Suppressor effects and age differences in the expression of anxious emotion

This study examined the role of suppressor effects on age differences in anxious emotion. Children and adolescents (n = 1099) ages 7–18 years were assessed for separation anxiety, social anxiety, and generalized anxiety. Results of zero-order correlations indicated a significant negative association between age and separation anxiety but no association for social anxiety and generalized anxiety. However, semi-partial correlations indicated the presence of a cooperative suppressor effect such that the associations between age and social anxiety as well as age and generalized anxiety symptoms became significant and positive and the association with separation anxiety became larger in a simultaneous regression analysis of each facet with age. Similar effects occurred when controlling for hyperarousal in an ANCOVA across grade levels. Results suggest that attempts to understand developmental differences in anxious emotion in childhood and adolescence will be facilitated by parsing facets of anxious emotion and attention to potential suppressor effects.     

A methodological note on ordered Q-Sort ratings

Patterns of ratings using the Q-Sort method and the Likert-type method are compared. Ordering effects are found in Q-Sort ratings that are not present in Likert-type ratings. Specifically, item order is related to both item variance and item placement, such that items appearing near the end of the Q-Sort have less variance and more central placement. This finding is verified across three measures in several datasets spanning nearly 20 years of research. Such item order effects appear to attenuate average absolute relationships (covariances and correlations) between items appearing near the end of the Q-Sort and other measures. Randomization of items may be (in some situations) a viable course of action to minimize these effects at a sample level.     

Intraclass Correlation Associated with Therapists: Estimates and Applications in Planning Psychotherapy Research

It is essential that outcome research permit clear conclusions to be drawn about the efficacy of interventions. The common practice of nesting therapists within conditions can pose important methodological challenges that affect interpretation, particularly if the study is not powered to account for the nested design. An obstacle to the optimal design of these studies is the lack of data about the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), which measures the statistical dependencies introduced by nesting. To begin the development of a public database of ICC estimates, the authors investigated ICCs for a variety outcomes reported in 20 psychotherapy outcome studies. The magnitude of the 495 ICC estimates varied widely across measures and studies. The authors provide recommendations regarding how to select and aggregate ICC estimates for power calculations and show how researchers can use ICC estimates to choose the number of patients and therapists that will optimize power. Attention to these recommendations will strengthen the validity of inferences drawn from psychotherapy studies that nest therapists within conditions.     

Programming of time-to-peak force for brief isometric force pulses: Effects on reaction time

According to the parallel force unit model (PFUM) the programming of an isometric force pulse requires the specification of the number of force units and force unit duration. The programming of a force pulse with minimal time-to-peak force is an exception, however, as force unit duration is limited by the minimal possible value, which should be easier to adjust than larger force unit durations. Therefore, the duration of the programming process should be shorter for these force pulses and hence should result in shorter reaction time (RT). Four experiments assessed this prediction using a response precueing procedure. In each experiment the participants produced isometric flexions with their left or right index finger, and time-to-peak force was manipulated within a block. The results are consistent with the predictions of PFUM. The results, however, are at variance with alternative accounts which assume that RT depends primarily on response duration or rate of force production.     

Dissociative patterns of foreperiod effects in temporal discrimination and reaction time tasks

This study examined whether the process of temporal preparation for a target stimulus is the same regardless of the task required by the target stimulus. To this end, the same variable-foreperiod design was used in a temporal discrimination task (Experiment 1) and a reaction time task (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, both temporal sensitivity and perceived duration increased as a function of foreperiod, whereas in Experiment 2, foreperiod did not influence reaction time. Furthermore, both temporal sensitivity and perceived duration revealed an asymmetric sequential effect of foreperiod, but the pattern of this effect was opposite to the pattern observed in the reaction time task. Together these dissociative patterns of foreperiod effects suggest that the mechanism of temporal preparation depends on the task required by the target stimulus.     

Mars and Venus at Twilight: A Critical Investigation of Moralism, Age Effects, and Sex Differences

Analysts have long sought to understand whether women and men have different ethical orientations. Some researchers have argued that women and men consistently make fundamentally different ethical judgments, especially of corruption; others have found no such disparities. This study considered whether an individual's age may also play a role in determining his or her moral judgment. A statistical investigation of interactive effects between gender and age in a nationally representative data set from Japan shows that this interaction functions better as a predictor of moralism than do education or gender alone. Older individuals of both sexes were found to have similar strict moral perceptions; as women and men age, their ethical judgments converge.     

目标设置对工作记忆成绩影响的实验研究

为了回应Locke提出的“目标设置理论仍然需要发展”的观点,本文从认知心理学的角度对目标设置理论进行了检验。结果表明：设置明确且有一定难度的目标比设置模糊或一般性目标会使被试产生更高水平的努力,从而提高成绩;设置明确但难度偏低的目标与设置模糊目标的成绩间并无显著性差异;被试对目标的可接受性程度越高,成绩越好;任务难度变量对目标难度与成绩之间的调节效应要通过被试对策略的发掘和使用以及在时间方面给予一定的压力才能得到体现。     

工作场所排斥与员工心理健康、工作满意度的关系：性别的调节作用

为考察工作场所排斥问卷（WOS）在国内的适用性,以及不同性别员工在遭受工作场所排斥后的心理健康和工作满意度状况,采用中文版WOS对437名员工进行调查,结果表明：（1） 9题版WOS为单维结构,信效度良好;（2）性别在工作场所排斥与心理健康、工作满意度的关系中起调节作用。由此,修订后的中文版WOS可以作为评定工作场所排斥的工具使用;女性受工作场所排斥的负面影响更大。     

汉语简单否定陈述句理解的心理模拟过程

采用自定步速阅读的方法, 从体验认知的角度探索了汉语简单否定句的动态理解过程。以具有对立谓词的汉语陈述性的肯定句和否定句为实验句, 以与否定句的两种状态相对应的图片为实验图片, 并构成句子-图片匹配/不匹配两种匹配状态。研究结果表明, 实验1在以250 ms为间隔时间的条件下, 肯定句和否定句的理解有显著的匹配效应; 实验2以750 ms为间隔时间, 则未表现出匹配效应, 而实验3以1500 ms为间隔时间, 肯定句和否定句的理解又表现出显著的匹配效应。实验结果证明, 具有对立谓词的简单的汉语否定句理解的心理模拟过程, 并不像两步模拟假设所设想的那样遵循着先模拟被否定状态再模拟实际状态的顺序, 而是在理解的初期就完成了对事件的实际状态的模拟。     

创伤后应激障碍的网络化心理干预及起效机制

创伤后应激障碍是一种高度痛苦且致残的心理疾病, 在全球范围内造成了重大的健康负担。网络化心理干预因其易得性和匿名性等特征, 被广泛应用于创伤后应激障碍的治疗领域。本研究综述了“自上而下”和“自下而上”的网络化心理干预方法及其效果, 发现大部分干预措施对于创伤后应激障碍具有良好的效果。为了深入探究干预起效的心理机制, 本研究构建了网络化干预创伤后应激障碍的双重机制模型, 即基于认知重构的认知行为疗法模型和基于认知歪曲的认知偏向矫正模型, 为创伤后应激障碍的网络化干预提供理论和实践指导。未来研究中, 可以引入聊天机器人和虚拟仿真工具等技术, 为用户提供即时支持和个性化干预, 实现更全面的数字化干预流程, 提升创伤后应激障碍的网络化干预效果和效率。