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    Personality subtypes of depressive disorders and their functional connectivity basis
    LI Yu, WEI Dongtao, QIU Jiang
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2023, 55 (5): 740-751.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00740
    Abstract396)   HTML43)    PDF (403KB)(153)      

    Heterogeneity among mental health issues has always attracted considerable attention, thereby restricting research on mental health and cognitive neuroscience. Additionally, the person-centred approach to personality research, which emphasizes population heterogeneity, has received more attention. On the other hand, the heterogeneity among depressive patients has been a problem that cannot be ignored (most studies ignored the actual situation and directly assumed sample homogeneity). A large number of empirical studies have provided evidence that isolated personality traits are often associated with depression. Only a few studies have considered the probable effect from a taxonomy perspective. Moreover, the neural mechanisms of personality types in depression remain unclear. This study aimed to reveal different personality subtypes of depressive disorders and elucidate subtypes from the perspective of resting-state functional connectivity.

    Personality and resting-state functional imaging data of 159 depressive patients and 156 controls were collected. Demographic characteristics are shown in Table 1. First, combined with “depression diagnosis”, the personality types in depressive patients and controls were identified through functional random forest. Specifically, neuroticism and extraversion (input features) were fitted with the diagnosis of depression by a random forest model. The random seeds were set to 1234, and 500 decision trees were fitted. The performance of the model was evaluated by tenfold cross-validation. Subsequently, the random forest algorithm generated a proximity matrix that represented the similarity between paired participants. Then, based on the proximity matrix, community detection clustering analysis was conducted on depressive patients and controls, and personality types associated with depression diagnosis were obtained. Finally, we selected the amygdala, hippocampus, insula (AAL atlas) and limbic network, default network, and control network (Schaefer-Yeo template) as regions of interest and calculated the functional connectivity of the subcortical regions to the networks. ANOVA was used to compare resting-state functional connectivity between the personality types.

    The results showed the following. (1) Depression was more common among individuals with high neuroticism and low extraversion tendencies, but there were also individuals with low neuroticism and high extraversion tendencies. The controls were more likely to be individuals with low neuroticism and high extraversion (see Figure 1). (2) The results of resting-state functional connectivity showed no significant difference between depression and controls. (3) The functional connectivity strength of the left amygdala-limbic network (F(6, 214) = 4.273, p = 0.0004, threshold-controlling FDR at 0.05/6) and left insula-limbic network (F(6, 214) = 4.177, p = 0.0005, threshold-controlling FDR at 0.05/6) was significantly different across personality subtypes. The post-hoc tests are presented in Table 2, Figure 2 and Figure3.

    In summary, the personality subtypes of depression identified by person-centred perspectives are more in line with reality and individual cognitive patterns, and they have potential clinical adaptive value. The findings of this study enhance the understanding of heterogeneity among depressive disorders.

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    The influence of positive co-experience on teacher-student relationship: The mediating role of emotional bonding
    DING Yuting, ZHANG Chang, LI Ranran, DING Wenyu, ZHU Jing, LIU Wei, CHEN Ning
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2023, 55 (5): 726-739.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00726
    Abstract347)   HTML36)    PDF (332KB)(300)      

    Based on questionnaire survey, field experiment and laboratory experiment, this paper investigates the influence and mechanism of positive co-experience on adolescent teacher-student relationship. The results show that: (1) positive co-experiences positively affect teacher-student relationship, and different types of experiences (recall, imagination, example) are prominent promoting effect; (2) Positive emotional bonding plays a stable mediating role in the influence of positive co-experiences on teacher-student relationship. This study preliminarily proposed the “co-experience relationship effect model”, which promotes the research on the influence mechanism of teacher-student relationship, and has good ecological validity and practical educational value.

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    Associations between empathy and negative affect: Effect of emotion regulation
    GUO Xiao-dong, ZHENG Hong, RUAN Dun, HU Ding-ding, WANG Yi, WANG Yan-yu, Raymond C. K. CHAN
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2023, 55 (6): 892-904.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00892
    Abstract337)   HTML48)    PDF (492KB)(223)      

    Empathy refers to understanding, inferring and sharing others’ emotional states, which can be divided into affective and cognitive components. Although empathy contributes to prosocial behaviors and harmonious interpersonal relationships, it also increases an individual’s negative emotional experiences and affect distress. Emotion regulation, the psychological process of managing one’s own emotions, has been found to be closely associated with empathy. Cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression are two commonly used strategies to regulate emotions, of which cognitive reappraisal is effective in reducing negative emotional experiences while expressive suppression is usually correlated with more affective distress. However, the roles of emotion regulation strategies in the empathic response are still unclear.

    We conducted two studies to investigate the roles of emotion regulation on the negative affect related to empathy using self-report questionnaires and experimental task respectively. Study 1 administered the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy (QCAE), the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) to 442 college students. The moderating effects of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression on the association between empathy and negative affect were examined separately. Study 2 adopted the Chinese version of the Empathic Accuracy Task (EAT) to further examine the effect of emotion regulation (i.e. cognitive reappraisal) on cognitive empathy and affective responses. The EAT requires participants to continuously rate targets’ emotional valence in video clips as a second person and rate emotional valence and arousal of both targets and themselves after each video. Seventy-five participants (33 for Experiment 1 and 42 for Experiment 2) were recruited to perform the EAT under two conditions, i.e., naturally viewing without any instructions and applying cognitive reappraisal while viewing the scenarios. Paired sample t tests and repeated-measure ANOVA were performed to examine the effect of cognitive reappraisal on task performance.

    As shown in Figure 1, findings from Study 1 showed that affective empathy was significantly correlated with higher levels of anxiety (r = 0.14, p = 0.003) and stress (r = 0.14, p < 0.001), while empathic concern was correlated with less anxiety (r = -0.28, p < 0.001), stress (r = -0.27, p < 0.001) and depression (r = -0.22, p < 0.001). However, when participants endorsed cognitive reappraisal more frequently, such positive association between affective empathy and stress was reduced (β = 1.48, Wald = 5.22, p = 0.022), while the negative association between empathic concern and anxiety was strengthened (β = 0.66, Wald = 4.73, p = 0.030). Cognitive empathy was significantly correlated (or marginally significantly) with reduced depression (QCAE-CE: r = -0.08, p = 0.096; IRI-PT: r = -0.11, p = 0.019; IRI-FS: r = -0.10, p = 0.034). Expressive suppression strengthened the negative association between cognitive empathy and depression (β = 1.77, Wald = 5.32, p= 0.021). Moreover, negative correlations between cognitive empathy and anxiety (β = 1.33, Wald = 4.67, p = 0.031) as well as stress (β = -0.37, Wald= 4.43, p= 0.035) emerged for participants endorsing cognitive reappraisal more frequently. Findings from Study 2 showed that task performances of the EAT were significantly improved when participants endorsed cognitive reappraisal strategy compared to the condition of naturally viewing. Specifically, under the cognitive reappraisal condition participants scored higher empathic accuracy (Experiment 1: t = -2.27, p= 0.030, Cohen’s d = 0.40; Experiment 2: F(1, 40) = 4.13, p = 0.049, η2 = 0.09), experienced less negative affect (Experiment 1: t = -2.68, p= 0.012, Cohen’s d = 0.47; Experiment 2: F(1, 40) = 29.20, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.42) in reaction to others’ affect distress, and experienced more positive affect in reaction to others’ positive emotions (Experiment 1: t = -10.9, p< 0.001, Cohen’s d = 1.90; Experiment 2: F(1, 40) = 31.54, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.44) (see Table 1 & Figure 2).

