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The temporal courses of word frequency effect and syllable frequency effect of Chinese handwritten production in the old: An ERP study HE Jieying, ZHANG Qingfang 2017, 49 (12):  1483-1493.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2017.01483 Abstract ( 3142 )    A central issue in written production concerns how phonological codes influence the output of orthographic codes. The obligatory phonological mediation hypothesis assumes that the retrieval of an orthographic representation was entirely dependent on the prior retrieval of phonological codes. By contrast, the orthographic autonomy hypothesis assumes that individuals can gain access to orthographic representation directly from meaning without phonological mediation. In a picture names writing task, we used the event-related potential (ERP) technique to examine the time course of the word frequency facilitation effect and the syllable frequency facilitation effect in Chinese handwritten production in the old. Twenty-two participants (10 males, age range: 64~81 years) participated in this study. Sixty black and white line drawings with monosyllabic words were chosen as stimuli. The experimental design included word frequency of picture names (high vs. low) and syllable frequency of picture names (high vs. low) as within-participants and between-items variables. During the experiment, participants were instructed to write picture names as fast and accurately as possible. Behavioral data indicated the facilitation effects of word frequency and syllable frequency. Writing latencies were faster in picture names with high word frequency than those with low word frequency. Similarly, writing latencies were faster in picture names with high syllable frequency than those with low syllable frequency. There was no significant interaction between word frequency and syllable frequency for behavioral data. ERP data indicated that: (1) in the time window of 200~300 ms after pictures onset, we found independent word frequency effect and syllable frequency effect. The interaction between two variables was absent. (2) in the time window of 300~600 ms after pictures onset, we found the interaction between word frequency and syllable frequency, and distinct map distributions for both effects. (3) the onset latencies of word frequency and syllable frequency effects were 212 ms and 238 ms, respectively. We therefore suggest that the early word frequency effect may originate from the retrieval of orthographic information in the orthographic lexicon, while the early syllable frequency effect may originate from the retrieval of phonological information in the phonological lexicon. The syllable frequency, as a type of phonological information, influences the relatively late stage of written production. Our findings thus provide evidences for the orthography autonomy hypothesis, rather than the phonological mediation hypothesis. Related Articles | Metrics

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Cognitive style has strong influence on ambiguity resolution in sentence processing: Evidences from eye-movement tracking HE Wenguang, ZHAO Xiaojing, SHEN Lanyu 2017, 49 (12):  1494-1503.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2017.01494 Abstract ( 2180 )    Sentences such as “Someone shot the servant of the actress who is on the balcony” were ambiguous, because the internal clause “who is on the balcony” was either attached to the non-local noun phrase “the servant”, which is called high attachment preference, or attached to the local noun phrase “the actress”, which is called low attachment preference. Currently available evidences in the literature demonstrated considerable cross-linguistic differences in relative clause attachment preferences in on-line and off-line processing. Different models of ambiguity resolution have been suggested to explain the cross-linguistic relative clause attachment preference. One of the most widely accepted accounts of attachment preference were the Parameter Variation Model developed by Gibson (1996), which held that ambiguity resolution in sentence processing was guided by two principles: Recency and Predicate proximity. Investigating the mechanism of ambiguity resolution in sentence processing is more helpful for exploring the inner processing mechanism of human language. 170 participants were sampled for our experiment. Using off-line subjective ratings and eye-movement tracking, this paper investigated the influence of cognitive style on the preference of syntactic ingredients attachment by comparing two groups of participants’ performances of ambiguity resolution in sentences processing. One group was identified with the field dependence in cognitive style, while the second group was the field independence. They were all native speakers with normal or corrected to normal insight, right handed. Materials used in the study were classified into three categories: sentence with ambiguity in attachment, sentence with high attachment preference, and sentence with low attachment preference. The results from off-line study showed that, in Chinese, readers preferred to attach the segments to the final noun phrase in sentence. In particular, this preference was not varied with the variation of the experimental materials. Results from the eye-movement tracking study showed that, cognitive style has significant