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Conceptual Framework

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Identifying the impact of unconscious fear on adolescent anxiety: Cognitive neural mechanisms and interventions LEI Yi, MEI Ying, Wang Jinxia, YUAN Zixin 2024, 32 (8):  1221-1232.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2024.01221 Abstract ( 361 )   PDF (1012KB) ( 588 )   Peer Review Comments Fear plays an important role in the development of anxiety disorders, with abnormalities in conditioned fear—specifically in the aspects of conditioning, generalization, and extinction—being central mechanisms. Neuroimaging evidence suggests that overreactivity of the amygdala and insufficient prefrontal modulation are key factors in the abnormal processing of fear among adolescents. This phenomenon is attributed to the earlier maturation of the amygdala compared to the prefrontal cortex, with the volume of the amygdala peaking during adolescence. Fear can manifest at both conscious and unconscious levels. Unconscious fear is automatic and not directly accessible to introspection. It's closely linked to anxiety-related symptoms because it can trigger physiological and psychological responses without the individual consciously recognizing the source of the threat. Adolescents are particularly sensitive to unconscious fear due to the ongoing development of their brains. Yet, current research on unconscious fear and its neural underpinnings in adolescents is limited. Thus, exploring unconscious fear could shed light on the developmental mechanisms underlying anxiety in adolescents. Traditional CBT focuses on altering maladaptive thought patterns and behaviors associated with anxiety, requiring a level of self-awareness and cognitive maturity that adolescents may not fully possess. Pharmacological treatments, on the other hand, target the biochemical aspects of anxiety but can come with side effects that may affect compliance and overall well-being. Examining the effects of neurofeedback on the unconscious fear in adolescents has the potential to significantly improve the efficacy of anxiety treatments in this age group. This study aims to investigate the development and cognitive neural mechanisms of unconscious fear in adolescents, uncovering its role in the development of anxiety disorders, and exploring neurofeedback intervention techniques. Study 1 primarily investigates the dynamic change patterns of neural circuits related to unconscious fear processing in adolescents from a developmental perspective. It examines the cognitive neural mechanisms of unconscious fear processing in adolescents, utilizing the Pavlovian conditioning paradigm. Furthermore, it explores the role of chronic stress in the modulation of conditioned fear acquisition, extinction, and generalization. Study 1 aims to provide new insights into why anxiety susceptibility is higher in adolescence and uncover potential reasons for the increased prevalence of anxiety disorders in this age group. Study 2 aims to examine unconscious fear in adolescents with different types of anxiety disorders, highlighting potential differences in brain region activation patterns across these disorders. Together, the two studies offer a comprehensive view of adolescent anxiety, enhancing our understanding and management strategies. We anticipate that the results of Studies 1 and 2 will collectively indicate a pattern of either prefrontal underdevelopment in healthy adolescents or prefrontal underactivation in adolescents with anxiety disorders. Study 3 focuses on the prefrontal neural mechanisms, particularly targeting the vmPFC (ventromedial prefrontal cortex), to investigate the effects of neurofeedback on unconscious fear processing in adolescents. This has significant implications for the optimization of treatment methods for adolescent anxiety disorders. Considering that the amygdala develops during adolescence, but the prefrontal cortex is still maturing, adolescents are more likely to have stronger unconscious fear responses. Therefore, the current research is expected to offer substantial insights into the psychopathological frameworks that underpin anxiety among adolescents. Furthermore, the capacity of neurofeedback to target the brain's fear circuits directly might offer a faster, more efficient means to reduce anxiety by helping adolescents learn to regulate their own brain activity associated with fear responses. This could help them manage anxiety better and for longer, giving them skills that traditional treatments may not fully realize. The current research could significantly enhance our understanding and treatment of anxiety disorders in adolescents, offering a complementary or alternative option that is both innovative and tailored to their developmental stage. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Poverty leads to the desire to change, and wealth leads to the desire for stability: The impact of perceived money scarcity and abundance on individual risk decision-making LIANG Shujing, YANG Guangyong 2024, 32 (8):  1233-1249.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2024.01233 Abstract ( 306 )   PDF (608KB) ( 511 )   Peer Review Comments The objective of this study is to determine the psychological mechanism by which money perception affects risk decision-making from the perspectives of relative scarcity and relative abundance. We will reveal the impact of perceived money scarcity and abundance on individual risk decision-making through laboratory and field experiments, cross-temporal tracking empirical research, and eye movement behavioral experiments. In Study 1, we will deconstruct the dimensions of perceived money scarcity and abundance and construct an item bank. Through processes such as purifying initial items, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and repeated testing, we will establish a perceived money scarcity and abundance scale. In Study 2, we will test the impact of perceived money scarcity and abundance on high- or low-risk decision-making (risk perception, expected return, risk choice) through behavioral experiments. In Study 3, we will establish the cognitive mechanism of the influence of perceived money scarcity and abundance on high- or low-risk decision-making, and we will test the effects of the mediators of cognitive bias, cognitive reflection, and executive control in the influence of perceived money scarcity and abundance on risk decision-making. In Study 4, we will determine the emotional mechanism of the influence of perceived money scarcity and abundance on the tendency to promote high- or low-risk decision-making, and we will examine the mediating role of specific scarcity and abundance emotions in perceived money scarcity and abundance promoting high- and low-risk decision-making. Following are the contributions of this research: First, we will reveal the effect of money scarcity and abundance from the perspective of relative perception, and we will define and deconstruct the perceived money scarcity and abundance based on physiological information and psychological characteristics. These results will provide a new explanation for the impact of relative poverty on risk decision-making. Additionally, by exploring the definition of perceived money abundance and its impact on risk judgment and selection processes, we will enrich the research results and conclusions of risk decision-making and money effect theories. Moreover, by introducing perceived money scarcity, especially the perceived money abundance, into the field of risk decision-making, we will further enrich the key influencing factors of the “black box” of risk decision-making and expand the knowledge boundaries of factors influencing risk decision-making. Second, based on cognitive functions (cognitive biases, cognitive reflection, executive control), we will test the mediating effects of perceived money scarcity and abundance on risk decision-making, which will provides an explanatory pathway for the cognitive mechanisms of risk decision-making. Additionally, by introducing cognitive biases, cognitive reflection, and executive control into the fields of money perception and risk decision-making, we will not only empirically verify the research results of the effects of perceived money scarcity and abundance on decision-making processes from a behavioral perspective but also expand the application of cognitive decision biases and cognitive reflection. Third, by testing the mediating role of the money scarcity and abundance emotions on the effects of money scarcity and abundance on risk decision-making, we will provide a new explanatory pathway for the emotional mechanisms of risk decision-making. The construction of the scale of money scarcity and abundance will more precisely define this relationship from an emotional perspective, deepening understanding in related fields of the relationships among money effects, emotional states, and risk decision-making. Fourth, all individuals may face situations of money scarcity or abundance. By exploring the cognitive and emotional mechanisms through which money scarcity and abundance influence risk decision-making, it is possible to predict, control, and intervene in risk decision-making at the individual, organizational, and specific population levels. Such a possibility can play an important role for individuals, their families and work organizations, and society as a whole. Taking enterprise management as an example, at the level of enterprise and organizational management, uncovering the effects of perceived money scarcity and abundance on important risk decisions of enterprise managers and employees in the workplace, as well as their psychological mechanisms, can help us positively guide improvements in the performance of managers and employees and prevent counterproductive and negative deviant behaviors at both the group and individual levels. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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For those who wash less dishes, please buy flowers: Couple’s contribution imbalance and family hedonic consumption LI Shihao, ZHANG Wenyue, FU Guoqun 2024, 32 (8):  1250-1264.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2024.01250 Abstract ( 244 )   PDF (587KB) ( 443 )   Peer Review Comments The variance in the magnitude of contribution to the completion of the joint task is regarded as contribution imbalance. It is common for couples to make unequal contributions to a wide variety of joint tasks in the household. However, previous studies have paid little attention to the impact of contribution imbalance on consumption behavior. The present research depicts that contribution imbalance in household tasks increases household hedonic consumption by integrating the dynamic equity perspective and the husband-wife dyadic model. We propose the underlying mechanism of this dyad: The one who contributes more, on the unfairly disadvantaged side, restores the sense of fairness by self-reward; while the one who contributes less, on the unfairly advantaged side, restores the sense of fairness by guilt and engaging in compensatory behaviors. Interestingly,all roads lead to Rome. The two different psychological mechanisms both enhance hedonic consumption in the family. Notably, this effect is mitigated when (1) the gender role concept is equal, (2) the partner's emotional support is high, and (3) the culture of gender equality is equal. Our findings make several important contributions to family consumption behavior theory and practice. Firstly, the present research identifies how an important but overlooked factor in households (i.e., the contribution imbalance) shapes consumption choices. Previous research on contribution imbalance has focused primarily on the sociological or psychological field of family studies (e.g. marital quality, relationship satisfaction, well-being, relationship conflict, stress, depression). Significantly, we show that the perceived equity leads the dyad to increase their hedonic consumption as a way to bring the couple's relationship back to a state of equilibrium, thus realizing dynamic equity within the family as a whole. Secondly, our work provides novel insights to extant theories on the role of hedonic consumption in consumers’ interpersonal relationships. We reveal that a family’s consumption behavior can also be used as a way to achieve dynamic equity and reach equilibrium within the system, i.e., after a partner’s sense of inequity in family tasks has arisen, the partner can compensate for and restore the sense of fairness through the corresponding purchasing behaviors, which is an essential theoretical contribution on understanding systemic equilibrium in family life and how couples can achieve dynamic equity. Our results pave the way for future research on the role of consumption that may restore equity and maintain intimacy. Thirdly, our findings contribute to the broader literature on perceived equity or fairness in the context of dyadic consumer-consumer. Existing research has focused on the perceived fairness between consumers and merchants. In contrast, our findings establish consumption as a tool that can help the dyad restore equity and reveal the underlying mechanism of each individual. We explore three boundary conditions: gender role concept, partner’s emotional support, and culture of gender equality, which reinforce the understanding of equity-related theories. In terms of managerial implications, our study responds to the social problem of the wide gap between men and women in the family sphere. According to our findings, marketing campaigns targeting family consumption need to take into account the mutual influence of both partner sides, not just the individual. For example, it is more effective to emphasize the hedonic attributes of a product for couples whose division of labor patterns do not conform to gender norms (e.g., breadwinning men and homemaking women, stay-at-home moms) compared to couples whose division of labor patterns conform to gender norms (e.g., breadwinning women and homemaking men, babysitting daddies). Thus, firms or marketers can then decide whether to push hedonic or utilitarian products to consumers, emphasizing the hedonistic or utilitarian attributes of the product, by observing or capturing whether consumers’ purchasing or usage behaviors conform to gender norms. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Exploring the proximal and distal ripple effects of star employees in the organizational context: The theoretical framework of social influence ZHAO Kai, YANG Runshu, YU Xi, PENG Gege 2024, 32 (8):  1265-1286.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2024.01265 Abstract ( 1355 )   PDF (1217KB) ( 1975 )   Peer Review Comments As a kind of important strategic talent capital, star employees only occupy a small proportion of the organizational staff, but make an extremely high contribution to the organization. Star employees can contribute to the organizational value creation activities not only through their direct disproportionately high and prolonged performance, social capital, and visibility, but also via exerting extensive and profound influences on their colleagues, that is, star employees’ ripple effects. Based on a systematic literature review, this study draws upon the theoretical framework of social influence to specifically elaborate how star employees generate proximal ripple effects on their nonstar team members and the whole team, and then how to generate distal ripple effects on external-team colleagues in the organizational context. Further, this study also explores the boundary conditions of these ripple effects from the perspectives of human resource management practice and star employees’ interpersonal characteristic. Specifically, we proposed three research modules, including four theoretical models. Module 1 draws upon social comparison theory and resource perspective to examine the “double-edged sword” influences of star employee on their nonstar colleagues’ psychological state and interpersonal behavior within a same team (model 1). Module 2 investigates the social influence of star employees on their affiliated groups’ task performance (model 2) and creativity performance (model 3), focusing on the mechanisms of group climate or collective behaviors. Both of Module 1 and Module 2 explore the boundary conditions of the social influence from the perspectives of star employees’ interpersonal characteristics and the relevant HRM practices. Module 3 explores, under what conditions and through what means, the key attributes of star employees exert distal social influence on the colleagues outside the team (model 4). This study makes three primary theoretical contributions. First, this study analyzes the boundary conditions of ripple effects of star employees from the perspective of “interpersonal characteristics”. This attempt transcends the limitations of previous studies, which solely focused on the explicit features of stars such as identity, quantity, and network position. By doing this, we shift the research focus to the source of social influence—star employees, whose interpersonal characteristics can significantly affect the outcomes of ripple effects. Second, this study expands the boundary conditions of stars’ ripple effects from the perspective of “HRM practices”. Ripple effects, inherently exploring the social impacts of interpersonal interactions, are shaped not only by the characteristics and behaviors of the interacting parties, but also by the social context. Therefore, this study introduces HRM practices as critical contextual factors, to help scholars and managers deepen their understanding of how HRM practices promote or inhibit the various ripple effects of star employees. Additionally, it provides evidence-based management recommendations for managers to adopt proper HRM practices to maximize the positive ripple effects of star employees and mitigate their negative impacts. Third, this study extends the scope of objectives who may be influenced by star employees’ ripple effects. We not only investigate the stars’ influence on their teams, but also extend the influence to their colleagues outside the team. On the one hand, our research breaks through the dyadic interpersonal relationship of star employees’ social influence, which is the centric approach of prior research, by facilitating scholars’ knowledge about how star employees exert spillover effects on their teams from a collective influence standpoint. On the other hand, by investigating the formation, mediating mechanisms, outcomes and boundary conditions of distal ripple effects of star employees, scholars can gain a more comprehensive understanding of the diffusion processes for the role modelling, resource sharing, and reputation dissemination of star employees. In conclusion, our theoretical framework will not only be helpful for scholars to gain a more comprehensive and deep understanding about how star employees exert positive or negative social influences on organizational value creation, but also provide valuable suggestions on the star employee management practices for Chinese organizations. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Changes in leader-member exchange triggered by key events and the related mechanisms PAN Jingzhou, YANG Wenjing 2024, 32 (8):  1287-1301.