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.     

The Relation Between People's Connection With a Target and the Perceived Importance of Justice

We propose that actors will perceive justice as more important with respect to a target when they experience moderate versus extremely high or extremely low connection with the target. In two studies, we manipulated actors’ connection with (e.g., similarity to) a target and the target's standing on the appropriate justice criterion. Both studies yielded the predicted curvilinear relation between connectedness and the perceived relevance of justice. In Study 2, actors’ decisions were more affected by the justice criterion in the moderate versus extreme connectedness conditions. Our findings have important implications for the interplay between connection with others and moral motivations.     

Relation Between Emotional Labor and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: An Investigation Among Chinese Teaching Professionals

This study examined the association between emotional labor and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and the mediation of work engagement in this relationship. A total of 264 teachers in Mainland China were recruited for this study. Bivariate correlation showed that both deep acting and the expression of naturally felt emotion were positively related to the two dimensions of OCB, namely, OCB toward the individual (OCBI) and OCB toward the organization (OCBO), whereas surface acting was not related to the OCB dimensions. Work engagement was also positively associated with both OCB dimensions. Regression results showed that work engagement partially mediated the relation between deep acting and OCBO, and that between the expression of naturally felt emotion and OCBI. Work engagement also fully mediated the association between deep acting and OCBI, and that between the expression of naturally felt emotion and OCBO. In light of these findings, strategies that encourage employees to display emotions consistent with their inner experience were discussed.     

Gender Differences in the Creativity of Hong Kong School Children: Comparison by Using the New Electronic Wallach–Kogan Creativity Tests

Gender differences in creativity scores of the Wallach–Kogan Creativity Tests were found for a sample of 2476 4th- to 9th-graders from 8 primary schools and 4 secondary schools in Hong Kong. Specifically, girls in the junior high grades excelled boys in verbal flexibility, figural fluency, figural flexibility, figural uniqueness, and figural unusualness. These findings contrasted with previous findings of no gender differences in a norming study of the same instrument carried out eight years before this study. The gender differences were explained in terms of environmental effect and cultural effect.     

Bicultural Effects on the Creative Potential of Chinese and French Children

This study examined possible bicultural effects on creative potential of children in four groups of Chinese and French children in Hong Kong and Paris. An international battery of widely used divergent measures (Wallach-Kogan Creativity Tests; WKCT) and newly constructed divergent-plus-integrative measures (Evaluation of Potential Creativity; EPoC) was established for assessment. Study 1 showed that most measures of WKCT and EPoC were reasonably high in reliability and they had expected correlations with the fluency scores of some subtests of Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Study 2 found some interestingly mixed bicultural effects favoring verbal divergent responses for French children and graphic integrative responses for Chinese children. Compared with Paris-French children, the bicultural Hong Kong-French children had significantly higher scores in figural fluency, figural flexibility, and figural uniqueness of WKCT (requiring only verbal divergent responses) but significantly lower scores in the graphic divergent-exploratory measure of EPoC. Compared with Hong Kong-Chinese children, the bicultural Paris-Chinese children had significantly higher scores in the graphic convergent-integrative measure of EPoC, but significantly lower scores in verbal fluency, verbal flexibility, figural fluency, figural flexibility, figural uniqueness, and figural unusualness of WKCT. Implications of the mixed bicultural effects in relation to the diverse creativity measures and children groups are discussed.     

Psychosocial Adaptation of Childhood Cancer Survivors and their Siblings

To best use resources in helping childhood cancer survivors, ascertaining the psychosocial adaptation deficit of the survivor is necessary. Psychosocial adaptation comprises a subjective, self-reflective indicator and objective indicators in terms of education, employment, and other achievements. While deficit is possible due to the trauma caused by cancer and its treatment, research evidence for the deficit is required to ascertain its existence. This study represents such a research endeavor based on a survey of 137 childhood cancer survivors and 101 cancer-free siblings of the survivors in Hong Kong, China. Results reveal weak and inconsistent differences in psychosocial adaptation between the survivor and his or her sibling. The effects of cancer treatment and service involvement on psychosocial adaptation were generally sporadic. Age presented the most pervasive influence on psychosocial adaptation. The results imply a justification for current practices in sustaining the psychosocial adaptation of childhood cancer survivors.     

母婴分离的动物模型及其神经生物学机制

利用社会环境剥夺建立的精神分裂症动物模型,是当前研究精神分裂症神经生物学机制的一个热点课题.作为一种重要的早期社会剥夺方式,出生后至断乳前的母婴分离日益受到关注.文章综合阐述了母婴分离对啮齿类动物行为及神经发育影响的最新研究成果,表明母婴分离可以部分模拟精神分裂症的行为及中枢表现,证实了该模型的可行性;并进一步分析了影响实验结果的各种相关因素,为今后采用该模型进行深入研究提供一定的理论支持.     

On Two Versions of ‘the Surprise Examination Paradox’

In this paper, I consider a popular version of the clever student’s reasoning in the surprise examination case, and demonstrate that a valid argument can be constructed. The valid argument is a reductio ad absurdum with the proposition that the student knows on the morning of the first day that the teacher’s announcement is fulfilled as its reductio. But it would not give rise to any paradox. In the process, I criticize Saul Kripke’s solution and Timothy Williamson’s attack on a key step of the student’s reasoning. I then consider the condemned prisoner case in W. V. Quine’s paper ‘On a So-Called Paradox’. I argue that the prisoner’s reasoning as conceived by Quine is more relevant and reasonable than the student’s argument in the popular version of the surprise examination case. I also argue that Quine’s criticism of the prisoner’s reasoning is correct, and therefore that the condemned prisoner case, and the surprise examination case as well, would not generate any paradox.     

Cross-Cultural Comparisons of Adults’ Childhood Recollections: How are Peak-Experiences Described in China and Portugal?

Peak experiences are joyous and fulfilling moments in life, and thought to be associated with happiness and well-being. However, whether peak experiences vary from culture to culture is still under-researched. The current study investigated the autobiographical memories of peak experiences in Portugal and China. College students from Portugal and Mainland China (N = 161) reported their memory of a peak-experience occurring before the age of 14 and provided a self-rating on its enduring impact. We found that participants from Portugal reported peak-experiences involving a developmental landmark more frequently than did Mainland Chinese. In contrast, Mainland Chinese reported peak-experiences involving serenity more frequently than did Portuguese participants. Although Mainland Chinese provided more details about their peak-experiences, their narratives were more generic and emotionally mild. In particular, memory specificity (specific vs. general) significantly mediated the association between culture and developmental landmark, whereas memory emotionality (low arousal emotions) significantly mediated the link between culture and serenity. This study extends previous research on youthful peak-experiences to a cross-cultural context by incorporating measures of autobiographical memory to analyze variations between these two cultural groups.     

Neurotic Nucleus and Test Anxiety

Undergraduate university students (N = 103) participated in a study of the relationship between test anxiety and the variables of trait anxiety, self-esteem, locus of control, mental ability, and gender. Results indicated bivariate associations between total test anxiety and the other measures except for mental ability. Further analyses revealed independent relationships between the “worry” component of test anxiety and the variables of trait anxiety, intemality, chance, and mental ability. We also found independent associations between the “emotionality” aspect of test anxiety and the measures of trait anxiety and chance.