    Taken together, the findings from these two studies suggested that both cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression play a protective role in the associations between empathy and negative affect, and the endorsement of cognitive reappraisal would improve task performance on both cognitive and affective empathy. Our findings shed light on the psychological mechanisms of empathy and provide new approach for improving individuals’ social cognitive ability, especially for early intervention in clinical and subclinical populations.

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    Accept or change your fate: Exploring the Golem effect and underdog effect of underdog expectations
    MA Jun, ZHU Mengting
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2023, 55 (6): 1029-1048.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01029
    Abstract333)   HTML12)    PDF (617KB)(260)      

    In organizations, some employees are heralded as rising stars, whilst others are considered underdogs with no prospects. Scholars define individuals’ perceptions that others view them as unlikely to succeed as underdog expectation. The traditional view indicates that when individuals experience underdog expectations from others, they will reduce their subsequent performance through a sense of self-efficacy. This phenomenon, in which one’s performance is manipulated by someone else’s negative assessment, is also known as the Golem effect. Indeed, some studies have suggested that underdog expectations can enhance their desire to prove others wrong to improve performance. However, such studies have only focused on the influence of underdog expectations on employee behavior as social-situation cues but have disregarded its interaction with individuals’ traits. By integrating the preceding arguments, we proposed a comprehensive model based on trait activation theory, which examines the Golem and underdog effects. Specifically, under the moderating effect of underdog expectations, employees with fixed mindsets have a negative impact on subsequent task performance through feedback- avoiding behavior. Meanwhile, employees with growth mindsets have a positive impact on subsequent task performance by proving others wrong. The task context (task focus vs. future focus) plays a role in inhibiting and amplifying the two interactions.

    This study aimed to explore the reasons why employees who are trapped in underdog expectations become a Golem manipulated by fate and how to counter strike and become an underdog in the workplace. This study constructed a three-term interaction model of nested moderated mediation model. Three studies were designed to explore the internal and intervention mechanisms of the Golem and underdog effects activated by underdog expectations. In the first study, the existence of three interactions was initially examined through a multi-source, multi-point questionnaire of 341 employees. To test the stability of the three interactions and the extensibility of the research conclusions in different groups, a second multi-source and multi-time questionnaire survey involving 650 employees and a field study based on a quasi-experiment were designed for retesting. Regression analysis, bootstrap method and Johnson?Neyman (J?N) technology were used to analyse the questionnaire data to examine the moderated mediation effects of the three-term interaction. T-tests were used to analyse data from the field study.

    The analyses of the study showed the following results. (1) The interaction between underdog expectations and fixed mindsets positively affects subsequent task performance through feedback-avoiding behavior. (2) The interaction between underdog expectations and growth mindsets positively affects subsequent task performance through the desire to prove others wrong. (3) Lastly, task focus reduces the positive moderating effect of underdog expectations on fixed mindsets, and future focus strengthens the positive moderating effect of underdog expectations on growth mindsets.

    Findings of our research have several theoretical and practical implications. This study revealed the causes of the Golem and underdog effects, thereby enriching and expanding the research on implicit theory. It showed that fixed and growth mindsets have different paths in processing negative information, which is helpful in integrating the research on underdog and topdog employees. It also provided a theoretical explanation and transformation idea for the emergence and popularity of the depressed culture represented by the lie down and Buddha-like mindsets.

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    Effects of endogenous spatial cue validity on audiovisual integration in older adults
    GAO Yulin, TANG Xiaoyu, LIU Siyu, WANG Aijun, ZHANG Ming
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2023, 55 (5): 671-684.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00671
    Abstract320)   HTML43)    PDF (176KB)(180)      

    Audiovisual integration is the integration of visual and auditory information into a unified, coherent and stable perceptual process. Although endogenous spatial attention can promote audiovisual integration in youth, studies have found differences in endogenous spatial attention between older adults and youth. It is unclear how endogenous spatial attention affects audiovisual integration in older adults and how audiovisual integration differs between older adults and young adults under endogenous spatial attention conditions. In this study, using the endogenous cue-target paradigm, three experiments investigated how endogenous spatial attention affects the audiovisual integration of elderly individuals under 50% (Experiment 1), 70% (Experiment 2), and 90% (Experiment 3) conditions.

    A mixed 2 (participant type: elderly vs. young) × 2 (cue type: valid cue vs. invalid cue) × 3 (target stimulus type: A vs. V vs. AV) experimental design was used. The visual stimulus was a 2° × 2° red (RGB: 234, 86, 97) and yellow (RGB: 247, 200, 125) intersecting meta−pattern, the auditory stimulus was a 1600 Hz, 60 dB sinusoidal tone presented by ear headphones, and the audiovisual stimulus was visual and auditory stimuli presented simultaneously on the same side. The gaze screen was presented for 500 ms, followed by a cue screen for 200 ms. The cue was an arrow pointing left or right. After a time interval of 600 ms, the target stimulus (A vs. V vs. AV) was presented in a box on the left or right side for 100 ms. Before the experiment, participants were informed that the cue validity was 50% for Experiment 1, 70% for Experiment 2, and 90% for Experiment 3 and were asked to judge the orientation of the target stimulus and to press the (N/M) key quickly and accurately.

    From the reaction time and accuracy results in all experiments (Table 1/2/3), it is clear that the reaction time of elderly people is significantly slower than that of younger people. From the relative amount of multisensory response enhancement (rMRE), we can see that (1) audiovisual integration was weaker in older adults than in younger adults regardless of cue validity (Figure 1); (2) at 50% cue validity (Experiment 1), audiovisual integration in the valid cue condition was not significantly different from that in the invalid cue condition for both older and younger adults (Fig. 1a); (3) at 70% cue validity (Experiment 2), audiovisual integration in the valid cue condition was not significantly different from that in the invalid cue condition for older adults, and audiovisual integration in the valid cue condition was significantly higher than that in the invalid cue condition for younger adults (Figure 1b); and (4) at 90% cue validity (Experiment 3), audiovisual integration in the valid cue condition was significantly higher than that in the invalid cue condition for both older and younger adults (Figure 1c).

    Endogenous spatial attention had different moderating effects on audiovisual integration in older adults under different cue validity conditions and could promote audiovisual integration in older adults under high cue validity conditions. The findings further support the spatial uncertainty hypothesis and deepen the understanding of the interaction between endogenous attention and audiovisual integration.

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    “Neijuan” in China: The psychological concept and its characteristic dimensions
    ZHANG Wen, PAN Chao, YAO Shiming, ZHU Jiajia, LING Dong, YANG Hanchun, XU Jingsha, MU Yan
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2024, 56 (1): 107-123.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2024.00107
    Abstract315)   HTML30)    PDF (175KB)(206)      

    With the deepening and spread of reform and opening-up, China has undergone rapid and unprecedented economic growth and societal transformations over the past few decades. Accumulating evidence has revealed the impacts of sociocultural changes on Chinese mental health. Since 2020, a popular buzzword, “Neijuan” (involution), has garnered significant attention and discussion in daily life. Neijuan could be traced back to agricultural involution, which refers to a process of inward over-elaboration in agricultural development. This concept was first identified by the anthropologist Geertz (1963), who observed that population growth failed to enhance productivity growth and economic development.

