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.     

Predictors of Stress Generation in Adolescents in Mainland China

The current longitudinal study examined whether the personality vulnerabilities of self-criticism and dependency prospectively predicted stress generation in Chinese adolescents. Participants included 1,116 adolescents (588 girls and 528 boys), aged 15 to 18 years from rural, urban and ultra-urban mainland China. Participants completed self-report measures of personality, depressive and anxious symptoms and participated in a clinical interview assessing lifetime history of depression. The occurrence of negative life events was measured using a contextual-threat interview every 6-months for a total period of 18-months. Logistic regression analyses showed that after controlling for past depressive episodes and current depressive and anxious symptoms, self-criticism was prospectively associated with the occurrence of interpersonal stress generation, but not noninterpersonal stress generation. Dependency also predicted interpersonal stress generation, although only in girls and not boys. In line with previous Western findings, girls reported more interpersonal stress generation. Analyses across 3 levels of urbanization revealed several significant differences including higher reported interpersonal stress generation in urban girls than urban boys and overall higher levels of negative life events in ultra-urban youth. In sum, findings from the current study suggest that the stress generation process may be generalizable to Chinese youth.     

运动技能水平与躯体感觉输入对运动表象的影响

运动表象质量与运动技能水平有关,运动表象质量随着运动技能水平的提高而上升。器械使用可使人脑产生可塑性改变,使用者会将器械纳入身体图式。然而,两者影响运动表象的神经心理机制还不清楚。本研究采用功能性磁共振成像探析篮球运动员与新手在不同持球条件下表象投篮时脑功能活动的差异。结果表明运动员表象质量较好,镜像神经系统激活高于新手;持球条件下运动员表象质量显著高于不持球条件下,镜像神经系统激活程度显著低于不持球条件下。研究说明持器械可以显著提高运动员的表象质量,器械使用带来镜像神经系统的可塑性变化。     

1993~2013年常驻高海拔地区军人心理健康状态的横断历史研究

研究为探索常驻高海拔地区军人心理健康水平如何随社会年代变迁而改变,运用了横断历史元分析的方法,对1993年至2013年38篇采用90项症状自评量表(SCL-90)的文献调查数据进行分析,考察了11454名常驻高海拔地区军人在该量表上9个因子得分随年代变化的趋势.结果发现:(1)SCL-90的7个因子均值与年代负相关,且不受期刊类型等的影响.20年来,7个因子下降了5%~15%不等.其中,强迫变化最大,抑郁、焦虑、人际敏感、偏执和精神病性均变化明显.这说明,常驻高海拔地区军人心理健康虽有所波动但整体水平逐步提升,变化幅度大致属于中等程度.(2)当年军费占GDP比值、居民消费水平指数与SCL-90部分因子均值负相关显著;5年前的居民消费水平指数与7个因子显著负相关.这说明,国防建设的经济投入和居民消费水平可能是影响常驻高海拔地区军人心理健康水平的重要因素.     

Assessment of Psychopathic Traits in Singaporean Adolescents: Validation of the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD)

There is little knowledge available concerning psychopathic traits in Asian adolescents; a lack of a suitable measurement instrument for assessing psychopathy in Asian societies may account for this. This study aimed to validate a widely used scale in the West — the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD) — in Singaporean school-based and at-risk adolescents. Using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), this study examined the two-factor (i.e., grandiose-manipulative/impulsive traits and callous-unemotional traits) and three-factor (i.e., grandiose-manipulative traits, impulsivity, and callous-unemotional traits) models of the APSD in 1027 school-based and 113 at-risk adolescents. School samples are adolescents from three secondary schools, while at-risk samples are adolescents who manifest different types of delinquent behaviors and are either placed in more structured settings or need closer supervision although they have not violated the law. Gender invariance was further tested in the school-based sample by conducting a multigroup CFA. The convergent validity of the APSD was also investigated in the school-based sample. For the school-based adolescents, the APSD revealed that the three-factor model provided a superior fit over the two-factor model and the factorial invariance across gender. Significant relationships between the three dimensions of the APSD and aggression and delinquency support the convergent validity of the APSD. As for the at-risk adolescents, both the two- and three-factor models were acceptable, but the two-factor model was preferred as it was parsimonious and it aligned with the conceptualized characteristics of psychopathic traits. Findings suggest that the APSD is a reliable and sound instrument for measuring psychopathic traits in Asian school-based and at-risk adolescents.     

