ISSN 1671-3710
CN 11-4766/R
主办:中国科学院心理研究所
出版:科学出版社
2024, Volume 32 Issue 11 Previous Issue    Next Issue
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Conceptual Framework
Cultural differences in the expression and contagion of polarized emotions in social media: The role of dialectical thinking
LU Minjie, WANG Suyi, CHEN Xiaoyuan
2024, 32 (11):  1757-1767.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2024.01757
Abstract ( 697 )   PDF (559KB) ( 927 )   Peer Review Comments
As internet plays an increasingly important role in communication around the world, people spend more and more time on social media. Research have found that digital emotion contagion, polarized emotion in particular, was associated with adverse outcomes, such as spread of fake news, political segregation, etc. Previous research has found that the emotional experience among East Asians is more balanced between and mixed with both positive and negative emotions, compared to westerners (Goetz et al., 2008). And this difference is explained by dialectical thinking, a thinking style that is about change and contradictions and is more prevalent among East Asian cultures than Western cultures (Peng & Nisbett, 1999). In this project, we will examine whether dialectical thinking may also have impacts on the expression and contagion of polarized emotions on social media. In particular, we hypothesize that individuals with a high level of dialectical thinking may experience and have a stronger preference for more balanced and less polarized emotions, and would be less likely to express and share polarized emotions on social media. Below are studies proposed to examine these hypotheses.
Study 1 will examine the content of tweets from American and Japanese user with sentiment analysis (Thelwall, 2017). We expect that tweets posted by American users would show a higher level of emotion polarity than those posted by Japanese users. Furthermore, among the English tweets, emotion polarity of the tweets would be positive associated with the amount of likes and retweets., but this association would not be found among the Japanese tweets, indicating that polarized emotions are more likely to be shared among the non-dialectical culture than the dialectical culture.
Study 2 will examine the expression and contagion of polarized emotions in Study 2a and Study 2b, respectively. In Study 2a, Chinese and American participants will be randomly assigned to read a positive, negative, or mixed emotion eliciting scenario. Then participants will need to post a tweet on Twitter to express their emotional feelings towards the scenario in public, or share their emotion experience with a friend. We expect that Chinese participants, in particular under the public sharing condition, would have a stronger motivation to express contents that will be approved by their culture, and would express less polarized emotions than the American participants. In Study 2b, dialectical thinking will be primed among participants, and participants' attention toward tweets with different emotional contents will be traced by an eye-tracker. We expect that under the dialectical condition, participants would show a stronger preference for more balanced emotions and thus their attention would be directed away from the contents with polarized emotions, indexed by a longer gazing time recorded by the eye-tracker. In addition, participants under the dialectical priming condition would be less likely to like or retweet the tweets with polarized emotional contents.
In Study 3, a field experiment will be conduct to examine whether dialectical thinking priming would reduce the expression and dissemination of polarized emotions in a real-life. In Study 3a, posts with different levels of polarized emotions will be posted in a social media community each day, and participants will be required to select and comment on those posts. We expect that participants with dialectical thinking priming would be less likely to respond to the posts with a higher level of polarized emotion, and these posts would be less likely to be shared. Based on the findings from Study 3a, participants' preferences and strategy on sharing posts will be calculated, and these strategies will be compared with other different simulated sharing strategies in Study 3b, such as, sharing polarized emotions, random sharing. With agent-based modeling, we will examine the consequences of different sharing strategies, in term of group segregation in social networks (Jackson et al., 2017). We expect that polarized emotions sharing would lead to the highest level of group segregation than did other strategies.
Taken together, this project aims to examine how dialectical thinking may influence the processes of digital emotion expression and contagion with big data analysis, survey, and eye-tracking studies (Study 1 and 2). In Study 3, with priming, field experiment, and agent-based modeling, we will further examine whether dialectical thinking can reduce the contagion of polarized emotions on social media and its negative consequences. Theoretically, this project highlights the how psychological factors, such as culture values, emotion processes, may affect the emotions and behavioral on social media. Practically, this project will shed light on developing intervention that can counteract the polarized emotion expression and contagion in social media and their negative consequences.
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Challenge or hindrance? The impact of platform algorithmic stressor on digital gig workers' proactive service behavior
ZHANG Zhenduo, GUO Jianing, LI Hao, WANG Honglei
2024, 32 (11):  1768-1785.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2024.01768
Abstract ( 272 )   PDF (796KB) ( 341 )   Peer Review Comments
The burgeoning gig economy, underpinned by online service platforms, has become a critical source of employment and a catalyst for economic efficiency. Despite the benefits, the algorithmic management inherent in these platforms introduces a new type of stressor for digital gig workers, impacting their service behavior. However, there is a shortage of clarity and measurement tools regarding the concept of digital gigs' algorithmic stressors.
This study seeks to fill an important research gap by examining the implications of platform algorithmic stressors on the proactive service behavior of digital gig workers. Drawing from the gig economy context and existing research on algorithmic management, this study introduces the concept of "algorithmic stressors on digital gig workers." It first delves into the conceptual meanings and structural aspects of this concept, and then introduces the dual pathway of cognitive evaluation of challenge-hindrance stress to explore its impact and boundary conditions on proactive service behavior. The ultimate goal is to address fundamental scientific inquiries such as "What are the effects of algorithmic stressors on digital gig workers?" and "How do these stressors influence gig workers' proactive service behavior?"
