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The effect of positive and negative signs on the SNARC effect in the magnitude judgment task HAN Meng, MAO Xinrui, CAI Mengtong, JIA Xi, GUO Chunyan 2017, 49 (8):  995-1008.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2017.00995 Abstract ( 2658 )   PDF (1000KB) ( 2453 )   Peer Review Comments  Based on previous investigations, positive and negative sign is an important factor of SNARC (Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes) effect. Magnitude judgments of different signed numbers are solved by an obvious sign shortcut mechanism. When both numbers are negative, there are arguments between ontogenetic hypothesis and phylogenetic hypothesis. The ontogenetic hypothesis supposes that negative numbers are mapped onto the mental number line according to their numerical value, but phylogenetic hypothesis inserts that the representation of negative numbers depends on their absolute numerical value. Whether the SNARC effect is processed in the stage of response selection or stimulus presentation is also under discussion. Although frontal lobe and parietal lobe are generally considered as the key brain regions of the SNARC effect, hemispheric dominance of this effect still needs exploration. Therefore, our research focused on four points: 1) how sign shortcut mechanism affected the SNARC effect, 2) how negative numbers represented on the mental number line, 3) how the signs of numbers affected the processing stage of the SNARC effect, 4) the key brain regions and hemispheric dominance of the SNARC effect. In the current experiment, we used modified “magnitude judgments” paradigm with ERPs recorded, to investigate how positive and negative signs influence the SNARC effect. Participants were informed the base number and the response mode before the task, then they were instructed to compare the sizes of the target numbers (–9~+9, excluded –5, 0 and +5) and the base number (–5 or +5). Two manners of keying were adopted, including congruent keying and incongruent keying. Congruent keying required participants to make “smaller” responses with the key “F” (left) and make “larger” responses with the key “J” (right). Conversely, incongruent keying required participants to make “smaller” response with the key “J” (right) and make “larger” response with the key “F” (left). Accordingly, the SNARC effect refers to the situation where the reaction times of congruent keying were shorter than those of incongruent keying. Behaviorally, different sign comparisons had higher accuracy rates than same sign comparisons. Besides, when the base number was +5, accuracy rates were higher than the condition where the base number was –5. For reaction times, responses to different sign comparisons were faster than responses to the same sign comparisons. Compared to –5, reaction time was shorter when the base number was +5. Congruent keying reacted faster than incongruent keying. In the same sign comparisons, if the base number was +5, congruent keying was faster than incongruent keying. But if the base number was –5, there was no difference between two keying types. ERP results showed that congruent keying elicited more positive P3 in response selection stage, no matter in different or same sign comparisons, which represented the SNARC effect. When base and target numbers were different signed numbers, the sign shortcut mechanism affected SNARC differently. Specificlly, when the target numbers were negative, congruent keying produced smaller N300 than incongruent keying in the stimulus presentation stage. However, when the target numbers were positive, congruent keying produced more positive LPP in the response execution stage. Traceability analysis showed that SNARC effect activated frontal lobe and parietal lobe. The negative numbers were processed with the activation of left frontal regions but positive numbers were processed with the activation of right frontal regions. Our findings suggest that: the spatial representation of negative numbers supports ontogenetic hypothesis. Positive signs and negative signs can modulate the processing stage of the SNARC effect. The spatial representation of positive and negative numbers depends on different dominant hemisphere. Related Articles | Metrics

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The modulation of working memory load and perceptual load on attentional guidance from representations of working memory ZHANG Bao, HU Cenlou, CHEN Yanzhang, MIAO Sumei, HUANG Sai 2017, 49 (8):  1009-1021.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2017.01009 Abstract ( 3346 )   PDF (500KB) ( 3781 )   Peer Review Comments  Attention is biased towards the objects that sharing common features with the online representations in working memory (WM) and such phenomenon is called WM based attentional guidance. Although the attentional guidance was regarded as operating in an involuntary manner, many researchers still found that the guidance effects decreased or even eliminated with the increasing of WM load. However, the issue how WM load affects attentional guidance is still controversial. The probable reason for the attenuating of memory-driven guidance caused by the WM load might either be due to exhausting of cognitive resources with the load increasing, or be due to the reducing of the representation status when multiple representations maintaining in WM simultaneously. Here, with using the eye movement tracking technique to measure the attentional deployment in real time during the visual search task, we attempted to explore how the WM load modulated the attentional guidance under different perceptual load of visual search task. The classic dual-task paradigm combined the WM task and the visual search task was adopted in the present study. Participants were required to complete a visual search task while