Too exhausted to remember: Ego depletion undermines subsequent event‐based prospective memory

Past research has consistently found that people are likely to do worse on high‐level cognitive tasks after exerting self‐control on previous actions. However, little has been unraveled about to what extent ego depletion affects subsequent prospective memory. Drawing upon the self‐control strength model and the relationship between self‐control resources and executive control, this study proposes that the initial actions of self‐control may undermine subsequent event‐based prospective memory (EBPM). Ego depletion was manipulated through watching a video requiring visual attention (Experiment 1) or completing an incongruent Stroop task (Experiment 2). Participants were then tested on EBPM embedded in an ongoing task. As predicted, the results showed that after ruling out possible intervening variables (e.g. mood, focal and nonfocal cues, and characteristics of ongoing task and ego depletion task), participants in the high‐depletion condition performed significantly worse on EBPM than those in the low‐depletion condition. The results suggested that the effect of ego depletion on EBPM was mainly due to an impaired prospective component rather than to a retrospective component.     

Exploring trust of mobile applications based on user behaviors: an empirical study

This paper explores trust of mobile applications based on users' behaviors. It proposes a trust behavior construct through principal component analysis, reliability analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis based on the data collected from a questionnaire survey with more than 1,500 participants. It is indicated that a user's trust behavior is composed of three principal constructs: using behavior, reflection behavior, and correlation behavior. They are further delineated into 12 measurable sub‐constructs and relate to a number of external factors. The data analysis showed that the questionnaire has positive psychometric properties with respect to construct validity and reliability. We also discuss the practical significance and limitations of our work toward usable trust management.     

Bidirectional Mediating Role of Loneliness in the Association Between Shyness and Generalized Pathological Internet Use in Chinese University Students: A Longitudinal Cross-Lagged Analysis

Abstract

This 1-year longitudinal study examined the bidirectional mediating role of loneliness in the association between shyness and generalized pathological Internet use (GPIU) in a sample of 291 Chinese university students (143 men, mean age =?19.07?years). A fully cross-lagged panel design was used in which shyness, loneliness, and GPIU were assessed at 3 time points separated by 6-month intervals (named T1, T2, and T3). The results indicated that relationships among shyness, loneliness, and GPIU were dynamic and bidirectional. Specifically, T1 shyness positively predicted increased T2 loneliness, T2 shyness positively predicted increased T3 loneliness, and T2 loneliness positively predicted increased T3 shyness. Additionally, T1 GPIU positively predicted increased T2 loneliness, T2 GPIU positively predicted increased T3 loneliness, and T2 loneliness positively predicted increased T3 GPIU. Loneliness was found to play a bidirectional mediating role in the association between shyness and GPIU. Specifically, T1 shyness and T3 GPIU were mediated through increased loneliness at T2, and T1 GPIU and T3 shyness were mediated through increased loneliness at T2. Furthermore, relationships among shyness, loneliness, and GPIU were the same across the 2 groups, with the strength of relationships being stronger for men.     

Diagnostics of Robust Growth Curve Modeling Using Student's t Distribution

Growth curve models with different types of distributions of random effects and of intraindividual measurement errors for robust analysis are compared. After demonstrating the influence of distribution specification on parameter estimation, 3 methods for diagnosing the distributions for both random effects and intraindividual measurement errors are proposed and evaluated. The methods include (a) distribution checking based on individual growth curve analysis; (b) distribution comparison based on Deviance Information Criterion, and (c) post hoc checking of degrees of freedom estimates for t distributions. The performance of the methods is compared through simulation studies. When the sample size is reasonably large, the method of post hoc checking of degrees of freedom estimates works best. A web interface is developed to ease the use of the 3 methods. Application of the 3 methods is illustrated through growth curve analysis of mathematical ability development using data on the Peabody Individual Achievement Test Mathematics assessment from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 Cohort (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2005).     

A phase-field model for deformation twinning

We propose a phase-field model for modeling microstructure evolution during deformation twinning. The order parameters are proportional to the shear strains defined in terms of twin plane orientations and twinning directions. Using a face-centered cubic Al as an example, the deformation energy as a function of shear strain is obtained using first-principle calculations. The gradient energy coefficients are fitted to the twin boundary energies along the twinning planes and to the dislocation core energies along the directions that are perpendicular to the twinning planes. The elastic strain energy of a twinned structure is included using the Khachaturyan's elastic theory. We simulated the twinning process and microstructure evolution under a number of fixed deformations and predicted the twinning plane orientations and microstructures.     

