Psycho-logic: some thoughts and after-thoughts

The main features of the system of psycho-logic and its historical origins, especially in the writings of Heider and Piaget, are briefly reviewed. An updated version of the axioms of psycho-logic, and a list of the semantic primitives of Wierzbicka are presented. Some foundational questions are discussed, including the genetically determined limitations of human knowledge, the constructive, moral, and political nature of the approach, the role of fortuitous events, the ultimate limitations of psychological knowledge (the "balloon" to be inflated from the inside), the role of the subjective unconscious, and the implications of the approach for practice.     

Domain-specificity and individual differences in worry

Worrying is generally perceived to be an undesirable mental state. An evolutionary approach suggests, however, despite the potential distress, worry may function to focus individuals’ attention on evolutionarily-relevant tasks. In the current study (N = 193), we demonstrated that participants’ primary worries were focused within domains central to reproductive success and mate-value. Furthermore, mating strategy predicted worries in the domains of social status and mating. Neuroticism, as an individual difference reflecting vigilance to threats, was correlated with worry about fitness-relevant but not fitness-irrelevant domains. The current study documents the first domain-specific assessment of worries and complements this analysis with intriguing individual difference predictors of worry.     

Why More Intelligent Individuals Like Classical Music

The origin of values and preferences is an unresolved theoretical problem in social and behavioral sciences. The Savanna‐IQ Interaction Hypothesis, derived from the Savanna Principle and a theory of the evolution of general intelligence, suggests that more intelligent individuals are more likely to acquire and espouse evolutionarily novel values and preferences than less intelligent individuals but that general intelligence has no effect on the acquisition and espousal of evolutionarily familiar values and preferences. Recent work on the evolution of music suggests that music in its evolutionary origin was always vocal and that purely instrumental music is evolutionarily novel. The Savanna‐IQ Interaction Hypothesis would then imply that more intelligent individuals are more likely to prefer purely instrumental music than less intelligent individuals, but general intelligence has no effect on the preference for vocal music. The analyses of American (General Social Surveys) and British (British Cohort Study) data are consistent with this hypothesis. Additional analyses suggest that the effect of intelligence on musical preference is not a function of the cognitive complexity of music. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reflection and reasoning in moral judgment

While there is much evidence for the influence of automatic emotional responses on moral judgment, the roles of reflection and reasoning remain uncertain. In Experiment 1, we induced subjects to be more reflective by completing the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) prior to responding to moral dilemmas. This manipulation increased utilitarian responding, as individuals who reflected more on the CRT made more utilitarian judgments. A follow-up study suggested that trait reflectiveness is also associated with increased utilitarian judgment. In Experiment 2, subjects considered a scenario involving incest between consenting adult siblings, a scenario known for eliciting emotionally driven condemnation that resists reasoned persuasion. Here, we manipulated two factors related to moral reasoning: argument strength and deliberation time. These factors interacted in a manner consistent with moral reasoning: A strong argument defending the incestuous behavior was more persuasive than a weak argument, but only when increased deliberation time encouraged subjects to reflect.     

镜像神经元:认知具身性的神经生物学证据

传统认知心理学认为认知类似于计算机对抽象符号的加工和运算,这种观点支持了身心二元论。但是近年来兴起的具身认知运动却否定了这一观点的合理性。具身认知认为认知是身体与世界互动的结果,是身体的感觉-运动系统作用于世界而塑造出来的。认知是具身的,离不开身体的构造和感觉运动系统的作用。镜像神经元的发现支持了认知的具身特征,为认知的具身性提供了神经生物学的证据。     

从西方理论心理学的崛起看中国理论心理学发展——兼论中国理论心理学建构

心理学能够从对实证资料积累的追求中解放出来,转而注重学科自身的理论反思与理论建构,是心理科学逐渐走向成熟的一种表现。随着西方理论心理学的崛起,中国心理学理论研究也逐渐得到重视,出现很多有价值的理论成果,但在心理学元理论和实体理论的建设上,仍旧过度依赖欧美心理学,原创性的元理论和实体理论几乎没有。在研究的规模、研究领域、研究水准、研究方法乃至研究从业者数量上的差距也使中国理论心理学发展显得步履维艰。然而,西方理论心理学的崛起却可以给中国理论心理学发展带来重要启示,在对中国理论心理学建构过程中,要积极对国外理论心理学的理论思维和理论研究方法进行筛淘,加强原创性的理论建设,处理好理论与实践、引进与创新、反思和建构的关系。     

Athletes’ ease of imaging predicts their imagery and observational learning use

Objectives

Following the development of the Sport Imagery Ability Questionnaire (SIAQ; Williams & Cumming, 2011), the aim of the present two studies was to more comprehensively examine the relationship between sport-related imagery ability and the functions of imagery and observational learning (OL) athletes report. A second aim was to establish the SIAQ’s predictive validity.

Design

Two samples of cross-sectional questionnaire data are presented in two studies.

Method

For both studies, athletes were recruited from a variety of team and individual sports, ranging in competitive level and years of experience. In Study 1, 117 participants (41 male and 76 female) with a mean age of 24.38 (SD = 9.46) completed the SIAQ and the Sport Imagery Questionnaire (SIQ; Hall, Mack, Paivio, & Hausenblas, 1998). In Study 2, 221 participants (83 male and 138 female) with a mean age of 22.34 (SD = 7.66) completed the SIAQ and the Functions of Observational Learning Questionnaire (FOLQ; Cumming, Clark, Ste-Marie, McCullagh, & Hall, 2005).

Results

Athletes’ imagery ability significantly predicted their imagery and OL use. Moreover, with the exception of performance OL, predictions were stronger when the type of imagery ability closely matched the function of imagery or OL being predicted.

Conclusions

As well as demonstrating the predictive validity of the SIAQ, results from both studies support the need to use imagery ability measures that most closely match the type of imagery or OL being used.     

Psychometric properties of the Coach-Athlete Relationship Questionnaire (CART-Q) in seven countries

Objectives

In the sport context, the coach-athlete relationship has been viewed and studied as a universal phenomenon. It is thus important to assess the universality of the psychometric scale that is used to measure the quality of coach-athlete relationships. The present study examined the cultural equivalence or measurement invariance of the Coach-Athlete Relationship Questionnaire (11-item, athlete version CART-Q).

Design

Cross-sectional study.

Methods

A total of 1363 athletes from Belgium (N = 200), Britain (N = 382), China (N = 200), Greece (N = 115), Spain (N = 120), Sweden (N = 169), and United States of America (N = 177) completed the CART-Q.

Results

Multi-group mean and covariance structure (MACS) analyses supported the factorial validity of the CART-Q in a three-first-order factor model across the seven countries. An examination of the latent mean differences of the CART-Q revealed some variation in terms of the intensity that athletes perceive in the quality of the relationship with their coach across the different countries.

Conclusions

Overall, these results supply additional evidence of the psychometric properties of the CART-Q and highlight that it is a sound instrument that can be applied cross-culturally.     

诠释与转换：积极心理健康及其当代理解

积极心理健康是积极心理学理论系统的一个重要组成部分,也是积极心理学理论本身在心理健康领域的一种应用。积极心理健康以积极为核心观念,以人的积极品质为研究对象,注重人的个体差异的研究思路,引领和推动传统心理健康从关注人的消极品质转向人的积极潜力,从而使心理健康的主题既符合时代潮流又具有深厚的思想底蕴。