maintaining 1, 2 or 4 items in the WM online. During the visual search task, one of the WM items either reappear as a distractor of visual search task in the invalid condition or not reappear in the neutral condition. When low perceptual load of visual search task was used in experiment 1 and 3, the results showed that the distractor matched the WM representation could capture more of the first fixation than other distractors, and the RT in invalid condition was significant greater than the neutral condition in visual search under WM load of 1 and 2, suggesting a classic attentional guidance effect, but this effect was not observed when the WM load increased to 4 items which was regarded as the full load of WM. In contrast, when the high perceptual load of visual search task was used in experiment 2 and 4, the guidance effect was only found under the WM load of 1, and disappeared when the WM load add to 2 items. In conclusion, the present study illustrated that (1) both the load of WM and perceptual load of visual search task can modulate the WM based attentional guidance by the means of competing for the common cognitive resources, and (2) multiple representations maintained simultaneously in WM can guide attentional selection if the cognitive resources are sufficient. Related Articles | Metrics

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The baseline fluid intelligence modulated the transfer effect from working memory to fluid intelligence ZHU Zude, DUAN Yixing, WANG Suiping 2017, 49 (8):  1022-1030.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2017.01022 Abstract ( 3614 )   PDF (433KB) ( 4023 )   Peer Review Comments  While some previous studies have found significant transfer effect from working memory to fluid intelligence, other studies have failed. The discrepancy may due to individual difference. One type of individual differences is the working memory training improvement. It was found that, transfer effect was found only in subjects who showed significant training improvement. Another type of individual differences is the cognitive ability at baseline, such as baseline fluid intelligence. It remains unclear how such individual differences modulate transfer effect in working memory training. Specifically, the aim of the present study was to investigate how the individual fluid intelligence at baseline modulates the working memory transfer effect. In total, 40 college students were recruited and randomly assigned into active control group (N = 19, 8 males/ 11 females) and training group (N = 21, 9 males /12 females). The training group was asked to complete a dual n-back task. The participants were asked to perform the training 25 minutes a day, 5 days per week in four weeks. The dual n-back task was computerized, in which participants were required to determine if the stimulus position and voice in the current trial were the same as that in the previous n-1 trial. The n was adaptively changed according to the participants’ performances. Meanwhile, the active control group received a scientific knowledge reading training. To make sure the participants’ engaged in the task, the reading material was different for each time. The training time setting in the active control group was the same as that in the training group. All participants were tested by the Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices (RSPM) before and after the training. In order to avoid the impact of repeated measures, the RSPM were divided into two parallel tests and were counterbalanced across groups and test sessions. The training group showed significant improvement in the dual n-back task, with an average maximum n = 4.86 and mean improved n = 2.51 after 20 days training. In addition, the results have revealed three key findings. First, we found significant group by test session interaction. Specifically, while the RSPM scores were comparable across test sessions in the active control group, the score of RSPM was significantly improved in the post-test than the baseline in the training group. Secondly, to reveal the potential interaction between baseline intelligence and training score improvement on the transfer effect, comparison of moderators was performed by using hierarchy regression. The results revealed that, intelligence improvement was positively correlated with working memory training improvement and negatively correlated with baseline intelligence performance. Additionally, the interaction term of training improvement and baseline intelligence performance positively correlated with intelligence gain. The interaction suggests that, a person can gain the best if he/she showed highest baseline intelligence performance and highest working memory training improvement. In summary, the current study confirmed that working memory training can improve fluid intelligence. More importantly, the results demonstrated that individual difference, i.e. the baseline level of the fluid intelligence in the current project, has modulated the transfer effect from working memory training to fluid intelligence. The results thus suggested that, future studies should pay more attention on individual difference, to reveal the trainability or transfer gain variance across participants. Related Articles | Metrics