impacts on the methods used to resolve the ambiguity in attachment. Specifically, readers with dependent cognitive style have more difficulties in resolving the ambiguity at regions of NP2, which was reflected in eye-movement indexes, such as the first fixation, the first run duration, the regression duration, and the total time. Additionally, we found significant differences in the three types of sentence processing. In general, sentences with ambiguity in attachment were most difficult to comprehend, and sentences with low attachment preference were easiest to process. In sum, participants with independent cognitive styles have more difficulties in resolving the ambiguities in syntactic ingredients attachment. Two opinions regarding the difficulties in ambiguity resolution for participants with independent cognitive styles were suggested. One argued that individuals with independent cognitive styles were inferior in inhibiting interference from other syntactic fragments in sentence processing. The other taught that the limited capacity in working memory was the key factor to impede individuals with independent cognitive styles to address syntactic ambiguity resolution with success. Related Articles | Metrics

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Fairness cognition-behavior gap in 4~8 year-old children: The role of social comparison LIU Wen, ZHANG Xue, ZHANG Yu, YU Ruiwei 2017, 49 (12):  1504-1512.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2017.01504 Abstract ( 4721 )   PDF (461KB) ( 195 )    Fairness is a comprehensive strategy that takes into consideration of self-interest and other people's interests. The development of fairness norms, that is, using certain rules to distribute resources among different agents, includes two levels: the cognitive level, understanding fairness norms, and the behavioral level, applying fairness rules. Young children endorse fairness norms related to resource distribution, but often act in contradiction to those norms when given a chance to distribute. While currently most research focuses on children's fairness cognition or behavior, the phenomenon of children’s fairness cognition-behavior gap and its influence factors have rarely been explored in the context of a single study. Using a novel approach, the present study aims to investigate the gap of fairness cognition and behavior among 4- to 8- year-old children. The research presented here offers clear evidence of this discrepancy and goes on to examine possible explanations for its diminution with age, as well as the impact of social comparison on such resource distribution behavior. Study 1 adopted the Dictator game to examine the equity principle among 105 4~8-year-old children’s fairness cognition and behavior, and compared the cognition-behavior gap. The justifications/motivations of children’s distribution behavior were also coded and analyzed. In Study 2, We replicated the findings in Study 1, that children will take a cost to avoid being at a relative disadvantage, but also found that 5-to 6-year-olds would spitefully take a cost to ensure that another welfare falls below their own. We tested 80 6-year-old children, and analyzed the influence of social comparison on children’s distribution behavior, both upward and downward social comparisons considered. A variant of the Dictator Game, were used to investigate children’s behavior in different conditions. In Study 1, we found that children at this age already have developed fairness understanding, their fair distributive behavior increased with age, and the gap between cognition and behavior decreased with age. Nevertheless, they failed to engage in equal distribution until age 8. Children’s interpretations of their behavior showed a significant age-related difference from 4 to 8. As children grew older, their interpretations transitioned from focusing on desire to principle. Study 2 found that the degree of unfairness and the cost had a significant impact on the choice of distribution behavior in both the upward social comparison and downward social comparison. Under the no-cost situation, children were more inclined to avoid their own disadvantage and to favor their own favorable results. In the highly unfair situation, it was necessary to avoid being inferior to others, even if the cost was too high. The present study of children’ fairness cognition-behavior gap in a single environment contributes to the literature on moral development. The results provide some support for traditional accounts of moral development by showing that, in the course of development, children’s distribution behavior is increasingly consistent with the norm of fairness that they endorse from an early age. These results also suggest that social comparison influences children’s distribution behavior, and that the development of fairness includes overcoming an initial social comparison preference for self-advantage/disadvantaging others. Related Articles | Metrics