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2024.01287 Abstract ( 96 )   PDF (596KB) ( 158 )   Peer Review Comments Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory postulates that LMX is established through continuous cycles of social exchange where the content and quantity exchanged between parties fluctuate during reciprocal interactions. This dynamic nature implies that the leader-member exchange relationship in organizations is not static but evolves over time and in response to pivotal events. Nonetheless, existing studies lack dynamic exploration into the establishment and development of LMX as well as a comprehensive understanding of changes driven by events. To address these gaps, this study proposes a theoretical framework that examines how LMX relationships dynamically change in response to key triggering events. We put forth eight propositions and a research agenda. (1) The event strength of direct interactions with leaders will influence the establishment and development of LMX relationships for newcomers, thereby impacting socialization outcomes. (2) The event strength of indirect interactions with leaders will influence the establishment and development of newcomer's LMX relationships, thereby affecting socialization outcomes. (3) The entry of highly skilled newcomers will lower existing employees' LMX levels and negatively impact team performance in the short term. (4) The departure of high-performing employees will lead to changes in the LMX structure within the team and negatively impact team performance in the short term. (5) The strength of external crisis events will result in a U-shaped development trend in LMX relationship quality at both individual and team levels. (6) The strength of external crisis events will increase the level of LMX differences at the team level over time following the crisis. (7) A decline in LMX during a crisis event will lead to emotional exhaustion in individuals, reducing performance; conversely, an improvement in LMX following a crisis event will aid in individual recovery and enhance performance. (8) A decrease in team LMX during a crisis event will reduce team performance; in contrast, an improvement in team LMX post-crisis event will enhance team performance. This study is the first to preliminarily explore the fundamental trends of LMX relationship changes and the pivotal events that stimulate such changes through a combined approach of deductive theory construction and inductive qualitative research. Building upon systematic investigations, the study suggests to use significant events as a starting point to formulate theories on the dynamic changes in LMX during the establishment and routinization stages, aiming to propel LMX research to a more profound level. Building on the initial exploration of the fundamental principles of LMX development and the crucial events that prompt such changes, this study suggests to conduct empirical research on the dynamic evolution of LMX at different stages. For the establishment process of LMX, a key emphasis will be placed on the autonomy and actions of new hires in this context. Prior studies have predominantly highlighted leaders' roles in LMX formation, often overlooking the empowerment and decision-making abilities of employees as active participants in the relational exchange. This study aims to investigate employees' perceptions and behaviors during interactions with leaders, considering event-driven changes in LMX, and assessing internal mechanisms that influence the establishment and growth of LMX among newcomers, thus enhancing existing research on the impact of events and employees' agency in LMX dynamics. Besides, this study also focuses on the routinization phase of LMX, delving into significant internal and external events that drive further LMX variations and patterns from an event-centric viewpoint. The complexity of gathering and analyzing long-term longitudinal data has hindered dynamic research on the routinization stage of LMX, with existing studies confined to specific points in the developmental process where LMX changes occur. To overcome these barriers, this study suggests to utilize cutting-edge data science technologies such as deep learning and natural language processing to mitigate the drawbacks of questionnaire-based LMX research, effectively addressing real-time measurement challenges and capturing evolving changes within the current literature, thereby creating optimal conditions for studying LMX's dynamic evolution. Moreover, objective behavioral records as a measurement basis offer more stability and objectivity compared to individual subjective assessments, surpassing the limitations associated with traditional measurement approaches, such as personal perception discrepancies and inconsistent evaluation outcomes. This interdisciplinary blending of research methodologies not only presents a new lens for future leadership, team, and organizational management studies but also sets a new standard for holistic research practices. References | Related Articles | Metrics

Meta-Analysis

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The relationship between parenting styles and positive development of Chinese adolescents : A series of meta-analytic studies TANG Tian, WANG Yu, GONG Fangying, SHI Ke, LI Xi, LIU Wei, CHEN Ning 2024, 32 (8):  1302-1314.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2024.01302 Abstract ( 471 )   PDF (725KB) ( 557 )   Peer Review Comments Objective: Positive Youth Development (PYD) is one of the most influential concepts in adolescent development research, which focuses on the potential advantages and plasticity of adolescent development trajectory, and emphasizes the important role of the interaction between individuals and the environment on adolescent development. Previous meta-analytic studies have mostly examined the effects of family parenting styles on single variables in the structure of positive adolescent development, and no study has examined the effects of family parenting styles on the holistic conceptualization of positive adolescent development. Methods: Based on the perspective of positive adolescent development, this study took Chinese adolescents as samples and included three variables: academic achievement, self-esteem and resilience to conduct a series of meta-analyses (206 articles, 1822 independent effect sizes, and the total number of subjects reached 109,968). Three databases including CNKI, Wanfang and VIP were selected for Chinese, and Web of Science Core Set, Wiley, Proquest, EBSCO and Elsevier databases were selected for foreign languages to search relevant studies on Chinese adolescents. For joint retrieval by keyword, such as "parenting/rearing styles" and "academiac achievemant/success/performance" or "self-esteem" or "resilience", At the same time, a large number of documents are included through subject search and full-text search. Retrieved on 22 December 2022. In the end, 206 articles met the above criteria, including 57 articles on academic achievement, 97 articles on self-esteem (including 3 articles in English), and 52 articles on resilience (including 1 article in English). The zero-order correlation coefficient r was used as the index of effect quantity. Comprehensive Meta-Analysis(CMA 2.0) was used to test the main effect and the moderating effect of the series of meta-analyses; meta-regression analysis was used to analyze the moderating effect of female ratio and publication year, etc.; subgroup analysis was used to analyze the moderating effect of education stage, publication type and measurement tools, etc. Results: Result:Different types of family rearing styles were significantly correlated with the three core indices of adolescents' positive development. Positive family parenting styles were