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15 September 2012, Volume 20 Issue 9 Previous Issue    Next Issue
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A Brief Introduction to Developmental Behavioral Genetics ZHANG Wen-Xin;WANG Mei-Ping;CAO Cong 2012, 20 (9):  1329-1336.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2012.01329 Abstract ( 874 )   Developmental behavioural genetics is an interdisciplinary field emerging in 1980s that attempts to explore genetic and environmental influences on individual differences in behavioral development. There are some distinctions in the object, design and content of research between developmental behavioral genetics and behavioral genetics. The research of developmental behavioral genetics should use a combination of psychological measurement and behavioral genetics approaches, which are consisted of quantitative genetics methods and molecular genetics methods. The future research should broaden and deepen the investigation of associations among candidate genes and behavior, and focus on examining the mechanism of gene-environment interaction and gene-environment correlation. Related Articles | Metrics

Conceptual Framework

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Research on the Harm Mechanism and Dissolve Strategy of Brand Insecurity YUAN Deng-Hua;YANG Shuang;XIAO Mei 2012, 20 (9):  1337-1346.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2012.01337 Abstract ( 781 )   Brand insecurity refers to consumer’s subjective perception and worry about the potential and actual threat from brand. The previous literature identifies two areas concerned with brand insecurity research: they are the researches on brand mind change with the product-harm crisis and the corporate ethical responsibility. But two areas do not yet reveal the essence of the consumer's brand insecurity, its psychological representation, harm mechanism and warning function, etc. We think the brand insecurity is one of the psychological root of consumer to avoid or reject a brand. So based on the frequent events of product-harm crisis and the theory of brand mind, we suggest to do systematic research on the brand insecurity. This project will inquire issues, such as, the essence of brand insecurity, the sources of threat which bring about brand insecurity, its psychological representation, its harm mechanism, and the strategies to prevent and dissolve brand insecurity, as well as the research on the theory about brand psychological safety management. This project wants to make new progress in the research concerning the response strategies to the brand insecurity, and the theory of brand safety management. Related Articles | Metrics

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The Mechanism between Superior’s Abusive and Subordinate’s Performance Behavior and Intervention Strategies DING Gui-Feng;GU Xi-Xi;ZHU Ying-Ying;LIU Jian-Xiong 2012, 20 (9):  1347-1354.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2012.01347 Abstract ( 868 )   The relationship between abusive supervision and performance behavior is a heatedly debated topic in the field of organizational behavior. Integrating the emotion event theory, displaced aggressive behavior theory, and attribution theory, the current research intends to analyze the role of anger, shame, other employees’ behavior, and self-attribution in the relationship between abusive supervision and performance. It employs multiple research methods such as survey, projective testing, and scenario simulation. The non-linear mechanism revealed by the current study enriches our understanding of organizational behavior. Drawing on the methods suggested by the emotion regulation theory, the current research also seeks effective interventions for regulating abusive supervision so employees can break the vicious cycle of abusive supervision — negative emotions — poor performance. In addition, this research tests the model of abusive supervision and performance. Related Articles | Metrics

Regular Articles

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Stereopsis-Based Binocular Unmasking CHEN Ming-Li;ZHANG Chang-Xin;YANG Shao-Juan;MAO Li-Hua;TIAN Yong-Hong;HUANG Tie-Jun;WU Xi-Hong;GAO Wen;LI Liang 2012, 20 (9):  1355-1363.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2012.01355 Abstract ( 727 )   Without affecting the signal-to-noise ratio, the binocular disparity-based stereopsis induces perceived depth separation between the target and the masker (s). The perceived separation improves detection and/or discrimination of the target, leading to the so-called binocular unmasking. This review summarizes previous studies related to binocular unmasking and particularly emphasizes that the allocation of selective visual attention in depth plays a critical role in binocular unmasking. Most importantly, considering that the unmasking effect of perceived spatial separation also occurs in auditory perception, this review proposes that perceived spatial separation-induced unmasking of target signals represents the essential function of the brain in untangling complex scenes. Typical examples of application of binocular unmasking in the industrial field are also provided in this review. Related Articles | Metrics

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A New Issue in the Study of the Spatial Metaphor of Time: The Left-and-Right Representation of Time JIN Hong;HUANG Xi-Ting 2012, 20 (9):  1364-1371.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2012.01364 Abstract ( 764 )   Traditionally, studies of the spatial metaphor of time were focused on the psychological reality of the sagittal (front/back) and vertical (up/down) representation of time by using the priming paradigm; in recent years, however, researchers have used the sequence method, the judgment method, the comparison method and the cueing paradigm to examine and confirm the use of the transverse (left/right) axis to represent time in the mind. Since the conventional theory failed to explain the left-and-right representation of time, researchers have tended to adopt the embodiment theory, which argues that the reading and writing habit is the reason for such representation. A deeper understanding of the relationship between the spatial axes and temporal representation relies on a unified research paradigm, an integrated theoretical framework and a new line of research into the neurological basis of the spatial metaphor of time. Related Articles | Metrics