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Long-term effects of choice of major, social support, learning engagement on college students’ interest in their major PAN Yingqiu 2017, 49 (12):  1513-1523.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2017.01513 Abstract ( 5028 )   PDF (847KB) ( 140 )    Previous research suggested that about 40% of Chinese undergraduate students report that the majors they are studying are not congruent with their interest. To shed light on the underlying factors and processes that shape college students’ interest in their major, a longitudinal study was conducted to investigate whether and how factors including students’ initial choice of major, academic engagement (i.e., critical thinking, and time and study environment management) and social support (i.e., peer relatedness and help-seeking from teachers) in the first three years of college would shape students’ interest in their major in the third year of college. A total of 729 freshmen from a comprehensive university with high academic reputation in southern China participated in the study. 633 (305 males and 328 females) of them (87%) continued to participate in the study in the second and third years of college. The sample attrition rate for each year was about 8%. The main reason for the sample attrition was that students were not available at the time of data collection. Students from the same major program completed questionnaires in a group at a specific time in their classroom. Questionnaires were collected in the same procedure by the same experimenter in December of each year. Latent Growth Modeling was used to analyze data. It was found that students’ critical thinking as well as time and study environment management steadily decreased from Year 1 to Year 3 while peer relatedness showed an increasing pattern over the three years. It was also found that the students’ initial choice of their major and a higher level of critical thinking in the first year positively predicted students’ interest in their major in the junior year. The slopes of both critical thinking and time and study environment management from Year 1 to Year 3 also showed a positive prediction to students’ interest in their major. That is, students who demonstrated a higher level of critical thinking or were better in time and study environment management from Year 1 to Year 3 were more interested in their major in the junior year. Help seeking from teachers in the junior year also had a positive contribution to students’ interest in their major. In short, college students’ initial choice of major, critical thinking, time and study environment management, and help seeking from teachers are critical for college students’ interest in their major. College students’ deceasing critical thinking and time and study environment management is worthy of attention for researchers and educators in higher education institutes. Related Articles | Metrics

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Mobile phone addiction and sleep quality in adolescents: Mediation and moderation analyses LIU Qingqi, ZHOU Zongkui, NIU Gengfeng, Fan Cuiying 2017, 49 (12):  1524-1536.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2017.01524 Abstract ( 14420 )   PDF (852KB) ( 2652 )    Mobile phones have integrated into people’s daily lives. Proper mobile phone use would help individuals meet diverse needs in learning and shopping, as well as in recreation and communication. However, the problem that more and more people are getting addicted to mobile phones has been salient. Studies have revealed that mobile phone addiction would bring about significant adverse impacts on mental health such as depression, anxiety, and even suicidal ideation. Poor sleep quality is also one of the major undesirable outcomes of mobile phone addiction. Research documented that mobile phone addiction significantly predicted sleep quality, and sleep quality deteriorated with increasing level of mobile phone addiction. Prior studies have focused mainly on the direct association between mobile phone addiction and sleep quality, however, little is known about the underlying mediating mechanism (i.e. how mobile phone addiction influences sleep quality) and moderating mechanism (i.e. when mobile phone addiction influences sleep quality). To address these gaps, the present study constructed a moderated mediation model to examine the effect of mobile phone addiction on sleep quality in adolescents since both the use rate of mobile phone and the occurrence rate of mobile phone addiction are very high among adolescents. Specifically, the present study would examine the mediating role of affect balance in the relation between mobile phone addiction and sleep quality of adolescents, and test whether the direct effect and the indirect effect would be moderated by rumination and mindfulness. A sample of 1258 high school students completed a battery of self-report questionnaires measuring their mobile phone addiction, sleep quality, affect balance, rumination and mindfulness. All the measures showed good reliability and validity in the present study. Data were analyzed using SPSS 17.0 and the SPSS macro PROCESS which was specifically developed for assessing the complex models including both mediators and moderators. The results were as followings: (1) After controlling for gender and grade, mobile phone addiction significantly exerted direct effect on sleep quality and indirect effect on sleep quality through the mediation of affect balance. (2) Both the direct effect of mobile phone addiction on sleep quality and the indirect effect of affect balance were moderated by rumination, and these two effects were stronger in adolescents with high level of rumination. (3) Both the direct effect and the indirect effect of were moderated by mindfulness, and these two effects were weaker in adolescents with high level of mindfulness. The present study highlights the mediating role of affect balance and the moderating role of rumination and mindfulness in the effect of mobile phone addiction on sleep quality. It may contribute to a better understanding of the effects as well as its paths and conditions of mobile phone addiction on sleep quality of adolescents. Moreover, it can also provide constructive suggestions for protecting and improving affect balance and sleep quality of adolescents in the mobile Internet era. Related Articles | Metrics

