Finger coordination under artificial changes in finger strength feedback: a study using analytical inverse optimization

A recently developed method of analytical inverse optimization (ANIO) was used to compute cost functions based on sets of experimental observations in 4-finger pressing tasks with accurate total force and moment production. In different series, feedback on total force and moment was provided using the index finger force at its value, doubled, or halved. Finger force data across different force-moment combinations formed a plane. This allowed reconstructing cost functions as 2nd-order polynomials with linear terms. Changes in the coefficients of the cost function across the 3 series allowed the authors to offer a biomechanical interpretation related to constraints on finger forces with different lever arms. ANIO allows the authors to describe preferred regions within the space of solutions for redundant tasks in terms of cost functions.     

Suicide among foreign residents of Japan

The suicide rate of Koreans living in Japan is twice as high as that of Koreans in South Korea. Reasons for this high suicide rate are discussed, including effects of economic crises and discrimination.     

Does d-Cycloserine Augmentation of CBT Improve Therapeutic Homework Compliance for Pediatric Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder?

Clinical studies in adults and children with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) have shown that d-cycloserine (DCS) can improve treatment response by enhancing fear extinction learning during exposure-based psychotherapy. Some have hypothesized that improved treatment response is a function of increased compliance and engagement in therapeutic homework tasks, a core component of behavioral treatment. The present study examined the relationship between DCS augmented cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and homework compliance in a double-blind, placebo controlled trial with 30 youth with OCD. All children received 10 CBT sessions, the last seven of which included exposure and response prevention paired with DCS or placebo dosed 1 h before the session started. Results suggested that DCS augmented CBT did not predict improved homework compliance over the course of treatment, relative to the placebo augmented CBT group. However, when groups were collapsed, homework compliance was directly associated with treatment outcome. These findings suggest that while DCS may not increase homework compliance over time, more generally, homework compliance is an integral part of pediatric OCD treatment outcome.     

Aligning inside and outside perspectives of the self: A cross‐cultural difference in self‐perception

Past research shows that European Americans tend to take a first‐person perspective to understand the self and are unlikely to align the inside look with the outside gaze, whereas Asians tend to take a third‐person perspective and are likely to shift their inside look in the direction of the outsize gaze. In three experiments, we compared Asians and European Americans' self‐perceptions when the presence of their parents in the background of self‐perception was primed or otherwise. Without the priming, both European Americans and Asians viewed themselves more positively from their own perspective than from their parents' perspective. With the priming, only Asians lowered the positivity of their self‐perceptions to match the perceived positivity of the self in the parents' perspective. These results suggest that Asians do not have a static, passive tendency to assimilate their self‐views into the perceived external assessments of the self. Rather, their self‐views are fluid and flexible.     

Stress Mediates the Within-Person Longitudinal Associations Between Depression and Different Anxiety Syndromes in Youth

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - Depressive symptoms predict within-person change in physical symptoms of anxiety and social anxiety symptoms; however, potential mediators of...     

Intergenerational Coresidence and Life Satisfaction in Old Age: The Moderating Role of Homeownership

Household structure for older people’s subjective well-being is important to promote healthy ageing in the context of the rapid increase of the older population. Living with adult children is known to promote older people’s life satisfaction, a key indicator of subjective well-being, whereas others claim a negative impact of such intergenerational coresidence. This study aims to empirically test these theories (family support vs. family conflict), by examining the role of homeownership–another important factor contributing to subjective well-being–in this association between intergenerational coresidence and life satisfaction. Analysing the nationally representative data on the elderly population in South Korea, the findings showed that intergenerational coresidence decreases life satisfaction when the elderly achieve a certain level of housing security by living in owner-occupied housing. Living with adult children is negatively associated with life satisfaction particularly for older old homeowners compared to younger old owners. Our findings provide implications for public policies promoting intergenerational coresidence and asset-based welfare to enhance older people’s well-being in Korea and more broadly in East Asia.

     

Examining Trajectories of Early Adolescents’ Life Satisfaction in South Korea Using a Growth Mixture Model

Various aspects of early adolescence can have a key impact on adult life satisfaction. This study applied a growth mixture model to examine the trajectories of early adolescents’ life satisfaction and test the effects of individual (sex, subjective achievement, and self-esteem) and social factors (school adjustment and peer attachment) thereon. For this purpose, a growth mixture model was used on the fifth- (grade five), sixth- (grade six), and seventh- (grade seven) year panel data of 1917 grade one students from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (2010–2016, National Youth Policy Institute), excluding missing samples. Participants were 990 boys (51.6%) and 927 girls (48.4%). The results indicated that the trajectories of life satisfaction could be categorized into three groups: “High Level-decreasing” (57.19%), “Moderate Level-stable” (37.62%), and “Low Level-increasing” (5.19%). Predictors for each class exhibited that female students and individuals with higher levels of self-esteem and school adjustment were more likely to be in the “Low Level-increasing” and “Moderate Level-stable” groups compared to male students and those reporting lower levels of self-esteem and school adjustment. Moreover, students with higher peer attachment were more likely to be in the “Low Level-increasing” group compared to the “High Level-decreasing” group. Educational implications to achieve positive life satisfaction by determining the influence of the predictors for each trajectory are outlined.

     

Purity matters more than harm in moral judgments of suicide: Response to Gray (2014)

Many people judge suicide to be immoral. We have found evidence that these moral judgments are primarily predicted by people’s belief that suicide taints the soul and by independent concerns about purity. This finding is inconsistent with accounts that define morality as fundamentally based upon harm considerations. In this commentary, we respond to a critique of our finding, and we provide further support for our original conclusions. Even when applying new exclusion criteria to our data, an examination of effect sizes demonstrates that concerns about purity robustly and meaningfully explain variance in moral judgments of suicide. While harm concerns sometimes predict moral judgments of suicide alongside purity concerns, they reliably explain a much smaller proportion of the variance than do purity concerns. Therefore, data from six studies continue to suggest that the relevance of harm concerns for moral judgments of suicide is substantially overshadowed by the contribution of purity concerns.     

Dimensions of Religiousness and Spirituality as Predictors of Well-Being in Advanced Chronic Heart Failure Patients

We examined relationships between seven dimensions of religion/spirituality (RS) (forgiveness, daily spiritual experiences, belief in afterlife, religious identity, religious support, public practices, and positive RS coping) and three dimensions of well-being (physical, mental, and existential) in a sample of 111 patients with advanced chronic heart failure. Participants completed questionnaires at baseline and 3 months later. Results showed that fairly high levels of RS were reported on all seven dimensions. Furthermore, RS dimensions were differentially related to well-being. No aspect of RS was related to physical well-being, and only a few aspects were related to mental well-being. Forgiveness was related to less subsequent depression, while belief in afterlife was related to poorer mental health. All aspects of RS were related to at least one aspect of existential well-being. In particularly, daily spiritual experiences were linked with higher existential well-being and predicted less subsequent spiritual strain. These results are consistent with the view that in advanced disease, RS may not affect physical well-being but may have potent influences on other aspects of well-being, particularly existential aspects.