Archive

30 April 2008, Volume 40 Issue 04 Previous Issue    Next Issue

---

For Selected:

Download Citations EndNote Ris BibTeX

Toggle Thumbnails

Select

The Role of Global and Local Contexts in Pronoun Comprehension GAO Bing,YANG Yu-Fang 2008, 40 (04):  381-388.  Abstract ( 1578 )   In discourse comprehension, the global and local contexts may influence the processing of words. Kintsch (1988) and Garrod et al. (2000) proposed two-stage models. They assumed that the local context influenced the processing of words at an early stage, whereas the global context played its role at the later stage of integration. Cook (2004) assumed that in the first stage of processing, a link could occur between the focal concept and the local or global contexts, depending on which one was reactivated more quickly. In the second stage, the link formed in the first stage was verified. Hess et al. (1995) suggested that the global and not the local context influenced the processing of words. When a pronoun appears in a discourse in which there are more than two antecedents, its comprehension may be influenced by the local and global contexts. Some studies (Garvey et al., 1974; Grober et al., 1978; Hirst et al., 1980; Miao Xiaochun et al., 1995, 1996a, 1996b) demonstrated that both the local and global contexts influenced pronoun comprehension. This paper explored the effects of the local and global contexts on pronoun comprehension and their relationship. Forty-six paid subjects participated in the study (18 and 24 in experiments 1 and 2, respectively). Twenty-four complex sentences were compiled, each of which contained a noun and a verbal phrase. The relationship between the noun and verbal phrases was typical or atypical. Twenty-four corresponding discourses, in which the 24 complex sentences were embedded, were then compiled, and the nouns were replaced by pronouns. Each discourse had a phrase as the local context. The global and local contexts were consistent or inconsistent with the verbal phrases. The materials were presented visually to the subjects, and they were requested to read the materials. Eye movements were recorded using a video-based eye tracker. A typicality effect was obtained in experiment 1. The results of the reading time for the interest areas suggested that the nouns wereintegrated with their typical actions more quickly than those they were integrated with their atypical actions. In experiment 2, the results of the first-run dwell time for the interest areas suggested that the global and not the local contexts produced major effects. The results of the second-run dwell time for the interest areas suggested that both the global and local contexts produced marginal major effects. The results suggested that the global contexts and not the local contexts influenced pronoun comprehension at the early stage, while the local contexts influenced it at the later stage Related Articles | Metrics

Select

Color Concepts and Their Organization in the Case of Blind Children ZHANG Ji-Jia,DANG Yu-Xiao,ZHANG Yu-Zhi,WANG Hui-Ping,LUO Guan-Hai 2008, 40 (04):  389-401.  Abstract ( 2285 )   The relation between color cognition and color terms is a popular issue in the domain of language cognition. Until now, three theories have emerged: (1) the general evaluation theory of color terms, which asserts that color terms and color cognition are independent; (2) the hypothesis of linguistic reality, which declares that color terms affect color cognition; and (3) a compromised view, which integrates the previous two views. Almost all earlier studies have been conducted on sighted subjects. The dearth of studies on blind people could possibly be explained by people’s belief that the blind cannot see colors. Using the methods of testing of color concepts and classification of color words, this study investigated the understanding and organization of the color words of blind children. The materials were 11 basic Chinese color terms: black, white, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, palm, grey, and pink. The color terms were printed on cards, using Braille. The subjects were 85 blind children, out of which 63 were born blind and 22 were turned blind after birth. Further, 55 of the subjects were primary school pupils, and 30 were middle school pupils. The experiment involved two stages: In the first stage, the subjects were asked to name colors by touching the cards on which the Braille color words were printed and to provide some examples with regard to that color from their daily life; in the second stage, they were asked to sort the color cards into groups according to their own standards. The results were as follows. First, the order of the color concepts that the blind children got through in the test were similar to the order of the color naming by the sighted children; however there also existed differences. Second, in the semantic spaces of the color words, both the blind and sighted children manifested “colorness/colorlessness” dimensions; while the sighted children manifested the “cold color/warm color” dimension, the blind children manifested the “things’ color/setting color” dimension. Third, the organization of the blind children’s color concepts was characterized by thematic associations and slot-filler associations, these kinds of relations being based on the individuals’ knowledge and experience, thereby emphasizing the functions of things, contexts, and the relations of events. The findings of the study were as follows: (1) there were similarities as well as differences between the order of the color concepts that the blind children got through in the test and the order of the color naming by the sighted children, and (2) the blind children manifested the “colorness/colorlessness” and “things’ color/setting color” dimensions in their semantic space of color words, and the organization of the color concepts of blind children was characterized by thematic associations and slot-filler associations Related Articles | Metrics

