Group Ethical Decision Making Process in Chinese Business: Analysis From Social Decision Scheme and Cultural Perspectives

Literature concerning group ethical decision making in a business setting has traditionally focused on directly comparing group versus individual decisions and then investigating differences. Analysis of the interactive process of group ethical decision making appears sparse. This study addresses the gap by investigating group decision making from a social decision scheme (SDS) perspective in a Chinese cultural setting. A cohort of Chinese accountancy students evaluated ethical business scenarios individually and then in a group context. Group responses could be explained in terms of both the SDS and the Chinese cultural perspective (zhongyong). Specifically, groups did not select the most ethical choice but rather the most moderate of all choices advocated by the majority (zhongyong). These results show the application of SDS theory in a culturally specific (Chinese) environment and note the impact of culturally specific factors (zhongyong) on business decision making. The implications are significant for business. If ethical decisions are entrusted to groups, the impact of culturally specific factors must be fully appreciated in evaluating the final decision.     

Religious Characteristics,Spirituality, and Depressive Symptoms Among 10th- to 12th-Graders Living in a Buddhist or Daoist Culture: A Short-Term Longitudinal Study

This study examines changes in and the relationship among religiosity, spiritual well-being, and depressive symptoms in primarily Buddhist or Daoist Taiwanese adolescents. A total of 2,239 16- to 18-year-old adolescents from 4 high schools were randomly selected and completed a questionnaire at baseline and at 6-month follow-up. Half of the Taiwanese adolescents reported being religious (50%), with Buddhism or Daoism predominating in terms of religious affiliation. Around 80% of adolescents believed in a God, but less than 40% believed that religion is important. Mixed models found no significant relationships between religiosity and spirituality or between religiosity and depressive symptoms. Self-efficacy and life scheme are valid domains for the spirituality construct, and a reciprocal relationship was found between spiritual well-being and depressive symptoms. This reciprocal relationship in adolescents is discussed in terms of a Buddhist or Daoist cultural context.     

中庸价值取向对员工变革行为的情景依存作用

中庸是一种价值取向, 它倡导在全局认知基础上采用执中和适度的方式, 达到个体与环境的和谐。以49个企业团队的413名员工为研究对象, 采用多层次线性模型考察中庸价值取向在不同情境下对员工变革行为的影响。结果显示当员工具有高变革认知时, 中庸价值取向对员工变革行为有显著促进作用; 当团队中存在高同事消极约束时, 中庸价值取向对员工变革行为有显著消极作用; 模范带头作用没有显著情景作用。研究揭示了中庸价值取向影响员工变革行为是依据情景而变化, 从而达到个体与环境的和谐。     

资源的交换价值和工资性质对其分配公平感的影响

如何公平合理地分配有限的资源是每一个组织都要面对的基本问题。在组织资源分配中存在一个有趣的现象, 即平均分配金钱往往会比平均分配特定商品让人感到更不公平。前人研究认为, 这是因金钱较之特定的商品具有更多交换价值导致的。3个实验对这一重要的心理现象进行了重新研究发现, 不仅交换价值影响资源分配的公平感, 而且资源的工资性质对其分配的公平感也有重要影响。这一发现丰富了Adams的公平理论, 同时也为组织更好地分配资源提供重要参考。     

红色和蓝色对中国汉族大学生情绪的启动效应

通过3个实验探讨红色和蓝色对中国汉族大学生的情绪意义。实验1采用限制联想法考察红色和蓝色的情绪意义。实验2、实验3采用启动范式, 分别考察在知觉水平和概念水平上红色和蓝色对情绪的启动效应。结果发现：(1)知觉水平：在唤醒度和优势度上, 红色知觉引发了高唤醒、高优势情绪, 蓝色知觉引发了低唤醒、低优势情绪, 这与国外研究基本一致; 但在愉悦度上, 红色知觉既能引发高愉悦情绪, 也能引发低愉悦情绪, 而蓝色知觉只引发了高愉悦情绪, 这体现出本土化特点。(2)概念水平：在唤醒度和愉悦度上, 红色概念引发了高唤醒、高优势情绪, 蓝色概念引发了低唤醒、低优势情绪, 这与知觉水平基本一致; 但在愉悦度上, 红色概念只启动了高愉悦情绪, 而蓝色概念同时启动了高愉悦和低愉悦的情绪, 这与知觉水平不一致。本研究表明：(1)红色和蓝色对中国汉族大学生情绪引发的特点主要表现在愉悦度上; (2)颜色知觉和颜色概念对情绪的引发机制可能具有如下特点：颜色知觉对情绪的三维度具有直接的引发作用; 而颜色概念对情绪唤醒度和优势度的引发是以颜色知觉为中介, 对愉悦度的引发则是以社会文化为原因。本研究探讨了红色和蓝色对中国汉族大学生情绪的作用, 对红色和蓝色在中国社会环境中的应用具有一定的实际价值; 同时, 直接比较并剖析了颜色知觉与概念对情绪的引发特点, 对于揭示二者对情绪引发的内部机制具有一定的理论意义。     