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Influence of emotional valence on the spatial simon effect under the vocal response mode SONG Xiaolei, ZHANG Junting, SHI Jie, YOU Xuqun 2017, 49 (8):  1031-1040.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2017.01031 Abstract ( 1834 )   PDF (378KB) ( 2022 )   Peer Review Comments  Spatial Simon effect reflects the preference of spatial congruence of stimulus and response location on the information processing when participants respond to a non-spatial stimulus feature, and the emotional valence, among others, may have some influence on this kind of process. Two theories, in which the association of emotional valence and spatial cognition has been inquired in the recent decades, are the body-specificity hypothesis and the polarity coding correspondence. According to the former, people associate positive entities with the dominant hand, or the space surrounding the dominant hand, and negative entities with the space surrounding the non-dominant hand. For the right-handers, they may have the association of good/right and bad/left. Therefore, the valence of the stimulus may have some influence on the spatial Simon effect when the stimulus presented to the left and right side of the screen. While, according to the latter, when the valence of stimulus and response are coded as the same polarity, participants can respond more quickly, and this promoting effect only exists for positive entities. In the present study, three experiments were conducted to demonstrate the influence of emotional valence on spatial Simon effect under the vocal response conditions. Participants are all right-handers in these experiments. In experiment 1, the classic Simon paradigm variants were used and participants were also asked to carry on a standard Simon task under the vocal response conditions, in order to verify the existence of the spatial Simon effect. Similar to experiment 1, except the stimuli were changed to some brief strokes of facial emotional pictures, experiment 2 was to examine whether irrelevant emotional valence had some influence on the spatial Simon effect. The aim of experiment 3 was to explore whether the relevant emotional valence of stimuli had some influence on the spatial Simon effect. The dependent variables, across all the above experiments, are the response time and accuracy rate. As a result, the experiment 1 confirmed the existence of spatial Simon effect under the vocal response condition, and in Experiment 2, the spatial Simon effect still emerged, which means that the effect was not influenced by the irrelevant emotional valence. In experiment 3, more informatively, the relevant emotional valence had certain influence on the spatial Simon effect, especially for positive items, the spatial Simon effect disappeared for positive items but still emerged significantly for the negative items. In order to further clarify the mechanism behind this influence and explicit the role of the association of good/ right and bad/left and polarity coding correspondence, we conducted a combination analysis of 2 (space/valence mapping: mapping, un-mapping) × 2 (emotional valence: positive, negative) × 2 (correspondence: correspondence, non-correspondence), the result showed that, in the mapping group, the correspondence responses were significantly faster than the non-correspondence, while in un-mapping group, the spatial Simon effect reversed, i.e., the non-correspondence responses were significantly faster than the correspondences. In conclusion, it can be concluded that the spatial Simon effect has not been disrupted by any different response ways; Emotional valence has some influence on spatial Simon effect when the emotional features are relevant to the response selections, which can be explained by the polarity-coding correspondence theory, and also partially in consistent with the body-specificity hypothesis. Related Articles | Metrics

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The effects of neighborhood size and category consistency of the semantic radical on semantic radical’s semantic activation under radical priming paradigm ZHANG Yuzhi, ZHANG Jijia 2017, 49 (8):  1041-1052.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2017.01041 Abstract ( 1222 )   PDF (423KB) ( 1400 )   Peer Review Comments  Many Chinese compound characters consist of one semantic radical and one phonetic radical. The semantic radical is related with the meaning of the whole character. Characters sharing the same semantic radical constitute the semantic radical family. The difference induced by the size of the orthography family is neighborhood effect. The degree of semantic concentration of all Chinese characters formed by the same semantic radical is category consistency. Previous studies explored the semantic activation, neighborhood effect and category consistency effect of semantic radical under whole character priming paradigm. The limitations of previous studies include: (1) The whole character priming paradigm cannot separate the influence of the whole character. (2) Previous studies cannot compare lexical decision and semantic judgment directly, since the result of semantic judgments leads to the separation of “yes/no”. (3) Previous studies examined the semantic activation, neighborhood effect and category consistency effect of the semantic radicals, but due to the limitations of the paradigm, they cannot integrate these influence factors. The present study intends to use the radical priming paradigm to investigate the effect of family size and category consistency on the semantic activation of semantic radicals in tasks of different processing depth. In experiment 1, we use the 2 (Character type: transparent and opaque) × 2 (priming condition: radical priming and **** priming) multi-factorial experiment design to validate the radical priming paradigm. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the reaction time of the two categories of Chinese characters under the **** priming condition. However, the reaction time of the semantic transparent Chinese characters was significantly shorter than that of the semantic opaque Chinese characters under the radical priming condition. The results indicate that the semantic radical’s meaning can be activated effectively. The radical priming paradigm is valid. In experiment 2 and experiment 3, the effects of family size and category consistency on the semantic activation of the semantic radicals are investigated in tasks of different processing depth. Experiment 2 used lexical decision task of a 2 (character type: transparent and opaque) × 2(family size: large and small) × 2(category consistency: consistent and inconsistent) design. Experiment 3 used the semantic relevance judgment task of a 2 (character type: S– —S– and S– —S+) × 2 (family size: large and small) × 2 (category consistency: consistent and inconsistent)design. Experiment 2 found the family size effect on the semantic activation of the semantic radicals. The meaning of semantic radicals of small families is easier to activate than that of semantic radicals of large families. Experiment 3 found the category consistency effect on semantic activation of semantic radicals. The meaning of semantic radicals of consistent category is easier to activate than that of semantic radicals of inconsistent category. Moreover, category consistency effect on semantic activation of radicals is regulated by family size in error rate. The whole study shows that the family size and category consistency can affect the semantic activation of semantic radicals, and the depth of processing will affect the different behaviors of the two factors. In the shallow processing task, we only found the family size effect on the semantic activation of the semantic radicals. While, in the deep processing task, we only found the family consistency effect on the semantic activation of the semantic radicals, and this effect is regulated to a certain extent by the family size of the semantic radicals. Moreover, we also found that the category consistency will affect the direction of family size effect of the semantic radicals. Related Articles | Metrics

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Trust and subsequent use of oral and print information for 4~6 year-old children LIU Baogen, LI Feifei, LI Ruiqin, JIANG Hui 2017, 49 (8):  1053-1062.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2017.01053 Abstract ( 2654 )   PDF (527KB) ( 3043 )   Peer Review Comments  Children have many opportunities to learn from others through oral and printed sources. A few recent studies investigating children’s trust in printed versus oral information suggested that as soon as children acquired the basic reading ability, they placed more trust in printed over oral testimony when learning names for unfamiliar objects. Previous studies have shown that a proportion of the information that early readers gained from printed sources might be fragile and lost once the printed label is no longer present, but those studies have not examined young children’s subsequent use of the accepted oral or printed information. The current experiments examine whether Chinese young children from 4 to 6 years old trust the printed information more than oral information, to what extent the young children extend their new knowledge to subsequent circumstances, and the effects of reading ability on initial trust and subsequent use. In this study, 125 Chinese young children from 4 to 6 years of age were tested. Each child completed four tasks: the reading ability task, the hybrid sorting task, the short-term recognition task of hybrid pictures (3 minutes after the sorting task), and the long-term recognition task (2 weeks later). Children’s reading ability was evaluated by a single-word recognition test involving words from the hybrid sorting task. For the hybrid sorting task, children were presented with pictures of hybrid creatures that looked more like one of two species, and had the opportunity to accept or reject an oral or printed label that referred to the perceptually non–dominant species. For the recognition tasks, children were asked to name the same set of hybrid creatures or sort them to the related locations. We analyzed the experimental data using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) (score level and individual level) to investigate the contribution of information type, reading ability and age to children’s initial trust of information, children’s recognition of hybrid pictures in the short term and in the long term. We found that Chinese young children trusted both oral and printed labels in the original sorting tasks: There’s no significant main effects of information type, age, or reading ability on children’s trust in oral or printed information, but the interaction between reading ability and information type predicts children’s trust. Using simple slope analysis we found that all children trusted the printed information, while higher-level readers were more likely to reject the oral information than lower-level readers. Despite of prior great trust of information in the original sorting tasks, young children seldom applied the information to the subsequent short-term or long-term tasks. However, they tended to apply more printed information than oral information in the long run. There were interaction effects of reading ability and information type on children’s subsequent use of information both in the short-term and in the long- term. Specifically, lower level readers were more likely to use the oral information than the higher level readers in the short term, while higher-level reader were more likely to use the printed information than the lower-level readers in the long run. The role of print awareness in the relationship between reading ability and children’s trust and subsequent use of information was discussed. Related Articles | Metrics