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Influence of regulatory focus and regulatory fit on impact biases in affective forecast GENG Xiaowei, JIANG Hongyi 2017, 49 (12):  1537-1547.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2017.01537 Abstract ( 1772 )    Our minor and major decision are often dependent on our predictions of how pleasant or unpleasant these events would make us feel, that is, our affective forecasts (Wilson & Gilbert, 2003). People overestimate the intensity and duration of their affective reactions to the event in focus, which is called the impact bias (Wilson & Gilbert, 2003). Most previous studies have focused on the cognitive sources of impact bias and the individual differences in impact bias. However, few studies have shed light on the motivated underpinnings of impact bias. The present research examined people’s overestimation of the hedonic impact of future events as a form of self -regulation. That is, sometimes people use impact bias to motivate themselves to actualize their goals. Thus, based on the self-regulatory theory, this study aimed to explore the effects of regulatory focus and regulatory fit on the impact biases. The hypotheses were: (i) in forecasting positive affect, individuals with promotive focus would show greater impact bias than those with preventive focus (H1a); (ii) in forecasting negative affect, individuals with preventive focus would show greater impact bias than those with promotive focus (H1b); (iii) regulatory fit would induce impact bias (H2). In Experiment 1, we examined the influences of regulatory focus on impact biases in forecasting positive affect. A total of 61 undergraduates were randomly divided into 2 conditions, specifically, promotive focus priming and preventive focus priming. They were then asked to finish a discriminability test. Before the test, they predicted the happiness of success in the test. After the test, they were told that they had succeeded in the test, and were asked to report their actual happiness of success in the test. Independent-sample t-test showed that participants with promotive focus overestimated the pleasant of success in discriminability test more than those with preventive focus. In Experiment 2, we tested the influences of regulatory focus on impact biases in forecasting negative affect. Participants’ predominant predisposition for a promotion or prevention state was measured first before they performed a memory task. Before the task, they predicted how happy they would be after a failure in the test. Then, they were told that they failed in the memory test and were asked to evaluate how happy they were. Independent-sample t-test showed that participants with preventive focus overestimated the unhappiness of failure in memory test more than those with promotive focus. In Experiment 3, we tested the influence of regulatory fit on impact biases in forecasting negative affect by 2 (Regulatory focus: promotion vs prevention) × 2 (Strategy: eagerness vs vigilance) between-subject design. A total of 120 undergraduates were randomly divided into 4 groups and were asked to finish a memory test. Before the test, they predicted the unhappiness of failure in the test. After the test, they were told that they had failed in the test, and were asked to report their actual unhappiness of the failure in the test. The results showed that participants overestimate the unhappiness of failure in memory test in the condition of regulatory fit more than in the regulatory non-fit condition. In Experiment 4, we tested the effect of regulatory fit on impact bias in forecasting positive affect. A total of 128 undergraduates were randomly divided into 4 groups and were asked to finish a finding differences test. Before the test, they predicted how happy they would be after the success in the test. After the test, they were told that they had succeeded in the test, and were asked to report their actual happiness of the success. The results showed that participants overestimate the happiness in the condition of regulatory fit more than regulatory non-fit condition. The present research investigated the motivated underpinning of impact bias based under the theory of self-regulatory, which helps our further understanding of the mechanism of impact bias. In addition, it can also help us to manage the improvement of the work engagement of employees. Limitations and further research have been discussed as well. Related Articles | Metrics