    Despite Neijuan's growing attention, it is still unclear about the connotation and characteristic dimensions of this social phenomenon. Cultural psychology provides a solid theoretical and empirical basis for exploring how social and cultural changes affect individuals’ psychological states and behaviors. In this context, we propose that Neijuan is a multidimensional psychological concept of great significance in this new era, closely connected to cultural changes in China’s rapid development and growth.

    To explore the psychological concept of Neijuan, Study 1 employed a grounded theory approach through in-depth interviews to clarify the intricate psychological components of Neijuan, including resource scarcity, social norm, psychological pressure, and competition (see Figure 1). At the macro level, limited resources of society and organization would make people conform to the implicit norms and perform irrational behaviors related to Neijuan. At the micro level, people would perceive intrinsic and extrinsic stressors to make them feel stressed and lead to no-benign competitive behaviors.

    Based on the results of Study 1, Studies 2 and 3 developed a measurement tool to validate the multiple characteristic dimensions of Neijuan in Chinese culture, utilizing exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). We first designed the measurement including 68 items to assess individuals’ perception of Neijuan. Based on the classical measurement theory, the discrimination ability of 68 items was analyzed by using the independent sample t test and the correlation test of total scores and each item score as the discrimination index. Through item analysis, we deleted only one item because of no difference between the low- and high-score groups. Then, principal component analysis (PCA) and the Procrustes variance maximum-oblique rotation method were used to analyze the factors of 67 items. The results showed that there are four factors for the feature value greater than 1, the cumulative total variation is 56.62%, and the load value of each item is between 0.45 and 0.88. Further, we explored the rationality of the four-factor model. The results among employees and undergraduates showed that χ2/df was less than 3, SRMR was less than 0.10, TLI and CFI were all more than 0.80, and RMSEA was less than 0.10, which suggested the model fits well. Thus, we supplied the effective 18-item measurement for assessing the individual perception of Neijuan and confirmed that Neijuan comprises four dimensions: resource scarcity, social norm, psychological pressure, and competition. Subsequently, Study 4 used a Neijuan scenario-based task in the university and workplace environments to assess participants’ behavioral tendencies related to Neijuan and examined the relationship between individuals’ perceptions of Neijuan and their actual behaviors. Results revealed that individuals with higher levels of perceived Nejuan exhibited a greater tendency to engage in behaviors associated with Neijuan among employees (r = 0.66, p < 0.001) and undergraduates (r = 0.61, p < 0.001).

    In summary, the series of studies sought to explore the psychological concept and multiple characteristic dimensions of Neijuan, which provides a theoretical and empirical basis for understanding this significant phenomenon in the contemporary era. The current research also offers an effective measurement tool to assess individuals’ perception of Neijuan and enlightens future research on the effect of Neijuan on psychological maladjustment and non-benign competition behaviors related to Neijuan.

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    Effects of coworker anger expression on leader emergence: The mediating roles of perceived warmth and competence and the compensating effect of anger apology
    JIANG Xuting, WU Xiaoyue, FAN Xueling, HE Wei
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2023, 55 (5): 812-830.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00812
    Abstract312)   HTML20)    PDF (165KB)(181)      

    Although previous research has paid much attention to examining whether leader anger expression is effective in enhancing leadership effectiveness, the social consequences of employee anger expression are underexamined. Integrating the stereotype content model with implicit leadership theory, we propose that appropriate anger expression, compared with suppressed anger, has ambivalent effects on leader emergence by increasing coworkers’ perceived competence of the expresser while decreasing coworkers’ perceived warmth of the expresser. In addition, appropriate anger expression, compared with deviant anger expression, is theorized to positively affect leader emergence by increasing coworkers’ perceived competence and warmth of the expresser. We further propose that apology after anger expression (anger apology) is likely to benefit leader emergence by repairing coworkers’ perceived warmth of the expresser.

    We conducted two online scenario-based experiments (Study 1 and 3) and two field surveys (Study 2 and 4) to test our research hypotheses. In Study 1, we employed a two (type of anger expression: expressed vs. deviant) by two (anger apology: yes vs. no) between-subjects experimental design, with a silent anger condition (i.e., no anger expression and thus no anger apology) as the control group. The sample consisted of 279 full-time Chinese employees recruited via an online survey panel (Sojump.com). To replicate the findings in Study 1, we conducted a critical incident technique study (Study 2), with a sample of 200 full-time employees recruited via the same panel used in Study 1. Participants were asked to recall and describe a workplace incident of coworker anger expression and then to evaluate their perceptions of competence, warmth, and the likelihood of leader emergence of the expresser. To reconcile some controversial findings in the two studies, we conducted Study 3 (a sample of 354 full-time employees recruited online) to provide a more nuanced examination of the effects of different types of anger expression. Specifically, we employed a three (type of anger expression: muted anger, appropriate anger expression vs. deviant anger expression) by two (anger account: other-orientation vs. self-interest) between-subjects experimental design with an additional condition of silent anger. To further replicate our findings and enhance the external validity, we conducted a field study (Study 4) by collecting two-wave data from 248 full-time employees from a Western online survey panel (Prolific.com).

    In total, empirical results from four studies (see Table 1, 2, and 3)1 suggested that, compared with deviant anger expression, appropriate anger expression positively affected the likelihood of the expresser’s leader emergence by enhancing observers’ perceived competence and warmth of the expresser. However, the effects of appropriate anger expression, compared with anger suppression, were found to be contingent upon the type of anger suppression (silent vs. muted anger) and the cultural context (Chinese samples in Studies 1-3 vs. Western sample in Study 4). Moreover, anger apology was demonstrated as an effective relationship repair strategy that can increase observer perceived leader emergence of the anger expresser. These findings contribute to anger expression literature by shifting the focus from how leader anger expression affects leadership effectiveness to the social consequences of employees’ anger expression on leader emergence. Additionally, we contribute to implicit leadership theory and the dual threshold model of anger by testing and extending their core theoretical arguments in the context of coworker anger expression in the workplace. Finally, we develop a new construct of anger apology and examine its compensating effects for anger expression, providing new avenues for future research on the social functions of anger expression.

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    Psychological richness increases behavioral intention to protect the environment
    WEI Xinni, YU Feng, PENG Kaiping, ZHONG Nian
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2023, 55 (8): 1330-1343.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01330
    Abstract293)   HTML27)    PDF (369KB)(311)      

    Understanding the relationship between happiness and positive factors and pro-environmental behavior offers important practical implications for sustainable social development. To investigate the positive antecedents of pro-environmental behavior, the current study focused on psychological richness and examined its influence on pro-environmental behavior as well as potential mechanisms and boundary conditions through 10 studies (N = 2979). It is shown that psychological richness facilitates engagement in sustainable activities (Studies 1.1-1.4) through an increased level of self-expansion (Studies 2.1-2.4). Furthermore, the effect of self-expansion on pro-environmental behavior was more significant when individuals viewed nature as smaller than themselves (Studies 3.1-3.2). These findings reveal the positive effect of happiness on pro-environmental behaviors and provide insights to promote people's participation in building a sustainable society.