This study proposes a research framework based on a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative exploration and quantitative verification, resulting in three logically connected sub-studies. (1) Starting from the functional characteristics of algorithmic management in online service platforms and combining the interaction process between gig workers and algorithmic systems, this study employs both qualitative and quantitative research methods to define the concept of algorithmic stressors on digital gig workers, extract its subdimensions, analyze its connotations, and subsequently develop measurement tools. (2) Based on the theory of stress cognitive appraisal, this study explores the differentiated mechanisms through which the challenging-hindrance cognitive appraisal of algorithmic stressors on digital gig workers influences gig workers' proactive service behavior, providing a theoretical foundation for clarifying the impact of algorithmic stressors on gig workers' proactive service behavior. (3) Building on the dual pathways of gain and loss of algorithmic stressors on gig workers' proactive service behavior, this study further explores the cross-level moderating effects of platform algorithmic fairness and platform algorithmic support, aiming to elucidate how algorithmic characteristics at the organizational level function as boundary conditions in differentiated pressure impact pathways.
This study defines algorithmic stresses on digital gig workers as the stress experiences generated by digital gig workers in the process of interacting with algorithms under platform algorithm management, and the types of these stress experiences are related to the different functions of algorithm management. The findings indicate that algorithmic stressors on digital gig workers, when perceived as challenging, can positively influence problem-solving pondering and attentiveness, thereby promoting proactive service behavior. Conversely, when these stressors are appraised as hindrances, they can lead to work-related rumination and job anxiety, negatively affecting the propensity for proactive service behavior. When algorithms are perceived as fair, digital gig workers tend to challenge the evaluation of algorithm stressors; At the same time, the higher the level of platform algorithm support perceived by gig workers, the weaker the negative impact of hinderance cognitive appraisal.
This study constructs a theoretical model of the impact of algorithmic stressors on digital gig workers' individual proactive service behavior, with the following three theoretical innovations. Firstly, based on the characteristics of algorithmic management in online service platforms and the human-computer interaction process between gig workers and algorithmic systems, this study proposes the concept of algorithmic stressors on digital gig workers. It effectively bridges the current research on algorithmic management work characteristics and gig worker stress experiences, providing a reliable measurement tool for subsequent related research. Second, based on the theory of stress cognitive appraisal, this study explores the dual pathways of challenging and hindrance stress cognitive appraisal through which algorithmic stressors influences gig workers' proactive service behavior, addressing the current research gap in neglecting the potential positive work stress brought by algorithmic management to digital gig workers. Third, this study clarifies the cross-level moderating effects of algorithmic management characteristics in online service platforms on the dual cognitive appraisal pathways of algorithmic pressure influencing gig workers' proactive service behavior. This not only supplements more theoretical details for revealing the interactive mechanisms between gig work environment characteristics and stress responses in online service platforms, but also provides more targeted references and insights for optimizing work resource allocation in platform organizations from a "humanistic" perspective in terms of management strategies and tools.
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Meta-Analysis
The effects of state power on prosocial behavior: A three-level meta-analysis
ZHU Yanhan, HE Bin, SUN Lei
2024, 32 (11):  1786-1799.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2024.01786
Abstract ( 320 )   PDF (2941KB) ( 468 )   Peer Review Comments
State power is temporary activated external power perception whose effects on prosocial behavior were not consistent in previous studies. Some studies have shown its constructive effects on prosocial behavior, while others have demonstrated its destructive effects on prosocial behavior. Thus, some factors may have a potential impact on the role of state power on prosocial behavior. In view of this, this study used the three-level meta-analysis to integrate relevant empirical studies to examine the effects of state power on prosocial behavior and the role of moderating variables in the relationship.
The study was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P).Three databases including CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure), WFD (Wanfang Data) and CSTJD (China Science and Technology Journal Database) were selected for Chinese, and Web of Science、Elsevier、EBSCO、ProQuest、Google Scholar, databases were selected for foreign languages to search relevant studies The keywords for state power were “power” , “power sense”, “state power”, and for prosocial behavior were “prosocial behavior”, “helping behavior”, “altruistic behavior”, “cooperation”, “donation”, “share”, etc. Retrieved on 3 March 2024. In the end, 48 papers (23 in English and 25 in Chinese) with 106 effect sizes were included, with a total sample size of 14871 participants. The research used the metafor package in R to conduct three-level meta-analysis, which solves the problem that the effect size of traditional meta-analysis is not independent, preserves the integrity of information and improves the statistical efficiency.
The results of the publication bias test indicated that there was no significant publication bias in this study. Based on the main effect test, the effect size of the sense of state power on prosocial behavior showed that there was no significant difference in the influence of different levels of state power on prosocial behavior (g= -0.08, p = 0.359, 95%CI [-0.26, 0.11]). The heterogeneity test found significant differences in both within-study variance (levels 2) and between-study variance (levels 3), which indicates significant heterogeneity between studies. The moderating effect test revealed that the relationship between state power and prosocial behavior was moderated by the social visibility of behavior When behavioral society was visible, the state power positively predicted prosocial behavior. When behavioral society is not visible, the state power cannot predict prosocial behavior. In addition, the relationship between state power and prosocial behavior was moderated by behavioral appeal context. When in egoistic appeal, the state power significantly positively predicted prosocial behavior. When in altruistic appeal, the state power does not predict prosocial behavior. However, the moderating effects of age, gender, cultural background, inducing method of state power, type of state power, type of prosocial behavior, data source of prosocial behavior and publication status were not significant.
The study is the first to integrate the relevant empirical research on the relationship between state power and prosocial behavior by using a three-level meta-analysis method, which explore the influence of state power on prosocial behavior and its possible moderating factors. Moreover, for the first time, age, gender, cultural background, priming paradigm of state power, type of state power, type of prosocial behavior, social visibility of behavior, behavioral appeal context, data source of prosocial behavior and publication status were examined as moderating variables to investigate the relationship between the two, revealing the reasons for the heterogeneity of state power 's influence on prosocial behavior. It provides a new perspective or theoretical interpretation of the inconsistent conclusions of the existing studies on the relationship between two. This contributes to a deeper understanding of the relationship between state power and prosocial behavior and the moderating mechanisms.
