The language of landmarks: the role of background knowledge in indoor wayfinding

To effectively wayfind through unfamiliar buildings, humans infer their relative position to target locations not only by interpreting geometric layouts, especially length of line of sight, but also by using background knowledge to evaluate landmarks with respect to their probable spatial relation to a target. Questionnaire results revealed that participants have consistent background knowledge about the relative position of target locations. Landmarks were rated significantly differently with respect to their spatial relation to targets. In addition, results from a forced-choice task comparing snapshots of a virtual environment revealed that background knowledge influenced wayfinding decisions. We suggest that landmarks are interpreted semantically with respect to their function and spatial relation to the target location and thereby influence wayfinding decisions. This indicates that background knowledge plays a role in wayfinding.     

员工对组织价值观的期望与知觉之差异

采用组织价值观问卷对586名企业员工进行了调查,考察员工对组织价值观的期望与知觉之间的差异情况。结果表明:员工在组织价值观的九个维度上均存在极为显著的差异,员工期望的组织价值观高于实际知觉的组织价值观。本研究对企业的组织文化建设和人力资源管理具有借鉴价值。     

Sub‐Dimensions of the Four Factor Model of Cultural Intelligence: Expanding the Conceptualization and Measurement of Cultural Intelligence

Cultural intelligence (CQ) – the capability to function effectively in intercultural settings – has gained increasing attention from researchers and practitioners due to its contemporary relevance to globalization, international management, and workforce diversification. Research‐to‐date demonstrates that CQ predicts a variety of important outcomes in intercultural contexts, such as cultural adaptation, expatriate performance, global leadership, intercultural negotiation, and multicultural team processes. Moving beyond past research that tends to focus on the four primary factors of CQ – metacognitive CQ, cognitive CQ, motivational CQ, and behavioral CQ, we introduce an expanded conceptualization of CQ that delineates sub‐dimensions for each of the four factors. We briefly review psychometric evidence supporting the proposed second order 11‐factor structure and convergent/discriminant validity of the sub‐dimensions. We propose that the next wave of CQ research should be guided by a deeper understanding of each of four factors of CQ.     

Error detection and error memory in spatial navigation as reflected by electrodermal activity

The study investigated spatial navigation by means of electrodermal activity (EDA). Two groups of healthy subjects (group 1, age <38; group 2, age ≥38) were recorded during navigation through two 3-D virtual mazes differing in difficulty, that is, Maze Simple (MazeS) and Maze Complex (MazeC). Our results show (1) an effect of difficulty, that is, larger skin conductance responses (SCRs) and slower velocity profiles while navigating through MazeC as compared to MazeS. (2) An effect of age, that is, larger SCRs and faster velocity profiles in younger subjects (group 1) compared to older subjects (group 2). (3) An effect of maze region, that is, SCRs increased when subjects entered dead ends with group 1 (young group) decreasing in velocity, whereas group 2 (old group) increased in velocity. (4) And an error memory effect, that is, subjects who remembered an error at a given decision point (crossroads preceding dead ends in MazeC) from previous trials, and then if they did not repeat that error, elicited decreased SCRs as compared to subjects who did not remember and subsequently repeated an error. The latter aspect is the most impactful as it shows that EDA is able to reflect error detection and memory during spatial navigation. Our data designate EDA as suitable monitoring tool for identification and differentiation of the affective correlates underlying spatial navigation, which has recently attracted researchers’ attention due to its increased use in 3-D virtual environments.     

The impact of uncertainty and communal coping on mental health following natural disasters

Abstract

Feelings of uncertainty are a central feature of the disaster experience. Surprisingly, though, there is very little systematic quantitative research about the impact of uncertainty on disaster survivors. Moreover, communal coping has increasingly received attention as a potential buffer of the negative effects of stressors but that literature is also limited in its application to disasters. This investigation applies research in the domain of uncertainty, together with the Theoretical Model of Communal Coping to better understand the experience of a community exposed to three wildfires in a one year period. A random-digit dialing procedure was used to gather data from 402 individuals. Participants completed measures of mental health, uncertainty, and communal coping in the context of their experience with the most personally stressful of the three wildfires. All analyses were examined separately for those who were evacuated and those who were not. Results support the negative impact of uncertainty across both evacuated and nonevacuated sub-samples and show a strong buffering role for communal coping among those who evacuated. The implications of these findings for the understanding of wildfire survivors' experiences are noted and future directions are proposed.     

Vom Formalismus zum Strukturalismus

Ohne Zusammenfassung