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Effect of family socioeconomic status on reading autonomy among elementary school students: The mediating effects of parents' encouragement and reading motivation GU Honglei, LIU Jun, XIA Tiansheng 2017, 49 (8):  1063-1071.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2017.01063 Abstract ( 6020 )   PDF (389KB) ( 11951 )   Peer Review Comments  Reading ability is one of the most extensively investigated topics in education research. Several studies found that self-regulated reading was the core to improve reading ability while social economic status was important to self-regulated reading. However, the inner mechanisms were unknown. Both external factor (e.g., parents' encouragement) and internal factor (e.g., reading motivation) were likely to be mediating factors between socioeconomic status and reading autonomy. Therefore, it’s important to discuss the mediating effect of parents' encouragement and reading motivation on reading autonomy. The present study investigated the mediating effect between family socioeconomic status and reading autonomy among elementary school students. Three hypotheses were tested: Hypothesis 1: family socioeconomic status directly affects the reading autonomy. Hypothesis 2: family socioeconomic status affects the reading autonomy through parents' encouragement and reading motivation, respectively. Thus, parents' encouragement and reading motivation are parallel mediator factors. Hypothesis 3: family socioeconomic status affects reading motivation through parents' encouragement, and then affects the reading autonomy. Hence, parents' encouragement and reading motivation are chain intermediary roles. Participants were 313 fourth-grade students from two cities. All students completed the reading autonomy scale and questionnaire test. Participants were 175 (55.9%) male students and 138 (44.1%) female students. They completed four measures: socioeconomic status questionnaire, parents' encourage reading questionnaire, reading motivation questionnaire and reading autonomy scale. Preliminary and descriptive analyses showed that Cronbach’s alpha of parents' encourage reading questionnaire, reading motivation questionnaire, and reading autonomy scale was 0.828, 0.843, 0.749, respectively. Firstly, the statistic analysis showed that the total effect of family socioeconomic status on reading autonomy was significant, γ = 0.32, p < 0.01. Model fit indices in SEM were χ2/df = 2.05, TLI = 0.90, CFI = 0.91, RMSEA = 0.063, SRMR = 0.053. Secondly, after the intervening variables (i.e. parents' encouragement and reading motivation) were included in the model, the direct effect of family socioeconomic status on reading autonomy was not statistically significant, but other path coefficients were statistically significant. Model fit indices in SEM were χ2/df =1.39, TLI = 0.93, CFI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.038, SRMR = 0.052. Finally, the bias-corrected bootstrap method was used for significant tests. The results indicated that the direct effect of family socioeconomic status on reading autonomy was not significant and three intermediary effects were statistically significant. In conclusion, parents' encouragement and reading motivation play the intervention role between family socioeconomic status and reading autonomy. Related Articles | Metrics

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The situational primacy of Chinese individual self, relational self, collective self: Evidence from ERP WANG Pei, CHEN Qingwei, TANG Xiaochen, LUO Junlong, TAN Chenhao, GAO Fan 2017, 49 (8):  1072-1079.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2017.01072 Abstract ( 2040 )   PDF (4449KB) ( 2574 )   Peer Review Comments  Self has always been the hot topic in various fields. The tripartite model of self-construal has been the dominating theory at present. According to the tripartite model of self-construal, self is divided into individual self, relational self and collective self based on the relationship between self and others. As to the primacy of individual self, relational self and collective self, different scholars hold different opinions. They proposed four hypotheses as to this issue: individual self primacy hypothesis, relational self primacy hypothesis, collective self primacy hypothesis and situational primacy hypothesis. Each hypothesis has its own behavioral and neuroscience evidence. However, more and more evidence support the individual self primacy hypothesis recently. The present study employed the variant of priming paradigm for the first time to explore the processing of Chinese individual self, relational self and collective self with ERP. We employed 3 (Reference Target: self, familiar other form same country, familiar other from other country) ×3 (Reference Level: individual self, relational self, collective self) within-subject design. 19 paid volunteers participated in this study. Participants were asked to watch the center of the screen where would present a series of word pairs. The prime word and the target word are both names which were collected by the pilot questionnaire. Each trial consisted of the following sequence of events. A prime word was presented for 1000~1200 ms randomized, followed by a 250~350 ms randomized fixation cross, after which a blank screen came for 250~350 ms randomized. After that, a target word came about and lasted until the participants responded. If there was no response, then the target word would disappear after 2000 ms. The inter-trial interval (ITI) was 1000 ms long. There are 1000 trials in total, and participants could have a break after 200 trials. The participants were asked to indicate whether the prime and the target referred to the same person, whether they belonged to the same family, or whether they were from the same country. If the answer was yes, then press the “Consistent” key, otherwise press the “Inconsistent” key. Behavioral results showed that RT of individual self was significantly shorter than that of relational self and collective self and RT of relational self was significantly shorter than that of collective self when the reference target was self. ERPs results indicated that which self became the primary one depended on the specific processing stage. In the early (P2) stage, collective self became the primary one. In the late (P3) stage, individual self turned to be the primary one. In terms of N2, there was no difference as to primacy among them. The results support the situational primacy hypothesis. The present study expands the studies of tripartite model of self-construal and provides the cognitive neuroscience evidence for the debate of primacy. Future studies should be done from different perspective to support situational primacy hypothesis. Related Articles | Metrics

