Are cross-cultural comparisons of personality profiles meaningful? Differential item and facet functioning in the Revised NEO Personality Inventory

Measurement invariance is a prerequisite for confident cross-cultural comparisons of personality profiles. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis was used to detect differential item functioning (DIF) in factor loadings and intercepts for the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (P. T. Costa, Jr., & R. R. McCrae, 1992) in comparisons of college students in the United States (N = 261), Philippines (N = 268), and Mexico (N = 775). About 40%-50% of the items exhibited some form of DIF and item-level noninvariance often carried forward to the facet level at which scores are compared. After excluding DIF items, some facet scales were too short or unreliable for cross-cultural comparisons, and for some other facets, cultural mean differences were reduced or eliminated. The results indicate that considerable caution is warranted in cross-cultural comparisons of personality profiles.     

The dynamics of disruption from altered auditory feedback: Further evidence for a dissociation of sequencing and timing

Three experiments were designed to test whether perception and action are coordinated in a way that distinguishes sequencing from timing (Pfordresher, 2003). Each experiment incorporated a trial design in which altered auditory feedback (AAF) was presented for varying lengths of time and then withdrawn. Experiments 1 and 2 included AAF that resulted in action-effect asynchronies (delayed auditory feedback) during simple tapping (Experiment 1) and melody production (Experiment 2). Asynchronous AAF immediately slowed production; this effect then diminished rapidly after removal of AAF. By contrast, sequential alterations of feedback pitch during melody production (Experiment 3) had an effect that varied over successive presentations of AAF (by increasing error rates) that lasted after its withdrawal. The presence of auditory feedback after withdrawal of asynchronous AAF (Experiments 1 and 2) led to overcompensation of timing, whereas the presence of auditory feedback did not influence performance after withdrawal of AAF in Experiment 3. Based on these results, we suggest that asynchronous AAF perturbs the phase of an internal timekeeper, whereas alterations to feedback pitch over time degrade the internal representation of sequence structure.     

Is It OK If Mommy Dates? The Influence of Mother’s Post-Divorce Dating Transitions for Children’s Behaviors

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Despite many mothers’ interest in establishing romantic relationships following divorce, some worry about the impacts of dating transitions, such as...     

Household Chaos and Caregivers’ and Young Children’s Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mediation Model

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Based on 764 households with young children in Wuhan, China, where the COVID-19 pandemic started, this study investigated how household chaos during the...     

The Shared Values of Humanity and Its Philosophical Implications: From the Perspective of Civilization

The concept of the shared values of humanity, embodying the spirit of putting people first and solving real-life problems, is of great significance for constructing a new global order and building a human community with a shared future. The shared values of humanity respect the differences in understanding and realization paths of different civilizations, and seek common grounds with an inclusive and open attitude. The core socialist values are an embodiment and an extension of the shared values of humanity. The fine traditional Chinese culture has also laid a profound cultural basis for the pursuit of the shared values of humanity, enabling us to make up a better scheme for building a human community with a shared future from the perspective of civilization.     

青少年创伤后应激障碍和创伤后成长对亲社会行为的影响:生命意义的中介作用

采用创伤暴露程度问卷、创伤后应激障碍症状核查表、创伤后成长问卷、生命意义感量表和亲社会行为问卷,在汶川地震8.5年后对地震极重灾区的1182名中学生进行调查,考察创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）和创伤后成长（PTG）对亲社会行为的影响,并检验存在意义感和寻求意义感在其中的中介作用。结果发现：PTSD可以直接负向预测亲社会行为,也可以通过降低存在意义感进而负向预测亲社会行为,还可以通过提高寻求意义感进而正向预测亲社会行为;PTG可以直接正向预测亲社会行为,也可以分别通过提高存在意义感和寻求意义感进而正向预测亲社会行为。     

青少年依恋对创伤后应激障碍和创伤后成长的影响:认知重评和表达抑制的中介作用

本研究采用创伤暴露程度问卷、父母与同伴依恋问卷、情绪调节策略问卷、DSM-5的PTSD症状核查表、创伤后成长问卷,以汶川地震8.5年后极重灾区的1153名青少年为被试,考察青少年的依恋、认知重评、表达抑制、PTSD和PTG之间的关系。结果发现：青少年的依恋可以直接负向预测PTSD、直接正向预测PTG;青少年的依恋可以通过认知重评负向预测PTSD、正向预测PTG,也可以通过表达抑制负向预测PTSD,却不能通过表达抑制预测PTG。     

Both Earlier Times and the Future Are “Front”: The Distinction Between Time‐ and Ego‐Reference‐Points in Mandarin Speakers’ Temporal Representation

Mandarin speakers, like most other language speakers around the world, use spatial terms to talk about time. However, the direction of their mental temporal representation along the front‐back axis remains controversial because they use the spatial term “front” to refer to both earlier times (e.g., front‐year means “the year before last”) and the future (e.g., front‐road means “prospect”). Although the linguistic distinction between time‐ and ego‐reference‐point spatiotemporal metaphors in Mandarin suggests a promising clarification of the above controversy, there is little empirical evidence verifying this distinction. In this study, Mandarin speakers’ time‐ and ego‐reference‐point temporal representations on three axes (i.e., sagittal, lateral, and vertical) were separately examined through two tasks. In a time‐reference‐point task, Mandarin speakers judged whether the time point of the second picture was earlier or later than the time point of the first picture, while in an ego‐reference‐point task, they judged whether an event or phase had happened in the past or would happen in the future. The results indicate that Mandarin speakers construe an earlier‐times‐in‐front‐of‐later‐times temporal sequence and adopt the front‐to‐the‐future orientation.     

Will Victims Become Aggressors or Vice Versa? A Cross-Lagged Analysis of School Aggression

Peer aggression and victimization are ubiquitous phenomena in schools which warrant the attention of educators and researchers. The high connection between aggression and victimization behooves researchers to look into how the comorbidity of them develops over time. The present study investigated the associations between aggression and victimization over 3 years in early adolescence and whether these associations are moderated by gender and teacher support. Participants were 567 Grade 7, 8 and 9 students (49.38% girls) from 3 schools in Hong Kong. Over the course of study, they were asked to fill in a set of questionnaires that consisted of items related to peer aggression, victimization, and teacher support at 5 time points. Four models of cross-lagged relations between peer aggression and victimization were tested. The results supported a reciprocal model of peer aggression and victimization for both boys and girls although girls engaged in less peer aggression and victimization than boys. Further analyses also revealed that teacher support acted as a suppressor of the reciprocal relations. The present study sheds lights on intervention strategies that may remediate peer aggression and victimization in schools.