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·Research Method·

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Identifying psychological indexes based on social media data: A machine learning method SU Yue, LIU Mingming, ZHAO Nan, LIU Xiaoqian, ZHU Tingshao 2021, 29 (4):  571-585.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2021.00571 Abstract ( 3241 )   HTML ( 302 )   PDF (804KB) ( 6064 )   Modeling psychological indexes (i.e., psych-modeling) is an emerging method that uses machine learning algorithms to identify psychological indexes based on big data. This paper reviews the feasibility of psych-modeling methods based on social media data in the field of psychometrics. Frequently used data types and machine learning algorithms are introduced. Then, we summarize psych-modeling's application to various scenarios together with its strengths and weaknesses. Compared with traditional self-reporting methods, psych-modeling has some advantages, including better performance in retrospective studies, greater ecological validity, and greater time-efficiency. However, psych-modeling has several limitations. For example, researchers need to spend extra time and effort to learn this new method and bear the inevitable cost of hardware. In future studies, researchers could investigate further how user's behavior on social media relates to psychological indexes. We also expect psych-modeling will be used in future psychological studies. By combining psychometrics and machine learning, we believe psych-modeling could make great contributions to psychology research and practice in the future. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

Conceptual Framework

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Developmental cognitive mechanism and neural basis of procrastination FENG Tingyong, WANG Xueke, SU Ti 2021, 29 (4):  586-596.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2021.00586 Abstract ( 4507 )   HTML ( 558 )   PDF (809KB) ( 7500 )   Procrastination, as Steel (2007) reviewed, is the phenomenon that individuals voluntarily delay to start or complete an intended course of action despite expecting to be worse off for the delay. The previous studies have indicated that chronic procrastination exists in different cultural backgrounds, with about 15% ~ 20% of adults troubled. Academically, more than 40% of students admit to academic procrastination, and some may even suffer from chronic tendencies. With the rapid development of modern society, the problem of procrastination is more serious and prominent. Obviously, putting off the task irrationally not only does harm to individuals’ study, work, emotion, but also endangers mental health. However, little is known about procrastination concerning the core mechanism of origin, the critical period of its formation, and its corresponding underlying neural substrates. To fill this gap, the current study investigates the core mechanism of procrastinated decision - making which rely on the Temporal Decision Model (TDM) we outlined, and explores the developmental cognitive neural mechanism of procrastination form a behavior - environment - brain perspective, and also sheds light on how to prevent or intervene the procrastination in these critical periods. First of all, the behavioral development measurement of the study aims to use a cross-sectional design to explore the occurrence and developmental characteristics of procrastination, the critical period (sensitive period) and the relevant influence factors (including various environmental and educational variables) of procrastination formation in children with three age groups (6 ~ 8 years, 10 ~ 12 years, and 12 ~ 15 years). And we also investigates the effects or underlying mechanisms of the cognitive abilities such as self-control, long-term value evaluation, time discounting, and emotion regulation on procrastination at each age stage. Meanwhile, the time decision model of procrastination is tested and refined in the study form a developmental perspective. Secondly, on the basis of neural level, procrastination is related to functional deficits in the frontal lobe, limbic system (e.g., amygdala, hippocampus) and other brain regions. Thus, the brain development measurement of the study aims to examine the development of brain structure and brain function in children aged 6 ~ 15 years using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) multimodal imaging techniques (including task, resting, voxel-based morphometry (VBM), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)), and functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) techniques. Based on the correlation analysis among brain structural data, functional data and behavior data, the study systematically investigates the developmental cognitive mechanisms of procrastination that are influenced by relevant influence factors, such as long-term value evaluation, delay discounting, self-control, emotion regulation and episodic future thinking. In addition, the study intends to build a behavioral - environmental - brain multilevel model for predicting the formation of procrastination in children. By integrating multimodal data on behavior, environment, and brain variables, the influence of environmental variables on procrastination through the malleability of brain structure and function is examined using the mediation analysis and structural equation model. What’s more, considering behavioral intervention for procrastination and malleability of the brain development, the study also sheds light on develop a clinical proposal for the prevention and intervention of procrastination at each critical periods according to the developmental characteristics of each age (including childhood, adolescence, and adult), mainly using intervention training methods, such as episodic future thinking, time management, and emotion regulation, and so on. To sum up, on the one hand, the current study can reap enormous scientific contributions to clarify the neurocognitive mechanism and the rules of development of procrastination; on the other hand, the study further obtain the practical significance for the prevention and intervention against procrastination behavior with exploring the effectiveness of intervention from the perspective of brain malleability. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The effect of interpersonal authenticity on coworker interactions within work team TANG Yipeng, REN Zhiyu, PU Xiaoping, HAN Wei 2021, 29 (4):  597-609.