A Sociocultural Approach to Narcissism: The Case of Modern China

Using large Internet samples, we examined the possible influence of sociodemographic factors on the Chinese self‐concept and in particular, on the level of narcissism. We found that (i) younger persons are more narcissistic than older ones; (ii) persons from higher socioeconomic classes are more narcissistic than those from lower socioeconomic classes; (iii) persons from only‐child families are more narcissistic than those from families with multiple children; (iv) persons from urban areas are more narcissistic than those from rural areas; and (v) individualistic values are predictive of individual differences in narcissism. The findings suggest that sociocultural changes contribute to the rise of narcissism in China. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

“语义P600”的实质及其影响机制

总结并分析了影响语义 P600 效应产生与否的五个主要因素及其作用机制：关键词和论元之间的语义关联性;语义-主题关系的潜在可修正性;有生性违例;语境;实验任务。在此基础上,概述了由语义 P600 效应发展而来、或验证了的两个主要理论观点,即“两种并行神经加工流”的观点和扩展论元依附模型。最后还对语义 P600 效应今后的研究方向提出了看法：各种影响因素间的综合性研究;跨语言研究;工作记忆的影响;表面相似 ERP 成分之间的区别研究。     

Motivational cues: The role of perceived senders' self‐control ability in raters' deception judgements

Previous studies have found that senders' personal traits may be used by others to make judgements about the senders' truthfulness. Two studies were conducted to examine whether perceived self‐control ability has an effect on deception judgement. Perceived self‐control was hypothesized to act as a motivational cue that participants would use to assess the sender's motivation to lie, which in turn would influence their deception judgement. Results revealed that when participants assessed the sender as having higher self‐control ability, they would consider the sender to be less motivated to lie in daily life (Study 1), and judge the sender more truthful in a text‐based deception judgement task (Study 2). However, the effect of perceived self‐control ability disappeared in a video‐based task (Study 2), likely due to the multitude of various cues available in audio‐visual stimuli. The theoretical and applied implications of the results are discussed.     

Career adaptability,job search self-efficacy and outcomes: A three-wave investigation among Chinese university graduates

Based on career construction theory, the current research examined the role of career adaptability in Chinese university graduates' job search process (N = 270). Results from a three-wave survey study showed that the four dimension of career adaptability (measured at wave 1) correlated positively with university graduates' job search self-efficacy (measured at wave 2) and their employment status (measured at wave 3). Among graduates who became employed, career adaptability dimensions also predicted positively their person–environment (P–E) fit perceptions (measured at wave 3). The results further showed that with the effects of demographics (gender, age, education level and major) and family background (family economical status and parental education) controlled for, when putting the four dimensions of career adaptability together, career concern and career control served as the strongest predictors for job search self-efficacy, which further mediated the positive effects of these two dimensions on employment status. In addition, career control also had indirect effect on P–E fit through the mediation of job search self-efficacy. Additional analyses using the global indicator of career adaptability also supported this mediation model such that career adaptability significantly predicted employment status and P–E fit, with these relations mediated by job search self-efficacy. These findings carry implications for research on career construction theory, as well as career education and career counseling practices.     

Microstructure and martensitic transformation behaviors of a Ti–Ni–Hf–Cu high-temperature shape memory alloy ribbon

The Ti₃₆Ni₄₁Hf₁₅Cu₈ melt-spun ribbon undergoes a B2 ? B19′ transformation upon cooling and heating. When the Ti₃₆Ni₄₁Hf₁₅Cu₈ melt-spun ribbon is annealed at 873 K for 1 h, the spherical (Ti, Hf)₂Ni particles with a diameter of 20–40 nm precipitate in the grain interior. The fine (Ti, Hf)₂Ni precipitates improve the stability of phase transformation temperatures and cause martensite domains, with (001) compound twins in three orientations dominant instead of (011) type I twins. {111}-, {113}- and (001)//{111}-type boundaries are observed among these martensite domains. When the (Ti,Hf)₂Ni precipitates coarsen, (011) type I twins become main martensite structures in the ribbon annealed at 973 K for 1 h.     

Career adaptability and proactive work behaviour: A relational model

Research on career adaptability has found that it helps people adapt at work. However, in modern uncertain and dynamic work environment, people need to perform proactive work behaviour to ensure individual effectiveness. Thus, to understand how career adaptability advances career development, it is necessary to examine its influences on proactive work behaviour. Adopting a relational perceptive, the current paper proposed leader-member exchange and perceived coworker support as the mediators and future work self salience as a moderator. Data were collected with a three-wave design in China. Findings largely supported the propositions, albeit showing partial mediation effects. This study extends existing understandings of the role of career adaptability at work, provides a new perspective about why it influences work-related outcomes and enriches the knowledge about the antecedents of proactive work behaviour.     

有关开设思维能力训练课程对中学生智能水平影响的实验研究

本实验探讨思维能力训练课程对于中学生(初一和高一)智能的影响。实验历时三个月,12课时。结果表明:中学生在掌握了一定的思维策略后,能够在较短的时间内提高其智能水平;在一定的范围内思维能力训练效果是可以迁移的;性别、年龄差异对训练效果没有显著影响;学生原有的智能水平与训练效果之间存在着交互作用。     

The cross-cultural generalizability of Axis-II constructs: an evaluation of two personality disorder assessment instruments in the People's Republic of China

We examined the reliability, cross-instrument validity, and factor structure of Chinese adaptations of the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire (PDQ-4+; N = 1,926) and Personality Disorders Interview (PDI-IV; N = 525) in psychiatric patients. Comparisons with data from Western countries suggest that the psychometric properties of these two instruments are comparable across cultures. Low to modest agreement between the PDQ-4+ and PDI-IV was observed for both dimensional and categorical personality disorder evaluations. When the PDI-IV was used as the diagnostic standard, the PDQ-4+ showed higher sensitivity than specificity, and higher negative predictive power than positive predictive power. Factor analyses of both instruments replicated the four-factor structure O'Connor and Dyce (1998) found in Western samples. Results suggested that conceptions and measures of DSM-IV personality disorders are cross-culturally generalizable to Chinese psychiatric populations.     

Hostility and quality of life among Hispanics/Latinos in the HCHS/SOL Sociocultural Ancillary Study

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine if hostility is associated with physical and mental health-related quality of life (QoL) in US. Hispanics/Latinos after accounting for depression and anxiety.

Methods: Analyses included 5313 adults (62% women, 18–75 years) who completed the ancillary sociocultural assessment of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos. Participants completed the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, Spielberger Trait Anxiety Scale, Spielberger Trait Anger Scale, Cook–Medley Hostility cynicism subscale and Short Form Health Survey. In a structural regression model, associations of hostility with mental and physical QoL were examined.

Results: In a model adjusting for age, sex, disease burden, income, education and years in the US., hostility was related to worse mental QoL, and was marginally associated with worse physical QoL. However, when adjusting for the influence of depression and anxiety, greater hostility was associated with better mental QoL, and was not associated with physical QoL.

Conclusions: Results indicate observed associations between hostility and QoL are confounded by symptoms of anxiety and depression, and suggest hostility is independently associated with better mental QoL in this population. Findings also highlight the importance of differentiating shared and unique associations of specific emotions with health outcomes.