Select

The Development of Chinese Children’s Decision Making in Ultimatum and Dictator Games ZHU Li-Qi,HUANGFU Gang,Monika KELLER ,MOU Yi,CHEN Dan-Zhi 2008, 40 (04):  402-408.  Abstract ( 1273 )   There are few studies on how Chinese children make decisions. By using the ultimatum game (UG) and dictator game (DG), previous studies in Western countries found that children offer more as they grow older—in other words, they become increasingly inclined toward fairness. Several studies showed that Chinese children may have a different trajectory with regard to social cognition and social development due to cultural differences. Hence, we hypothesized that Chinese children may differ from their Western counterparts with regard to decision making. The study adopted the UG and DG to investigate decision-making development across different age groups among Chinese children. The participants recruited for this study were 3rd, 6th, and 8th graders, and freshmen aged 8, 11, 13 and 18 years, with 18 years as an endpoint of decision-making development. Participants were organized in groups of 3 persons, and there were around 16 groups in each age group, with an approximately equal numbers of boys and girls. In both the DG and UG, children were requested to individually make an offer to an anonymous child, and later negotiated the decision as a group of three children making an offer to an anonymous group of children. Their discussions were videotaped, and the order of the two games was counterbalanced. The results revealed that (1) in both games, most children offered much more than predicted by the economic theory, showing a preference for fairness and equality; (2) children’s offers decreased significantly by age in the UG, and these results apparently differed from those of previous studies on children in Western countries. A sex by grade effect was observed in the UG. Males offered more than the females in the 3rd grade, and in higher grades, their offers were similar to those of females. Males’ offers declined with age, while females’ offers were more stable across ages. An order effect was observed in the DG but not in the UG. When the DG was played after the UG, the age effect was similar to that in the latter, implying that children offered less as they grew older. However, when the DG was played before the UG, no significant differences were observed among the age groups. Group offers and individual offers had no significant differences in both games. The results are interpreted as follows. As they grew older, children possibly offered less in the UG due to both moral education and the social influence of the market economy. Younger children were more affected by the values of caring, sharing, and fairness that were taught in school. They were more likely to offer half their share, which revealed their tendency toward fairness. Older children offered less since they had more interaction with the market economy. It is also possible that when children grew older, they developed a better understanding of the value of money and were less willing to share it with others Related Articles | Metrics

Select

Transfer Effects of Learning through Two Varied Worked Examples on Word-problem Solving ZHANG Qi,ZHAO Hong 2008, 40 (04):  409-417.  Abstract ( 2060 )   There is disagreement with regard to the transfer effects of learning through varied worked examples. Ross (1989) found that multiple examples should be made very similar to each other; even a small difference in the surface feature could make the learner pay more attention to solving the problem. Gentner (2003) discovered that comparing examples with the same structure could prompt the learners’ transition to problem solving. Holyoak (1987) pointed out that deeper structural differences had an impact on the transfer. Based on these researches, the present study hypothesized that the variability of the surface feature of two examples could have some effect on the near transfer of pupils’ word-problem solving, and the proper variability of the structural feature of the two examples could have an impact on the far transfer of pupils’ word-problem solving. A total of 210 second-grade students from a primary school were selected using a pretest and were divided into six experimental groups and a control group. Each group learnt a word problem example. Then, the pupils of three experimental groups learned one kind of word problem example that varied from the first example with regard to the surface feature: the pupils in the first group learned a number and substance varied example; the pupils in the second group learned a story varied example; and those in the third group learned an expression varied example. The pupils in the other three experimental groups learned another kind of worked example that varied from the first problem with regard to the structural feature. The first group learned a rule varied example, the second group learned a rule repeated example; the third group, learned a rule of speed composed example. The pupils in the control group did not learn any worked example. Finally, all the pupils of the six experimental groups and the control group were given a test with 15 word problems. Three of them varied from the first example with regard to the surface feature, three of them varied from the first example with regard to the structural feature, and the others varied from the first example with regard to the surface and structural features. The experimenters recorded the pupils’ test scores. The results were as follows. First, the pupils in the control group who learned the first word problem example could solve the word problems whose example varied with regard to the surface feature, but could not solve the other word problems. Second, the pupils in the three experimental groups who learned the word problem example that varied with regard to the surface feature could solve the word problems that varied from the first example with regard to the surface feature, but could not solve the other word problems. Third, a different effect was observed for the pupils in the three experimental groups who learned the word problem example that varied with regard to the structural feature. The pupils who learned the rule parallel combined example solved more word problems than the pupils in the other groups. The pupils who learned the rule varied example solved more word problems than those who learned the rule embedding combined example. The pupils who learned the rule embedding combined example solved the fewest number of word problems. The variability of the surface feature of the two examples could have some impact on the near transfer of pupils’ word-problem solving. The rule parallel combined example had the best effect on the far transfer of the pupils’ word-problem solving. The rule varied example had a more positive effect than the rule embedding combined example on the pupils’ word-problem solving far transfer. Finally, the rule embedding combined example had the poorest effect on the far transfer of the pupils’ word-problem solving Related Articles | Metrics