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Narcissistic personality modulates outcome evaluation in the trust game WANG Yiwen, FU Chao, REN Xiangfeng, LIN Yuzhong, GUO Fengbo 2017, 49 (8):  1080-1088.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2017.01080 Abstract ( 4902 )   PDF (675KB) ( 5442 )   Peer Review Comments  Narcissism is a personality characteristic involving arrogance, a feeling of entitlement, and the willingness to exploit others. Narcissistic people tend to be self-centered, grandiose and sensitive to feedback from others. They are also extremely selfish, focusing solely on themselves, lacking regard for others, and showing deficits in pro-social behavior and emotional empathy. Research on Social Value Orientation (SVO) has found that proself people are less trusting and trustworthy than prosocial people. Because of his or her egoism and lack of emotional empathy, the narcissist may tend to not trust other people, especially unfamiliar ones. Relatedly, narcissism may also modulate the outcome evaluation of trust decisions. Previous social neuroscience research has revealed two ERP components related to outcome evaluation, including feedback related negativity (FRN) and P300. In this study, we aimed to investigate how narcissistic personality modulates outcome evaluation in the one-shot trust game. 38 healthy undergraduate participated in our experiment. To assess their narcissism and control for potential depression, all participants completed a brief version of narcissistic personality inventory (NPI-16) and Beck depression inventory-II (BDI-II) before the behavioral task. Participants then played the role of trustor in the one-shot trust game, while their electroencephalograms (EEGs) were recorded. In the trust game, each participant decide whether to trust or distrust different partners over 150 trials. The partners’ reciprocation strategies were pre-programed by the experimenter (the overall reciprocating rate was 50%). All participants were provided with post-decision feedback about the outcome of their decisions (gain or loss game points) in each trail. We analyzed their behavioral responses at the decision-making stage and ERP components at the outcome evaluation stage. Based on NPI-16 scores, 19 participants were classified as relatively low narcissists (scores below the 50th percentile), while the other 19 participants were classified as relatively high narcissists (scores above the 50th percentile); these two groups differed significantly in NPI-16 scores, but not significantly in BDI-II scores (depression). Behavioral results revealed that the high-narcissistic group made less trusting choices than did the low-narcissistic group in the trust game. ERP results indicated that the feedback-related negativity (FRN) was more negative going in response to loss feedback compared to gain feedback. This may indicate that participants typically experienced expectation violation when their trust was exploited. More importantly, the FRN difference wave (dFRN, loss-FRN minuses gain-FRN) was larger for the high narcissistic group than the low narcissistic group. Relatedly, the P300 amplitudes following outcome feedback were larger for the high narcissistic group than the low narcissistic group, especially at the frontalcentral site (FCz). Both dFRN and P300 effects suggested that more narcissistic people may be more sensitive to the outcome feedback of trust decisions. The present study provides preliminary evidence that individual differences in narcissism modulate trust decision- making and outcome evaluation. Related Articles | Metrics

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Consistency of choice modulates outcome evaluation: Evidence from ERP studies FU Yilei, LUO Yuejia, CUI Fang 2017, 49 (8):  1089-1099.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2017.01089 Abstract ( 2013 )   PDF (1002KB) ( 2362 )   Peer Review Comments  Previous studies have shown that outcome evaluation is sensitive to social influences. However, it remains unknown whether the consistency of choice between self and others also affect the outcome evaluation. To gain more insight in this research area, we designed two experiments in the present study, in which two participants (a real participant and a confederate) completed a gambling task together. In this task, the real participant chose from two options before/after the confederate made his/her choice. The outcomes of their choices revealed after both of their choices were made. According to the choosing scenario, 2 conditions were considered in the present study for both taking the same (consistent choices) or different options (inconsistent choices). Sixteen (7 males, 20.40 ± 1.11 y) and twenty (10 males, 22.21 ± 1.70 y) healthy adults participated in the experiment 1 and 2, respectively. With normal or corrected to normal vision, none of them reported any history of neurological diseases or brain injuries. Participants were asked to perform a gambling task in collaboration with another participant. By taking turns to choose one from two covered cards, they won 50 or 0 RMB depending on their choosing consistency. In the experiment 1, the confederate chose first while in the experiment 2 the real participant chose first. After both of them made