Field dependence versus field independence of students with and without learning disabilities

The Group Embedded Figures Test of Oltman, Raskin, and Witkin was administered to 60 high school students (30 with learning disabilities and 30 without learning disabilities) to measure their cognitive styles of field dependence versus field independence. The analysis showed that the students with learning disabilities scored as more field dependent than those without learning disabilities.     

Item selection methods with exposure and time control for computerized classification test

Computerized classification testing (CCT) commonly chooses items maximizing information at the cut score, which yields the most information for decision-making. However, a corollary problem is that all examinees will be given the same set of items, resulting in high test overlap rate and unbalanced item bank usage, which threatens test security. Moreover, another pivotal issue for CCT is time control. Since both the extremely long response time (RT) and large RT variability across examinees intensify time-induced anxiety, it is crucial to reduce the number of examinees exceeding the time limitation and the differences between examinees' test-taking times. To satisfy these practical needs, this paper proposes the novel idea of stage adaptiveness to tailor the item selection process to the decision-making requirement in each step and generate fresh insight into the existing response time selection method. Results indicate that a balanced item usage as well as short and stable test times across examinees can be achieved via the new methods.     

MARGINALIZATION AND TRANSCENDENCE IN TRANSHUMANISM AND MINJUNG THEOLOGY

The visibility of transhumanism in pop culture reveals its dramatic advance in twenty-first-century life. The more widespread the movement becomes, the more important it is to consider how transhumanism might be made relevant to global humanity. This article orients technological progress by drawing transhumanism into conversation with minjung theology from Korea. Minjung theology offers global tech culture—and its pursuit of technological salvation—an ethical foundation through attention to Han (an emotion specific to those who suffer from individual, sociopolitical, economic, and cultural oppression but have been unable to express it adequately) and the lived reality of those who are often excluded from benefits of technological society. Working in the other direction, transhumanist perspectives on technology offer minjung theology an opportunity to expand its reach through the development of a transcendent theological perspective.     

How using a paper versus mobile calendar influences everyday planning and plan fulfillment

This research examines how using a paper versus mobile calendar influences everyday planning and plan fulfillment behavior. Consumers are rapidly moving from paper to mobile calendars for convenience, but this research shows that doing so may lead individuals to be less successful in effectively developing and implementing their plans. In three studies, we demonstrate that compared with mobile calendar users, paper calendar users develop higher-quality plans and are more successful in plan fulfillment. We provide evidence that this happens because paper calendar users take a broader, big-picture perspective during planning, which also leads to higher-quality plan development and a greater likelihood of plan fulfillment. When mobile calendar users use a mode that also provides a broader perspective, their plan quality increases.     

Loneliness and relationship dispositions in emerging adults: Gender and culture as moderators

Prior research has provided evidence of the link between loneliness and the number of past sexual partners—suggesting the role of short-term intimate connections as a strategy to fulfill belongingness needs. The current study examined whether increased loneliness was associated with increased tendencies to engage in short-term sexual (sociosexuality) and romantic (emophilia) relationships with a sample of 319 Malaysian emerging adults. We also tested whether these associations varied by gender and cultural orientation. Findings from a cross-sectional survey revealed that lonelier individuals generally reported higher emophilia. The positive association between loneliness and sociosexuality, however, was only present among those who were high in vertical individualism (i.e., socialized to construe themselves as independent and different from others). Gender did not moderate either of these associations. These results suggest that the loneliness-driven short-term connections may be less readily manifested as sexual tendencies in populations that are more sexually conservative. Our findings highlight the importance of considering the role of cultural differences at the individual level in addition to the overall cultural context when examining intimate relationship tendencies.     

Is empathy associated with more prosocial behaviour? A meta-analysis

Empathy is an important prerequisite for prosocial behaviour (PB). However, different concepts and methodological tools have been used in research on the relationship between empathy and PB, leading to ambiguous results. This study used a meta-analysis to explore this relationship and to identify the moderating variables. After a literature search, 62 studies and 146 samples with 71,310 participants were included. Our random effects model revealed a positive correlation of PB with both cognitive empathy (r = .32) and affective empathy (r = .30). In addition, the relationship between empathy and PB is moderated by culture, publication type, education level, and empathy measures. Our conclusion is that there is a significant correlation between empathy and PB that is influenced by sample characteristics and methodological factors.     

Cross-cultural similarity in the love attitudes scale: short form.

Recently, Hendrick, Hendrick, and Dicke presented two short forms of the Love Attitudes Scale, the first using 24 items with 4 items for each subscale and the second using 18 items with 3 items for each subscale. Their data indicated that the two short versions have even stronger psychometric properties than the original scale. This study reports an 18-item short form of the scale developed independently in Taiwan using 460 graduate and undergraduate students in the fall semester of 1997. The results demonstrated a remarkable cross-cultural similarity in the development and response to the short form of the scale and its applicability to a broader cultural setting.     

青年学生自我价值感量表的编制

自我价值感是一个多维度、多层次的心理结构,按其抽象程度的不同可分为总体自我价值感、一般自我价值感和特殊自我价值感．其中一般和特殊自我价值感又可区分为社会取向和个人取向两种类型。按照此种概念性架构并对重庆市598名大学生的测试后所作的因素分析,编制了具有较高信度和效度的自我价值量表。     

Total surface of temporoparietal intrasylvian cortex: diverging left-right asymmetries

Measurements of the total convoluted surface area of cortex buried in the temporoparietal transition of the Sylvian fissure were performed using "three-dimensional" magnetic resonance morphometry in 10 randomly selected human cadaver brains. The measurements comprised the planum temporale, which covers the superior temporal gyrus posterior to Heschl's first transverse gyrus, and the caudally adjacent walls of the descending and ascending rami of the Sylvian fissure. Also, the total convoluted surface of the planum temporale was compared with its superficially exposed surface as determined by photographical planimetry after brain section, so that the index of cortical folding of the planum temporale could be estimated. The following results were obtained: Cortical folding of the planum temporale did not differ significantly between left and right hemispheres (p greater than .6). The total and the superficially exposed surface of the planum temporale showed significant leftward asymmetry (p less than or equal to .0078). In contrast, the total surface of cortex buried in the caudal segments of the Sylvian fissure posterior to the planum exhibited significant rightward asymmetry (p less than or equal to .016). The combined cortical surface area buried in the whole posterior Sylvian fissure caudal to the first transverse gyrus did not show significant left-right asymmetry (p greater than 0.3). The data suggest divergent lateral asymmetries in the posterior intrasylvian region with excesses of superior temporal cortex in left hemispheres and of supramarginal cortex in right hemispheres.     

Manipulating the QT interval of the ECG by cognitive effort

Abnormal prolongation of the QT interval of the ECG has been reported to indicate a hazard of sudden arrhythmic death. Therefore, with the aid of biofeedback from a newly devised instrument capable of measuring and recording the QT interval of the ECG in real time, ten healthy subjects, aided by biofeedback, attempted to shorten and also to lengthen QT. Although the changes achieved were relatively small, the ten subjects as a group were successful in both shortening and lenthening QT at the 0.01 level of significance. The degree of success varied, however, from person to person and from time to time in the same individual. If the findings reported here can be applied more generally to patients at risk for sudden death, and if biofeedback effects can be made to persist without reinforcement, it or other cognitive techniques may prove clinically useful for shortening QT.