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Research on Embodied Theories of Conceptual Representation YIN Rong;QU Fang-Bing;YE Hao-Sheng 2012, 20 (9):  1372-1381.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2012.01372 Abstract ( 954 )   The viewpoints of embodied cognition advocate that cognition is essentially embodied and the body plays a pivotal role in an organism’s cognitive processes. Traditional symbolic–computational theories assume conceptual representation is stored as abstract symbols in semantic memory, separated from systems governing perception and action. The embodied theories of conceptual representation hold that conceptual representation is grounded in the same neural systems that govern sensation, perception and action. According this viewpoint, concepts are essentially neural recordings during perceptual and motor experiences, and these recordings can later be re–enacted as the way of conceptual processing. Recent work has focused on the emergence of perceptual phenomena in conceptual processing, the effect of body movement on conceptual processing, the embodied effect for processing abstract conception, the embodied effect for processing combined concept and modality switching costs effect. Future researches should focus on combining symbolic–computational theories and embodied theories. Related Articles | Metrics

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Several Effects on Chinese Lexical Processing: Evidence from Eye Movements ZANG Chuan-Li;ZHANG Man-Man;GUO Xiao-Feng;LIU Juan;YAN Guo-Li;BAI Xue-Jun 2012, 20 (9):  1382-1392.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2012.01382 Abstract ( 791 )   Researchers have revealed some important effects from researches on eye movements when readers’ eye movements were recorded by eye tracking. These effects are benefit for us to understand the processing of reading deeply. We reviewed these effects on the spatial information of reading materials, lexical characteristics, linguistic factors and word structure, which were demonstrated on lexical processing in reading. Finally, we discussed the relationship among these effects and the role they played in constructing models of word recognition, and we also pointed out the diversity research tendency with the combination of eye movement technology and ERPs. Related Articles | Metrics

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Neural Mechanism of Apraxia Agraphia RAN Guang-Ming;CHEN Xu;MA Jian-Ling;PAN Yan-Gu;HU Tian-Qiang 2012, 20 (9):  1393-1400.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2012.01393 Abstract ( 673 )   Apraxic agraphia refers to the phenomenon that people can’t write or can’t write correctly though they know how to write. The neural network involving in apraxic agraphia includes the cortico-cortical connection and cortico-subcortical junction. Three subtypes involved in the cortico-cortical connection include the frontal-parietal junction, the parieto-occipital connection and the network which is associated with the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe and temporal lobe. These subtypes are in charge of the spatial manipulations of represented images, recalling and retrievaling the forms of characters. The other neural network is the cortico-subcortical junction, which consisted of the cerebellar-cortical connection, thalamo-cortical junction, and the network including the corpus striatum, internal capsule and cerebral cortex. They are related to the graphic output programming, the formation of grapheme, and the praxis command. Future researches need focus on psychological and mental mechanism of apraxic agraphia and rehabilitation work of it. Related Articles | Metrics

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Iowa Game Task and Cognitive Neural Mechanisms on Decision-making CAI Hou-De;ZHANG Quan;CAI Qi;CHEN Qing-Rong 2012, 20 (9):  1401-1410.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2012.01401 Abstract ( 1255 )   Iowa game task (IGT) is a common paradigm for examining the mechanisms on affective decision-making. Damasio and his colleagues hereby proposed the somatic marker hypothesis (SMH) to explain the neurophysiological mechanisms for the effect of emotion on decision-making. Recently, a wealth of evidence have been accumulated on whether the IGT is an ambiguous or a risky decision-making task, the relationship between emotion and cognition during IGT, and its links to working memory and declarative memory, as well as its neural network and molecular genetic mechanism. An ambiguous decision-making process could be dominant and the emotional somatic signals might play a significant role for guiding the preference for decision-making options during the early stage. However, a risky decision-making process could tend to emerge and the cognitive evaluation and expectation might gradually become dominant during the later stage. The processing for IGT has overlapping components with working memory and could also need declarative memory. IGT depend not only on activation of the emotion brain network composed by amygdala, ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), but also involve in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dLPFC), hippocampus, ventral striatum, insular cortex, pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA), cingulate cortex. The decision-making processing during IGT could be modulated by gene polymorphisms of COMT and 5-HTT. In short, the decision-making related to IGT requires the orchestration of multiple neural systems, and decisions made under ambiguity and risky may involve different genetic basis. Related Articles | Metrics