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    Extended Mind: Is the brain the sole basis for realizing the mind?
    SU Jiajia, YE Haosheng
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2023, 55 (11): 1889-1902.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01889
    Abstract277)   HTML25)    PDF (360KB)(196)      

    In the present era, humanity stands at the threshold of a new civilization spurred by scientific and technological advancements. Technologies such as the internet, computers, and smartphones have extended human cognitive abilities into machines, even altering human emotions and conscious experiences, gradually fostering the acceptance of the belief that “mental life is not confined to the brain”. This has led to the emergence of interest in the concept of “extended minds”. The concept of extended minds posits that psychological processes such as memory, thought, emotion, and sentiment are not restricted solely to the brain or the central nervous system of an organism. On the contrary, under certain conditions, the non-neuronal parts of an organism's body, the external environment, and the world at large play integral roles in realizing consciousness, exerting constitutive functions. Early research on extended minds primarily focused on investigating cognitive processes and underwent three waves of development. Later, it expanded to include extended emotions, exploring the extended attributes of emotions and sentiments. Recently, attention has been drawn to the question of whether conscious experiences can also be extended. If cognition, emotion, and conscious experiences can transcend the biological boundaries of the individual, incorporating external resources that facilitate mental processes, then psychological life may no longer be confined within the confines of the skull and skin, and the brain may not be the sole organ responsible for realizing mental life. In essence, extended minds remain grounded in the framework of embodied cognition, with a key emphasis on how to perceive the active role of the “body”. This has significant implications for redefining our understanding of the nature of psychological life.

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    The application of artificial intelligence methods in examining elementary school students’ academic cheating on homework and its key predictors
    ZHAO Li, ZHENG Yi, ZHAO Junbang, ZHANG Rui, FANG fang, FU Genyue, LEE Kang
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2024, 56 (2): 239-254.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2024.00239
    Abstract271)   HTML20)    PDF (478KB)(144)      

    Background. Academic cheating has been a challenging problem for educators for centuries. It is well established that students often cheat not only on exams but also on homework. Despite recent changes in educational policy and practice, homework remains one of the most important academic tasks for elementary school students in China. However, most of the existing studies on academic cheating for the last century have focused almost exclusively on college and secondary school students, with few on the crucial elementary school period when academic integrity begins to form and develop. Further, most research has focused on cheating on exams with little on homework cheating. The present research aimed to bridge this significant gap in the literature. We used advanced artificial intelligence methods to investigate the development of homework cheating in elementary school children and the key contributing factors so as to provide the scientific basis for the development of early intervention methods to promote academic integrity and reduce cheating.

    Method. We surveyed elementary school students from Grades 2 to 6 and obtained a valid sample of 2, 098. The questionnaire included students’ self-reported cheating on homework (the dependent variable). The predictor variables included children’s ratings of (1) their perceptions of the severity of consequences for being caught cheating, (2) the extent to which they found cheating to be acceptable, and the extent to which they thought their peers considered cheating to be acceptable, (3) their perceptions of the effectiveness of various strategies adults use to reduce cheating, (4) how frequently they observed their peers engaging in cheating, and (5) several demographic variables. We used ensemble machine learning (an emerging artificial intelligence methodology) to capture the complex relations between cheating on homework and various predictor variables and used the Shapley importance values to identify the most important factors contributing to children’s decisions to cheat on homework.

    Results. Overall, 33% of elementary school students reported having cheated on homework, and the rate of such self-reported cheating behavior increased with grade (see Figure 1). The best models with the ensemble machine learning accurately predicted the students’ homework cheating with a mean Area Under the Curve (AUC) value of 80.46% (see Figure 2). The Shapley importance values showed that all predictors significantly contributed to the high performance of our computational models. However, their importance values varied significantly. Children’s cheating was most strongly predicted by their own beliefs about the acceptability of cheating (10.49%), how commonly and frequently they had observed their peers engaging in academic cheating (3.83%), and their achievement level (3.26%). Other predictors (1%-2%), such as children’s beliefs about the severity of the possible consequences of cheating (e.g., being punished by one’s teacher), whether cheating is considered acceptable by peers in general and demographic characteristics, though significantly, were not important predictors of elementary school children’s homework cheating (see Figure 3 for details).

    Conclusion. This study for the first time examined elementary school students’ homework cheating behavior. We used machine learning integration algorithms to systematically investigate the key factors contributing to elementary school students' homework cheating. The results showed that homework cheating already exists in the elementary school period and increases with grade. Advanced machine learning algorithms revealed that elementary school students' homework cheating largely depends on their acceptance of cheating, their peers' homework cheating, and their own academic performance level. The present findings advance our theoretical understanding of the early development of academic integrity and dishonesty and form the scientific basis for developing early intervention programs to reduce academic cheating. In addition, this study also shows that machine learning, as the core method of artificial intelligence, is an effective method that can be used to analyze developmental data analysis.

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    Time course of the integration of the morpho-semantics and the meaning of two-character Chinese compound words
    CAI Wenqi, ZHANG Xiangyang, WANG Xiaojuan, YANG Jianfeng
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2023, 55 (8): 1207-1219.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01207
    Abstract268)   HTML39)    PDF (615KB)(198)      

    Previous studies have shown that morpho-semantic information can be automatically activated and influence word meaning access. However, the time course underlying the morpho-semantic activation and subsequent integration is unclear. In particular, an important issue is to clarify how morpho-semantic information involves in word semantic integration processing. The current event-related potential (ERP) study examined the time course of morpho-semantic information of the first and the second character that participated in whole-word semantic integration. We selected three types of two-character words: transparent compound words (e.g., 炽热, hot) having similar meanings with their two characters (both 炽 and 热 mean hot), opaque words (e.g., 风流, dissolute) having a different meaning to either the first (风, wind) or the second character (流, flow) and monomorphemic words (e.g., 伶俐, clever) having two characters that are not two independent morphemes. During the first character processing, the result found a morphological effect in the early (300~400 ms) and the late (460~700 ms) time window, showing more negative amplitude for two types of compound words than monomorphemic words. Whereas during the second character processing, the result found a significant semantic transparency effect at the early stage (260~420 ms), showing more negative-going waveform for the opaque words than transparent ones, and an inversed morphological effect at the late stage (480~700 ms) showing that two types of compound words evoked more positive amplitude than monomorphemic words. The results suggested that the morpheme was an independent unit represented in the mental lexicon and automatically activated at an early processing stage. Its meaning can facilitate the access of the related word meaning or inhibit the processing of the unrelated word meaning.

