Loading...
ISSN 0439-755X
CN 11-1911/B

Archive

    30 January 2011, Volume 43 Issue 01 Previous Issue    Next Issue

    For Selected: Toggle Thumbnails
    On the Role of “Zhi” In Chinese Counterfactual Thinking
    ZHANG Jie-Hai,BONNEFON Jean-Franç,ois,DENG Ci-Ping
    2011, 43 (01):  1-10. 
    Abstract ( 1986 )  
    East-west differences in counterfactual thinking were thought to be non-existent or domain-specific. We identify a domain-general difference based on the notion of Zhi. In the context of a decision that had unfortunate consequences and triggered counterfactual thinking, this Chinese concept expresses how the quality of the justifications for the decision (ex ante) balances against the severity of the unfortunate consequences (ex post). The decision is Zhi if the quality of its justifications “outweighs” the severity of its outcome. We predict that Zhi mediates the effect of reasons and outcomes on counterfactual mutations made by Chinese participants; and that judgments of Zhi in our studies should mostly reflect expected benefits (justification), rather than whether the benefits would be realized or not. In contrast, the cost/benefit ratio (i.e., the closest Western counterpart to Zhi) should closely reflect realized benefits.
    In Experiment 1, we randomly assigned 161 Chinese undergraduate students to four experimental groups, following a 2 (poor reason vs. good reason) × 2 (mild outcome vs. severe outcome) between-participant design. Participants read different versions of the Jones traffic accident vignette that originally appeared in Kahneman and Tversky (1982a). They were then asked to complete a counterfactual mutation question beginning with “If only”, and to give a rating of Zhi for the protagonist’s decision. Results wholly supported our expectations. The decision to take an unusual route was mutated more when it was judged as less Zhi. Reasons and outcomes impacted counterfactual thinking through the mediation of Zhi, when the effect of Zhi on counterfactual thoughts was taken into account, the direct effect of reasons and outcomes dropped significantly.
    Experiment 2 was conducted with the help of 46 Chinese and 51 French students, and tested our cross-cultural hypothesis. Participants were presented with 4 versions of the Jones vignette, according to a 2 × 2 within-participant design, which manipulated the expected benefits (small or large) of taking an unusual route, and whether that benefit was realized or not. All participants rated the likelihood of a route mutation. Chinese participants were also asked to give a rating of Zhi, and French participants were also asked to give a rating of cost/benefit ratio in each situation. The results confirmed our hypothesis: the Zhi assessments of Chinese participants were not influenced by whether the expected benefit was realized. In contrast, the cost/benefit assessments of French participants were largely influenced by whether the expected benefit was realized. Accordingly, when participants judged the likelihood that the character in the scenario would think counterfactually of his choice of an unusual route, Chinese participants focused on the expected benefit for taking that route. French participants, however, gave a large role in their judgments to the realization of the expected benefit.
    These results open a large avenue for future investigations. Whereas previous research examined cross-cultural differences on counterfactual thinking from the perspective of agency (acting vs. failing to act), the idea of Zhi suggest a novel dimension for cross-cultural comparisons, that of justification. Using the concept of Zhi can also help attain a richer understanding of mental simulation and regret, by showing how several variables (justifications and outcomes) can fuse into one complex concept, which itself determines subsequent cognitive and emotional reactions.
    Related Articles | Metrics
    Self-Other Decision Making Difference: A Construal Level Perspective
    XU Jing-Zhe,XIE Xiao-Fei
    2011, 43 (01):  11-20. 
    Abstract ( 1965 )  
    For most real-life decisions, people either seek for others’ advice or act as advisors. From the perspective of Construal Level Theory (Trope & Liberman, 2003; Trope, Liberman, & Wakslak, 2007), deciding for oneself versus others involves different cognitive processes, and thus leads to divergent preference and decisions. Others, compared to oneself, are psychologically distant. Therefore, people advising for others tend to construct the decision in terms of its end-state or outcome (i.e. desirability aspects); when evaluating personal decisions, however, people will attend to the more specific process to achieve that outcome (i.e. feasibility aspects).
    Using scenarios, the present study addresses the above issue. Across the two experiments, participants made decisions about supermarket coupons, with various desirability (face value) and feasibility (shopping convenience) combinations. Study 1 investigated the difference in preference when deciding for oneself versus others. 165 participants were presented with four types of coupons along desirability (high/low) and feasibility (high/low) dimensions, and then they made decisions either for themselves or someone else. As expected, the self-other decision making difference emerged. While personal decision makers were highly sensitive to feasibility, advisors paid less attention to these low-level aspects. However, such difference only held in low-desirability condition.
