Group Size Effects on Risk Perception: A Test of Several Hypotheses

Yamaguchi (1998) found that people perceived a lower level of risk in a group than when they were alone, despite the fact that being in a group did not reduce the objective level of risk. Three experiments were conducted to examine several potential explanations for this effect. Experiment 1 replicated the group size effect in self-perception as well as the perception of the risk level of others. Results did not support the interdependence hypothesis and the affiliation hypothesis. Experiments 2 and 3 tested a hypothesis based on the availability heuristic. The group size effect was reduced or nullified when the target of risk judgment was associated with risk-seeking behavior or when an accident, in which many people died, was made salient.     

Psychological distance to reward: Segmentation of aperiodic schedules of reinforcement

College students responded for monetary rewards in two experiments on choice between differentially segmented aperiodic schedules of reinforcement. On a microcomputer, the concurrent chains were simulated as an air-defense video game in which subjects used two radars for detecting and destroying enemy aircraft. To earn more cash-exchangeable points, subjects had to shoot down as many planes as possible within a given period of time. For both experiments, access to one of two radar systems (terminal link) was controlled by a pair of independent concurrent variable-interval 60-s schedules (initial link) with a 4-s changeover delay always in effect. In Experiment 1, the appearance of an enemy aircraft in the terminal link was determined by a variable-interval (15 s or 60 s) schedule or a two-component chained variable-interval schedule of equal duration. Experiment 2 was similar to Experiment 1 except for the segmented schedule, which had three components. Subjects preferred the unsegmented schedule over its segmented counterpart in the conditions with variable-interval 60 s, and preference tended to be more pronounced with more components in the segmented schedule. These findings are compatible with those from previous studies of periodic and aperiodic schedules with pigeons or humans as subjects.     

Exploring the roles of narcissism,uses of,and gratifications from microblogs on affinity‐seeking and social capital

The purpose of this study is to examine how the uses and gratifications of microblogs (i.e. Sina Weibo) can influence interpersonal relationships, especially in affinity‐seeking and perceived social capital. Data were gathered through an online questionnaire with a sample of 431 Weibo users surveyed throughout mainland China. Results show that (i) narcissism, content‐, and social‐gratification were positively related to intensity of Weibo use, (ii) intensity of Weibo use and process‐gratification were positively related to strategic performance, whereas only content‐gratification positively predicted affinity competence. (iii) content‐ and social‐gratification positively predicted bridging social capital, whereas convenience‐gratification and affinity‐seeking predicted bonding social capital, and (iv) intensity of Weibo use was positively related to both types of social capital only when Weibo gratifications were not included in the regression equations. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Relations between symptom severity,illness perceptions,visceral sensitivity,coping strategies and well-being in irritable bowel syndrome guided by the common sense model of illness

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a common condition affecting around 10–20% of the population and associated with poorer psychological well-being and quality of life. The aim of the current study was to explore the efficacy of the Common Sense Model (CSM) using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) in an IBS cohort. One hundred and thirty-one IBS patients (29 males, 102 females, mean age 38 years) participating in the IBSclinic.org.au pre-intervention assessment were included. Measures included IBS severity (Irritable Bowel Syndrome Severity Scoring System), coping patterns (Carver Brief COPE), visceral sensitivity (Visceral Sensitivity Index), illness perceptions (Brief Illness Perceptions Questionnaire), psychological distress (Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale), and quality of life (IBS Quality of Life scale; IBS-QoL). Using SEM, a final model with an excellent fit was identified (χ² (8) = 11.91, p = .16, χ²/N = 1.49, CFI > .98, TLI > .96, SRMR < .05). Consistent with the CSM, Illness perceptions were significantly and directly influenced by IBS severity (β = .90, p < .001). Illness perceptions in turn directly influenced maladaptive coping (β = .40, p < .001) and visceral sensitivity (β = .70, p < .001). Maladaptive coping and visceral sensitivity were significantly associated with psychological distress (β = .55, p < .001; β = .22, p < .01) and IBS-QoL (β = –.28, p < .001; β = –.62, p < .001). Based on these findings, we argue that to augment the adverse impact of IBS severity on IBS-QoL and psychological distress, psychological interventions will be best to target the mediating psychological processes including illness beliefs, visceral sensitivity and maladaptive coping.     