moderately correlated with adolescents' positive development (r = 0.32), while negative family rearing styles were moderately correlated with adolescents' positive development (r = -0.13). The results confirm the relationship between family parenting style and the positive development of adolescents from a holistic perspective. Specifically, among the concrete constructs of adolescents' positive development, positive parenting style had the highest correlation with resilience (r = 0.43), followed by self-esteem (r = 0.318) and academic achievement (r = 0.18). Negative parenting styles were associated with higher levels of resilience (r = -0.17) and self-esteem (r = -0.16), and lower levels of academic achievement (r = -0.10). These results indicate that the effect of family rearing style on adolescent development is both holographic and different. In addition, meta-regression analysis and subgroup analysis found that the ratio of females in the continuous variable and the stage of education in the group variable had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between family parenting style and the indicators of adolescent positive development. Conclusion: In this study, three representative variables such as academic achievement, resilience and self-esteem were included in the core indices of adolescents' positive development. Based on the first-order and second-order meta-analysis, the relationship between the development resource of family parenting style and adolescents' positive development was investigated. In order to comprehensively and deeply understand the development resource value of family parenting style. It provides a theoretical perspective and new evidence for the holistic and differentiated effects on the positive development of adolescents. There is a close correlation between family parenting style and adolescent development variables, which confirms the important role of "family style parenting" in promoting the overall positive development of adolescents, and the holographic function of positive family parenting style in shaping adolescents' ability, self-worth and positive psychological character. It highlights the theoretical contribution and practical significance of this study under the background of Chinese excellent traditional family culture. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Behavioral characteristics and neural mechanisms of pain processing in depression DING Ying, WANG Ziying, LI Weidong 2024, 32 (8):  1315-1327.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2024.01315 Abstract ( 153 )   PDF (2033KB) ( 285 )   Peer Review Comments The coexistence of physical pain and psychological pain, two common types of pain associated with depression, complicates the timely diagnosis of depression, alleviation of symptoms, and improvement of patients’ quality of life. In-depth research into the distinct clinical manifestations and neural mechanisms of these two types of pain is of great significance for the diagnosis of depression and treatment of patients with depression. Numerous studies have found that depression and pain appear to involve many of the same neurotransmitters, immune systems, and neural pathways, which might be the physiological factors leading to their high comorbidity. However, recent research has discovered that the characteristics of brain region activity in patients differ depending on whether pain or depression is the more dominant symptom. From a perspective where depressive symptoms are dominant: (1) What is the relationship between depressive symptoms and pain symptoms? (2) Compared to the healthy subjects, do individuals with depression exhibit any uniqueness in their behavioral performance and brain activity during pain processing? (3) Are there commonalities and specificities in the two types of pain commonly observed in patients with depression—physical pain and psychological pain? If so, what might they be? (4) Is there a difference in brain activity between individuals with depression accompanied by physical pain or psychological pain (with suicidal ideation or behavior) and those without accompanying pain? A review of the literature reveals that, in terms of behavioral indicators, individuals with depression exhibit inconsistent sensitivity to different types of physical pain and characteristics, such as a low pain threshold, long duration, and intense suffering from psychological pain, compared to healthy subjects. With respect to neural mechanisms, the patterns of physical and psychological pain in patients with depression are similar to those of healthy subjects. Specifically, physical pain in depression may involve the participation of somatosensory brain regions such as the anterior and posterior cingulate, while psychological pain in patients with depression might engage the social brain network. It is noteworthy, however, that research on physical pain associated with depression has found that it may be linked to abnormalities in the brain regions and interconnections involved in emotion and pain regulation. That is, non-noxious stimuli could also provoke physical pain in patients with depression, which may differ from the brain regions involved in physical pain among healthy subjects. In the future, (1) To better reveal the relationship between depressive symptoms and pain symptoms, it is necessary to further study the specificity of the comorbidity of pain with depression and depression with pain. This will enhance our understanding of depression and help find targeted interventions for pain dominated by depressive symptoms. (2) To better distinguish the specificities of pain processing in depression compared to the general population, the influencing factors of pain processing in depression need to be clarified, providing evidence for exploring more targeted and effective interventions and treatment plans. (3) Literature shows that currently there is no direct experimental evidence simultaneously addressing physical and psychological pain in patients with depression to reveal the similarities and differences in the neural mechanisms of physical and psychological pain in depression. Therefore, both physical and psychological pains in depression should be examined simultaneously to illuminate the commonalities and distinctions in their processing and to investigate the complex, dynamic interaction between physical and psychological pain in patients with depression, further expanding and deepening our understanding of pain associated with depression. (4) The brain is plastic, and chronic accompanying pain may affect the brain function in patients with depression, posing challenges to clinical diagnosis and treatment. Thus, future research should focus on exploring the functional neuroscientific changes associated with pain in patients with depression. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Health risk behaviors among children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: A perspective from family risk ZHOU Jiawen, WANG Mingyi 2024, 32 (8):  1328-1341.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2024.01328 Abstract ( 97 )   PDF (610KB) ( 170 )   Peer Review Comments During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a notable rise in health risk behaviors among children and adolescents, and despite the gradual resumption of regular life, their impacts still endure. It is valuable to investigate and scrutinize a range of inquiries concerning the shifts in health risk behaviors among young individuals under the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the reasons behind the emergence of these behaviors, and their continuity. This article initially outlines in a systematic manner the features of different prominent health risk behaviors among children and adolescents during the COVID-19. In relation to screen time, there was a notable rise in total screen time among children and adolescents, particularly impacting primary school children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Concerning physical activity, there was insufficient engagement in physical activities among children and adolescents, accompanied by a rise in sedentary behaviors. The decline in moderate to vigorous physical activity was most evident, and with increasing age, children participated less in physical activities. Regarding dietary habits, there was a decrease in the consumption frequency of fresh vegetables, fruits, legumes, and dairy products among children and adolescents during the pandemic. They were consuming more snacks, and the COVID-19 pandemic influenced their eating patterns, resulting in changes in appetite, irregular eating routines, heightened emotional eating, and a propensity towards deteriorating dietary habits as age grow older. In terms of sleep, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered the sleep patterns of children and adolescents. These alterations include later bedtimes, waking up later, longer sleep durations, reduced sleep quality, and a notable increase in the prevalence of sleep issues. Next, based on analyzing existing research, the article further extends the conceptual framework of family risk and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic, and then proposes a family risk framework for children and adolescents' health risk behaviors in the context of the COVID-19, which analyzes the causes of children and adolescents' health risk behaviors from a family risk perspective under the epidemic background. This framework posits that such health risk behaviors during the COVID-19 were inseparable from the infiltration of risks in the proximal caregiving environment. Within the caregiving environment, parental behaviors marked by "lenient rules" and "harsh punishment," poor parent-child communication, and heightened parent-child conflicts played pivotal roles in influencing changes in health risk behaviors among children and adolescents. Factors such as increased caregiver stress, declining emotional well-being, were key. Deteriorating economic circumstances, food insecurity, and modifications in work and education all contributed to facets of this process. Beyond scrutinizing the unique alterations in the caregiving environment during the pandemic, it is crucial to acknowledge that existing family vulnerabilities can worsen the impact of changes in family risks on children and adolescents' health risk behaviors during the epidemic. Finally, we try to combine the proposed framework with life history theory to explain the sustained effects of health risk behaviors of children and adolescents in the post-epidemic era from the perspective of dynamic development. For children and adolescents, the COVID-19 epidemic occured in the early stages of their growth, and the COVID-19 epidemic has a profound impact on families. The problems caused by living conditions reflected the harshness of the development environment of children and adolescents during the COVID-19 epidemic. The deteriorating mental state of caregivers and the negative parental behaviors reflect the unpredictability of the environment, Promoting children and adolescents to be more inclined to adopt fast life history strategies in their subsequent lives, which may be the key to the persistence of health risk behaviors in children and adolescents after the COVID-19 epidemic. Future research should conduct comprehensive exploration of health-related behaviors pre and post the COVID-19 pandemic, enhance in-depth research on the family risk framework of children and adolescents' health risk behaviors under the background of the COVID-19, and provide multi-faceted support for the healthy development of children and adolescents at the practical level. This article provides a systematic observation and theoretical perspective on the development of healthy behaviors in children and adolescents, helping to understand the reason of changes in health risk behaviors during special periods. It provides a scientific basis for targeted family interventions and offers general solutions for handling children and adolescents' health issues during future similar emergencies. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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How parental coping socialization influences the adjustment of children and adolescents: Perspectives from long-term and real-time timelines HE Ting, HU Huinan, QIAO Lu, YANG Liangliang, LI Mingying, LIN Xiuyun 2024, 32 (8):  1342-1353.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2024.01342 Abstract ( 141 )   PDF (581KB) ( 215 )   Peer Review Comments Parental coping socialization encompasses the interactive process through which parents impart cognitive, emotional, and behavioral strategies to their offspring, aiming to equip them with the essential abilities to effectively manage and navigate challenging situations. Empirical research, considering perspectives such as long-term developmental timelines, real-time contexts, and their integrations, has explored the implications of parental coping socialization, revealing its unique effects on the child adjustment. However, current theories encounter two main shortcomings. Firstly, existing theoretical models primarily articulate the role of parental coping socialization from the perspective of children, which fails to fully capture the mechanisms through which parents contribute to child adjustment. Actually, child adjustment is determined by the dyadic interaction process between parents and children, whereby the developmental and transformative processes of parent-child interaction ultimately result in