The Experience of Intimate Relationships Among Homosexual Men in Malaysia

Malaysia is relatively conservative regarding topics like sex, and, especially, research on homosexual relationships is scarce. The current study aims to understand the experience of intimate relationships among homosexual men in Malaysia using a phenomenological qualitative approach. A total of 12 participants of various ethnic backgrounds (between 21 and 35 years of age) were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling via the Malaysian-based LGBT-friendly Facebook group. Thematic analysis was applied for data analysis, and themes emerged through looking into the perception and practice of intimate relationships. The findings of the current study reflect that the hetero-normative perception of intimate relationships is common among the participants, and is compatible with the cultural norms. However, in terms of sexual practices, the findings show similarities with more liberal parts of the world, as open relationships and casual sex is common among homosexual men. Hence, open relationships are being adopted as a strategy to improve the survivability of the relationship instead of just to satisfy sexual needs. The findings highlight the lack of a frame of reference for homosexual relationships in Malaysia. The current study adds to the scarce research on homosexuality in this country, which could assist professional helpers to better understand the different dynamics and beliefs of relationships among homosexual men and the challenges they may face.     

Perfectionism mediated the relationship between brain structure variation and negative emotion in a nonclinical sample

In maladaptive respects, perfectionism reflects an individual’s concern over making mistakes and doubting the quality of his or her own actions excessively, which would affect one’s emotion. However, little is known about the neural mechanisms associated with the perfectionism and negative affect. In this study, voxel-based morphometry was performed to identify the brain regions underlying individual differences in perfectionism, which was measured by the Chinese Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (CFMPS), in a large sample of nonclinical young adults. Our results showed that the two subdimensions of the perfectionism, concern over mistakes (CM) and doubts about actions (DA), were both positively correlated with the self-reported anxiety and depression as well as the gray matter volume (GMV) in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a pivotal brain region in cognitive control, affective state, and regulation. Moreover, CM, DA, and organization scores were respectively correlated with distributed brain regions involved in multiple cognitive and emotion processes. Our results furthermore revealed that the score of DA acted a mediational mechanism underlying the relationship between the GMV of ACC and self-rating negative affect (anxiety and depression). Taken together, these results might suggest the neuroanatomical basis of perfectionism and the association among the perfectionism, negative emotion, and brain architecture. This study emphasized that perfectionism could play a crucial role in the arousal of negative affect.     

Trait compassion is associated with the neural substrate of empathy

Individual differences in the personality trait Agreeableness underlie humans’ ability to interpret social cues and coordinate effectively with others. However, previous investigations of the neural basis of Agreeableness have yielded largely inconsistent results. Recent evidence has demonstrated that Agreeableness can be divided into two, correlated subdimensions. Compassion reflects tendencies toward empathy, sympathy, and concern for others, while Politeness reflects tendencies toward compliance and refraining from aggression and exploitation. The present study seeks to clarify the neural substrates of Agreeableness by examining whether structural differences in the brain show distinct associations with Compassion and Politeness. Results of a meta-analysis of fMRI studies examining empathy were used to generate hypotheses about the brain regions and networks that underlie trait Compassion. Results of a large-scale structural neuroimaging investigation (N = 275) were largely consistent with the meta-analysis: Compassion was positively correlated with gray matter volume in the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and anterior insula (AI). Further, these differences appear to be associated with Compassion specifically, as opposed to Politeness, suggesting that these two traits have at least partially distinct neuroanatomical substrates.     

利他仅仅利他吗?——进化视角的双路径模型

利他对受助者及社会有弥足珍贵的价值,能提高群体的功能性,增加危机中的生存概率从而保持种群延续;但利他会降低助人者自身的适应性,使其生存与繁殖的可能性较其他个体,尤其是自利者,处于不利地位。利他行为是如何得到进化的这一难题吸引了各领域学者的关注。本文回顾了具有代表性的多水平选择理论与竞争性利他理论,结合利他研究的最新实证证据,提出利他增加助人者适应性的双路径模型。内部路径指利他行为可以通过自激励的内在过程,促进助人者身心的正性互动,带来内部效用增益,从而在某些时刻提高其适应性。外部路径为利他传递展现助人者品质的信号,有助于提升其群体内地位并增加合作、择偶机会。进而,利他行为能够在个体与群体层面的进化选择中得到保存。未来研究可以从身心关系的角度继续探讨利他问题,促成利他的正性循环。     

自然自明性的失落——Blankenburg精神分裂理论述评

传统的精神分裂研究,关注的主要是精神分裂的妄想症候群。因为精神分裂中相对特殊的症状,在妄想形式中可以得到最轻易的把握。Blankenburg则认为:精神分裂的本质结构变异是先于妄想的。因此,他致力于在精神分裂的症状贫乏型(主要是青春型和单纯型)中,寻找精神分裂的本质变异。他发现:精神分裂异常中的核心缺损是自然自明性的失落。根据胡塞尔的超越现象学,自然自明性失落有四个原因:与世界关系的改变、时间建构的改变、自我建构的改变、交互主体性的改变。Blankenburg的精神分裂理论,作为二十世纪有关精神分裂的最重要工作之一,对于今天的精神分裂研究仍然有极其重要的意义。     

Non‐ignorable missingness item response theory models for choice effects in examinee‐selected items

