Predictors of children's prosocial lie-telling: Motivation, socialization variables, and moral understanding

Children tell prosocial lies for self- and other-oriented reasons. However, it is unclear how motivational and socialization factors affect their lying. Furthermore, it is unclear whether children’s moral understanding and evaluations of prosocial lie scenarios (including perceptions of vignette characters’ feelings) predict their actual prosocial behaviors. These were explored in two studies. In Study 1, 72 children (36 second graders and 36 fourth graders) participated in a disappointing gift paradigm in either a high-cost condition (lost a good gift for a disappointing one) or a low-cost condition (received a disappointing gift). More children lied in the low-cost condition (94%) than in the high-cost condition (72%), with no age difference. In Study 2, 117 children (42 preschoolers, 41 early elementary school age, and 34 late elementary school age) participated in either a high- or low-cost disappointing gift paradigm and responded to prosocial vignette scenarios. Parents reported on their parenting practices and family emotional expressivity. Again, more children lied in the low-cost condition (68%) than in the high-cost condition (40%); however, there was an age effect among children in the high-cost condition. Preschoolers were less likely than older children to lie when there was a high personal cost. In addition, compared with truth-tellers, prosocial liars had parents who were more authoritative but expressed less positive emotion within the family. Finally, there was an interaction between children’s prosocial lie-telling behavior and their evaluations of the protagonist’s and recipient’s feelings. Findings contribute to understanding the trajectory of children’s prosocial lie-telling, their reasons for telling such lies, and their knowledge about interpersonal communication.     

What cognitive abilities are involved in trail-making performance?

The cognitive abilities involved in the Connections (Salthouse, et al., 2000) version of the trail making test were investigated by administering the test, along with a battery of cognitive tests and tests of complex span and updating conceptualizations of working memory, to a sample of over 3600 adults. The results indicate that this variant of the trail making test largely reflects individual differences in speed and fluid cognitive abilities, with the relative contributions of the two abilities varying according to particular measure of performance considered (e.g., difference, ratio, or residual). Relations of age on trail making performance were also examined. Although strong age differences were evident in the Connections and working memory measures, with both sets of variables there was nearly complete overlap of the age differences with individual differences in speed and fluid cognitive abilities.     

Assessing miserly information processing: An expansion of the Cognitive Reflection Test

The Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT; Frederick, 2005) is designed to measure the tendency to override a prepotent response alternative that is incorrect and to engage in further reflection that leads to the correct response. It is a prime measure of the miserly information processing posited by most dual process theories. The original three-item test may be becoming known to potential participants, however. We examined a four-item version that could serve as a substitute for the original. Our data show that it displays a .58 correlation with the original version and that it has very similar relationships with cognitive ability, various thinking dispositions, and with several other rational thinking tasks. Combining the two versions into a seven-item test resulted in a measure of miserly processing with substantial reliability (.72). The seven-item version was a strong independent predictor of performance on rational thinking tasks after the variance accounted for by cognitive ability and thinking dispositions had been partialled out.     

能力社会比较与归因反馈对不诚实行为的影响

社会比较作为认识自我的一种方式,对个体心理与行为的诸多方面产生影响,但对于社会比较如何影响不诚实行为以及归因反馈在其中的作用,目前尚不清楚。在3项实验中操纵了不同方向的能力社会比较,探讨其对不诚实行为的影响(研究1)以及归因反馈在其中的调节作用(研究2)。结果发现:(1)相比于向下比较和无比较,向上比较会增加个体的不诚实行为;(2)归因反馈调节上述影响:向上比较后,相比于给予能力反馈,给予努力反馈可以减少个体的不诚实行为。本研究拓展了社会比较后效研究,对如何减少社会比较引起的不诚实行为具有重要启示。     

The relations between cognitive ability and personality: Convergent results across measures

