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Effects of endogenous spatial cue validity on audiovisual integration in older adults GAO Yulin, TANG Xiaoyu, LIU Siyu, WANG Aijun, ZHANG Ming 2023, 55 (5):  671-684.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00671 Abstract ( 5142 )   HTML ( 213 )   PDF (906KB) ( 6942 )   Peer Review Comments Audiovisual integration is the integration of visual and auditory information into a unified, coherent and stable perceptual process. Although endogenous spatial attention can promote audiovisual integration in youth, studies have found differences in endogenous spatial attention between older adults and youth. It is unclear how endogenous spatial attention affects audiovisual integration in older adults and how audiovisual integration differs between older adults and young adults under endogenous spatial attention conditions. In this study, using the endogenous cue-target paradigm, three experiments investigated how endogenous spatial attention affects the audiovisual integration of elderly individuals under 50% (Experiment 1), 70% (Experiment 2), and 90% (Experiment 3) conditions. A mixed 2 (participant type: elderly vs. young) × 2 (cue type: valid cue vs. invalid cue) × 3 (target stimulus type: A vs. V vs. AV) experimental design was used. The visual stimulus was a 2° × 2° red (RGB: 234, 86, 97) and yellow (RGB: 247, 200, 125) intersecting meta−pattern, the auditory stimulus was a 1600 Hz, 60 dB sinusoidal tone presented by ear headphones, and the audiovisual stimulus was visual and auditory stimuli presented simultaneously on the same side. The gaze screen was presented for 500 ms, followed by a cue screen for 200 ms. The cue was an arrow pointing left or right. After a time interval of 600 ms, the target stimulus (A vs. V vs. AV) was presented in a box on the left or right side for 100 ms. Before the experiment, participants were informed that the cue validity was 50% for Experiment 1, 70% for Experiment 2, and 90% for Experiment 3 and were asked to judge the orientation of the target stimulus and to press the (N/M) key quickly and accurately. From the reaction time results, it is clear that the reaction time of elderly people is significantly slower than that of younger people. From the relative amount of multisensory response enhancement (rMRE) and race model results, we can see that (1) audiovisual integration was weaker in older adults than in younger adults regardless of cue validity; (2) at 50% cue validity (Experiment 1), audiovisual integration in the valid cue condition was not significantly different from that in the invalid cue condition for both older and younger adults; (3) at 70% cue validity (Experiment 2), audiovisual integration in the valid cue condition was not significantly different from that in the invalid cue condition for older adults, and audiovisual integration in the valid cue condition was significantly higher than that in the invalid cue condition for younger adults; and (4) at 90% cue validity (Experiment 3), audiovisual integration in the valid cue condition was significantly higher than that in the invalid cue condition for both older and younger adults. Endogenous spatial attention had different moderating effects on audiovisual integration in older adults under different cue validity conditions and could promote audiovisual integration in older adults under high cue validity conditions. The findings further support the spatial uncertainty hypothesis and deepen the understanding of the interaction between endogenous attention and audiovisual integration. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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fNIRS evidence for left middle frontal gyrus involved in visual-spatial analysis of Chinese characters CHEN Fakun, CHEN Tian, CAI Wenqi, WANG Xiaojuan, YANG Jianfeng 2023, 55 (5):  685-695.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00685 Abstract ( 2315 )   HTML ( 129 )   PDF (2977KB) ( 2826 )   Peer Review Comments The left middle frontal gyrus (MFG) is a typical region identified in the brain mechanism of Chinese character reading. A common view suggests that the MFG is responsible for visual-spatial processing in reading Chinese characters, since the Chinese writing system has extremely complex structures. However, this explanation has not received direct evidence. Moreover, which kind of visual-spatial analysis underlying the MFG's activation is not clear. The current functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) study examined the functional role of the MFG in Chinese character reading by directly manipulating the spatial frequency characteristics of the Chinese character materials. The experiment adopted a 3 (characters type: Real, Pseudo, and Artificial character) by 3 (spatial frequency: Full, Low, and High spatial frequency) within-participant factorial design. All Real characters were phonograms containing two components: phonetic and semantic radicals. The phonetic radical was not pronounceable and meaningless. The semantic radical was not pronounceable and meaningful that can provide the meaning category. The Pseudo characters were created by switching the position of radicals from Real characters. The Artificial characters were scrambled strokes from Pseudo characters. Each type of character was presented in three ways with different spatial frequencies: Full, Low, and High spatial frequency. In the Full spatial frequency, items were typical stimuli. In the Low and High spatial frequency, items were spatially filtered by Gaussian filter to remain the low/high spatial frequency features. Each type of character has 60 stimuli. All 540 stimuli for nine conditions were presented in 6 runs. Each run contained 1~2 blocks for each condition and lasted for about 8 minutes. Thirty-one participants took part in the experiment to perform a one-back task in each block by detecting whether the current stimulus was the same as the previous one. Meanwhile, a multi-channel fNIRS system was used to record brain activity at the left MFG. The results found a significant main effect of character type at left MFG. The activation of MFG was stronger for Pseudo characters than for Real and Artificial characters. The left MFG also showed a significant interaction between character type and spatial frequency. The difference among the three types of characters was significant for Low spatial frequency but not for Full and High spatial frequency. For materials presented in Low spatial frequency, Pseudo characters elicited more robust activation than Real and Artificial characters. These results suggested that the left MFG was sensitive to the spatial information of Chinese characters, especially for materials presented in low spatial frequency and for materials that required more graphemic/orthographic processing. In sum, the finding provided direct evidence that the left MFG engaged in visual-spatial processing in Chinese character reading. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Role of executive function in mathematical ability of children in different grades ZHU Xiaoliang, ZHAO Xin 2023, 55 (5):  696-710.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00696 Abstract ( 4550 )   HTML ( 270 )   PDF (996KB) ( 5867 )   Peer Review Comments Mathematical ability is an important component of children's academic achievement and critical to individual development. Executive function, as an essential cognitive ability, is a core cognitive element that supports children’s mathematical processing. However, there have only been a few studies focusing on the effects of each component of executive function on different mathematical abilities (mathematical operation, spatial imagination, and logical thinking). Primary school is the key period during which children acquire basic mathematical ability. However, limited studies have examined the developmental relationships between the various components of executive function and the different mathematical abilities of children at different grade levels. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to examine the role of each component of executive function in the different mathematical abilities of children at different grade levels. A total of 812 children in grades 3, 4, 5, and 6 completed tests covering mathematical operations, spatial imagination, and logical thinking to measure their basic mathematical ability. The Stroop task and the GO/NOGO task were used to measure interference inhibition and response inhibition. Children’s working memory span was assessed using forward and backward digit span tasks. Children’s working memory updating was investigated using simple and difficult digital updating tasks. Children’s cognitive flexibility was examined using digit shifting tasks. Finally, a correlation analysis and a structural equation model (SEM) were used to investigate the impact of each component of executive function on children’s mathematical abilities at different grade levels. The results revealed that working memory was the most important factor affecting children’s mathematical skills, over inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility. Specifically, working memory span was the most statistically significant predictor of ability with respect to mathematical operations, while working memory updating was a stronger predictor of spatial imagination and logical thinking ability from grade 3 to grade 6. In a further analysis of the data, we divided the four grades into two stages, with grades 3 and 4 set as the younger group and grades 5 and 6 set as the older group. The results showed working memory span to be the most important predictor of mathematical operation ability, spatial imagination ability, and logical thinking ability in the junior grades. In the older students, the predictive effect of working memory span on basic math ability dropped, and the effects of working memory updating and cognitive flexibility on basic math ability increased. These results indicate that different components of executive function play various roles in different mathematical abilities in school-age children, and that this pattern of influence appears to change as children progress through the grades. Specifically, the lower-order components of executive function components, specifically working memory span, were found to play an important role in the development of three mathematical abilities in younger students, while the higher-order executive function components, specifically working memory updating and cognitive flexibility, were found to play a more important role in processing mathematical tasks in older students. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The interactive effects of parent-child relationship, sensory processing sensitivity, and the COMT Val158Met polymorphism on preschoolers’ prosocial behaviors LIU Qianwen, WANG Zhenhong 2023, 55 (5):  711-725.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00711 Abstract ( 2600 )   HTML ( 128 )   PDF (771KB) ( 3427 )   Peer Review Comments Prosocial behaviors are voluntary behaviors aimed at benefiting others, which develop rapidly during preschool and provide a foundation for children’s social competence and moral development. According to the person-environment interaction (P×E) framework, children’s traits may interact with the family environment, affecting their prosocial behaviors. Numerous studies have established that parent-child relationship is a crucial component of family psychosocial environments in predicting children’s prosocial behaviors. Sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is a temperament trait that reflects children’s sensitivity to environmental and social stimuli. Children with high SPS are more susceptible to environmental factors. Furthermore, previous research has suggested that the Val/Val genotype of the COMT Val158Met polymorphism may be a sensitive genotype for prosociality, interacting with environmental factors to influence individuals’ prosocial behaviors. In particular, prior research has proposed that different types of environmental sensitivities, such as temperamental, physiological, and genetic sensitivities, may have a multiplicative effect on social development. Parent-child relationship is an important family psychosocial environmental stimulus. More importantly, two distinct aspects of parent-child relationship, that is, closeness and conflict, may have different functions. Closeness emphasizes the parent-child connection and is characterized by emotional closeness and the sharing of private thoughts and feelings. Conversely, conflict refers to stressful experiences between parents and children that are accompanied by anger or irritation. Therefore, the present study investigated three-way interactive effects of closeness or conflict, SPS, and the COMT Val158Met polymorphism on preschoolers’ prosocial behaviors. Specifically, other hypotheses regarding potential differences in closeness and conflict were formulated. A total of 507 preschoolers (Mage = 4.83, SD = 0.90; 236 girls) were recruited through advertisements at two local kindergartens. Saliva samples for DNA extraction were obtained from preschoolers. Their parents completed questionnaires on parent-child relationship, children’s SPS, and prosocial behaviors. Statistical analyses were performed in SPSS 24, Mplus 8.3, and R statistical software. First, a test for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and preliminary analyses were conducted. Moreover, linear regression models were conducted, with prosocial behaviors as the dependent variable to test for the main and interactive effects of closeness or conflict, SPS, and genotypes. Sex, age, and family socioeconomic status were included as covariates. The effects of parent-child closeness and parent-child conflict were examined in separate models, but the other dimension of parent-child relationship was controlled in each model. Finally, region of significance and reparameterization regression analyses were employed to examine the optimal shape of the P×E effect. The results indicated that both parent-child closeness and SPS positively affected preschoolers’ prosocial behaviors (ps< 0.01), while parent-child conflict was negatively associated with prosocial behaviors (p< 0.001). The two-way interaction terms (closeness/conflict × SPS; closeness/conflict × the COMT Val158Met polymorphism; SPS × the COMT Val158Met polymorphism) and the three-way interactive effect of parent-child closeness, SPS, and the COMT Val158Met polymorphism on prosocial behaviors were not significant. However, the effect of parent-child conflict × SPS × the COMT Val158Met polymorphism on prosocial behaviors was significant. We conducted further analyses to compare the interactive effect of parent-child conflict and SPS in preschoolers with the Val/Val and Met+ genotypes on the COMTVal158Met polymorphism. A significant interaction term was observed in Val/Val genotype carriers (b= −0.18, p = 0.002, 95% CI [−0.304, −0.069]) but not Met carriers (b= 0.06, p = 0.286, 95% CI [−0.052, 0.167]). The region of significance test indicated that Val/Val genotype carriers with high SPS showed significantly more prosocial behaviors under a low level of parent-child conflict and fewer prosocial behaviors under a high level of parent-child conflict, which supports the differential susceptibility model. The results of the re-parameterized regression models further verified the shape of the interaction effect of parent-child conflict and SPS on preschoolers’ prosocial behaviors. In summary, the present study signified that different types of sensitivities (temperament and genes) to family stressful environments may have a multiplicative effect on preschoolers’ prosocial behaviors. Furthermore, it suggested that preschoolers with both the sensitive genotype (Val/Val) and sensitive temperament trait (high SPS) were more affected by parent-child conflict and developed prosocial behaviors in a ‘‘for better and for worse’’ manner. The findings provide evidence for the differential susceptibility model and contribute to a further understanding of children’s prosocial behaviors based on the P×E approach, especially from the perspective of children’s multiple sensitivities. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The influence of positive co-experience on teacher-student relationship: The mediating role of emotional bonding DING Yuting, ZHANG Chang, LI Ranran, DING Wenyu, ZHU Jing, LIU Wei, CHEN Ning 2023, 55 (5):  726-739.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00726 Abstract ( 7515 )   HTML ( 589 )   PDF (826KB) ( 11056 )   Peer Review Comments The teacher-student relationship is a key factor that contributes to educational activities and has hence long been considered an important topic in the field of educational practice and research. Previous studies have found that co-experience improves the development of interpersonal relationships. However, the question remains of whether positive co-experience has the same effect on the quality of teacher-student relationships. The current research aims to investigate the impact of positive co-experience on teacher-student relationships and the underlying mechanism. Building on previous studies, two main hypotheses are proposed: Firstly, that positive co-experience effectively promotes the development of teacher-student relationships (H1); secondly, that this effect is mediated by emotional bonding (H2). Three studies have been conducted to test these hypotheses (H1 & H2). In study 1, a total of 1, 273 students were invited to complete a questionnaire exploring aspects of positive co-experience, positive emotional bonding, teacher-student relationships, and a self-assessment of academic performance. In study 2, all students in a middle school in Shanghai were enrolled as research subjects. Taking each class as a unit, we randomly divided students into three groups. A mixed experimental design of 2 (time: pre-test vs. post-test) × 3 (positive co-experience type: sharing and recall group vs. simple recall group vs. normal group) was adopted. In the pre-test, all subjects in three groups were asked to complete the questionnaires. The students and their teachers would then take part in a sports festival, which was designed to foster positive co-experience within teacher-student relationships. The researchers took photos during this process and made a photo album for the enrolled students and teachers. In the post-test, all three groups were required to complete the questionnaire: students in the “sharing and recall group” were required to complete the questionnaire after reviewing the album of their shared experience with their teachers. “the simple recall group” was asked to complete the questionnaire after reviewing the album with their teachers without sharing experience with their teachers; and the normal group, as a control, completed the questionnaire directly. In study 3, 152 middle school students were invited to participate. We divided them into four groups and conducted a mixed experimental design grid with dimensions of 4 (positive co-experience type: recall vs. imagination vs. example vs. control) × 2 (teacher category: specific teacher vs. group teacher). The four groups of subjects were then required to complete tasks assessing the psychological distance and positive emotional bonding between themselves, a specific teacher, and the group teacher, respectively. They were then graded for “the vignette task”. In conclusion, the results of these studies congruently indicate that positive co-experience has a stable facilitatory effect on teacher-student relationships, and further, that positive emotional bonding plays a mediating role in the relationship between positive co-experience and teacher-student relationships. Further, sharing can promote the level of positive emotional bonding between teachers and students, and the positive co-experience of imagination, recall, and example can improve the level of positive emotional bonding between teenage students and their teachers. We also found that the positive aspect of the teacher-student relationship can be transferred to the group relationship between teachers and students. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Personality subtypes of depressive disorders and their functional connectivity basis LI Yu, WEI Dongtao, QIU Jiang 2023, 55 (5):  740-751.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00740 Abstract ( 5023 )   HTML ( 231 )   PDF (2489KB) ( 7471 )   Peer Review Comments Heterogeneity among mental health issues has always attracted considerable attention, thereby restricting research on mental health and cognitive neuroscience. Additionally, the person-centred approach to personality research, which emphasizes population heterogeneity, has received more attention. On the other hand, the heterogeneity among depressive patients has been a problem that cannot be ignored (most studies ignored the actual situation and directly assumed sample homogeneity). A large number of empirical studies have provided evidence that isolated personality traits are often associated with depression. Only a few studies have considered the probable effect from a taxonomy perspective. Moreover, the neural mechanisms of personality types in depression remain unclear. This study aimed to reveal different personality subtypes of depressive disorders and elucidate subtypes from the perspective of resting-state functional connectivity. Personality and resting-state functional imaging data of 135 depressive patients and 133 controls were collected. First, combined with “depression diagnosis”, the personality types in depressive patients and controls were identified through functional random forest. Specifically, neuroticism and extraversion (input features) were fitted with the diagnosis of depression by a random forest model. The random seeds were set to 1234, and 500 decision trees were fitted. The performance of the model was evaluated by tenfold cross-validation. Subsequently, the random forest algorithm generated a proximity matrix that represented the similarity between paired participants. Then, based on the proximity matrix, community detection clustering analysis was conducted on depressive patients and controls, and personality types associated with depression diagnosis were obtained. Finally, we selected nodes of the subcortical network as regions of interest according to the power-264 template and calculated the functional connectivity map of the region of interest to the whole brain. Based on the functional connectivity map, the differences in resting-state functional connectivity between the main types were compared. Personality and resting-state functional imaging data of 159 depressive patients and 156 controls were collected. First, combined with “depression diagnosis”, the personality types in depressive patients and controls were identified through functional random forest. Specifically, neuroticism and extraversion (input features) were fitted with the diagnosis of depression by a random forest model. The random seeds were set to 1234, and 500 decision trees were fitted. The performance of the model was evaluated by tenfold cross-validation. Subsequently, the random forest algorithm generated a proximity matrix that represented the similarity between paired participants. Then, based on the proximity matrix, community detection clustering analysis was conducted on depressive patients and controls, and personality types associated with depression diagnosis were obtained. Finally, we selected the amygdala, hippocampus, insula (AAL atlas) and limbic network, default network, and control network (Schaefer-Yeo template) as regions of interest and calculated the functional connectivity of the subcortical regions to the networks. ANOVA was used to compare resting-state functional connectivity between the personality types. The results showed the following. (1) Depression was more common among individuals with high neuroticism and low extraversion tendencies, but there were also individuals with low neuroticism and high extraversion tendencies. The controls were more likely to be individuals with low neuroticism and high extraversion. (2) The results of resting-state functional connectivity showed no significant difference between depression and controls. (3) The functional connectivity strength of the left amygdala/insula-limbic network was significantly different across personality subtypes. In summary, the personality subtypes of depression identified by person-centred perspectives are more in line with reality and individual cognitive patterns, and they have potential clinical adaptive value. The findings of this study enhance the understanding of heterogeneity among depressive disorders. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Influence and mechanisms of common ingroup identity on competitive victimhood in doctor-patient relationships DENG Xun, LONG Siyi, SHEN Yilin, ZHAO Huanhuan, HE Wen 2023, 55 (5):  752-765.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00752 Abstract ( 1802 )   HTML ( 134 )   PDF (757KB) ( 2196 )   Peer Review Comments Competitive victimhood is a psychological phenomenon pervasive on both sides of an intergroup conflict; it implies that one person believes their group suffers more than the other does. As one of the most prominent and growing barriers to positive intergroup relations globally, competitive victimhood has gradually attracted the attention of researchers. However, little research has been conducted on competitive victimhood in Chinese hospitals, where the doctor-patient relationship is increasingly tense. The common ingroup identity model holds that by reconstructing social identity and breaking the boundaries of conflict groups, members can develop a common ingroup identity. This identity improves attitudes toward outer groups, which may help reduce competitive victimhood. The need-based model argues that power and morality are ingroups and outgroups’ basic needs. Members of both sides are threatened by power or morality and are motivated to restore their identities, affecting competitive victimhood. Therefore, it is worth studying whether common ingroup identity can effectively reduce competition victimization between doctors and patients and what roles power and moral needs play. In Study 1, 90 doctors and nurses and 86 patients and their families from