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The relationship between trait anger and aggressive behavior: Based on the perspective of the integrative cognitive model HOU Lulu, JIANG Qi, WANG Huanzhen, LI Changran 2017, 49 (12):  1548-1558.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2017.01548 Abstract ( 2601 )    Based on the prior models and empirical studies, the Integrative Cognitive model (ICM) discusses the differences among individuals with different trait anger in the processes of hostile interpretation, ruminative attention and effort control in hostile situation, and explores how these differences lead to different behavioral outcomes. Based on the assumptions of ICM, the hostile cognition and anger rumination may mediate the relationship between trait anger and aggressive behavior, and hostile cognition may also predict anger rumination. Furthermore, ICM proposes that as one of effort control factors, cognitive reappraisal reduces aggressive behavior through disturbing the process of hostile cognition. Above all, we investigated whether the relationship between trait anger and aggressive behavior was mediated by hostile cognition and anger rumination, and further explored whether cognitive reappraisal moderated the relationship between hostile cognition and aggressive behavior. Furthermore, researches in the field of emotion regulation indicated that there would be different models among trait anger and aggressive behavior due to the different levels of cognitive reappraisal. Therefore, it was also our aim to expand the ICM by investigating if there were other moderating modes of cognitive reappraisal. To examine the relationship among trait anger, hostile cognition, anger rumination, cognitive reappraisal and aggressive behavior, 742 students from freshmen to junior of Southwest University were surveyed by The Trait Anger Scale (TAS), Anger Rumination Scale (ARS), Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) and The Aggression Questionnaire (AQ). The results were as follows: (1) There were significantly positive correlations among trait anger, hostile cognition, anger rumination and aggressive behavior while cognitive reappraisal was not significantly correlated with the others. (2) Hostile cognition played a partial mediation between trait anger and aggressive behavior. And hostile cognition also played a partial mediation between trait anger and anger rumination. (3) Cognitive reappraisal moderated the mediation effect of hostile cognition on aggressive behavior. Specifically, for individuals with high cognitive reappraisal, the influence of hostile cognition on aggressive behavior was lower than those with low cognitive reappraisal. (4) There were different models among trait anger and aggressive behavior due to the different levels of cognitive reappraisal. For individuals with high cognitive reappraisal, trait anger influenced aggressive behavior mainly via its own direct effect; for individuals with low cognitive reappraisal, hostile cognition and anger rumination completely mediated the relationship between trait anger and aggressive behavior. The current study is the first empirical research which provides comprehensive proof for the ICM. The mediation and moderation analysis results support the different role of hostile cognition and anger rumination between trait anger and aggressive behavior, and proved the moderation of cognitive reappraisal between hostile cognition and aggressive behavior, which is proposed by ICM. Moreover, the multiple-group analysis result expands the assumption of the role of cognitive reappraisal in ICM. This study is not only a theoretical exploration, but a noteworthy suggestion for psychological counseling that it’s better to design different intervention programs for individuals with different levels of cognitive reappraisal. Related Articles | Metrics

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The influence of moral emotions on online helping behavior: The mediating role of moral reasoning WU Peng, FAN Jing, LIU Huashan 2017, 49 (12):  1559-1569.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2017.01559 Abstract ( 4735 )   According to the dual-process model and the social intuitionist model, moral emotion is defined as a key factor in predicting moral behavior. The difference between the two models is whether moral emotion has a direct effect on moral behavior. The dual-process model points out that moral emotion directly affects moral behavior, whereas in the social intuitionist model, the effect of moral emotion on moral behavior will be mediated through moral reasoning. With the rapid development of internet and information technology, people’s psychological states and behaviors have changed dramatically. So the above distinctions between the two models can be extended to the studies on cyberpsychology and behavior. To test the two models in an network environment, the present study involved a series of experiments to examine whether moral emotion predicted online helping behavior and whether moral reasoning mediated this relation. Video materials were validated in the pilot study. A total of 120 college students evaluated the feeling of sympathy and guilt, the level of pleasure and arousal after watching one of three video materials (sympathy, guilt and neutral). In Study 1, 56 college students were recruited and randomly assigned to the “sympathy”, “guilt” or “neutral” group. Participants were asked to complete an online test after watching the relevant moral emotion video. After the testing, participants were informed that they would receive an email sent by the experimenter anonymously. In the email, participants were required to offer additional help (to fill in an online questionnaire). Participants’ online helping behavior was measured by the amount of questions that they answered. In Study 2, 233 college students were invited to participate. In addition to the same arrangement as in Study 1, participants’ moral reasoning was measured by the Prosocial Reasoning Objective Measure (PROM). The results of pilot study suggested that the “sympathy” video material led to greater sympathy and less guilty, while the “guilt” video material led to greater guilt and less sympathy. With regard to the level of pleasure and arousal, there was no significant difference between the “sympathy” video material and the “guilt” video material, whereas there was a significant difference between the “neutral” video material and the other two video materials. In Study 1, ANOVA was used to analyze the data. The results indicated that as compared to neutral emotion, sympathy and guilt aroused more online helping behaviors. However, there was no difference between sympathy and guilt. In Study 2, statistical mediation analysis with a multicategorical independent variable (recommended by Hayes and Preacher) was used in the analyses of the data. The results showed that sympathy and guilt could induce online helping behavior through the mediation effect of moral reasoning, whereas moral emotion had a direct effect on moral behavior. This study has practical and theoretical significance. Specifically, the finding suggests that the role of moral emotion in moral education, in particular as related to moral reasoning, has to be further researched. Theoretically, the present study confirms that video-prime is an effective method to explore moral emotion. Furthermore, most of the findings of the present study supports the dual-process model. Related Articles | Metrics

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Congruence in organizational support and new generation employees’ turnover intention: The mediating role of employee well-being CHENG Ken, LIN Yinghui 2017, 49 (12):  1570-1580.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2017.01570 Abstract ( 2739 )    Although abundant studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of organizational support in reducing employees’ turnover intention, some research gaps have not been fully addressed. Firstly, most of studies focused on perceived organizational support (POS) and ignored the impact of anticipated organizational support (AOS) on the formation of employees’ turnover intention. Secondly, previous studies mainly explored the mediating effect of work-related variables while little attention has been placed on the non-work aspects. Thirdly, when measuring employees’ turnover intention, very few studies considered the generational difference and focused on new generation employees. To narrow these gaps, this study aimed to examine the impact of the congruence between pre-entry and post-entry organizational support on new generation employees’ turnover intention and the mediating role of employee well-being (EWB) on this relation. Data were obtained in a three-wave questionnaire survey from two kinds of participants, namely fresh graduates and job hunters born in 1980s and 1990s. At Time 1, 408 participants were asked to rate their AOS before they joined in the organizations. After two to six months, at Time 2, 356 participants from Time 1 survey who had become formal staffs of the organizations were invited to rate their POS and EWB. After another two months, at Time 3, 293 participants who attended both Time-1 and Time-2 surveys were required to rate their turnover intention. The final valid sample consisted of 258 participants. Confirmatory factor analysis, polynomial regression with response surface analysis, and bootstrapping technique were conducted to test the research hypotheses. In line with theoretical arguments, empirical results showed that: (1) In the case of the congruence between pre-entry and post-entry organizational support, new generation employees’ turnover intention was lower when both AOS and POS were at low levels than when they were at high levels; (2) for those with pre-entry and post-entry incongruence in organizational support, new generation employees’ turnover intention would be lower when “AOS was lower than POS” than “when AOS was higher than POS”; (3) in general, the higher the congruence between pre-entry and post-entry organizational support was, the lower new generation employees’ turnover intention would be; (4) EWB partially mediated the impact of the congruence between pre-entry and post-entry organizational support on new generation employees’ turnover intention. This study contributes to the literature in three aspects. Firstly, this study focused on the combined impact of AOS and POS on turnover intention, extending the research on the relationship between organizational support and turnover intention. Secondly, this study examined the importance of EWB, highlighting it mediating role between organizational support and turnover intention. Thirdly, this study explored the new generation employees’ turnover intention, helping our better understanding of the real needs of the main force at workplace. Managerial implications, research limitations and suggestions for future studies are also discussed. Related Articles | Metrics

