The Influence of Learning Style on English Learning Achievement Among Undergraduates in Mainland China

Learning style is one of the main factors that determines how students learn English and has a significant influence on students’ learning strategy selection, which further affects their learning outcomes (Ehrman and Oxford in Mod Lang J 74(3):311–327, 1990; Oxford in Language learning styles and strategies: an overview, 2003. http://web.ntpu.edu.tw/~language/workshop/read2.pdf). This study examines the learning style preferences of Chinese university students and whether those preferences influence their English achievements. Four hundred undergraduates from one university in eastern mainland China participated in this study. Data from 329 valid questionnaires were analysed. The results revealed that the Chinese university students preferred the visual learning style the most, followed by the auditory and kinaesthetic styles. However, no learning style preference was found to influence the students’ English proficiency. Cultural reasons are discussed to explain the findings, which contradict those of previous studies of learning style theories and practices. This study recommends that Chinese scholars consider issues of English teaching and learning in China and to adopt appropriate teaching methods to effectively improve English teaching.     

Strategies in Forecasting Outcomes in Ethical Decision-Making: Identifying and Analyzing the Causes of the Problem

This study examined the role of key causal analysis strategies in forecasting and ethical decision-making. Undergraduate participants took on the role of the key actor in several ethical problems and were asked to identify and analyze the causes, forecast potential outcomes, and make a decision about each problem. Time pressure and analytic mindset were manipulated while participants worked through these problems. The results indicated that forecast quality was associated with decision ethicality, and the identification of the critical causes of the problem was associated with both higher quality forecasts and higher ethicality of decisions. Neither time pressure nor analytic mindset impacted forecasts or ethicality of decisions. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

The erosive effects of racism: reduced self-control mediates the relation between perceived racial discrimination and substance use in African American adolescents

Perceived racial discrimination, self-control, anger, and either substance use or use cognitions were assessed in 2 studies conducted with samples of African American adolescents. The primary goal was to examine the relation between discrimination and self-control over time; a 2nd goal was to determine whether that relation mediates the link between discrimination and substance use found in previous research. Study 1, which included a latent growth curve analysis with 3 waves of data, indicated that experience with discrimination (from age 10 years to age 18 years) was associated with reduced self-control, which then predicted increased substance use. Additional analyses indicated anger was also a mediator of this discrimination to use relation. Study 2, which was experimental, showed that envisioning an experience involving discrimination was associated with an increase in substance-related responses to double entendre words (e.g., pot, roach) in a word association task, especially for participants who were low in dispositional self-control. The effect was again mediated by reports of anger. Thus, the "double mediation" pattern was discrimination → more anger and reduced self-control → increased substance use and/or substance cognitions. Results are discussed in terms of the long-term impact of discrimination on self-control and health behavior. Implications for interventions aimed at ameliorating the negative effects of discrimination and low self-control on health are also discussed.     

Coping with racial discrimination: The role of substance use

Three studies tested the hypothesis that the relation between perceived racial discrimination and substance use reported in previous research is moderated by use of substances as a coping mechanism. Studies 1 and 2 were experimental studies of African American adolescents' and young adults' reactions to a discrimination experience. Results revealed that those who endorsed substance use-as-coping reported more willingness to use substances after experiencing discrimination. Study 3 was a prospective study of the relation between perceived discrimination and substance use over an 8-year period in African American adolescents. Results demonstrated that discrimination is associated with increases in substance use, but only among adolescents who endorse substance use-as-coping. Together, these three studies provide evidence that experiencing discrimination has both short- and long-term detrimental effects on African Americans' substance use, but significantly more so for those who adopt a pattern of using substances as a coping mechanism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

新加坡华人在M.M.P.I的反应模式

本研究的结果显示中译及英文MMPI在新加坡使用时不但具颇高之信度,且两者可视作相等之版本。有关资料亦表明受中文教育和受英文教育的新加坡华人在MMPI上有不同的反应倾向。前者之剖析图属2.8类型,其选答模式与香港地区者相似。后者之剖析图则属8.9类型,其选答模式与美国者较为接近。 在比较中国与新加坡华人在量表的顺序排列时,发现后者在Ma量表之T分数占较高的等级,在Pa量表则占较低的等级。与香港地区比较时,则新加坡华人在Si量表之等级较高。有关量表顺序排列之等级相关則表明了受中文教育的新加坡华人与中国和香港地区之MMPI剖析图,有显著的相似性。但受英文教育的新加坡华人则仅男性之剖析图与香港地区者相似。进一步证实了受不同语文教育的新加坡华人在性格上有差异。 本研究收集的资料,不但可供解说测验之参考,亦可作为进一步效度研究的基础。在跨文化的研究上更提供了有用的资料。     

Effects of semantic discrimination of Chinese words on N400 component of event-related potentials.

20 subjects' event-related brain potentials were measured during a lexical decision task in which Chinese characters were used in both conditions of related (antonym) and unrelated words. Analysis indicated that the mean reaction time for unrelated words was 130 msec. longer than that elicited by related words. The condition of unrelated words elicited a significant N450, and an obvious P500 was evoked by related words at each of the 17 recording sites. Furthermore, the amplitudes of N210 and N450 were larger in the left hemisphere than in the right hemisphere but the amplitude of P500 was larger in the right hemisphere than in the left hemisphere.     

默读汉字词的脑功能偏侧化成像研究

采用读词名的方法 ,对 12名正常大学生 ,运用功能性磁共振成像技术 (fMRI) ,研究了汉字词及假词视觉识别时的脑功能偏侧化现象。实验结果表明 ,汉字词激活左下额区 (BA4 5 )以及右颞叶 (BA2 1、2 2 )、右枕叶 (BA18) ,而假词除额区外表现出广泛的激活。此结果显示除左脑半球与汉字词加工密切相关外 ,右脑半球在汉字词加工中有一定参与但其确切作用有待进一步研究     

测量大学生的心理问题:GHQ-20的结构及其信度和效度

本研究对GHQ-20进行了结构分析并检验其对中国大学生被试的可信性和有效性。被试取自北京市两所高校的一至三年级大学生,共1142人。包括两个分研究,研究一(354名被试 )和研究二(788名被试)。研究一的因素分析提取出三个因子,它们被分别命名为三个不同的分量表:GHQ-自我肯定,GHQ-忧郁和GHQ-焦虑。两个研究结果均发现,GHQ-20的内部一致性满意,其三个分量表的内部一致性或者满意或者可接受。效度检验结果表明,GHQ-20及三个分量表均具有良好效度。基于上述结果,GHQ-20可以作为测量中国大学生心理问题的一个较为满意的工具,其分量表亦可作为测量中国大学生不同心理问题的较满意或至少是可用工具。     

青老年组不同难度下心算活动的脑功能磁共振成像研究

应用功能磁共振成像技术研究不同心算难度下脑区的活动以及年龄的影响。14名志愿者（20～29岁青年和60～69岁老年被试各7名）参加了该实验。实验任务为2个难度水平的连续减法心算,分别为1000—3和1000—17。结果表明：（1）心算加工激活了额叶和顶叶的许多脑区;（2）大脑左半球是心算加工的优势半球,但随着心算难度加大,大脑一侧化程度下降,而年老加剧了这一趋势;（3）青年组进行简单心算（1000—3）时,额中回未见明显激活,而老年组进行简单心算时,该脑区被明显激活。总体上,额叶和顶叶在心算活动中起着重要作用,而任务难度和年龄对心算加工时脑活动的影响以额中回区最为明显。     

小学儿童汉字阅读特点初探

该研究运用命名任务、通过两个实验探查了小学儿童汉字阅读的发展特点。实验一发现,小学7岁、8岁、9岁儿童在汉字阅读中受不同汉字结构类型的影响。在笔画数没有显著差异的情况下,独体字的阅读比合体字快,而合体字中上下结构和左右结构类型之间没有差异,而且独体字语音提取的优势从7岁儿童开始就具有了,这种优势稳定地发展下去。实验二在实验一的基础上进一步考察了7岁、9岁、11岁儿童汉字形声字阅读中声旁对整字发音的影响,结果发现,声旁与整字发音一致的形声字阅读快于声旁与整字发音不一致的形声字的阅读,这种汉字阅读中的规则效应从7岁儿童就出现了,而且,稳定地发展下去。