qualitative changes in child adjustment. From this perspective, the dyadic interaction between parents and children uniquely contributes to the coping socialization process. Secondly, although existing theories and empirical research failed to differentiate long-term and real-time timelines, which is necessary for understanding the process of coping socialization. Socialization is not a one-time event; rather, it involves a continuous process of long-term developmental changes and real-time interactions. The process of coping socialization exists on both the long-term and real-time timelines, with both interrelatedness and differences between them. The present study proposes an integrative model, the dynamic process model of coping socialization. This model integrates existing coping socialization process models and the parenting × stress amplification/differentiation effects model, incorporating dynamic systems theory to provide a comprehensive understanding from both macro and micro perspectives. Drawing from integrated theoretical frameworks and related research, this model considers antecedents/moderators from the perspectives of parental factors, child factors, and characteristics of stressors. These factors act as predictors affecting parental coping socialization, child coping processes, and their adjustment. Moreover, they serve as moderators influencing the strength and direction of the relationships between parental coping socialization, child coping processes, and adjustment. With regard to the potential mechanisms, the model focuses on both the role of parental daily coping socialization, as emphasized in previous research, and highlights the effects of real-time dyadic coping interactions on child adjustment from a dynamic perspective. Firstly, based on the coping socialization process model and relevant empirical research, the model suggests that child coping processes may serve as a critical mechanism through which parental coping socialization influence child adjustment. Secondly, according to dynamic systems theory, the model hypothesizes that within real-time coping interactions, parental coping socialization directly influences child real-time coping processes and also indirectly affects their real-time performance through parent-child behavioral, physiological, and neural synchrony. These effects persistently impact child long-term developmental outcomes. Concerning the relationships between processes across different timelines, the long-term developmental timeline and the real-time timeline are interrelated and mutually influential in three aspects. Firstly, parental coping socialization exists correlation across the two timelines. Secondly, child coping processes across the two timelines are interconnected. Thirdly, parental coping socialization on the long-term developmental timeline could indirectly predict child daily and real-time coping processes through real-time dyadic synchrony, ultimately affecting child long-term adjustment. The real-time timeline serves as a tangible manifestation of the long-term developmental timeline, wherein the latter represents the cumulative outcome of the former. Together, they significantly impact child adjustment. Future research should investigate the universality of parental coping socialization effects, delving deeper into the mechanisms by which parental coping socialization influences children and adolescents' adjustment and their bidirectional relationships. This knowledge would provide a scientific basis for applying and promoting parental coping socialization in family education and clinical interventions. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Narcissism research approaches and integration: Dynamics, regulation, and personality characteristics KANG Tinghu, ZHAO Jing 2024, 32 (8):  1354-1365.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2024.01354 Abstract ( 157 )   PDF (548KB) ( 295 )   Peer Review Comments Psychological researchers believe that narcissism is a familiar and puzzling concept. In social/personality psychology, narcissism is defined as a trait of excessive self-appreciation, characterized by entitlement, expressionism, self-importance, and superiority. By contrast, in contemporary clinical models, narcissism is defined as an individual’s ability to retain a relatively positive self-image through a variety of self-, affect-, and field-regulatory processes. These two definitions reflect differences in the understanding of narcissism between clinical psychology and social/personality psychology. In the past decade, researchers have depended on different research traditions, applied different measuring tools and methods to explore the structure and expression of narcissism, and have identified two major themes: Grandiose Narcissism and Vulnerable Narcissism. Trifurcated structural models of narcissism were developed on this basis. The Trifurcated Model of Narcissism (TriMN) and the Narcissism Spectrum Model (NSM) hypothesized that entitlement/antagonism was the core feature, whereas grandiosity/extroversion and vulnerability/neuroticism were the respective phenotypic features. Grandiose narcissism is a combination of antagonism and agentic extraversion, whereas vulnerable narcissism is a combination of antagonism and neuroticism. These views are shared in clinical and social/personality psychology. What is the relationship between normal and pathological narcissism? What is the nature of vulnerable narcissism? What is at the core of narcissism? The existing trifurcated structural models of narcissism do not address these questions. Social/personality psychology refers to the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) as normal narcissism; however, the NPI correlates strongly with the expert-rated characteristics of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). In contrast, the Narcissistic Grandiosity Subscale (PNI-NG), which was specifically designed to measure pathological narcissistic grandiosity, did not correlate with expert-rated characteristics of NPD. Vulnerable narcissism was considered in social/personality psychology as a narcissistic variant with a neurotic interpersonal style, while in contemporary clinical theory, vulnerable narcissism is the product of narcissistic needs regulation failure, and narcissists would experience a transition between grandiose and vulnerable states. TriMN identified antagonism as the core of narcissism, whereas the NSM tended to believe entitlement as the core of narcissism, But, in fact, antagonism and entitlement were not the same construct. To resolve the current controversy or inconsistency in narcissism research, we identified cues from the origin of the concept of narcissism and the development of narcissism research. This study traced the early meaning of narcissism