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25 May 2021, Volume 53 Issue 5 Previous Issue    Next Issue
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Reports of Empirical Studies



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The establishment of the Chinese Emotion Regulation Word System (CERWS) and its pilot test YUAN Jiajin, ZHANG Yicheng, CHEN Shengdong, LUO Li, RU Yishan 2021, 53 (5):  445-455.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2021.00445 Abstract ( 617 )   HTML ( 37 )   PDF (638KB) ( 479 )   It is an important way to initiate a certain emotion regulation process using words with the meaning of emotion regulation. However, there is still a lack of a standardized emotion-regulation word system in the international field of emotion regulation, which may lead to the mismatch between the selected words and the target strategies or the incomparability of the results from different laboratories. Therefore, we select, classify, and evaluate many emotion-regulating words and establish a standardized emotion regulation word system, named “Chinese Emotion Regulation Word System (CERWS)”. Firstly, the correlation degree between emotion- regulating words and various emotion-regulating strategies is evaluated, and the words are screened and classified into different strategical categories according to the results. Secondly, each word's six attributes, including pleasure/valence, arousal, motivational tendency, dominance, familiarity, and writing complexity, were determined for the system. Thirdly, using the sentence unscrambling paradigm, we test the moderating effect of the implicit emotion regulation strategy induced by the CERWS on the negative emotion. Results showed that: (1) 149 emotion-regulating words can reflect five emotion-regulating goals (acceptance, distraction, cognitive reappraisal, expression suppression, and venting) and neutral goals; the system has good reliability and internal consistency. (2) the implicit cognitive reappraisal and expression suppression adjust the valence and arousal of negative emotion, and the implicit attention distraction reduce the arousal of negative emotion. These findings suggest that the CERWS has satisfactory reliability, and the system's words can be used to initiate emotion regulation effectively. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The influence of anger on delay discounting: The mediating role of certainty and control SONG Xiyan, CHENG Yahua, XIE Zhouxiutian, GONG Nanyan, LIU Lei 2021, 53 (5):  456-468.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2021.00456 Abstract ( 624 )   HTML ( 25 )   PDF (217KB) ( 540 )   Delay discounting occurs when, compared to current or recent benefits (or losses), people give future benefits (or losses) less weight and choose current or recent benefits (or losses). Delay discounting is an important research direction in the field of decision-making. Based on the Appraisal-Tendency Framework, the present study aimed to examine how anger influences an individual delay discounting and then explore the underlying mechanism of the effect of anger on delay discounting. The key hypotheses--that anger would influence delay discounting and that certainty and control appraisal tendencies would drive this effect--were tested across three experiments. Experiment 1 investigated the effect of anger on delay gratification. In Experiments 2a and 2b, an experimental-causal-chain design was used to test (a) whether anger increases certainty-control relative to fear and neutral feelings, and (b) whether experiencing certainty-control increases one’s delay gratification. In Experiment 3, a measurement-of-mediation design was used to test whether feelings of certainty-control stemming from anger predicted delay gratification. Simultaneously, we explored whether positive emotions associated with certainty-control produced increases in delay gratification. The focus was on pleasure as a positive, certainty-control-associated emotion. In Experiment 1, the results showed that compared with fear and neutral participants, angry participants were more likely to choose large and delayed rewards. In Experiment 2a, the results showed that compared with fear and neural participants, angry participants were more likely to experience certainty-control feelings. Then, in Experiment 2b, the results showed that compared with low certainty-control participants, high certainty-control participants were more likely to choose large and delayed rewards. In Experiment 3, the results showed that compared with fear and neutral participants, angry and pleasant participants experienced more certainty-control feelings and were more likely to choose large and delayed rewards. Furthermore, the mediation analysis showed that certainty-control feelings played a complete mediating role in the effect of anger and pleasure on delay discounting. Converging evidence from the three experiments indicated that incidental anger can influence delay discounting. Compared with fear and neutral feelings, those experiencing anger were more likely to choose higher and delayed rewards (Experiment 1). Importantly, these two experiments provide direct process evidence by showing that the certainty and control appraisal tendencies triggered by anger may underlie its delay gratification-enhancing effects (Experiments 2 and Experiment 3). Furthermore, experiencing certainty-control-associated emotions (i.e., anger and pleasure), regardless of valence, increased the likelihood that individual would choose higher and delayed rewards (Experiment 3). The current research supports the hypotheses that anger increases delay gratification and that certainty and control appraisal tendencies drive this effect. These findings have important implications for understanding the mechanism underlying the effect of specific negative emotions on intertemporal choice. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Attentional boost effect in conceptual implicit memory MENG Yingfang, DONG Yueqing, CHEN Quan 2021, 53 (5):  469-480.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2021.00469 Abstract ( 352 )   HTML ( 9 )   PDF (209KB) ( 282 )   Attentional Boost Effect (ABE) was first defined bySwallow and Jiang (2010) who discovered that target detection in the encoding phase promotes the performance of concurrently presented background information in subsequent retrieval. It has been found that ABE does not appear in the conceptual implicit test which suggests that target detection mainly promotes the perceptual processing of background information, rather than semantic processing. This study manipulated the types of encoding processing of background information (perceptual processing or conceptual processing) through three experiments. It was found that ABE appeared in subsequent implicit conceptual tests when the background information was processed conceptually at the same time as target detection. Conversely, ABE appeared in the subsequent perceptual implicit test rather than conceptual implicit test when perceptual processing was performed on the background information. These results showed that target detection can promote both perceptual processing and semantic processing of background information, but ABE would be produced only when the encoding process of background information under target detection was consistent with the retrieval process that subsequent implicit tests relied on. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The influence of members’ relationship on collaborative remembering ZHANG Huan, WANG Xin, LIU Yibei, CAO Xiancai, WU Jie 2021, 53 (5):  481-493.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2021.00481 Abstract ( 320 )   HTML ( 7 )   PDF (291KB) ( 231 )   Our daily life is filled with collaborative recall activities that take place among intimate individuals. For example, married couples generally communicate about episodic and autobiographical events that serve a significant social function for human beings. Therefore, it is critical to examine the effect of collaborative recall on information retrieval for both younger and older couples. The present study used unpersonal-related semantic wordlists (Experiment 1) and unpersonal-related episodic stories (Experiment 2) as learning materials, respectively, to assess the effect of intimate relationships on collaborative recall for both younger and older adults. Results of Experiment 1 replicated the classical collaborative inhibition phenomenon in younger strangers, whereas no significant recall difference between collaborative and nominal groups was found for intimate couples. Such results were further examined in Experiment 2 with episodic stories, in which both younger and older couples had information retrieval with higher accuracy than nominal groups. In addition, older couples employed positive interaction strategies that played an important role in this collaborative facilitation. Those results can be explained by the transactive memory system. That is, based on intimate relationships and shared experiences among them, an effective system of encoding, storing and retrieving information may develop, diminish, or even reverse the negative effect of collaborative recall. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The role of ventrolateral prefrontal cortex on emotional regulation of social pain in depressed patients: A TMS study MO Licheng, GUO Tianyou, ZHANG Yueyao, XU Feng, ZHANG Dandan 2021, 53 (5):  494-504.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2021.00494 Abstract ( 457 )   HTML ( 24 )   PDF (3317KB) ( 363 )   Negative interpersonal experiences and negative social events are important inducing factors of depression, and social function impairment is one of the important characteristics of depressed patients, who usually show emotional disorder related to social pain. In order to improve the emotional regulation ability in depressed patients when they are in negative social situations or in front of negative social events, this study examined the change of emotional regulation ability in depressed patients following the activation of the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) using the TMS. The results showed that the experimental group (n = 64), with the right VLPFC activated as well as adopting the reappraisal strategy, reported weaker negative emotional experiences in social exclusion situations than the control group (n = 63), suggesting that activating the right VLPFC could effectively improve the ability of patients to explicitly regulate emotions related to social pain. This study is the first attempt to improve the ability of emotional regulation in depressed patients by using TMS. These findings not only support the causal relationship between the VLPFC and reappraisal strategy, but also provide a clear neurotherapeutic target for clinical improvement of the ability of emotional regulation in patients with social dysfunctions such as depression. Further studies are needed to confirm the conclusions of this study and optimize the TMS treatments by exploring multi-session TMS protocols, changing the way of inducing social pain, comparing the treatment effect of the left and right VLPFC, and attempting to use other emotional regulation strategies. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Exergame can improve children’s executive function: The role of physical intensity and cognitive engagement GAI XiaoSong, XU Jie, YAN Yan, WANG Yuan, XIE XiaoChun 2021, 53 (5):  505-514.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2021.00505 Abstract ( 613 )   HTML ( 38 )   PDF (298KB) ( 613 )   Executive function refers to advanced cognitive processes that control and regulate other cognitive processes, including working memory, inhibition control, and cognitive flexibility. This function is a high-level cognitive ability when completing complex cognitive tasks. Executive function is an important predictor of a child’s physical and mental health, quality of life, school success, marital happiness, and public safety. Studies have shown that physical activities, such as mindfulness yoga, coordinated exercises, martial arts, and exergame can improve children’s executive function. Exergame is also a type of physical activity, as a synthetic word, which is a combination of exercise and game and can be seen as a physical activity for stimulating an active whole-body gaming experience. This study aims to investigate the effects of physical intensity and cognitive engagement in exergame on promoting children’s executive function immediately and long-term training. This study conducted a 2 (high/low physical intensity) × 2(high/low cognitive engagement) × 3(measurement time: before/immediately/after training) mixed experimental design, wherein 122 children age 4~6 years old were trained for six weeks. Among the within-subject variables were exercise physical and cognitive engagement, and the between-subject variable was the measurement time. The dependent variables were working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility. Results showed that physical intensity, rather than cognitive engagement in exergame, significantly improved children’s executive function, especially the working memory after training immediately. In the long-term intervention, physical intensity and cognitive engagement in exergame significantly promoted children’s executive function, and the promoting effect of cognitive engagement was greater than that of physical intensity. This study demonstrates the benefits of long-term exergame training on children’s executive function and the types of exergame that can improve such function in children in the short or long term. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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How interpersonal factors impact the co-development of depression and non-suicidal self-injury in Chinese early adolescents HUANG Yuancheng, ZHAO Qingling, LI Caina 2021, 53 (5):  515-526.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2021.00515 Abstract ( 637 )   HTML ( 63 )   PDF (209KB) ( 436 )   The independent and joint developmental trajectories of depression and self-injury were investigated in 859 junior middle school students by 3-year longitudinal measurements. Furthermore, the current study examined the role of three kinds of important interpersonal relationships (parent-child relationship, peer relationship, and teacher-student relationship) in the co-development of depression and self-injury. The results indicated that there were 4 and 3 heterogeneous developmental trajectories of depression and self-injury in early adolescence, respectively. The joint developmental trajectories of the two include “Low-depression low-self-injury stable,” “Low-depression low-self-injury increase,” and “Moderate-depression moderate-self-injury decrease.” Parental psychological control and peer acceptance were risk and protective factors for early adolescent depression and self-injury, respectively. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The relationship between perceived overqualification and individual performance and mediating mechanisms: A meta-analytic review and examination of emotional and cognitive processing systems and cultural contexts YANG Weiwen, LI Chaoping 2021, 53 (5):  527-554.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2021.00527 Abstract ( 762 )   HTML ( 61 )   PDF (517KB) ( 1122 )   In recent years, overqualification, a special phenomenon of person-environment misfit, has attracted a lot of scholars’ attention, but the conclusions from related studies remain controversial. A meta-analysis of 321 articles including 383 independent studies, 945 effect sizes and 575061 study samples was conducted: (1) The direct effect test showed that there was a significant positive correlation between perceived overqualification (POQ) and negative emotions (i.e., anger, boredom). There was no significant correlation between POQ and positive self-concepts (i.e., self-esteem, self-efficacy), but a significant positive correlation exists between POQ and negative extra-role behaviors (i.e., counterproductive work behavior, turnover). There was no significant correlation between positive extra-role behaviors (i.e., creativity, organizational citizenship behavior, etc.) and task performance. (2) The meta-analysis of structural equation modeling (SEM) shows that POQ can augment negative emotions, and further promote negative extra-role behaviors while decreasing positive extra-role behaviors and task performance. Meanwhile, POQ can increase positive self-concepts, and can furthermore enhance positive extra-role behaviors and task performance while decreasing negative extra-role behaviors; (3) Collectivism played a moderating role in the process of POQ affecting individual performance through the emotional-cognitive processing system. In the high collectivistic cultural context, POQ had a lower level of negative effect on negative emotions and had a positive effect on positive self-concepts; in the low collectivistic cultural context, POQ had a stronger negative effect on negative emotions, and a negative effect on positive self-concepts. (4) The relationship between POQ and person-job fit (P-J fit) was stronger than that between POQ and person-organization fit (P-O fit). Compare with P-J fit and P-O fit, POQ had the strongest effect on strain and turnover. The findings of this study provide insights into understanding the complex mechanisms and boundary conditions of POQ on individual performance, and provide evidence for how to manage overqualified employees. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics