Too hot to help or too cold to care? On the links between ambient temperature,volunteerism, and civic engagement

We investigated the relationship between ambient temperature and prosocial behaviour in real-life settings. It was guided by two mechanisms of opposite predictions, namely (1) higher temperatures decrease prosociality by harming well-being, and (2) higher temperatures increase prosociality by promoting the embodied cognition of social warmth. In Study 1, U.S. state-level time-series data (2002–2015) supported the first mechanism, with higher temperatures predicting lower volunteer rates through lower well-being. Study 2 furthered the investigation by probing the relationship between neighbourhood temperature and civic engagement of 2268 U.S. citizens. The data partially supported the well-being mechanism and reported findings contradictory to the social embodiment mechanism. Higher temperatures predicted lower interpersonal trust and subsequently lower civic engagement. The unexpected finding hinted at a cognitive effect of heat and a compensatory mechanism in social thermoregulation. We discussed the findings regarding their methodological strengths and weaknesses, with cautions made on ecological fallacies and alternative models.     

Analysis of long-term stress reactions in emergency room patients: An initial study

The psychological stress reactions of 44 family medicine patients who were treated in the emergency room were examined approximately a year after the event. Patients were assessed on several psychological measures, including one for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and on their perception of how stressful the event was initially and now. Results show continuing stress reactions related to the emergency room event. Three patients endorsed symptoms indicating full PTSD and 13 appeared to have at least partial PTSD. Age appeared to be a factor in the presence of stress symptoms and in degree of perceived communication with the physician.     

Assessment for psychotherapy

This paper explores some issues that might arise when one considers having a table hockey game in the therapy room, and describes how an autistic boy, aged four-and-a-half when starting treatment, used that game. The unfolding process from withdrawal to separateness, intersubjectivity and playfulness is illustrated by the progress of two years of twice-weekly psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Special attention is paid to how the play progressed through the intermediate area that the therapist provided.     

Individual differences in susceptibility to infection and illness following respiratory virus challenge

Abstract

The aim of the present research was to investigate whether susceptibility to experimentally-induced respiratory virus infections and illness is related to measures of personality, physiological state, performance efficiency, and subjective ratings of alertness and motivation obtained prior to virus challenge. Two studies, using different viruses, showed that volunteers who subsequently developed colds had higher temperatures prior to virus challenge than those who remained free from illness. Similarly, those who later had colds were worse than other volunteers on certain performance tests given in the pre-challenge period. The results also showed that task-related motivation was related to subsequent infection. Personality scores were poor predictors of infection and illness, the only exception being introversion, which, in one study, was related to the likelihood of developing a sub-clinical infection.     

低色温低强度背景光照射下液晶显示颜色编码的实验研究

采用一台有源矩阵彩色液晶显示器作为主要实验装置,对低色温、低强度背景光照射下液晶显示颜色编码范围及其与色标大小的关系进行了研究。实验结果表明:(1)液晶显示器上色标大小对绝对辨认效果有显著影响,随着色标的增大,辨认错误率随之下降,但下降率则随色标的增大而递减。(2)在色温为3100K的低强度背景光照射下,液晶显示的颜色编码范围因色标大小不同而存在显著差异,当色标面积减小到1×1mm2至2×2mm2时,编码色数目仅限于3-4种。     

Too hot to help! Exploring the impact of ambient temperature on helping

Building on the conservation of resources model, we conducted three studies to explore the link between ambient temperature and individual prosocial behavior. In study 1, analyzing the two‐wave field data from a chain of retail stores in Eastern Europe, we find that, in hot, as opposed to normal temperatures, employees are less likely to act in a prosocial manner. In study 2, we replicate and extend these findings in a randomized controlled experiment by identifying mechanisms underlying the relationship between hot ambient temperature and helping behavior. Specifically, we find that heat increases fatigue that leads to reduction in positive affect and subsequently reduces individual helping. Finally, in study 3, we replicate these findings in a field experiment. Taken together, our study helps to explain how and through what mechanisms ambient temperature influences individual helping. The theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed.     

The relationship between lateral differences in tympanic membrane temperature and behavioral impulsivity

In this study lateral differences in tympanic membrane temperature (T_Ty) were explored as a correlate of either impulsive or cautious responding in Go–No-Go tasks. Thirty-two women and men performed two sustained attention to response tasks (Go–No-Go tasks). Those with warmer right in comparison to left tympanic membranes were more cautious, and those with warmer left in comparison to right tympanic membranes were more impulsive. This finding is in line with previous research and theory indicating a hemispheric bias for active and passive behavior. T_Ty may be a useful addition to the techniques employed by neuropsychologists.     

大型综合性医院手术室统筹及加快周转的措施

科学的统筹规划、紧凑有序的接台管理,能够更好地服务患者,提高医院工作效率。探索大型综合性医院手术室合理有效地安排手术、加快手术周转的措施。讨论如何有效利用手术室的物资和人力资源,进行全盘科学的筹划,抓住关键环节,合理安排工序。进而成功破除制约手术科室的瓶颈,大大提高了手术科室的效率。     

Cognitive and physiological markers of emotional awareness in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

The ability to understand emotion in others is one of the most important factors involved in regulating social interactions in primates. Such emotional awareness functions to coordinate activity among group members, enable the formation of long-lasting individual relationships, and facilitate the pursuit of shared interests. Despite these important evolutionary implications, comparative studies of emotional processing in humans and great apes are practically nonexistent, constituting a major gap in our understanding of the extent to which emotional awareness has played an important role in shaping human behavior and societies. This paper presents the results of two experiments that examine chimpanzees' responses to emotional stimuli. First, changes in peripheral skin temperature were measured while subjects viewed three categories of emotionally negative video scenes; conspecifics being injected with needles (INJ), darts and needles alone (DART), and conspecific directing agonism towards the veterinarians (CHASE). Second, chimpanzees were required to use facial expressions to categorize emotional video scenes, i.e., favorite food and objects and veterinarian procedures, according to their positive and negative valence. With no prior training, subjects spontaneously matched the emotional videos to conspecific facial expressions according to their shared emotional meaning, indicating that chimpanzee facial expressions are processed emotionally, as are human expressions. Decreases in peripheral skin temperature, indicative of negative sympathetic arousal, were significantly lower when subjects viewed the INJ and DART videos, compared to the CHASE videos, indicating greater negative arousal when viewing conspecifics being injected with needles, and needles themselves, than when viewing conspecifics engaged in general agonism. Accepted after revision: 8 April 2001 ❚ Electronic Publication     

Influence of seasonally adjusted exposure to cold and darkness on cognitive performance in circumpolar residents

The effects of seasonally adjusted 24-h exposure to cold and darkness on cognitive performance in urban circumpolar residents was assessed in 15 male subjects who spent three 24-h periods in a climatic chamber at 65° latitude during the winter (January–March) and/or summer (August–September). Each subject was exposed to three different environmental conditions in random order: (1) 22 °C temperature and 500 lx lighting; (2) 10 °C temperature and 500 lx lighting; and (3) 10 °C temperature and 0.5–l lx lighting. Accuracy on an addition-subtraction task was significantly greater in the summer than in the winter ( p = 0.038), while accuracy on a repeated acquisition task was significantly greater in the winter than in the summer ( p < 0.001). Independent of season, exposure to cold and darkness was significantly associated with a decline in response time on five cognitive tests, an improvement in accuracy on three tests measuring complex cognitive tasks, and a decline in accuracy on two tests measuring simple tasks. Increased performance on complex tasks may result from increased arousal in response to the combination of cold temperatures and dim light characteristic of the winter in urban circumpolar settings.