Emotional Attachment and Its Limits: Mengzi,Gaozi and the Guodian Discussions

Mengzi maintained that both benevolence (ren 仁) and rightness (yi義) are naturally-given in human nature. This view has occupied a dominant place in Confucian intellectual history. In Mencius 6A, Mengzi’s interlocutor, Gaozi, contests this view, arguing that rightness is determined by (doing what is fitting, in line with) external circumstances. I discuss here some passages from the excavated Guodian texts, which lend weight to Gaozi’s view. The texts reveal nuanced considerations of relational proximity and its limits, setting up requirements for moral action in scenarios where relational ties do not play a motivational role. I set out yi’s complexity in these discussions, highlighting its implications for (i) the nei-wai debate; (ii) the notion of yi as “rightness,” or doing the right thing; and (iii) how we can understand the connection between virtue and right action in these early Confucian debates. This material from the excavated texts not only provides new perspectives on a longstanding investigation of human nature and morality, it also challenges prevailing views on Warring States Confucian intellectual history.     

Unconscious integration of pointing relation between two masked arrows

In the present study, by using a briefly masked prime display paradigm, we investigated whether the pointing relation (same or different) between two unconsciously perceived arrows in the prime could be processed. Since only motor response priming can reflect unconscious processing of two arrows’ pointing-direction relation (i.e., a relational integration), we could distinguish the motor response priming from the visual priming in this study which in other studies were not separated. We also manipulated the prime-to-target stimulus onset asynchronies (SOA) by using a 70?ms and a 180?ms SOA. In this experiment, two masked arrow signs pointing in the same or different directions (> > or > <) were simultaneously presented in the prime, followed by two arrow symbols also pointing in the same or different directions in the target. The participants were asked to decide whether the two arrows in the target were pointing in the same or different directions. The results did not show any visual priming effect, but did show that the unconsciously perceived pointing relation in the prime elicited a positive motor response priming effect in RT under the 70?ms SOA condition, and a negative motor response priming effect in accuracy under the 180?ms SOA condition. The results were discussed in terms of self-motor-inhibition (or mask-triggered inhibition) and attention mechanisms. Overall, this study indicated that the pointing relation between the two subliminal arrows in the prime could influence the subsequent responses to the target and suggested that people can integrate unconsciously perceived information.     

面孔部件在群体注意方向判断中的作用

探讨面孔部件(眼睛和鼻子)在个体和群体注意方向判断中的作用。实验1使用不同数量面孔的图片,要求报告群体或个体的注意方向。结果发现,多面孔条件下对群体注意方向估计的准确性高于单面孔条件。实验2采用眼动技术,探讨眼睛和鼻子在判断其注意方向时注视的空间与时间分布特征。结果发现,基于单张面孔判断时,对鼻子的总注视时间长于眼睛;基于多张面孔判断时,对眼睛和鼻子的总注视时间没有差异。整个研究表明,知觉个体注意主要依赖鼻子,知觉群体注意依赖眼睛和鼻子。     

Incremental theories of weight and healthy eating behavior

We examined whether a belief in weight as malleable (an incremental theory) leads to healthier eating than a belief that weight is fixed (an entity theory). Participants with incremental theories of weight consumed fewer calories from high‐calorie foods in a lab‐based taste‐test than did those with more entity theories of weight. This pattern held correlationally, with naturally occurring theories of weight (Study 1), and when we experimentally manipulated participants’ theories of weight (Study 2). A third study provided evidence that differences in self‐efficacy regarding food mediate the relationship between theories of weight and eating behavior (Study 3). One way to encourage healthy eating might be to develop interventions that encourage more incremental views of weight.     