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2021.00597 Abstract ( 2734 )   HTML ( 175 )   PDF (728KB) ( 2664 )   Authenticity serves as the key foundation for social interactions. Nevertheless, upon joining an organization, employees are often socialized to regulate and conceal their true selves. Such inauthentic displays not only make the employees stressful, but also bring substantial loss to the companies. Recent years have witnessed an upsurge of both public and academic interest in authenticity at work. Taking a self-based perspective, prior research has focused mainly on personal authenticity. However, authenticity has an inherent orientation towards interpersonal relationship. That is, people may display different levels of authenticity depending on the nature of the interpersonal relationships. To extend the current literature, therefore, this research adopted a socio-relational perspective to propose the concept of interpersonal authenticity. Moreover, grounding on the review of current literature, we postulate that interpersonal authenticity consists of three critical components: cognitive, behavioral, and social. The cognitive component mainly focuses on the knowledge and processing of self-concept. The behavioral component reflects in autonomous behaviors which convey internal values, conscious feelings, and true self. The social component emphasizes honesty in social interactions and the response to social pressure.  A comprehensive model was developed to understand how interpersonal authenticity may influence coworker interactions. Building on social penetration theory and behavioral script theory, we develop a theoretical account of how interpersonal authenticity may help focal employees be socially included and well-liked by coworkers and reap the benefit of getting higher status. Social penetration theory states that people tend to draw close to those who reveal their true selves because interacting with them constitute a rewarding experience and thus increase interpersonal closeness. As employees display authenticity in their interactions with coworkers, the coworkers see the employees as open and vulnerable and thus socially include them because openness and vulnerability suggest a willingness to be involved in an interpersonal relationship and also reduces the interpersonal risk, such as betrayal, for the coworkers. Such social inclusion may enhance the employees’ influence on group decisions, that is, increase their social status in the group. People sometimes are expected to “wear a mask” and act in a desired manner at work. Interpersonal authenticity may not be necessarily functional in facilitating social inclusion under this condition. We, thus, introduce a key contextual moderator: political climate of the work groups. We argue that the positive influence of interpersonal authenticity on social status via social inclusion will be stronger when the work environment has a weak political climate.  Meanwhile, interpersonal authenticity conveys a positive meaning in interpersonal relationships, and thus can lead to interpersonal liking from coworkers. Behavioral script theory posits that people compare a particular behavior with related expectation in the social context to understand the social meaning of this behavior. And, the theory further suggests that such expectation may be shaped by the behavioral pattern of the actor. Since personality trait represents a relatively stable behavioral pattern, we believe that the personality trait of the focal employees may influence whether interpersonal authenticity is acceptable to coworkers. We argue that the effect of interpersonal authenticity on social status via interpersonal liking may be moderated by the dark triad of the employees such that this effect is weaker when the employees have a high level of dark triad. Furthermore, we draw from face-negotiation theory to argue that interpersonal authenticity makes the focal employees concern less about saving face. In this sense, we postulate that interpersonal authenticity may be negatively related to face-concern. And this theory argues that a low level of face concern will be more of an issue under the condition of conflict. We thus further suggest that when team conflict climate is high, interpersonal authenticity may lead to interpersonal exclusion by decreasing the employees’ face-concern. Overall, the research model helps us clarify how and when employees benefit from their interpersonal authenticity in coworker interactions, providing practical implications in building a work environment that encourages employees to be authentic. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The dynamic effect and mechanism of commuting recovery activities on work passion WU Weijiong, FENG Jingming, LIN Yixun, ZHAO Xia 2021, 29 (4):  610-624.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2021.00610 Abstract ( 1047 )   HTML ( 73 )   PDF (770KB) ( 2018 )   During the commuting time, the activities employees used to reduce their physical and mental stress and restore their physical and psychological resources to their normal state are called “commuting recovery activities”. Commuting recovery activities may have a dynamic, cross-domain impact on individuals' work passion. Through the diary research method and potential profile analysis, from short-term to long-term research on the dynamic impact, internal mechanism and boundary conditions of commuting recovery activities on work passion, three key issues were planned to be solved. First, how do commuting recovery activities affect employees' harmonious work passion and obsessive work passion and what are their internal mechanisms? Second, how do employees with different self-regulation patterns play a moderating effect based on the mechanism of commuting recovery activities on work passion? Third, how does the different profile of possible combination of commuting recovery activities affect work passion? The in-depth discussion of these issues not only makes up for the neglected but important research flaws in commuting research and recovery research, but also has strong practical significance for people to increase their work passion by carrying out and improving commuting recovery activities. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

·Regular Articles·

