Is the Male Advantage in Mental-Rotation Performance Task Independent? On the Usability of Chronometric Tests and Paper-and-Pencil Tests in Children

This article presents a reanalysis of the data of 862 second and fourth graders collected in two previous studies, focusing on the influence of method (psychometric vs. chronometric) and stimulus type on the gender difference in mental-rotation accuracy. The children had to solve mental-rotation tasks with animal pictures, letters, or cube figures, either in a chronometric condition (computerized) or in a psychometric condition (paper-and-pencil). Results show a slight male advantage in mental-rotation accuracy, which is neither influenced by method nor by stimulus type. However, mental-rotation accuracy differed between the stimulus types, with the highest accuracy in animal pictures and the lowest accuracy in cube figures, and between age groups, with better performance in fourth graders than in second graders in both conditions. Results show that psychometric and chronometric mental-rotation tests with all the stimulus types are more or less similarly usable with children of that age.     

Why is support for Jamesian actual–ideal discrepancy model so elusive? A latent-variable approach

We investigate the Actual–Ideal Discrepancy (AID) model of self-esteem determination dating back to James (1890/1963). Although intuitively appealing, this model received weak support from rigorous empirical research. We propose a multiple-item latent difference approach to AID as applied to a range of self-concept domains and sub-domains in young adolescents from two different countries (UK: N = 402; Italy: N = 250). The effects of the AID remained elusive for most domains and sub-domains; indeed, the effects of the specific AIDs were generally trivial and only appearance-AID became significant in the combined sample. Also AIDs did not substantially explain the more general self-concepts beyond what was explained by the actual domains. Even if they had been significant, AID effects would have been, at best, trivially small and detectable only using appropriate latent-variable methodologies coupled with large sample sizes; thus undermining the psychological meaning of the AID model.     

生前预嘱设立与实施的德国经验及借鉴

德国民法典规定生前预嘱的设立人应当是有决定能力的成年人,但是“成年人”的限制受到质疑。有效的生前预嘱应当包含双重内容,即治疗状况描述和医疗救治措施。这两项内容要满足确定性要求,否则生前预嘱不发生效力。在生前预嘱实施阶段监护人或委托人和医生要审查,是否存在生效力的生前预嘱,生前预嘱中确定的内容是否符合病人的生命情势和医治情势,设立人在生前预嘱中作出的“同意”或者“不同意”是否符合他当下的真实意思。德国生前预嘱立法的经验可以为我国提供借鉴：转变传统观念、加强基础理论研究、开展学科交叉研究。     

跨期选择的变易程度正向预测中华文化圈国民的自评扛疫成效：亚非欧美大洋洲18国跨国研究

跨期选择是对不同时间点的得失的权衡与选择。伊索寓言《蚂蚁和蚱蜢》假借群居型昆虫的跨期选择偏爱暗喻投资未来的慢策略比只顾眼前的快策略更利于生存。用跨期选择领域通用的语言解读这一寓言便是：选择大而迟选项的蚂蚁比选择小而早选项的蚱蜢更可能扛过严冬而生存下来。为了探索何种跨期选择策略更有助于我们扛过疫情,本研究调查了亚非欧美大洋洲这5大洲18个国家共计26355名受测者对混合得失双结果的跨期选择偏爱,测量了人们平时和疫时跨期选择偏爱的变易程度(2类变易的程度指标),以及人们自评的扛疫成效。跨文化比较结果的主要发现是：不同通货的选择变易程度(指标1)和不同时期的选择变易程度(指标2)能联合预测中国/新加坡文化圈国民的自评扛疫成效;不同时期的选择变易程度(指标2)也可以单独预测印度/马来西亚/菲律宾/尼日利亚文化圈国民的自评扛疫成效;这2类选择偏爱变易的程度指标不能预测其他文化圈国民的自评扛疫成效(或者预测方向和假设相反)。基于易经“穷则变,变则通”的要旨和跨国比较的发现,我们认为：面临历史危机时善于变通的特长抑或成就了中华民族特有的竞争优势;在应对危机时,与中国文化距离越相近的国家或民族抑或也能...     

罕见病患者权利保障的伦理责任

罕见病患者的道德、法律、经济与文化权利都无法得到应有保障。这与传统道德以亲疏远近来决定责任的承担顺序有关。在这种道德模式下,各个责任主体对罕见病患者的有效支持不足。罗伯特·E·古丁的弱势原理提供了一个全新审视伦理责任的维度,指出责任源于弱势,责任效力与责任对象依赖责任主体的程度密切相关。从不同维度看,罕见病患者都属于弱势群体,因而可运用此原理,将其权利保障的责任分配于不同责任主体,并以责任效力的高低顺序,重构以政府、医护方、企业、社会组织、媒体与大众、家庭对罕见病患者的伦理责任体系。