Select

Children’s Relationships with Mothers and Teachers: Linkages to Problem Behavior in Their First Preschool Years ZHANG Xiao,CHEN Hui-Chang,ZHANG Gui-Fang 2008, 40 (04):  418-426.  Abstract ( 1580 )   A majority of developmental psychologists have recognized that early adult-child relationship plays an important role in children’s social development. Previous research on developmental psychopathology indicated that the mother-child relationship and teacher-child relationship both separately served as protective as well as risk factors in children’s externalizing and internalizing problems. However, less attention has been given to how the mother-child and teacher-child relationships combine to influence children’s emotional and behavioral adjustment. The aim of the present study was to investigate the separate as well as joint contributions of mother-child relationship and teacher-child relationship to children’s internalizing and externalizing problems. Furthermore, since the present study focuses on preschool beginners, it also represents a specific program to identify the possible risk and protective factors that affect children’s social adjustment during the transition from home to preschool. Based on a sample of 102 preschoolers aged 2 to 3 years and their mothers and teachers, the present study examined mother-child and teacher-child relationships in relation to these children’s internalizing and externalizing problems in their first preschool years. Hierarchical regression analysis was applied to detect the separate effects of mother-child and teacher-child relationships on children’s behavior problems as well as the moderation effect of teacher-child relationship on the relation of mother-child relationship to behavior problems. The results indicated that after controlling the effects of children’s Time 1 behavior problems, the mother-child relationship was not a significant predictor of their Time 2 behavior problems, while teacher-child conflict could negatively predict children’s Time 2 withdrawal and delinquency problems. The teacher-child relationship and child gender served to moderate the association between mother-child relationship and children’s externalizing and internalizing problems, in that a positive association between mother-child conflict and children’s aggression was found only in girls (simple slope = 0.83, t = 2.00, p < 0.05) but not in boys. A high-quality teacher-child relationship predicted negative associations between mother-child closeness and children’s withdrawal (simple slope = –0.48, t = –2.01, p < 0.05), anxiety (simple slope = –0.96, t = –2.68, p < 0.01), aggression (simple slope = –1.03, t = –2.35, p < 0.05), and delinquency (simple slope = –0.46, t = –2.37, p < 0.05) problems, while a low-quality teacher-child relationship predicted no significant associations between mother-child closeness and children’s withdrawal, aggression, and delinquency problems and a positive association between mother-child closeness and children’s anxiety problem (simple slope = 1.06, t = 3.12, p < 0.01). These findings highlight the importance of examining the continuity of adult-child relationship at home and at preschool in order to best understand children’s emotional and behavioral adjustment and of expanding the existing research on parent-child relationship by underlying the importance of teacher’s influence in the socialization process Related Articles | Metrics