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Interpreter advantages in switching ability ZHAO Hong-ming, DONG Yan-ping 2021, 29 (4):  625-634.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2021.00625 Abstract ( 1212 )   HTML ( 54 )   PDF (644KB) ( 1362 )   Interpreting is an intensive language switching task, and it may thus bring additional benefits to the interpreter’s switching ability on top of what benefits may be produced from general bilingual experience. This paper is a review of the relevant findings of interpreter advantages in switching, hoping to shed light on the more general issue of bilingual advantages in switching. Switching ability could be very complex, and sorting out its complexity as revealed in the literature may help find out the patterns or mechanisms of interpreters’ switching ability. First of all, switch could be either “rule-based” or “task-based”, typically and respectively measured by the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and the color-shape switching task. On the one hand, interpreters have shown advantages in both types of switching ability in the literature. On the other, the patterns of results differ between the advantages in rule-based switch and in task-based switch. To be specific, interpreters’ advantage is relatively more stable in rule-based switch, but empirical studies are not consistent regarding task-based switch. A review of the literature seems to show that there is a developmental change. That is, interpreting training may first bring about an advantage in local switch (indexed by switch cost in a univalent switching task), and then later an advantage in global monitoring (indexed by mixing cost in a bivalent switching task).  The above patterns of results (i.e., stable advantage in rule-based switch; developmental change from local-switch advantage to global-switch advantage in task-based switch) can be accounted for by the control features of interpreting (heavy load of working memory, high demands on cognitive resources). To illustrate, interpreting is a complex task that involves multiple control processes, in which working memory serves as an indispensable module of control. Previous studies have shown that interpreters exhibit a stable advantage in working memory. It is speculated in this paper that the rule-based switch is probably more dependent on working memory than the task-based switch, which may explain why the interpreter advantage in the rule-based switch is more stable than that in the task-based switch. Besides, interpreting puts high demands on different processes of language switching. With limited cognitive resources, beginning student interpreters may find it necessary to first fulfill local switching between two languages so as to catch up with the speed of the task. With more training and more experience, interpreters may become more comfortable in switching between two languages, and thus more cognitive resources are available for globally monitoring the interpreting process. In short, the developmental change from local switch to global monitoring could be attributed to an improvement of efficiency in utilizing cognitive resources. In addition, since interpreter advantage is generally defined as additional benefits when compared with general bilingual experience, the presence of an interpreter advantage must be related to how interpreting tasks differ from general bilingual communications tasks. As regards interpreter advantages in switching, interpreting requires switching between two languages under extreme time pressure, reflecting high intensity in language switching. To test the effect of language switching intensity on the presence of a switching advantage, some studies have compared written translation training with interpreting training. The logic is that written translation requires frequent language switch similar to interpreting, and yet language switch is less intensive in written translation (without time constraint) than in interpreting. The results show that the training of written translation does not bring additional benefits to the trainees’ switching ability as interpreting training does when compared with general bilinguals. The above analysis of interpreter advantages in switching have implications for research on the controversial issue of bilingual advantage. By examining the distinctive features of interpreting, we gained a preliminary understanding of the factors influencing interpreter advantages in switching. Similarly, to clarify the controversy in general bilingual switching advantages, it may be helpful to analyze the specialty of the bilingual experience involved. That means: First, a careful characterization of bilinguals’ language experience is necessary, including whether the bilinguals have interpreting experience and even intensive monolingual experience (e.g., public speaking). Second, some bilinguals do not demonstrate any advantage in switching ability probably because their bilingual experience fails to reach the intensity level of language switching required for generating a switching advantage. Third, in terms of the theories of bilingual language switching, the control features of different bilingual experiences are also worth being taken into account. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The filtering efficiency in visual working memory ZHANG Zhao, ZHANG Liwei, GONG Ran 2021, 29 (4):  635-651.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2021.00635 Abstract ( 1537 )   HTML ( 109 )   PDF (831KB) ( 2228 )   The filtering efficiency is the mechanism to inhibit irrelevant items from entering visual working memory. Studies have shown that it can be measured by using Change Detection Task which contains extra distracters (based on working memory capacity) or Color Recall Task (based on representation precision). The paradigm of the former is relatively mature, including the behavioral and cognitive neurological level whereas the latter has begun to gain attention in recent years,which support the variable precision resource model.  The neural processes underlie filtering efficiency are presence of distractors, initiation of filtering, and filtering success/unnecessary storage, which are orchestrated by the prefrontal cortex and the basal ganglia, the posterior parietal cortex. Nowadays, researches have been made to use transcranial direct current stimulation(tDCS) technology to find out that electrically stimulating the parietal cortex helped working memory capacity increase effectively. However, there are few studies on electrical stimulation of the prefrontal cortex to improve filtering efficiency and the results lack consistency, which deserves further attention.  