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Research Method
Toolkits for virtual reality research in psychology
HAN Ming, KUAI Shu-Guang
2024, 32 (11):  1800-1813.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2024.01800
Abstract ( 342 )   PDF (593KB) ( 406 )   Peer Review Comments
Virtual Reality (VR) is increasingly recognized as a groundbreaking tool in psychological research, offering the ability to create controlled, ecologically valid environments uniquely suited for studying human behavior and cognitive processes. However, despite its transformative potential, developing VR experiments presents significant technical challenges, particularly for researchers who may not possess advanced programming skills. To address these challenges, a variety of specialized tools have been developed to simplify the creation of VR experiments. These tools enable researchers to focus more on experimental design and less on the complex technical intricacies associated with VR development.
This review systematically categorizes and assesses a diverse array of VR tools introduced in recent years. These tools are classified into two primary categories: general-purpose experimental frameworks and those tailored to specific experimental paradigms. General-purpose experimental frameworks, such as those based on Unity, offer highly flexible environments that can be adapted to a wide range of experimental designs. These frameworks are particularly advantageous for researchers who need to create complex, customized VR experiments. For example, Unity-based frameworks are versatile and powerful, allowing detailed control over experimental conditions, though they often require some programming expertise. In contrast, tools tailored to specific experimental paradigms, such as VREX for attention and memory research, provide pre-configured templates and resources. These specialized tools simplify the setup process, minimize the need for technical adjustments, and allow researchers to conduct studies with minimal setup time. This review also highlights recent progress and new tools that combine physiological signal recording devices with VR, demonstrating how this integration can enhance research capabilities.
By detailing the key features and potential use cases of each tool, the review provides psychological researchers with valuable insights into selecting the most appropriate tools for their experimental goals. Furthermore, the review summarizes the usage methods, technical foundations, and accessibility of these tools through tables, offering well-organized resources and an informative guide for researchers. This contributes to the ongoing evolution of psychological research methodologies and empowers researchers to explore new frontiers in understanding human behavior and cognition through VR.
The review also explores emerging trends and future directions in VR experiment development, introducing new concepts such as the “meta-framework” and the “experiment as code” approach. These innovative ideas advocate for unifying various tools and frameworks under a common architecture, thereby making VR experiment development more accessible, efficient, and standardized. The meta-framework concept, in particular, seeks to enhance the scalability, reproducibility, and consistency of VR experiments, addressing many of the current challenges faced by researchers in VR-based psychological studies. To further illustrate the advantages of these concepts, the paper presents a more specific model: the “researcher-developer-participant” meta-framework development model. This model, when combined with cloud-based collaborative approaches, emphasizes the separation of research design from technical implementation. Such a division allows for greater flexibility and standardization in VR experiments, making it more feasible for a wider range of researchers to adopt VR technology in their studies. By enabling researchers to focus on the conceptual aspects of their research while specialized developers handle the technical execution, these concepts have the potential to create more accessible and scalable VR solutions, thereby opening up new avenues for investigation and discovery.
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Application of machine learning methods in test security
GAO Xuliang, LI Ning
2024, 32 (11):  1814-1828.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2024.01814
Abstract ( 193 )   PDF (657KB) ( 237 )   Peer Review Comments
Abnormal response behavior in psychological and educational tests compromises the reliability of the test and the validity of the resulting scores. In the context of academic achievement tests, such behaviors may result in inaccurate assessments of students' learning levels by teachers. Similarly, in questionnaires, these behaviors can impact the reliability of the questionnaires and the interpretation of the results. The potential negative consequences of these abnormal behaviors pose a significant threat to the security of the tests and the quality of the screening of the test administrators. At present, the prevailing approach to addressing the issue of test security is through the application of statistics. However, the increasing prevalence of diverse testing formats and the generation of substantial volumes of real-time process data have introduced novel considerations to the domain of test security. The incorporation of diverse test security detection processes with complex interactions poses a significant challenge for statistics. The analysis of these unstructured process data calls for the development of novel approaches that extend beyond latent feature modeling.
The application of machine learning methods is becoming increasingly prevalent in psychological and educational measurement research. Machine learning algorithms can learn from data and make predictions or decisions about unknown events without explicit instructions. These algorithms offer several advantages over traditional methods. Firstly, they are not limited by specific theories or assumptions and are designed to identify generalizable predictive patterns. Secondly, they can jointly model all variables related to the participants as input features, thus utilizing all available information. Thirdly, the training of machine learning models is often based on real data, reducing the problem of misfit between statistical models and empirical data. Finally, machine learning algorithms are highly efficient and capable of modeling and analyzing large amounts of assessment data in real time.
The review was divided into three principal sections. First, machine learning algorithms were classified into three principal categories: supervised, unsupervised, and semi-supervised learning methods. These categories were further subdivided into three subcategories: ensemble learning, deep learning, and transfer learning. Each study was included in a different broad category based on the underlying model used for the review. The theory of each machine learning method was first introduced, and then the application of the method is reviewed. The test security issues addressed in this study could be broadly classified into two categories: cheating in educational tests and careless responding in questionnaires. We then proceeded to examine the applicability of various machine learning methods across different test types and anomaly types. To conclude, we presented three practical recommendations for researchers and practitioners. (1) Obtaining high-quality labeled data for test security studies is challenging. There are three methods for obtaining labeled data: the simulation emulation method, the manual labeling method, and the SMOTE method. (2) Other techniques for initial data include missing value interpolation, data encoding, and feature scaling. (3) The selection of input features is also an important consideration. Finally, prospective avenues for future research were identified from the following perspectives: machine learning-based person-fit research, machine learning test security research based on multimodal data, test security research based on generative adversarial networks, and the interpretability of research results.
