The Eating Attitudes Test-26 Revisited using Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling

Most previous studies have failed to replicate the original factor structure of the 26-item version of the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) among community samples of adolescents. The main objective of the present series of four studies (n?=?2178) was to revisit the factor structure of this instrument among mixed gender community samples of adolescents using both exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). First, results from the ESEM analyses provided satisfactory goodness-of-fit statistics and reliability coefficients for a six-factor model of the EAT with 18 items (EAT-18) closely corresponding to the original seven-factor structure proposed for the 40-item version of the EAT. Second, these analyses were satisfactorily replicated among a new sample of community adolescents using CFA. The results confirmed the factor loading and intercept invariance of this model across gender and age groups (i.e., early and late adolescence), as well as the complete invariance of the EAT-18 measurement model between ethnicities (i.e., European versus African origins) and across weight categories (i.e., underweight, normal weight and overweight). Finally, the last study provided support for convergent validity of the EAT-18 with the Eating Disorder Inventory and with instruments measuring global self-esteem, physical appearance, social physique anxiety and fear of negative appearance evaluation.     

Growth orientation of one-dimensional silicon nanowires prepared by thermal evaporation

One-dimensional silicon nanowires have been grown by thermal evaporation and their growth orientations determined by transmission electron microscopy studies. The nanowires, which are often highly curved in morphology and heavily twinned in microstructure, are crystallographically separated into several sections, each with a characteristic crystallographic orientation along the wire axis. Straight nanowires, or straight sections in a curved nanowire, are found to have non-unique crystallographic orientations when {111} twinning occurs.     

Need for closure and heuristic information processing: The moderating role of the ability to achieve the need for closure

In contrast to the ample research that shows a positive relationship between the need for closure (NFC) and heuristic information processing, this research examines the hypothesis that this relationship is moderated by the ability to achieve closure (AAC), that is, the ability to use information‐processing strategies consistent with the level of NFC. Three different operationalizations of heuristic information processing were used: recall of information consistent with the impression (Study 1); pre‐decisional information search (Study 2); and stereotypic impression formation (Study 3). The results of the studies showed that there were positive relationships between NFC and heuristic information processing when participants assessed themselves as being able to use cognitive strategies consistent with their level of NFC (high AAC). For individuals with low AAC, the relationships were negative. Our data show that motivation–cognition interactions influence the information‐processing style.     

Defining disease beyond conceptual analysis: an analysis of conceptual analysis in philosophy of medicine

Conceptual analysis of health and disease is portrayed as consisting in the confrontation of a set of criteria—a “definition”—with a set of cases, called instances of either “health” or “disease.” Apart from logical counter-arguments, there is no other way to refute an opponent’s definition than by providing counter-cases. As resorting to intensional stipulation (stipulation of meaning) is not forbidden, several contenders can therefore be deemed to have succeeded. This implies that conceptual analysis alone is not likely to decide between naturalism and normativism. An alternative to this approach would be to examine whether the concept of disease can be naturalized.     

个人幸福指数-中小学生版(PWI-SC)在中国的适用性——兼与澳洲中学生比较

探讨个人幸福指数-中小学生版(PWI-SC)在中国的适用性以及中澳两国中学生个人幸福指数的跨文化差异。采用PWI-SC施测522名中国中学生、185名澳洲中学生,进行区分度、信度和效度检验,发现该问卷可运用于中国中学生个人幸福指数的调查,个别项目需稍加修改。比较中澳中学生的施测结果,中国中学生的个人幸福指数低于澳洲中学生,中国中学生得分为47-70,澳洲中学生得分为51-72;中国中学生除在个人已有成就项目上得分高于澳洲中学生外,其他方面均较低;中澳两国初中生的个人幸福指数均显著高于高中生,两国初高中生个人幸福指数的差异体现在不同方面;中澳两国中学生个人幸福指数的年龄差异均显著,进一步事后分析发现,两国中学生个人幸福指数的基本趋势均为随年龄增长,个人幸福指数降低,中国15岁中学生的个人幸福指数较高。PWI-SC基本适用于中国中学生;中学生随年龄增长,个人幸福指数降低;中国中学生的个人幸福指数低于澳洲中学生。     