Proservice or antiservice employee behaviors: A multilevel ethics perspective

We adopt a multilevel approach to investigate ethical ideology, moral leadership, and ethical climate in predicting service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and service sabotage. Data were collected from 36 food and beverage units in hotels in Taiwan. The sample comprised 504 employees and 36 supervisors. Results show that idealism is positively related with service-oriented OCB, but negatively related with service sabotage; relativism is the opposite. Moral leadership and ethical climate are both positively related with service-oriented OCB and negatively related with service sabotage. In addition, moral leadership moderates the relationship between relativism and service-oriented OCB. Ethical climate moderates the relationship between idealism and service-oriented OCB and service sabotage. The implications of this study for research and practice are discussed.     

父母体罚与青少年焦虑抑郁的关系:同伴侵害的中介效应与亲子关系的调节效应

采用问卷法对1406名初中生进行调查,考察了同伴侵害在父母体罚与青少年焦虑抑郁关系间的中介效应,以及亲子关系对这一中介过程的调节效应。结果发现：（1）在控制了性别、年龄、家庭月收入和父母受教育水平后,父母体罚显著正向预测青少年焦虑抑郁;（2）同伴侵害在父母体罚与焦虑抑郁关系间起着显著的完全中介作用;（3）亲子关系对中介路径"父母体罚→同伴侵害→焦虑抑郁"具有显著的调节效应。     

组织支持感对组织认同的影响:内部人身份感知和自尊的中介作用

检验了内部人身份感知(PIS)和基于组织的自尊(OBSE)在组织支持感(POS)对组织认同的影响过程中的角色和地位。采用多样本结构方程建模的方法,通过对中国2家企业的员工的问卷调查所获取的452份有效数据进行分析,结果表明:(1)POS对PIS和OBSE有直接的显著影响;(2)同时借助于PIS和OBSE的中介作用对组织认同产生间接的影响。     

HO-GDINA模型的EM算法参数估计

Generalized DINA Model(G-DINA)为认知诊断模型提供了一个一般性的理论框架,而高阶诊断模型不仅能描述被试的总体水平,还能描述被试对属性的掌握情况(微观的认知状态)以及被试掌握属性与能力的关系,提供更丰富的信息。如果能把这两者结合起来,可能对实际诊断工作的操作有较大帮助。文章首先对考虑高阶结构的整合性模型——HO-GDINA模型的形式进行讨论,探讨其参数估计EM算法的实现,并用模拟过程对模型的估计精度进行研究,结果验证了HO-GDINA的EM算法的正确性,并且说明该算法对该模型有较高估计精确度。然后用饱和模型在约束条件下的特殊形式HO-DINA模型对"分数减法"这一经典数据进行EM算法参数估计和具体分析,展示了HO-GDINA在实际情况中的具体使用,并与de la Torre之前用MCMC估计算法得到的研究结果做比较,基本一致,进一步表明HO-GDINA模型的参数估计EM算法在实际情境中的特殊形式下仍然适用。     

Information Mismatch: Cancer Risk Counseling with Diverse Underserved Patients

As genetics and genomics become part of mainstream Medicine, these advances have the potential to reduce or exacerbate health disparities. Gaps in effective communication (where all parties share the same meaning) are widely recognized as a major contributor to health disparities. The purpose of this study was to examine GC-patient communication in real time, to assess its effectiveness from the patient perspective, and then to pilot intervention strategies to improve the communication. We observed 64 English-, 35 Spanish- and 25 Chinese-speaking (n = 124) public hospital patients and 10 GCs in 170 GC appointments, and interviewed 49 patients who were offered testing using the audio recordings to stimulate recall and probe specific aspects of the communication. Data analyses were conducted using grounded theory methods and revealed a fundamental mismatch between the information provided by GCs and the information desired and meaningful to patients. Several components of the communication that contributed to this mismatch and often resulted in ineffective communication included: (1) too much information; (2) complex terminology and conceptually difficult presentation of information; (3) information perceived as not relevant by the patient; (4) unintentional inhibition of patient engagement and question-asking; (5) vague discussions of screening and prevention recommendations. Our findings indicate a need to transform the standard model of genetic counseling communication using evidence-based principles and strategies from other fields of Medicine. The high rates of limited health literacy in the US, increasing access of diverse populations to genetic services, and growing complexity of genetic information have created a perfect storm. If not directly addressed, this convergence is likely to exacerbate health disparities in the genomic age.