Trait emotional intelligence and mental distress: The mediating role of positive and negative affect

Over the past decade, emotional intelligence (EI) has received much attention in the literature. Previous studies indicated that higher trait or ability EI was associated with greater mental distress. The present study focused on mediating effects of positive and negative affect on the association between trait EI and mental distress in a sample of Chinese adults. The participants were 726 Chinese adults (384 females) with an age range of 18–60 years. Data were collected by using the Wong Law Emotional Intelligence Scale, the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale, and the General Health Questionnaire. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that EI was a significant predictor of positive affect, negative affect and mental distress. Further mediation analysis showed that positive and negative affect acted as partial mediators of the relationship between EI and mental distress. Furthermore, effect contrasts showed that there was no significant difference between the specific indirect effects through positive affect and through negative affect. This result indicated that positive affect and negative affect played an equally important function in the association between EI and distress. The significance and limitations of the results are discussed.     

How Can We Study Heroism? Integrating Persons,Situations and Communities

Heroism—an individual's commitment to a noble purpose, usually aimed at furthering the welfare of others, and involving the willingness to accept the consequences of achieving that purpose—has received little attention from political psychologists, even though a person is arguably as liable to act heroically as she is to act in a morally reprehensible manner. Specifically, important questions remain in how heroes can be identified beforehand and how such behavior can be successfully studied and promoted. We posit that recent work in genocide studies, positive psychology, personality psychology, ecological psychology, and moral psychology provides new and promising directions for better understanding heroic behavior. These developments can provide the tools for understanding the complex interplay of factors—including traits, situations, and communal beliefs—motivating heroic behavior.     

Effects of saccadic bilateral eye movements on memory in children and adults: an exploratory study

The effects of saccadic bilateral (horizontal) eye movements on true and false memory in adults and children were investigated. Both adults and children encoded lists of associated words in the Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm followed by a test of recognition memory. Just prior to retrieval, participants were asked to engage in 30s of bilateral vs. vertical vs. no eye movements. For studied information, the results for adults replicated previous work; bilateral eye movements were demonstrated to increase the accuracy of memory by increasing the hit rate and reducing the false alarm rate for related and unrelated recognition test lures. The results for children also indicated an improvement in memory accuracy, and like adults, was due to both an increase in the hit rate and a reduction in the false alarm rate. In spite of these similarities, the effects of bilateral eye movements differed between adults and children for critical unstudied words; i.e., those associated with the theme of the list. Only in adults did, bilateral eye movements reduce associative false memories; children did not show a reduction in false memory for critical associates. This produced a dissociation between the effects of eye movements on associative false memory as a function of age. The results are discussed from a developmental perspective in terms of potential mechanisms underlying true and false memory.     

Hemispheric asymmetries in the activation and monitoring of memory errors

Previous research on the lateralization of memory errors suggests that the right hemisphere's tendency to produce more memory errors than the left hemisphere reflects hemispheric differences in semantic activation. However, all prior research that has examined the lateralization of memory errors has used self-paced recognition judgments. Because activation occurs early in memory retrieval, with more time to make a decision, other memory processes, like strategic monitoring processes, may affect memory errors. By manipulating the time subjects were given to make memory decisions, this study separated the influence of automatic memory processes (activation) from strategic memory processes (monitoring) on the production of false memories. The results indicated that when retrieval was fast, the right hemisphere produced more memory errors than the left hemisphere. However, when retrieval was slow, the left hemisphere's error-proneness increased compared to the fast retrieval condition, while the right hemisphere's error-proneness remained the same. These results suggest that the right hemisphere's errors are largely due to activation, while the left hemisphere's errors are influenced by both activation and monitoring.     

跨视听通道的相继错误记忆效应

本研究以12名大学生为被试采用DRM范式,考察了视觉与听觉通道在编码阶段的错误记忆ERP效应,以从更深层面认识错误记忆的内在加工机制。研究结果表明,在编码阶段,在300-500ms及500-700ms的时间窗视觉通道均存在相继错误记忆效应（DIM）,比听觉通道表现出较强的DIM效应,这不仅说明视觉通道与听觉通道在编码阶段具有不同的脑机制,而且表明DIM效应与学习项目的语义加工有着密切的关系。     

Subdirectly Irreducible Residuated Semilattices and Positive Universal Classes

CRS(fc) denotes the variety of commutative residuated semilattice-ordered monoids that satisfy (x ⋀ e)^k ≤ (x ⋀ e)^k+1. A structural characterization of the subdi-rectly irreducible members of CRS(k) is proved, and is then used to provide a constructive approach to the axiomatization of varieties generated by positive universal subclasses of CRS(k). Dedicated to the memory of Willem Johannes Blok     

积极的应对研究

积极心理学是当前心理学的趋势,应激与应对研究中亦体现着这种特点。从应激源、应对方式与过程以及应对后果(复原力)三方面,综合探讨了当前应激与应对研究领域内的新变化,认为应激与应对研究正处于积极的应对研究潮流中,并展望了对未来应激与应对的研究发展。     

积极心理治疗模式的特色及启示

。积极心理治疗是以积极心理学思想为理论指导的一种心理疗法。作为心理治疗中的一个新生事物,它从人发展的可能性和能力出发,以解决冲突为核心,关注积极的人格特质,在治疗中借助讲故事的形式提供跨文化的观点。这一较符合人性特点的心理治疗模式,扩展了人们对心理治疗性质的认识,推进了心理治疗的本土化发展。     

Flow at Work: Evidence for an Upward Spiral of Personal and Organizational Resources*

The present 2-wave study among 258 secondary school teachers investigates the relationship between personal and organizational resources on the one hand, and work-related flow on the other hand. On the basis of Hobfoll’s (1988) conservation of resources theory, Bandura’ social cognitive theory (1997; 2001), and Fredrickson’s (1998) “broaden-and-build” theory of positive emotions, we formulated two hypotheses: (1) personal resources (i.e., self-efficacy beliefs) and organizational resources (including social support climate and clear goals) facilitate work-related flow (work absorption, work enjoyment, and intrinsic work motivation); and (2) work-related flow has a positive influence on personal and organizational resources. The results of a series of structural equation modeling analyses offer clear support for both hypotheses. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. *This research was supported by a grant from the Bancaixa Foundation (#11232.01/1) and the Spanish Ministry of Science & Technology (CICYT #SEC2000-1031).