意外考试悖论的博弈分析

本文从博弈的角度分析了意外考试悖论,指出了以往解决方案的不足,给出了一种新的方案。根据这个新方案,考试悖论的推理中使用了倒推法和弱下策反复剔除法。本文接着讨论了这些博弈推理方法的不足。然后把这个新的博弈方案用到卡片悖论和方格悖论这些考试悖论的变种里。最后指出,在考试悖论里,比起倒推法,弱下策剔除法是引起悖论的更根本的原因。     

The relation of moral orientation and moral judgment to prosocial and antisocial behaviour of Chinese adolescents

The present study investigated the relation of moral orientation and moral judgment to prosocial and antisocial behaviour from a first‐person perspective. The major findings support the following four hypotheses. (la) The moral orientation of girls is higher than that of boys, and (1b) boys are more delinquent than girls; (2) the moral orientation of prosocial adolescents is higher than that of delinquent adolescents; (3) the moral judgment of prosocial adolescents is higher than that of delinquent adolescents; and (4) the moral development of prosocial adolescents is higher than that of delinquent adolescents. Few researchers have attempted to investigate how moral orientation and moral judgment relate to prosocial and antisocial behaviour in a single study. The present study fills this research gap. Moreover, the study of moral judgment from a first‐person perspective appears to be a meaningful and useful approach. Future studies should be conducted to investigate whether moral judgment from a first‐person perspective is more predictive of moral behaviour than moral judgment from a third‐person perspective. It would also be meaningful to conduct a cross‐cultural study to investigate the relation of moral orientation and moral judgment to prosocial and antisocial behaviour in different cultures. The use of a self‐report method in a study of prosocial and antisocial behaviour has certain limitations; for example, respondents may not give honest responses. However, this method has been found to be useful and acceptable, especially for researching the correlations among a large number of variables.     

Positive mood boosts the expression of a dispositional need for closure

Three studies (N=539) examined the hypothesis that positive mood increases the degree to which epistemic motivation, i.e., the need for closure (NFC), affects the way in which an individual processes information (heuristic vs. systematic processing). In each of the studies, different methods of operationalising mood were used: in Study 1, mood was measured as a state; in Study 2, mood was induced by asking participants to recall emotional events; and in Study 3, mood was induced by emotional pictures. The styles of information processing that were utilised by our participants were operationalised in terms of their preferences for (Study 1) and ability to recall (Studies 2 and 3) schema-consistent and schema-inconsistent information. Taken together, the results of the three studies show that only under positive mood, NFC level of an individual is consistent with his or her style of information processing, that is, only under positive mood is there a negative relationship between the NFC level of an individual and the utilisation of schema-inconsistent information. Our results can be explained in terms of the effect that mood has on an individual's perceived ability to achieve NFC.     

Examining the Latent Structure of Posttraumatic Growth Between Male and Female Survivors in the Immediate Aftermath of a Flash Flood Disaster

The study examined and compared the latent structure of posttraumatic growth (PTG) based on three proposed models: 1-factor, 3-factor and 5-factor models in order to (1) find out the factor structure that has the best fit for the Filipino sample; (2) find out the factor structure that best represents PTG in the immediate aftermath of a flash flood disaster; and (3) examine the generalizability of the best-fitted model across gender. A sample of 895 survivor-respondents answered the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) within a month after a deadly flash flood. Based on the best-fitted model, a multi-group comparison between male and female was conducted to determine gender generalizability. Results showed that the 3-factor model comprising of Changes in Self/Positive Life Attitudes, Philosophy of Life, and Relating to Others fitted best in contrast to the other two models. The data also demonstrated the generalizability of the 3-factor model across gender, with invariance in factor loadings, item intercepts, factor variance and covariance, and factor means.