Do objects in working memory compete with objects in perception?

It is generally assumed that “perceptual object” is the basic unit for processing visual information and that only a small number of objects can be either perceptually selected or encoded in working memory (WM) at one time. This raises the question whether the same resource is used when objects are selected and tracked as when they are held in WM. In two experiments, we measured dual-task interference between a memory task and a Multiple Object Tracking task. The WM tasks involve explicit, implicit, or no spatial processing. Our results suggest there is no resource competition between working memory and perceptual selection except when the WM task requires encoding spatial properties.     

Post-migration Growth Scale for Chinese International Students: Development and Validation

There has been a significant paradigm shift in recent acculturation research from a psychopathological perspective to a resilience framework. However, one indicator of positive adaptation outcomes in acculturation—measurement of personal growth in migration—is lacking. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a Post-migration Growth Scale (PMGS) for Chinese international students. A 14-item scale was developed through in-depth interviews, item analysis and factor analysis. The scale was initially validated in a sample of 400 mainland Chinese students studying in Hong Kong. Exploratory factor analysis suggested two factors (interpersonal growth and intrapersonal growth), which were cross-validated in an independent sample of Chinese international students in Australia from mainland China (n = 154) by confirmatory factor analysis. The PMGS showed satisfactory internal consistency reliability and concurrent validity. The PMGS can thus be a reliable and valid instrument to measure Chinese international students’ personal growth from overseas study experiences. Limitations were discussed and implications were suggested.     

品牌印象结构及其测量研究

品牌印象是消费者基于对品牌信息的感知和体验而在头脑中留下的品牌部分或整体信息。在文献研究和关键事件访谈的基础上,通过筛选条目、形成初步问卷、预测验和正式测验等程序,经探索性因素分析和验证性因素分析,重测信度、聚合效度、辨别效度、法则效度和效标关联效度等检验,发现全方位的品牌印象由品牌质量印象、品牌传播印象、品牌服务印象和品牌价格印象等四个维度构成。用于测量品牌印象的多维量表、各维单项目量表和单项目量表均具有较好的信度和效度。     

Instrumental lying by parents in the US and China

The practice of lying to one's children to encourage behavioral compliance was investigated among parents in the US (N = 114) and China (N = 85). The vast majority of parents (84% in the US and 98% in China) reported having lied to their children for this purpose. Within each country, the practice most frequently took the form of falsely threatening to leave a child alone in public if he or she refused to follow the parent. Crosscultural differences were seen: A larger proportion of the parents in China reported that they employed instrumental lie‐telling to promote behavioral compliance, and a larger proportion approved of this practice, as compared to the parents in the US. This difference was not seen on measures relating to the practice of lying to promote positive feelings, or on measures relating to statements about fantasy characters such as the tooth fairy. Findings are discussed with reference to sociocultural values and certain parenting‐related challenges that extend across cultures.     

Testing a Theoretical Model Based on Social Cognitive Theory for Media Influences on Suicidal Ideation: Results from a Panel Study

The influence of media representations of suicides on the subsequent increase of suicide rate has been researched for decades. Yet the underlying psychological mechanism of such media influences on individual's suicidality remains uncertain. Based on the conceptual framework of social cognitive theory, this article discusses the operationalization of media influences on suicidal ideation by using a psychometric approach. It then develops and tests a theoretical model to explain the mechanism of media influences on suicidal ideation. A two-wave panel study with a randomized population sample was carried out in the Hong Kong SAR, China with the results indicating that the proposed operationalization closely fit the data collected and empirically supported the theoretical model. Reciprocal associations between prior suicidal ideation and processes of media influences were also confirmed. The results also tested the factorial invariance across age groups and different pre-existing levels of suicidal ideation. This study reports the first individual-level finding on the theoretical relationship between media influences and suicidal ideation, as well as the first psychometrically validated operationalization of media influences on suicidal ideation.     