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    The effect of reward prediction error on temporal order and source memory
    ZHANG Hongchi, CHENG Xuan, MAO Weibin
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2023, 55 (7): 1049-1062.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01049
    Abstract251)   HTML28)    PDF (3550KB)(169)      

    Although previous research has demonstrated that event boundaries enhanced source memory at boundaries and reduced temporal order memory across boundaries, there is little research on whether there is a mnemonic trade-off between temporal order and source memory and how intrinsic, socially meaningful change as event boundaries affects memory. The present study explored the effects of RPE event boundaries on temporal order and source memory by reward prediction errors (RPE) as event boundaries in two behavioural experiments and one ERP experiment. The results showed that RPE event boundaries enhanced source memory at the boundaries, and high RPE event boundaries produced mnemonic trade-off effect; compared to within-event/non-boundary conditions, a larger N400 amplitude was induced by across-event/ boundary conditions, and activation of temporal order memory was focused on anterior region, activation of source memory was focused on posterior region. The present study showed that the strength of segmentation of event boundaries is an important factor in mnemonic trade-off effects, and that the N400 component may be an important indicator of the integration and segmentation of episodic memory by event boundaries.

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    Role of executive function in mathematical ability of children in different grades
    ZHU Xiaoliang, ZHAO Xin
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2023, 55 (5): 696-710.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00696
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    A total of 812 children in Grades 3-6 were selected to examine the role of each executive function component in the three mathematical abilities at different grades using correlation analysis and structural equation modelling. The results showed that in the junior grades, working memory span was the most important predictor of mathematical operations, spatial imagination and logical thinking. In the older students, working memory span decreased in predicting the three mathematical abilities, while working memory updating and cognitive flexibility increased in predicting the mathematical abilities. This suggests that there are differences in the predictive effects of the executive function components on different mathematical abilities, and that they change as children progress through the grades.

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    The interactive effects of parent-child relationship, sensory processing sensitivity, and the COMT Val158Met polymorphism on preschoolers’ prosocial behaviors
    LIU Qianwen, WANG Zhenhong
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2023, 55 (5): 711-725.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00711
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    The present study investigated the interactive effects of parent-child relationship, sensory processing sensitivity (SPS), and the COMT Val158Met polymorphism on preschoolers’ prosocial behaviors. A total of 507 preschoolers (Mage = 4.83, SD = 0.90; 236 girls) were recruited through advertisements at two local kindergartens. Saliva samples for DNA extraction were obtained from preschoolers. Their parents completed questionnaires assessing parent-child relationship, children’s SPS, and prosocial behaviors. The results indicated that the three-way interactive effect of parent-child conflict, SPS, and the COMT gene Val158Met polymorphism on prosocial behaviors was significant, that is, Val/Val genotype carriers with high SPS showed significantly more prosocial behaviors under a low level of parent-child conflict and fewer prosocial behaviors under a high level of parent-child conflict. However, there was no difference in prosocial behaviors of Val/Val genotype carriers with low SPS in a high and low-level conflict. These findings signified the different types of sensitivities (temperament and genes) to the family stressful environment may have a multiplicative effect on preschoolers’ prosocial behaviors and contributed to a further understanding of children’s prosocial behaviors based on the person × environment approach, especially from the perspective of children’s multiple sensitivities.

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    Automatic processing of facial width-to-height ratio
    WANG Hailing, CHEN Enguang, LIAN Yujing, LI Jingjing, WANG Liwei
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2023, 55 (11): 1745-1761.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01745
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    The facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) is a stable perceptual structure of all faces. It is calculated by dividing the face width (the distance between the left and right zygion) by the face height (the distance between the eyebrow and the upper lip). Previous studies have demonstrated that men's facial width-to-height ratio is a reliable clue to noticing aggressive tendencies and behavior. Individuals with higher fWHR were considered by observers as more aggressive than those with lower fWHR. The researchers proposed that this may be related to facial expression. Observers more readily saw anger in faces with a relatively high fWHR and more readily saw fear in faces with a relatively low fWHR. However, it is unclear what the neural mechanism of fWHR is, particularly in the absence of attention. The present study investigated this issue by recording visual mismatch negativity (vMMN), which indicates automatic processing of visual information under unattended conditions. We hypothesized that faces with high fWHR would elicit a larger vMMN compared to faces with low fWHR. If the above result is related to the fact that high fWHR faces appear angrier and low fWHR faces appear more fearful, then high fWHR faces displaying an angry expression would evoke vMMN and low fWHR faces displaying a fearful expression would evoke vMMN.

    Participants performed a size-change-detection task on a central cross, while random sequences of faces were presented in the background using a deviant-standard-reverse oddball paradigm. High fWHR faces (deviant stimuli) were presented less frequently among low fWHR faces (standard stimuli), or vice versa. This paradigm allows us to investigate the vMMN induced by the same physical stimulus, as the same stimulus is utilized as both the deviant and the standard stimulus in different blocks, thus reducing the influence of lower-level physical stimulus attributes on ERP components. 41 (19 females, 21.05 ± 1.70 years) and 25 (13 females, 20.56 ± 1.635 years) Chinese participated in Experiment 1 and 2, respectively. In Experiment 1, faces with neutral expressions were used. We employed 2 (fWHR: high vs. low) × 2 (stimuli: deviant vs. standard) within-subject design. The occipital-temporal vMMN (the deviant stimuli elicited more negative responses than the standard stimuli) emerged in the latency range of 200~500 ms for faces with high fWHR (200~250 ms: 4.117 ± 0.591 vs. 4.685 ± 0.582 μV, p < 0.001, 95% CI = [-0.804, -0.331]; 250~300 ms: 3.273 ± 0.562 vs. 4.869 ± 0.553 μV, p < 0.001, 95% CI = [-2.043, -1.150]; 300~350 ms: 2.026 ± 0.532 vs. 3.725 ± 0.510 μV, p < 0.001, 95% CI = [-2.114, -1.284]; 350~400 ms: 2.104 ± 0.483 vs. 3.692 ± 0.443 μV, p < 0.001, 95% CI = [-2.064, -1.113]; 400~450 ms: 1.163 ± 0.463 vs. 2.936 ± 0.431 μV, p < 0.001, 95% CI = [-2.231, -1.316]; 450~500 ms: 0.331 ± 0.449 vs. 2.231 ± 0.434 μV, p < 0.001, 95% CI = [-1.889, -0.752]) and in the latency range of 200~250 ms (4.117 ± 0.591 vs. 4.685 ± 0.582 μV, p < 0.001, 95% CI = [-0.804, -0.331]) and 300~350 ms (2.563 ± 0.648 vs. 3.256 ± 0.588 μV, p = 0.009, 95% CI = [-1.207, -0.179]) for faces with low fWHR (Figure 1). More importantly, faces with high fWHR elicited a higher vMMN than those with low fWHR faces in the 300~350 ms latency range (-1.728 ± 0.242 vs. -0.693 ± 0.254 μV, p = 0.010, 95% CI = [-1.804, -0.266]).

