Antecedents Of Trust: Establishing A Boundary Condition For The Relation Between Propensity To Trust And Intention To Trust

Two studies were conducted to examine the antecedents of intention to trust proposed by Mayer, Davis, and Schoorman [1995, Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 709–734]. In their model, intention to trust is influenced by the perceived characteristics of the trustee and the predisposition of the trustor. We found that perceived ability, benevolence, and integrity of the trustee predicted an individuals intention to trust. Propensity to trust, that is, an individuals disposition to trust, correlated with intention to trust when information about trustworthiness was ambiguous, but did not correlate with intention to trust when information about trustworthiness was clear. The notion of strong and weak situations is used to argue that situational strength is a boundary condition of the relation between propensity to trust and intention to trust.     

Callous–Unemotional Traits in Predicting the Severity and Stability of Conduct Problems and Delinquency

The current study tests whether the presence of callous–unemotional (CU) traits designates a group of children with conduct problems who show an especially severe and chronic pattern of conduct problems and delinquency. Ninety-eight children who were selected from a large community screening of school children in grades 3, 4, 6 and 7 were followed across four yearly assessments. Children with conduct problems who also showed CU traits exhibited the highest rates of conduct problems, self-reported delinquency, and police contacts across the four years of the study. In fact, this group accounted for at least half of all of the police contacts reported in the sample across the last three waves of data collection. In contrast, children with conduct problems who did not show CU traits continued to show higher rates of conduct problems across the follow-up assessments compared to non-conduct problem children. However, they did not show higher rates of self-reported delinquency than non-conduct problem children. In fact, the second highest rate of self-reported delinquency in the sample was found for the group of children who were high on CU traits but without conduct problems at the start of the study.     

The moderating role of emotional stability in the relationship between exposure to violence and anxiety and depression

This study investigated the associations among exposure to violence, emotional stability, and psychological symptoms. The moderating role of emotional stability in the relationship between exposure to violence and anxiety and depression was examined in a sample of 482 high school students in Hong Kong. Results showed that both witnessing violence and low levels of emotional stability were positively associated with symptoms of anxiety and depression. Low levels of emotional stability exacerbated the relation between witnessing violence and symptoms of anxiety and depression; the opposite pattern was found among adolescents with high levels of emotional stability. This study sheds light on the role of emotional stability in ameliorating the detrimental effects of witnessing violence on symptoms of anxiety and depression among adolescents. Findings of this study also have implications for the development of emotionally healthy personalities.     

Thermal stability and glass-forming ability of Se80− x Te20Ag x (x = 0, 3, 5, 7 and 9) chalcogenide glasses

The thermal stability and glass-forming ability (GFA) of Se_{80? x} Te₂₀Ag _x (x?=?0,?3,?5,?7 and 9) chalcogenide glasses have been investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The DSC runs have been taken at five different heating rates (10, 20, 30, 40 and 50?K/min) under non-isothermal condition. The thermal stability and GFA are monitored through determination of the temperature difference ΔT?=?T _c???T _g, where T _c is the onset crystallization temperature, T _g is the glass transition temperature, H ^l is the stability parameter, ΔH _c is the enthalpy released during crystallization and F _i is the fragility index. The activation energy of crystallization E _c and crystallization rate factor K have also been determined as indicators of the thermal stability of the above-mentioned samples. It is found that Se₇₁Te₂₀Ag₉ is the most stable among all the samples of the series.     

Energetic effects of dopants on the eutectoid decomposition of Nb–Si in situ composites

The influences of doping elements (Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Ta, Cr, Mo, W and Al) on the heats of formation of Nb, Nb₅Si₃ and Nb₃Si have been studied using first-principles pseudopotential plane-wave method based on density functional theory. Site preferences of dopants in Nb₅Si₃ and Nb₃Si intermetallics are first determined by comparing the heats of formation of the systems with different site occupations of the doping atoms. The partitionings of dopants between the equilibrium phases Nb and Nb₅Si₃ of Nb–Si in situ composites are then discussed and compared with experimental results. Phase partitioning behaviours of the alloying elements are found to depend strongly on the number of their valence electrons. By calculating the enthalpy of reaction regarding the eutectoid decomposition of Nb₃Si phase, we conclude that Ta is a Nb₃Si stabiliser while other dopants destabilise Nb₃Si at the investigated concentration.     

