Acting your avatar’s age: effects of virtual reality avatar embodiment on real life walking speed

ABSTRACT

When immersive virtual reality users employ digital self-representations, i.e., avatars, they may be subject to the Proteus effect. This effect describes changes in attitudes and behaviors in accordance with identity cues derived from the employed avatar’s appearance, which can persist after leaving virtual reality. Individual reactions to the experience can affect the strength of observed Proteus effects. Especially the experienced illusions of body ownership of avatars and of being in the virtual environment (spatial presence) have been discussed in this context. This study investigated a Proteus effect of avatar age on post-embodiment walking speed, with special focus on how body ownership and spatial presence moderated this effect. Participants who had previously embodied older avatars took significantly longer to walk a set distance than either young avatar or control group participants. This was only apparent during the first half of the walking phase, which may indicate fast decay rates of the effect after embodiment ended. The reported body ownership could not be shown to impact the strength of the Proteus effect. Participants reporting more pronounced spatial presence were subject to stronger Proteus effects, with only the two-thirds of the sample with higher spatial presence showing evidence of the effect.     

三家《诗》思想渊源之蠡测

西汉今文诗学分为鲁、齐、韩三家。三家《诗》虽然都属于今文诗学,但其思想特征并不完全相同。而这些思想特征的不同,与它们思想来源的不同有着密切关系:鲁《诗》与荀子思想有着密切关系,在解《诗》的时候突出了礼的地位;齐《诗》源自以《公羊》为代表的齐学,有着浓厚的阴阳五行思想色彩;韩《诗》同时受到荀子与阴阳家两方面思想的影响,这也是其既有荀子"天人相分"思想,又有天人感应、阴阳灾异思想的原因所在。从保持先秦《诗》义的原貌来看,鲁《诗》的贡献最大。但从汉代经学的发展来看,齐《诗》无疑最能反映西汉今文诗学的特色。     

蒙古族传统家庭观念及其民族伦理发生学意义

蒙古族传统家庭观念中渗透着厚重的伦理道德思想观念。家庭观念的表现形式为"乡土观念"、"祖先崇拜"、"灶火(蒙古语gal golomta)观念"、"亲属观念"和"国家意识"等诸多层次,它不仅体现了人们对故土、家园、亲属及国家的眷恋之情,并且反映了蒙古人一切美好道德之根源。蒙古族传统家庭观念几乎包含了蒙古社会伦理的全部含义,对它进行深入研究具有理论和现实的意义。     

The Moral Grounds of Reasonably Mistaken Self-Defense

Some, but not all, of the mistakes a person makes when acting in apparently necessary self-defense are reasonable: we take them not to violate the rights of the apparent aggressor. I argue that this is explained by duties grounded in agents’ entitlements to a fair distribution of the risk of suffering unjust harm. I suggest that the content of these duties is filled in by a social signaling norm, and offer some moral constraints on the form such a norm can take.     

Character Strengths and PERMA: Investigating the Relationships of Character Strengths with a Multidimensional Framework of Well-Being

Character strengths are positively valued traits that are expected to contribute to the good life (Peterson and Seligman 2004). Numerous studies have confirmed their robust relationships with subjective or hedonic well-being. Seligman (2011) provided a new framework of well-being suggesting five dimensions that encompass both hedonic and eudemonic aspects of well-being: positive emotions, engagement, positive relationships, meaning and accomplishment (forming the acronym PERMA). However, the role of character strengths has not been studied so far in this framework. Also, most studies on the relationships between character strengths and well-being only have only relied on self-reports. This set of two studies examines the relationships of character strengths and the orientations to well-being in two cross-sectional studies (Study 1: N = 5521), while also taking informant-reports into account and utilizing different questionnaires to control for a possible method bias (Study 2: N = 172). Participants completed validated assessments of character strengths and the PERMA dimensions (self-reports in Study 1, self- and informant-reports in Study 2). Results showed that in self-reports, all strengths were positively related to all PERMA dimensions, but there were differences in the size of the relationships. Accomplishment, for example, showed the strongest associations with strengths such as perspective, persistence, and zest, whereas for positive relationships, strengths such as teamwork, love, and kindness were the best predictors. These findings were largely confirmed by informant-reports in Study 2. The findings provide further support for the notion that character contributes to well-being and they could guide the development of strengths-based interventions tailored to individual needs.

     

Understanding the Pathways from Depression to Suicidal Risk from the Perspective of the Interpersonal–Psychological Theory of Suicide

Suicide is a major public health concern, especially in adolescence. Identifying risk factors for suicide is important to effectively prevent such behavior. Depression is one of the most widely examined risk factors for suicidal risk. How depression and suicidal risk are related, however, is still not clear. This study tested a model with three key constructs of the interpersonal–psychological theory of suicidal behavior (IPTS)—perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness, and nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI)—as mediators in the relationship between depression and suicidal risk among Chinese adolescents. Chinese high school students (N = 1,074; 54.2% male; M_age = 13.87 years, SD = 1.48) completed questionnaires assessing all study variables. Results suggested that perceived burdensomeness and NSSI partially mediated the relationship between depression and suicidal risk. Findings of this study emphasize the importance of the IPTS framework in understanding the possible mechanisms underlying the relationship between depression and suicidal risk, and suggest a possible avenue for suicide interventions.     

道法自然 返璞归真——在第三届“世界和传统宗教领袖大会”上的发言

非常荣幸受邀来到美丽的哈萨克斯坦,代表中国道教界参加这次宗教盛会.