Practice Effects on Motor Control in Healthy Seniors and Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease

ABSTRACT

This research was designed to test the hypothesis that motor practice can enhance the capabilities of motor control in healthy controls (NC) and patients with a diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and consequently results in better motor performance. Approximately half of the subjects in the NC (n = 31), AD (n = 28), and MCI (n = 29) either received or did not receive practice on a task of fast and accurate arm movement with a digitizer. Changes in movement time (MT), movement smoothness (jerk), and percentage of primary submovement (PPS) were recorded and compared among the three groups across six blocks of trials (baseline and five training sessions). For all subjects, practice improved motor functions as reflected by faster and smoother motor execution, as well as a greater proportion of programming control. Compared to unaffected matched controls, AD and MCI subjects exhibited a greater reduction in movement jerk due to practice. Movement time and PPS data revealed that motor practice appeared to reduce the use of “on-line” correction adopted by the AD or MCI patients while performing the aiming movements. Evidently, their arm movements were quicker, smoother, and temporally more consistent than their untrained peers. The findings of this study shed light on how MCI and AD may affect motor control mechanisms, and suggest possible therapeutic interventions aimed at improving motor functioning in these impaired individuals.     

A neural autopilot theory of habit: Evidence from consumer purchases and social media use

This article applies a two-process “neural autopilot” model to field data. The autopilot model hypothesizes that habitual choice occurs when the reward from a behavior has low numerical “doubt” (i.e., reward prediction errors are small). The model toggles between repeating a previous choice (habit) when doubt is low and making a goal-directed choice when doubt is high. The model has ingredients established in animal learning and cognitive neuroscience and is simple enough to make nonobvious predictions. In two empirical applications, we fit the model to field data on purchases of canned tuna and posting on the Chinese social media site Weibo. This style of modeling is called “structural” because there is a theoretical model of how different variables influence choices by agents (the “structure”), which tightly restricts how hidden variables lead to observed choices. There is empirical support for the model, more strongly for tuna purchases than for Weibo posting, relative to a baseline “reduced-form” model in which current choices are correlated with past choices without a mechanistic (structural) explanation. An interesting set of predictions can also be derived about how consumers react to different kinds of changes in prices and qualities of goods (this is called “counterfactual analysis”).     

两例先天性无痛症患者的心理生理特点研究 Ⅱ.对致痛性强刺激的知觉和反应

本工作对两例先天性无痛症患者对于致痛性强刺激的知觉和反应进行了研究(例1女,10岁,例2男,13岁)。对照组为20例正常儿童,性别和年龄均与患儿相匹配。 结果:1),生活中痛:两例患儿均无(包括痛感觉和痛反应)。2)实验性痛:①痛感觉:两例患儿均无;②“痛”反应:例1有“痛”反应(脉搏和呼吸的变化以及行为反应明显,大致与正常儿童相似)。例2无“痛”反应(脉搏和呼吸的变化轻微,无行为反应,与正常儿童不同)。 由结果看来,先天性无痛症患者似乎可分为两种类型:不完全型(如同例1)和完全型(如同例2)。存在有“痛”反应而无痛感觉的无痛症患者。 本工作结果从另一侧面为痛的两成分学说提供了依据。     

As the Flocks Gather: How Religion Affects Voluntary Association Participation

This study investigates the relationship between different dimensions of religiosity and voluntary association participation using data from Queen'sUniversity's 1996 "God and Society in North America" survey. I look at the participatory, devotional, affiliative, and theological dimensions of religiosity and examine how they affect voluntary association participation at three different levels: membership, volunteering, and serving on a committee. The results show that all four religious dimensions have considerable, but distinctive, influences on secular voluntary association participation.     

中学教师处理学生心理健康问题策略特点探析

采用问卷法考察了268名中学教师在厌学、退缩行为、自我中心、攻击性行为和考试焦虑五种问题情境下教师对处理学生心理健康问题的策略有效性和使用可能性的评定以及性别、教龄因素对教师评定策略有效性的影响。结果表明:(1)中学教师处理学生心理健康问题策略具有情境性,教师对处理学生心理健康问题的策略的有效性的认可和真正在具体情境中采取的策略不尽相同。在厌学和退缩行为情境中,教师倾向于认为情感关爱型策略更有效;自我中心情境中,行为疏导型策略更有效;攻击行为情境中,惩罚约束型策略更有效;在焦虑情境中,言语疏导型策略更有效。在采用可能性的评定中,对学生的厌学、退缩行为、自我中心和焦虑问题,教师都更倾向于采用言语疏导型策略;在攻击行为情境中,教师更倾向于采用行为疏导型策略。(2)与性别相比,教龄是影响教师评定处理学生心理健康问题策略有效性的较为敏感的变量。在厌学情境中,20年以上教龄的教师认为责任转移型策略和情感关爱型策略更有效;在自我中心情境中,20年以上教龄的教师认为责任转移型策略更有效。