Select

Adjustment of Freshman College Students: A longitudinal Study using Longitudinal Rasch Model CAO Yi-Wei,MAO Cheng-Mei 2008, 40 (04):  427-435.  Abstract ( 1232 )   University attendance is a critical transition for many late adolescents. Many researchers have argued that successful adjustment, particularly during the first year, can predict students’ academic success, mental health and personal development. Thus, it is imperative for researchers to understand how adjustment problems emerge over time and vary across different students and develop prevention and how intervention efforts aid a smooth and productive transition. However, most of the traditional longitudinal analyses just focus on the general trend of change in people with time but ignore the individual differences. Moreover, few of the longitudinal studies consider the stability of instruments. The present longitudinal study aims to better understand the overall trend and individual differences of how academic, communication, and emotional adjustments of freshmen change over time, concurrently with an assessment of the invariance of the item location. With an initial sample of 1940 participants recruited in 6 universities, the participants in the follow-up study sampled from only 1 university of the initial sample in convenience. New subjects were included in while some were lost during the following 3 waves of measurement. The final sample going to analysis comprised 1952 freshmen who were used for at least one measurement. The adjustment of freshmen had been assessed 4 times during the first year, in Oct 2005, in Feb 2005, in Apr 2006, and in Jun 2006 using the Adjustment Questionnaire of College Freshman (AQCF). With SAS GLIMMIX procedure performing the analysis, longitudinal Rasch model was used to fit the polytomous repeated-measures data. The following results were obtained: (1) Although the majority of students were well adjusted in academic study, emotion, and communication, academic transition is the most challenging for freshmen. (2) Academic and emotional adjustments had increased whereas communication adjustment declined during the first year in general. For academic adjustment has negative linear time effect and positive quadratic time effect, the change of academic adjustment over time appears a U-shape, with the lowest score at the end of the first semester. (3) There was significant variation in adjustment among freshmen on the entrance to college, but the trend of change with time was the same for all students.(4) The item locations of Academic scale were invariant over time, whereas some item locations on emotion and communication scales had changed linearly with time. Student development professionals should pay special attention to students with poor adjustment. When they provide useful guidance to those students according to their specific needs during their first year, it should be noted that academic transition was the most challenging one and the academic adjustment may drop at the end of the first semester. When researchers use the AQCF questionnaire, the stability of emotion and communication sub-scales should be considered. Although longitudinal Rasch Model is useful in many ways, it still needs more investigation to popularize it Related Articles | Metrics

Select

Team Personality Composition and Team Effectiveness: The Mediating Effects of Team Process LIN Xuan-Hui,BIAN Ran,ZHU Rui,CHE Hong-Sheng 2008, 40 (04):  437-447.  Abstract ( 2320 )   As organizations increasing usage of teams, the success of team management is vital to the survival and development of organizations. Therefore, the research on team effectiveness has gained more and more attention lately. Based on previous literature, our current study examined the mediating role of team process through which team members’ personality composition contributes to team effectiveness. Input-Process-Output (I-P-O) model was used as a key theoretical framework. With a transverse approach, this study supported the I-P-O model. Our 1341 participants were all from a large Southeastern University of China. They formed 342 short-term self-managing teams. Greenland Survival was used as the team task. The data were self-reported. Both hierarchical regression and structural equation modeling (SEM) were applied to test the hypotheses. The relationship between team personality composition and team effectiveness was mediated by team process in this transverse study, namely cooperation, cohesion and potency. This study contributes to the literature of team research in two ways. First, a large sample made it possible to analyze the mediating effect of team process between team personality composition and team effectiveness at the team level, which may enlighten team-level research in the future. Second, the I-P-O model was supported by SEM in our study, the first time with a Chinese sample. In a word, our findings showed that team personality composition significantly explains team processes and team outputs, which calls for more attention to personality factors in future team research and team management practice Related Articles | Metrics