Several studies have investigated the relations between cognitive ability and Big Five personality constructs. The present study extended previous research by (a) examining these relationships in large samples (total N = 120,014), (b) including several measures of cognitive ability and personality, (c) examining both domain and facet-level personality scores, (d) expanding the personality domains studied to include Machiavellianism, and (e) correcting the observed correlations for range restriction and reliability to provide a better statistical estimate of the relations between the cognitive and personality scores and constructs. Results were consistent with prior research showing a positive relationship between cognitive ability and Openness and negative relationships between cognitive ability and Neuroticism and Conscientiousness. Negative relations between cognitive ability and Extraversion and Agreeableness also were observed. Machiavellianism, not part of the Big Five was found to have a positive correlation with cognitive ability. Of particular interest was the finding that the relations between cognitive ability and personality were affected by the specific content of the cognitive and personality measures. Cognitive measures with verbal content were more strongly correlated with personality than were cognitive measures with math or nonverbal content for all of the samples. Also, there was considerable variability in the cognitive-personality correlations for the facets underlying each personality domain. The variability in correlations at the facet-level implies that cognitive-personality relationships at the domain-level will vary as a function of the specific content of the cognitive and personality measures. Overall, the results provide support for cognitive-personality association at the measurement level.     

家庭支持与朋友支持对不同自理能力老年人抑郁水平的影响

探讨社会支持中的家庭支持和朋友支持对不同自理能力老年人抑郁水平的影响作用。结果发现:(1)社会支持可有效缓解老年人抑郁症状;(2)对个体而言,家庭支持是较稳定的支持来源,受个体年龄和健康水平的影响较小,而朋友支持变动较大,随年龄增长和健康水平的下降,朋友支持逐渐减少;(3)社会支持对不可完全自理老年人抑郁水平的解释率高于对可完全自理老年人抑郁水平的解释率;(4)对于生活可完全自理的老人,朋友支持比家庭支持有更大的预测作用,而对于生活不能完全自理的老人,家庭支持的作用更大。     

2～3.5岁儿童执行功能发展特点及其言语能力的影响

2~3.5岁是婴儿成长到幼儿的重要发展转折期,也是儿童执行功能及言语能力的发展萌芽期。研究通过测查北京市81名2~3.5岁儿童在固定盒子任务、搭积木任务、A非B任务和皮博迪图片词汇测验上的表现,探究了该年龄段儿童执行功能的发展特点、各成分间的内部关系、以及言语能力对执行功能的影响。结果发现:(1)在2~3.5岁期间,除认知灵活性外,儿童的工作记忆与抑制控制均快速发展,其中,2.5岁前后是工作记忆与抑制控制的重要发展时期;(2)在2~3岁期间,认知灵活性与工作记忆之间相关密切,在3~3.5岁期间,认知灵活性与抑制控制的相关密切,3岁是儿童执行功能内部成分关系的重要发展转折期;(3)在2~3.5岁期间,儿童言语能力呈现快速发展,并且言语能力对该年龄段执行功能各成分间关系产生一定的影响,但不同言语能力的儿童在执行功能各成分的表现并没有显著差异。     

The bark and bite of the logically negative soul: further reflections on Rilke's dog of ‘divine inseeing’

Following on the approach taken in the previous essay, this article critically reflects Rilke's account of his having imaginatively entered into the interior of a passing dog more deeply into itself. In doing so, it illustrates the concepts of logical negativity and absolute negative interiorization, which are core concepts of the speculative turn within analytical psychology that is known by the name ‘psychology as the discipline of interiority’. Just as analytical psychology often thinks in terms of the alchemical figure of ‘the stone that is not a stone’, so in this article the bark and bite of a logically negative ‘dog that is not a dog’ is grappled with. Further insights into what is meant by the author's phrase, ‘the Archimedean‐less interiority of the soul’, are imparted.     

论西方主流伦理理论的前提错误——兼论道德无力症与冷漠症对医疗的影响

从“畏死的恐惧”出发重塑扎根生命的道德基础,即道德行为和“生-生”式的道德关系是人的本真需要,道德权威性的根据是人类生命共同体这一“内在永恒大我”和人的本真存在方式的需要。这拯救了道德相对主义,也使个体作为潜在的人类生命共同体而能以“与永恒相关的生命意义”推开恐惧。进而,道德行为是出于内在自由而达于实在的自由的。道德主体应具备的道德实践能力包括独立能力、通达能力和勇气。生存性境况中的原子式个体不具备道德实践能力,生命境况中的“超个体的个体”才有此能力。由此,人类道德无力症和道德冷漠症的根源是西方主流伦理理论的前提错误,即以原子式个体充任道德主体。它是医疗纠纷和暴力频发的原因。