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15 March 2018, Volume 26 Issue 3 Previous Issue    Next Issue
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Conceptual Framework

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The neural circuit of semantic processing and its dynamic cooperation with the neural circuit of phonological processing in reading Chinese characters YANG Jianfeng, DANG Min, ZHANG Rui, WANG Xiaojuan 2018, 26 (3):  381-390.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2018.00381 Abstract ( 1493 )    An increasing interest has focused on unifying the cognitive and neurobiological models of language processing with mounting evidence reported in recent years. A bottleneck problem emerged out to reveal the neural circuit of semantic processing. However, this issue remains unresolved because of the limitation of alphabetic languages. Taking the advantage of systematic mapping from orthography to meaning in Chinese characters, the proposed project aims to investigate the neural circuit of semantic processing and its cooperative division of labor with the neural circuit of phonological processing in reading Chinese characters. Study 1 is designed to identify the function regions involved in Chinese character reading by correlating the BOLD signal with the time series coding of stimulus properties. Study 2 focuses on the neural circuit of semantic processing. The first step is to examine the neural mechanism for the processing of semantic components and its influence on the processing of whole characters’ meaning. The further analysis is to investigate the nature of the involving of prior semantic related brain regions in the processing of semantic components. Study 3 adapts the Dynamic Causal Model (DCM) to examine the patterns of the connectivity among regions of reading network driven both by the stimulus properties and task demands. The expected findings will reveal the dynamic of the cooperation between the neural circuits of semantic and phonological processing. The results can provide evidence in unifying the cognitive and neurobiological models of language processing. Also, the results will provide theoretical guidance for empirical studies and applications, such as language teaching, treatment of reading disorders and clinical diagnoses. Related Articles | Metrics

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Acquisition of core Chinese grammar in preschool children with autism spectrum disorders SU Yi (ESTHER) 2018, 26 (3):  391-399.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2018.00391 Abstract ( 1098 )    The language acquisition status of preschool children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) plays a crucial role in the effect of their early intervention and long-term prognosis. Previous ASD language research has been mainly restrained to English-learning children with ASD, yet few studies have explored the universal mechanisms of language acquisition in children with ASD speaking different languages. Taking advantage of specific grammatical properties of Mandarin Chinese, the present study attempts to investigate the acquisition of core Chinese grammar in 2-5-year-old Mandarin-exposed children with ASD as well as the factors impacting the acquisition process. Critical components of grammatical comprehension of children with ASD will be tested via the eye-tracking measure of Intermodal Preferential Looking; their communicative functions will be examined in Joint Attention sessions; and the frequencies of the relevant grammatical structures in the language environment will also be analyzed. The overarching goal of this project is to use ASD language acquisition as a tool to explore the mechanisms underlying human language acquisition. Specifically, we attempt to test the role of language faculty in human language acquisition including in the process of language acquisition of children with ASD; moreover, this study examines the influences of social communication impairment and language environment on the process of human language acquisition. Related Articles | Metrics

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The differentiation of employee followership from the perspective of regulatory focus: Influence mechanism of causes and effects XU Sheng 2018, 26 (3):  400-410.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2018.00400 Abstract ( 894 )    Followership refers to a polymorphic behavior orientated from the organizational aims of the followers who actively interact with leadership and organizational context. Studies of followership are still scarce in the academic community both at home and abroad. The aim of this study lies at inquiring the influence mechanism of causal analysis for the differentiation of employee followership from the perspective of regulatory focus theory in three parts. Firstly, the internal structure and measurement of employee followership are cleared and defined in view of two different regulatory focuses. Secondly, the antecedents and their influential mechanisms on the differentiation of employee followership are under review from three aspects including the characteristic’s influence of leadership with its moderate effects of LMX, the organizational context’s influence with its moderate effects of employees’ perceived organizational justice, and the individual characteristic’s influence with its moderate effects of leadership feedback based upon trait activation theory. Lastly, the way is explored as to how the differentiation of employee followership exerts influence on job performance. On account of these schemes established, the adaptation of the followership theory to the practice of organizational followership can be achieved. Related Articles | Metrics