Examinee‐selected item (ESI) design, in which examinees are required to respond to a fixed number of items in a given set, always yields incomplete data (i.e., when only the selected items are answered, data are missing for the others) that are likely non‐ignorable in likelihood inference. Standard item response theory (IRT) models become infeasible when ESI data are missing not at random (MNAR). To solve this problem, the authors propose a two‐dimensional IRT model that posits one unidimensional IRT model for observed data and another for nominal selection patterns. The two latent variables are assumed to follow a bivariate normal distribution. In this study, the mirt freeware package was adopted to estimate parameters. The authors conduct an experiment to demonstrate that ESI data are often non‐ignorable and to determine how to apply the new model to the data collected. Two follow‐up simulation studies are conducted to assess the parameter recovery of the new model and the consequences for parameter estimation of ignoring MNAR data. The results of the two simulation studies indicate good parameter recovery of the new model and poor parameter recovery when non‐ignorable missing data were mistakenly treated as ignorable.     

What is beautiful brings out what is good in you: The effect of facial attractiveness on individuals' honesty

This study tested whether the presence of an attractive face would influence individuals' honesty. In 2 experiments, 225 participants were asked to predict the outcome of computerised coin‐flips and to self‐report the accuracy of their predictions. Self‐reports were made in the presence of a facial photo of a female who had been rated before the experiment as high attractive, middle attractive or low attractive by other volunteers. Participants were rewarded based on their self‐reported (not actual) accuracy. The results showed that subjects tended to give more dishonest self‐reports when presented with middle or low attractive facial images than when presented with high attractive images, with self‐reported accuracy being significantly higher than the random level. The results of this study show that presented with an attractive face, subjects tend to engage in behaviours that conform to moral codes.     

Impulsivity as a precedent factor for problematic Internet use: How can we be sure?

Previous research has suggested that problematic Internet use (PIU) is associated with impulse control disorder. Although researchers have suggested that impulsivity is a risk factor for PIU, the literature lacks longitudinal evidence on the relationship between impulsivity and PIU. We aimed to use a cross‐lagged analytic framework to identify temporal order effects and hypothesised that impulsivity was the precedent factor for PIU. In a panel sample of college students (N = 367), trait impulsivity and PIU were measured in the spring of freshman year and in their junior year. The measures included a self‐developed PIU Scale and the revised Impulsiveness Scale based on Barratt's concept. We found that “non‐planning impulsivity” was not associated with PIU. The “motor impulsivity” subfactor was thus adopted in the cross‐lagged model. The results suggest that motor impulsivity and PIU were stable across time. Motor impulsivity at Time 1 positively predicted PIU at Time 2, but PIU at Time 1 did not predict motor impulsivity at Time 2. A further investigation using gender as a moderator found a gender difference in the temporal relationship. Because motor impulsivity is a risk factor for PIU, potential prevention strategies based on this result are suggested.     

Muscular Activation Pattern of Bilateral Extensors Response to Asymmetric Hand Lifting During Trunk Flexion–extension Performance

The authors' purpose was to test the effect of asymmetric hand lifting on muscular activation patterns of 3 bilateral extensors. Eighteen male university students without back pain were volunteered. Each performed flexion–extension randomly with conditions of right lifting, left lifting, and nonlifting. Surface electromyography from bilateral thoracic, lumbar erector spinae, and hamstring was recorded. The cross-correlation and relative intensity in paired muscles of bilateral extensors was calculated in flexion as well as extension period. The results showed that the cross-correlation coefficient was decreased and the phase lag as well as the relative intensity of bilateral extensors was increased significantly in thoracic level. The phase lag as well as the relative intensity of bilateral extensors was increased significantly in lumbar level. It was concluded that asymmetric lifting has a significant effect on muscular activation of bilateral extensors in thorax level, which causes the ipsilateral extensor to activate larger and longer. Asymmetric lifting also has some effect on muscular activation of bilateral extensors in lumbar level but with less extent than in thorax level, which causes contralateral extensor to activate larger and longer. Asymmetric lifting seems to have no significant effect on muscular activation of bilateral hamstring.     

The Inversion Effect for Chinese Characters is Modulated by Radical Organization

In studies of visual object recognition, strong inversion effects accompany the acquisition of expertise and imply the involvement of configural processing. Chinese literacy results in sensitivity to the orthography of Chinese characters. While there is some evidence that this orthographic sensitivity results in an inversion effect, and thus involves configural processing, that processing might depend on exact orthographic properties. Chinese character recognition is believed to involve a hierarchical process, involving at least two lower levels of representation: strokes and radicals. Radicals are grouped into characters according to certain types of structure, i.e. left–right structure, top–bottom structure, or simple characters with only one radical by itself. These types of radical structures vary in both familiarity, and in hierarchical level (compound versus simple characters). In this study, we investigate whether the hierarchical-level or familiarity of radical-structure has an impact on the magnitude of the inversion effect. Participants were asked to do a matching task on pairs of either upright or inverted characters with all the types of structure. Inversion effects were measured based on both reaction time and response sensitivity. While an inversion effect was observed in all 3 conditions, the magnitude of the inversion effect varied with radical structure, being significantly larger for the most familiar type of structure: characters consisting of 2 radicals organized from left to right. These findings indicate that character recognition involves extraction of configural structure as well as radical processing which play different roles in the processing of compound characters and simple characters.