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The power of numbers: The influence of number magnitude in brands on consumers’ attitudes FENG Wenting, WANG Tao 2017, 49 (12):  1581-1589.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2017.01581 Abstract ( 3212 )   PDF (545KB) ( 128 )    In recent years, researchers have put much focus on the influence of number magnitude and its impact on brands and consumers’ decision making. However, past studies emphasize on number superstition, which cannot provide an integrative explanation on the effect of number magnitude in brand names. In order to close the gap, this research explores how number magnitude in brands impact consumers’ attitudes from an integrative perspective based on the space–time congruity theory. This research proposes that products with big numbers in brand names receive more favorable evaluations than products with small numbers. Last but not least, this research also identifies a boundary condition of the main effect by examining the moderating role of need for cognition. Based on three studies, the authors investigated the influence of number magnitude in brands on consumers’ attitudes. In Study 1, the researchers constructed an integrative model and verified the main effect. Study 2 was conducted by using a 2 (big, small) × 2 (high need for cognition, low need for cognition) between-subjects design to testify the moderating role of need for cognition in the relationship between number magnitude and consumers’ attitudes. Study 3 further examined the theoretical process underlying the main effect by establishing an integrative chain in the causal order of “number magnitude” to “newness perception” to “perceived value” and to “consumers’ attitudes”. The results of the present research are three-fold: to start with, number magnitude in brands will influence consumers’ attitudes. Products with big numbers in brand names receive more favorable evaluations than products with small numbers. Secondly, this research also examined the moderating effect of need for cognition on the relationship between number magnitude and consumers’ attitudes. The results proclaim that the influence of number magnitude in brands is stronger when consumers have low need for cognition (vs. high). This research also verified an integrative model of the proposed hypothesis by constructing a causal chain consisting of number magnitude to newness perception to perceived value to consumers’ attitudes. These findings enrich the theoretical value of alphanumeric brands in three ways: firstly, it focuses on the influence of number magnitude in brands on consumers’ attitudes, which reconciles conflicting research findings in this field. In doing so, this research not only identifies the boundary conditions of consumers’ attitudes for number magnitude, but also exhibits that this effect is stronger when consumers have low need for cognition (vs. high). In conclusion, this research investigates the influence of number magnitude in brands on consumers’ attitudes and provides feasible guidelines and managerial implications for companies to apply the alphanumeric brand strategy effectively. Related Articles | Metrics

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The impact of internet language copy on consumers’ attention and perceptions of the advertisement LIU Shixiong, BI Xiaopei, HE Kaibin 2017, 49 (12):  1590-1603.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2017.01590 Abstract ( 3316 )    The Internet has encouraged a dramatic expansion in the variety and creativity of language. In fact, lots of cases have emerged of using the Internet language in various commercial communication situations, such as advertisements. However, scarce research attention has been paid to the effectiveness of such practices. To fill the gap, this study explores the impact of the Internet language copy on consumers’ attention and perceptions of the advertisement based on previous researches in linguistics, psychology and marketing literature. The current research proposes that the Internet language is characterized by high level of interestingness and low level of rigorousness. The results reveal that using the Internet language copy in advertisements leads to more attention paid to the texts than to pictures, and has a positive impact on product evaluation but a negative influence on the ad trust. Two studies are conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the Internet language copy on the attentions and perceptions of advertisements. In Study 1, the researchers testify to the impact of using the Internet language copy on consumers’ attentions by using an eye-tracking experiment. Study 2 examines whether consumers’ perceptions (product evaluation and perceptions of trustworthiness) would be influenced by comparing the Internet language copy with standard language copy. The possible mediators are also explored in Study 2. The results of the present research are three-fold. The first study shows that the Internet language copy draws more attention to the text than standard language does. However, the attention paid to pictures will be decreased if the advertisement is only shown for a limited time (6 s in the experiment). The second study demonstrates that the Internet language copy has a favorable influence on product evaluation and an unfavorable influence on the ad trust. The former influence is partially mediated by the ad’s perceived interestingness, while the latter is fully mediated by the perceived rigorousness of the advertisement. The empirical findings presented not only extend the previous findings in language-related research by studying the Internet language, but also contribute to researches on marketing communication in general. Managerial implications include that the Internet language should be used in cases when firms seek to increase the product evaluations but should be avoided if the perception of trust is critical. Related Articles | Metrics