    In Experiment 2, faces with expressions of fear and anger were used. We employed 2 (fWHR: high vs. low) × 2 (stimuli: deviant vs. standard) × 2 (face expression: angry vs. fearful) within-subject design. Results showed that high-fWHR faces displaying an angry expression elicited a vMMN in the 200~250 ms at P4/PO8 electrode sites (P4: 2.291 ± 0.547 vs. 2.694 ± 0.542 μV, p = 0.039, 95% CI = [-0.784, -0.022]; PO8: 1.298 ± 0.669 vs. 1.966 ± 0.664 μV, p = 0.011, 95% CI = [-1.166, -0.169]) and 300~400 ms latency ranges (300~350 ms: P3: 1.068 ± 0.361 vs. 1.492 ± 0.291 μV, p = 0.009, 95% CI = [-0.731, -0.116]; PO5: 0.689 ± 0.580 vs. 1.097 ± 0.525 μV, p = 0.044, 95% CI = [-0.804, -0.012]; PO8: 0.775 ± 0.636 vs. 1.348 ± 0.702 μV, p = 0.049, 95% CI = [-1.143, -0.002]. 350~400 ms: P3: 0.613 ± 0.307 vs. 0.979 ± 0.229 μV, p = 0.031, 95% CI = [-0.696, -0.036]; PO8: 0.730 ± 0.553 vs. 1.343 ± 0.587 μV, p = 0.035, 95% CI = [-1.180, -0.047]), while low-fWHR faces displaying a fearful expression elicited a vMMN in the 250~400 ms latency range (250~300 ms: 1.484 ± 0.600 vs. 1.911 ± 0.551 μV, p = 0.026, 95% CI = [-0.797, -0.056]; 300~350 ms: 0.239 ± 0.538 vs. 0.820 ± 0.510 μV, p = 0.022, 95% CI = [-1.069, -0.092]; 350~400 ms: 0.657 ± 0.435 vs. 1.109 ± 0.390 μV, p = 0.035, 95% CI = [-0.870, -0.035]), especially in the left hemisphere (Figure 2).

    To gain a better understanding of the effect of facial expression on the degree of automatic processing in high and low fWHR, we compared vMMN responses to faces with high fWHR presenting neutral and angry expressions, and faces with low fWHR showing neutral and fear expressions (Table 1 and 2). The results revealed that faces with high fWHR displaying an angry expression elicited smaller vMMN than those displaying a neutral expression (300~350 ms at PO5 site: t(64) = -3.654, p = 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.272, 95% CI = [-2.180, -0.639]; 300~350 ms at PO8 site: t(64) = -3.455, p = 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.289, 95% CI = [-2.581, -0.690]; 350~400 ms at PO8 site: t(64) = -3.279, p = 0.002, Cohen’s d = 0.305, 95% CI = [-2.538, -0.617]).

    In conclusion, the present findings suggest that the facial width-to-height ratio is associated with automatic processing and provide new electrophysiological evidence for the different mechanisms underlying high and low fWHR faces under unattended conditions. The automatic processing of high fWHR exhibits greater neural activity than that of low fWHR, which might be related to facial expressions representing facial aggression. Consistent with previous studies, the current finding demonstrates that automatic processing of high and low fWHR is promoted by expressions of anger and fear, respectively. At the same time, due to the automatic processing of facial expressions, the automatic processing of faces with high fWHR is weakened by angry faces relative to neutral faces.

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    Different attentional selection modes of object information in the encoding and maintenance stages of visual working memory
    PANG Chao, CHEN Yanzhang, WANG Li, YANG Xiduan, HE Ya, LI Zhiying, OUYANG Xiaoyu, FU Shimin, NAN Weizhi
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2023, 55 (9): 1397-1410.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01397
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    Visual working memory (VWM) and selective attention are two essential topics of investigation in the field of cognitive psychology. Previous studies have suggested that object-based attention selection modes may be present during the VWM encoding stage, and feature-based attention selection modes may be present during the maintenance stage. Nonetheless, these conclusions are based on different research paradigms, object feature dimensions, and response indicators, so it is prudent to exercise caution when inferring the existence of distinct attention selection modes during different stages of VWM processing. The aim of the present study is to evaluate this hypothesis and provide empirical support.

    In Experiment 1a, thirty college students were recruited to complete a change-detection task. Participants were instructed to memorize the features of the objects presented in the memory display by means of a pre-cue or retro-cue presented prior to or following the memory display. Specifically, in pre-cue trials, participants were asked to memorize only the cueing task-relevant feature while ignoring the task-irrelevant feature. In retro-cue trials, participants needed to memorize the entire object so that they could select the task-relevant feature according to the retro-cue. The present study examined the “irrelevant-change distracting effect” by comparing memory performance between the condition of task-irrelevant feature changes and no-changes on the memory probe test display. Experiment 1b had a similar procedure, except that the cue types were block designs. Based on the design of Experiment 1b, Experiments 2 and 3 increased the number of memory items to test whether the memory load would modulate the attention selection modes. Twenty-eight participants were recruited for Experiment 1b, Experiment 2, and Experiment 3. All experiments were 2 (cue types: pre-cue, retro-cue) × 2 (change types: irrelevant change, irrelevant no-change) within-subjects designs, participants’ reaction times (RTs) and correct rates were recorded, and the sensitivity and criteria of the participants were calculated by signal detection theory (SDT).

    The purpose of Experiment 1a and Experiment 1b was to investigate attentional selection modes in the VWM coding and maintenance stages under low memory load. The results of Experiment 1a showed that the main effect of change types in RTs [701 ms vs. 668 ms, F(1, 29) = 34.48, p < 0.001, η2p = 0.54] and criteria [−0.15 vs. 0.15, F(1, 29) = 47.93, p < 0.001, η2p = 0.62] was significant. In addition, the interaction between cue types and change types in criteria was significant, F (1, 29) = 19.98, p < 0.001, η2p = 0.41. Pairwise comparisons showed that in the pre-cue trial, the criteria under the condition of irrelevant change was smaller (−0.19 vs. 0.25), t (29) = 9.62, p = 0.001, Cohen's d = 1.42, 95%CI = [1.12, 1.72]; In retro-cue trials, the criteria under irrelevant changes was also smaller (−0.11 vs. 0.05), t (29) = 2.55, p = 0.016, Cohen's d = 0.50, 95%CI = [0.10, 0.89] (see Table 1 and Figure 1). The results of Experiment 1b showed that the main effect of change types in RTs [739 ms vs. 722 ms, F (1, 27) = 10.14, p = 0.004, η2p = 0.27] and criteria [−0.12 vs. 0.07, F(1, 27) = 27.87, p < 0.001, η2p = 0.51] was significant (see Table 2), but the interaction in RTs [F (1, 27) = 2.55, p = 0.122] and criteria [F (1, 27) = 2.28, p = 0.143] was not significant (see Figure 2 A/B).

    The purpose of Experiment 2 was to investigate attentional selection modes in the VWM coding and maintenance stages under middle memory load. The results of Experiment 2 showed that the main effect of change types in RTs [956 ms vs. 921 ms, F (1, 27) = 18.18, p < 0.001, η2p = 0.40] and criteria [0.19 vs. 0.33, F(1, 27) = 16.23, p < 0.001, η2p = 0.38] was significant (see Table 3). In addition, the interaction between cue types and change types in RTs was significant, F (1, 27) = 8.29, p = 0.008, η2p = 0.24. Pairwise comparisons showed that in the pre-cue trial, the criteria under the condition of irrelevant change was smaller (915 ms vs. 860 ms), t(27) = −6.07, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d= −0.61, 95% CI = [−0.82, −0.40]; In retro-cue trials, however, there was no significant difference between irrelevant change and no-change conditions (998 ms vs. 983 ms), t(27) = −1.24, p = 0.227, Cohen’s d= −0.17, 95% CI = [−0.45, 0.11] (see Figure 2 C). The interaction between cue types and change types in criteria was significant, F (1, 27) = 14.10, p < 0.001, η2p = 0.34. Pairwise comparisons showed that in the pre-cue trial, the criteria under the condition of irrelevant change was smaller (0.16 vs. 0.42), t(27) = 5.23, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d= 0.95, 95% CI = [0.58, 1.32]; However, there was no significant difference between irrelevant change and no-change condition in retro-cue trials (0.23 vs. 0.24), t(27) = 0.24, p = 0.816, Cohen’s d= 0.04, 95% CI = [−0.30, 0.37] (see Figure 2 D).

