Authenticity,presence of meaning,and struggle with ultimate meaning: Nuanced between-and within-person associations

Authenticity predicts greater presence of meaning in life, in general (between-persons) and in the moment (within-persons). However, little is known about whether authenticity predicts negative aspects of life meaning, such as struggles with ultimate meaning. Across three studies (total N = 719), two of which used daily diaries (daily reports = 1,980), correlations, confirmatory factor analyses, and multilevel path models together showed that higher levels of authenticity related positively to presence of meaning and negatively to struggle with ultimate meaning at the between- and within-person levels. These findings are consistent with humanistic, existential, and positive psychology theories of authenticity and meaning and raise the possibility that increasing authenticity states over time may predict sustained improvement in multiple aspects of meaning.     

Struggle with ultimate meaning: Nuanced associations with search for meaning,presence of meaning,and mental health

Struggle with ultimate meaning reflects concerns about whether one’s life has a deeper meaning or purpose. We examined whether this construct could be distinguished from presence of meaning in life and search for meaning. In two US samples – a web-based sample (N = 1047) and an undergraduate sample (N = 3978) – confirmatory factor analyses showed that struggle with ultimate meaning loaded on a factor that was distinct from but related to presence (negatively) and search (positively). Moderated regression analyses showed that people with low levels of presence combined with high levels of search for meaning were particularly likely to struggle with ultimate meaning. Additionally, when compared to presence and search, struggle with ultimate meaning related more strongly to depressive symptoms than presence or search. These results suggest that struggle with ultimate meaning represents a distinct component of how people grapple with meaning that has implications for mental health.     

Turing redux: Enculturation and computation

Many of our cognitive capacities are shaped by enculturation. Enculturation is the acquisition of cognitive practices such as symbol-based mathematical practices, reading, and writing during ontogeny. Enculturation is associated with significant changes to the organization and connectivity of the brain and to the functional profiles of embodied actions and motor programs. Furthermore, it relies on scaffolded cultural learning in the cognitive niche. The purpose of this paper is to explore the components of symbol-based mathematical practices. Phylogenetically, these practices are the result of concerted organism-niche interactions that have led from approximate number estimations to the emergence of discrete, symbol-based mathematical operations. Ontogenetically, symbol-based mathematical practices are associated with plastic changes to neural circuitry, action schemata, and motor programs. It will be suggested that these practices rely on previously acquired capacities such as subitizing and counting. With these considerations in place, I will argue that computations, understood in the sense of Turing (1936), are a specific kind of symbol-based mathematical practices that can be realized by human organisms, machines, or by hybrid organism-machine systems. In sum, this paper suggests a new way to think about mathematical cognition and computation.     

Asymptotic efficiency of the pseudo‐maximum likelihood estimator in multi‐group factor models with pooled data

A multi‐group factor model is suitable for data originating from different strata. However, it often requires a relatively large sample size to avoid numerical issues such as non‐convergence and non‐positive definite covariance matrices. An alternative is to pool data from different groups in which a single‐group factor model is fitted to the pooled data using maximum likelihood. In this paper, properties of pseudo‐maximum likelihood (PML) estimators for pooled data are studied. The pooled data are assumed to be normally distributed from a single group. The resulting asymptotic efficiency of the PML estimators of factor loadings is compared with that of the multi‐group maximum likelihood estimators. The effect of pooling is investigated through a two‐group factor model. The variances of factor loadings for the pooled data are underestimated under the normal theory when error variances in the smaller group are larger. Underestimation is due to dependence between the pooled factors and pooled error terms. Small‐sample properties of the PML estimators are also investigated using a Monte Carlo study.     