The life-long development characteristic of filtration efficiency is partly similar to an inverted U-shaped curve: it develops rapidly in adolescence, and after reaching its peak in early adulthood, it shows a downward trend, but there will be no very obvious decline.There are same and different from the characteristic that fluid intelligence declines with age after adulthood: the same is that both filtering effciency and fluid intelligence will decline after reaching the peak, and the difference is that the decline in filtering efficiency is slower than that of fluid intelligence. It may be because the elderly have activated a wider area of the brain to compensate for the filtering efficiency.This assumption can be verified by longitudinal tracking studies or comparisons of all age groups. Special disorders (such as Parkinson's disease, trait anxiety, depression, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia) and negative emotional factors mainly cause the damage and weakening of filtering efficiency.The cognitive style of independent analysis, the thinking mode that grasps the essence of information, and the high representation accuracy are beneficial to the filtering efficiency. At the same time, adding clues and regulate training can also effectively improve the filtering efficiency. Problems that need to be solved in future research include clarifying the causal relationship between filtration efficiency and working memory capacity. Discerning whether the psychological realization process of filtering effectiveness is through increased attention to the target item or the inhibition of distracted items, or both? Exploring the differences in the brain mechanism of the filtering efficiency of groups of different ages, special obstacles and occupations. Improving the ecological validity of basic research paradigms by changing experimental materials, difficulty, and applying virtual reality technology. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Positivity effects in working memory: The effects of emotional valence and task relevance DING Linjie, LI Xu, YIN Shufei 2021, 29 (4):  652-664.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2021.00652 Abstract ( 2867 )   HTML ( 216 )   PDF (767KB) ( 3327 )   Age-related positivity effects refer to the phenomenon that older adults display a preference for positive rather than negative information in cognitive processing. Previous studies using neutral materials have found that WM performance declines with aging. In recent years, empirical and theoretical research have begun to explore the effect of emotional valence on WM performance in the elderly and have revealed an interaction between emotional valance and task-relevance on positivity effects. Positivity effects has been observed in WM studies with emotional valence acting as a kind of task-relevant information. For instance, older people have enhanced performance in WM tasks with positive emotional stimuli, and decreased performance on negative emotional stimuli. In contrast, less attention has focused on the area of emotional valence as task-irrelevant information in WM and conflicting findings also have been reported. Some studies have found that the presence of negative irrelevant emotional stimuli reduces WM performance of older adults, while other studies have found that positive distractors have greater interference on WM of older adults. These remind that both emotional valence and task relevance are critical components in the processing of positivity effects in WM. Preliminary neuroimaging studies have revealed age-related functional changes in the dorsal executive system (including the middle frontal gyrus and the parietal cortex) and ventral affective system (including the left inferior frontal cortex and the amygdala). The middle frontal gyrus and the inferior frontal gyrus are both involved in inhibiting task-irrelevant emotional stimuli in WM and are less activated in older adults than in young adults. More specifically, the middle frontal gyrus is involved in the selection of task-relevant information, while the inferior frontal gyrus plays an important role in resolving interference from emotional distractors within WM. The amygdala, which is deactivated among older adults, is activated in young adults during the processing of negative stimuli. The socioemotional selectivity theory and the dual-competition model have been found to mainly account for age-related positivity effects in WM. The socioemotional selectivity theory, a theory of emotional-motivational life-span development, explains positivity effects from future time perspective, the review of WM studies on age difference with emotional valence as task-relevant information provides empirical support for the socioemotional selectivity theory. The dual competition model emphasizes the influence of task-relevance of emotional materials on WM processing and holds that the difference on cognitive resources required by emotional information as task-relevant stimuli or task-irrelevant stimuli is the key factor that affects WM performance. It has been found that task-relevant emotional materials promote WM performance in older adults, and task-irrelevant emotional contents impair their WM performance, thus the current review of task relevance on WM performance in older adults is consistent with hypothesis of the dual competition model. The dynamic integration theory explains positivity effects from the perspective of cognitive decline. From this perspective greater differences would be observed between young adults and older adults with cognitive impairments, such as Alzheimer's disease patients, but there is a lack of empirical evidence to support the dynamic integration theory. Overall, future studies are warranted to explore the characteristics of emotional processing in different stages of WM in older adults. The event-related potential technique, which has been used to provide time-sensitive assessment of positivity effects in attention, holds great potentials in the study of time course of positivity effects in WM. The potential influences of internal encoding processes of emotional materials (affective words, emotional face, and emotional pictorial materials) on the mechanism of positivity effects in WM should be clarified in future studies. More psychophysiological and neuroimaging studies are needed to uncover the important neural circuits related to the impact of task-relevance of emotion on positivity effects. Finally, the underlying mechanisms and potential benefits of emotional WM training on the improvement of cognitive functions and emotional experience in the elderly should be investigated. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Neural mechanisms of suppression-induced forgetting GUAN Xuxu, WANG Hongbo 2021, 29 (4):  665-676.