Regular Articles

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The role of cognitive control in divergent thinking TENG Jing, SHEN Wangbing, HAO Ning 2018, 26 (3):  411-422.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2018.00411 Abstract ( 2243 )    The role of cognitive control in divergent thinking is one of the concerns in the field of creativity research. Many scholars consider that core cognitive control involves working memory, cognitive inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. Working memory plays an important role in task goal maintenance and the retrieval and manipulation of the task-related information during divergent thinking. Different types of cognitive inhibition may affect divergent thinking in diverse ways. For example, proponent response inhibition can be used for suppressing retrieval of common ideas; resistance to task-unrelated interference can be used for maintaining proper internally-directed attention, and low resistance to potentially irrelevant stimulus can be adopted for providing all possible combinations of concepts. In addition, as a high-order cognitive control, fluid intelligence can contribute to divergent thinking through enhancing the flexibility of strategies uses. In recent years, extensive neuroscience studies have demonstrated the involvement of cooperation between default mode network and executive control network in different stages of creative cognition. Based on present findings, future research should aim to: (1) distinguish conceptual relationships among subcomponents of cognitive control; (2) explore whether the effect of cognitive control on divergent thinking could be modulated by other potential factors, such as motivation or emotion; (3) investigate whether individual differences or task demand influence the dynamic interplay between cognitive control network and default mode network. Related Articles | Metrics

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A comparison for machine processing of emotional body language and facial expression DING Xiaobin, KANG Tiejun, ZHAO Xin, FUN Junjun 2018, 26 (3):  423-432.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2018.00423 Abstract ( 1226 )    Both body language and facial expression recognition provide sensitive clues about individual emotion recognition. Facial expression and bodily expression can be detected to a similar extent in the early stages of visual processing, where reflects the subcortical processing pathway and the dorsal route structures associated with unconscious threat information cues for automated processing. Both body language and facial expression recognition have similar N170 component, which reflect early visual coding in the temporal occipital visual cortex. Nonetheless, the N170 component of body language and facial expression involve different neural processes. Moreover, the N170 component and vertex positive potential (VPP) of facial expression processing are superior to the responses to body language processing. The early posterior negativity (EPN) component reflects visual coding in late attentional processing. The P3 and the late positive component (LPC) represent higher cognitive processing in the fronto-parietal cortices, and facial expression require more cognitive resources than physical actions. Furthermore, there is a special N190 response to body language based in the extrastriate body area (EBA). It is sensitive to emotions expressed by body language and information from physical actions. This special visual coding may represent a social adaptation mechanism effectively for the perception of the emotions and intentions of others. Future research should focus on the influence of emotional body language on the processing of facial expressions, the integration of facial and bodily cues during emotional change perception and others. Related Articles | Metrics

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Gamma oscillations and information binding process QIAN Haoyue, HUANG Yihui, GAO Xiangping 2018, 26 (3):  433-441.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2018.00433 Abstract ( 695 )    The Gamma oscillation is one kind of neural interaction activities. The characteristics of the Gamma oscillation contribute to its important role in information binding process. A large body of research has demonstrated that binding the sensory signal from multiple channels at the perceptual level is associated with the gamma oscillatory synchronization in sensory cortex (e.g. visual cortex, auditory cortex), whereas binding the information from single channel at the conscious level is associated with the enhanced Gamma oscillations in higher cortex (e.g. temporo-parietal cortex). The functions of Gamma oscillations in information-binding process have been described in several theoretical frameworks, including Neural Coupling model and Match & Utilization model. However, extreme caution should be exercised when Gamma oscillations were applied as an index of binding process. What roles of Gamma oscillations play in a complex binding process should be investigated in the future. Related Articles | Metrics

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The effects of oxytocin on empathic response and its mechanisms YUE Tong, HUANG Xiting, LIU Guangyuan 2018, 26 (3):  442-453.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2018.00442 Abstract ( 1269 )   Oxytocin is a prosocial hormone that also has an important influence on human beings’ empathic responses. It can promote emotion recognition, enhance the empathic concern regarding others’ unfortunate experiences, and weaken the level of personal distress. With reference to the mechanisms, oxytocin may influence an individual's empathic response by promoting his/her embodied-simulation ability, weakening the tendency of self-centeredness, and regulating the emotional representation mechanism. Future studies could focus on the effects of oxytocin on the different types of empathic responses, the effects of oxytocin on gender differences in empathic responses, and actively using oxytocin in clinical interventions for empathy deficits. Related Articles | Metrics

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Effects of maternal behavior on offspring’s psychology and behavior: Based on animal studies LI Zuan, CHEN Weihai 2018, 26 (3):  454-466.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2018.00454 Abstract ( 1202 )    Maternal behavior is a kind of instinctive behavior with strong motivation and regularity, reflected in a series of care and protection for their pups. Previous studies have shown that maternal behavior does not only affect the emotions, the cognitive and learning abilities of offspring, but also relates to the incidence of cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, the influence of maternal behavior on offspring's psychological functions and behavior has received more and more attention in recent years. A lot of researches have explored the influence of maternal behavior on offspring's psychological functions and behavior and tried to elucidate the mechanisms underlying it. While there is no review to discuss the issues above in details. In the present review, we deeply discussed the effects of maternal behavior on the psychological functions and behavior of offspring. Furthermore, we also tried to explainthe limitations of the previous studies. Lastly, in view of these deficiencies, we put forward some suggestions that might improve the future study work in this field. Related Articles | Metrics

