Mental contrasting and the self-regulation of responding to negative feedback

Mentally contrasting a desired future with impeding reality promotes goal pursuit when expectations of success are high and curbs goal pursuit when expectations of success are low. Four studies tested whether mental contrasting affects responses to goal-relevant negative feedback. Mental contrasting promoted the processing of negative feedback (Studies 1 and 2), which in turn helped participants to form plans beneficial for goal pursuit (Study 2). Mental contrasting also protected the self-view of competence against negative feedback (Study 3) and facilitated beneficial attributions for negative feedback (Study 4). All effects occurred in line with expectations of success. These results suggest that mental contrasting regulates effective responses to negative feedback by bringing goal pursuit in line with expectations of success.     

Categorical perception of colour in the left and right visual field is verbally mediated: evidence from Korean

In this study we demonstrate that Korean (but not English) speakers show Categorical perception (CP) on a visual search task for a boundary between two Korean colour categories that is not marked in English. These effects were observed regardless of whether target items were presented to the left or right visual field. Because this boundary is unique to Korean, these results are not consistent with a suggestion made by Drivonikou [Drivonikou, G. V., Kay, P., Regier, T., Ivry, R. B., Gilbert, A. L., Franklin, A. et al. (2007) Further evidence that Whorfian effects are stronger in the right visual field than in the left. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104, 1097-1102] that CP effects in the left visual field provide evidence for the existence of a set of universal colour categories. Dividing Korean participants into fast and slow responders demonstrated that fast responders show CP only in the right visual field while slow responders show CP in both visual fields. We argue that this finding is consistent with the view that CP in both visual fields is verbally mediated by the left hemisphere language system.     

The Effect of Scopolamine in Older Rabbits Tested in the 750 ms Delay Eyeblink Classical Conditioning Procedure

We investigated the effect of several doses of scopolamine in older rabbits that were trained for 20 days in the 750 ms delay eyeblink classical conditioning procedure. Our aim was to determine if the scopolamine-injected older rabbit would be a useful model for testing drugs for cognition enhancement in Alzheimer's disease (AD). A total of 39 rabbits with a mean age of 31 months received classical eyeblink conditioning with daily injections of 0.25, 0.75, or 1.5 mg/kg scopolamine hydrobromide or sterile saline vehicle. Doses of 0.75 and 1.5 mg/kg scopolamine significantly impaired acquisition, whereas acquisition was not significantly impaired with 0.25 mg/kg scopolamine. Results exhibit parallels in performance on delay eyeblink classical conditioning between scopolamine-treated older rabbits and human patients diagnosed with AD.     

The effect of scopolamine in older rabbits tested in the 750 ms delay eyeblink classical conditioning procedure

We investigated the effect of several doses of scopolamine in older rabbits that were trained for 20 days in the 750 ms delay eyeblink classical conditioning procedure. Our aim was to determine if the scopolamine-injected older rabbit would be a useful model for testing drugs for cognition enhancement in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). A total of 39 rabbits with a mean age of 31 months received classical eyeblink conditioning with daily injections of 0.25, 0.75, or 1.5 mg/kg scopolamine hydrobromide or sterile saline vehicle. Doses of 0.75 and 1.5 mg/kg scopolamine significantly impaired acquisition, whereas acquisition was not significantly impaired with 0.25 mg/kg scopolamine. Results exhibit parallels in performance on delay eyeblink classical conditioning between scopolamine-treated older rabbits and human patients diagnosed with AD.     

Relative Earnings and Depressive Symptoms among Working Parents: Gender Differences in the Effect of Relative Income on Depressive Symptoms

The relationship between income and psychological well-being is well established. Yet, most of this research is conducted at the individual level without taking into account the role played by relative earnings at the couple level. In the present study we estimate the effect of share of family income on depressive symptoms of individuals. Specifically, we examine whether within-person change in the share of family income has differential effects on the level of depressive symptoms of mothers and fathers. Using data from the U.S. National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth (NLSY79), we follow the same individuals over 4 years and analyze their data using a cross-lagged structural equation model. Controlling for net income, we find that an increase in one’s share of family income is related to an increased level of depressive symptoms among mothers and a decreased level of depressive symptoms among fathers. When looking at a subsample of stay-at-home parents, we find that a change from providing some share of the family income to stay-at-home parent status over time is related to higher level of depressive symptoms among fathers but not mothers. Furthermore, we find that egalitarian gender ideology moderates this relationship for mothers but not for fathers. We discuss potential implications of our findings to the work-family and gender literature and to counselors and therapists who specialize in treating depression.     

Reelin supplementation enhances cognitive ability, synaptic plasticity, and dendritic spine density

Apolipoprotein receptors belong to an evolutionarily conserved surface receptor family that has intimate roles in the modulation of synaptic plasticity and is necessary for proper hippocampal-dependent memory formation. The known lipoprotein receptor ligand Reelin is important for normal synaptic plasticity, dendritic morphology, and cognitive function; however, the in vivo effect of enhanced Reelin signaling on cognitive function and synaptic plasticity in wild-type mice is unknown. The present studies test the hypothesis that in vivo enhancement of Reelin signaling can alter synaptic plasticity and ultimately influence processes of learning and memory. Purified recombinant Reelin was injected bilaterally into the ventricles of wild-type mice. We demonstrate that a single in vivo injection of Reelin increased activation of adaptor protein Disabled-1 and cAMP-response element binding protein after 15 min. These changes correlated with increased dendritic spine density, increased hippocampal CA1 long-term potentiation (LTP), and enhanced performance in associative and spatial learning and memory. The present study suggests that an acute elevation of in vivo Reelin can have long-term effects on synaptic function and cognitive ability in wild-type mice.     

Implicit Person Theories and Change in Teacher Evaluation: A Longitudinal Field Study

Adopting a longitudinal field study, this paper investigates whether entity theorists (students who believe human attributes are fixed) are less likely than incremental theorists (students who believe human attributes are malleable) to change their evaluations of a teacher in accordance with his behavioral changes. An instructor exhibited some forgetful behaviors in the first half of a course, and ceased doing so in the second half. Consistent with our hypothesis, incremental theorists adjusted their perceptions of the instructor. They rated him as less forgetful accordingly at the end of the course than at the middle. Entity theorists, however, did not show this change. With improved ecological validity, this study extends previous laboratory studies to teacher evaluation.     

韩国在积极推进生命伦理学立法

从克隆羊"多莉"诞生以来,在韩国已有9次对生命伦理学和生物安全进行立法的尝试.有人建议修改现有的"生物技术支持法令",有人提出新的立法草案,如"禁止克隆人法令草案"、"生命伦理学框架法令草案"等.这些草案有一半是国会提交的,主要集中于禁止克隆人,其余由各管理机构提出.2000年以后,立法涉及的范围不断扩大,从胚胎研究、胚胎干细胞研究到遗传信息保护和生物技术专利等等.然而,这些努力都失败了.     

Validation Studies on a Measure of Overall Managerial Readiness for the Chinese

The Overall Managerial Readiness (OMR) scale was first developed as a simple measure of managerial potential for the Chinese workforce. OMR purports to predict managerial performance by assessing a person's attitudes and intention to engage in managerial practices. It consists of 28 forced‐choice statements most of which refer to attitudes and behaviors in a work setting. Three studies together showed that OMR was correlated negatively with neuroticism, and positively with conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness to experience, and extraversion. Notwithstanding, OMR was distinct from the Big Five, and had incremental predictive power on work performance (Study 3). Besides, OMR alone predicted bank managers' productivity (Study 4). Finally, internal consistency and concurrent validity of a Likert version of OMR was ascertained (Study 5).