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Multidimentional Rasch Testlet Model: An Extension and Generalization of MRCMLM WEI Dan, LIU Hongyun, ZHANG Danhui 2017, 49 (12):  1604-1614.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2017.01604 Abstract ( 1355 )    Testlets have been widely used in educational assessment. It has been shown that ignoring testlet effects when analyzing response data often results in inaccurate estimates of reliability coefficients and latent trait standard errors, increased bias of item parameter estimates, inaccurate test equating, and failure to detect DIF. As such, there is increasing interest among researchers in using testlet models instead of standard item response models. Different types of testlet models have been proposed to partial out the influence of testlet factors from the estimation of latent proficiency. However, most of the previous models target testlet effects for which 1) only one latent trait is measured, and 2) each item belongs to only one testlet (between-item multidimensional). As an alternative, the two-tier model can be used to deal with multidimensional latent traits. However, the two-tier model is usually used within the framework of confirmatory factor analysis. This research extends the multidimensional random coefficients multinomial logistic model (MRCMLM) to the multidimensional testlet response model (MTRM), with the aim to take within-item multidimensional testlets and multiple ability into the consideration under IRT framework. With different model constraints, the MTRM can be used to model a variety of multidimensional test structures. Two studies based on simulated data and one empirical study based on a large-scale math assessment data are discussed. In simulation study 1, we considered different correlations among trait dimensions. We compared the MRCMLM which ignores the testlet effects with the MTRM in terms of the accuracy of estimation. In simulation study 2, the MTRM was compared to a two-tier model for polytomous data in terms of item and person parameter estimation accuracy. In the third study which analyzed real large-scale math test results, three-dimensional proficiencies in math were modeled and estimated. In total, seven testlets were identified. Some items were loaded on more than one testlets, indicating within-item multidimensional testlet effects. Model fit and estimation of three different models (MRCMLM, MTRM-1 with only uncrossed testlets considered, and MTRM-2 with all the seven testlets considered) were compared. All the analysis was conducted in ConQuest, using Monte Carlo estimation. Estimation accuracy in simulation studies was evaluated using bias, RMSE, and correlation coefficients between the true and estimated values. Results of simulation 1 indicated that the MTRM produced more accurate estimated item difficulties for items within testlets than the MRCMLM, while both models reached accurate results for independent items. It was also discovered that the recovery of item difficulties in the MTRM was less influenced by the correlations among the latent traits. In addition, as the correlation coefficients between abilities decreased, the ability and item difficulty estimates were more biased if testlet effects were not modeled. As discovered in simulation 2, both the MTRM and the two-tier model accurately estimated item and person parameters. When testlets effects were present, estimates of both item and person parameters in the MTRM were more stable than two-tier model, indicating that the MTRM is not influenced by complex test structures or extreme responses patterns. Results of the empirical data analysis showed that the MTRM with all seven testlets considered fits the data the best. The application of the MTRM reduces incorrect estimation of the reliability and standard error for each primary trait, even for moderate testlet effects and high correlations between ability dimensions. The present study proposes the multidimensional testlet model, supplementing previous testlet models by taking both within-item multidimensional testlets and multiple abilities into account. A new integrated model, the MTRM, was developed based on MRCMLM. This model can be applied to a variety of educational tests where complex testlets are embedded and multidimensional proficiencies are estimated, through identifying an appropriate ability-judge (score) matrix and testlet-judge (design) matrix. A promising attribute of this model is that the parameter estimation is easily achieved through using the software ConQuest. We suggest that in many assessment contexts, ignoring testlets effects can add ambiguity to the interpretation of test scores, thus data should be appropriately fitted to testlet models. Related Articles | Metrics

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Total Contents of Acta Psychologica Sinica, Vol. 49, 2017 2017, 49 (12):  1615-1624.  Abstract ( 2414 )     Related Articles | Metrics