The Spreading of Alternatives: Is it the Perceived Choice or Actual Choice that Changes our Preference?

After making a difficult choice, the preference rating of a chosen alternative tends to increase, and the rating of the rejected one tends to decrease. Such a change of preference is called spreading of alternatives. It is unclear whether it is the choice itself, or the choice one believes one has made that leads to preference change. Using a facial attractiveness task, we addressed this question by setting up an experiment to measure how the actual choice and perceived choice changed the preference. In the current study, participants first rated the attractiveness of female faces, and then made a choice between two faces that they had rated the same, after which, they re‐rated the female faces. Notably, in the re‐rating session, participants were given either veridical, false, or no feedback about their prior choice. This way, we were able to measure the functions of actual choice and perceived choice in rating changes. Results showed that both actual action and perceived action exert significant influence in shaping preference. The veridical feedback enhanced the spreading of alternatives effect whereas the false feedback weakened this effect, indicating that preference can be modulated by explicit manipulation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

初中生公正世界信念对其学业成就的影响:感知的教师支持和班级公正的中介作用

公正世界信念作为一种社会认知倾向,对于个体发展具有普遍影响,但是在学校情境中探索公正世界信念与学业成就的关系及影响机制的研究却很有限。本研究以郑州市两个区县的2584名初中一年级学生为被试,考察公正世界信念对其学业成就的影响,从班级生态环境的角度,探索个体对教师支持和班级公正的感知在二者之间的中介作用。结果发现：初中生的公正世界信念可显著预测其学业成就;在控制了性别、年龄后,学生的公正世界信念可分别通过对教师支持和班级公正的感知间接影响其学业成就,公正世界信念还可以通过感知的教师支持影响对班级公正的感知,进而影响学业成就的多重中介路径发挥作用。个体对班级教师支持和班级公正的感知是公正世界信念影响学业成就的重要途径。     

社交网站中的自我表露对青少年孤独感的影响:一个有调节的中介模型

本研究采用社交网站中的自我表露量表、自尊量表、感知积极反馈量表和孤独感量表对武汉市八所普通中学1588名11~19岁的中学生进行调查,考察社交网站中的自我表露和孤独感的关系,以及感知积极反馈在二者关系间的中介作用和自尊对这一中介作用的调节。结果显示：（1）在控制了性别、年龄和社交网站使用时间后,社交网站中的自我表露显著负向预测青少年孤独感;（2）感知积极反馈在社交网站中的自我表露和孤独感之间起部分中介作用;（3）社交网站中的自我表露经由感知积极反馈影响孤独感的中介作用受到自尊的调节。具体而言,感知积极反馈的中介效应只出现在高自尊者中,在低自尊者中并不存在上述中介作用。     

Language as a cultural vessel in online servicescapes: Its impact on consumers' perceived risk,attitudes, and behavioural intentions

Globalisation and the broader use of the Internet have led both academia and professionals to dedicate a great deal of attention to the analysis of the cultural differences that exist within a market and between different markets. Language emerges as a relevant issue in current marketing and communication management environments, especially in online servicescape. Following this premise, the current paper examines the role of language as a vessel of cultural values, namely, individualism and uncertainty avoidance, and its impact on consumer's perceived risk, attitudes, and behavioural intentions in online servicescape. To address this objective, an experimental design was performed. The sample comprised 491 Internet users from 2 different national cultures (British and Spanish). Users were asked to browse an experimental website in their native or first language, whereas the other half of the sample browsed in their second language (British subjects browsing in Spanish and vice versa). The unique contribution of this study lies in demonstrating that online information processing is moderated by the language by which users elaborate information and their cultural values in terms of the dimensions of individualism and uncertainty avoidance. The findings provide valuable insights into the role of language in international marketing strategies, as well as in multicultural and cross‐cultural integrated marketing communications. In this regard, marketers must acknowledge the symbolic cues of language and the competitive advantage that might derive from a strategic language choice to evoke emotions and forge attitudes that are consistent with brand and corporate values.     