    The purpose of Experiment 3 was to investigate attentional selection modes in the VWM coding and maintenance stages under high memory load. The results of Experiment 3 showed that the main effect of change types in RTs [1044 ms vs. 1009 ms, F (1, 27) = 11.17, p = 0.002, η2p = 0.29] and criteria [0.27 vs. 0.41, F(1, 27) = 20.05, p < 0.001, η2p = 0.43] was significant (see Table 4). In addition, the interaction between cue types and change types in criteria was significant, F (1, 27) = 16.90, p < 0.001, η2p = 0.39. Pairwise comparisons showed that in the pre-cue trial, the criteria under the condition of irrelevant change was smaller (0.31 vs. 0.56), t(27) = 5.71, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d= 0.83, 95% CI = [0.53, 1.12] (see Figure 2 E); However, there was no significant difference between irrelevant change and no-change condition in retro-cue trials (0.23 vs. 0.25), t(27) = 0.38, p = 0.705, Cohen’s d= 0.05, 95% CI = [−0.21, 0.31] (see Figure 2 F).

    We further conducted a mixed-design analysis of variance on the RTs and criteria of retro-cue in Experiment 1b, Experiment 2, and Experiment 3, combining them into 3 (memory load: low, middle, high) × 2 (change types: irrelevant change, irrelevant no-change) conditions. Memory load was treated as a between-subjects variable and task-irrelevant feature change type was treated as a within-subjects variable. The results revealed a marginally significant interaction effect on criteria, F(2, 81) = 3.10, p = 0.051, η2p = 0.07. Pairwise comparisons showed that under low memory load condition, the difference between the irrelevant change condition and no-change condition was significant (−0.16 vs. −0.01), t(81) = 3.34, p = 0.001, Cohen’s d= 0.64, 95% CI = [0.26, 1.02]; However, under middle memory load (0.23 vs. 0.24), t(81) = 0.25, p = 0.807, Cohen’s d= 0.05, 95% CI = [−0.33, 0.43], and high memory load(0.23 vs. 0.25), t(81) = 0.35, p = 0.728, Cohen’s d= 0.07, 95% CI = [−0.31, 0.45], the difference between the irrelevant change condition and no-change condition was not significant (see Figure 3 A). In addition, we also calculated memory capacity K values for each condition, and conducted a mixed-design analysis of variance on them with 3 (memory load: low, middle, high) × 2 (cue type: pre-cue, retro-cue) conditions. The results indicated a significant interaction effect, F(2, 81) = 23.34, p < 0.001, η2p = 0.37. Pairwise comparisons showed that under low memory load, there was no significant difference between pre-cue trials and retro-cue trials (1.91 vs. 1.92), t(81) = 0.17, p = 0.869. Under middle memory load, K values under pre-cue trials were significantly larger than those under retro-cue trials (2.77 vs. 2.28), t(81) = 4.73, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d= 0.91, 95% CI = [0.53, 1.29]. Under high memory load, K values under pre-cue trials were also significantly larger than those under retro-cue trials (3.00 vs. 2.02), t(81) = 9.50, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d= 1.82, 95% CI = [1.44, 2.20] (see Figure 3 B).

    The results of the three experiments showed that the change in task-irrelevant features had an impact on task performance in the pre-cue trials, with longer RTs and lower criteria in the task-irrelevant feature change condition than in the no-change condition. This distracting effect was not modulated by the memory load. This suggests the existence of robust object-based attentional selection during the encoding stage in VWM. In contrast, in the retro-cue trials, the distracting effect was present only in the low memory load condition (Experiment 1a/1b) and disappeared when the memory load increased (Experiment 2/3). This suggests that during the maintenance stage, task-irrelevant features are processed only under low memory load conditions, and insufficient resources lead to their inability to be processed as the demand for attentional resources for task-relevant features increases.

    In summary, the present study provides further evidence for the hypothesis that different modes of attentional selection exist in the encoding and maintenance stages of VWM, specifically that the attention selection mode during the VWM encoding stage is object- based, while the attention selection mode during the maintenance stage is feature-based and regulated by memory load. This study has important implications for resolving the controversy surrounding the attention selection mode of multifeature objects in VWM.

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    Emotion regulation promotes forgetting of negative social feedback: Behavioral and EEG evidence
    XIE Hui, LIN Xuanyi, HU Wanrou, HU Xiaoqing
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2023, 55 (6): 905-919.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00905
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    Receiving negative social feedback, e.g., social rejection, criticism, can bring social pain. Painful experiences tend to get sticky in minds that cause sustained mental distress, thereby contributing to the onset of psychiatric disorders such as depression. Here, we asked whether engaging in different emotion regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal and distraction) toward negative social feedback would relieve subjective social pain and facilitate forgetting of unwanted social feedback. Besides, we examined whether and how individual differences in depressive symptoms may influence the neural activity and behavioral benefits of emotion regulation.

    During the experiment, participants (N = 66; 16 males; aged 20.6 ± 1.9 years) received positive and negative social personality feedback from their peers in an ostensible peer evaluation task. While reading social feedback, participants were instructed to either naturally watch or actively down-regulate their negative emotions using either cognitive reappraisal or distraction strategy, with electroencephalograms (EEGs) being recorded. Subsequently, participants completed a surprise recall test during which they verbally recalled the feedback upon seeing photos of peers from the previous session. We also measured participants’ self-evaluation and their attitudes toward peers. In addition to immediate tests, participants also completed the same tests after 24 hours to examine possible long-term benefits of emotion regulation. To understand the neural correlates of different emotion regulation strategies, we used both univariate event-related potential (ERP) analysis and the multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA).

    Results showed that after receiving negative social feedback, emotion regulation significantly modulated subjective emotional ratings (F(2, 130) = 66.6, p< 0.001, ηp2 = 0.506). Compared to natural watch (4.14 ± 0.81), both reappraisal (5.33 ± 0.95, p < 0.001) and distraction (5.10 ± 0.78, p < 0.001) attenuated participants’ negative ratings (a higher number indicating less negative or more positive feelings). Moreover, emotion regulation also influenced participants’ memory of social feedback valence (F(2, 130) = 7.80, p< 0.001, ηp2 = 0.107) and the specific word (F(2, 130) = 10.0, p< 0.001, ηp2 = 0.134). Specifically, for the valence accuracy, participants scored higher in the natural watch condition (0.50 ± 0.25) than the reappraisal (0.43 ± 0.27, p = 0.007) and distraction (0.41 ± 0.25, p < 0.001) conditions. For the word accuracy, participants recalled more specific words in the natural watch condition (0.07 ± 0.10) than the reappraisal (0.03 ± 0.07, p < 0.001) and distraction (0.03 ± 0.07, p < 0.001) conditions. These results demonstrated that both cognitive reappraisal and distraction induced forgetting of negative social feedback. Importantly, the mnemonic benefits of emotion regulation, i.e., forgetting of negative social feedback, were still evident on Day 2 after a 24-hour delay. In addition, participants' depression level significantly moderated the whole brain EEG activity patterns involved in different emotion regulatory strategies. Specifically, in the low-depression group, frontal-central EEG activity distinguished between watch and reappraisal conditions within 2~5 s post-feedback; whereas in the high-depression group, the whole-brain EEG activity patterns distinguished between watch and distraction conditions within 2~3 s post-feedback. Moreover, the amplitude of central-parietal late positive potential (LPP) under the distraction condition were negatively correlated with participants’ depression level (r = −0.386, p = 0.009), suggesting that participants with higher depressive symptoms might be more effective in using distraction to regulate negative emotion than their low-depression counterparts.