three hospitals in Shanghai and Sichuan were selected in a 2 (group: doctors vs. patients) × 2 (common identity: control group vs. common ingroup identity) design. A brief story about doctors and patients fighting disease together was used to improve common ingroup identity. Then we used a questionnaire about competitive victimhood to investigate whether common ingroup identity affected competitive victimhood between doctors and patients. In Study 2A, another group of participants was selected, including 71 doctors and nurses along with 73 patients and their families from three hospitals in Shanghai and Sichuan. Participants underwent the same procedure as in Study 1, then completing the power and moral needs questionnaires. Study 2A aimed to investigate the influence of common ingroup identity on victimhood between doctors and patients, as well as the roles of power and moral needs. To further test the hypothesized model, we selected 54 medical students with hospital internship experience and 54 non-medical students with recent treatment experience in Study 2B, where we activated common ingroup identities using a re-categorization strategy. The main results were as follows. (1) In Study 1, ANOVA results showed that compared with control groups, groups with common ingroup identity reported lower competitive victimhood, and there was no interaction between group and common identity. (2) Study 2A showed that power need mediated the relationship between common ingroup identity and competitive victimhood. The indirect effect of power need was significant. The moral need was irrelevant to common ingroup identity and is not a mediator. (3) Study 2B reconfirmed the model for doctors but not for the patients group. Based on the common ingroup identity model, this study proposed and confirmed the applicability of this model in the doctor-patient field in China. Additionally, the study proposed new methods and perspectives on the doctor-patient relationship. In the future, researchers should focus on other mediators, such as empathy and trust in different groups. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Undervaluing the advantages of displaying skills in front of an expert QIU Tian, JIANG Nan, LU Jingyi 2023, 55 (5):  766-780.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00766 Abstract ( 4328 )   HTML ( 247 )   PDF (862KB) ( 6033 )   Peer Review Comments Job candidates and competitors aim to earn admission or high ratings. People tend to avoid displaying their skills in front of an expert due to the prediction that they will be rated unfavorably because the expert can accurately evaluate their level of skill. However, is this prediction accurate? The present research proposes a misprediction: candidates will undervalue the advantages of showing skills in front of an expert. This is because evaluators partially base their evaluations on the pride elicited by alluding to their expertise, whereas candidates base their predictions on whether their competence will be accurately evaluated but neglect evaluators’ pride. Eight studies (N = 1, 888) demonstrated the proposed misprediction and tested its underlying mechanism. In Study 1, we assigned the participants to the candidate or the evaluator condition. The candidates made an incentive-compatible prediction on how they would be more likely to be admitted by displaying their skills in front of an expert or a non-expert. The evaluators admitted one between a candidate displaying skills in the evaluators’ area of expertise and a candidate displaying skills outside the evaluators’ area of expertise. The results showed that the evaluators preferred the candidate who showcased skills in the evaluators’ area of expertise. However, the candidates avoided doing so, which reduced their chances of admission. Studies 2 and 3 replicated the results in Study 1 with different competition forms (promotion or elimination) and in the case where candidates were assigned to display skills in or outside the evaluators’ area of expertise. These studies ruled out two alternative explanations that the evaluators preferred the candidate who showcased skills in the evaluators’ area of expertise solely because they were similar to the candidate or could easily evaluate the candidate. Studies 4 and 5 manipulated the candidates’ motivation to win the competition and their level of competence, respectively, to test whether they avoided displaying skills in front of experts due to the concern that their competence could be evaluated accurately by experts. The results indicated that the candidates showed a stronger misprediction and were less likely to showcase skills in front of experts when they highly (vs. less) desired to win the competition or had a lower (vs. moderate and higher) competence. Study 6 prompted the candidates to empathize with evaluators. We asked the candidates to think about their feelings when others made references to their expertise. As a result, the candidates were aware of their pride and made a more accurate prediction. Study 7 manipulated the evaluators’ pride to test whether they preferred the candidate who displayed skills in the evaluators’ area of expertise because that they felt pride when their expertise was referred to. The results revealed that the evaluators with lower (vs. higher) pride were less likely to admit the candidates who displayed skills in the evaluators’ area of expertise. In Study 8, we recorded the participants’ real-time thoughts during their decision making. The results again showed that the candidates focused on their competence during their decision-making process, whereas the evaluators’ preferences were affected by their pride. In addition, the real-time thoughts led to the underestimation about the benefits of displaying skills in front of an expert. We reveal that people fail to accurately predict the effect of a self-presentation strategy. Candidates undervalue the strategy of displaying skills in front of experts due to the empathy gap that they neglect the pride experienced by experts. Consequently, candidates mistakenly avoid displaying skills in front of experts and thus miss the chance to earn admission. Besides, we offer a feasible approach to reduce such a bias. Our findings encourage candidates to empathize with evaluators and strategically perform to experts. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The effect of temporal focus on implicit space-time mapping in a life history strategy framework WANG Yue, WANG Xiaoyu, SONG Ying, LI Ying 2023, 55 (5):  781-791.