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The Elderly’s Positivity Effect in Emotional Memory and Its Underlying Mechanisms GONG Xian-Min,WANG Da-Hua 2012, 20 (9):  1411-1418.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2012.0001411 Abstract ( 950 )   Piles of researches about emotion and memory have verified in elderly’s memory the existence of positivity effect, thus the elderly usually remember positive stimuli better than negative ones. Socioemotional Selectivity Theory, a theory focusing on behavioral motivation, proposes that the elderly’s more inclining to adopt emotion regulation strategies in memory tasks makes them possessing a tendency to process positive information better. While such a tendency comes true only if certain conditions are fulfilled. The emotion regulation may impose its influence on the elderly’s memory through several pathways at least, such as attention selection, distribution of cognitive resources, depressing negative emotion, cognitive reappraisal, etc., and finally facilitates positivity effect. When it comes to future researches, among quite a lot of unsolved enigmas in the domain of the elderly’s emotion and memory, several fundamental puzzles should be paid enough attention on, including how each dimension of emotion and each kind of emotion regulation strategies affect the several memory stages of the elderly of varied ages. Related Articles | Metrics

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The Influence of Rewards on Creativity and Its Mechanisms XU Xi-Zheng;ZHANG Jing-Huan;LIU Gui-Rong;LI Ying 2012, 20 (9):  1419-1425.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2012.01419 Abstract ( 1035 )   The effect of rewards on creativity has always been one of the most controversial issues in creativity research concerns. By reviewing the foregoing studies, we concluded that rewards can either facilitate or hinder creativity, which may depend on nature of rewards and the conception of creativity held by the researchers, individual differences and external environments. We also suggested that rewards may influence creativity through motivation, cognition as well as their synthetic functions. Based on the analysis above, we proposed an integrative model which explained the influence of reward on creativity in detail. The theoretical and practical implications of this model were discussed. Related Articles | Metrics

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Approaches to Research on Resilience XI Ju-Zhe;ZUO Zhi-Hong;WU Wei 2012, 20 (9):  1426-1447.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2012.01426 Abstract ( 1605 )   Several approaches to resilience research have been developed since the starting of this scientific domain, including person-focused models, variable-focused models, pathway models and an integrated factor-process model. Person-focused models tend to identify resilient people and understand how resilience develops by comparing them to nonresilient ones who are not faring well in the face of adversity and to those who have not experienced any detrimental threats to their development. Variable-focused approaches focus on the relationships among indices of stress/adversity, the influencing factors of resilience and psychosocial functions. The purpose of variable-focused research is to capture the mechanism behind resilience development. Characterized by longitudinal design and analysis, pathway models try to disentangle how human adaptation systems operate and how resilience develops by focusing on change before and after the incidence of traumatic events or disasters. The integrated factor-process approach is on the basis of ecosystem theory. This approach emphasizes both the processes of resilience development and factors related to it. The integrated factor-process approach provides a more generic strategy for investigating resilience and interpreting the results. Each of the research approaches to resilience has its own strength and weakness. Familiarity with these approaches is crucial for a researcher to appropriately design the research, analyze the data and interpret the results, which would highly improve validity and efficiency of researches on resilience. Related Articles | Metrics

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Mental Illness Self-stigma: A Risk Factor of Mental Rehabilitation YUE TONG;WANG Xiao-Gang;HUANG Xi-Ting 2012, 20 (9):  1448-1456.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2012.01448 Abstract ( 1099 )   Mental illness self-stigma is the phenomenon in which patients with mental illnesses internalize the stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination by the public and formulate prejudice and discrimination against themselves. Mental illness self-stigma has a series of negative effects on patients and is a high risk factor for mental rehabilitation. Self-stigma is likely to compromise mental rehabilitation through patients’ negative perception, negative emotion and self-discrimination it induces. Intervention of self-stigma should be implemented on patients and the general public respectively. The localization of research on self-stigma in the context of the Chinese culture should be focused on the establishment of relevant theories, the improvement of measurement tools and intervention strategies, and the integration of anti-stigma intervention and mental illness rehabilitation. Related Articles | Metrics

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Self-control and Self-control Resource ZHAN Jun;REN Jun 2012, 20 (9):  1457-1466.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2012.01457 Abstract ( 1251 )   Self-control is an important function for individual survival and adaptation. Over the past 10 years, theoretical and empirical researches of self-control have been focused on the theory of limited self-control resource. In fact, the resource for self-control is limited. When self-control resource is over consumed, ego-depletion will be initiated, which can adversely affect the individual’s performance in the aspects of emotion, cognition, and behavior. Individual’s emotion regulation, thought inhibition and distraction control might lead to ego-depletion, but the recovery of self-control resources could be effectively promoted through sleep, relaxation, positive mood induction or other ways. Future studies should further define the psychological and physiological mechanism of ego-depletion, and explore the inherent relationship between ego-depletion and other factors that might also affect individual’s self-control behaviour. Related Articles | Metrics