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Regular Articles
The impact of visual attention on decision-making and its mechanisms
ZHANG Xiangyi, WU Yilin
2024, 32 (11):  1829-1843.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2024.01829
Abstract ( 330 )   PDF (522KB) ( 479 )   Peer Review Comments
The role of visual attention in decision-making processes and the mechanisms that underlie its influence have garnered significant research attention in recent years. Visual attention, as a fundamental mechanism for information selection and cognitive resource allocation, serves as the cornerstone for information processing and cognitive functions, as well as a vital prerequisite for executing various social behaviors. Up to now, extensive empirical evidence has consistently demonstrated that visual attention exerts a profound impact on individuals' decision-making preferences. However, a comprehensive examination of how visual attention differentially influences various types of decision-making, and the underlying mechanisms responsible for these effects, remains elusive.
The present article endeavors to bridge this gap by exploring the multifaceted influence of visual attention on perceptual decision-making, preferential decision-making, and other forms of social decision-making. By conducting a thorough review of existing literature, we systematically categorize and discuss the effects of visual attention across these domains. Furthermore, we delve into four pivotal hypotheses: the mere exposure effect, the gaze cascade hypothesis, the sequential sampling model (encompassing the drift diffusion model and the attentional drift diffusion model), and the adaptive attention representation model. These frameworks provide valuable insights into how visual attention shapes decision-making processes.
According to a comprehensive review of previous studies, the article examines the influence of visual attention on three typical types of decision-making. Our findings reveal that visual attention's impact on perceptual decision-making is primarily evident in two distinct aspects: the selection of relevant targets and the preferential attraction towards salient stimuli, coupled with the inhibition of non-target salient stimuli. In the realm of preferential decision-making, we observe a dynamic interplay between attention and option value, wherein attention amplifies the subjective worth of options, and prolonged attention towards an option intensifies the preference for it. Conversely, the value of an option also steers an individual's gaze, resulting in a longer fixation on preferred options. In addition, the interplay between bottom-up and top-down attention, in conjunction with social context (object), may also play a pivotal role in shaping individuals' social decision-making preferences.
A thorough examination of related studies and theories underscores the predictive power of visual attention indicators (such as relative gaze duration, first fixation, and last fixation) in forecasting individuals' decision behaviors. Building upon these insights, we posit that visual attention exerts its influence on decision-making primarily through the mechanism of accumulating evidence pertaining to the attended option. Among the various theoretical frameworks, the sequential sampling model emerges as a particularly robust explanation for the intricate relationship between visual attention and decision-making. This has important theoretical value and practical insights for our in-depth understanding of the interaction between visual attention and decision-making. What's more, this article also contributes to the further development of a sequential sampling model of visual attention influencing decision-making.
To advance our understanding of this intricate interplay, we propose four avenues for future research. Firstly, studies should manipulate option preferences with varying degrees of disparity to ascertain the generalization of findings derived from studies involving similarly preferred options. Secondly, investigating moderating factors within decision-making contexts and visual environments is crucial. Thirdly, a holistic approach to studying human decision-making behavior, incorporating auditory, olfactory, and even implicit attention, offers a promising avenue to comprehensively assess the differential impacts of various attention types on decision-making. Lastly, further exploration of the mechanisms underpinning the sequential sampling model is imperative to deepen our comprehension of the intricate effects of visual attention on decision-making processes.
In conclusion, this article offers a comprehensive overview of the multifaceted influence of visual attention on decision-making, elucidating its mechanisms and proposing avenues for future research. By doing so, we contribute to both the theoretical understanding of the intricate relationship between visual attention and decision-making and the practical implications of these findings for various domains.
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Beyond visual constraints: Interdisciplinary exploration of aphantasia
QI Denghui, ZHANG Delong
2024, 32 (11):  1844-1853.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2024.01844
Abstract ( 354 )   PDF (464KB) ( 379 )   Peer Review Comments
Aphantasia , a unique psychological condition in which certain individuals, in the absence of external sensory input, cannot involuntarily generate or recreate symbolic images and sensory experiences in their minds. Due to the non-universality of human experiences, there is a general belief that the ability to internally simulate visual sensory experiences, known as visual imagery, is shared by everyone. However, in reality, there are substantial differences in human visual imagery, a fact that has only gradually gained attention in recent years. Aphantasia, as an extreme case of individual differences in mental imagery, challenges traditional theories in cognitive psychology, highlighting that not everyone possesses vivid visual images.
The study reviews the psychological phenomenon of aphantasia, including its characteristics, assessment methods, and cognitive strategies. It discusses the limitations of subjective self-report tools used to assess mental imagery, such as the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ), and examines objective experimental techniques like binocular rivalry and advanced brain imaging to confirm the validity of aphantasia. By combining subjective self-report assessments with objective experimental paradigms, the study delves deeply into the neural and cognitive mechanisms underlying aphantasia. The findings reveal that, despite their inability to generate visual images, individuals with aphantasia typically employ compensatory strategies, such as non-visual strategies like verbal descriptions, to overcome their deficits in visual imagery. These strategies are not only evident in the realms of imagination and memory but also manifest in areas such as spatial abilities, metacognition, emotional experiences, dreaming, creativity, and synesthesia. This discovery challenges the traditional notion that imagination and memory primarily rely on visual processing, suggesting instead that these cognitive functions can be supported by other sensory and cognitive mechanisms. The diversity in cognitive strategies enriches our understanding of human thought and offers new perspectives on how cognitive tasks can be effectively performed in the absence of visual input.
Furthermore, the study discusses the intersection of deep learning models and cognitive neuroscience, expanding its innovative approach by exploring the role of deep learning models in understanding aphantasia. The development of deep learning models not only advances the convergence of cognitive science and artificial intelligence but also provides new avenues for uncovering the neural computational mechanisms underlying aphantasia. By utilizing deep neural networks to simulate the hierarchical structure and distributed processing of the ventral visual pathway, the study presents a novel approach to modeling the cognitive patterns associated with aphantasia. This interdisciplinary method not only deepens our understanding of aphantasia but also contributes to discussions on human cognitive diversity within the fields of artificial intelligence and cognitive science. The application of deep learning models represents a significant advancement in aphantasia research, offering a new method for investigating how the brain compensates for the lack of mental imagery. These models provide a framework for simulating the cognitive processes of individuals with aphantasia, allowing researchers to explore how non-visual strategies are implemented at the neural level. This approach opens new avenues for studying the neural computations that support alternative cognitive strategies, potentially aiding in the development of more adaptable and versatile artificial intelligence systems that can mimic these strategies.