    In Study 2, similarity was introduced to reduce the psychological distance between oneself and others. Two “mixed” alternatives were constructed with either high desirability and low feasibility or low desirability and high feasibility. 81 participants jointly evaluated the two types of coupons and then indicated their willingness to pay for each of them. Results replicated the self-other decision making difference. Compared to personal decision makers, advisors showed stronger preference toward the high-desirability alternative, with less sensitivity to the feasibility aspects. Meanwhile, advice made for similar others (versus dissimilar counterparts) seemed more consistent with personal decisions.
    The results supported the self-other decision making difference. Interpersonal distance, as a form of psychological distance, exerts significant influence on the cognitive representation and decision making process. The implications of these findings for social distance, advice giving and taking were discussed.
    Related Articles | Metrics
    Women’s Cue Preferences and Information Processing Mode in Mate Choice
    LIU Yong-Fang,SU Li-Na,WANG Huai-Yong
    2011, 43 (01):  21-29. 
    Abstract ( 2674 )  
    Among the wide range of theoretical and empirical findings on mate choice, the focus of much research has been on two important questions: What mate choice preferences do people have, and what is the information processing mode used in mate choice (Shackelford, Schmitt & Buss, 2005; Regan, Levin, Sprecher, Christopher, & Cate, 2000). However, most studies of these questions have been based on methods using personal advertisements, questionnaires, and interviews. Few researchers have used experiments methods to explore the preferences and information processing mode used in mate choice.
    In this study, the information board technology was used to explore Chinese women’s cue preferences and information processing mode when they made mate choices under high or low time pressure, and with more or fewer candidates. The subjects were 68 young Chinese women from 20 to 33 years old. The selected eight cues appeared in the information board columns, and four or eight candidates appeared in the information board rows. This study used a 2×2 [low time pressure (60s)/ high time pressure (20s)]×[more candidates(8)/fewer candidates(4)] within-subject design. The recorded dependent variables were as follows: (1) the mean hit rate of each cue; (2) the mean processing time of each cue; (3) the mean decision time of finishing each information board; (4) depth of search, DS = the number of the opened cells / the total number of cells; (5) pattern of search, PS = (within options – within cues) / (within options + within cues), where “within options” refers to the number of movements from one cue to another in the same option, and “within cues” refers to the number of movements from one option to another on the same cue, and PS > 0 means that the decision-maker adopted a sophisticated search strategy based on options, while PS < 0 means that the decision-maker adopted a heuristic search strategy based on cues (Rieskamp & Hoffrage, 1999). In addition, subjects’ subjective rating of the importance of each cue and their satisfaction with the choices were recorded.
    The results of the experiments showed that: (1) The candidate’s personality, state of health, and sense of responsibility were the top three cues that Chinese women consider; (2) Attribute preferences which were indirectly shown in completing the information board task were not equivalent to attribute preferences which were given directly in the subjective evaluation; (3) Mate choice used a heuristic searching process based on bounded rationality, and the number of candidates and time pressure affected individuals’ mode of information processing of mate cues; (4) There was not a simple linear relationship between the number of candidate and mate choice satisfaction—the increase in the number of candidates did not increase “satisfaction” of the mate choice.
    These results concur with the hypothesis that human rationality is bounded (Simon, 1956; Kahneman, Slovic, & Tversky, 1982; Gigerenzer, Todd, & the ABC Research Group, 1999) and suggest that sophisticated decision tasks combined with little decision time will force people to use simpler information processing strategies (Payne, Bettman, & Johnson, 1993; Billings & Marcus, 1983; Timmermans, 1993). In some situations, the simpler rules can lead to better results (Goldstein & Gigerenzer, 1999).
    Related Articles | Metrics
    Different Types of Criminals’ Decision-making Defects in the Iowa Gambling Task
    LUO Yu,FENG Ting-Yong,TANG Xiang-Dong,HUANG Hao,LI Hong
    2011, 43 (01):  30-41. 
