Adult Attachment Ratings (AAR): An Item Response Theory Analysis

The Adult Attachment Ratings (AAR) include 3 scales for anxious, ambivalent attachment (excessive dependency, interpersonal ambivalence, and compulsive care-giving), 3 for avoidant attachment (rigid self-control, defensive separation, and emotional detachment), and 1 for secure attachment. The scales include items (ranging from 6–16 in their original form) scored by raters using a 3-point format (0 = absent, 1 = present, and 2 = strongly present) and summed to produce a total score. Item response theory (IRT) analyses were conducted with data from 414 participants recruited from psychiatric outpatient, medical, and community settings to identify the most informative items from each scale. The IRT results allowed us to shorten the scales to 5-item versions that are more precise and easier to rate because of their brevity. In general, the effective range of measurement for the scales was 0 to +2 SDs for each of the attachment constructs; that is, from average to high levels of attachment problems. Evidence for convergent and discriminant validity of the scales was investigated by comparing them with the Experiences of Close Relationships–Revised (ECR–R) scale and the Kobak Attachment Q-sort. The best consensus among self-reports on the ECR–R, informant ratings on the ECR–R, and expert judgments on the Q-sort and the AAR emerged for anxious, ambivalent attachment. Given the good psychometric characteristics of the scale for secure attachment, however, this measure alone might provide a simple alternative to more elaborate procedures for some measurement purposes. Conversion tables are provided for the 7 scales to facilitate transformation from raw scores to IRT-calibrated (theta) scores.     

三岁之前幼儿对错误信念的理解

关于幼儿开始理解错误信念的年龄,一直存在激烈的争论。目前颇具影响力的观点认为,幼儿只有在4岁左右才能理解错误信念,3岁幼儿至多只能隐性理解错误信念。支持这种观点的证据主要来自于对幼儿的错误信念的言语实验。由于这些实验结果被认为与言语测试范式相关,越来越多的实验采用非言语测试方法,结果发现3岁,甚至3岁之前幼儿就能够理解错误信念。同时,这一观点也获得了一些理论证据的支持。     

临终心理的理论和研究综述

死亡是人生生老病死必经的最后历程,对临终病人心理的研究,临终护理的探索有重大意义,本文从临终病人的心理及其发展状况,以及临终心理的调适等角度出发,对国内外的临终心理研究进行回顾,并对其中的理论和研究结果做出总结性分析,并对今后研究需要注意的方向加以讨论。     

Glucose consumption decreases impulsive aggression in response to provocation in aggressive individuals

Impaired executive control is implicated in aggression. Research suggests that the acute administration of glucose can improve executive control. In two experiments undergraduates completed a measure of trait aggression and consumed a glucose or placebo beverage before being given the chance to administer a blast of white noise to a fictitious participant. In Experiment 1, all participants were provoked and mentally depleted or not. Glucose was most effective in reducing aggression for those high in trait aggression even when depleted. In Experiment 2, participants were provoked or not. When provoked, glucose reduced aggression among those high in trait aggression. However, when not provoked, glucose increased aggression among those high in trait aggression. These data suggest that the acute administration of glucose can be beneficial in reducing aggression in response to provocation among those high in trait aggression.     

ASD儿童表征自我和他人错误信念

威廉斯(williams)和哈皮(Happ?的一项最新实验显示,传统实验中自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)儿童表征自我错误信念和他人错误信念难度相当是因为ASD儿童采用了陈述记忆策略所致,若排除该策略干扰,他们表征自我错误信念比表征他人错误信念更加困难.通过两项实验表明,ASD儿童表征自我错误信念的难度可能受自我动手行为的影响,而不是受陈述记忆策略的影响.     

Interpersonal influences on adolescent materialism: A new look at the role of parents and peers

What causes adolescents to be materialistic? Prior research shows parents and peers are an important influence. Researchers have viewed parents and peers as socialization agents that transmit consumption attitudes, goals, and motives to adolescents. We take a different approach, viewing parents and peers as important sources of emotional support and psychological well-being, which increase self-esteem in adolescents. Supportive parents and peers boost adolescents' self-esteem, which decreases their need to turn to material goods to develop positive self-perceptions. In a study with 12–18 year-olds, we find support for our view that self-esteem mediates the relationship between parent/peer influence and adolescent materialism.     

Communicating stereotype‐relevant information: How readily can people individuate?

It is often suggested that people automatically form an impression of a target by using stereotypes. However, people can flexibly deploy different types of individuating processes, depending on the communicative context. We showed that people can individuate targets from their social category by communicating stereotype‐inconsistent information (person–group individuation) when they are required to reproduce information about the targets and people can individuate targets from other individuals by communicating information that is distinctive about the targets (person–person individuation) when required to identify the targets. The participants' performance is unrelated to information memorability (Experiment 1) and is not affected by time pressure (Experiment 2). Humans' adaptive capacity for individuation is discussed.     

Emotion and Appraisal Profiles of the Needs for Competence and Relatedness

This study examined the emotion and appraisal correlates of the needs for Competence and Relatedness. Using experience-sampling, fluctuations of competence and relatedness throughout a day's period were found to correspond to fluctuations in emotions and appraisals in ways theoretically consistent with the self-determination theory (Deci &; Ryan, 2000 Deci , E. L. , &; Ryan , R. M. ( 2000 ). The “what” and “why” of goal-pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior . Psychological Inquiry , 11 , 227 – 268 .[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Each need was related in specific ways to the six emotions examined (anger, sadness, fear, guilt, shame, and joy) and, more interesting, was characterized by a specific appraisal-profile. Implications of these findings for needs processes are discussed.     

Holistic or compositional representation of two-digit numbers? Evidence from the distance, magnitude, and SNARC effects in a number-matching task

Whether two-digit numbers are represented holistically (each digit pair processed as one number) or compositionally (each digit pair processed separately as a decade digit and a unit digit) remains unresolved. Two experiments were conducted to examine the distance, magnitude, and SNARC effects in a number-matching task involving two-digit numbers. Forty undergraduates were asked to judge whether two two-digit numbers (presented serially in Experiment 1 and simultaneously in Experiment 2) were the same or not. Results showed that, when numbers were presented serially, unit digits did not make unique contributions to the magnitude and distance effects, supporting the holistic model. When numbers were presented simultaneously, unit digits made unique contributions, supporting the compositional model. The SNARC (Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes) effect was evident for the whole numbers and the decade digits, but not for the unit digits in both experiments, which indicates that two-digit numbers are represented on one mental number line. Taken together, these results suggested that the representation of two-digit numbers is on a single mental number line, but it depends on the stage of processing whether they are processed holistically or compositionally.