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00781 Abstract ( 2259 )   HTML ( 183 )   PDF (681KB) ( 2849 )   Peer Review Comments It is a fundamental feature of human cognition to understand the abstract concept of time through space. As far as the direction of metaphorical mapping is concerned, space-time mappings in the 'front-back' direction are the most common. At present, most studies have confirmed the psychological reality of spatiotemporal mapping. However, research on implicit space-time mapping in mental thinking and its influencing factors are still controversial. The Temporal Focus Hypothesis (TFH) holds that language is not the only factor affecting the implicit space-time mapping, and that the attention individuals pay to past or future time, namely, Temporal Focus, is the key factor shaping the implicit space-time mapping. Temporal focus refers to the extent to which individuals allocate their attention to past, present and future time periods, and is influenced by a variety of factors such as culture, individual differences, and cognitive training. Life history strategy is a stable pattern of psychological behavior. It is a variable belonging to the category of individual differences. This study builds on existing research by introducing life history strategies, which are stable patterns of mental behavior that individuals develop through trade-offs in order to survive and adapt, and are variables that fall under the category of individual differences. Those with a slow life history strategy attach more importance to events related to the future and show a preference for “future thinking”, while those with a fast life history strategy focus on the present and have no obvious preference for “future thinking” or “past thinking”. This study adopts a time-focus questionnaire, a time-diagramming task and a time-word categorization task to explore the temporal focus and implicit temporal mapping preferences of subjects with different life history strategies, and the effects of life history strategies and time-focus on implicit temporal mapping. In this paper, we examine the temporal focus and implicit temporal mapping preferences of individuals with different life-history strategies, and further verify the stability and applicable boundary conditions of the temporal focus hypothesis through three studies. In Study 1, the Life History Strategy Questionnaire and Time Focus Scale were used to explore the relationship between life history strategy and time focus. Study 2 explored the relationship between life history strategy type and implicit temporal mapping direction using a temporal diagramming task and a temporal word decision task, respectively. Experiment 3 further tested the stability of the temporal focus hypothesis by initiating different temporal focus in individuals with fast and slow life history strategies. The results showed that the fast-strategy subjects had no obvious preference for temporal focus and implicit temporal mapping, while the slow-strategy subjects preferred future temporal focus and “future-front, past-back” implicit temporal mapping associations. The intervention of temporal focus shaped the implicit space-time mappings direction of fast-strategic individuals with a metaphorical consistency effect, whereas for slow-strategic subjects, the intervention had a limited effect. The entire study demonstrates that life history strategies can influence temporal focus and implicit space-time mapping from an evolutionary adaptive perspective. And the temporal focus hypothesis has boundary conditions. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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An examination of configural effects of employees’ proactive behavior: A process perspective LI Liyuan, GAO Xiangyu, ZHENG Xiaoming 2023, 55 (5):  792-811.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00792 Abstract ( 2246 )   HTML ( 187 )   PDF (1374KB) ( 2711 )   Peer Review Comments In recent years, scholars have gradually realized that proactive behavior is a self-regulatory process including not only overt behavioral element (i.e., enacting) but also covert behavioral elements (i.e., envisioning, planning, and reflecting). However, previous research on proactive behaviors focused only on the influence of overt behavioral element on a variety of individual and organizational outcomes but neglected the influence of covert behavioral elements and the synergistic effect of all elements in a proactive process. It leads to an incomplete understanding of proactive behavior. To address this problem, we draw on a process perspective and a configural approach to investigate: 1) the configural effects of all behavioral elements (i.e., envisioning, planning, enacting, and reflecting) in a proactive process on employees’ job performance and emotional exhaustion; 2) the impact of task context (i.e., environmental uncertainty) and social context (i.e., felt trust) on the configural effects of all behavioral elements; and 3) incremental effect of configuration membership on employees’ outcomes after controlling for the unique effects of each element and individual difference (i.e., proactive personality and neuroticism). By using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) and regression analysis, we conducted a longitudinal study to test our hypotheses and examine research questions. We examined the configural effects of all four elements on employees’ job performance and emotional exhaustion, and then examined the impacts of task and social context and the incremental effect of these configurations. 426 full-time employees and their direct supervisors from an education and training company in China participated in a questionnaire survey and reported data at two time points two weeks apart. Supervisors reported their subordinates’ job performance at time 2. The final sample size was 383. The findings reveal that: 1) a configuration with high level of enacting alone is not sufficient for generating high job performance; 2) a configuration with low (high) levels on all four elements is sufficient for producing low (high) job performance regardless of the level of environmental uncertainty; 3) when environmental uncertainty is high, a configuration with high level of envisioning, planning, and reflecting is sufficient for producing high job performance regardless of the level of enacting; 4) a configuration with high level of enacting and low level of envisioning, planning, and reflecting is sufficient for generating high emotional exhaustion; 5) when felt trust is high, a configuration with high level of envisioning, planning, and reflecting is sufficient for producing low emotional exhaustion regardless of the level of enacting; 6) in general, after controlling for the unique effects of each element and individual difference, the configuration membership can still predict employees' job performance and emotional exhaustion whereas elements in a proactive process cannot. Our research contributes to the literature on proactive behavior. First, our research presents a novel perspective on the process of proactive behavior. The process perspective of proactive behavior provides a fresh window onto why the consequences of proactive behaviors vary between employees and studies. Second, our research advances the understanding of proactive behavior by revealing the configural effects of four elements in a proactive process on employees’ outcomes. Third, our research demonstrates the usefulness of a configural approach in studying process-related issues in proactive behavior research. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Effects of coworker anger expression on leader emergence: The mediating roles of perceived warmth and competence and the compensating effect of anger apology JIANG Xuting, WU Xiaoyue, FAN Xueling, HE Wei 2023, 55 (5):  812-830.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00812 Abstract ( 3329 )   HTML ( 304 )   PDF (873KB) ( 4127 )   Peer Review Comments Although previous research has paid much attention to examining whether leader anger expression is effective in enhancing leadership effectiveness, the social consequences of employee anger expression are underexamined. Integrating the stereotype content model with implicit leadership theory, we propose that appropriate anger expression, compared with suppressed anger, has ambivalent effects on leader emergence by increasing coworkers’ perceived competence of the expresser while decreasing coworkers’ perceived warmth of the expresser. In addition, appropriate anger expression, compared with deviant anger expression, is theorized to positively affect leader emergence by increasing coworkers’ perceived competence and warmth of the expresser. We further propose that apology after anger expression (anger apology) is likely to benefit leader emergence by repairing coworkers’ perceived warmth of the expresser. We conducted two online scenario-based experiments (Study 1 and 3) and two field surveys (Study 2 and 4) to test our research hypotheses. In Study 1, we employed a two (type of anger expression: expressed vs. deviant) by two (anger apology: yes vs. no) between-subjects experimental design, with a silent anger condition (i.e., no anger expression and thus no anger apology) as the control group. The sample consisted of 279 full-time Chinese employees recruited via an online survey panel (Sojump.com). To replicate the findings in Study 1, we conducted a critical incident technique study (Study 2), with a sample of 200 full-time employees recruited via the same panel used in Study 1. Participants were asked to recall and describe a workplace incident of coworker anger expression and then to evaluate their perceptions of competence, warmth, and the likelihood of leader emergence of the expresser. To reconcile some controversial findings in the two studies, we conducted Study 3 (a sample of 354 full-time employees recruited online) to provide a more nuanced examination of the effects of different types of anger expression. Specifically, we employed a three (type of anger expression: muted anger, appropriate anger expression vs. deviant anger expression) by two (anger account: other-orientation vs. self-interest) between-subjects experimental design with an additional condition of silent anger. To further replicate our findings and enhance the external validity, we conducted a field study (Study 4) by collecting two-wave data from 248 full-time employees from a Western online survey panel (Prolific.com). In total, empirical results from four studies suggested that, compared with deviant anger expression, appropriate anger expression positively affects the likelihood of the expresser’s leader emergence by enhancing observers’ perceived competence and warmth of the expresser. However, the effects of appropriate anger expression, compared with anger suppression, were found to be contingent upon the type of anger suppression (silent vs. muted anger) and the cultural context (Chinese samples in Studies 1-3 vs. Western sample in Study 4).Moreover, anger apology was demonstrated as an effective relationship repair strategy that can increase observer perceived leader emergence of the anger expresser. These findings contribute to anger expression literature by shifting the focus from how leader anger expression affects leadership effectiveness to the social consequences of employees’ anger expression on leader emergence. Additionally, we contribute to implicit leadership theory and the dual threshold model of anger by testing and extending their core theoretical arguments in the context of coworker anger expression in the workplace. Finally, we develop a new construct of anger apology and examine its compensating effects for anger expression, providing new avenues for future research on the social functions of anger expression. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The effects of daily supervisor negative feedback on employee creativity DONG Niannian, YIN Kui, XING Lu, SUN Xin, DONG Yanan 2023, 55 (5):  831-843.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00831 Abstract ( 3621 )   HTML ( 286 )   PDF (811KB) ( 4886 )   Peer Review Comments Previous findings regarding the impact of supervisor negative feedback on employee creativity have seemingly been inconsistent. Researchers have reported positive, negative, and nonsignificant relationships between supervisor negative feedback and employee creativity. The present study aims to explore the possibility that supervisor negative feedback has short-lived impacts on employee creativity. Drawing from feedback intervention theory, we propose that proving goal orientation moderates the indirect effect of daily supervisor negative feedback on employee next-day creativity through problem-solving pondering at night such that this effect is stronger for individuals with higher levels of proving goal orientation. In addition, we suggest that avoiding goal orientation moderates the indirect effect of daily supervisor negative feedback on employee next-day creativity through affective rumination at night such that this effect is stronger for individuals with higher levels of avoiding goal orientation. We conducted a field study using experience sampling methodology to collect data from employees of a