Hypothesis Testing of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Q</Emphasis>-matrix

The recent surge of interests in cognitive assessment has led to the development of cognitive diagnosis models. Central to many such models is a specification of the Q-matrix, which relates items to latent attributes that have natural interpretations. In practice, the Q-matrix is usually constructed subjectively by the test designers. This could lead to misspecification, which could result in lack of fit of the underlying statistical model. To test possible misspecification of the Q-matrix, traditional goodness of fit tests, such as the Chi-square test and the likelihood ratio test, may not be applied straightforwardly due to the large number of possible response patterns. To address this problem, this paper proposes a new statistical method to test the goodness fit of the Q-matrix, by constructing test statistics that measure the consistency between a provisional Q-matrix and the observed data for a general family of cognitive diagnosis models. Limiting distributions of the test statistics are derived under the null hypothesis that can be used for obtaining the test p-values. Simulation studies as well as a real data example are presented to demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed method.     

Using a Kinect sensor to acquire biological motion: Toolbox and evaluation

Biological motion (BM) is the movement of animate entities, which conveys rich social information. To obtain pure BM, researchers nowadays predominantly use point-light displays (PLDs), which depict BM through a set of light points (e.g., 12 points) placed at distinct joints of a moving human body. Most prevalent BM stimuli are created by state-of-the-art motion capture systems. Although these stimuli are highly precise, the motion capture system is expensive and bulky, and its process of constructing a PLD-based BM is time-consuming and complex. These factors impede the investigation of BM mechanisms. In this study, we propose a free Kinect-based biological motion capture (KBC) toolbox based on the Kinect Sensor 2.0 in C++. The KBC toolbox aims to help researchers acquire PLD-based BM in an easy, low-cost, and user-friendly way. We conducted three experiments to examine whether KBC-generated BM can genuinely reflect the processing characteristics of BM: (1)?Is BM from this source processed globally in vision? (2)?Does its BM (e.g., from the feet) retain detailed local information? and (3)?Does the BM convey emotional information? We obtained positive results in response to all three questions. Therefore, we think that the KBC toolbox can be useful in generating BM for future research.     

Overt language production plays a key role in the Hebb repetition effect

When asked to recall verbatim a short list of items, performance is very limited. However, if the list of items is repeated across trials, recall performance improves. This phenomenon, known as the Hebb repetition effect (Hebb, 1961; Brain Mechanisms and Learning: A Symposium, pp. 37–51), is considered a laboratory analogue of language learning. In effect, learning a new word implies the maintenance of a series of smaller units, such as phonemes or syllables, in the correct order for a short amount of time before producing them. The sequence of smaller units is typically presented more than once. In the present study, we investigated the role of overt language production in language learning by manipulating recall direction. If the learning of a repeated list of items relies on overt language production processes, changing list production order by manipulating recall direction should impact the learning of the list. In Experiment 1, one list was repeated every third trial, and recall direction of the repeated list changed on the ninth repetition. In Experiment 1a, the repeated list changed from a forward to a backward order recall, where participants had to recall the items in reverse presentation order. In Experiment 1b, the repeated list changed from a backward to a forward order recall. Results showed a cost in recall performance for the repeated list when recall direction switched from forward to backward recall, whereas it was unaffected by the change from backward to forward recall. In Experiment 2, we increased the number of trials before introducing the change from a backward to a forward order recall. Results showed a decrement in recall performance for the repeated list following the change in recall direction, suggesting that language production processes play a role in the Hebb repetition effect.     

Effects of dilemma type,language, and emotion arousal on utilitarian vs deontological choice to moral dilemmas in Chinese–English bilinguals

The present study examines how dilemma type (personal or impersonal moral dilemma), language (native or foreign) and emotion arousal to a dilemma could affect Chinese–English bilinguals' deontological vs utilitarian moral choices regarding 39 moral dilemmas. How emotion arousal plays a mediating role in the effects of dilemma type and language on moral choices is also investigated. As shown in multilevel analyses, participants made fewer utilitarian choices for personal dilemmas than impersonal dilemmas. Although emotion arousal of dilemmas significantly mediated this effect of dilemma type, the indirect effect of dilemma type through arousal on moral choices was inconsistent with the direct effect of dilemma type on moral choices. For the effect of language, participants made more utilitarian choices in the Footbridge (personal) dilemma that was presented in foreign language than in native language. However, this effect was not mediated by arousal, suggesting that it could not be attributed to the emotion‐reducing effect of foreign language. Moreover, there was no language effect on moral choices in analyses that included all 39 dilemmas or only 22 personal dilemmas, indicating the need in future research for further identifying the potential mediators that trigger the foreign language effect on moral choices.     