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2021.00665 Abstract ( 1881 )   HTML ( 98 )   PDF (618KB) ( 2379 )   When confronted with reminders of an unpleasant memory, people often try to prevent the unwanted memory from coming to mind. Suppression-induced forgetting (SIF) means that the attempt to prevent unwanted memories from entering awareness results in a decrease in the long-term accessibility of these memories. Previous studies indicated that the suppression of retrieval is accomplished by control mechanisms that inhibit unwanted memories. Suppressing retrieval increased engagement of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and middle frontal gyrus and concomitantly decreased engagement of the hippocampus. The degree of SIF is affected by the emotionality of information and an individual’s emotional state and training.  From the perspective of research materials, current studies on the SIF effect of emotional memories mostly use neutral cues to match emotional materials, seldomly assess the emotional valence of cues during the learning process or after retrieval inhibition phase. More attention is paid to the memory association between cue and target event, but ignores the affective connection of them. In reality, due to the close connection between events and cues in the process of forming traumatic memories, trauma-related cues are no longer completely neutral but would have negative emotional valence. Therefore, future studies should explore the impacts of SIF on the basis of focusing on affective connection between cue and event.  By individual pathological state, existing studies have investigated the SIF effect in depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) groups, but not reached consistent conclusions. This may be related to heterogeneity of mental disorders. The people who are diagnosed with PTSD or depression will may have different etiology, symptoms and underlying neural mechanisms. Future studies should distinguish these patients into different subtypes and conduct tests in groups with the same subtypes and the same symptoms, so as to further compare the SIF effect and its neural mechanisms among different subtypes. Given that poor inhibition in patients with depression and PTSD is often associated with difficulty in activation of the right middle frontal gyrus and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, stimulation of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex may improve core symptoms in patients with PTSD. Therefore, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation may be used in the future to improve the activity of relevant brain regions and enhance the inhibitory control. In addition, in reality, due to the impact of stress hormones on memory consolidation, unpleasant memories are often strong and profound. Future studies may also consider the influence of stress hormones on SIF.  Finally, repeated suppression training can gradually weaken the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex-hippocampal negative coupling connections, leading to more effective control of invasive memories, suggesting the feasibility of training intervention in memory control. It has been found that mindfulness-based strategy was to facilitate the process of forgetting by releasing the tension due to the resistance to forget and aiding the reallocation of attentional resources away from the unwanted items. Therefore, future studies should consider whether the mindfulness-based forgetting strategies can improve the effect of SIF, and whether individuals who have engaged in long-term mindfulness training (such as meditation) show a better ability of retrieval suppression than those who are naïve to mindfulness practices.  Future studies should investigate ways to improve the therapeutic effects of SIF on clinical pathological memory based on an in-depth understanding of the neural mechanisms of SIF. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The computational and neural substrates underlying social learning LI Suiqing, CHEN Xinling, ZHAI Yuzhu, ZHANG Yijie, ZHANG Zhixing, FENG Chunliang 2021, 29 (4):  677-696.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2021.00677 Abstract ( 1982 )   HTML ( 173 )   PDF (1650KB) ( 2880 )   Social learning refers to the belief updates of others’ personal attributes and intentions as well as social norms under various circumstances during social interactions, which helps to optimize social decision-making and maintain positive social interactions. Due to its critical role in human decisions and social interactions, the past years have witnessed a growing body of studies that examine computational and neural basis of social learning combining computational models and human brain imaging techniques. The current literature indicates that human social learning can be well captured by reinforcement learning model and Bayesian model.  In the framework of reinforcement learning models, an active agent adaptively adjusts his behaviors according to the feedback in social interactions to achieve a certain goal, with  positive feedback will increasing the possibility of the previous behavior and negative feedback weakening it. Accordingly, social learning mainly engages the computation of subjective expectation and prediction error. Consistent with the findings in nonsocial learning, these computations involve brain regions associated with reward and punishment processing (e.g., the ventral striatum and ventromedial prefrontal cortex). Notably, in social situations, brain regions associated with social cognition (e.g., the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and the temporal-parietal junctions) are also involved due to the inference of the traits and intentions of others. Although reinforcement learning models provide powerful explanations for social learning processes, they did not account for the representation of social uncertainty. Instead, the Bayesian models assume that the social learning process follows the Bayesian information updating, and the perceived uncertainty is represented in the posterior distribution of psychological variables. Therefore, the Bayesian models can depict the representation of uncertainty. People represent their prior beliefs about others and calculate the deviation between actual feedback and prior beliefs, which is similar to the representation of subjective expectations and expected errors respectively in reinforcement learning style. In addition, representation of uncertainty and information integration are involved, engaging brain regions associated with reward and punishment processing, social cognition, and cognitive control (e.g., dorsolateral prefrontal cortex). However, it should be noted that there is no one-to-one mapping between computational processes and brain regions, rather, it is in a many-to-many-pattern, that is, a single cognitive process involves multiple brain regions, and a specific brain region can be involved in multiple calculations. Therefore, multivoxel pattern analysis and brain network analysis should be utilized in future studies to reveal how different computational processes are implemented in large-scale networks according to systems neuroscience. Moreover, future studies should try to increase the ecological validity by creating real social interactions between people and by leveraging novel neuroimaging approaches (e.g. hyperscanning techniques). Finally, more efforts are needed to unravel the neural and computational signatures of implicit social learning. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Neural oscillation mechanism of creativity YE Chaoqun, LIN Yuhong, LIU Chunlei 2021, 29 (4):  697-706.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2021.00697 Abstract ( 1507 )   HTML ( 134 )   PDF (653KB) ( 2672 )   Creativity has traditionally been defined as the ability to generate ideas that are novel and useful. Neuroscientific studies revealed first insights into neural mechanisms underlying creativity, yet the neural mechanisms underlying creative thinking are poorly understood. This review systematically illustrates the roles of neural oscillations in the process of creativity from the perspectives of single rhythmic neural oscillations and multi rhythmic neural oscillations cross frequency coupling. The paper also discusses the cooperative effects of cognitive functions and provides a new insight into the dynamic collaborative mode of functional networks and the specific role of structural networks in creative thinking that would contribute to deepening the understanding of the cognitive processes and neural mechanisms of creativity. In the end, several potential directions of this field for future studies are discussed. A large number of researches demonstrates that there appears to be robust evidence that EEG alpha power is particularly sensitive to various creativity-related demands involved in creative ideation. The frontal alpha band oscillations during the process of creative thinking, which was initially considered as an electrophysiological correlate of cortical idling, are now generally treated to the increase of internal processing demand or the top-down cognitive control in the process of creativity generation, in order to gate neural information to the task-relevant regions. Meanwhile, the right temporal alpha oscillations play a critical role in the ability to override habitual, but misleading, associations and enhances the connection of long-distance semantic concepts during creative problem solving. In addition, the theta band oscillations of parietal-occipital junction increased with the increase of creativity, which can facilitate the neural information communications between brain regions throughout a relative long distance, in order to achieve the functional regulation of top-down brain regions, and the collaborative regulation of multiple brain regions. As for gamma band, the high frequency oscillation property makes it suitable for the integration of multiple objects features in the local neural network and hold the relevant representations. Neural oscillations cross-frequency coupling (CFC) refers to the effect of the cross modulation between the electrophysiological oscillation rhythm in different ensembles of neurons. The CFC can reflect the mechanism of information transfer among the frontal lobe, temporal lobe and parietal lobe during the creative generation process. Which also reflects the exchange of local field potentials, electroencephalograph (EEG) and other neural electrophysiological activities at different spatial or temporal scales of the process of creative thinking. Perhaps the most important problem in the neuroscientific study of creativity is a general lack of conceptual clarity. While researchers usually aim to investigate the neural correlates of creativity, they can actually address only a specific aspect of the construct. Consequently, future research firstly needs to continuously integrate data resources to identify the main components of creativity and need to be very specific in their definitions of the construct under investigation.  Second, it is necessary to combine multimodal brain imaging to provide new insight into the dynamic collaborative mode of functional networks and the specific role of structural networks in creative thinking that would contribute to deepening the understanding of the cognitive processes and neural mechanisms of creativity.  Third, emerging evidence suggests that the complex cognitive processes of creative thinking involve the interaction of multiple brain regions and networks and may not depend on the specific function of a single brain region. Hence there is equally important to develop advanced algorithms of EEG data processing with more ecological validity, such as multiscale sample entropy calculation (MSE). It can calculate the complexity of brain network changes. Consequently, it can accelerate to explore the more pinpoint dynamic neural mechanisms in the process of creativity. Which is a critical and fundamental endeavor for scientific research on creativity.  Last, the role of computational neuroscience and machine learning on creativity research should be strengthened. Based on a certain theoretical framework and empirical research, standing at the philosophical point of view and combined the EEG and machine learning (ML), and set out to explore the profound the brain network basis of creativity. And we put it as a research starting point of the thesis. For instance, future studies could combine multi-omics and multimodal data with ML techniques including the support vector machine (SVM), k-nearest neighbors (k-NN), artificial neural networks (ANN), and linear discriminant analysis (LDA), to achieve the goal of accurate prediction and assessment of individuals’ creativity.  References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Wisdom minds with creative wings: Igniting creative dynamics focusing on its interest cultivation ZHANG Yakun, CHEN Ning, CHEN Lung An, SHI Jiannong 2021, 29 (4):  707-722.