Crystal growth and defect study of BiSbTe3

BiSbTe₃ single crystals have been grown by the Bridgman technique. Microscopic observations of the as-grown crystals reveal typical features, such as striations on the top free surface, which are attributed to the effect of growth conditions. A nitric-acid-based reagent capable of revealing dislocations has been developed and tested. Etch pits are produced at the dislocation sites, but some discrepancies have been observed on matched cleavage surfaces. The structural difference between the matched cleavage surfaces is discussed.     

经颅直流电刺激右侧颞顶联合区对道德意图加工的影响*

对行为意图的理解是人类进行道德判断的重要依据,大量研究表明,右侧颞顶联合区是意图加工的关键脑区。为考察该脑区在道德判断中的重要作用,采用经颅直流电刺激技术阳极刺激右侧颞顶联合区,探讨促进该脑区的活动对被试在道德判断中意图及相关信息加工的影响。结果发现与假刺激条件相比,阳极刺激后道德判断反应时显著延长,在伤人未遂和意外伤人条件下差异显著,证明促进右侧颞顶联合区的激活能影响道德判断中的意图加工,尤其在意图与结果产生冲突的条件下效应更加显著。     

Individual differences in the impact of attentional bias training on cardiovascular responses to stress in women

Abstract

Experimental studies show that training people to attend to negative stimuli makes them more likely to respond with greater anxiety to stress. The present study investigated this effect in students using measures of cardiovascular responses to stress and examined whether individual differences influence the impact of attention training on stress responses. Using a standard dot probe task, 30 participants underwent negative attentional bias training and 34 participants underwent anti-negative training before completing a stressful speech task. Results indicated that, overall, participants exhibited acclimatization to the procedures (indicated by a dip in blood pressure post-training) and normal stress responding (indicated by elevated blood pressure in response to stress; p<.001). However, consideration of participants’ scores for neuroticism/emotional-stability revealed important differences in how the intervention impacted on cardiovascular profiles (p=.008). For participants with high neuroticism scores, the negative attentional bias intervention elicited more exaggerated stress responding than the anti-negative intervention. For those with low neuroticism scores (i.e., emotionally stable participants), the anti-negative intervention was associated with elevated post-intervention blood pressure and higher blood pressure reactivity to stress. These findings provide evidence of the impact of attentional bias manipulation on physiological stress reactivity and suggest the effect is highly contingent on individual temperaments.     

Bilateral Transfer in Tapping Skill in the Absence of Peripheral Information

Bilateral transfer in a fast tapping task was investigated under normal (+FB) and reduced (-FB) feedback conditions, in the -FB experiment 36 Ss were assigned to 3 groups: preferred (PH) to non-preferred (NPH) shift; NPH to PH; and alternating trials of PH and NPH. With + FB 2 further groups of 12 Ss transferred PH to NPH or NPH to PH. 8 preshift and 8 postshift trials were given. The alternating group had 8 PH and 8 NPH trials. In preshift performance increment was found in ail groups except in +FB with NPH. With +FB some facilitation in transfer was obtained for the NPH; under -FB marked positive transfer was found for the PH. Alternating PH and NPH performance conformed to preshift levels. Results were discussed in terms of differential central control processes for the two hands.     

Estimating Gait Stability: Asymmetrical Loading Effects Measured Using Margin of Stability and Local Dynamic Stability

Changes to intersegmental locomotor control patterns may affect body stability. Our study aimed to (a) characterize upper body dynamic stability in response to the unilateral addition of mass to the lower extremity and (b) evaluate the efficacy of 2 different stability measures commonly used in the literature to detect resulting symmetrical step pattern modifications across the weighted segments (spatial) and between epochs of the gait cycle (temporal). Young adults walked on a treadmill while unloaded or with weights applied unilaterally to their foot, shank, or thigh. Both margin of stability and local dynamic stability (LDS) estimates detected similar trends of distal segment weighting resulting in more unstable upper body movement compared to proximal weighting; however only LDS detected anteroposterior changes in upper body stability over time.