Who,What and Where (WWW) Problems in Scientific Communities

Science and Engineering Ethics - The results of the National Higher Education Entrance Examination (Gaokao, in Chinese) have a life-long effect on most Chinese by labeling them clever or not. Some...     

青少年抑郁的快感缺失的神经机制研究

抑郁逐渐低龄化使得青少年抑郁备受关注。快感缺失,作为抑郁的一种核心临床症状,已成为抑郁最具前景的内表型之一。然而,青少年抑郁的快感缺失的神经机制迄今仍不清楚。本研究首先汇总两种神经机制模型即三元模型和社会挫折模型;其次,在多种奖励加工如金钱奖励、努力动机奖励、未来奖励和社会奖励条件下,概述青少年抑郁的快感缺失的神经机制前沿进展。未来可以深入探索努力动机奖励和未来奖励在预测青少年抑郁中的作用,加强研究青春期阶段与性别是如何交互影响早期抑郁快感缺失,将无创伤电磁刺激应用于青少年抑郁干预中,进一步澄清青少年抑郁的快感缺失的神经发展机制。     

The relationship between pulmonary function and suicidal ideation in Korean adults: a nationwide survey

Controversy surrounds the association between lung function and mental health in the general population, and previous reported results were confounded by the effect of other chronic illnesses. This study aimed to investigate whether reduced lung function was related to mental health issues, taking into consideration the relevant potential confounders. We used data from the 2008–2013 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to examine the relationship between lung function and three mental issues (recognized stress, depressive mood, and suicidal ideation) among 22,068 Korean adults. A multiple logistic regression with adjustment for potential covariates including chronic illnesses revealed that a .5-L decrement of forced vital capacity increased the risk for suicidal ideation in both genders, but there was no significant association with recognized stress or depressive mood. We found an inverse relationship between lung function and suicidal ideation in the Korean general population.     

Electrophysiological measures reveal the role of anterior cingulate cortex in learning from unreliable feedback

Although a growing number of studies have investigated the neural mechanisms of reinforcement learning, it remains unclear how the brain responds to feedback that is unreliable. A recent theory proposes that the reward positivity (RewP) component of the event-related brain potential (ERP) and frontal midline theta (FMT) power reflect separate feedback-related processing functions of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). In the present study, the electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded from participants as they engaged in a time estimation task in which feedback reliability was manipulated across conditions. After each response, they received a cue that indicated that the following feedback stimulus was 100%, 75%, or 50% reliable. The results showed that participants’ time estimates adjusted linearly according to the feedback reliability. Moreover, presentation of the cue indicating 100% reliability elicited a larger RewP-like ERP component than the other cues did, and feedback presentation elicited a RewP of approximately equal amplitude for all of the three reliability conditions. By contrast, FMT power elicited by negative feedback decreased linearly from the 100% condition to 75% and 50% condition, and only FMT power predicted behavioral adjustments on the following trials. In addition, an analysis of Beta power and cross-frequency coupling (CFC) of Beta power with FMT phase suggested that Beta-FMT communication modulated motor areas for the purpose of adjusting behavior. We interpreted these findings in terms of the hierarchical reinforcement learning account of ACC, in which the RewP and FMT are proposed to reflect reward processing and control functions of ACC, respectively.     

心理长度对二年级儿童数字线估计表征的影响

从心理长度的角度探讨二年级儿童在0~100和0~1000数字范围存在不同表征方式的原因。实验一要求二年级儿童完成长度均为10cm,范围分别为0~100和0~1000的数字线估计任务。实验二要求儿童对长度分别为10cm和18cm,范围均为0~1000的数字线进行估计。结果发现在两个实验中二年级儿童的估计均存在心理长度,但与以往研究的一年级儿童相比,心理长度的范围有所缩小。随着数字范围的增大或长度的减小,儿童的表征方式出现了从线性表征向对数表征的转变趋势。这些结果表明不精确的表征方式可能与心理长度策略的使用有关,心理长度在一定程度上影响了二年级儿童的估计表征方式。     

Community identity as a mediator of the relationship between socioeconomic status and altruistic behaviour in Chinese residents

Socioeconomic status is related to altruistic behaviour, but the link between them remains controversial. The present study explored the link between socioeconomic status and altruistic behaviour, as well as the psychological mechanism between them. We recruited 1,052 residents from 34 provinces in China to investigate the relationship between socioeconomic status and altruistic behaviour and the mediating mechanism. Results showed that objective socioeconomic status was positively related to altruistic behaviour. Subjective socioeconomic status was positively associated with community identity and altruistic behaviour. Community identity mediated the relationship between subjective socioeconomic status and altruistic behaviour. The findings suggest that enhancing individuals' community identity or subjective status perception can effectively increase their altruistic behaviour.     

Psychologists’ Leadership Roles and Leadership Training Needs in Academic Health Centers

Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings - Psychologists are increasingly called upon to become more involved in academic health centers (AHCs) as leaders across a range of leadership...     

State anxiety reduces procrastinating behavior

Three experiments conducted in China and the US investigated the impact of state anxiety on behavioral procrastination. Participants were induced into a high- or a low-anxiety state and then given a period of 12 min either to practice for an upcoming test or entertain themselves (e.g., watch videos). The results showed that participants in a high-anxiety state spent more time practicing for the upcoming test than participants in a low-anxiety state. Impulsivity and trait procrastination were also measured. Impulsivity was found to be positively correlated with both trait procrastination and dilatory behavior. Overall the findings support a self-regulatory theory account such that the negative emotion associated with anxiety motivates people to increase the effort towards reaching a goal and take proactive measures for the most important task, thus reducing procrastination.     

The Effect of a Mindfulness Practice and Dispositional Mindfulness on Affective Forecasting

A field experiment was conducted to evaluate whether mindfulness produces higher affective forecasting accuracy. Participants were randomized into a mindfulness-task, control-task, or baseline condition and then forecasted their positive and negative affect upon completion of an exam and upon receiving the exam grade. They also predicted their exam score. Those in the mindfulness-task condition more accurately predicted positive and negative affect upon exam completion and more accurately predicted negative affect and exam performance upon receiving their actual exam grade. Dispositional mindfulness predicted more accuracy in forecasting negative affect upon exam completion. Results suggest that mindfulness produces higher affective forecasting accuracy, particularly for negative affect. However, evidence was more mixed when considering the dispositional mindfulness results and for positive affect.     

Human Flesh Search Engine and Online Privacy

Human flesh search engine can be a double-edged sword, bringing convenience on the one hand and leading to infringement of personal privacy on the other hand. This paper discusses the ethical problems brought about by the human flesh search engine, as well as possible solutions.