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2021.00707 Abstract ( 1992 )   HTML ( 102 )   PDF (1823KB) ( 3461 )   Creativity is an interwoven system, encompassing individuals, groups, society, culture, etc. The cultivation of creativity should also be systematic. However, we must distinguish the priorities when it comes to creativity cultivation. Otherwise, we would be putting the cart before the horse. In this paper, we integrated some creativity-relevant theories to generate practical advice on the challenges of supporting creativity within the classroom. Based on previous research on creativity, we put forth the “Butterfly Theory of Nurturing Creativity” to give a bird’s eye view of nurturing creativity. In this theory, the core and premise of being creative are both to have creative impulses or creative dynamics (i.e., dynamic systems). We generalized the conditions supporting the dynamic systems into “two forewings” named capability and vitality (i.e., the supportive system). At the level of capability, creativity calls for general cognitive ability, multimethod enlightenment, attention to metacognition, and efficient knowledge information management. At the level of vitality, creative dynamics also rely on the satisfaction of basic psychological needs, the healthy development of personal traits, and reasonably supportive social interaction in an inclusively social and cultural environment. Besides, if an individual wants to fly freely in a creative life, he also needs “two hindwings” (conducting daily creative thinking and problem solving; forming creative habits and a creative personality) that should be constantly improved in everyday life to adjust the balance (i.e., the regulating system). The ‘two forewings’ mainly involve the essential prerequisites for developing human ability and vitality (necessary cognitive, non-cognitive, and socio-cultural conditions). In contrast, the ‘two hindwings’ mainly involve methods, habits, and beliefs related to creative problem solving and innovative personality formation. Whether two forewings or two hindwings, all factors are converged into the one core factor, the creative dynamics. Teachers cannot foster children’s creativity unless they can intrigue children’s creative impulses—no creative dynamics, no creative behavior. We argue that people who are creative show motivation to make novel and appropriate products in their domains of interest. The cultivation of creativity is not just to teach children specific creative methods but to teach them creatively by improving children’s creative impulses and making them more willing to invest their time and energy (creative dynamics) into innovative outcomes. Although education cannot directly change one’s creativity, it can influence their preferences, vitality, attitude, which are closely related to the creative dynamics toward being creative and concurrently encourage children to be engaged in creative activities. These will ultimately affect their future achievements. Above all, creativity cannot be taught unless teachers find ways to intrigue their students’ creative impulses. Intrinsic motivation, like interest, is the most excellent autonomous motivator. The key points of this paper are to find what the essence of interest or fun is and how to raise it. The nature of fun or humor is reasonable in a sense but beyond expectation (i.e., incongruity-resolution). Similarly, to make the process of creativity cultivation full of fun or humor, we need to design unexpected-apprehensible scenarios constantly，from them flows a host of unexpected consequences. These are the first step of effectively igniting children’s creative dynamics. In order to maintain the creativity-related flow experience, we need to make the well-designed challenging creative tasks match the students’ abilities as much as possible so that children can still in the flow channel, that is, in a good positive mood or optimal experience to improve creativity. Combining theory with practice, this paper also shows a general way to activate fun or interest in the classroom. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The mechanism and function of curiosity HUANG Qi, CHEN Chunping, LUO Yuejia, WU Haiyan 2021, 29 (4):  723-736.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2021.00723 Abstract ( 5807 )   HTML ( 403 )   PDF (1705KB) ( 7656 )   Curiosity has a long history of research and rich definitions and classifications as a common mental state and personality trait. The division and coordination of multiple brain regions enable individuals to form a cognitive process of generating and evaluating prediction error, triggering and mediating curiosity, and producing surprise and new prediction error, so as to reduce the prediction error and information gap between internal states and external environment, and eliminate uncertainty. Curiosity has a significant role in improving cognitive function and maintaining mental and physical health during development. Future research can be further considered from a cross-species, interdisciplinary, and multi-domain perspective to promote the deepening of research topics, the development of research methods, and the application of research results in curiosity. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The attentional bias towards threat in posttraumatic stress disorder: Evidence from eye movement studies BAI Yu, YANG Haibo 2021, 29 (4):  737-746.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2021.00737 Abstract ( 1991 )   HTML ( 149 )   PDF (615KB) ( 2908 )   Attentional bias towards threat information is a common phenomenon in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) individuals. A number of studies have investigated the processing characteristics and internal mechanisms of attentional bias by using eye-movement technology. it is found that factors influenced the three components are distinct.  First, facilitated attention is the consequence by the interaction of the threat stimulus type and the eye movement indicators. PTSD individuals are more likely to be alert to threat words, which is not only related to the interference of pictures and words in the recognition process, but also affected by arousal, salience and complexity of stimulus. Furthermore, the smaller visual angle presented in previous studies may also accelerate the attentional capture of threat words. In addition, the inconsistent selection of eye movement measures may also cause the difference of the results of attention directed acceleration: the first fixation latency is not sensitive to the component due to the inability to measure the apparent eye movement. Moreover, the spatial indicators are more suitable to investigate this processing to threat words, but pupil index is more appropriate to threat pictures.  Second, PTSD individuals do not have the difficulty in attention disengagement to threat words. It may be related to preview, information density, and unconscious binding. Words preview leads to rapid processing; however, it is not available to continuously capture the attention because of low information density. Besides, the unconscious binding of “static-words” also makes it difficult to show the difficulty in attention disengagement to threat words.  