their choices and were informed with the other’s choice, the outcome were revealed, which fell in 4 categories of (i) both chose the same card and both won; (ii) both chose the same option and both lost; (iii) they chose different cards and the real participant won; and (iv) they chose different cards and the real participant lost. ERP results showed that in the early stage of outcome evaluation, no matter who chose first, a more pronounced dFRN was associated with participants taking the same option than taking different options. In the later stage of outcome evaluation, only in experiment 2, increased P3 and LPP were observed when their choices were the same than different. Our data suggests that the consistency of choices between self and other does modulate the neural activity of outcome evaluation. Specifically, in the early stage, consistent choices amplified the neural response to negative outcome as indicated by the enlarged dFRN. In the later stage, when the participant made the choice first and saw the other chose a different option, this inconsistency would trigger a sense of conflict, leading to more mental processes to avoid it later. This effect reflected in the enlarged amplitudes of P3 and LPP. Our finding provides some insights into how social context influences the psychophysiological processes of outcome evaluation. Related Articles | Metrics

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Benevolent leadership and subordinate innovative behavior: The mediating role of perceived insider status and the moderating role of leader-member exchange differentiation SHEN Yimo, CHOU Wanju, WEI Lihua, ZHANG Qinglin 2017, 49 (8):  1100-1112.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2017.01100 Abstract ( 2987 )   PDF (480KB) ( 4635 )   Peer Review Comments  For a long time, some scholars held that benevolent leadership contributes to employee innovative behavior because it provides subordinates with psychological safety, more resources and supports. However, some other scholars argued that benevolent leadership could increase subordinates’ role obligation, loyalty and obedience to supervisor, which would restrain subordinates’ creativity or innovative behavior. Thus, some scholars appealed that researchers should explore the relationship between benevolent leadership and innovative behavior, especially make out how, why, and when benevolent leadership facilitate innovative behavior in the future. We collected the data from 68 supervisors and 215 subordinates at two different time points. In the first survey, the subordinates were asked to provide information about benevolent leadership and their demography. Three months later, these subordinates were asked to answer some questions about leader-member exchange (LMX), perceived insider status, and their supervisor rated their innovative behavior. Hierarchical linear modeling technique was employed to test the hypothesis about the moderating role of LMX differentiation in the relationship between benevolent leadership and perceived insider status, while bootstrap analysis procedures were used to examine the moderated-mediation relationship among the variables in the study. Analyses of multilevel, multisource and lagged data from 68 supervisors and 215 subordinates showed that (1) perceived insider status can mediate the relationship between benevolent leadership and innovative behavior; (2) LMX differentiation moderates the relationship between benevolent leadership and perceived insider status, i.e., the relationship will be stronger when LMX differentiation is high; (3) and the indirect relationships of benevolent leadership with innovative behavior via perceived insider status, i.e., the positive indirect relationship will also be strengthened when LMX differentiation is high. These findings extend our understanding of the relationship between benevolent leadership and innovative behavior, and specify how, why and when we can increase the positive influence of benevolent leadership on innovative behavior. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. Related Articles | Metrics

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Consumer self-construal, need of uniqueness and preference of brand logo shape WANG Haizhong, FAN Xiaowen, OUYANG Jianying 2017, 49 (8):  1113-1124.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2017.01113 Abstract ( 4878 )   PDF (472KB) ( 5984 )   Peer Review Comments  There are a variety of brand logos in the market and it has become a marketing way to attract consumers. However, how to design a reasonable and effective brand logo and what kind of brand logos is preferred by the target consumers, are questions for marketers and researchers. Based on the horizontal dimension of Individualism-Collectivism Framework by Triandis and Gelfand (1998), this research found the mechanism between consumer self-construct and preference of brand logo shape: need for uniqueness. Findings from four experiments demonstrated that consumers with independent (vs. interdependent) self-construal had a higher (vs. lower) need for uniqueness and preferred angle- (vs. rounded-) shaped brand logos. Consumers' need for uniqueness played a mediation role in the relationship of self-construal and preference of brand logo shape, and that product type (private products vs. public products) played a moderation role in this relationship. We conducted four experiments to examine our hypotheses. The data of study 1 was collected from 63 undergraduates who were activated either an independent or interdependent self-construal, following which both groups responded to questionnaire items on the manipulation check of self-construal and Need for Uniqueness Scale. At last, they were showed two brand logos: an angle and a rounded one, and then gave their preference to these two logos. Study 2 investigated the boundary