    Together, these results demonstrate that both cognitive reappraisal and distraction strategies could alleviate social pain and facilitate forgetting of negative social feedback. Moreover, distraction may be a more suitable regulatory strategy among individuals with high levels of depression. In conclusion, this study broadens our understanding of the relationship between emotion and memory from the perspectives of social cognition and motivated forgetting; and provides insights for the alleviation of social pain using emotion regulation strategies.

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    The relationship between associative encoding and item encoding in the multiple-component character unitization and compound word unitization
    ZHAO Chunyu, GUO Chunyan
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2023, 55 (4): 513-528.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00513
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    Unitization refers to the manipulation that can integrate two or more items into a single entirety. Previous studies found that unitization facilitated associative memory, however, the effect of unitization on item memory was controversial. Some researchers argued that unitization promoted associative recognition at the cost of item recognition (the view of “benefits and cost”), others held that unitization could promote associative recognition without impairing item recognition (the view of “benefits-only”). These two views seemed to be arguing the impact of unitization on item memory, but in fact, they were discussing the relationship between associative encoding and item encoding during unitization.

    The present study intended to explore the relationship between associative encoding and item encoding in the process of unitization through two experiments, by examining the effects of words unitization and characters unitization on associative memory and item memory as well as the differences of neural mechanisms between the two unitization strategies. In experiment 1 (Figure 1), we used associative recognition paradigm to explore the unitization effects on associative memory. In the study phase, participants were asked to judge whether the character pairs could form to a multiple-component character (characters unitization) or a compound word (words unitization) or couldn’t (non-unitization). In the test phase, participants were asked to judge whether the character pairs were same or rearranged. In experiment 2, item recognition paradigm was used. Procedure of the study phase was the same as Experiment 1. In the test phase, characters instead of character pairs learned or not learned in the study phase were displayed on the screen. Participants were asked to judge whether the characters were old or new. In addition, EEG signals were recorded during the task to explore the neural mechanism during memory encoding.

    The behavioral results showed that: i) the encoding process of characters unitization was more difficult and had longer response time compared to words unitization; ii) the performances of associative recognition was significantly higher for the words and characters unitization conditions than the non-unitization condition (characters (M ± SD): 0.75 ± 0.15, non-characters: 0.26 ± 0.18, t = 14.50, p < 0.001; words: 0.67 ± 0.15, non-words: 0.40 ± 0.20, t = 8.51, p < 0.001), and their performances of item recognition was not decreased; iii) the performances of associative recognition (characters: 0.75 ± 0.15, words: 0.67 ± 0.15, t = 2.94, p = 0.006) and item recognition (characters: 0.50 ± 0.14, words: 0.41 ± 0.13, t = 5.23, p < 0.001) was significantly higher for the characters unitization condition than words unitization condition. The EEG results showed that: iv) the LNC during words unitization encoding was mainly distributed in the frontal area and occurred earlier than characters unitization encoding, while the LNC during characters unitization encoding was mainly located in the occipital area and occurs later than words unitization encoding (Figure 2); v) the desynchronization of neural oscillation within α/β band was stronger for characters unitization condition compared to words unitization condition (Figure 3), and the desynchronization of neural oscillation within α/β band during encoding was significantly correlated with the hit of item recognition during retrieval (Figure 4).

    These results indicate from the perspectives of memory encoding and retrieval that the manipulation of unitization does not damage the processing of items while strengthening the processing of associative information, supporting the view of “benefits-only”. This research has deepened our understanding that the brain processes multiple-component Chinese characters and compound words, and also provided a reference for the arrangement of Chinese learning materials from the perspective of empirical evidence.

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    Test-retest reliability of EEG: A comparison across multiple resting-state and task-state experiments
    QIN Huiyi, DING Lihong, DUAN Wei, LEI Xu
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2023, 55 (10): 1587-1596.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01587
    Abstract218)   HTML29)    PDF (523KB)(250)      

    Owing to its advantages in time resolution, electroencephalography (EEG) provides an important basis for studying the dynamic cognitive process of the human brain. To explore the electrophysiological mechanism of psychological processes, scalp EEG must have good test-retest reliability. Most studies explore the reliability of the resting-state EEG (rsEEG) or event-related potentials (ERP), lacking a comprehensive comparison of multiple states. We comprehensively compared the test-retest reliability of the two rsEEG with eyes-open (EO) and eyes-close (EC) states, and the ERPs of PVT and oddball tasks, from frequency, time, and spatial domains to identify more widely applicable indicators.

    A total of 42 healthy adults (age range = 18-26 years old; mean = 19.5 ± 1.4 years old; 14 males) underwent all three EEG recording sessions, including the present (Session 1), 90 mins later (Session 2), and one month later (Session 3). During each EEG recording session, all the participants completed the same five states including two resting states (eyes-open, eyes-closed, each with 5 minutes) and two task states (PVT and oddball task) (Figure 1). Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) were computed to assess the test-retest reproducibility of the five states.

    This study compares and analyses the test-retest reliability of two resting-state and three task-state EEG from the perspectives of time, frequency, and spatial domains. Results revealed the following: (1) The test-retest reliability of rsEEG was generally better than that of ERP (Figure 2). (2) For rsEEG, the test-retest reliability of the EC resting-state was higher than that of the EO, with the ICC median value of approximately 0.6 (Table 1). Furthermore, the test-retest reliability of the alpha band was the highest in all frequency bands. (3) For the two task-states ERP (Figure 2), the overall ICC of the PVT paradigm was higher than that of the oddball paradigm, and the test-retest reliability was highest at about 200 ms after the stimulus onsets (Figure 3). (4) In the spatial domain, the test-retest reliability is higher in the central region than in the peripheral region (Figure 4/5, Table 2), which may be related to the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

    Our research involves multiple resting-state and task-state experiments. Based on the characteristics of frequency, time, and space domains, we comprehensively compared the optimal retest characteristics of multiple EEG and suggest the possible reasons. Some suggestions for the selection of appropriate experimental paradigms and indicators for the follow-up study of EEG test-retest reliability are provided and guide the application of EEG in the basic and clinical fields.

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    Lost radiance: Negative influence of parental gender bias on women’s workplace performance
    XU Minya, LIU Beini, XU Zhenyu
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2023, 55 (7): 1148-1159.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01148
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