The Effects of Alcohol Intoxication on Accuracy and the Confidence–Accuracy Relationship in Photographic Simultaneous Line‐ups

Acute alcohol intoxication during encoding can impair subsequent identification accuracy, but results across studies have been inconsistent, with studies often finding no effect. Little is also known about how alcohol intoxication affects the identification confidence–accuracy relationship. We randomly assigned women (N = 153) to consume alcohol (dosed to achieve a 0.08% blood alcohol content) or tonic water, controlling for alcohol expectancy. Women then participated in an interactive hypothetical sexual assault scenario and, 24 hours or 7 days later, attempted to identify the assailant from a perpetrator present or a perpetrator absent simultaneous line‐up and reported their decision confidence. Overall, levels of identification accuracy were similar across the alcohol and tonic water groups. However, women who had consumed tonic water as opposed to alcohol identified the assailant with higher confidence on average. Further, calibration analyses suggested that confidence is predictive of accuracy regardless of alcohol consumption. The theoretical and applied implications of our results are discussed.© 2017 The Authors Applied Cognitive Psychology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

义符促进类别归纳推理的ERP证据

为了明确义符对归纳推理影响,本研究使用有义符和无义符汉字为材料,使用ERP技术考查义符对不同层级类别概念归纳推理的影响。行为结果显示,有义符条件下反应速度更快,肯定判断率更高。脑电指标上,P3阶段义符主效应显著,有义符条件下P3波幅更大;N1、N400和P600阶段义符与层级交互作用显著,组内简单效应分析显示,层级主效应仅在无义符条件下显著;组间简单效应分析显示,义符主效在N400和P600阶段仅在下-上推理条件下显著,无义符条件下,下-上推理引发更大的N400和P600波幅。这些结果表明,义符促进了归纳推理过程,这种促进主要表现在对下-上推理的促进。     

The Mediating Effects of Self-Esteem and Trait Anxiety Mediate on the Impact of Locus of Control on Subjective Well-Being

Sense of control plays an important role in the psychological well-being of an individual. This study aims to investigate the impact of locus of control on subjective well-being (SWB). Participants include 400 undergraduates (214 men and 186 women) from four universities in China. Data were collected using the Adult Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External Locus of Control Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Trait Anxiety Scale, and SWB measures. Results suggested that locus of control, trait anxiety, and self-esteem were significantly correlated with SWB. Structural equation modeling results indicated that trait anxiety and self-esteem partially mediated the impact of locus of control on SWB. Moreover, bootstrap test revealed significant paths from locus of control to SWB through trait anxiety and self-esteem. Therefore, locus of control, trait anxiety, and self-esteem have significant impacts on SWB. Moreover, trait anxiety and self-esteem have a mediating effect on the impact of locus of control on subjective well-being.     

Direct and Indirect Effects of Self-efficacy on Depression: The Mediating Role of Dispositional Optimism

In this study, we aimed to explore the impact of self-efficacy on depression – specifically, to test and verify the mediating role of dispositional optimism between the two variables. Five hundred and thirty-five undergraduates from two universities were recruited and given a Self-Efficacy Questionnaire, Revised Life Orientation Test, and Self-Rating Depression Scale. Results indicated that there are indeed significant relationships among self-efficacy, dispositional optimism, and each identified dimension of depression; structural equation modeling showed that the relationship between self-efficacy and depression is partially mediated by dispositional optimism. To this effect, we concluded that to develop and improve students’ self-efficacy will reduce their levels of depression, which may have implications in college counseling.     

The diagnostic and therapeutic uses of family conflicts in a Chinese context: the case of anorexia nervosa

There are two untested cultural beliefs commonly held among family therapists in Hong Kong: (1) Chinese families are reserved in disclosing their conflicts to an 'outsider'; and (2) it would be culturally inappropriate to elicit family conflicts in treatment. In this article, an attempt is made to examine these cultural beliefs based on the results of a qualitative study of thirty-five Chinese patients suffering from anorexia nervosa. These patients and their families have participated in a pre-treatment family interview prior to the commencement of family treatment. The results of the study have shown that the afflicted Chinese families are very willing to disclose their difficulties to the researcher. The onset of the disorder has led to different types of family conflicts including: (1) overt family conflicts related to food refusal; (2) covert family conflicts; (3) increased sibling rivalry; (4) increased parent–child conflict; and (5) marital tension and distress. The clinical implications of this study are discussed at the end of the article.