口碑追加形式对购买意向的影响:口碑方向的调节作用

网络购物越来越成为大众钟爱的购物方式,而网络口碑在网络购物中发挥着重要的作用,是消费者作出决策需要参考的重要因素。本研究以151名大学生为研究对象,通过实验操纵产品网络口碑,探讨不同追加形式(不追加、追加一致和追加不一致)和口碑方向(正向、负向)对购买意向的影响。结果表明:口碑方向调节追加形式对消费者购买意向的影响。正向口碑组中,不追加和追加一致组购买意向显著高于追加不一致组;负向口碑组中,不追加组,追加一致组和追加不一致组没有显著性差异。研究还发现了有中介的调节作用模型,满意度存在部分中介作用。本文最后对商家如何管理追加口碑进行了讨论。     

Approximations to the distribution of a test statistic in covariance structure analysis: A comprehensive study

In structural equation modelling (SEM), a robust adjustment to the test statistic or to its reference distribution is needed when its null distribution deviates from a χ² distribution, which usually arises when data do not follow a multivariate normal distribution. Unfortunately, existing studies on this issue typically focus on only a few methods and neglect the majority of alternative methods in statistics. Existing simulation studies typically consider only non-normal distributions of data that either satisfy asymptotic robustness or lead to an asymptotic scaled χ² distribution. In this work we conduct a comprehensive study that involves both typical methods in SEM and less well-known methods from the statistics literature. We also propose the use of several novel non-normal data distributions that are qualitatively different from the non-normal distributions widely used in existing studies. We found that several under-studied methods give the best performance under specific conditions, but the Satorra–Bentler method remains the most viable method for most situations.     

Empirical evaluation of a model of global psychophysical judgments: IV. Forms for the weighting function

Understanding the psychological interpretation of numerals is of both practical and theoretical interest. In classical magnitude estimation, respondents match numerals to sensations and in magnitude production they select sensations that stand in a prescribed numerical ratio to a given standard. The present work focusses on evaluating several possible, and related, forms for the function W formulating the distortion of numerals. The main form, of which a power function is a special case, is the Prelec exponential/power representation. Behavioral equivalents to power and to Prelec functions are formulated, tested, and rejected. It is argued that either the mathematical form or the assumption W(1)=1 is wrong. Whereas, the axiomatic literature has focussed exclusively on the former inference, we explore the alternate that W(1)≠1. Behavioral axioms are formulated in each case and experimentally tested. We conclude that most respondents satisfy a general power function and that those who do not, satisfy the general Prelec function.     

The Internet as Cultural Form: Technology and the Human Condition in China

Raymond Williams’ work on television as a cultural form offers a theoretical basis for overcoming technological determinism in the study of the Internet. The Internet in China exerts social and political influences through the cultural forms it enables and then only when these forms respond to the human condition. Chinese Internet culture consists of new cultural forms that emerge out of the interactions between Internet and society and that are the products of both cultural tradition and innovation.

小学汉语儿童英语口语产出形式的发展

以小学二、四、六年级共82名学生为研究被试, 通过自我介绍、被试主动发问、看图说话和角色扮演4种任务对其英语口语产出形式进行了测查。研究结果发现:(1)在小学汉语儿童英语口语产出形式上, 随着年级的升高, 套语的比例随之减少;其他语法错误句随年级升高而增多;正确的非套语也随年级升高而增多, 在四年级达到一个比较稳定的水平;(2)二年级儿童的英语口语产出形式以套语为主;四年级儿童的口语产出形式中正确非套语比例增加;在六年级儿童的口语产出中, 简化句比例增加, 但套语仍然是主要的一种口语产出形式。     

《论语》文体形式的文化阐释

《论语》是以“语”体和“子曰”等形式记录孔子的言论,建构孔子的话语权威和思想价值体系的。“子曰”形式最宜于孔子独自式地直接阐发自己的思想,“问——子曰”形式由于受到孔子“礼”和“仁”的规范,导致与孔子对话的真正主体缺席,而成为孔子建构自己话语权威的有效言说方式。孔子重视“言”的作用,但反对“巧言”。孔子不期望论辩,面对论辩他往往先预设道德判断,然后否定欲辩者,从而最终否定论辩本身。对孔子来说,“巧言”和“沦辩”会使自己的话语权威和思想价值体系面临被解构的威胁。