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Memory biases of attachment styles: Based on the interpretation of two processing modes BAI Xujia, CHEN Xu 2018, 26 (3):  467-475.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2018.00467 Abstract ( 1664 )    As an important aspect of information processing, memory has become a hot spot of research in attachment cognition field during recent years. There are some differences in memory biases of attachment styles by reviewing previous studies, and the results are not always consistent. Based on two theoretical models: the model of attachment related social information processing and the integrative model of the activation and dynamics of the attachment system, it can be concluded into two different processing modes which can partly explain the discrepancy between the previous results, the schematic information processing mode and the strategic information processing mode. Future researches can focus on exploring the inner mechanisms of the two different processing modes, increasing attachment related memory studies of anxious attachment, and examining the application of the two processing modes on improving the insecure attachment state. Related Articles | Metrics

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The diminished attention to eye in the face processing of individuals with autism spectrum disorder JING Wei, LIU Ziqin 2018, 26 (3):  476-487.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2018.00476 Abstract ( 659 )    Early clinical observational research found that individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) were less likely to look at others' eyes during social interactions. However, recent eye-tracking studies have found that diminished eye region fixation in face processing of individuals with ASD is gradually appearing along with the age growth, which is associated with face processing impairment. The underlying cognitive neural mechanism may be derived not only originally from the abnormal amygdala activation, but also secondarily from the abnormal social brain development. However, it is not yet clear whether the ASD individual's amygdala is hyperactivated to actively avoid eyes or is hypoactivated to passively overlook eyes. In the future, researchers should conduct the combination studies of vertical comparison and horizontal tracking across different age stages and different research levels by collecting both eye movement and neural physiological data. Related Articles | Metrics

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The early stages of Alzheimer’s disease: Subjective cognitive impairment? ZHANG Xinyue, YU Lin 2018, 26 (3):  488-495.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2018.00488 Abstract ( 1045 )    Subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) is referred to as a cognitive impairment complaints with no pathological aspects of objective evidence. In recent years it has become a hot topic of concern in the field of dementia research since researchers have found that SCI patients are more likely to suffer from AD, thus it is likely to be an earlier stage of AD and MCI. There are however, great differences in the prediction effect of SCI. This paper systematically reviews recent researches status of subjective cognitive impairment, including the concepts and measurement of subjective cognitive impairment, brain changes and bio-markers, and the relationship between SCI and AD and prospects for the future research. Related Articles | Metrics

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The application of kinesthetic empathy intervention in dance/movement therapy YAN Bo, FAN Fumin, YU Feng 2018, 26 (3):  496-502.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2018.00496 Abstract ( 720 )    Empathy is a usual intervention in counseling and psychotherapy. In the field of dance/movement therapy (D/MT) field, empathy mainly refers to kinesthetic empathy. It is a core concept that has long been stated in dance/movement therapy literature and applied in dance/movement therapy practice. According to the literature and techniques of kinesthetic empathy, it consists of mirroring, witnessing, and leaderless dance. Mirroring is a popular technique in dance/movement therapy studies. Researchers considered the reason of effectiveness of kinesthetic empathy in three main perspectives. Examining previous studies, we find that there are still some existing questions in this field need to be explored in future: 1) clarifying a precise definition of kinesthetic empathy, 2) developing an assessment tool directed to kinesthetic empathy, 3) carrying out more empirical studies about dance/movement therapeutic process and outcome. Related Articles | Metrics

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Psychological autopsy and its application in suicide research WU Cai-Zhi, CHEN Yan, SUN Qi-Wu, YU Li-Xia, JIANG Guang-Rong 2018, 26 (3):  503-517.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2018.00503 Abstract ( 1599 )    Psychological autopsy (PA) is a systematic and retrospective method in order to figure out the risk factors of suicide. Collecting materials from the informants and the proxy respondents of the deceased, Psychological autopsy could reconstruct the physical, psychological and social state of the deceased. Studies have shown that psychological autopsy is one of the most valuable tools for suicide research. This paper systematically introduces the research method of psychological autopsy, and its applications in the field of suicide research. Consequently, the paper discusses the research advancement on the risk factors of suicide using the method of psychological autopsy. Further studies should be carried out from a culturally sensitive perspective. It is also necessary to implement the method of psychological autopsy to explore the complex interaction among the multiple risk factors of suicide. Related Articles | Metrics

