Asian Couples in Negotiation: A Mixed‐Method Observational Study of Cultural Variations Across Five Asian Regions

The purpose of this study was to explore variations in how contemporary couples from five different Asian regions negotiate disagreements. Video recordings of 50 couples (10 each from Japan, Korea, Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong) discussing unresolved disagreements provided raw data for quantitative and qualitative analyses. First, teams of coders from each region used a common protocol to make quantitative ratings of content themes and interaction patterns for couples from their own region. An interregional panel of investigators then performed in‐depth qualitative reviews for half of these cases, noting cultural differences not only in observed patterns of couple behavior but also in their own perceptions of these patterns. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed clear regional differences on dimensions such as overt negativity, demand‐withdraw interaction, and collaboration. The qualitative results also provided a richer, more nuanced view of other (e.g., gender‐linked) conflict management patterns that the quantitative analyses did not capture. Inconsistencies between qualitative and quantitative data and between the qualitative observations of investigators from different regions were most pronounced for couples from Korea and Japan, whose conflict styles were subtler and less direct than those of couples from the other regions.     

Male vocal competition is dynamic and strongly affected by social contexts in music frogs

Male–male vocal competition in anuran species is critical for mating success; however, it is also highly time-consuming, energetically demanding and likely to increase predation risks. Thus, we hypothesized that changes in the social context would cause male vocal competition to change in real time in order to minimize the costs and maximize the benefits of competition. To test this hypothesis, we assessed the effect of repeating playbacks of either white noise (WN) or male advertisement calls on male call production in the Emei music frog (Babina daunchina), a species in which males build mud-retuse burrows and call from within these nests. Previous studies have shown that calls produced from inside burrows are highly sexually attractive (HSA) to females while those produced outside nests are of low sexual attractiveness (LSA). Results showed that most subjects called responsively after the end of WN playbacks but before the onset of conspecific call stimuli although call numbers were similar, indicating that while males adjusted competitive patterns according to the biological significance of signals, their competitive motivation did not change. Furthermore, these data indicate that the frogs had evolved the ability of interval timing. Moreover, when the inter-stimulus interval (ISI) between playbacks was varied, the subjects preferentially competed with HSA calls when the ISI was short (<4 s) but responded equally to HSA and LSA calls if the ISI was long (≥4 s), suggesting that males allocate competitive efforts depending on both the perceived sexual attractiveness of rivals and the time available for calling. Notably, approximately two-thirds of male calls occurred in response to HSA calls, a preference rate comparable to that previously found for females in phonotaxis experiments and consistent with the idea that the mechanisms underlying both the male’s competitive responses to rivals and the female’s preferences toward potential mates coevolved under the same selective pressure.     

Dynamics of the relationships among work and family resource gain and loss,enrichment, and conflict over time

Dynamics of the relationships among work and family resource gain and loss, work-to-family enrichment (WFE), and work-to-family conflict (WFC) over time were examined using the data collected from 382 employees of Chinese firms at two points of time one year apart. Work resource gain at time 1 weakened the positive relationship between WFC at times 1 and 2, and work resource loss at time 1 weakened the positive relationship between WFE at times 1 and 2. However, WFC at time 1 strengthened the positive relationship between work resource gain at time 1 and family resource gain at time 2. Overall, these results suggest the existence of complementary forces that maintain the status quo of individuals' work–family experiences, such that high losses diminish the transfer of gains and high gains diminish the transfer of losses, but also that unexpected gains may result from individuals having to deal with painful situations. Implications of these dynamics for theory, research, and practice are discussed.     

Correction to: Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Sources of Resilience: Mechanisms of the Relationship Between Bullying Victimization and Mental Health Among Migrant Children in China

Applied Research in Quality of Life -     

Odor preference learning and memory modify GluA1 phosphorylation and GluA1 distribution in the neonate rat olfactory bulb: testing the AMPA receptor hypothesis in an appetitive learning model

An increase in synaptic AMPA receptors is hypothesized to mediate learning and memory. AMPA receptor increases have been reported in aversive learning models, although it is not clear if they are seen with memory maintenance. Here we examine AMPA receptor changes in a cAMP/PKA/CREB-dependent appetitive learning model: odor preference learning in the neonate rat. Rat pups were given a single pairing of peppermint and 2 mg/kg isoproterenol, which produces a 24-h, but not a 48-h, peppermint preference in the 7-d-old rat pup. GluA1 PKA-dependent phosphorylation peaked 10 min after the 10-min training trial and returned to baseline within 90 min. At 24 h, GluA1 subunits did not change overall but were significantly increased in synaptoneurosomes, consistent with increased membrane insertion. Immunohistochemistry revealed a significant increase in GluA1 subunits in olfactory bulb glomeruli, the targets of olfactory nerve axons. Glomerular increases were seen at 3 and 24 h after odor exposure in trained pups, but not in control pups. GluA1 increases were not seen as early as 10 min after training and were no longer observed 48 h after training when odor preference is no longer expressed behaviorally. Thus, the pattern of increased GluA1 membrane expression closely follows the memory timeline. Further, blocking GluA1 insertion using an interference peptide derived from the carboxyl tail of the GluA1 subunit inhibited 24 h odor preference memory providing causative support for our hypothesis. PKA-mediated GluA1 phosphorylation and later GluA1 insertion could, conjointly, provide increased AMPA function to support both short-term and long-term appetitive memory.     

The contrasting effects of negative word of mouth in the post-consumption stage

We explore the effects of negative word of mouth (NWOM) from worse-off or similar others in the post-consumption stage. In four experiments, we show that the ramifications of NWOM are more complex than portrayed in the literature. Specifically, we demonstrate that attribute-based NWOM has a negative (i.e., aggravating) effect on dissatisfied consumers, whereas experience-based NWOM has a positive (i.e., alleviating) effect. Thought-listing data reveal distinct processes underlying the contrasting effects. On one hand, these results are consistent with the predictions of attitude polarization and downward comparison research. On the other hand, they are explainable in terms of the disconfirmation model.     

Evaluating the performance of different procedures for constructing confidence intervals for coefficient alpha: A simulation study

Reliability is one of the most important aspects of testing in educational and psychological measurement. The construction of confidence intervals for reliability coefficients has important implications for evaluating the accuracy of the sample estimate of reliability and for comparing different tests, scoring rubrics, or training procedures for raters or observers. The present simulation study evaluated and compared various parametric and non-parametric methods for constructing confidence intervals of coefficient alpha. Six factors were manipulated: number of items, number of subjects, population coefficient alpha, deviation from essentially parallel condition, item response distribution and type. The coverage and width of different confidence intervals were compared across simulation conditions.     

大学生心目中理想教师的因素分析

以160名大学生为被试,采用自制的词表,运用因素分析的方法研究大学生心目中理想教师形象,并比较不同年级、不同性别以及不同学科（文、理）的学生对理想教师形象的要求有何差异。结果发现：（1）当代大学生心目中的理想教师形象应具备四项主要特征：公正平等,师德高尚;讲课生动,见解独到;大方得体,成熟稳重;专业过硬,科研水平高;（2）在“讲课生动,见解独到”这个因素上女生比男生对教师的要求更高一些;（3）在“大方得体,成熟稳重”这个因素上,二、三、四年级间无明显差异,均高于大一学生对教师的要求;（4）在“专业过硬,科研水平高”这个因素上,理科生比文科生对教师的要求更高一些;（5）在“公正平等,师德高尚”这个因素上,性别与年级的交互作用显著。     

《孟子》“冯妇”章断句新议

＂冯妇＂章是《孟子》中比较著名的篇章,此章的几处句读问题自宋以来至今未有定论。在古代,关于冯妇章的断句总体来说有两种,进入新世纪,又有不少学者关注到此一断句疑案,提出了新的解决思路。本文梳理并分析几种不同的断句方法,并尝试结合对孟子旨意的解读来重新探析＂冯妇＂章的断句问题。     

基于空间计量的我国省级环保投资特征分析

利用空间计量工具对1998-2006年我国省级"三同时"环保投资的实证分析发现:我国省级"三同时"环保投资存在显著的空间相关性与聚集现象;财政分权改革在促进地方政府为增长而竞争的同时,也加剧了地方政府环保行为的扭曲.因此,中央政府应当健全环保投资的全过程督察与绩效评估制度,培育重视环境保护的"标杆性"地方政府.