    Abstract ( 1904 )  
    Affective decision making is an individual ability to make choice under uncertainty. Criminal behavior is a result of criminals’ decision-making under uncertainty. Criminals are to be fettered and thrown into prison because they have made wrong decisions. Are there any defects of different types of criminals’ decision-making function? If there are, what caused their defects? And are these reasons different or the same?
    The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) which developed by Bechara et al. (1994) has been widely used to evaluate decision-making ability under uncertainty. In this study, 222 male criminals and 32 controlled normal males were recruited. All of them were asked to fill out a demographical form and then complete IGT. A 10 (block)×9 (participant type: 8 types of criminal group and 1 control group) experimental design was adopted. The independent variables were patricipant type and block, dependent variable were the proportion of advantage decks [(deck3+deck4)/100] and each deck. The Prospect Utility Learning model (PUL) (Ahn et al., 2008) was applied to analysis participants’ choices behavior. PUL model contained four parameters: loss aversion (λ), shape of function (α), learning update rate (A), and choice consistency (c).
    A repeated ANOVA was applied to the data analysis. (1) Along with time passing, control group chose more from advantage deck 3 and 4, but 8 types of criminals preferred disadvantage deck 2. There was no significant difference in disadvantage deck 1 between criminals and control group. (2) Comparing to the control group, violent offenders and mafia-like criminals’ loss aversion parameter and shape of function parameter were significant lower, which indicated that they were not sensitive to reward and punishment. Their learning update rate was higher than control and other types of criminals which indicated that they were fast discount the utility of past events. And their choice consistency was significant higher than other types of participant indicated that they did not form right utility of each deck. Drug abstainers, drug criminal, thief and robbery were lower in the loss aversion parameter, which indicated that they were insensitive to punishment; there higher choice consistency indicated that they did not form right utility of each deck. Sex offender’s choice consistency parameter was higher than control, but their loss aversion, shape of function, and learning update rate parameters were normal. So, their high choice consistency may indicate that their behavioral reversal function were defected. Economic criminal’s choice consistency was very low may indicated that they were more cautious than other types of criminal.
    In conclusion, the present research suggested that different types of criminal have decision-making functional deficits, and the reasons caused these deficits were different.
    Related Articles | Metrics
    Dialectical Thinking Reduces Aggressive Tendencies
    ZHANG Xiao-Yan,GAO Ding-Guo,FU Hua
    2011, 43 (01):  42-51 . 
    Abstract ( 1952 )  
    People process information in fundamentally different ways. When people think dialectically, they tend to be holistic, reconcile contradictions, and emphasize changes. There are marked differences in the cognitive processes between dialectical thinkers and analytical thinkers, including categorization, causal attribution, reliance on rules, use of logic, and preference for dialectical understanding of events (Nisbett & Masuda, 2003). It is believed that the origin of these differences can be traced back to different social systems so that East Asians (including Chinese) tend to be dialectical whereas Westerners tend to be analytical (Nisbett, Peng, Choi, & Norenzayan, 2001). Because dialectical thinking emphasizes reconciliation and constant changes, it may be able to increase people’s tolerance of differences, reduce extreme attitudes, and decrease extreme behaviors. Here we hypothesize that dialectical thinking reduces aggressive tendencies, which is often initiated by differences and fueled by extreme attitudes. We initiate a new line of research on whether dialectical thinking affects people’s aggression level.
    The present research examines the impact of dialectical thinking on aggressive behavior. In particular, we sought to provide the first test of a new mechanism by which dialectical thinking might reduce aggressive tendencies. Study 1 is a correlation study. We measured both dialectical thinking tendencies and aggressive tendencies. In Study 2 and Study 3, we primed participants with dialectical thinking and examined their choices of weapon in a bear-shooting game. We want to see whether increased dialectical tendencies are associated with reduced aggressive tendencies.
    In Study 1, participants with dialectical thinking tendencies, measured by a dialectical thinking assessment scale (Chiu, 2000), tended to express themselves in a nonaggressive way, as measured by the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (Buss & Perry, 1992). In Study 2, compared with the control group, participants who had been primed with dialectical thinking selected less bullets and weaker weapons in the bear-shooting game. In Study 3, we replicated the findings of the Study 2 with a modified dialectical thinking prime. A mediation analysis showed that the priming effect of reducing aggressive tendencies was mediated by increasing the dialectical thinking. Taken together, results showed that dialectical thinking leads to reduced aggression.
    This research documents that dialectical thinking reduces aggressive tendencies. It is possible that trainings in dialectical thinking can help people control their aggressive urges and reduce violence in the societal level. The research constitutes an initial step toward establishing dialectical thinking as a potential mechanism to fight against aggression and restore interpersonal and societal harmony.
    Related Articles | Metrics
    The Effects of Sanction and Social Value Orientation on Trust and Cooperation in Public Goods Dilemmas
    WANG Pei,CHEN Li
    2011, 43 (01):  52-64. 
    Abstract ( 1933 )  
    Sanctioning systems in social dilemmas are often discussed to increase trust in others and to increase cooperation. Yamagishi (1986a, 1986b, 1992) showed that people tended to favor the introduction of a sanctioning system when there was little trust that other people would cooperate. The trust positively relates to cooperation (De Cremer et al., 2001). This suggests a sanctioning system may increase cooperation by increasing trust in others. However, findings outside social dilemma research argued that a sanctioning system can decrease trust that others are internally motivated to cooperate (De Dreu et al, 1998). If a sanctioning system decreased trust in others, would the sanctioning negatively affect cooperation with others? Given this, this paper is to explore the relationship of sanction, trust and cooperation by “Removing the Sanction” paradigm and a measurement of social value orientation.
    This paper examined the effects of a sanction on the trust and cooperation in public goods dilemma, including two experiments. In the first experiment, 76 participants were randomly assigned to the two conditions. The level of the trust and cooperation for the participants in the two conditions (sanction versus no-sanction) were compared after removing the sanction. 126 participants were measured by social value orientation, and 96 participants were chosen including 48 pro-socials and 48 individualists who were randomly assigned to three conditions including no sanction, mild sanction and severe sanction in the second experiment. After removing the mild sanction and severe sanction respectively, the paper compared the trust and cooperation of pro-socials with participants who had not gone through sanction. The same procedure had been done with individualists.
    The main conclusions are as follows: participants who have experienced the presence of the sanction trust that another group member would cooperate less than participants who have not. The former cooperates less than the latter. The negative effect of the former presence of the sanction on cooperation is mediated by the trust in phase 2.
    This study has important implications in the practice of organization management. In some organizations, when the trust in others is of initially high degree, a sanction installing can undermine this trust and consequently undermine cooperation after removing the sanction. When the degree of trust in others is initially low, it’s essential to install a sanction in order to increase cooperation with each other.
    Related Articles | Metrics
    Effects of Trait Coping Styles and Emotional Display Rules on Emotional Labor Strategies
    LIN Chuan,HUANG Min-Er
    2011, 43 (01):  65-73 . 
    Abstract ( 1976 )  
    Emotional labor is likely to occur when one’s feeling differed from situational demands in service working setting. Two basic emotional labor strategies (e.g., surface acting and deep acting)have been intensely investigated and demonstrated on diverse implications for personnel mental health. Deep acting would activate more cognitive and emotional energy than surface acting so as to have a contribution on better self-authentic feeling and less emotional exhausted. However, literatures demonstrate that emotional display rules have different effects on emotional labor strategies but conclusions are inconsistent. The present study aimed to explore how Trait Coping Styles which reflect the coping aspects of personality in responding to stressful situations interact with Emotional Display Rules from professional & organizational demands and then affect strategies of emotional labor in some degree.
    The study was conducted by a 2×3 design experiment. The subjects were selected by Trait Coping Styles Scale (Jiang, 1999) and grouped as Trait Positive Coping Style (n=54) and Trait Negative Coping Style (n=51). Each group was further randomly divided into 3 subgroups, namely positive display rule, negative display rule and control condition (no display rule). Emotional display rules were manipulated by instructions before an emotional work task (a public speech). The experiment arranged a memory task to elicit tense mood before the experiment to facilitate more emotional labor in the speech. Subjective emotional experiences at three points (e.g., before and after the memory task, after the speech) were recorded accordingly. Emotional labor strategies in speech were reported after the speech. MANOVA statistic method was employed to test the effects of the experiment. The results indicated: (1) Comparing to Negative Coping group, Positive Coping group reported stronger deep acting, and less surface acting just under condition of Positive Display Rule. (2) Comparing to control group, Positive and Negative Display Rule Groups reported stronger emotional labor both deep and surface acting. Further more, Positive Coping Group reported less surface acting under Positive rule, and Negative Coping Group reported more surface acting under Positive Rule. (3) Stronger positive emotions in Trait Positive Coping Group and stronger negative emotions in Trait Negative Coping may explain well on the main effect of the Traits and the interacting effects of The Traits and the Rules upon emotional labor strategies.
    The study suggests that Trait Positive Coping Style may be considered as an adaptive trait for working in emotional-labor-intense industries setting. Positive display rule fits well with the people of higher in Trait Positive Coping Style and negative display rule fits well with the people of higher in Trait Negative Coping Style. The study may be applied in working of personnel management (e.g., recruitment and psychological training) in emotional-labor- intense industry settings.
    Related Articles | Metrics
    The Peer Group as a Social and Cultural Context: Influence on Socioemotional Functioning in Chinese Children
    CHEN Bin-Bin,LI Dan,CHEN Xinyin,CHEN Feng
    2011, 43 (01):  74-91. 
    Abstract ( 2047 )  
    The experience of peer interaction is a unique context for development. Peer social cluster is one of the important forms of interpersonal interaction at the group level. As a social and cultural context, the peer group plays a significant and particular role in children’s social development. The process of social transition in China makes it possible for children of different social and cultural backgrounds to interact with each other in the same class. At the same time, they form peer groups with different social and cultural norms, which serve as a basis for the interpretation of particular social behaviors. Therefore, it is important to explore group background in the study of peer influence on individual socioemotional functioning.
    The purpose in the current study was to explore, using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), the peer group as a context for the socialization of children’s social competencies. In this one-year longitudinal study, 898 children from grade 3 to grade 5 were recruited from a suburban elementary school in Nantong, Jiangsu Province. Among them, there were 36.5 % urban children, 48.8 % rural children, and 10.4 % migrant children in the first year. In both first and second years, children were asked to provide peer nominations for sociable, prosocial, and assertive behaviors, and to complete the Social Cognitive Map (SCM) measure.
    The analyses revealed several major results. First, at the individual level, group members had significantly higher scores on sociability, prosociality, assertiveness, and peer acceptance than did nonmembers. Urban children had significantly higher scores on assertiveness than did both rural and migrant children. The analysis also revealed a significant interaction between gender and background on prosociality. Second, peer groups were highly homogenous on social competences. Most children chose cross-background peers to form peer groups. Third, peer groups had significant main effects on socioemotional characteristics, except for prosocial behavior, over one year. Finally, to some extent, group social and cultural backgrounds moderated the group socialization function. Rural-urban groups had stronger effects on the development of sociability than did rural-migrant groups, while rural peer groups had stronger effects on the development of assertiveness than did urban peer groups.
    Related Articles | Metrics
    Influence of Category Learning in Feature Predicting When Categories Are Uncertain
    LIU Zhi-Ya,MO Lei
    2011, 43 (01):  92-100. 
    Abstract ( 1422 )  
    This paper studies how feature prediction is influenced by two types of category learning at uncertain classifying circumstance. One type of learning is stimulus by stimulus and another is category by category. Anderson (1991) provided a Bayesian analysis on feather predicting when categories are uncertain. For each object containing features F and each category k, one can predict the presence of a novel feature j by using the formula: P(j\F) =Σk P(k\F)·P(j\k). That is, one calculates for the object how likely it is to be in each category k and how likely that category is to contain the property in question. Then one sums across all the categories in order to make the prediction. In short, this proposal is that people use multiple categories to make predictions when the categorization is uncertain. Murphy & Ross (1994) argued that people make category-based inductions basing on only one category, even when they are not certain that the object is in that category. They found that even if participants give a fairly low rating of their confidence in the category it does not lead them to use multiple categories at making prediction. That is, one can predict the presence of a novel feature j by using the formula: P(j\F) =P(k\F)·P(j\k).
    The experiments used the learning-transfer-paradigm which has three phases: learning phase, filler phase and transfer phase. 244 participants took part in two experiments. In experiment 1, participants stopped learning until they completed 4 blocks (64 trials), and in experiment 2 until they reached an accuracy of combination of 80%. In learning phase there were two learning ways: one was stimulus by stimulus (experiment 1b and 2b) and another was categories by categories (experiment 1a and 1b) and participants reacted basing on conditions and received feedback from tester. In transfer phase participants conducted same task as learning phase except that no feedback was given during transfer.