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Virtual reality technology in the psychological treatment for autism spectrum disorders: An systematic review LIN Yiqi, WANG Xi, PENG Kaiping, NI Shiguang 2018, 26 (3):  518-526.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2018.00518 Abstract ( 1707 )    Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) treatment is an important part of psychological treatment, but the conventional intervention psychotherapy has its limitations. Virtual reality (Virtual Reality, VR) technology has been shown to have promising applications in the field of psychological treatment and has distinct advantages over existing ASD treatments thanks to its ability to take into account the specific characteristics of ASD patients. This paper discusses the potential of virtual reality technology in the treatment of autism spectrum disorder and the current applications of VR technology for the therapeutic treatment of specific fears, emotion recognition, and social function in ASD patients. It also discusses the limitations of current VR experimental methods and the challenges associated with the research of VR on a growing variety of patients. Potential applications of virtual reality technology on ASD treatment are analyzed using a thorough psychological mechanism and demonstrate the need to upgrade virtual reality technology, artificial intelligence, and other high-end technology so as to optimize enhance human-computer interaction. Future commercialization efforts will also require VR systems to be both universal but also customizable so that they may cater to different patient characteristics. Related Articles | Metrics

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Fear of missing out: What have I missed again? CHAI Huan You, NIU Geng Feng, CHU Xiao Wei, WEI Qi, SONG Yu Hong, SUN Xiao Jun 2018, 26 (3):  527-537.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2018.00527 Abstract ( 3249 )    Fear of missing out (FoMO) refers to the pervasive apprehension resulting from worries that others might be experiencing fantastic stories or positive events from which one is absent. FoMO is determined by various factors such as personality traits, psychological needs, social media usage and age. FoMO would exert great impacts on social media usage and psychosocial adaptation. Meanwhile, FoMO can act as a mediator through which some factors influence social media usage and psychological adaption. The key issues of future studies on FoMO are the discrimination of contiguous concept, improvement of measurement and research method, as well as investigation of influencing factors and aftereffects. Related Articles | Metrics

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Does parenthood increase well-being? XU Huachun, CUI Biying, ZHANG Wenting 2018, 26 (3):  538-548.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2018.00538 Abstract ( 1768 )    The relationship between parenthood and well-being is an important topic which concerns the individuals, families and the society as a whole. Now, it has become a hot research area in psychology and involves many factors to be taken into consideration, such as the basic human needs,the development of personality and different growing environments. Regarding this issue, common people around the world have some shared beliefs,while psychologists have different views.To date, empirical research that has focused on the well-being of parents has reported inconsistent results which may be explained by different definitions and measures of well-being used, and a variety of factors that may moderate the complex relationship between parenthood and well-being. Further, as society changes due to for example government policies and values, this relationship and the moderating variables may have changed over time.In this paper, we review the research in this area and the theories that have been used to explain the relationship between parenthood and well-being.Future research should aim to deepen our understanding of human nature, pay more attention to the heterogeneity of people, and do more empirical studies from the view of psychology.Such research has the potential to inform both mental health service provision and family- related policy. Related Articles | Metrics

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Political orientation and its changing mechanism LI Wenqi, ZHANG Mengyuan, KOU Yu 2018, 26 (3):  549-559.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2018.00549 Abstract ( 978 )    Political orientation refers to people’s ideological self-positioning and can be divided into liberalism and conservatism. Individuals with different political orientations exhibit significant differences in cognitive and behavioral characteristics. Although individuals’ political orientation is relatively stable, it may change under threat. Motivated social cognition theory postulates that threat makes people more conservative. Terror management theory proposes that threat makes people more firmly believe in their original cultural worldviews, and thus makes their political orientation more pronounced. This suggests that threat will cause liberals to be more liberal and conservatives to be more conservative. Based on deep analysis and discussion of relevant theories and empirical studies, we point out that failing to distinguish between external threat and internal threat may explain why these two theories are contradictory. We propose that internal threat can reinforce individuals’ original political orientation, while external threat makes people more conservative. Future research should endeavor to explore the mechanism underlying how external and internal threat affect political orientation, this phenomenon in Chinese context, and how to promote harmonious relationship between people with different political orientations. Related Articles | Metrics

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The influence of spatial physical order on psychology and behavior LU Hong, ZHANG Xinyuan, WEI Wenqi, LIU Yi 2018, 26 (3):  560-570.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2018.00560 Abstract ( 812 )     Physical order refers to the overall perception of orderliness of things around us. Spatial physical order is one of its dimensions, indicating the relative position of objects within this space as determined by certain patterns or rules. Spatial physical order influences human psychology and behavior, such as stereotypes and decision-making as well as on ethical behavior, illegal behavior and routine behavior. This paper summarizes the theories of spatial physical order on human cognition and behavior, and reviews some empirical studies. A promising direction for the future research would be to enrich the related theories and improve reliability of experiments. In the end, we discuss the effect of physical order in practice. Related Articles | Metrics