Cognitive profiles of Japanese and Canadian kindergarten and first-grade children.

Japanese kindergarten and first-grade children were given the Canadian Cognitive Abilities Test (CCAT), with slight cultural modifications. Widely used in Canadian and American schools, the CCAT consists of three batteries: verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal. The sample consisted of 454 Japanese children (234 boys, 220 girls). Results were examined by 3-month age intervals (chronological age range, 60 to 87 months of age). Subjects' scores were compared with CCAT norms, based on the performance of 3,500 Canadian children at each age level. On each battery, the Japanese children outperformed their Canadian counterparts, but the differential was most apparent on the verbal battery. Moreover, on the nonverbal battery for kindergarten Japanese children (ages 60 to 72 months), significant differences appeared only with the 60- to 63-month age cohort. Results indicate that the higher achievement of Japanese children was apparent by the time they entered kindergarten and that higher Japanese educational productivity could not be solely attributed to schooling effects. Furthermore, the data indicate that the early academic advantage of Japanese children may widen as they progress through their first year of school. (Longitudinal replication studies are suggested for examination of the long-range impact of the early cognitive advantage of Japanese children.)     

Tracking the processes behind conscious perception: a review of event-related potential correlates of visual consciousness

Event-related potential (ERP) studies have attempted to discover the processes that underlie conscious visual perception by contrasting ERPs produced by stimuli that are consciously perceived with those that are not. Variability of the proposed ERP correlates of consciousness is considerable: the earliest proposed ERP correlate of consciousness (P1) coincides with sensory processes and the last one (P3) marks postperceptual processes. A negative difference wave called visual awareness negativity (VAN), typically observed around 200 ms after stimulus onset in occipitotemporal sites, gains strong support for reflecting the processes that correlate with, and possibly enable, aware visual perception. Research suggests that the early parts of conscious processing can proceed independently of top-down attention, although top-down attention may modulate visual processing even before consciousness. Evidence implies that the contents of consciousness are provided by interactions in the ventral stream, but indispensable contributions from dorsal regions influence already low-level visual responses.     

The effect of eccentricity and the adapting level on the café wall illusion

The café wall pattern is composed of rows of alternating light and dark tiles, and alternate rows are shifted by one fourth of a cycle. The rows of tiles are separated by narrow horizontal mortar lines whose luminance is between those of the dark and the light tiles. Although the mortar lines are physically parallel, they are perceived to be tilted, which is known as the café wall illusion. In this study, an energy-based model for encoding orientation is implemented in order to estimate the strength of the café wall illusion, and it is shown that the estimated orientation depends on the spatial frequency to which each orientation-encoding unit is tuned. The estimation of mortar line orientation from an orientation-encoding unit tuned to a lower spatial frequency was greater than that from a unit tuned to a higher spatial frequency. It is assumed that the perceived mortar line orientation is the result of an integration of responses from the orientation-encoding units tuned to various spatial frequencies. This leads to the prediction that under viewing conditions in which responses from orientation-encoding units tuned to a higher spatial frequency are presumably weakened, the strength of the café wall illusion increases. In agreement with this prediction, it is shown that the café wall illusion is stronger when the café wall image is presented at the periphery or is observed under low luminance levels. On the other hand, the weighted averaging of the estimated mortar orientations across spatial frequencies overestimates the perceived orientation of the mortar lines. This suggests that the final percept of the café wall illusion could be determined by some kind of nonlinear interaction, such as an inhibitory interaction, between orientation-encoding units.     

Audiospatial and visuospatial working memory in 6-13 year old school children

The neural processes subserving working memory, and brain structures underlying this system, continue to develop during childhood. We investigated the effects of age and gender on audiospatial and visuospatial working memory in a nonclinical sample of school-aged children using n-back tasks. The results showed that auditory and visual working memory performance improves with age, suggesting functional maturation of underlying cognitive processes and brain areas. The gender differences found in the performance of working memory tasks suggest a larger degree of immaturity in boys than girls at the age period of 6–10 yr. The differences observed between the mastering of auditory and visual working memory tasks may indicate that visual working memory reaches functional maturity earlier than the corresponding auditory system.     

Age of first onset major depression in Chinese Americans

Using data from the Chinese American Epidemiological Study, risk for experiencing an initial episode of major depression across the life course was examined. Data were collected on 1,747 U.S.-born and foreign-born Chinese Americans (ages 18-65 years). Results suggest that Chinese American women did not evidence higher risk than Chinese American men for experiencing a 1st major depressive episode. Risk for experiencing a 1st depressive episode decreased as length of residence in the United States increased. Although those who immigrated at younger ages evidenced greater overall risk, those who came at later ages were more likely to become depressed at or soon after arrival. Competing theories of acculturation-related risk are discussed and directions for future research are proposed.     

Japanese college students' attitudes toward professional psychological services: the role of cultural self-construal and self-concealment

The utilization of professional help is affected by individual factors such as help-seeking attitudes and self-concealment as well as the availability of mental health services. The present study examined the role of cultural self-construal and self-concealment on attitudes toward professional psychological services. A survey was conducted with 214 Japanese college students. Multiple regression analyses found that interdependent self-construal significantly predicted the Recognition of Need for Psychological Services. Self-concealment was predictive of two different facets of help-seeking attitudes: Interpersonal Openness and Stigma Tolerance. Future studies are recommended to refine the model that was tested.     

Employee self-enhancement motives and job performance behaviors: investigating the moderating effects of employee role ambiguity and managerial perceptions of employee commitment

This study examined the effects of employee self-enhancement motives on job performance behaviors (organizational citizenship behaviors and task performance) and the value of these behaviors to them. The authors propose that employees display job performance behaviors in part to enhance their self-image, especially when their role is not clearly defined. They further argue that the effects of these behaviors on managerial reward recommendation decisions should be stronger when managers believe the employees to be more committed. The results from a sample of 84 working students indicate that role ambiguity moderated the effects of self-enhancement motives on job performance behaviors and that managerial perceptions of an employee's commitment moderated the effects of those organizational citizenship behaviors that are aimed at other individuals on managers' reward allocation decisions.     

The Global Context and People at Work: Special Issue Introduction

Although considerable research has been conducted on a variety of cross‐cultural management topics, we still know very little about how organizations can effectively manage people involved in global work or how cross‐cultural differences impact individuals and groups at work. To address this gap, we edited a special issue of Personnel Psychology that presents scholarly research contributing to understanding how global experiences and contexts impact people at work. We identified 3 research themes: cross‐cultural comparisons, the different types of global workers, and theoretical perspectives that underlie the accepted articles’ contributions to this special issue. We conclude with specific theoretical and methodological recommendations for research on human resource management and organizational behavior topics incorporating the global context.