干扰任务对说谎影响的研究

摘要:本文将干扰任务对记忆的影响同测谎结合起来,试图运用这一方法来对求职者的真实学历和虚假学历进行区分。实验采用模拟面试的方式,对被试在有或无干扰任务条件下进行两次提问,结果发现,四种任务条件对被试真实经历和虚假经历都具有区分度,其中双双条件的区分度是最高的。并且,被试在双双任务条件下虚假经历的得分显著低于其他三种任务条件。     

Orientations to Happiness and Subjective Well-Being in Chinese Adolescents: The Roles of Prosocial Behavior and Internet Addictive Behavior

Researchers have studied individual’s pursuit of well-being through two perspectives: the eudaimonic perspective and the hedonic perspective. Peterson and his colleagues (2005) introduced their Orientations to Happiness scale, a self-report measure assessing individual’s pursuit of well-being that corresponds to these two perspectives. Specifically, the Life of Meaning subscale is the index of the eudaimonic pursuit; the Life of Pleasure subscale is the index of the hedonic pursuit. Previous research has demonstrated that orientations to happiness are positively associated with individual’s subjective well-being, whereas little research has addressed the mechanisms underlying the associations. Based on goal theory of happiness, the present study investigated how orientations to happiness were associated with subjective well-being by examining the indirect effects of the prosocial behavior and Internet addictive behavior in a sample of Chinese adolescents aged between 13 and 18 (N = 2082). The results showed that: (1) both life of meaning and life of pleasure were positively associated with adolescents’ subjective well-being; (2) prosocial behavior partially mediated the positive association between life of meaning and subjective well-being; and (3) prosocial behavior also partially mediated the positive association between life of pleasure and subjective well-being, whereas Internet addictive behavior undermined the positive association here. The findings shed light on the underlying mechanisms between orientations to happiness and subjective well-being.     

比较视觉搜索任务中工作记忆最小化的眼动研究

采用比较视觉搜索任务和眼动追踪技术,通过增加组成图片的图形数量和改变不同图形的特征属性,考察比较视觉搜索任务是否遵循工作记忆最小化原则以及图形特征加工的优先性问题。结果表明图形数量的增加不影响平均每次注视的图形数量,被试平均每次注视1.65个图形,即比较视觉搜索任务仍遵循工作记忆最小化原则。不同图形中颜色和形状都不同的注视时间最短,颜色不同和形状不同在注视时间上差异不显著,表明比较视觉搜索任务中特征维度数量比特征性质在引导注意上具有优先性。事先不规定搜索路径的情况下,被试主要采用系统搜索策略完成比较搜索任务。     

大学生成就目标定向与学习投入的关系:时间管理倾向的中介作用

采用成就目标定向量表、青少年时间管理倾向量表和学习投入量表,对721名大学生进行调查,探讨大学生时间管理倾向在成就目标定向与学习投入之间的中介作用,同时考察受到学籍警告学生、普通学生和获奖学金学生在这三者上的得分是否有差异。结果发现:(1)在成就目标定向上,普通组与获奖学金组学生存在显著差异,而在时间管理倾向与学习投入上则差异不显著,但两组学生在这三者上的得分皆要显著高于受学籍警告组学生;(2)大学生掌握目标定向、成绩趋近目标定向与时间管理倾向和学习投入皆呈显著正相关,而成绩回避目标定向与学习投入呈显著负相关,与时间管理倾向则相关不显著;(3)时间管理倾向在成就目标定向与学习投入之间起完全中介作用,表明大学生的成就目标定向通过时间管理倾向间接影响其学习投入。     

Backward-walking biological motion orients attention to moving away instead of moving toward

Walking direction is an important attribute of biological motion because it carries key information, such as the specific intention of the walker. Although it is known that spatial attention is guided by walking direction, it remains unclear whether this attentional shift is reflexive (i.e., constantly shifts to the walking direction) or not. A richer interpretation of this effect is that attention is guided to seek the information that is necessary to understand the motion. To investigate this issue, we examined how backward-walking biological motion orients attention because the intention of walking backward is usually to avoid something that walking forward would encounter. The results showed that attention was oriented to the walking-away direction of biological motion instead of the walking-toward direction (Experiment 1), and this effect was not due to the gaze direction of biological motion (Experiment 2). Our findings suggest that the attentional shift triggered by walking direction is not reflexive, thus providing support for the rich interpretation of these attentional effects.