ISSN 0439-755X
CN 11-1911/B

Most Down Articles

    Published in last 1 year| In last 2 years| In last 3 years| All| Most Downloaded in Recent Month | Most Downloaded in Recent Year|

    Published in last 1 year
    Please wait a minute...
    For Selected: Toggle Thumbnails
    Developmental change and stability of social anxiety from toddlerhood to young adulthood: A three-level meta-analysis of longitudinal studies
    CHEN Bizhong, HUANG Xuan, NIU Gengfeng, SUN Xiaojun, CAI Zhihui
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2023, 55 (10): 1637-1652.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01637
    Abstract129)   HTML22)    PDF (215KB)(452)      
    Table and Figures | Reference | Related Articles | Metrics
    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)(312)      

    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.

    Table and Figures | Reference | Related Articles | Metrics
    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.

    Table and Figures | Reference | Related Articles | Metrics
    The effect of task relevance on serial dependence in numerosity
    LIU Yujie, LIU Chenmiao, ZHOU Liqin, ZHOU Ke
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2024, 56 (3): 255-267.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2024.00255
    Abstract198)   HTML41)    PDF (489KB)(290)      
    Table and Figures | Reference | Related Articles | Metrics
    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.

    Table and Figures | Reference | Related Articles | Metrics
    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.

    Table and Figures | Reference | Related Articles | Metrics
    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.

    Table and Figures | Reference | Related Articles | Metrics
    Can leader gratitude expression improve employee followership behavior? The role of emotional expression authenticity
    ZHU Yanghao, LONG Lirong, LIU Wenxing
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2023, 55 (7): 1160-1175.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01160
    Abstract160)   HTML22)    PDF (304KB)(223)      

    As a traditional virtue of the Chinese nation, gratitude has received much attention from scholars in recent years. This paper constructs a moderated mediation model by combining the social function theory of emotion and dual-strategies theory of social rank to explore the effect of leader gratitude expression on employee followership behavior. Using a scenario experiment and a multi-wave, leader-employee dyad survey, the findings confirm the proposed theoretical hypothesis that leader gratitude expression promote positive followership behavior by increasing perceived leader prestige and inhibit negative followership behavior by decreasing perceived leader dominance. The above relationship is especially strong when leader’s emotional expression authenticity is high. The findings of the study help to enlighten leaders to express appreciation to their employees more often and more sincerely.

    Table and Figures | Reference | Related Articles | Metrics
    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
    Abstract226)   HTML36)    PDF (118KB)(216)      

    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.

    Reference | Related Articles | Metrics
    “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.

    Table and Figures | Reference | Related Articles | Metrics
    Learn from others or put them down? The double-edged effect of upward social comparison in the workplace
    SONG Qi, ZHANG Lu, GAO Lifang, CHENG Bao, CHEN Yang
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2023, 55 (4): 658-670.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00658
    Abstract204)   HTML18)    PDF (448KB)(202)      

    Upward social comparison is common in workplaces, and many studies have identified its downsides, such as negative emotions and dysfunctional behaviors. However, a few studies have revealed positive effects, such as learning from comparison targets. These conflicting results suggest that the mechanism underlying the effect of upward social comparison in workplaces remains unclear. Furthermore, most research is based on social comparison theory, whereas few studies have explored upward social comparison through a cognitive lens. To fill these research gaps, we drew on the cognitive appraisal theory of stress to investigate upward social comparison in the workplace and determine how and when it yields (mal)adaptive behavioral outcomes.

    We used a multi-wave, round-robin design to collect data. 270 employees from 65 teams agreed to participate. At Time 1, 270 employees were invited to assess their workplace upward social comparison, performance-prove goal orientation, social comparison orientation, learning goal orientation, and demographics. 251 employees provided valid responses (response rate = 93%). Two weeks after Time 1, 251 employees were invited to evaluate their challenge and threat appraisals, and 240 employees provided valid responses (response rate = 95.6%). Two weeks after Time 2, 240 employees were invited to report their learning behaviors towards their coworkers, and meanwhile, employees were invited their received social undermining from coworkers. 240 valid responses were received (response rate = 100%). Finally, 720 dyads from 240 employees from 60 teams were used to test our proposed model.

    We adopted measures established and applied in previous studies to ensure the validity of the survey. Consistent with Reh et al. (2018), we invited employees to rate their workplace upward social comparison with other coworkers using the 8-item scale developed by Brown et al. (2007). Performance-proving goal orientation was rated using the 4-item scale developed by VandeWalle (1997). Employees of the same team assessed their threat and challenge appraisals toward all other coworkers in the team using the 6-item scale from LePine et al. (2016). Finally, employees assessed their learning behavior from and social undermining toward other coworkers in the team using the 5-item and 4-item scales from Lee and Duffy (2019).

    Given that the dyads nested in employees and then employees nested within teams, we tested our hypothesis by multilevel social relations model. To test the conditional indirect effects, a Monte Carlo simulation with 20, 000 replications was used to generate the 95% Monte Carlo confidence intervals in R 3.5. The means, standard deviations, and zero-order correlations among all variables are reported in Table 1. Table 2 shows how much outcome variable variance is explained by the characteristics of the actor, the target, the dyad, and the team. Tables 3 and 4 demonstrate the social relations model results for hypotheses testing. The results showed that employees with low levels of performance-prove goal orientation tended to appraise upward social comparison as a challenge, which prompts learning from the comparison targets. However, employees with high levels of performance-prove goal orientation tended to appraise upward social comparison as a threat, motivating them to socially undermine the comparison targets.

    Our study provides theoretical and practical implications. We reveal the double-edged effects of workplace upward social comparison on subsequent learning behaviors and social undermining through a cognitive rather than emotional lens. Our findings demonstrate how and why workplace upward social comparison drives employees to develop two distinct behavioral responses, from a novel theoretical perspective—the cognitive appraisal theory of stress. Finally, the performance-prove goal orientation determines the effects of workplace upward social comparison. Furthermore, our findings offer important practical implications to managers and policymakers.

    Table and Figures | Reference | Related Articles | Metrics
    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.

    Table and Figures | Reference | Related Articles | Metrics
    Do not think any virtue trivial, and thus neglect it: Mindfulness and wisdom − Serial mediating role of social mindfulness and perspective taking
    WANG Yimeng, ZHANG Jingmin, WANG Fengyan, XU Wentao, LIU Weiting
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2023, 55 (4): 626-641.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00626
    Abstract188)   HTML22)    PDF (259KB)(197)      

    Mindfulness has roots in Eastern Buddhism and is generally defined as focusing one’s complete attention to experiences occurring in the present moment in a nonjudgmental or accepting way. The objective of mindfulness intervention is to first understand current experiences then gradually develop self-awareness and wisdom. Moreover, following Buddhist ethics, mindfulness predicts wisdom, which is linked with emphasis on individualized moral foundations of care, empathy, benevolence, and so on. Social mindfulness, as a positive quality and state behavior of mindful attention to others, may potentially affect the influence of mindfulness on wisdom by providing an indirect way to promote the common good (see Figure 1). Moreover, social mindfulness involves minding the needs and interests of others in a way that honors the idea that most people prefer choosing for themselves. Based on this statement, the skill of processing the perspectives of others may lay the foundation for social mindfulness. Therefore, based on the above propositions, the hypothesis that mindfulness positively affects wisdom, mediated by perspective taking and social mindfulness, is proposed in this study (see Figure 2).

    Through three studies, the above hypothesis is examined. For Study 1 (n = 417), a self-rated wisdom, mindfulness, and social mindfulness questionnaire is adopted to investigate the link between trait mindfulness, wisdom, and social mindfulness (see Table 1 and Figure 3). For Study 2 (n = 80), data on state mindfulness, social mindfulness, and wisdom are collected at three points using a switching replication experimental design (see Table 2), which further examines the influence of social mindfulness on the link between mindfulness and wisdom at the state level(see Table 3 and Figure 4). For Study 3 (n = 412), social mindfulness is manipulated using the scenario simulation method, and the role of perspective taking is considered, which demonstrates the influence of mindfulness on wisdom through perspective taking and social mindfulness(see Table 4 and Figure 5,6).

    Results show multidimensional mindfulness, with awareness and acceptance, is positively correlated with increased social mindfulness and wisdom, thereby verifying the mediating role of social mindfulness. Mindfulness intervention can effectively initiate state mindfulness and simultaneously improve social mindfulness and wisdom within a short period. Manipulated social mindfulness can enhance the positive predicted effect of mindfulness on wisdom and verify the mediating role of social mindfulness. Evidence on the mediating effect of perspective taking and social mindfulness is provided in this study. Specifically, mindful individuals are likely to demonstrate benign attention in interpersonal interactions by perspective taking, thereby constructing a practical path to wisdom.

    The theoretical model aims to complement and enrich the burgeoning mindfulness, wisdom, and morality literature. In studies 1 and 2, the main finding (trait and state levels) that mindfulness triggers wisdom is replicated, and the correlation between mindfulness, social mindfulness, and wisdom is explored. A new perspective for improving wisdom is also provided. In summary, mindfulness positively influences wisdom through perspective taking and social mindfulness, thereby suggesting an indirect path from mindfulness to wisdom.

    Table and Figures | Reference | Related Articles | Metrics
    Traditional pettism: The influence of pet ownership status, pet type, and pet properties on pet moral standing
    XU Kepeng, OU Qianqian, XUE Hong, LUO Dongli, ZHANG Shuyue, XU Yan
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2023, 55 (10): 1662-1676.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01662
    Abstract172)   HTML11)    PDF (444KB)(197)      

    The bond between humans and their pets is becoming ever closer, and the ethical status of pets is also evolving. This article examines how pet owner identity, pet type, and pet properties affect pet moral standing through three studies by dividing pets into traditional and non-traditional categories. The results showed that : (1) Traditional pets are seen as having a higher moral standing than non-traditional pets, which is explained by agency, sensitivity, and harmfulness. (2) Traditional pet owners consider traditional pets to have a higher moral standing than non-traditional pet owners, though there is no major difference in the moral standing of non-traditional pets between the two. (3) Animal Empathy was identified as a mediator between traditional pet attachment and traditional pet moral standing. These findings suggest that pets are viewed differently in terms of morality, which is manifested in traditional petism; and the relationship between pet owners and their pets is a major factor in promoting it.

    Table and Figures | Reference | Related Articles | Metrics
    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.

    Reference | Related Articles | Metrics
    Self-regulated learning advantage and blocked learning disadvantage on overlapping category structure
    YUE Fang, CHEN Jianping, GAN Kexin, WANG Yuqing, LIU Zhiya
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2023, 55 (10): 1597-1607.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01597
    Abstract109)   HTML16)    PDF (270KB)(181)      
    Table and Figures | Reference | Related Articles | Metrics
    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.

    Table and Figures | Reference | Related Articles | Metrics
    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.

    Table and Figures | Reference | Related Articles | Metrics
    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
    Abstract217)   HTML38)    PDF (235KB)(180)      
    Table and Figures | Reference | Related Articles | Metrics
    The effects of daily supervisor negative feedback on employee creativity
    DONG Niannian, YIN Kui, XING Lu, SUN Xin, DONG Yanan
    Acta Psychologica Sinica    2023, 55 (5): 831-843.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00831
    Abstract212)   HTML13)    PDF (279KB)(174)      

    Previous findings regarding the impact of supervisor negative feedback on employee creativity have seemingly been inconsistent. Researchers have reported positive, negative, and nonsignificant relationships between supervisor negative feedback and employee creativity. The present study aims to explore the possibility that supervisor negative feedback has short-lived impacts on employee creativity. Drawing from feedback intervention theory, we propose that proving goal orientation moderates the indirect effect of daily supervisor negative feedback on employee next-day creativity through problem-solving pondering at night such that this effect is stronger for individuals with higher levels of proving goal orientation. In addition, we suggest that avoiding goal orientation moderates the indirect effect of daily supervisor negative feedback on employee next-day creativity through affective rumination at night such that this effect is stronger for individuals with higher levels of avoiding goal orientation.

    We conducted a field study using experience sampling methodology to collect data from employees of a design institute in northern China. The questionnaire survey process included an initial one-time entry survey and daily surveys administered over a period of two weeks. One week before the start of the daily surveys, participants reported their proving goal orientation, avoiding goal orientation, and demographic information. During the two-week daily survey period, participants assessed daily supervisor negative feedback and daily creativity at 5:30 p.m. and rated problem-solving pondering and affective rumination at 8:30 p.m. each evening. The final sample included 716 usable observations collected from 95 employees. To test the proposed hypotheses, we conducted two-level path-analyses using Mplus 8.0 and performed a Monte Carlo simulation procedure using R software.

    Table 1 reports means, standard deviations, and correlations for all studied variables. As shown in Table 2, the cross-level daily supervisor negative feedback x proving goal orientation interaction term was positively related to problem-solving pondering at night (γ = 0.16, SE= 0.06, p= 0.005). Figure 1 illustrates this interaction pattern. The relationship between daily supervisor negative feedback and problem-solving pondering at night was positive when proving goal orientation was high (γ = 0.14, t= 2.37, p= 0.018). However, this relationship was not significant when proving goal orientation was low (γ = −0.08, t= −1.47, p= 0.14). Furthermore, for employees with high levels of proving goal orientation, daily supervisor negative feedback promoted their creativity the next day by activating their problem-solving pondering at night (indirect effect = 0.022, 95% CI [0.003, 0.050]). However, for employees with low levels of proving goal orientation, this indirect effect was not significant (indirect effect = −0.012, 95% CI [−0.033, 0.004]). In addition, the cross-level daily supervisor negative feedback x avoiding goal orientation interaction term was positively related to affective rumination at night (γ = 0.14, SE= 0.08, p= 0.069). Figure 2 illustrates this interaction pattern. The relationship between daily supervisor negative feedback and affective rumination at night was positive when avoiding goal orientation was high (γ = 0.17, t= 2.10, p= 0.035). However, this relationship was not significant when avoiding goal orientation was low (γ = −0.02, t= −0.27, p= 0.79). For employees with high levels of avoiding goal orientation, daily supervisor negative feedback inhibited their creativity the next day by eliciting their affective rumination at night (indirect effect = −0.017, 90% CI [−0.036, −0.002]). However, for employees with low levels of avoiding goal orientation, this indirect effect was not significant (indirect effect = 0.002, 90% CI [−0.009, 0.014]).

    The current study makes several theoretical contributions. First, we adopt a dynamic perspective to capture the within-person variance in creativity resulting from daily fluctuations in supervisor negative feedback. Second, this study enriches feedback intervention theory by exploring the mediating roles of problem-solving pondering and affective rumination in the link of supervisor negative feedback with employee creativity. Third, the present study reconciles the conflicting findings of previous research by demonstrating the differential effects of daily supervisor negative feedback on employees with different goal orientations.

    Table and Figures | Reference | Related Articles | Metrics