Age-related differences in idea generation and selection for propositional language

Conceptual preparation mechanisms such as novel idea generation and selection from amongst competing alternatives are critical for language production and may contribute to age-related language deficits. This study investigated whether older adults show diminished idea generation and selection abilities, compared to younger adults. Twenty younger (18–35 years) and 20 older (60–80 years) adults completed two novel experimental tasks, an idea generation task and a selection task. Older participants were slower than younger participants overall on both tasks. Importantly, this difference was more pronounced for task conditions with greater demands on generation and selection. Older adults were also significantly reduced on a semantic, but not phonemic, word fluency task. Overall, the older group showed evidence of age-related decline specific to idea generation and selection ability. This has implications for the message formulation stage of propositional language decline in normal aging.     

Impulsivity and Behavior-Dependent Life Events Mediate the Relationship of Reward Sensitivity and Depression,but Not Hypomania,Among at-Risk Adolescents

Both reward sensitivity and impulsivity are related to the development and course of bipolar spectrum disorders (BSDs) and have been implicated in other disorders and negative functional outcomes such as substance abuse, obesity, suicidal behaviors, and risk-taking. Furthermore, according to the transactional component of the Behavioral Approach System (BAS)/reward hypersensitivity theory of BSDs, people with reward hypersensitivity should experience more BAS-relevant events, and thus, are more vulnerable to mood symptoms and episodes via stress generation. Impulsivity may exacerbate stress generation in individuals at risk for BSDs based on exhibiting reward hypersensitivity. The current study examined whether impulsivity explained the generation of stress and subsequent mood symptoms beyond what is explained by reward sensitivity alone. Participants were 131 Moderate BAS and 216 High BAS sensitivity adolescents (M = 18.43 years, SD = 1.40), who completed baseline measures of reward sensitivity and impulsivity, as well as follow-up measures of life events and mood symptoms. Results from linear regression analyses indicated that higher baseline impulsivity predicted behavior-dependent, but not behavior-independent, life events. Furthermore, path analyses suggested that the effect of BAS group on depression symptoms at next follow-up was partly explained via the indirect effect of impulsivity and negative behavior-dependent life events. We did not find these effects for behavior-independent or positive-dependent events or for prediction of hypomanic symptoms. The findings suggest that impulsivity may account for stress generation of negative events that precede depression.     

The Facilitative Effects of Ambiguous Figures on Creative Solution

Empirical studies of creativity emphasize the importance of ambiguity advantage in idea generation and creative problem‐solving. This study examined whether ambiguous figures could directly induce a mind‐set that would transfer to the creative problem‐solving. In Experiment 1, we examined whether presentation of ambiguous figures would influence participants' performance in alternative uses tasks, and the results showed that prior exposure to ambiguous figures significantly enhanced participants' performance in the dimension of fluency, flexibility, and originality than those exposed to non‐ambiguous figures; in general uses tasks, there were no significant difference in the reaction time and originality between the ambiguous figure condition and non‐ambiguous figure condition. In Experiment 2, the facilitative effect of ambiguous figures on creative thinking was further examined with creative story generation tasks that demand more mental effort and increased cognitive load. Results showed that creativity of stories generated in ambiguous figure condition was scored significantly higher than those in non‐ambiguous figure condition. The current research extends our understanding of the facilitative effect of ambiguous figures on creative problem‐solving.     

A Community's Response to Adverse Childhood Experiences: Building a Resilient,Trauma‐Informed Community

Adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, may be mitigated by trauma‐informed social environments—programs, services, systems, communities—that offer responses to trauma that promote healing, recovery, and resilience. However, there is currently little empirical evidence to support the use of specific approaches to do so. Guided by a population health perspective, this paper describes a participatory community change process in response to ACEs that seeks to build a resilient, trauma‐informed community in Pottstown, PA. We examine the initial implementation phase of this change process, centered originally on the education sector and the social and behavioral health services sector, and then eventually expanding to 14 community sectors across two years. A variety of data sources and methods are used to track individual and organizational processes, as well as service system network processes. A central feature of this research is the use of data to generate hypotheses rather than test them. Data were also used to guide understanding and decision‐making during implementation. The results show that moving forward the community is well‐positioned to establish stronger inter‐agency and system supports for trauma‐informed practice in the service system and in the broader community. We discuss results for their implications for building resilient, trauma‐informed communities.     