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Envy: A Social Emotion Characterized by Hostility Envy: A Social Emotion Characterized by Hostility WU Bao-Pei;CHANG Lei 2012, 20 (9):  1467-1478.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2012.01467 Abstract ( 1670 )   Envy is an intense and painful emotion that is mixed with feelings of inferiority, hostility, and resentment often evoked by witnessing the possession and achievement of one’s own desired objects and goals by other individuals in a competitive relationship. Envy is both a trait and a state variable representing a stable disposition as well as a state of mind. Some of the proximate causes of envy include similarity with the involving competitors, self-relevance, perceived control and sense of injustice. From the perspective of evolutionary psychology, envy functions to heighten one’s awareness of potential competitors in competing for resources such as mates and status, and motivates the individual to take actions. The reason that the feeling of hostility usually accompanies envy may lie in the fact that a self-perception of deservedness or entitlement is the default response that motivates competition. Such brain regions as anterior cingulate cortex, ventral striatum, and ventromedial prefrontal lobe are particularly relevant to the processing envy. Envy influences physical and mental health leading to aggression, schadenfreude, as well as prosocial behavior. We discuss these and other causes and correlates of envy within the evolutionary and social psychological framework. Related Articles | Metrics

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The Analysis of Self-Compassion and Self-Construal in the Compassion-Contemplation of Buddhism PENG Yan-Qin;SHEN Jian-Dan 2012, 20 (9):  1479-1486.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2012.01479 Abstract ( 1046 )   The thought of Self-compassion mainly derives from the compassion - contemplation of Buddhism, which is embodied in the awareness and evaluation of oneself when individual is in difficulty: self-awareness — understanding of oneself and the relationship with others objectively; self-experience — dealing with the dilemma in positive emotion such as maitre (loving-kindness), karuna (compassion), mudita (delight), and upeksa (renunciation); self-regulation — establishing a stable and healthy psychological function through self-restraint as well as Zen-meditation. For its own philosophical limits, the western psychology can not touch the core of the compassion-contemplation of buddhism, and combing the latter will help to expand and improve the function of the western self-view. Related Articles | Metrics

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Workplace Incivility: Research Front and Future Directions MAO Chang-Guo;SUN Jian-Min 2012, 20 (9):  1487-1494.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2012.01487 Abstract ( 882 )   Characteristically subtle with its ambiguous intent and low intensity, workplace incivility violates interpersonal norms for mutual respect and has serious negative implications for organizations. In recent years, the topic of workplace incivility has attracted closer attention from scholars because of a vested interest in establishing harmonious workplaces. Reviewing related studies, we clarified the concept, measurement, antecedents and outcomes of workplace incivility and concluded with managerial implications. It is essential that future studies pay more attention to the native conceptualization, operationalization, and utilizes cross-level and longitudinal designs to better understand the mechanism of workplace incivility. Related Articles | Metrics

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The Current Status, Problems, and Recommendations on Clinical Sport Psychology Research LIU Li;SHI Yan 2012, 20 (9):  1495-1506.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2012.01495 Abstract ( 735 )   By analyzing 99 articles published in the Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology (JCSP) since its first issue, this paper is intended to explore the current research situations and problems regarding clinical sport psychology. Research results indicate that the field of study on clinical sport psychology is mainly concerned with performance dysfunction, performance impairment, mental health, and performance development, including such issues as sport performance, eating disorders, mood disorders, addiction, and pressure coping. Most of these studies are carried out from the perspective of cognitive behavior theory, among which 42.4% of the hypotheses need further verification and there still exist some methodological problems. As a result, the following suggestions are made for Chinese researchers expecting to pursue sport psychological studies: expanding the fields of study, paying more attention to localization researches, enriching theoretical foundations and strengthening trainings of research methodology. Related Articles | Metrics

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The Analysis and Comparison of Power Manipulations WEI Qiu-Jiang|DUAN Jin-Yun|FAN Ting-Wei 2012, 20 (9):  1507-1518.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2012.01507 Abstract ( 839 )   The cognitive researches of power are becoming more important than ever, while findings and validity of researches are still constrained by manipulations in experiments. Analysing the main trends of power manipulation abroad, which can not only promote the studying, but also benefit the construction of indigenous power manipulation. After introducing content in detail and comparing empirical results and application of main power manipulations synthetically, including Reward/Punishment, Recalling, Information Controlling, Figuring, Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA), Semantic Priming etc., obviously, all above have their own advantages, coupling with disadvantages which also ask for necessary consideration. Unfortunately, seldom schloars draw attention about these, leading to some confusion in terms of applicable researches for each paradigm, multi-hierarchy of power and differentiation with similar conceptions. After all, the future research tendencies, including the principles of assigning subject roles, differentiating the manipulation of one's own power from others' and manipulation checking, were discussed as well. Related Articles | Metrics