Why best cannot last: Cultural differences in predicting regression toward the mean

Four studies were conducted to investigate cultural differences in predicting and understanding regression toward the mean. We demonstrated, with tasks in such domains as athletic competition, health and weather, that Chinese are more likely than Canadians to make predictions that are consistent with regression toward the mean. In addition, Chinese are more likely than Canadians to choose a regression‐consistent explanation to account for regression toward the mean. The findings are consistent with cultural differences in lay theories about how people, objects and events develop over time.     

人类视觉系统获取颜色恒常性的认知操作特性

以光度测量为基础,采用心理物理学方法,探讨人类视觉系统获取颜色常性的认知特性。共进行了两个实验。实验一,探讨颜色对比对获取颜色常性的认知操作过程的作用。结果发现,视觉系统可根据已适应了的对比参照作用,而校正（或补偿）由于外界照明变化而引起的物理色度变化。实验二,探讨视觉经验对人类视觉系统获取颜色常性的作用。结果发现,颜色常性不仅是一种视觉低层次、自动完成的补偿,而且涉及高层次的意识活动。     

The Thorny Relation Between Measurement Quality and Fit Index Cutoffs in Latent Variable Models

Latent variable modeling is a popular and flexible statistical framework. Concomitant with fitting latent variable models is assessment of how well the theoretical model fits the observed data. Although firm cutoffs for these fit indexes are often cited, recent statistical proofs and simulations have shown that these fit indexes are highly susceptible to measurement quality. For instance, a root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) value of 0.06 (conventionally thought to indicate good fit) can actually indicate poor fit with poor measurement quality (e.g., standardized factors loadings of around 0.40). Conversely, an RMSEA value of 0.20 (conventionally thought to indicate very poor fit) can indicate acceptable fit with very high measurement quality (standardized factor loadings around 0.90). Despite the wide-ranging effect on applications of latent variable models, the high level of technical detail involved with this phenomenon has curtailed the exposure of these important findings to empirical researchers who are employing these methods. This article briefly reviews these methodological studies in minimal technical detail and provides a demonstration to easily quantify the large influence measurement quality has on fit index values and how greatly the cutoffs would change if they were derived under an alternative level of measurement quality. Recommendations for best practice are also discussed.     

Functional Parallel Factor Analysis for Functions of One- and Two-dimensional Arguments

Parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) is a useful multivariate method for decomposing three-way data that consist of three different types of entities simultaneously. This method estimates trilinear components, each of which is a low-dimensional representation of a set of entities, often called a mode, to explain the maximum variance of the data. Functional PARAFAC permits the entities in different modes to be smooth functions or curves, varying over a continuum, rather than a collection of unconnected responses. The existing functional PARAFAC methods handle functions of a one-dimensional argument (e.g., time) only. In this paper, we propose a new extension of functional PARAFAC for handling three-way data whose responses are sequenced along both a two-dimensional domain (e.g., a plane with x- and y-axis coordinates) and a one-dimensional argument. Technically, the proposed method combines PARAFAC with basis function expansion approximations, using a set of piecewise quadratic finite element basis functions for estimating two-dimensional smooth functions and a set of one-dimensional basis functions for estimating one-dimensional smooth functions. In a simulation study, the proposed method appeared to outperform the conventional PARAFAC. We apply the method to EEG data to demonstrate its empirical usefulness.     

Behavioral Problems Reported by Adolescents and Parents from HIV Affected Families in China

This study examined the influence of various factors on the behavioral problems of adolescents affected by HIV while considering the agreement between adolescent and parent reports on problem behaviors. A total of 136 families each with one parent living with HIV (PLH) and one child aged 13–18 were included. Structural equation modeling was used to explore relationships between selected family measures and adolescent’s problem behaviors. The correlation between the PLH and adolescent-reported behavioral problem measures was low (β?=?0.11). PLH-reported adolescent problem behaviors were negatively related to PLH-reported parental bonding (β?=??0.39), family routines (β?=??0.26), and positively associated with family conflict (β?=?0.21). Adolescent-reported family participation was associated with self-reported problem behaviors (β?=??0.35). Our study reported discrete perceptions of adolescent problem behaviors from parents’ and adolescents’ points of view. Future intervention efforts should emphasize family contextual factors to improve behavioral outcomes in adolescents affected by HIV.     

The Institution of Life in Gehlen and Merleau-Ponty: Searching for the Common Ground for the Anthropological Difference

The goal of our article is to review the widespread anthropological figure, according to which we can achieve a better understanding of humans by contrasting them with animals. This originally Herderian approach was elaborated by Arnold Gehlen, who characterized humans as “deficient beings” who become complete through culture. According to Gehlen, humans, who are insufficiently equipped by instincts, indirectly stabilize their existence by creating institutions, i.e., complexes of habitual actions. On the other hand, Maurice Merleau-Ponty shows that corporeal relationship to the world is already indirect because it is based on preestablished and readjusted “standards” or “norms” of interaction with the environment. Merleau-Ponty then calls these norms “institutions” and views culture as readjustment of institutions which operate already on the level of corporeal existence. The anthropological figure of confronting humans and animals thus cannot produce, as in Gehlen, a contrast between an allegedly “direct” relationship to the world in animals and a supposedly “indirect” relationship to the world in humans. The Herderian approach can be meaningfully retained only if interpreted as an invitation to confront the norms of indirect interaction with the world in animals and in people, that is, if viewed as a comparison of their respective institutions.     

大小数量加工机制分离现象的ERP研究

大量行为研究表明,个体对4以上非符号数量的加工存在加工机制分离现象,但是相关的神经机制研究还很少。本研究选取21名大学生被试,结合ERP技术和数量判断任务,以数量比率效应为指标,比较4以上不同大小数量加工的神经反应模式。结果显示,大小数量加工条件下数量比率效应对P2p成分幅值的调节模式存在显著差异。这支持了小数量加工基于数量属性,大数量加工基于非数量属性的观点。