Third, the absence of attentional avoidance to threat information may be a long-term self-protection strategy adopted by PTSD individuals, and this result will not be affected by analysis methods, stimuli types, and presentation time. Therefore, it is more likely to be the mechanism of “facilitated attention - difficulty in attention disengagement”. Indeed, compared with behavioral response time, eye tracking technology can monitor the time course of attention while PTSD individuals look at the threat stimuli. On the one hand, it can deeply understand the attention characteristics of PTSD individuals caused by different types of traumatic events, and on the other hand, it can verify relevant attention-biased stage theory. From the observation of phenomenon to the theoretical construction, it is a more comprehensive investigation of the attentional bias processing mechanism to this type of affective disorder.  Future research may also should to pay attention to the following aspects. First of all, whether researchers can maximize the advantages of eye movement technology is still worth discussing. They can construct the unique attentional bias eye movement pattern and corresponding eye movement model of PTSD individuals from multiple dimensions based on the perspective of eye movement mechanism, for example, age. The PTSD rate of American children and adolescents is higher than that of American adults caused by the same experience, and compared with PTSD adults, PTSD children will show more hypervigilance and traumatic memories of repeated intrusions. In addition, the immaturity of the eye physiological system of children and adolescents may lead to more limitations or inconsistent eye movement patterns. The superposition of these differences may cause heterogeneity in the eye movement patterns of attentional bias between different PTSD groups. Consequently, it is necessary to construct corresponding attentional bias eye movement patterns and theoretical models from the age level for researchers. Second, when researchers make full use of eye tracking technology to investigate PTSD attention bias, they also need to combine multiple technologies to investigate the threat attention bias mechanism of PTSD individuals from a multimodal perspective, such as physiological indicators, event-related potentials, and so on. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Time related research and future direction in organizational behavior field DONG Xiaowei, QIN Xin, CHEN Chen, HUANG Mingpeng, DENG Huiru, ZHOU Hansen, SONG Bodi 2021, 29 (4):  747-760.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2021.00747 Abstract ( 1800 )   HTML ( 89 )   PDF (718KB) ( 2274 )   Time, is the basic element of personal life and work experience, everywhere. At present, most of the existing literature in the field of organizational behavior explores the relationship between variables from a static perspective, that is, mainly focuses on overall variable levels over a period of time. This is because these studies are based on a mainstream assumption, that is, the overall variable levels are relatively stable. While the role of time, such as the dynamic characteristics of variables over a period of time, has been largely neglected. This widely adopted static perspective that neglects the role of time keeps the existing theory of organizational behavior “static” to a certain extent. Over time, whether and how the overall variable levels change, and how and when the variables that change over time have an effect, the exploration of these issues provides a new perspective on existing research, which in turn expands traditional management theories. As more and more recent studies in recent years have taken the role of time into consideration in the discussion of theoretical models, researchers have gradually discovered that paying attention to the dynamic characteristics of variables from a dynamic perspective can increase explanatory effectiveness than exploring the impact of overall variable levels. Based on this approach, the construction methods of traditional management theories, the relationship between variables, and even the propositions derived from traditional theories have also changed. Taking the role of time into consideration, that is, focusing on the dynamic characteristics of variables and exploring their antecedents and outcomes from a dynamic perspective, existing research can better “provide an ontologically accurate description of the nature of a phenomenon” (George & Jones, 2000, p. 658). In line with this approach, in recent years, some scholars have begun to focus on the role of time and to explore the dynamic characteristics of variables. However, in general, this type of research is still quite rare and disorganized in different fields, and has not yet formed a structured system. Based on this, this review focused on the literature that has taken the role of time into consideration in recent years and explored the dynamic characteristics of variables over a period of time, in order to provide inspiration for future research. Specifically, this review selected two dimensions to sort out related research: the first of the dimensions being the type of dynamic characteristics of variables (i.e., trend vs. variability). The trend reflects the change trend of the variable over a period of time, including growth and decay. In research, the slope is often used as a measure. Variability reflects the degree of (in) stability a variable has over a period of time, which is often measured by standard deviation in research. The second of the dimensions being the role of dynamic characteristics of variables in the theoretical model (i.e., independent variable vs. dependent variable). That is, the researcher can use it as an independent variable to explore its outcomes, or use it as a dependent variable to explore its antecedents. Based on these two dimensions, this review divided the relevant research into four categories: (1) Trend is the independent variable; (2) Trend is the dependent variable; (3) Variability is the independent variable; (4) Variability is the dependent variable. Based on this categorization, this review systematically reviewed the related studies and the theories applied in them. Finally, based on the above analysis, suggestions for future research are provided by taking the role of time into consideration to expand the theory of organizational behavior more comprehensively and systematically, such as paying more attention to the variability of variables, investigating trends, interactions between fluctuations and overall average levels, focusing on time, duration and other important dynamic changes, from the perspective of characteristics, etc. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics