Analyzing temporal patterns of infant sleep and negative affective behavior: a comparison between different statistical models

Objective

Variability in infant sleep and negative affective behavior (NAB) is a developmental phenomenon that has long been of interest to researchers and clinicians. However, analyses and delineation of such temporal patterns were often limited to basic statistical approaches, which may prevent adequate identification of meaningful variation within these patterns. Modern statistical procedures such as additive models may detect specific patterns of temporal variation in infant behavior more effectively.

Method

Hundred and twenty-one mothers were asked to record different behaviors of their 4–44 weeks old healthy infants by diaries for three days consecutively. Circadian patterns as well as individual trajectories and day-to-day variability of infant sleep and NAB were modeled with generalized linear models (GLMs) including a linear and quadratic polynomial for time, a GLM with a polynomial of the 8th order, a GLM with a harmonic function, a generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) with a polynomial of the 8th order, a generalized additive model, and a generalized additive mixed model (GAMM).

Results

The semi-parametric model GAMM was found to fit the data of infant sleep better than any other parametric model used. GLMM with a polynomial of the 8th order and GAMM modeled temporal patterns of infant NAB equally well, although the GLMM exhibited a slightly better model fit while GAMM was easier to interpret. Besides the well-known evening clustering in infant NAB we found a significant second peak in NAB around midday that was not affected by the constant decline in the amounts of NAB across the 3-day study period.

Conclusion

Using advanced statistical procedures (GAMM and GLMM) even small variations and phenomena in infant behavior can be reliably detected. Future studies investigating variability and temporal patterns in infant variables may benefit from these statistical approaches.     

情绪通路异常与认知情绪偏差:慢性痛与抑郁症共病的神经心理机制

慢性疼痛与抑郁症具有高度共病性,但迄今尚无成熟理论能够阐释二者共病的神经心理机制。对慢性痛与抑郁的脑机制研究提示,慢性痛和抑郁常常涉及到相似的情绪脑区活动的异常改变;与此相对应的是,行为学研究发现,疼痛患者与抑郁患者在加工疼痛或抑郁相关信息时表现出了模式相似的认知情绪偏差(CAB)。近年来,越来越多证据趋于一致,指出慢性痛和抑郁共有的情绪通路异常变化可能导致了相似的信息加工异常,是二者共病的神经心理基础,而认知情绪偏差则在行为上反映了这种变化,并且很可能是共病发生、发展及维持的重要因素。     

Diagnostic accuracy of the Millon test computer reports for bipolar affective disorder

The diagnostic accuracy of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI) computer reports was assessed for the sample of 48 patients reliably identified as having bipolar affective disorder. Only 13 of the 48 reports were accurate in classifying the patients as having bipolar affective disorder, and this was significantly (p < .01) less than 50% of the cases. The diagnostic accuracy clearly left much to be desired. Additional research is needed to assess the validity of MCMI diagnostic suggestions for other patient groups.     

Party Identification in Emotional and Political Context: A Replication

While testing an affective measure of party identification Burden and Klofstad (2005 ) found that using the phrase, "feel that you are," in place of, "think of yourself as," significantly shifted PID in a Republican direction. I adopt the theoretical framework of Affective Intelligence ( Marcus, Neuman, & MacKuen, 2000 ) to specify how the timing of their question-wording experiment may have influenced the results. I suggest that the outcome was a function of (a) anxiety present during the survey, which ran just after 9/11 of 2001, coupled with (b) a political environment that favored Republicans. In a 2005 survey I replicate the experiment and collect new measures with which to test expectations. I find no significant shift in PID, and provisional support for the Affective Intelligence explanation. The results validate Burden and Klofstad's measure, qualify their findings, and test the application of the theory of Affective Intelligence to party dispositions. Alternative explanations and directions for further research are discussed.     

Nervous Instability and Genius: Military and Political Leaders

Participants (N = 106) performed an affective priming task with facial primes that varied in their skin tone and facial physiognomy, and, which were presented either in color or in gray-scale. Participants' racial evaluations were more positive for Eurocentric than for Afrocentric physiognomy faces. Light skin tone faces were evaluated more positively than dark skin tone faces, but the magnitude of this effect depended on the mode of color presentation. The results suggest that in affective priming tasks, faces might not be processed holistically, and instead, visual features of facial priming stimuli independently affect implicit evaluations.     

家庭支持型主管行为对员工的影响与作用机制：基于元分析的证据

为厘清家庭支持型主管行为对员工的独特影响,并比较不同的作用机制,本研究对包含204个独立样本、340个效应值及91145名员工的164篇文献进行了元分析,结果发现：(1)与一般主管支持行为相比,家庭支持型主管行为对员工的任务绩效、创新行为和生活满意度有更强的积极影响。(2)工作对家庭冲突(资源视角)、领导-成员交换(交换视角)和情感承诺(情感视角)均能解释家庭支持型主管行为对员工的作用机制,并互为补充。具体而言,三者均能中介家庭支持型主管行为对任务绩效的影响;领导-成员交换和情感承诺在家庭支持型主管行为与创新行为间起中介作用;工作对家庭冲突和领导-成员交换则在家庭支持型主管行为影响生活满意度中发挥中介效应。研究结果为家庭支持型主管行为的影响效果提供了可靠结论,也有助于深入理解其作用机制。     

最后通牒博弈中提议者情绪预测偏差对公平决策的影响:公平感知的作用

为探讨提议者情绪预测偏差对公平决策的影响以及其中介机制,采用了两轮最后通牒博弈提议者实验任务,第一轮测量分配方案被接受和拒绝的情绪预测偏差,第二轮测量提议者的分配方案。研究结果表明:(1)提议者情绪预测偏差影响公平决策;(2)公平感知在提议者情绪预测偏差与公平决策间起部分中介作用。研究认为,提议者对积极结果的情绪预测偏差,会降低其公平感知,进而降低其分配方案公平性; 提议者对消极结果的情绪预测偏差,会提高其公平感知,进而增加其分配方案公平性。     

泛文化的自尊——基于中国大学生的研究证据

过去一直认为,自尊是人类普遍的需要,是泛文化的。但是,过去十多年来,这一观点受到严重挑战。其主要理由是许多跨文化的研究显示集体主义文化下个体的自尊显著低于西方,少有自我促进的迹象。但是,几乎所有这样的证据都是来自自陈式测量。由于自陈式测量难以避免自我展现（Self-presentation）或社会期许（Social Desirability）的影响,并且严重依赖于个体的自我报告,本研究采用新的能够防止社会期许的影响并能触及无意识的内隐测量——阈下评价性启动（Subliminal Evaluative Priming）程序,对中国大学生的自尊进行了研究。结果发现中国大学生对自我持有显著的积极、肯定的评价,中国人存在内隐自尊。这表明,集体主义文化下的个体的自尊需要是存在的,只是以内隐的方式表现或在自我展现的影响最小化后表现出来。这一发现和自尊的泛文化论是一致的     

高中生的亲子沟通质量对情绪性刺激注意偏向的影响

为了探讨高中生亲子沟通质量对情绪性刺激注意偏向的影响,实验一采用亲子沟通量表,筛选出亲子沟通高分组和低分组,两组被试参加点探测任务,要求被试迅速判断情绪性图片出现后呈现的圆点的位置。实验为2（组别：高亲子沟通组、低亲子沟通组）×2（情绪类型：负性和正性）×2（探测点位置一致性：一致、不一致）的混合实验设计。结果发现,负性和正性刺激的不一致条件反应时均显著短于一致条件的反应时。实验二采用事件相关电位（ERP）记录了情绪性图片诱发的信号反应。结果发现,亲子沟通高分组对负性刺激所诱发的注意指向和集中（P2成分）及选择和巩固（P3成分）显著高于低分组。以上结果表明,亲子沟通较好,在注意早期定向和选择中会对负性情绪刺激产生注意偏向。亲子沟通较差,则对情绪性的刺激没有明显的偏向性,类似于“漠不关心”的状态。     

从归因理论的角度探讨我国大学生的社会性评价

本文采用归因理论研究方法测试我国大学生对五种生理病症和五种心理、行为引起的疾患或缺陷的责任归因、情感反应和帮助行为的关系,借以探讨我国大学生对疾患者的社会评价的特点和研究方法。研究结果表明这是一种可用于研究社会性评价的方法。同时,这项研究也体现了我国大学生对某些社会性评价的特点。