Identity Problems,Ego Strengths,Perceived Stress,and Adjustment During Contextual Changes at University

We present a 2-year time-lag study in which Canadian and Spanish students’ perceptions of stress, identity problems, and psychosocial maturity (ego strengths) were examined in relation to academic, social, and personal-emotional adjustment to university under different conditions of macro-environmental disruption (i.e., academic and economic) and no disruption (stability). In the academic disturbance context, students reported increased stress and the economic disruption situation was associated with greater identity problems. The expected relationships were found among the variables in the study. Students reported greater social maladjustment at university related to economic disruption in comparison with the academic and no disruption contexts. Ego strengths moderated the relationship between perceived stress with academic and social adjustment, respectively. In other words, delayed psychosocial development in conjunction with high perceived stress was associated with deficient academic and social functioning at university. The findings are considered in terms of psychosocial development and the role of proximal and distal perception of stressors in the functional well-being of university students.     

Adolescent Coping and Neighborhood Violence: Perceptions, Exposure, and Urban Youths' Efforts to Deal with Danger

Neighborhood violence is a persistent source of danger, stress, and other adverse outcomes for urban youth. We examined how 140 African American and Latino adolescents coped with neighborhood danger in low, medium, and high crime neighborhoods throughout Chicago. Participants reported using a range of coping strategies (measured via a modified version of the Ways of Coping Scale; R. S. Lazarus & S. Folkman, 1984). In low and medium crime rate areas, using confrontive strategies was significantly correlated with increased exposure to violence, and no strategies were associated with perceptions of safety. Coping strategies were associated with perceived safety to a substantial degree only in high crime neighborhoods, and none were associated with exposure to violence. A k means cluster analysis identified groups that differed in coping profiles and varied in rates of exposure to violence. Moderating effects of gender, ethnicity, and neighborhood were found for both person level and variable level analyses.     

Illusory Control and Motives for Control: The Role of Connection and Intentionality

An experiment was done to examine the control heuristic perspective on illusory control and the effects of motives on control judgments, using a computer task similar to the light onset task used in previous research. Desire for the outcome and reinforcement were manipulated. As predicted from a control heuristic perspective, the effect of level of reinforcement on judgments of personal control was mediated by the measure of perceived connection: the perception of the number of positive confirming cases. Motives increased illusions of control, but only in the high reinforcement condition. A mediational analysis that examined how motives affect control judgments found that when the motive to get the outcomes was high, participants had higher estimates of having acted intentionally and these estimates partially mediated the relationship between the motivation manipulation and judgments of control. It appears that perceptions of connection mediate the relationship between reinforcement and illusory control, while judgments of intentionality partially mediate the effect of motives for control and illusory control.     

Middle school students’ perceptions of quality of life

Data are reported on 2278 public middle school students in South Carolina, U.S.A. Levels and demographic effects on their satisfaction with their overall lives as well as five specific domains (family, friends, self, school, and living environment) were assessed. Similar to findings with adults and high school students, most middle schoolers reported positive levels of global and domain-specific life satisfaction. Although statistically significant in some cases, the practical significance of the demographic variables was limited. Many middle schoolers reported particular dissatisfaction with their school experiences.     

Individualism–collectivism and organ donation intentions

This article investigates the impact of individualism–collectivism on a person's willingness to donate organs. In Study 1, an online survey showed that individualism–collectivism was significantly and positively associated with participants' willingness to register as organ donors while perceived benefit mediated this relationship. Study 2 demonstrated the causal effect of individualism–collectivism on organ donation intentions using a priming technique. Participants primed with collectivism were more likely to register as organ donors than those primed with individualism. Our findings provide unique insights into whether cultural values (i.e., individualism–collectivism) can predict people's organ donation intentions.     

建言类型对领导者建言采纳的影响：面子与幽默的作用

以说服和面子理论为基础,通过两个研究探讨领导者建言采纳行为的影响因素及作用机制。结果发现：相对于促进型建言,抑制型建言给领导带来的面子威胁更大,且领导者感知面子威胁在建言类型与建言采纳之间起部分的中介作用。而幽默类型与水平影响领导者感知面子威胁的程度,积极幽默水平越高,领导者感知面子威胁的程度越低,其建言采纳可能性越高。这表明领导者感知面子威胁在建言类型与建议采纳间起中介作用,幽默调节了此中介效应。