreligious individuals, but the reasons behind this preference remain under-investigated. Focusing on decision-making in Buddhist culture, the current study aimed to examine three potential mechanisms: Buddhist practices, self-control and belief in future-oriented concepts. In five studies, we consistently found that nonbelievers’ preference ratings for Larger and Later (LL) options increased after visiting a temple (Study 1, n = 99) or participating in Buddha name chanting (Studies 2–5, n = 314). We also found in Studies 3 and 4 that this effect was mediated by the individual's level of self-control, but no evidence was found to support the mediation of belief in future-oriented concepts. These results contribute to the work attesting to the effect of religious practices on individuals (especially nonbelievers). They also provide a mechanism (self-control) for the positive correlation between individuals’ religiousness and preference for future rewards in intertemporal decision-making.     

Thanking in the times of the plague: The role of holistic thinking in meaning-making and gratitude

Two studies examined the role of holistic thinking in meaning-making and gratitude during the COVID-19 pandemic. Correlational and mediational evidence showed that participants with high holistic thinking tended to construct more meaning from the pandemic and feel grateful, compared to participants with low holistic thinking (Study 1). Experimental manipulation of holistic thinking elicited behavioral choice for books on life meaning, which predicted gratitude (Study 2). These results cannot be explained by individual differences in the perception of threat (Study 1) or distress (Studies 1–2) associated with the pandemic. They cannot be explained by demographic factors such as age or gender, or cultural constructs such as ethnicity, educational level, or religiosity (Studies 1–2). These findings push understanding forward. They strengthen interdisciplinary links, fusing positive psychology with the social cognition of thinking styles. We discuss promising directions for future research with cross-cultural implications.     

Cultural Dimensions,Gender, and the Nature of Self-concept: A Fourteen-country Study

Ratings of the importance of and satisfaction with 20 areas of the self were obtained from 3604 first or second year social science undergraduates from 14 countries (15 cultures). Factor analysis at the culture by gender level supported four factors for both sets of ratings. The resulting factor scores were analyzed for mean differences according to the cultural dimension of Individualism-Collectivism by Gender and by correlations with other cultural dimenions and economic indicators. It was found that participants from the 10 collectivist cultures placed greater salience for their self-concepts on “family values” than did those from the individualist cultures. However, this cultural difference was not found for “social relationships”. The expected gender differences, with females valuing “family values” and “social relationships” more highly, were found only for the individualist countries. The findings indicate that there may be a strong cultural level interaction effect between gender and Individualism-Collectivism on the nature of self-conceptions, and that the “family” and “social” aspects of self-concept in collectivist countries need to be considered separately.     

道德判断中儿童的意向性认知特点

应用对偶故事让5至11岁的64名被试进行道德判断,以此考察儿童的意向性认知的发展。实验发现5岁的被试已经可以使用一些意向性的特征,如:有意或无意;以及不同的动机等,去进行道德判断。而7岁,9岁和11岁的儿童可以依据更多的特征,如:主动和非主动去进行道德判断。这一发现被解释为儿童认知意向性特征时出现的认知网络的发展。     

Hypothesis-testing strategies: Why two goals are better than one

An intriguing finding in the hypothesis-testing literature concerns a large increase in the proportion of subjects who discover a rule when they are asked to determine two rules rather than that rule alone. This finding is based on Wason's (1960) “2 4 6” task, in which subjects try to discover a rule (ascending numbers) by generating and testing number triples. They are initially given an example (“2, 4, 6”) of the rule that leads to overly specific hypotheses. With single-goal (SG) instructions, subjects try to discover the correct rule and are told whether each triple proposed fits the rule. With dual-goal (DG) instructions, correct and incorrect categories are labelled, respectively, as DAX and MED. Subjects try to discover both rules and are told whether each proposed triple is DAX or MED. Two explanations of why DG subjects do better at rule discovery than SG subjects are tested: the quantity of information and the testing of complementary rules using the prevalent positive-test strategy. Results support the latter explanation: DG subjects outperform SG subjects only if they know the rules are complementary, and that SG subjects' performance does not improve when required to test more triples before announcing their first rule. A third explanation, the positivity of the linguistic label of the feedback, is ruled out. Understanding the superiority of DG instructions might suggest a general method for enhancing rule discovery.