自读、伴读和指读对2~3岁幼儿图画书阅读中文字注视的影响

幼儿对文字的关注是内化文字形式和功能（文字意识）的基本途径,如何有效提高年幼儿童对文字的关注是一个具有重要实践意义的课题。本研究以54名2~3岁幼儿为研究对象,记录和分析幼儿在自读、伴读和指读三种方式下阅读图画书的眼动行为。结果发现：1）自读和伴读方式下,2~3岁幼儿对文字和图画的关注具有相同的眼动模式,并且对文字的关注程度均较低;2）指读可显著提高幼儿对文字的关注频率,同时对文字注视时间、次数以及关注速度均表现出一定的促进作用;3）对图画的整体分析显示,指读与伴读/自读方式之间的眼动模式差异不显著;而进一步对图画的局部分析表明：指读不影响幼儿图画关注的全面性和有效性。综上所述,指读在一定程度上能够促进年幼儿童对文字的关注,同时动态手势也不抢占儿童阅读图画的注意资源。     

Effects of a ‘Learn to Think’ intervention programme on primary school students

Background. Methods for teaching thinking may be described as out‐of‐context or infusion. Both approaches have potential to raise students’ general cognitive processing ability and so raise academic achievement, but each has disadvantages. Aims. To describe and evaluate a theory‐based learn to think (LTT) curriculum for primary school students, which draws on the strengths of both out‐of‐context and infusion approaches. Sample. One‐hundred and sixty‐six students in three classes of Grade 1 (6+ years old), Grade 2 (7+ years old), and Grade 3 (8+ years old) in a primary school in Shanxi province, China, randomly ascribed to experimental (90) and control (76) groups. Methods. All students were pre‐tested for non‐verbal intelligence and academic achievement. Experimental students followed the LTT curriculum (one activity every 2 weeks) for 4 school years. All were post‐tested on three occasions for thinking ability and four times for academic achievement. Results. Grade 1 and Grade 2 students showed effects of LTT from 1 year after their start and increasing: on thinking ability d= .78–1.45; on Chinese d= .68–1.07; on maths .58–.87. Grade 3 students showed effects from 6 months after their start: on thinking ability .90–1.37; Chinese .77–1.32; maths .65–1.29. The effects were concentrated in students in the middle band of initial ability. Conclusions. A curriculum for teaching thinking based on a structured theoretical model that combines elements of out‐of‐context and infusion methods has been shown to have long‐term far transfer effects on students’ thinking ability and academic achievement. More work is needed to meet the needs of a wider range of abilities.     

The effect of social marketing communication on safe driving

Processing of cognition, affect, and intention was investigated in viewers of advertisements to prevent speeding while driving. Results indicated that anchoring-point messages had greater effects on viewers' cognition, attitude, and behavioral intention than did messages without anchoring points. Further, the changes in message anchoring points altered participants' perceptions of acceptable and unacceptable judgments: a higher anchoring point in the form of speeding mortality was more persuasive in promoting the idea of reducing driving speed. Implications for creation of effective safe driving communications are discussed.     

The role of the ventral and dorsal pathways in reading Chinese characters and English words

Previous literature in alphabetic languages suggests that the occipital-temporal region (the ventral pathway) is specialized for automatic parallel word recognition, whereas the parietal region (the dorsal pathway) is specialized for serial letter-by-letter reading ( [Cohen et al., 2008] and [Ho et al., 2002] ). However, few studies have directly examined the role of the ventral and dorsal pathways in Chinese reading compared to English reading. To investigate this issue, we adopted the degraded word processing paradigm used by Cohen et al. (2008) and compared brain regions involved in the processing of degraded Chinese characters and English words during lexical decision, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The degraded characters/words were created by inserting blank spaces between radicals of Chinese characters or syllables of English polysyllabic words. Generally, the current study replicated the effects of Cohen et al. (2008), showing that in Chinese – like in alphabetic languages – character spacing modulates both ventral (bilateral cuneus, left middle occipital gyrus) and dorsal (left superior parietal lobule and middle frontal gyrus) pathways. In addition, the current study showed greater activation in bilateral cuneus and right lingual gyrus for Chinese versus English when comparing spaced to normal stimuli, suggesting that Chinese character recognition relies more on ventral visual-spatial processing than English word recognition. Interestingly, bilateral cuneus showed monotonic patterns in response to increasing spacing, while the rest of the regions of interest showed non-monotonic patterns, indicating different profiles for these regions in visual-spatial processing.     

Kinematics, kinetics, and electromyogram of ankle during drop landing: a comparison between dominant and non-dominant limb

The biomechanical difference between the dominant and non-dominant limb has seldom been studied during double-leg landing. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of limb laterality on the ankle kinematics, kinetics and electromyogram (EMG) during drop landing. Sixteen healthy adults were recruited and dropped individually from platforms with three different heights (0.32 m, 0.52 m, and 0.72 m). The ground reaction force, ankle joint kinematics, and surface EMG of tibialis anterior (TA) and lateral gastrocnemius (LG) were measured in both lower extremities. Two-way analysis of variance was used to analyze the effects of laterality and dropping height. The peak angular velocities in dorsiflexion and abduction were significantly higher in the dominant ankle, whereas the pre- and post-landing EMG amplitudes of the TA were significantly higher in the non-dominant limb. Compared with the dominant side, the non-dominant ankle has a more effective protective mechanism in that excessive joint motion is restrained by greater ankle flexor activity. Compared with the non-dominant side, the dominant ankle joint is in greater injury risk during drop landing, and data measured in the dominant limb may produce more conservative conclusions for injury protection or prediction.