    The results in experiment 1a and 2a showed that in category by category learning way the neutral condition was rated 78% and 71.4%, comparing to 83.3% and 76.9% for the adding condition. The difference between two conditions was not significant and “t” equal to -0.43 and 0.424, p>0.05. The results in experiment 1b and 2b showed that in stimulus by stimulus learning way the neutral condition was rated 77.4% and 78.8%, comparing to 68.8% and 81.6% for the adding condition. The difference between these conditions was significant and “t” equal to 2.21 and 1.77, p <0.05.
    The study demonstrated that two ways of category learning led to different category representations: in way of learning category by category participants tended to focus on information of single category and their subsequent prediction conformed to the formula: P(j\F) = P(k\F)·P(j\k). Whereas in way of learning stimulus by stimulus participants tended to focus on information of multiple categories, and their subsequent prediction conformed to the formula: P(j\F) =Σk P(k\F)·P(j\k). This observation is part of general trend that is concerned with how category learning influences category representation.
    Related Articles | Metrics
    Ding Weiliang and His Xing Xue Ju Yu in the History of Modern Chinese Psychology
    YAN Shu-Chang
    2011, 43 (01):  101-110. 
    Abstract ( 1672 )  
    Xing Xue Ju Yu 性学举隅 (Introduction to psychology) was written by the American missionary Ding Weiliang (W. A. P. Martin). As one of the earliest books on psychology written in Chinese, it was published in 1898. This book contains three prefaces written by Qing premier Li Hongzhang, Luo Shanzhi and Ding, which was written in a form of question and answer. It contains a brief outline, with fifteen chapters in the first volume named Ling Cai 灵才, and fourteen chapters in the second volume named Xin De 心德. In this publication on psychology, Ding introduced the state-of-the-art psychological knowledge in the West, largely in the field of physiological psychology, along with some psychological theories, such as hypnotism and phrenology.
    Ding and his Xing Xue Ju Yu were important to the development of modern psychology in China. His works on psychology and other related persons and events constructed a historical sketch on the development of modern Chinese psychology during the second half of 19th century. The completion of Xing Xue Ju Yu was benefited from Luo Shanzhi and Ji Ce’ao, both of whom graduated from Tengchow College. The college was founded by Di Kaowen (C. W. Mateer) and was the earliest school to offer courses on psychology. Psychological courses (named as Xin Ling Xue 心灵学 in Chinese) were introduced in Tengchow College in 1876. With abundant knowledge in psychology, the two graduates were successful in helping Ding to complete this psychological text written in Chinese. Ding greatly appreciated their work of embellishment.
    Ding was prepared to write a textbook on psychology for the School and Textbook Series Committee (Chinese name was Yi Zhi Shu Hui 益智书会) , which was founded in Shanghai in May 1877 on the General Conference of Protestant Missionaries of China. However, his other heavy translating works hindered its completion. The first volume of Xin Ling Xue translated by Yan Yongjing from Joseph Haven’s Mental Philosophy was published by the School and Textbook Series Committee in 1889. Both Ding and Yan were members of the committee. Thus, it is likely that Ding knew about Yan’s publication and even its contents. From this historical view, it can be concluded that the development of modern Chinese psychology relied on the diffusion of religion.
    Although Ding was appointed president of Jing Shi Da Xue Tang (former of Peking University), he did not directly prompt the development of psychology in this school. It was Hattori Unokichi who initially passed on knowledge in psychology in higher level education in China. He was a Japanese scholar who taught in Jing Shi Da Xue Tang since 1902. It was a turning point for modern Chinese psychology.
    Although Yan’s Xin Ling Xue was published earlier than Ding’s Xing Xue Ju Yu, there does not seem to be any sign showing the former influencing the latter. This could be caused by the differences in the goals of the two men. Ding attempted to diffuse his religious thoughts by the means of introducing psychological knowledge to Chinese. On the contrary, Yan wanted to introduce psychology to China, and emphasize the value of psychology in various fields. In order to introduce this discipline, Yan worked hard to create many psychological terms in Chinese. For Ding, in order for Chinese to understand psychology more easily, he always used indigenous Chinese language to translate psychological concepts and theories. At the same time, Ding modified some psychological thoughts of traditional Chinese culture, especially when he utilized the psychological thoughts embodied in Chinese characters to convey his psychological ideas. In addition, Yan Yongjing officially translated the word “psychology” into “Xin Cai Xue” 心才学 in 1882. This was the earliest Chinese translation of the word to be found.
    Related Articles | Metrics