in psychoanalysis and identified two developmental paths in the study of narcissism. In psychoanalytic theory, narcissism refers to a set of attitudes, personality characteristics, or personality disorders. However, it can also be a self-directed psychological activity that serves as a dynamic system of self-regulation to maintain self-expression and self-esteem. Contemporary clinical psychology and social/personality psychology have inherited two lines of research on narcissistic personality characteristics and self-regulation, and developed TriMN and NSM. Based on this, this study proposes a three-system integration model consisting of a narcissistic dynamic system, personality characteristics system, and regulatory system. The three-system integration model of narcissism hypothesizes that narcissistic entitlement can be considered a source of narcissistic motivation and dynamics, the narcissistic regulatory system can explain the fluctuations of narcissistic grandiosity and vulnerability under threatened situations, and the personality characteristics system mainly reflects the personality characteristics and baseline level of individual narcissism. Among the three systems, the narcissistic dynamics system provides dynamics for self-regulation and strategy practice, and enables individuals to form specific phenotypic characteristics, which are reflected in relatively stable individual differences. Individuals with different narcissistic characteristics have different dynamics for maintaining a positive narcissistic image or status, which leads to different regulation strategies. In future research, based on the three-system integration model of narcissism, experimental methods will be used to explore the self-regulatory approach of individuals with different narcissistic characteristics under manipulative conditions, and longitudinal studies will be used to explore the development and change in narcissistic characteristics and their relationship with self-esteem and psychological well-being. Neuroscience techniques and methods can help researchers understand the neural mechanisms underlying narcissism. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The spillover effects of financial stress in the workplace CHEN Huan, WANG Zhen, JIANG Fubin 2024, 32 (8):  1366-1378.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2024.01366 Abstract ( 214 )   PDF (757KB) ( 400 )   Peer Review Comments In recent years, financial stress has become the leading source of stress worldwide, significantly affecting both individuals' personal lives and their workplace outcomes. Despite the increasing financial stress faced by individuals and families and the growing scholarly attention to financial stress, there remains a lack of systematic understanding in both academic and practical circles regarding what impact financial stress has on individual workplace outcomes, why these impacts occur, and when these effects manifest. This issue primarily arises from a lack of dialogue between studies, resulting in fragmented knowledge. To address this issue and inspire both academic research and practical management, this study systematically reviews existing research, identifies different types of financial stress, and summarizes the framework of financial stress spillover effects in the workplace. It comprehensively presents the specific manifestations, mechanisms, and boundary conditions of these effects to answer three questions: "What impact does financial stress have on workplace outcomes?", "Why does financial stress have these impacts?", and "When do these effects occur?" (1) Regarding the specific manifestations, this study identifies that financial stress disrupts work attitudes, career development, and work-family relationships, exerting a dual impact on work behavior and performance. Financial stress is not only a personal challenge but also a significant obstacle to interpersonal interactions, team operations, and organizational climate. (2) Regarding the mechanisms, the study elaborates on three primary mechanisms through which financial stress impacts individuals: resource, cognitive, and motivational mechanisms. Resource mechanisms focus on how financial stress leads to the depletion and subsequent conservation of resources. Cognitive mechanisms examine changes in cognitive appraisal under financial stress and how these changes affect workplace outcomes. Motivational mechanisms investigate adjustments in work motivation when facing financial stress. Additionally, the study highlights unique mechanisms such as uncertainty handling, compensation for lack of control, and emotional social transmission, indicating that financial stress can affect not only the individual but also their colleagues and the broader organizational climate. Research on these interpersonal spillover effects is limited, but the identified mechanisms emphasize different aspects of financial stress's impact, suggesting a wider influence on workplace dynamics. (3) Regarding the boundary conditions, the strength of financial stress spillover effects is influenced by various conditions such as employee characteristics, job features, and macro-contextual factors. This study underscores the need to explore key factors such as leadership and organizational context that can mitigate the negative effects of financial stress or even transform stress into motivation. This study has significant theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, this research helps uncover the complex processes of workplace psychology and behavior, enabling researchers to gain a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the current state of research on the workplace impacts of financial stress. It provides a foundation for developing more targeted and effective interventions to manage financial stress in the workplace. Practically, it assists stakeholders in developing support systems to enhance employees' work experiences and quality of life, promoting workplace stability and social development. Future research should focus on clarifying the differences in spillover effects of various types of financial stress, diversifying the subjects and methods of study, exploring the boundary conditions that transform "stress" into "motivation," and conducting research tailored to the Chinese socio-cultural context to advance in-depth exploration in this field and guide management practices. By addressing these areas, future studies can provide deeper insights into the multifaceted impacts of financial stress and inform the development of more effective interventions and support mechanisms within organizations. This holistic approach will not only improve individual well-being but also enhance overall organizational performance and resilience. References | Related Articles | Metrics