The implications of this research extend beyond the study of aphantasia, offering valuable insights into the broader field of cognitive diversity. By understanding how individuals with aphantasia complete tasks without visual imagery, the study highlights the importance of considering cognitive diversity in both cognitive science and artificial intelligence. The findings suggest that human cognition is not monolithic but rather encompasses a wide range of strategies and processes, each suited to different individuals' cognitive architectures. This perspective has significant implications for the development of more inclusive and adaptable AI systems that can accommodate diverse cognitive profiles.
The study proposes several directions for future research. A key area is the exploration of multisensory modalities in aphantasia, which could provide further insights into how individuals with this condition integrate information across different sensory domains. Additionally, the study suggests that future research should focus on developing new deep learning models that can more accurately simulate the cognitive patterns associated with aphantasia. These models could be used to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying this condition, offering a more comprehensive understanding of how the brain processes information in the absence of visual imagery. Moreover, the research emphasizes the potential of using these models to explore the diversity of cognitive processing in the human brain. By simulating different cognitive strategies, researchers can gain a deeper understanding of the neural computations that support various forms of cognition. This approach could also contribute to the development of more human-like intelligent systems, which are capable of adapting to different cognitive styles and strategies.
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Rapid memory consolidation: Schema-based learning and repeated reactivation
ZHOU Fan, TIAN Haoyue, JIANG Yingjie
2024, 32 (11):  1854-1871.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2024.01854
Abstract ( 214 )   PDF (548KB) ( 351 )   Peer Review Comments
Memory consolidation refers to the process of transforming newly acquired memories into a more stable and lasting form that can be retrieved over long periods. Traditionally, two forms of consolidation have been identified: synaptic consolidation and system consolidation. Synaptic consolidation involves the molecular processes that occur immediately after learning, stabilizing the synaptic and cellular changes produced by learning. System consolidation, which is the focus of this review, entails the reorganization of memory representations within brain networks over longer periods and most often refers to the transfer of memories from the hippocampus to the neocortex. Although system consolidation has traditionally been considered a slow process, taking years or even longer, recent research suggests that memories can consolidate very rapidly under certain circumstances.
This paper reviews studies that demonstrate rapid memory consolidation and identifies four factors that accelerate system consolidation. First, prior learning experiences significantly impact the consolidation of new information. Early studies on the expertise effect have shown that chess masters can remember the positions of pieces on a chessboard significantly better than novices. Recent research indicates that prior learning experiences not only affect memory encoding but also expedite the transfer of memories from the hippocampus to the cortex. Second, specific encoding strategies, such as fast mapping and unitization encoding, can promote rapid consolidation. Fast mapping involves rapidly assigning labels to new concepts based on existing categories, while unitization involves grouping information into a single coherent unit. Both strategies have been shown to benefit amnesia patients with severe hippocampal damage in memory tests, suggesting that these encoding methods may produce rapid cortical consolidation by integrating new material directly into memory networks without relying on the hippocampus. Third, sleep has been shown to lead to changes associated with consolidation after even a single period of sleep following new learning. These changes include alterations in the neural basis and the nature of the memory, making the memory less dependent on the hippocampus and more abstract. Fourth, memory retrieval can serve as a shortcut to memory consolidation. Similar to sleep, retrieval can also produce changes in the neural basis and the nature of the memory. Moreover, the memory advantage of retrieval compared to re-study is more likely to be observed after longer delays, suggesting that retrieval benefits the consolidation phase rather than the encoding phase.
Our analysis of these factors suggests that system consolidation can be accelerated through two pathways. The first pathway is schema-based learning. Prior learning experiences, particularly those forming well-established knowledge structures (schemas), significantly impact how we consolidate new information. Schemas act as an organizing scaffold, facilitating the integration of new information with existing knowledge. When new information aligns with existing schemas, the neural representations activated in the medial prefrontal region partially overlap with established representations. This overlap gives the new information an advantage in Hebbian learning (where neurons that fire together wire together), accelerating its integration and absorption. This could also explain why encoding methods like fast mapping and unitization, which rely on pre-existing knowledge, promote rapid consolidation. The second pathway is repeated reactivation. Reactivation has been considered a key factor driving consolidation. During sleep, memories are spontaneously replayed at a compressed timescale compared to waking experience (20-60 times faster), allowing memories to be reactivated multiple times in a short period. During retrieval, due to the imprecision of recall, a large amount of information semantically or episodically related to the target is activated, and these activations spread to the target. As a result, the target memory is repeatedly activated.
Future research could explore the following areas: First, the role of the hippocampus in cortical learning needs further investigation. In schema-based learning, researchers emphasize direct cortical learning, with more attention given to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. However, it is unclear whether the hippocampus facilitates or guides this direct cortical learning process. Second, future research should investigate the significance of interference suppression during memory consolidation. The organizing scaffold provided by schemas can reduce interference between similar information, and there are mechanisms for suppressing interference during sleep and retrieval. Third, the potential downsides of rapid consolidation deserve exploration. While learning methods that promote rapid memory consolidation enhance memory storage, they may also have side effects that lead to false memories.
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How do processing fluency, expectation, and epistemic goals influence aesthetic judgment? A perspective of multi-model integration
GAO Cheng, LIU Chang
2024, 32 (11):  1872-1881.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2024.01872
Abstract ( 214 )   PDF (473KB) ( 237 )   Peer Review Comments
For the explanation of the mental processing of aesthetic experience and judgment, one mainstream view was called the fluency theory of aesthetic pleasure, which held that the ease with which stimuli were processed could induce positive emotions, and thus promoting positive evaluation. However, the conceptual development and empirical research in the past 20 years have shown that it cannot explain all aesthetic judgments, especially those complex phenomena related to aesthetic experience. The reason lies in two main aspects. On the one hand, empirical aesthetic evidence from outside the field of visual arts was rather scarce. On the other hand, it is doubtful whether the experiment results based on simple stimuli could be applied to communicative interactions with complex artworks. Furthermore, the idea that processing fluency directly influences aesthetic judgment is also questioned. In addition to aesthetic pleasure, the outcomes of aesthetic judgment also involve stronger positive reactions such as being moved, fascination, as well as more complex aesthetic emotions such as indifference, while little evidence showed that processing fluency led to intense positive reactions.
In recent years, researchers have emphasized the influence of expectation and epistemic motivation on the processing fluency of aesthetic judgment. On the one hand, aesthetic judgments depend not only on processing fluency itself, but also on individuals' expectations of fluency. Compared with other models related to expectation, the predictive processing frameworks (PPF) has a more general and detailed elaboration of lower-level perceptual activities, which allows for a better explanation of the psychological mechanisms of processing fluency. The contribution of PPF to the fluency theory of aesthetic judgment can be mainly reflected in two aspects: one is to help explain the psychological mechanism of processing fluency, the other is to provide a generalized view of fluency and its emotional function. In contrast to earlier theories of fluency, PPF offers a new explanation of the source and psychological mechanism of fluency, that the dynamics of stimuli fluency change as a function of the predictive model of the brain's current activation. In other words, the fluency of stimuli is not stable, but rather dynamically changes as a function of the perceiver's current expectations.
On the other hand, the challenge faced by early fluency theories in the field of aesthetics was that people sometimes appreciate unexpected, novel, and complex artworks. The fluency theory of aesthetic pleasure and PPF alone cannot explain this phenomenon because it is the same challenge that both face in the field of aesthetics. Therefore, for artworks with obvious disfluencies, the outcome of aesthetic judgment also depends on whether the perceiver is motivated to evaluate or reduce the disfluencies by further processing aesthetic stimuli, which inspires us to explain individuals' preferences for the fluency of stimuli from the perspective of epistemic goals by integrating the epistemic motivation model (EMM) in the field of cognitive motivation.
On the basis of incorporating insights from PPF and EMM, it is expected to revise and update the original hedonic fluency theory into a multi-model integrated fluency interpretation framework for aesthetic judgment. In general, the processing of aesthetic judgment involves two consecutive phases: an initial automatic phase and a subsequent control phase. The former of which is manifested in the influence of expectations on the experience of fluency and the perception of stimuli, and the latter of which is manifested in the shaping of epistemic goals on the perception of fluency and aesthetic response. Specifically, the expectations include not only expectation of aesthetic object itself, but also expectation of processing fluency. The epistemic goals include both directional goals and non-directional goals, all of which have the potential to influence how fluency is involved in aesthetic judgement and what specific effect it will have.
By integrating perspectives from PPF and EMM, the framework can better explain the contradictory and complex fluency effects in the process of aesthetic judgment. Importantly, the perspective of multi-model integration not only provides theoretical support to better explain the paradoxical and complex fluency effects in the process of aesthetic judgment, but also points out the direction for future empirical research in this field.
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Are radical creativity and incremental creativity conceptually and empirically distinctive? An analysis on the 2011~2024 literature
LUO Nanfeng, LI Tongjian, CHEN Wen, ZHANG Huijun, LIU Junchi, SHEN Ziwei
2024, 32 (11):  1882-1897.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2024.01882
Abstract ( 158 )   PDF (543KB) ( 255 )   Peer Review Comments
Since Gilson and Madjar (2011) first introduced the distinction between radical and incremental creativity, echoing the concepts of radical and incremental innovation in organizational innovation research, related theoretical and empirical studies have gradually emerged. This study reviews 79 relevant articles published between 2011 and 2024, examining the theoretical foundations and empirical evidence supporting the differentiation of these two types of creativity. Our findings show that while most studies theoretically distinguish between radical and incremental creativity, only half of the studies have constructed research questions and theoretical models based on their differences. Empirically, although some studies present evidence of discriminant validity in measurement instruments, most have yet to directly test the significance of the differential impacts of radical and incremental creativity. Notably, over 40% of the studies fail to theoretically distinguish or provide empirical support for the two constructs.
Theoretically, the distinction between radical and incremental creativity is rooted in the literature on organizational innovation and learning (Benner & Tushman, 2003; Dewar & Dutton, 1986), with radical creativity referring to ideas that fundamentally differ from existing practices or products, and incremental creativity representing minor improvements within existing frameworks. This classification is grounded in the creativity component theory (Amabile et al., 1996), which posits that creativity comprises domain-relevant skills, creative-thinking skills, and task motivation, each of which may differentially influence radical and incremental creativity. For instance, internal motivation is more strongly associated with radical creativity, while external motivation tends to enhance incremental creativity.
Empirically, the relationship between radical and incremental creativity remains inconclusive. Within the empirical studies related to radical and incremental creativity in the current review, most studies report a positive correlation between the two, with varying degrees of strength, despite some studies also find negative correlations or no significant relationship. A meta-analysis conducted in this study reveals a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.47) between radical and incremental creativity, suggesting that these constructs are distinct yet related. However, the high correlation may be partly attributed to common method biases in data collection, highlighting the need for more rigorous empirical designs. Regarding discriminant validity, confirmatory factor analyses in the reviewed studies consistently demonstrate that measurement models with separate constructs for radical and incremental creativity fit the data better than those with a single combined construct, providing strong evidence for their distinction. Further, comparisons of average variance extracted (AVE) values and correlation coefficients also support the discriminant validity of the two constructs. Despite these advancements, the empirical evidence for the differentiated impacts of radical and incremental creativity remains limited. Only a minority of studies have directly tested the significance of differences in the regression coefficients of third variables on radical and incremental creativity. These studies reveal that various antecedents, moderators, and consequences exhibit differential effects on the two types of creativity, underscoring the importance of distinguishing them in research.