Select

Job Insecurity, Well-Being, and Job Performance: The Role of General Self-Efficacy FENG Dong-Dong,LU Chang-Qin,SIU Oi-Ling 2008, 40 (04):  448-455.  Abstract ( 3126 )   Due to uncertain economic conditions, rapid organizational changes, advancement of technology, and other factors, job insecurity has emerged as one of the serious stressors in contemporary work life. Job insecurity refers to uncertainty about the continuation of one’s job, including cognitive job insecurity (perception regarding the likelihood of job loss or change) and affective job insecurity (fear of job loss or change). It has consistently been found that job insecurity is negatively related to job satisfaction, well-being, and job performance. According to Hofstede’s dimensions of cultural differences, job insecurity may arouse more negative consequences for Chinese employees. This study investigated the relationships among job insecurity, well-being, and job performance in Chinese societies. Moreover, it focused on the role of general self-efficacy among these processes. A self-administered questionnaire survey method was used to collect data from 513 employees and their supervisors in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chongqing, and other areas. Perception of job insecurity, general self-efficacy, job satisfaction, physical well-being, and psychological well-being were self-reported measures, whereas performance appraisals were provided by the participants’ direct supervisors. A series of hierarchical regression analyses were conducted for data analyses. The results consistently showed that job insecurity was not only negatively related to job satisfaction, physical well-being, and psychological well-being but also negatively related to supervisor-rated job performance. Further, the results also demonstrated that general self-efficacy moderated the relationships linking job insecurity to physical well-being, psychological well-being, and job performance. Nevertheless, general self-efficacy did not have any moderating effect on the relationship between job insecurity and job satisfaction. The significant moderating role of general self-efficacy on the relationship between job insecurity and job performance deserves more attention. Unexpectedly, compared to those with lower general self-efficacy, individuals with higher general self-efficacy reported lower levels of physical and psychological well-being. That is, when perceiving high levels of job insecurity, employees with high general self-efficacy reported worse well-being than those with lower general self-efficacy. It can be explained that, because the social stressor of job insecurity is uncontrollable at the individual level, employees with high self-efficacy who used to enjoy high job autonomy would perceive job insecurity as a greater hindrance. Hence, they considered this important stressor as a burden in the pursuit of achieving or maintaining high levels of job performance. The present study shows that job insecurity has become one of the serious job stressors in the current transitional period in Chinese societies. Moreover, job insecurity could have deleterious effects on employees’ well-being and job performances. In terms of practical implications, more training programs aimed at changing employees’ efficacy beliefs should be conducted, which in turn will enhance their well-being and performance at the workplace. Meanwhile, organizations should focus on both employees’ job performances and well-being in order to achieve productive and healthy work lives in the long term Related Articles | Metrics

Select

How Can a Risk Be Increased? –An Analysis of Risk Communication Channels– XIE Xiao-Fei, LI Jie,YU Qing-Yuan 2008, 40 (04):  456-465.  Abstract ( 2263 )   A risk is objective; however, its perception is subjective. This subjectivity is based on many factors (risk communication style, probability of the occurrence of risky events, etc.) with a relative stability and measurability. However, a gap exists between subjective perception and the objective risk. The psychometric paradigm proposed by Slovic is the most widely-used method to qualitatively analyze risk perception using psychometric scaling. It enables researchers to obtain dimensions that affect risk perception. Relevant researches in the field were all based on the paradigm. Findings showed that different sensory channels, information delivery channels, and types of environmental risks affected risk perception. Therefore, using the psychometric paradigm, this research aimed to explore the effects of risk communication styles and risk type on risk perception, and to determine the factors that cause individual perception to deviate from the actual situation. The participants were college students, with 178 participants in study 1 and 274 in study 2. The research combined an experimental design and a questionnaire survey, providing participants with actual environmental risk materials. The effects of different types of risks (man-made vs. natural) and image information (with vs. without pictures) were examined, with inputs from different sensory channels (in voice vs. in words) and information delivery channels on risk perception. ANOVA regression analysis with gender as the covariate and an independent sample t-test were used to analyze the data. The experimental design was used with the risk type and sensory channels as the within-subject variables and whether or not a picture was presented as the between-subject variable. Study 1 found that man-made risks aroused a higher level of risk perception than natural risks, and identical results were observed for the presentation of the image. However, the inputs from different sensory channels did not affect risk perception. In study 2, where real-life coverage of risk information by TV and Web pages were simulated, their effects on risk perception as compared with the risk type as the within-subject variable and the information delivery channel as the between-subject variable provided the result that a stronger risk perception was evoked by TV than by Web pages. The research, for the first time ever, combined a pure psychometric paradigm and actual environmental risk information. This offset the accompanying limitations when the psychometric paradigm was used alone to some extent, namely, the constraint in the participants’ freedom to generate risk characteristics themselves and an excessive reliance upon the sample and the data derived from the result. The present study offers a deeper understanding of people’s perception of the risks in real life and a better practical value in launching an effective risk communication strategy. Therefore, it is advisable to consider adopting this method in future researches. The results indicate that sensory channels did not influence risk perception. However, whether or not risk perception was affected by the presentation of a picture and the different information delivery channels has implications in actual risk communication situations. The concerned authority should resort to different and effective media through which the information conveyed is taken into account, in order to achieve the desired objective of their program in accordance with their highly specific goals Related Articles | Metrics

Select

The Effects of Flight Management Attitude on the Standardization of the Navigation Behavior of Airline Pilots YOU Xu-Qun,YAN Bi-Hua,LI Ying,GU Xiang-Hua, YANG Shi-Yun,TU Jin-Lu 2008, 40 (04):  466-473.  Abstract ( 1699 )   A Flight Management Attitude Questionnaire (FMAQ2.0, international version), developed by Helmreich and Merritt (1996), is a suitable measuring instrument for evaluating the modeling features of aviation safety culture. The three dimensions of the test are basic organizational attitude, cockpit work attitude, and flight automation attitude. The Line/LOS Error Checklist (Version 6.0), also designed and revised by Helmreich and his colleagues (1999), is a worksheet for the assessment of human factors skills in order to manage external threat events and cockpit crew errors. In this questionnaire, the navigation behavioral markers (NBM) of airline pilots are considered as the most important index for the standardization of navigation behavior. The objective of the present study was to (1) test the appropriateness of FMAQ2.0 in Chinese, and (2) explore the effect and mechanisms of the three variables in FMAQ2.0 on navigation behavior, and construct and test an explicative model of aviation safety culture in enabling the standardization of the navigation behavior of airline pilots. Two scales measuring both the modeling features of aviation safety culture and the standardization of navigation behavior were administered to 426 male airline pilots. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the reliability and validity of FMAQ2.0 in study 1. Further, in study 2, a structural equation model (LISREL8.50) was adopted to analyze the data. The results indicated the following: (1) Confirmatory factor analysis of the three-dimensional FMAQ2.0 was the best fit of data, and the reliability analyses and construct validity tests validated the fact that the three main dimensions of FMAQ2.0 met the individual psychometrical diagnostic standard. (2) Trust in the organization and job satisfaction, which were included under basic organizational attitude, predicted the flight automation and cockpit work attitudes, respectively, but did not predict navigation behavior directly. However, the path coefficients relating the flight automation and cockpit work attitudes to navigation behavior were greatly significant. The results of this study supported the adaptability of FMAQ2.0 for Chinese airline pilots. In addition, the study provided partial support for the hypothesized model, in that the general organizational attitude did not directly predict the standardization of navigation behavior. Furthermore, the cockpit work and flight automation attitudes were found to be two important mediators of the relationship between the general organizational attitude and standardization of navigation behavior. The study aims to identify the mechanisms by which several factors related to aviation safety culture contribute to hazardous attitudes that influence the standardization of safe navigation behaviors among airline pilots. Further, it aims to provide a basis for the aviation industry to assess aviation safety culture and establish an appropriate CRM training system while considering the Chinese cultural background Related Articles | Metrics

Select

The Relationship between Sex-role and Subjective Well-being in China CAI Hua-Jian,HUANG Xuan-Feng,SONG Hai-Rong 2008, 40 (04):  474-486.  Abstract ( 3213 )   Since the development of the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) in 1974, numerous studies have been devoted to sex role. Among these studies, the relation of sex-role to psychological well-being has received the most attention. To date, three theories regarding the utility of sex-roles have been proposed: the congruency model, the androgyny model, and the masculinity model. The congruency model posits that masculinity facilitates male’s mental health but not female’s while femininity facilitates female’s well-being but not male’s. Androgyny model states that people with high levels of both masculinity and femininity enjoy the highest level of well-being independent of their gender. Masculinity model holds that masculinity is the dominant factor that promotes one’s psychological well-being. Since most related studies have been done in individualistic cultures, the present study aims to test the generality of the findings in a collectivistic culture, China, by examining the relation of sex-role to subjective well-being. Sex-role was measured by a Chinese version of the BSRI(for masculine subscale, =0.86; for feminine subscale, =0.82); Subjective Well-Being was measured by scale developed by Diener and his colleagues (1985)(for the Satisfaction with Life Scale(SWLS), =0.85; for the Positive Affections and Negative Affections Scale(PANAS), =0.85). Both scales were rated on a 7-point likert scale. A total of 1242 college students completed the above mentioned two scales online among which 394 were male and 848 were female. The age of the sample ranged from 17 to 25 with a mean of 20.88 (SD=1.46). Chinese college students scored higher on feminine scale than on masculine scale, confirming the collectivistic characteristics of Chinese culture. Two hierarchical regression analyses were conducted with sex, masculinity and femininity as predictors and SWL and PANAS as criteria, respectively. Results demonstrated that the main effects of sex, masculinity and femininity were significant, but none of the interactions were significant. This suggests that the addictive androgyny model is most appropriate in explaining the relation of sex-role to subjective well-being in Chinese culture. Currently, the traditional congruency model is not applicable to neither Western nor Eastern cultures. However, a masculine sex role is ideal in western world while androgyny is ideal in China, suggesting differences exist across cultures in ideal sex-role type. The study also suggests that findings of sex role related research based on a western sample should not be assumed to generalize to other cultures without further examination Related Articles | Metrics

Select

The Role of Genuine Intimacy in the Lover-Reference Effect ZHOU Li,SU Yan-Jie 2008, 40 (04):  487-495.  Abstract ( 1684 )   Experiments involving the self-reference effect paradigm have yielded inconsistent results on the question of whether an individual’s self-construal includes intimate others. The aim of this study was to investigate whether genuine intimacy plays a role in the lover-reference effect, and to explore the influences of assumed intimacy and gender on the lover-reference effect. We hypothesized that the lover-reference effect would be apparent in the participants’ R (Remember) scores but not in their K (Know) scores. The study included 68 participants currently involved in romantic relationships (33 females, 35 males; age M = 22.5 years, range 19–28 years; length of relationship M = 14.89 months, range 0.5–54 months). A 4 (orienting tasks: self, lover, LuXun, semantic) × 2 (genuine intimacy: high, low) × 2 (assumed intimacy: high, low) × 2 (gender: male, female) mixed design was used. The procedure consisted of three parts. Part one involved four orienting tasks. During each task, participants were asked to provide Yes/No judgments about reference objects, using the trait-adjective word displayed on a computer screen. Part two comprised a surprise recognition test including R/K judgments. In part three, participants were asked to complete the Genuine Intimacy Scale and Assumed Intimacy Scale. A repeated measure MANOVA on the R scores revealed a significant interaction between genuine intimacy and orienting tasks, such that the group with a high degree of genuine intimacy showed a lover-reference effect, while that with a low degree of genuine intimacy did not: F (3, 102) = 2.71, p < 0.05, η2 = 0.07. A significant interaction was also found between gender and orienting tasks, such that females showed a lover-reference effect and males did not: F (3, 102) = 5.82, p < 0.01, η2 = 0.15. There was no significant interaction between assumed intimacy and referential condition: F (3, 102) = 1.89, p > 0.05, η2 = 0.05. The K scores revealed no significant results. These results support the hypothesis that the lover-reference effect is influenced by genuine intimacy, and that there is a gender difference in the lover-reference effect. The lover-reference effect was only reflected in the participants’ R scores and was not significantly influenced by assumed intimacy. Based on these results, the authors suggest that future research related to the inclusion of intimate others in an individual’s self-construal should consider genuine intimacy and gender Related Articles | Metrics

Select

A Quantitative Analysis on the Retirement Awareness and Psychological State of Chinese Athletes WANG Jin 2008, 40 (04):  496-506.  Abstract ( 2237 )   Previous research on athlete retirement in China has often focused on non-psychological factors and treated athlete retirement as an incident. Based on the theoretical process of athlete retirement, this study is designed to explore retirement awareness, for which athletes are divided into different groups based on the duration of their involvement with athletics, and also to examine the psychological state of athletes and retired athletes. Our survey on retirement awareness covered 789 athletes (540 athletes and 249 retired athletes); it included questions pertaining to athlete identity and preparation for retirement and a questionnaire on their psychological states, including their satisfaction with life, the appraisal of personal relationships, self-evaluation, social support, the anxiety of life, and loneliness. Quantitative analyses were conducted on these variables using a MANOVA and a correlation analysis. The results of the MANOVA showed that retired athletes reported a lower level of life anxiety and more loneliness than non-retired athletes; athletes who had been retired for one-year reported less social support as compared with other retired athletes. Further, athletes who had intentions to retire reported a lower level of athlete identity, a higher level of preparation for retirement, and higher negative psychological state than those who did not intend to retire. The correlation analyses showed a significant negative relationship between age and athlete identity (r = –0.14, p < 0.01), a significant positive relationship between age and preparation for retirement (r = 0.20, p < 0.01), a significant positive relationship between the training duration and preparation for retirement (r = 0.16, p < 0.01), and a significant negative relationship between the training duration and social support (r = –0.18, p < 0.01). The findings of this study provide quantitative psychological data pertaining to athlete retirement in China and suggest that retirement counseling and social support are useful to athletes when they intend to retire Related Articles | Metrics