Culture and decision‐making: Investigating cultural variations in the East Asian and North American online decision‐making processes

Research in cross‐cultural psychology suggests that East Asians hold holistic thinking styles whereas North Americans hold analytic thinking styles. The present study examines the influence of cultural thinking styles on the online decision‐making processes for Hong Kong Chinese and European Canadians, with and without time constraints. We investigated the online decision‐making processes in terms of (1) information search speed, (2) quantity of information used, and (3) type of information used. Results show that, without time constraints, Hong Kong Chinese, compared to European Canadians, spent less time on decisions and parsed through information more efficiently, and Hong Kong Chinese attended to both important and less important information, whereas European Canadians selectively focused on important information. No cultural differences were found in the quantity of information used. When under time constraints, all cultural variations disappeared. The dynamics of cultural differences and similarities in decision‐making are discussed.     

Myopic perception of having a deadline in negotiations: An anchoring effect due to question order

In negotiations, people tend to perceive a deadline as more detrimental to themselves than to their opponents. This phenomenon is termed myopic perception. The present research proposes that myopic perception can be understood as a result of an anchoring effect due to the question order used in probing the perception of a deadline. When people estimate deal prices before rating the influence of a deadline, their judgements are anchored on their negotiation outcomes, making their perception egocentric, which leads to myopic perception. As a result, myopic perception was hypothesized to be reduced by reversing the above question order to change the respondents' judgement anchor from negotiation outcomes to negotiation procedures. In Study 1, myopic perception disappeared when participants rated the general influence of a deadline before estimating deal price in a negotiation scenario. In Study 2, pairs of participants negotiated under a tight deadline. Myopic perception of a deadline was manipulated before the negotiation. Dyads without myopic perception had a smaller discrepancy in reservation price. However, myopic perception had no effect on impasse rates or final deal prices. The results are discussed with respect to behavioural forecasting and practical implications of myopic perception.     

Using a Self-Management Intervention to Increase Compliance in Children With ASD

This two-study series examined the effectiveness of self-management in increase compliance with parental requests. Three boys diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their parents participated. The intervention involved self-monitoring combined with parent-delivered reinforcement. A multiple baseline design was used. The intervention was successful in increasing rates of compliance and reducing problem behavior in training and generalization settings with each participant. Social validity was high and treatment integrity data indicated that the intervention could be readily implemented by parents. Study 2 also provided evidence of a strong treatment effect for the self-management beyond a small effect for effective instructional delivery.     

Effects of Weight and Syntactic Priming on the Production of Cantonese Verb-Doubling

Verb-doubling, where a copy of the main verb occurs both before and after the direct object, is a structure commonly used in Chinese in sentences containing a frequency or duration phrase. In Cantonese, verb-doubling is highly optional and therefore problematic for existing syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic accounts of its distribution in Mandarin. The current study investigates the role of grammatical weight and syntactic priming in the choice of verb-doubling in Cantonese. Following (Hawkins in Efficiency and complexity in grammars, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2004) theory of efficiency and complexity in grammars, we hypothesized that speakers would choose verb-doubling over the canonical structure more often when the object NP was heavy, in order to minimize processing domains. In addition, we expected an effect of syntactic priming whereby the choice of structure is influenced by a previously encountered structure. The results of two elicited production experiments revealed no weight-based preference for verb-doubling, and only minor effects of grammatical weight, but clear effects of syntactic priming: (1) for both canonical primes and verb-doubling primes, speakers tended to repeat previously heard structures; (2) the priming effect was just as strong in the heavy NP condition, where speakers made more errors recalling the semantic content of the sentence, suggesting that semantic information is represented separately from syntactic information; (3) the priming effect was stronger for informationally accurate responses, suggesting that recently activated structures are easier to produce than other structures under conditions of increased cognitive load. We conclude that the choice between verb-doubling and canonical structure in Cantonese is easily influenced by the structure of recently encountered sentences, with weight effects, if any, being more difficult to detect.     

音高和时长信息感知的范畴特异性及其发展

通过考察不同范畴间相同声音特征和同一范畴内不同声音特征的感知探讨了言语和音乐中音高和时长信息感知的特异性及发展模式。结果发现：同一范畴内不同声音特征的感知显著相关,支持音高和时长信息加工的范畴特异性理论;高一学生只在言语中的音高和时长信息的感知上具有明显的范畴特异性,说明范畴特异性的形成因声音范畴属性的不同而有所差异;高一学生言语中音高信息的感知能力好于对时长信息的感知,而成人却没有差异,可能是受到了母语和第二语言学习经验的影响。     

血管外科治疗进展与科技发展的关系

血管外科在近几十年日益发展成熟,并逐渐从普外科分离出来成为单独发展的学科。在科技发展日新月异的新世纪,新技术新材料的应用也推动着血管外科诊疗手段的突飞猛进。这就要求从事血管外科的医务工作者在临床工作中要树立科技发展观的意识,及时了解科技前沿的发展动态,用新技术新方法改善治疗效果,最大程度地减少患者的痛苦和提高患者的生活质量,促进人类健康生存和发展。     

Saving graces: Impact of partner support and maternal attachment on partner attachments in an individualistic and a collectivist context

The current study investigated the relationships between current attachment to mother and attachment to romantic partners, and the role of current partner support and culture as moderators of that relationship. University students who were currently in a romantic relationship were recruited from Hong Kong and USA, and completed measures on attachment styles and partner support. Results showed that maternal attachment anxiety was correlated with romantic attachment anxiety; maternal attachment avoidance was correlated with romantic attachment avoidance, but this linkage varied by level of current partner support. Romantic attachment avoidance was also associated with current partner support, but this linkage was stronger for HK Chinese than for Americans. These results are discussed in terms of how interpersonal and personality factors promoted by culture can affect the developmental course of romantic relationships.     

Quality of Life of Individuals with Acquired Brain Injuries

This study investigated the quality of life of individuals with acquired brain injuries (ABI) across a one- to fifteen-year post-injury time span. This allows us to identify the health and service needs of individuals with ABI and provide direction for further improvement. Twenty-nine individuals were invited from the local Self-Help Group for the Brain-Damaged to participate in this study. Four instruments were used to help in the investigation of the subjective components of the quality of life, including the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI) and Positive and Negative Affect Scales (PANAS). The instruments used were the Modified Barthel Index (MBI) and Lawton Instrumental Activity of Daily Living (IADL) Scale. After analysis of the results and their interpretation, there was no significant difference between the post-injury groups in their scores of negative affect. It is suggested that there should be services, such as psychotherapy, to help reduce the existence of negative moods. Improvement in the IADL aspect should be more focused in future rehabilitation services to allow people to enjoy a fuller life.     

留守儿童心理健康状况影响因素分析及对策思考

留守儿童是一个需要予以高度重视的群体,其心理健康问题检出率较高,心理健康状况令人堪忧;其心理问题是学校、社会、父母、监护人与留守儿童自身等多种因素交互作用的产物;通过多元互动,即加强社区、学校、父母、监护人与留守儿童的互动,可促进留守儿童心理健康发展.     

《周易》、金文“孝享”释义

《周易·苹卦·彖传》有“致孝享一语,古今学人都把“孝”宇理解为普通的孝道之孝,谓“孝享”为孝子之享。实未得古义。本文历考两周金文10余处“享孝”用例及30余例“孝”字用例,几乎无一例外都作祭祀讲。兹结合金文资料以及先秦早期文献,对“孝享”本义作出深入细致的考订。