On the Epistemology of Language

Epistemology of language, a branch of both epistemology and the philosophy of language, asks what knowledge of language consists in. In this paper, I argue that such an inquiry is a pointless enterprise due to its being based upon the incorrect assumption that linguistic competence requires knowledge of language. However, I do not think the phenomenon of knowledge of language is trivial. I propose a virtue‐theoretic account of linguistic competence, and then explain the phenomenon from a virtue‐semantic point of view.     

Modelling intransitive preferences: A random-effects approach

Current models for individual-level paired comparison data are based on the three assumptions that (1) pairwise judgments are independent, (2) the utility of an item remains invariant across trials, and (3) pair-specific variability can account for intransitive choice behaviour. All three assumptions seem strong and likely to be violated in empirical applications. This paper introduces a new framework for the analysis of paired comparison data which relaxes these three assumptions and considers the utilities associated with the same item across trials to be neither independent nor identical, but related. The proposed approach provides new insights about the reliability and consistency of paired comparison judgments and can account for systematic violations of transitivity. An application, based on a replication of Tversky's [(1969). Intransitivity of preference. Psychological Review, 76, 31-48] gamble study, illustrates the usefulness of the new approach in modelling both transitive and intransitive preferences.     

What is the internet? Taiwanese high school students' perceptions.

This study gathered 588 Taiwan high school students' responses about their perceptions of the Internet. The high school students highlighted the views that the Internet was a technology and a tool. Further analyses revealed that the students in lower grades and female students tended to conceptualize that the Internet was mainly a technology. On the other hand, the students in higher grades or male students emphasized other pragmatic aspects of the Internet, such as using it for functional or pleasure purposes, for instance, using the Internet as a tool, a toy, or a method of guiding a tour.     

Effects of acculturation on the MMPI-2 scores of Asian American students

The use of the MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahlstron, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) with minorities has been questioned due to potential misinterpretations related to cultural differences. This study examined acculturative differences among Asian American college students and their scores on the validity and clinical scales. A sample of Asian American students (n = 90) was assigned to groups based on acculturation level. Analysis of variance tests indicated that low-acculturated, bicultural, and high-acculturated Asian Americans yielded different profiles. Compared to a matched White student sample, low-acculturated Asian Americans scored significantly higher on 9 scales, and bicultural Asian Americans had 6 significantly different scores. These differences were clinically interpretable with a range from 6.46 to 21.65 T-score points. High-acculturated Asian Americans did not differ from Whites. Cultural variables to be considered when interpreting Asian American profiles are discussed.     

Cultural predictors of self-esteem: a study of Chinese American female and male young adults

This study examined how specific domains of cultural orientation (language, social affiliation, and cultural pride) related to self-esteem for a sample of 174 Chinese American male and 179 Chinese American female college students. Participants completed measures of cultural orientation (General Ethnicity Questionnaire; J.L. Tsai, Y.W. Ying, & P.A. Lee, 2000) and self-esteem (M. Rosenberg, 1965). Cultural orientation significantly predicted self-esteem, above and beyond the contribution of age, gender, grade point average, and socioeconomic status. Specifically, proficiency in English and Chinese languages and pride in Chinese culture were positively correlated with self-esteem, whereas affiliation with Chinese people was negatively correlated with selfesteem. The cultural predictors of self-esteem differed for Chinese American men and women. Whereas self-esteem was mainly related to pride in Chinese culture for Chinese American women, self-esteem was mainly related to English and Chinese language proficiency for Chinese American men. Implications of these findings for understanding Asian Americans are discussed.     

Transformational Leadership and Athlete Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of Coaching Competency

Drawing on social cognitive theory, we examine the relationship between coaches’ transformational leadership and athletes’ evaluations of coaches’ coaching competency. We also investigate how coaching competency can mediate the positive effect of coaches’ transformational leadership on athletes’ satisfaction. Using path analysis with bootstrapping techniques, we analyzed 397 competitive volleyball players to test our research model. Our results revealed that (a) coaches’ transformational leadership has a positive effect on coaching competency, and (b) coaching competency mediates the positive effect of coaches’ transformational leadership on athletes’ satisfaction. Implications for coach education and sport psychology in terms of theory and research are discussed.     

Assessing team performance: Moderating roles of transactive memory,hypercompetition, and emotional regulation

This study proposes a model based on transactive memory theory to analyze team performance. In the proposed model, team performance is influenced by hypercompetition and emotional regulation directly and indirectly via the mediation of transactive memory and knowledge sharing. According to the model, the direct effect of knowledge sharing on team performance is moderated by both hypercompetition and emotional regulation. Empirical testing of this model, using team personnel in banking, insurance, and financing firms, confirmed the applicability of the transactive memory theory among these service firms’ work teams. Managerial implications and research limitations are discussed.     

Does the human motor system simulate Pinocchio's actions? Coacting with a human hand versus a wooden hand in a dyadic interaction

Corepresenting actions performed by conspecifics is essential to understanding their goals, inferring their mental states, and cooperating with them. It has recently been demonstrated that joint-action effects in a Simon task provide a good index for corepresentation. In the present study, we investigated whether corepresentation is restricted to biological agents or also occurs for nonbiological events. Participants performed a Simon task either with an image of a human hand or with a wooden analogue. The Simon-like effect emerged only when participants coacted with a biological agent. The lack of the joint-action effect when participants interacted with a wooden hand indicates that the human corepresentation system is biologically tuned.     

Depression and emotional reactivity: variation among Asian Americans of East Asian descent and European Americans

Studies of Western samples (e.g., European Americans [EAs]) suggest that depressed individuals tend to show diminished emotional reactivity (J. G. Gehricke & A. J. Fridlund, 2002; G. E. Schwartz, P. L. Fair, P. Salt, M. R. Mandel, & G. L. Klerman, 1976a, 1976b). Do these findings generalize to individuals oriented to other cultures (e.g., East Asian cultures)? The authors compared the emotional reactions (i.e., reports of emotional experience, facial behavior, and physiological reactivity) of depressed and nondepressed EAs and Asian Americans of East Asian descent (AAs) to sad and amusing films. Their results were consistent with previous findings: Depressed EAs showed a pattern of diminished reactivity to the sad film (less crying, less intense reports of sadness) compared with nondepressed participants. In contrast, depressed AAs showed a pattern of heightened emotional reactivity (greater crying) compared with nondepressed participants. Across cultural groups, depressed and nondepressed participants did not differ in their reports of amusement or facial behavior during the amusing film. Physiological reactivity to the film clips did not differ between depressed and control participants for either cultural group. Thus, although depression may influence particular aspects of emotional reactivity across cultures (e.g., crying), the specific direction of this influence may depend on prevailing cultural norms regarding emotional expression.     

Test of a model linking employee positive moods and task performance

Past empirical evidence has demonstrated that employees' positive mood states predict task performance. This study extends previous research by proposing and testing a model that examines mediating processes underlying the relationship between employee positive moods and task performance. Two longitudinal studies used data collected from 306 (Study 1) and 263 (Study 2) insurance sales agents in Taiwan. The results showed that employee positive moods predicted task performance indirectly through both interpersonal (helping other coworkers and coworker helping and support) and motivational (self-efficacy and task persistence) processes.