Age-related differences in the distractor previewing effect with schematic faces of emotions

Young and older adults searched for a unique face in a set of three schematic faces and identified a secondary feature of the target. The faces could be negative, positive, or neutral. Young adults were slower and less accurate in searching for a negative face among neutral faces when they had previewed a display of negative faces than when they had previewed neutral faces, indicating an emotional distractor previewing effect (DPE), but this effect was eliminated with inverted faces. The DPE is an index of inter-trial inhibition to keep attention away from previewed, non-target information. Older adults also showed such an emotional DPE, but it was present with both upright and inverted faces. These results show that, in general, both young and old participants are sensitive to trial history, yet the different patterns of results suggest that these two groups remember and use different types of perceptual information when searching through emotional faces.     

Reflecting Absence: Representing the Extraordinary Deaths of Ordinary Sailors in the Media

This study undertakes a comparative analysis of the commemorative discourse used by the South Korean media, family members, and the general public in response to the deaths of 46 sailors on board a navy ship that was sunk by a North Korean torpedo in 2010. It identifies differences in the methods of remembrance among the different groups, with the media focusing on human values, professional ethics, and universal norms, while family members recalled everyday experiences with the deceased and stressed acceptance of death and the general public emphasized heroism, immortality, and national solidarity. This study discusses the differences in the understanding of death between South Koreans and Westerners.     

Modeling Concordance Correlation Coefficient for Longitudinal Study Data

Measures of agreement are used in a wide range of behavioral, biomedical, psychosocial, and health-care related research to assess reliability of diagnostic test, psychometric properties of instrument, fidelity of psychosocial intervention, and accuracy of proxy outcome. The concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) is a popular measure of agreement for continuous outcomes. In modern-day applications, data are often clustered, making inference difficult to perform using existing methods. In addition, as longitudinal study designs become increasingly popular, missing data have become a serious issue, and the lack of methods to systematically address this problem has hampered the progress of research in the aforementioned fields. In this paper, we develop a novel approach to tackle the complexities involved in addressing missing data and other related issues for performing CCC analysis within a longitudinal data setting. The approach is illustrated with both real and simulated data.     

Spatial accuracy demand in aiming movements: kinematic analysis of subtended angle and tolerance width

Subtended angle has been assumed to be an important factor in both response programming time and kinematic characteristics of aiming movements. Support for this assumption has come mainly from studies in which circular targets have been used. However, with circular targets, the subtended angle covaries with the size of the target in the principal direction of the movement (tolerance width). The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of tolerance width and subtended angle on aiming movement with multiple targets. Participants first hit a 5-cm-diameter circular target located 8 cm to the left of a starting position and then moved another 8 cm left to hit either a 5-cm diameter circular target or a 5- x 1-cm rectangular target oriented either horizontally or vertically, depending on the condition. Analysis showed that reaction times and movement times were longer for the vertical rectangular target, which had a smaller tolerance width than the other two targets. In addition, the vertical rectangular target also showed a greater percentage of secondary-submovement trials, lower movement velocity, and higher peak vertical displacement. Overall, the results indicate that the tolerance width of the target may impose more constraints on aiming movements than subtended angle.     

Concerns of Older Veteran Callers to the Veterans Crisis Line

When the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) was implemented, it was uncertain if veterans, and particularly older male veterans, would utilize the service. We examined VCL use by a growing group of veterans at increased risk for suicide: those aged 60 and older. Real‐time clinical data were gathered from a weekly random sampling of calls. Approximately 25% of calls were from veterans aged 60 or older; over 80% reported benefit from the call. Several significant differences in presenting concerns between older and younger callers were found. Targeted outreach to encourage older veterans to use the VCL is suggested.     

正确解读科学

正确解读科学,是捍卫科学尊严的关键。近年来,国外思想界的一个新概念——科学主义传入国内。科学主义“相信科学能回答所有的人类问题,它使科学成为哲学、宗教、习惯方式和道德的替代物”(谷雨《对科学主义新版本的质疑》,《科学与无神论》2005年第3期)。从表面上看,科学主义的这种宣言似乎对科学推崇备至,但在我看来,科学主义实则与科学没有多大联系,科学主义的阐述是对科学的严重曲解,它给了各种反科学思潮以攻击科学的口实。我认为科学的含义清楚明白,它有两层含义,一层是作为知识存在的科学,这就是科学技术,它是人类智慧的凝结形式,是…     

空间选择性注意在上下视野间的转移

本实验研究空间选择性注意在上下视野间的转移及其是否受知觉空间的影响。实验采用Posner的位置线索化实验范式和两种深度线索背景,测量分辨任务的反应时(RTs)。实验发现:线索有效时的反应时比线索无效时的反应时短,而且线索对上视野刺激的反应时的影响较大。知觉空间中的深度线索对于注意在上下视野中转移没有显著影响。这些结果表明,空间选择性注意在上下视野转移存在不对称性,并且主要由物理空间决定。     

From Moment to Movement: Empowerment and Resilience as a Framework for Collective Action in Hong Kong

The Transconceptual Model of Empowerment and Resilience (American Journal of Community Psychology, 52, 2013, 333) suggests that a set of resilience and empowerment resources fuel both initial and sustained participation in collective action. Using the case study of a prodemocracy movement in Hong Kong, the present study focused on the subset of those resources that are relevant in ongoing collective action: efficacy, skills, and maintenance. As individuals possess varying combinations of these resources, the present study utilized latent profile analysis to test how patterns of empowerment and resilience resources influence initial and long‐term collective action. Five groups were identified: (a) Uncommitted/Uninspired; (b) Committed to Status Quo; (c) Mainstream Populist; (d) Empowered; and (e) Ambivalent. ANOVA and ANCOVA analyses found that there are significant group differences in initial and long‐term participation. Groups with higher level of resources reported greater levels of initial participation than their counterparts; however, high resource groups did not uniformly report greater levels of intention to participate in future collective action. Of the maintenance processes tested, collective identity emerged as a particularly important predictor differentiating initial and sustained participation. Findings from the present study raise questions about how individuals with multiple identities can come together and participate in collective action.     

初中生友谊特征与攻击行为的关系研究

本研究运用社会测量提名法、友谊质量问卷、社会行为同伴提名法考察了586名初一至初三儿童的友谊特征与攻击行为的关系。研究表明,在男女初中生中,不论外部攻击还是关系攻击,一对友伴表现出的攻击行为越多,其同伴接纳程度越低。结果表明,同伴群体可能支持符合性别规范的攻击行为,反对不符合性别规范的攻击行为。友谊受欢迎程度这一外部指标比友谊质量等内部指标对攻击行为的预测更为稳定和可靠。