effect of product type (private products vs. public products). Study 3 manipulated self-construal in another different method by asking participants to describe the differences or similarities between themselves and their family or friends, and changed product categories to further test our hypotheses. The data in study 2 and 3 were collected from 129 undergraduates and 156 consumers through online survey. In study 4, we adopted the brand logo shape in the graphic form, different from the brand logo shape in the text form from Study 1 to 3, and thus expanded the application of this study. All four experiments showed that individuals of independent (vs. interdependent) self-construct had a higher (vs. lower) need for uniqueness, and preferred angled (vs. rounded) brand logo only when consuming public products (vs. private products). This research has theoretical contributions in four aspects. First, this study proved that “need for uniqueness” played a mediation role in the relationship of self-concept and brand logo shape preference. This is a significant advancement of the previous research, which found "conflict resolution style" as a mediator. Second, this study have theoretical impetus on the relationship of self-construal and need for uniqueness. Unlike the existing research, which either adopted only one method to prime self-construal or measured it using continuous variable, our present research adopted two methods to prime self-construal and the results got replicated perfectly. Third, this study enriched the researches about brand logo shape (angle or rounded). Totally, this research adopted two forms to represent the shape of brand logo, graphic and text. Fourth, this study advanced sensory marketing (especially visual marketing) researches. Moreover, it provides rich strategic implications for marketers and firms in designing and adjusting brand logos, and also developing corresponding marketing strategies. Related Articles | Metrics

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Simulated data comparison of the predictive validity between bi-factor and high-order models XU Shuangxue, YU Zonghuo, LI Yuemei 2017, 49 (8):  1125-1136.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2017.01125 Abstract ( 1497 )   PDF (694KB) ( 1691 )   Peer Review Comments  Psychological and educational researchers are often confronted with multifaceted constructs which are comprised of several related dimensions. Bi-factor and high order factor models, which were regarded as two important methods to measure the multifaceted constructs, had been widely applied in many research fields. Generally speaking, a high order factor model was nested in the respective bi-factor model. These two models were equivalent, however, only when the proportionality constraints were imposed. Many researchers compared these two models from the perspective of model-fit. Empirical or simulation studies which were based on empirical data almost overwhelmingly found that the bi-factor model was better than the high-order factor model in model fit. In contrast, however, several simulation studies found that there was no significant difference between these two models in model fit indices. Hence, it is rather difficult to conclude which model is the best one. In addition to model fit, predictive validity is also an important aspect of models’ construct validity with no researcher comparing the predictive validity of these two models so far. It is thus important to compare these two models from the perspective of predictive validity, and to find out which of these two models is the better one. Based on the comparison of model fit between bi-factor and high-order factor models, this research focuses on the differences in the predictive accuracy of these two models in two studies using the Monte Carlo simulation method. Study One compared the difference on model fit indices between the two models under different levels of factor loadings (0.4, 0.5, 0.55, 0.6, 0.7). Their difference in predictive accuracy when the criterion was an exogenous variable was compared. To ensure the conclusions have wider generalizability, Study Two focused on the comparison of the predictive validity between the two models under the same experimental conditions when the criterion was an endogenous variable. The sample size was fixed at 1000 in all condition. The results of the simulation study suggested that, the bi-factor model and high order factor model both perfectly fitted these generated data under any conditions, and there was no significant difference between two models in model fit. When the criterion was an exogenous variable, the biases of the structural coefficients for both bi-factor model and high order factor model were small. In both models, it was more than ten percent bias in one case only, with the probability 1/80. It can be concluded that the two models’ structural coefficients were unbiased estimates. When the criterion was an endogenous variable, the structural coefficient biases of the high order factor model were all within 10%. There were, however, about 50% of the structural coefficient of the bi-factor model had a bias greater than 10%. Generally speaking, for bi-factor models, they can determine domain factors’ effect size through its factor loadings. When compared to regular SEMs, such as high-order factor models, however, starting values for the models might have to be provided for convergence. For high order models, they are more compact and superior in parameter estimation. To conclude, compared with high order factor models, bi-factor models were superior in determining its effect size through domain factors’ loading but they had with no advantage in model fit. High-order factor models were better than bi-factor model when the general and domain factors were used to predict criterion. Related Articles | Metrics