Person‐Group Value Congruence and Subjective Well‐Being in Students from Argentina,Bulgaria and Finland: The Role of Interpersonal Relationships

The present study examined the relations between personal values, value congruence, interpersonal relationships and subjective well‐being in psychology/education and business students from Argentina (N = 275), Bulgaria (N = 182) and Finland (N = 148). Regression analyses showed, first, that there were no direct relations between higher order value priorities and life satisfaction (LS), positive affect (PA) or negative affect (NA). Second, objective value‐congruence (VC)—the similarity between individual and group values—was positively related to LS and PA, and negatively related to NA. Most importantly, the effects of VC on LS, NA and PA were partially mediated by good interpersonal relationships. Our results show that interpersonal relationships are facilitated by sharing values similar to those of one's fellow students. More generally, personal values per se appear not to be associated with subjective well‐being, more important is how these values fit into the social context. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Empathy framework for embodied conversational agents

Empathy is a complex socio-emotional behavior that results from the interaction between affective and cognitive mechanisms. Equipping embodied conversational agents (ECAs) with empathic capacity can benefit from the integration and evaluation of these low and high level capabilities in a hierarchical manner. Following the theoretical background on empathic behavior in humans, this paper presents a framework to equip ECAs with real time multi-modal empathic interaction capabilities. We present the implementation of this framework, which includes basic dialogue capabilities as well as three levels of empathic behavior in a conversational scenario. Our approach is an inclusive stand on modeling levels of empathy and provides a baseline behavior for empathic interaction.     

Identity Development and Integration of Religious Identities in Gender and Sexual Minority Emerging Adults

Gender and sexual minority (GSM) individuals have been neglected in emerging adulthood research. Further research is needed to understand the seemingly contradictory religious and GSM identities of emerging adults. This study looks at the associations of identity development and identity integration with religious and GSM group activities and well‐being. Identity visibility (outness) is associated with increases in GSM group activity and well‐being. Religious group activity is also associated with increases in well‐being. Religious group activity mediates the relationship between identity integration and well‐being. Implications for practitioners working with GSM individuals dealing with issues of identity integration are discussed.     

Religious Service Attendance Aids Coping by Providing a Sense of Continuity: A Test of the Stress‐Support Matching Hypothesis Using Mental Health Outcome Measures

We propose that religious service attendance (RSA) serves as a coping resource by providing a sense of continuity. As a source of continuity, and per the stress‐support matching hypothesis, RSA should consistently buffer the negative mental well‐being impacts of stressors related to discontinuity—the disruption of regular routines and relationships. Most, but not all, of the relevant previous studies we reviewed found that RSA served as an effective buffer for the negative mental health impacts of discontinuity stressors (such as unemployment, terminated relationships, etc.). This variability in previous findings warranted a formal exploration of the relationship between RSA and specific stressors. To that end, we conducted a series of OLS regression path analyses on a sample of Americans age 40 and older (N = 2,579). RSA was found to consistently buffer the negative impact of discontinuity stressors on mental well‐being but failed to do so for other stressors. Overall, our observations are (a) consistent with the stress‐support matching hypothesis, (b) suggest that RSA is particularly effective for reducing the negative impacts of discontinuity stressors, and (c) found no instance in which RSA exacerbated (i.e., made more severe) the effects of life event stressors on mental well‐being.     

Coping flexibility and eudaimonic well‐being in university students

Despite the growing interest in the relationship between coping strategies and eudaimonic well‐being, few studies have examined this issue from the perspective of coping flexibility. Therefore, the present study aimed to: (1) identify approach coping profiles in the university context and (2) analyze the differences between these profiles in terms of eudaimonic well‐being. A prospective ex post facto design was used and 1,402 university students were selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected using validated self‐reported instruments. A latent profile analysis was conducted to identify the participants’ coping profiles. The relationship between profiles and eudaimonic well‐being was determined using a multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA ), with gender, age, and university degree as covariates. Six student profiles were identified based on the degree to which they combined positive reappraisal, support seeking, and planning strategies. The profiles that involved the use of these three strategies to a greater extent experienced more eudaimonic well‐being, and vice versa. To analyze the impact of coping on eudaimonic well‐being, it is necessary to consider students’ ability to combine different approach coping strategies.     

Consumer Wisdom: A Theoretical Framework of Five Integrated Facets

We establish a parsimonious theoretical framework of consumer wisdom based on five mutually reinforcing psychological facets. Our research draws from wisdom literature and a set of 31 phenomenological interviews with informants who were identified through a multi‐stage nomination process. The five facets of consumer wisdom that emerged are Intentionality, Contemplation, Emotional Mastery, Openness, and Transcendence. Together, they comprise a data‐grounded, aspirational model of consumer wisdom—for researchers as well as consumers—to understand, maintain, and improve personal and collective well‐being. We discuss the implications of the framework and directions for future research.     

干宝易学哲学之探讨

干宝易学蕴涵的总体宇宙关怀和终极人文关切主要包括:理想礼法秩序的构建、圣人君子的人格期冀、天人合一的价值诉求三个方面.具体表现为:各安其位、各正性命的合理社会秩序建设;圣人君子家国天下的责任担当与深挚的忧患意识期许;天人相应、应天顺民的天人有序而和谐的价值追求.干宝易学思想终极价值的内容是其易学思想人文精神的集中体现和形上学维度的积极展开,这三个组成部分无不彰显干宝对于现实的关切并积极面对的态度,是其儒家价值理想与人生追求的集中体现.在对于现实问题的解读以及解决的内容和方式中,干宝既有对于传统的继承,又有其无可替代的个人观解.而面对所遭遇到的时代性问题,干宝尽力给出了一位真正儒者的解答.     

Embodiment of motor skills when observing expert and novice athletes

If people are shown a dynamic movie of an action such as kicking a soccer ball or hitting a tennis ball, they will respond to it faster if it requires the same effector. This standard congruency effect was reported to reverse when participants viewed static images of famous athletes not actually performing an action. It was suggested that the congruent response was inhibited because of a social contrast effect, based on an implied action, whereby responders viewed themselves as comparatively worse than the professional athlete. The present study recorded hand and foot responses when identifying static images of both famous and novice athletes in soccer and tennis. The action was either explicit or implied. In Experiment 1, a standard congruency effect was found for all images. In Experiment 2, when a response was based on the identity of the athlete rather than their expertise, the standard congruency effect was enhanced for images of novice athletes, but was eliminated for experts, suggesting a social contrast effect. Our study is the first to show that embodiment effects can be seen for implied and explicit action images of both novices and experts, and that static images are capable of eliciting priming effects associated with sport-relevant effector pairings.     

Lending a hand to signed language acquisition: Enactment and iconicity enhance sign recall in hearing adult American Sign Language learners

Abstract

Evidence over the last 15 years has suggested that dual (imagery and verbal) coding explanations of concreteness effects in memory for word lists do not generalise well to memory for sentences and paragraphs. In contrast, an alternative framework based on relative differences in relational and distinctive processing has been shown to account for the effects of imagery and concreteness in these contexts and others. This paper describes recent research on free and cued recall of word lists and evaluates it with respect to the two models. The evidence suggests that whereas dual processing systems may be involved in the encoding of verbal materials, dual memory codes are insufficient to explain concreteness effects in recall. Better memory for high-as compared to low-imagery words depends on the use of paradigms that facilitate inter-item relational processing, independent of whether or not imagery is involved.