‘Where are you from?’ Identity as a key to parenting by 1.5 generation Korean-New Zealand migrants and implications for counselling

In a qualitative study of the experiences of 1.5 generation Korean New Zealanders as parents, a notable finding was the significant part the participants’ identity-related experiences as migrants played in shaping their parenting practices. Interviews were conducted with 18 Korean “Kiwis” (New Zealanders), colloquially referred to as “Kowis,” who had arrived in New Zealand before 2002 as children or adolescents with their parents and were now married with children. Reflecting on the challenges of their migration and identity journeys enabled them to recognise their vulnerabilities and their advantages, and the multiple ways in which identity-related cultural conflicts and confusion influenced their parenting of their children. The implications are identified for further research and for counselling practice.     

Personality as a Prospective Vulnerability to Dysphoric Symptoms Among College Students: Proposed Mechanisms

Personality and psychopathology have long been associated; however, the mechanisms that account for this link are not well understood. Stress generation and cognitive vulnerability are examined as potential mechanisms to explain the association between negative emotionality and dysphoria. To evaluate these mechanisms, college students completed measures of personality, dysfunctional attitudes, negative cognitive style, dysphoric symptoms, and negative events. Two years later the same students reported on the occurrence of negative events and levels of dysphoric symptoms that they had experienced over the 2-year follow-up period. Consistent with hypotheses, negative emotionality predicted prospective increases in dysphoric symptoms and the generation of more stressors over time. Both dysfunctional attitudes and negative cognitive style interacted with these additional stressors to predict prospective elevations in dysphoria, and these cognitive vulnerability–stress components partially mediated the association between negative emotionality and future elevations of dysphoric symptoms.

创意实施——创新研究未来走向

创新一直是学术界关注和探讨的热点。过去40多年里, 有关创新的研究层出不穷, 取得了丰富的成果。然而, 这些研究主要集中在如何激发员工的创新行为上, 即创意产生这一环节。至于创意产生之后能否转化以及如何转化的问题没有引起足够的重视。创意是开端, 但需要把创意转变为现实, 否则创新难以转化为价值。研究创意实施的条件及其作用机制是推动创新研究深化的重要任务。目前已有的创意实施研究在研究层次和研究视角上都存在不足, 未来有必要在方法上把量化研究与质化研究结合起来, 从不同的层次和视角, 进一步拓展研究的范围, 揭示创意从产生到实施的条件和作用机制。     

代际工作价值观发展的研究述评

代际工作价值观的发展归结于社会文化的变迁。对代际工作价值观发展的研究契合了当前工作场所员工代际差异和冲突的研究趋势, 同时也有助于人们把握特定国家社会文化发展的脉络。这类研究是以“重大历史事件”作为划分“代”的主要标准, 以社会文化属性作为研究探讨的主要内容。目前, 多数西方的代际工作价值观研究发现, 西方国家的员工在工作中心化、利他观、内在工作价值观和外在工作价值观等方面呈现不同的发展规律。而我国由于社会历史文化的不同, 其发展趋势必然呈现不一样的特点。为此, 下一步的研究应在严格区别社会文化独特性的前提下, 采取合适的研究方法和“代”的划分标准, 重点研究工作价值观的“代单位”发展规律, 并拓展研究内容深度,特别是加强中国本土化研究力度, 这对于中国组织的人力资源管理有重要的借鉴价值。     

Take The First: Option-generation and resulting choices

Experimental decision-making research often uses a task in which participants are presented with alternatives from which they must choose. Although tasks of this type may be useful in determining measures (e.g., preference) related to explicitly stated alternatives, they neglect an important aspect of many real-world decision-making environments—namely, the option-generation process. The goal of the present research is to extend previous literature that fills this void by presenting a model that attempts to describe the link between the use of different strategies and the subsequent option-generation process, as well as the resulting choice characteristics. Specifically, we examine the relationship between strategy use, number and order of generated options, choice quality, and dynamic inconsistency. “Take The First” is presented as a heuristic that operates in ill-defined tasks, based on our model assumptions. An experiment involving a realistic (sports) situation was conducted on suitable participants (athletes) to test the predictions of the model. Initial results support the model’s key predictions: strategies producing fewer generated options result in better and more consistent decisions.     

基于语境的预期推理构建的实验研究

两个实验用移动视窗技术,用目标句阅读时间和命名探测词两种指标来考察当文本中有两个情境模型时,读者是否会即时进行预期推理。结果表明,如果在支持性语境与引发推理的信息之间插入一个与支持性语境所描述的情境模型不同的,且与主人公目标有关的因果链上的情境模型的信息,则不管这个插入的情境模型在文本中的位置如何,也不管干扰信息的干扰水平高低,都会降低因果性预期推理在阅读中产生的可能性。