To advance the field, we propose four aspects for scholars to consider in their future work related with radical and incremental creativity: (1) strengthen the theoretical foundations for distinguishing radical and incremental creativity; (2) adopt more rigorous empirical designs to mitigate common method biases; (3) improve methodology rigor, such as collecting data at different time points or using objective measures; (4) directly test the significance of differences in the impacts of third variables on radical and incremental creativity. In addition, we urge more scholarly attention on exploring the antecedents, moderators, and consequences of the two types of creativity more thoroughly. Specifically, we highlight the following questions for future inquiries: (1) how does factors, such as task complexity, fairness, and culture, influence radical and incremental creativity? (2) how do these two types of creativities impact individuals and organizations differentially? (3) how do team structures, leadership, and culture facilitate or hinder these creativities at a team level? By addressing these gaps, future research can offer a more nuanced understanding of the nature and implications of radical and incremental creativity.
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The causes of intimate partner violence: Attitude-based explanations from the perspective of social learning and feminist theory
TU Hua, ZHANG Chunmei
2024, 32 (11):  1898-1911.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2024.01898
Abstract ( 420 )   PDF (520KB) ( 568 )   Peer Review Comments
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a prevalent form of violence characterized by aggressive or controlling behaviour by one partner towards the other in an intimate relationship. Intimate partner violence attitudes (IPVA), on the other hand, refers to attitudes of acceptance or disapproval of violence within such relationships. At the individual level, IPVA can significantly predict a person's behavior related to IPV, affecting not only the perpetrator or victim but also the willingness of third parties to intervene. At the group level, IPVA also predicts national prevalence of IPV, with more negative attitudes towards IPV (e.g. more accepting or condoning IPV) correlating with higher incidence rates in a country or region. By introducing attitudes into the field of IPV, researchers can shift the focus from examining the causes of IPV itself to understanding the underlying factors that shape these attitudes, thereby overcoming previous research limitations.
Drawing from the perspectives of social learning theory and feminist theory, IPV attitudes establish a connection between two explanatory paths: IPV-related social learning experiences/patriarchal ideology-IPV attitudes-IPV. Social Learning Theory focuses on the process of behavioural acquisition, emphasizing the influence of role models in social learning experiences. Introducing attitudes as a mediating cognitive variable helps explain the differences in how the same environment affects the behaviors of different individuals. Specifically, this theory addresses the impact of IPV-related social learning experiences on IPV attitudes from both the family of origin and external perspectives. Feminist Theory, by contrast, is rooted in the phenomenon of gender asymmetry in IPV and explains the nature of IPV from the standpoint of patriarchal ideology. It explores the impact of patriarchal ideology on IPV attitudes from both gender and gender role perspectives. By introducing IPV attitudes, feminist theory clarifies the specific pathways through which socio-cultural contexts influence IPV.
Among these two IPV theories, Social Learning Theory emphasizes the process of IPV formation, while Feminist Theory focuses on the root causes of IPV. By incorporating attitudes into the study of IPV, both theories add cognitive mediators with subjective initiative into the overall environment-individual behavior framework. This results in two causal paths: "IPV-related social learning experiences-IPV attitudes-IPV" and "patriarchal ideology-IPV attitudes-IPV." These causal paths significantly enhance the explanatory power of the original theories. While addressing the causes of IPV, they also pave the way for developing a more comprehensive and explanatory theory in the future, which could be applied to the practice of IPV prevention and intervention.
Future research can benefit from combining the unique perspectives of social learning theory on causal processes and feminist theory on causal roots. This integration should incorporate both protective and risk factors at individual and group levels to develop a multivariate interacting explanatory model of IPV attitudes. By linking the influences of IPV and IPVA across individual, family, group, and national dimensions, researchers can explore not only the individual-level impacts of IPVA but also the antecedent variables of IPV prevalence at a broader socio-ecological level. By investigating the risk factors and the protective factors that contribute to positive IPV attitudes, not only can researchers and healthcare practitioner identify potential IPV perpetrators, but they can also develop corresponding preventative strategies. By examining not only the mechanisms through which different factors influence IPV and IPVA, but also their interrelationships, researchers can develop a comprehensive multivariate interactive explanatory model of IPVA.
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The impacts of proximal and distal food sensory factors on consumers' perceptions of food healthiness and their choices of healthy foods
HU Guimei, YAN Yan, LIANG Xueying, LIU Wumei
2024, 32 (11):  1912-1932.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2024.01912
Abstract ( 221 )   PDF (784KB) ( 308 )   Peer Review Comments
Sensory cues, including color, flavor, and taste, significantly influence individuals' perception of food healthiness and their choice of healthy foods. Digital marketing has presented an abundance of new application scenarios for food-related sensory factors. However, traditional classifications of sensory factors do not fully capture the variety of food sensory perceptions in today's technology-driven context. Therefore, we propose segmenting food sensory factors into four categories, based on distance of detection (distant vs. proximal) and source of experience (direct vs. indirect). These categories are: distant-direct, distant-indirect, proximal-direct, and proximal-indirect sensory factors. This paper first outlines the differing influences of the primary sensory characteristics within these four categories on perceptions of food healthiness and the choice of healthy foods. Distant sensory factors chiefly involve visual and external sound cues related to food. Our focus is on the visual features of food, such as color, shape, aesthetic properties, sound cues from food preparation for direct visual experiences, and elements like food packaging visuals/digital visuals and packaging sounds for indirect experiences. The intent is to summarize the effects of these visual and auditory sensory cues on the perception of food healthiness and the choice of healthy food. Proximal sensory factors, on the other hand, primarily include tactile, olfactory, gustatory, and internal sound cues. These can be further classified into direct experiences of food touch, smell, taste, and chewing sounds, and imagined or digitally simulated experiences. The paper then discusses how these factors shape consumers' perceptions of food healthiness and their choices of healthy food. The paper's secondary focus is the mechanisms through which different types of food sensory factors influence perceptions and choices around healthy food. For distant sensory factors, direct and indirect experiences mainly operate through mental simulation and cognitive processing mechanisms. Meanwhile, proximal sensory factors primarily functioning through physiological arousal, brain rewards, emotions, and memory, though indirect factors still employ mental simulation mechanisms. Finally, this paper sheds light on boundary moderation mechanisms, showing how sensory processing traits, sensory stimuli exposure scenarios, and indirect experience scenarios moderate the relationship between food sensory factors and psychological mechanisms, and how food types and individual characteristics can moderate the relationship between psychological mechanisms, and the perceptions of food healthiness and choice. The contributions of our research are threefold: First, it deepens the sensory marketing theory. Current studies often classify sensory factors according to physiological senses without taking into account the difference in distance at which different sensory organs detect stimuli. This limitation makes it difficult to capture the commonality of psychological experiences across distant and proximal senses. As digital technologies have become widespread, virtual sensory experiences are now common, yet current research does not sufficiently factor in sensory factors and sensory experience scenarios. We counter this by reclassifying sensory factors based on sensory detection distance and experience scenarios. By comparing and discussing the different influence mechanisms of the four categories of sensory factors identified, we provide a novel framework for future sensory research. Second, our research advances the field of healthy food marketing. Existing research primarily focuses on how to encourage consumers to choose healthy foods, relying on cues such as food labels and health claims. In contrast, we believe that the sensory factors of food, particularly those of the food itself, are more effective in activating consumers' automatic psychological processes and imaginations. We clarify the influences and mechanisms of sensory factors on consumers' perceptions of food healthiness and choice, thereby fostering an understanding of the mechanisms that drive consumers to choose healthy foods. Lastly, our research enriches our understanding of consumer experiences in today's technology-infused environment. As consumers continually switch between real and virtual sensory experiences, our research builds on consumer experiences in traditional marketing environments and emphasizes the importance of considering both direct and indirect experience scenarios. In helping marketers better understand the psychology and behavior of modern, digital consumers, we aid the promotion of immersive, digital, sensory experiences.
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The effect of environmental sensory cues on dietary decision-making and its mechanisms
QIU Linbo, WAN Xiaoang
2024, 32 (11):  1933-1946.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2024.01933
Abstract ( 265 )   PDF (568KB) ( 300 )   Peer Review Comments
Numerous studies have shown that the surrounding environment can influence people's dietary decisions. In certain instances, people may make food choices based solely on cues from a single sensory channel. Conversely, in other scenarios, people may process environmental cues from multiple sensory channels to make dietary decisions.
On the one hand, unisensory environmental cues, such as visual, auditory, and olfactory cues alone, have been shown to have diverse effects on individuals' dietary decision-making processes. Based on the grounded cognition and grounded emotion theories, we propose that such unisensory cues primarily function in three ways. First, unisensory environmental cues may influence people's perceptions of foods, directly impacting their food choices by altering perceived attributes such as tastes. Second, these cues may affect food choices by influencing people's mental states, particularly their emotional responses. Third, the schema congruency between unisensory environmental cues and foods may influence people's food choices. Although unisensory cues from different channels may exert their influence through these three mechanisms, the extent of their effects varies. Moreover, the above three mechanisms impact people's dietary decisions through both top-down and bottom-up processes.
On the other hand, recent studies have also demonstrated that multisensory environmental cues can influence dietary decisions. When people are confronted with multisensory cues in the environment, they first process these cues, during which multisensory integration, inhibition, or interaction may occur. As for the process of multisensory integration, people combine information from different sensory channels to form a comprehensive, holistic representation of the environment, which influences their food choices. In the process of multisensory inhibition, people's processing of information from one sensory channel may be suppressed by more dominant information from other sensory channels. During multisensory interaction, the processing of information from one sensory channel is modulated by information from other channels. After multisensory processing, environmental sensory cues influence dietary decisions through the three mechanisms previously mentioned. In addition, from a physiological perspective, the food choices made by individuals after comprehensive processing of multisensory environmental cues may be related to the brain's reward and control circuits associated with foods. Several factors, such as individual traits and motivations, choice paradigms and scenarios, and sociocultural contexts, may all moderate the effects of multisensory environmental cues on dietary decision-making. Overall, the influence of environmental sensory cues on individual food choices may be scenario-dependent, reflecting people's adaptive adjustments in food selection strategies under different circumstances.
However, the comparability between current research results is limited because the dependent variables of existing studies focus on food selection, but the indicators are different. Inconsistencies among indicators may make it difficult to directly compare the findings of different studies. As a result, further empirical research and theoretical development are needed to enhance our understanding of this issue. In addition, future research should utilize virtual reality, machine learning, and other technologies to further explore effective environments that promote healthy eating for individuals based on existing theoretical frameworks. In real-world settings, individuals are exposed to a wide range of environmental sensory cues, whereas laboratory settings often simplify these cues. The use of virtual reality or augmented reality technologies can help researchers investigate the impact of multisensory cues in more realistic and controlled environments. Furthermore, with the maturation of artificial intelligence and related technologies, future studies can integrate machine learning algorithms to examine the nuanced effects of multisensory cues on dietary decisions more precisely. As new food materials and production processes become more widespread, it is also crucial to study how environmental sensory cues influence people's choices of foods made with these innovations. In conclusion, reviewing the mechanisms and outcomes of the influence of environmental sensory cues on food choices has direct implications for developing effective health intervention strategies.
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