Relationship Between Perceived Organizational Support,Proactive Personality,and Perceived Employability in Workers Over 50

This article examines the relationship between perceived organizational support, proactive personality, and perceived employability in a sample of workers over 50. An online questionnaire assessing these variables were filled by 213 employees. Results confirmed that individual dispositions have a significant impact on perceived employability but also indicated that organizational context may have a greater impact on employability. The implications of the findings are discussed, and suggestions are offered for future research on employability.     

社群主义德性观

当代社群主义者在批评现代伦理理论误区的基础上论述了德性伦理,他们认为功利主义和康德主义义务论道德在相互论战中都忽视了人的德性的培育这一关键问题,因而需要复兴古典的德性,特别是亚里士多德所反复论述的德性.德性与幸福紧密相关,同时以理智和基于知识的正确选择为核心,而根本的德性是在两个极端之间取得中道,即中庸之道.公平、正义等不是绝对抽象的,它与人的理性选择和社会实践相关.这些论述对于人们认识现代社会所疏离了的德性,注意培育美德,特别是在民主制度下要求政治人物保持操守,坚守德行,防止腐败,都具有建设性的意义.当然,如何在现代多样化的社会复兴古典德性,防止停留于空幻的议论,真正实现德性践行上的进步,是社群主义者面对的一个理论难题.     

Touch, compliance, and awareness of tactile contact

Many experimental studies have shown that touch increases compliance with a request; however, the difference between the effect of touch on compliance between participants who notice and those who do not notice such contact remains in question. An experiment was conducted in which a female confederate asked 368 female smokers to give her a cigarette. In the Touch condition, when making her request, the confederate slightly touched the participant on her forearm. Analysis showed the touch was associated with significantly higher compliance to the request, and a difference was evident in the Touch condition between subjects who had noticed the tactile contact and those who had not.     

企业管理者的情绪智力、自我效能感、成就动机研究

采用问卷法对211名企业管理者的情绪智力、自我效能感、成就动机的特征及它们与企业管理者绩效的关系进行了研究。研究表明,不同管理层级、不同管理岗位、不同地区的企业管理者的情绪智力、自我效能感、成就动机存在显著差异;企业管理者的年龄、性别、文化水平、所在企业的性质和规模对情绪智力、自我效能感、成就动机没有显著影响。研究还表明,情绪智力、自我效能感、成就动机对高层、中层、基层企业管理者的绩效有不同的预测力。     

Similarity and binding in memory: bound to be detrimental

The process of binding information from different modalities and sources into an object is ubiquitous in cognition and has been a problem for research and modelling efforts in psychology. This process has been considered by most researchers as necessarily always beneficial to memory. In the present study we provide evidence that binding can be detrimental through the propagation of vulnerabilities to interference. Phonologically similar and dissimilar letters were presented sequentially at different locations on a computer monitor. Participants had to recall either the letters in their order of presentation or the spatial locations at which the letters had appeared. Whether binding was encouraged or not--providing prior knowledge of which dimension to remember--phonological similarity had a detrimental effect on recall of locations. Such a finding poses a challenge to the view that binding is the panacea in enhancing memory capacity.     

齐俗尚“悍”新议

齐国自周初建国直至战国,是春秋五霸之首,战国七雄之一。先秦齐人天性劲勇、喜战、乐斗,齐国君民既是尚＂悍＂特性的继承者,又是尚＂悍＂民俗的提倡者、培植者和典型的示范者。齐国民俗尚＂悍＂,有其政治、军事、时代之背景及其特殊表现,从文献资料和考古发掘资料中都可以窥见齐地民俗之＂悍＂所呈现出的勇敢和智慧之精神。