The use of interest and competence scores to predict educational choices of Chinese high school students

This study examined how interest, perceived competence (i.e., efficacy), and prestige preference, as measured by the Personal Globe Inventory (PGI; Tracey, 2002), contributed to the classification of Chinese high school students with different education orientations. It was hypothesized that interest, efficacy, and prestige would yield a significantly higher correct classification hit rate of students with different educational orientations than would be expected by chance, and that the combined set of the interest, efficacy, and prestige predictors would contribute significantly more variance than interest scores alone or the efficacy scores alone in predicting students' educational orientations. Findings suggested that the interest and competence scores of the PGI based on both the Holland RIASEC model as well as the 4-type (People, Things, Data, and Ideas) model were able to discriminate among students in three educational orientation groups: Arts and Humanities, Business, and Science. The PGI interest and competence scores of students in these educational orientation groups were consistent with the expected theoretical direction. The findings were supportive of the concurrent validity of the PGI for senior high school students in Hong Kong. Theoretical and practice implications were discussed.     

Parent–Adolescent Discrepancies in Perceived Parenting Characteristics and Adolescent Developmental Outcomes in Poor Chinese Families

We examined the relationships between parent–adolescent discrepancies in perceived parenting characteristics (indexed by parental responsiveness, parental demandingness, and parental control) and adolescent developmental outcomes (indexed by achievement motivation and psychological competence) in poor families in Hong Kong. A sample of 275 intact families having at least one child aged 11–16 experiencing economic disadvantage were invited to participate in the study. Fathers and mothers completed the Parenting Style Scale and Chinese Parental Control Scale, and adolescents completed the Social-Oriented Achievement Motivation Scale and Chinese Positive Youth Development Scale in addition to paternal and maternal Parenting Style Scale and Chinese Parental Control Scale. Results indicated that parents and adolescents had different perceptions of parental responsiveness, parental demandingness, and paternal control, with adolescents generally perceived lower levels of parenting behaviors than did their parents. While father–adolescent discrepancy in perceived paternal responsiveness and mother–adolescent discrepancy in perceived maternal control negatively predicted adolescent achievement motivation, mother–adolescent discrepancy in perceptions of maternal responsiveness negatively predicted psychological competence in adolescents experiencing economic disadvantage. The present findings provided support that parent–child discrepancies in perceived parenting characteristics have negative impacts on the developmental outcomes of adolescents experiencing economic disadvantage. The present study addresses parent–child discrepancies in perceived parental behaviors as “legitimate” constructs, and explores their links with adolescent psychosocial development, which sheds light for researchers and clinical practitioners in helping the Chinese families experiencing economic disadvantage.     

Catastrophizing,locus of control,pain, and disability in chinese chronic low back pain patients

Abstract

The present study examined the associations of locus of control (LOC) and catastrophizing with pain intensity and disability in Chinese chronic low back pain (CLBP) patients. In the study, 56 respondents (21 men and 35 women) with a mean age of 36.98 years (SD= 12.22) completed measures assessing locus of control, catastrophizing tendency, pain intensity, disability, and psychological distress. Results showed that after partialling out the effects of gender, duration of pain, and psychological distress, internal LOC significantly explained the variance of disability. For pain intensity, only catastrophizing accounted for a large portion of the variance. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future work were discussed.     

Evaluation of key points in the sit-to-stand movement using two force platforms

Three key points of the sit-to-stand (STS) movement were confirmed as aspects of the ground reaction force (GRF): the onset, maximum GRF, and seat-off. 46 healthy subjects (M age = 22.2 yr., SD = 4.4) participated. During the STS movement, two vertical force platforms were used to measure the resultant GRF, defined as the whole-body force, and its two components, the buttock and leg GRFs. The onsets of the component GRFs identified the sequence of the important time points in the STS movement more precisely than the onset of the resultant GRF. Data showed that the maximum whole-body GRF, the maximum GRF of both legs, and seat-off appeared in sequence and not simultaneously.     

Multilevel factor analysis and structural equation modeling of daily diary coping data: Modeling trait and state variation

The current study used multilevel modeling of daily diary data to model within-person (state) and between-person (trait) components of coping variables. This application included the introduction of multilevel factor analysis (MFA) and a comparison of the predictive ability of these trait/state factors. Daily diary data was collected on a large (n = 366) multiethnic sample over the course of five days. Intraclass correlation coefficient for the derived factors suggested approximately equal amounts of variability in coping usage at the state and trait levels. MFAs showed that Problem-Focused Coping and Social Support emerged as stable factors at both the within-person and between-person levels. Other factors (Minimization, Emotional Rumination, Avoidance, Distraction) were specific to the within-person or between-person levels, but not both. Multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) showed that the prediction of daily positive and negative affect differed as a function of outcome and level of coping factor. The Discussion section focuses primarily on a conceptual and methodological understanding of modeling state and trait coping using daily diary data with MFA and MSEM to examine covariation among coping variables and predicting outcomes of interest.