Acculturation Among Three Racial/Ethnic Groups of Host and Immigrant Adolescents

This study compares Latino host, Latino immigrant, Asian-American host, Asian-American immigrant and European-American host groups of adolescents with respect to four acculturation-related variables: ethnic identity exploration, ethnic identity affirmation/belonging, outgroup orientation, and American identity. Using the five ethno-generational categories as a grouping variable, we conducted analyses of 313 survey responses to the acculturation items at two time periods, 9 weeks apart. Results showed that differences among the three host racial/ethnic groups can best be explained by a group dominance perspective, whereby the two racial/ethnic minority groups are more similar to each other than they are to the European-American group. Furthermore, the relationship between American identity and ethnic identity components is stronger among the three host groups, as compared to the immigrant groups. Implications for future research with adolescent members of the host group whose heritage culture is non-European are drawn.     

How does reading direction modulate perceptual asymmetry effects?

Left-side bias effects refer to a bias towards the left side of the stimulus/space in perceptual/visuospatial judgments, and are argued to reflect dominance of right hemisphere processing. It remains unclear whether reading direction can also account for the bias effect. Previous studies comparing readers of languages read from left to right with those read from right to left (e.g., French vs. Hebrew) have obtained inconsistent results. As a language that can be read from left to right or from right to left, Chinese provides a unique opportunity for a within-culture examination of reading direction effects. Chinese participants performed a perceptual judgment task (with both face and Chinese character stimuli; Experiment 1) and two visuospatial attention tasks (the greyscales and line bisection tasks; Experiment 2) once before and once after a reading task, in which they read Chinese passages either from left to right or from right to left for about 20 min. After reading from right to left, participants showed significantly reduced left-side bias in Chinese character perceptual judgments but not in the other three tasks. This effect suggests that the role of reading direction on different forms of left-side bias may differ, and its modulation may be stimulus-specific.     

The dual-task SRT procedure: fine-tuning the timing

In the standard sequential reaction time study, subjects are presented with a repeating sequence of targets to which they must respond as rapidly as possible. With practice reaction times decrease, suggesting a learned ability to exploit the repeating patterns in the display. In a common variation, a second task is interposed, typically a tone-counting task in which subjects must keep track of the frequency with which particular tones occur. In the canonical experiment, these tones appear at varying times in the interval between the subjects’ response to a target and the next target. Data are presented that show that this latter variable (the RSOA, response-secondary stimulus onset asynchrony) actually plays an important but previously hidden role in these experiments. A model based on an extension of the notion of the psychological refractory period is introduced to explain these findings.     

Not All Visual Expertise Is Holistic, but It May Be Leftist: The Case of Chinese Character Recognition

ABSTRACT— We examined whether two purportedly face-specific effects, holistic processing and the left-side bias, can also be observed in expert-level processing of Chinese characters, which are logographic and share many properties with faces. Non-Chinese readers (novices) perceived these characters more holistically than Chinese readers (experts). Chinese readers had a better awareness of the components of characters, which were not clearly separable to novices. This finding suggests that holistic processing is not a marker of general visual expertise; rather, holistic processing depends on the features of the stimuli and the tasks typically performed on them. In contrast, results for the left-side bias were similar to those obtained in studies of face perception. Chinese readers exhibited a left-side bias in the perception of mirror-symmetric characters, whereas novices did not; this effect was also reflected in eye fixations. Thus, the left-side bias may be a marker of visual expertise.     

Holistic but with reduced right-hemisphere involvement: The case of dyslexia in Chinese character recognition

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review - Recent research on visual object recognition has suggested that the right hemisphere can engage either holistic or part-based processing depending on whether the...     

Suicidality Among Gay and Bisexual Men in Taiwan: Its Relationships with Sexuality and Gender Role Characteristics,Homophobic Bullying Victimization,and Social Support

This study aimed to examine the associations of suicidality in emerging adulthood with time of coming out, gender role nonconformity, sexual orientation, traditional and cyber homophobic bullying victimization, and family and peer support during childhood in gay and bisexual men in Taiwan. The frequency of “experiencing suicide ideation” and “attempting suicide” in the past year among 500 gay or bisexual men was examined. The participants’ time of coming out, level of subjective masculinity, sexual orientation, experiences of traditional and cyber homophobic bullying victimization, and levels of family and peer support during childhood were also evaluated. In total, 31% (n = 155) of participants reported experiencing suicide ideation (n = 82) or attempting suicide (n = 73). Early coming out, traditional homophobic bullying victimization, and low family support during childhood increased the risk of suicidality in emerging adulthood; by contrast, family support did not moderate the association of early coming out or traditional bullying victimization with current suicidality. A high proportion of participants reported experiencing suicide ideation and attempt in emerging adulthood. Hence, effective suicide prevention is required for gay and bisexual men. Suicide prevention programs should consider time of coming out, traditional homophobic bullying victimization, and level of family support.     

The Statistical Anxiety Rating Scale: further evidence for multidimensionality

The Statistical Anxiety Rating Scale has been conceptualized as multidimensional. Three of the six theoretical dimensions, Interpretation Anxiety, Test and Class Anxiety, and Fear of Asking for Help, tap anxiety about statistics; the other three dimensions, Worth of Statistics, Computation Self-concept, and Fear of Statistics Teachers, measure perceptions and attitudes toward statistics. This conceptualization of a second-order factor model consisting of two superordinate factors and six first-order factors has remained empirically untested. In 77 graduate students (15 men, 62 women; M age = 27.6 yr.) enrolled in applied statistics courses in Taiwan, a confirmatory factor analysis of two competing models based on subscale scores yielded results supporting the multidimensional construct validity of the scale. As multidimensionality was previously supported based on item scores, but not subscale scores, the findings are interpreted as partially consistent with previous research testing the theoretical factor structure of the scale.     

Testing rival measurement models of the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension in two Taiwanese samples

Some previous research has questioned the appropriateness of using McCroskey's Personal Report of Communication Apprehension with participants of non-Western countries. Rival measurement models of the scale were examined on two samples of 216 and 177 college students in Taiwan. Confirmatory factor analysis of the data showed that although a four-factor model was more representative of the data than the models with one, two, or three factors, this model did not generate an acceptable fit to the data. Further testing of discriminant validity suggested that Taiwanese college students do not differentiate a meeting setting from group, dyadic, and public speaking settings. Findings of this study suggest a re-examination of the conceptualization of communication apprehension before evaluating the relative importance of biological and environmental causes.     

Predicting the travel intention to take High Speed Rail among college students

In order to understand travelers’ willingness to take Taiwan’s High Speed Rail (HSR) and its antecedents, this study adds two constructs – novelty seeking and trust – to the model of theory of planned behavior (TPB). The study collected research data from a university in northern Taiwan, resulting in an effective data of 300 subjects. Results indicate that attitude, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norm are found to have positive effects on the behavioral intention of taking HSR. Furthermore, novelty seeking and trust also have positive influences on attitude and three antecedents of the intention in taking HSR respectively. Theoretical and marketing implications are derived.