design institute in northern China. The questionnaire survey process included an initial one-time entry survey and daily surveys administered over a period of two weeks. One week before the start of the daily surveys, participants reported their proving goal orientation, avoiding goal orientation, and demographic information. During the two-week daily survey period, participants assessed daily supervisor negative feedback and daily creativity at 5:30 p.m. and rated problem-solving pondering and affective rumination at 8:30 p.m. each evening. The final sample included 716 usable observations collected from 95 employees. To test the proposed hypotheses, we conducted two-level path-analyses using Mplus 8.0 and performed a Monte Carlo simulation procedure using R software. As hypothesized, employees with different goal orientations reacted differently to daily supervisor negative feedback. The results showed that the relationship between daily supervisor negative feedback and problem- solving pondering at night was positive when proving goal orientation was high. We also found that the relationship between daily supervisor negative feedback and affective rumination at night was positive when avoiding goal orientation was high. Furthermore, for employees with high levels of proving goal orientation, daily supervisor negative feedback promoted their creativity the next day by activating their problem-solving pondering at night. However, for employees with low levels of proving goal orientation, this indirect effect was not significant. In addition, for employees with high levels of avoiding goal orientation, daily supervisor negative feedback inhibited their creativity the next day by eliciting their affective rumination at night. However, for employees with low levels of avoiding goal orientation, this indirect effect was not significant. The current study makes several theoretical contributions. First, we adopt a dynamic perspective to capture the within-person variance in creativity resulting from daily fluctuations in supervisor negative feedback. Second, this study enriches feedback intervention theory by exploring the mediating roles of problem-solving pondering and affective rumination in the link of supervisor negative feedback with employee creativity. Third, the present study reconciles the conflicting findings of previous research by demonstrating the differential effects of daily supervisor negative feedback on employees with different goal orientations. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Reinforcement and extinction of unethical pro-supervisor behavior: Based on the perspective of supervisor response FU Bo, PENG Jian, LIANG Xiaojie, CHEN Lifang, YU Guilan 2023, 55 (5):  844-860.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00844 Abstract ( 1822 )   HTML ( 96 )   PDF (883KB) ( 2148 )   Peer Review Comments Unethical pro-supervisor behavior refers to actions that are intended to promote the effective functioning of leaders and violate core societal values, mores, laws, or standards of proper conduct. Although subordinates’ unethical pro-supervisor behavior protects the personal interest of supervisors in the short term, it can be detrimental to the reputation of the supervisor and the company in the long term, thus hindering the high-quality development of the organization. Existing research has devoted considerable efforts to the antecedents of unethical pro-supervisor behavior. However, few studies have explored the consequences of unethical pro-supervisor behavior, which leads to an unanswered research question: will a subordinate engaging in unethical pro-supervisor behavior persist in this behavior in the future? This study aims to investigate supervisors’ responses to subordinates’ unethical pro-supervisor behavior and how these responses shape subsequent unethical pro-supervisor behavior. Drawing on the “Bao” theory, we proposed that supervisors have two paradoxical responses (gratitude-driven resource rewards versus guilt-driven punishment) to their subordinates’ unethical pro-supervisor behavior, which depends on supervisors’ integrity. Supervisors with high levels of integrity will respond to their subordinates who engage in unethical pro-supervisor behavior with guilt-driven punishment (a negative “Bao”), which reduces subordinates’ subsequent unethical pro-supervisor behavior. In contrast, supervisors with low levels of integrity will respond to their subordinates who engage in unethical pro-supervisor behavior with gratitude-driven resource rewards (a positive “Bao”), which increases subordinates’ subsequent unethical pro-supervisor behavior. We conducted three studies. In Study 1, we conducted a scenario-based experiment to explore initial evidence for our hypotheses. In the scenario-based experiment, 120 pairs of subjects played the supervisor role and employee role. The results showed that when the level of supervisors’ integrity was lower, subordinates’ unethical pro-supervisor behavior increased supervisors’ resource rewards through supervisors’ gratitude, which, in turn, increased subordinates’ subsequent unethical pro-supervisor behavior (i.e., the positive change in UPSB). However, when the level of supervisors’ integrity was higher, subordinates’ unethical pro-supervisor behavior increased supervisors’ punishment through supervisors’ guilt, which, in turn, reduced subordinates’ subsequent unethical pro-supervisor behavior. Study 1 established the internal validity of our findings. However, its external validity is limited. Hence, we conducted a cross-sectional survey study (Study 2: four-wave data from 277 supervisor-subordinate dyads) and a diary survey study (Study 3: data from 87 supervisor-subordinate dyads over 10 working days). Mplus 8.0 was used to analyze the data. Our hypotheses were supported again. This research has several theoretical implications. First, we introduced the perspective of supervisor response (i.e., supervisors’ emotional and behavioral responses) to examine the consequences of subordinates’ unethical pro-supervisor behavior, which advances the literature on unethical pro-supervisor behavior. Second, based on Bao’s theory, we explain how supervisors paradoxically respond to subordinates’ unethical pro-supervisor behavior. In doing so, this research contributes to the development of Chinese indigenous management theory. Third, we identified that the moral quality of supervisors (supervisors’ integrity) plays an important role in determining supervisors’ responses to subordinates’ unethical pro-supervisor behavior. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics