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Test-retest reliability of EEG: A comparison across multiple resting-state and task-state experiments QIN Huiyi, DING Lihong, DUAN Wei, LEI Xu 2023, 55 (10):  1587-1596.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01587 Abstract ( 3303 )   HTML ( 263 )   PDF (3429KB) ( 5490 )   Peer Review Comments Owing to its advantages in time resolution, electroencephalography (EEG) provides an important basis for studying the dynamic cognitive process of the human brain. To explore the electrophysiological mechanism of psychological processes, scalp EEG must have good test-retest reliability. Most studies explore the reliability of the resting-state EEG (rsEEG) or event-related potentials (ERP), lacking a comprehensive comparison of multiple states. We comprehensively compared the test-retest reliability of the two rsEEG with eyes-open (EO) and eyes-close (EC) states, and the ERPs of PVT and oddball tasks, from frequency, time, and spatial domains to identify more widely applicable indicators. A total of 42 healthy adults (age range = 18-26 years old; mean = 19.5 ± 1.4 years old; 14 males) underwent all three EEG recording sessions, including the present (Session 1), 90 mins later (Session 2), and one month later (Session 3). During each EEG recording session, all the participants completed the same five states including two resting states (eyes-open, eyes-closed, each with 5 minutes) and two task states (PVT and oddball task). Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) were computed to assess the test-retest reproducibility of the five states. This study compares and analyses the test-retest reliability of two resting-state and three task-state EEG from the perspectives of time, frequency, and spatial domains. Results revealed the following: (1) The test-retest reliability of rsEEG was generally better than that of ERP. (2) For rsEEG, the test-retest reliability of the EC resting-state was higher than that of the EO, with the ICC median value of approximately 0.6. Furthermore, the test-retest reliability of the alpha band was the highest in all frequency bands. (3) For the two task-states ERP, the overall ICC of the PVT paradigm was higher than that of the oddball paradigm, and the test-retest reliability was highest at about 200 ms after the stimulus onsets. (4) In the spatial domain, the test-retest reliability is higher in the central region than in the peripheral region, which may be related to the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Our research involves multiple resting-state and task-state experiments. Based on the characteristics of frequency, time, and space domains, we comprehensively compared the optimal retest characteristics of multiple EEG and suggest the possible reasons. Some suggestions for the selection of appropriate experimental paradigms and indicators for the follow-up study of EEG test-retest reliability are provided and guide the application of EEG in the basic and clinical fields. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Self-regulated learning advantage and blocked learning disadvantage on overlapping category structure YUE Fang, CHEN Jianping, GAN Kexin, WANG Yuqing, LIU Zhiya 2023, 55 (10):  1597-1607.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01597 Abstract ( 2037 )   HTML ( 198 )   PDF (1286KB) ( 2922 )   Peer Review Comments Previous studies have found that participants benefit more from blocked learning in rule-based category learning but perform better with interleaved learning in information-integration category learning. In interleaved learning, participants need to generate four categories at the same time, which will create a high working memory load if applying a rule-based learning strategy and hence will encourage participants to switch from this sub-optimal strategy to information integration. However, previous studies always require passive conduct of blocked learning or interleaved learning. In real life, people will strategically switch between these two kinds of learning schedules. To grasp a better understanding, we compared passive and proactive learning schedules (blocked, interleaved, self-regulated, random). In addition, the categories used in previous studies are mutually exclusive, which contradicts real life where categories always overlapped each other and cannot be perfectly distinguished according to one or more combinations of features. For mutually exclusive structures, it is easy to confuse rule-based and information-integrated learners, and there is a countable difference in the learning speed of these two category structures. To gain more reliable results, an appropriate overlap level and the number of categories were chosen for this study. The classical four categories rule-based and information integration task is revised to contain overlapping stimuli. If classified by both two dimensions the highest accuracy was 90%. A 2 × 4 between-subject design was adopted. The dependent variables are accuracy and response time, and the first independent variable was the category structure: rule-based (RB) and information-integration (II). The second variable was the schedule of learning: blocked, interleaved, self-regulated, and random, with random presentation as the baseline condition. 265 college students were paid to participate in the experiment. Each participant should observe and report to which categories the line segment belonged. There were 100 trials each for both the learning phase and the test phase. Each phase comprised 25 trials for each category. For the test phase, a new set of stimuli are used and no feedback is provided. The behavioral data collected fit into a mathematical model to analyze what strategies participants used during tasks. The results showed a significant main effect of category structure. That is, the classification accuracy of the information-integration task is significantly higher than the rule-based task. The main effect of learning schedules was also significant. That is, the classification accuracy of interleaved, self-regulated, and random learning was significantly higher than that of blocked learning. Post hoc tests showed that the classification accuracy of the blocked learning was significantly lower than that of interleaved, self-regulated, and random learning under rule-based conditions. For the information-integration condition, the classification accuracy of the blocked learning was significantly lower than that of self-regulated. In addition, this study further analyzed learners' self-regulated learning behaviors under the overlapping category structure and found that for both rule-based tasks and information-integration tasks, learners’ average length of blocked learning was significantly negatively correlated with their classification accuracy. A mathematical technique of the “Decision Bound Model” was used to analyze the data from the experiment. The results of model fitting showed that in both rule-based and information-integration tasks, self-regulated learners can use the optimal strategy more frequently. In conclusion, this study makes up for the deficiency of perfectly classified categories, finds the advantages of self-regulated learning and the disadvantages of blocked learning in category overlap, and preliminarily reveals the self-regulated learning advantages and information processing characteristics of overlapping category learning. It believes that category overlap interferes with the corresponding rules formed by learners for each category under the condition of blocking learning, which is not conducive to the blocked learning of rule-based tasks. In addition, the overlapping category structure will weaken the different information between categories and retain the common information within categories, which is not conducive to the interleaved learning of information-integration tasks. However, compared with passive learning, self-regulated learning has advantages in the learning of the two types of category structure because of its “decision-driven” and “data-driven” effects. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The role of syntactic structure and verb overlap in spoken sentence production of 4- to 6-year-olds: Evidence from syntactic priming in Mandarin WANG Yang, ZHANG Linshuang, CUI Nannan, WU Yan 2023, 55 (10):  1608-1619.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01608 Abstract ( 2102 )   HTML ( 177 )   PDF (1068KB) ( 3095 )   Peer Review Comments The period between the ages of 4 and 6 is crucial for young children to develop their capacity for spoken sentence production. The interplay between syntactic and lexical information in children's sentence production has garnered attention in the field of language acquisition. Recently, experts in Indo-European languages have begun to utilize the priming paradigm to address this question; however, theoretical conflicts remain. Unlike Indo-European languages, Mandarin, as an isolating language, relies on function words and word order instead of morphological changes to express grammar. Some researchers have even proposed that Chinese syntax is a language usage and there is no syntactic structure separate from semantics. Consequently, we intend to evaluate pre-existing theories by scrutinizing the syntactic representation in four-to-six-year-old Mandarin-speaking children. To examine the effects of syntactic structure and verb repetition on the syntactic representation of Chinese in young children, we employed a syntactic priming paradigm with sentence repetition and image description tasks using the particular transitive structures of Chinese (SVO, SbaOV, and SbeiOV) as the corpus. A total of 77 preschool children with an average age of 4.4 years were enrolled in the experiment. The study involved the manipulation of Prime types (SVO, SbaOV, SbeiOV, and baseline) and Verb types (no overlap versus overlap). The dependent variable was the ratio of syntactic choices. The results of the study showed that abstract priming effects are induced by the three syntactic structures, irrespective of whether the verb overlaps or not. Especially, when young children begin a specific sentence pattern, such as an SbaOV structure, they tend to formulate an SbaOV structure in the target sentence rather than an SVO or SbeiOV structure. This implies that the development of syntactic knowledge does not rely on lexical information. Additionally, it is worth mentioning that despite the absence of an increase in priming strength in SbaOV or SbeiOV structures with verb overlap, the probability of older children (5-6 years old) opting for an SOV structure during priming is augmented. This finding implies that the emergence of verb boost effects is influenced by the age of children and their syntactic structural preferences. Moreover, the priming effect of non-preferential structures is more powerful than that of preferential structures regardless of whether the verb overlaps, resulting in a reverse preferential effect. To summarize, the acquisition of syntax in Chinese children aligns with the Implicit Learning Theory, whereby they exhibit abstract priming effects stemming from their anticipation of error estimates. Conversely, the lexical boost effect is determined by their working memory. Simultaneously, this research challenges both the RA-Early and RA-Later syntactic models, which rely on the Residual Activation Theory. We believe that children’s syntactic representations may not emerge exclusively from the syntactic structures and node links between verbs. In essence, it is not feasible to induce both abstract priming and lexical reinforcement effects in young children during the early stages of cognitive development. Furthermore, establishing lexical dependency effects before generating abstract representations is not a prerequisite. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Associations among brain-derived neurotrophic factor gene, peer relationships, and depression across early adolescence: Dynamic genetic effects CAO Yanmiao, FANG Huici, ZHU Xinyue, JI Linqin, ZHANG Wenxin 2023, 55 (10):  1620-1636.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01620 Abstract ( 2624 )   HTML ( 235 )   PDF (660KB) ( 4013 )   Peer Review Comments There has been a dramatic rise in gene-environment interaction (G × E) studies of depression over the last two decades. These studies are pivotal to understanding the etiology of depression and individual differences in environmental sensitivity. However, these studies rarely take into consideration how the genotype by environment interactions change over development and how the interactions work on the developmental trajectories of depression. The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene is a good candidate for the investigation of the dynamic genetic effects on depression because it is involved in several age-related changes in behavior and brain maturation. On the one hand, the effect of the BDNF gene may depend on the basal BDNF level. The BDNF level peaks during adolescence, so the effect of the BDNF gene on depression may change during development. Moreover, peer experiences change may alter epigenetic modifications of the BDNF gene, which may change the pattern of gene-environment interactions. On the other hand, according to the developmental cascades model, the differences in genetic effects on depression may increase over time in that initial depressive symptoms may evoke poor peer experiences. Taken together, this study aimed to investigate the age differences in the G × E interaction on depression and the G × E effect on the developmental trajectories of depression. One thousand and eighty-six adolescents (aged 11-12 years with a mean of 12.32, 50% girls) were followed up for three years. Saliva samples, self-reported depressive symptoms, and peer nomination were all collected. All of the measures showed good reliability. Concurrent hierarchical regression analyses and latent growth curve models (LGCMs) were conducted. We also completed re-parameterized regression and parallel LGCMs to understand the gene by environment interaction pattern and the dynamic association between peer relationships and depression. The results showed that the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism significantly moderated the influence of peer rejection—but not peer acceptance—on youth depressive symptoms at three time points; however, the susceptible genotype changed over time. In particular, the effect of peer rejection on depression was stronger in MetMet compared to ValMet carriers at 12 years of age; the effect of peer rejection on depression was stronger in MetMet and ValVal compared to ValMet carriers at 13 years of age; the effect of peer rejection on depression was stronger in ValVal carriers compared to ValMet carriers at 14 years of age. LGCMs suggested that adolescents’ depression increased in a linear trajectory from 12 to 14 years of age. In addition, there were significant genotype differences in the change of depression over time, but this effect was not moderated by peer relationships. These findings may move research in the field away from the simplistic notion of risk alleles, recognizing that an allele may be a risk factor during one period and a protective factor during another. Further, this study has progressed the conceptualization of how genes and the environment interact to influence the developmental trajectories of depression during early adolescence. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Developmental change and stability of social anxiety from toddlerhood to young adulthood: A three-level meta-analysis of longitudinal studies CHEN Bizhong, HUANG Xuan, NIU Gengfeng, SUN Xiaojun, CAI Zhihui 2023, 55 (10):  1637-1652.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01637 Abstract ( 3072 )   HTML ( 294 )   PDF (595KB) ( 4346 )   Peer Review Comments Given the high prevalence and its extensive possible adverse outcomes, a large number of theoretical and longitudinal studies have explored the development of social anxiety, but the research findings are inconsistent or even contradictory in preschool childhood, late childhood, and adolescence. In addition, there is still debate between trait theory and state theory of social anxiety, and there is also a lack of study on the age trend of social anxiety stability. To clarify the above controversies and accurately characterize the age trend of the mean level and the stability of social anxiety, this study conducted a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies involving social anxiety. After pre-registering the study protocol on PROSPERO, we searched literature in six databases (CNKI, Wanfang Data, Web of Science, ProQuest, PubMed, and EBOSCO). In addition, we also backtracked the references cited in previous meta-analyses and reviews. Ultimately, a total of 192 independent samples (N = 170, 192) from 173 longitudinal studies were included in the current meta-analysis. In order to quantify the trajectory of social anxiety more precisely, we divided the sample into 11 age groups according to the mean age of the sample between two adjacent measurement waves, and estimated the mean-level change and stability for each age group. The standardized mean difference (d) between two adjacent waves is used to estimate mean-level change, whereas the correlation coefficient (r) is used to estimate stability. Science most of the included studies reported multiple effect sizes, and these multiple effect sizes were most likely dependent, which violated the basic assumption of independent effect sizes in the conventional meta-analytic methods. We applied the three-level meta-analysis approach to handle such data-independency among effect sizes. Results showed that: (1) The mean level of social anxiety showed a gradual decline from toddlerhood to young adulthood, with only slight increase in mid-adolescence. (2) In terms of rank-order stability, social anxiety rose slowly from toddlerhood to preschool childhood, then swiftly dropped to a low point in elementary childhood, recovered gradually after mid-adolescence, and stabilized at a high level in young adulthood. (3) The mean-level change of social anxiety was not affected by the study characteristics, the sample characteristics, and the variable characteristics. (4) The rank-order stability of social anxiety was moderated by written language, continent, culture, gender, and assessment mode. (5) The stability of social anxiety was a logarithmic function with time lag. Specifically, with the increase of time lag, the stability declined first quickly and then slowly, and almost reached a plateau after 6 years. (6) The results of moderator test for publication status, Egger's test, and Begg's test indicated the absence of publication bias in this meta-analysis. This study makes a valuable contribution in characterizing the age-specific trends and stability of social anxiety from toddler to young adult by using the meta-analytic method. We conclude from this study that, in terms of mean level, the trajectory of social anxiety generally supports the personality maturation hypothesis. For stability, similar to personality traits, social anxiety tend to be a trait rather than a state construct. Overall, this study provides a new perspective for exploring the lifelong development of social anxiety. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Differences in motor cortex synaptic plasticity associated with two forms of exercise in older adults: Evidence from TMS studies MENG Haijiang, CHEN Lei, WANG Gang, ZHANG Jian 2023, 55 (10):  1653-1661.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01653 Abstract ( 1421 )   HTML ( 144 )   PDF (467KB) ( 1660 )   Peer Review Comments Although studies have found that exercise can lead to changes in the plasticity of the motor cortex, little is known about the changes in primary motor cortex synaptic plasticity associated with different forms of exercise among older adults. The purpose of this study was to compare the differences in motor cortex synaptic plasticity associated with a small hand muscle among older adults who regularly participated in table tennis or tai chi or who were sedentary. Based on inclusion/exclusion criteria and their answers to a self-reported questionnaire, 54 older adults (60~70 years) were selected who often participated in table tennis (n = 18) or tai chi (n = 18) exercise or who were sedentary (n= 18). The target muscle was the abductor pollicis brevis of the right hand. Motor cortex synaptic plasticity associated with the abductor pollicis brevis muscle was induced by a paired combination of peripheral nerve electrical stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation with an interval of 25 ms (PAS25). Single-pulse and double-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation was applied to the left primary motor cortex to measure changes in motor evoked potentials (MEPs) and short-interval intracortical inhibition recorded in the abductor pollicis brevis muscle before and after PAS25, to compare the differences in primary motor cortex synaptic plasticity among the three groups. The results showed that mean MEP amplitudes immediately and 30 and 60 min after PAS25 in the table tennis group were significantly higher than those in sedentary group; mean MEP amplitudes immediately and 30 min after PAS25 in the tai chi group were significantly higher than those in the sedentary group; and mean MEP amplitudes immediately and 30 and 60 min after PAS25 in the table tennis group were significantly higher than those in the tai chi group. There were no differences in the short-interval intracortical inhibition at any time point after PAS25 among the three groups. These results indicated that regular participation in table tennis or tai chi can induce a sustained increase in primary motor cortex excitability in older adults and that there are differences in primary motor cortex synaptic plasticity in older adults associated with different forms of exercise. These results suggest that increased synaptic plasticity in the motor cortex may play an important role in the acquisition and promotion of motor skills during exercise in older adults. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Traditional pettism: The influence of pet ownership status, pet type, and pet properties on pet moral standing XU Kepeng, OU Qianqian, XUE Hong, LUO Dongli, ZHANG Shuyue, XU Yan 2023, 55 (10):  1662-1676.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01662 Abstract ( 4080 )   HTML ( 401 )   PDF (577KB) ( 5476 )   Peer Review Comments An increasing number of people treat pets as their family members. Although there is no specific indication, that people first think of traditional pets such as dogs or cats when referring to pets. In this study, traditional pets are defined as widely popular pets that are accompanied by human beings; Non-traditional pets are defined as unique and novel pets that are different from traditional cognition. The factors that lead to the difference in perception of pet moral standing are not only pet properties but also pet ownership status. Recently, psychologists have sought to explore the relationship between people and pets. Such research dilemmas are focused on traditional pet owners and their traditional pets, and few studies pay attention to the relationship between non-traditional pet owners and their non-traditional pets. Here, we aim to investigate whether pet properties, pet ownership status, and pet type can affect the perception of pet moral standing and its mechanism. To define the traditional pets and non-traditional pets in our study, we first conducted a pre-study (N = 29). For three studies, we used the snowball sampling technique to recruit participants voluntarily online via Qualtrics in Baidu Post Bar through a questionnaire. Study 1 explored the impact of pet ownership status, pet type, and pet properties on the perception of pet moral standing, N = 146 (traditional pet owners: 41, non-traditional pet owners: 53; women: 77). In Study 2, based on controlling the basic moral orientation, the influence of pet ownership status and pet type on the perception of pet moral standing was reverified, N = 148 (traditional pet owners: 72; women: 74). Study 3 further explored the mechanism of this effect, the purpose is to investigate the empathy for animals in the relationship between pet attachment and the perception of traditional pet moral standing, N = 202 (women: 108). The results showed that: (1) The perception of traditional pet moral standing is higher than that of non-traditional pets, agency, experience and harmfulness played a mediating role; (2) Compared to non-pet owners, pet owners perceived a higher pet moral standing; Compared to non-traditional pet owners, traditional pet owners perceived a higher traditional pet moral standing; There was no significant difference in the perception of non-traditional pets moral standing; (3) The empathy for animals played a mediating role between the traditional pet owners pet attachment and the perception of traditional pet moral standing. Pet speciesism also exists in pets, traditional pets are higher in the hierarchy than non-traditional pets. Pet owners regard pets as psychological-kin and in-group members. The positive attitude towards pets in communication and interaction can be extended to all pets. When further subdividing the pet owners, this positive attitude is more obvious in the traditional pet owners. This may be because traditional pet owners are more idealistic, and the two-way emotional attachment between traditional pet owners and pets leads to stronger empathy for animals, which ultimately manifests as a more positive moral attitude towards traditional pets. There is no preference for non-traditional pets in non-traditional pet owners, it may be to gain social approval or a strong attachment with pets isn’t formed. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Give a man a fish or teach him to fish? Differences in donor behavior between high and low social classes SUN Qingzhou, HUANG Jingru, YU Xiaofen, GAO Qingde 2023, 55 (10):  1677-1695.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01677 Abstract ( 4247 )   HTML ( 547 )   PDF (2534KB) ( 6017 )   Peer Review Comments Who donates more generously between high and low social classes? Existing studies have provided different answers. One potential reason is that prior research fails to distinguish between categories of survival and developmental donation. We conducted five studies to examine the differences in donor behaviour between high and low social classes in terms of preference for survival or developmental categories of donation and the underlying mechanisms involved in this decision. In Study 1, we manipulated participants’ relative sense of social class by comparing them with the highest or lowest class and measured their preference for survival and developmental donations. Results found that participants with a sense of high social class were more likely to choose developmental donations, whereas those with a sense of low social class were more likely to choose survival donations. In Study 2, we measured the participant’s’ true social class, their tendency to regulatory focus, and their preference between survival and development donations. Results found that those of high social class chose more developmental donations, whereas those of low social class chose more survival donations. Additionally, those of a higher social class had a higher promotion focus and lower prevention focus; thus, they preferred developmental donations, which supports the regulatory focus explanation. In Study 3, we adopted a between-subject design and measured participants’ true social class and their own survival or development demand, as well as their preference for survival or development donations. Results revealed that only the index of subjective social class and not objective social class showed a consistent tendency with Studies 1 and 2. The survival or development demand of high/low social class did not predict the participants’ own survival and development donations, which did not support the demand migration explanation. In Study 4, we set up survival and development items with prevention/promotion focus representation to separate the regulatory focus and demand migration explanations. We observed that subjective social classes’ choice preferences changed with representations of regulatory focus, rather than such individuals consistently choosing survival or developmental items owing to the migration of requirements. In Study 5, we set up different representations (regulatory focus × intertemporal orientation) of survival and developmental items to test whether participants’ preferences changed with representations of regulatory focus motivation or intertemporal orientation. The results showed that when developmental items were characterized as a long-term-promoted focus, high subjective social class individuals preferred developmental donations, whereas low subjective social class individuals preferred survival donations when survival items were characterized as a short-term-preventive focus. When developmental items were characterized as a long-term-preventive focus, low subjective social class individuals preferred developmental donations, whereas high social class individuals preferred survival donations when survival items were characterized as a short-term-promoted focus. These results suggest that subjective social classes’ preference for survival/developmental donation changes with the representation of regulatory focus motivation but is not consistent with the representation of intertemporal orientation; this supports the regulatory focus explanation and rejects the demand migration explanation and intertemporal preference explanation. These findings provide new insights into donation contradictions, variable mechanisms for donation between high and low social classes, and the precise motivations for providing survival and developmental donations. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The impact of product transparency on consumer brand perceptions XU Xiaobing, ZHANG Minshuo, ZENG Shuaifan, FAN Zhuoyi 2023, 55 (10):  1696-1711.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01696 Abstract ( 3488 )   HTML ( 416 )   PDF (768KB) ( 4426 )   Peer Review Comments In the current market, transparent appearance is becoming more popular and is increasingly used in product and packaging design (e.g., transparent frames). However, previous studies have focused on the effects of product transparency (transparent vs. opaque appearance) on food consumption quantity, product evaluation, purchase intention, and consumption decision. In comparison, there is a paucity of understanding of how consumers’ brand perceptions are affected by product transparency and the underlying mechanisms of these effects. In the current research, we extend the extant literature by examining consumer perceptions and attitudes toward brands when faced with the appearance of products with different degrees of transparency. One pilot study and four studies were conducted to examine our hypotheses. The pilot study (n= 278) examined that the basic hypothesis of product transparency, such that the transparent (vs. opaque) appearance would be perceived as more interesting, and the opaque (vs. transparent) appearance would be perceived with a stronger heaviness. Experiment 1 (n = 186) investigated the main effects of product transparency on brand innovation perception and brand reliability perception, as well as the mediating effects of interestingness and heaviness. Experiment 2 (n = 304) used a moderation-of-process approach to further validate the moderation of product typicality in the process of product transparency influencing brand innovation perception. Experiment 3 (n = 368) examined the moderating role of product claims in the effect of product transparency on brand reliability perception. Experiment 4 (n = 240) examined the effect of product transparency on brand attitude and the moderating role of regulatory focus in the process. To document a robust effect, we varied the type of experimental material in five studies. Our investigation results suggest that transparent appearance (vs. opaque appearance) allows consumers to create a stronger perception of brand innovation through the increased perception of interestingness. Meanwhile, opaque appearance (vs. transparent appearance) makes consumers perceive stronger brand reliability through the increased perception of heaviness. The effect of product transparency on brand innovation perception is attenuated when the product is atypical (vs. typical), while the effect of product transparency on brand reliability perception would be weakened when the product is lightweight claim (vs. control group). Finally, we also find that promotion-oriented individuals prefer brands with transparent designs, while prevention-oriented individuals prefer brands with opaque designs. In summary, we bridge the gap in research related to product transparency by exploring the effects of product transparency on consumers’ brand perceptions, as well as the mechanism of such an influence. Furthermore, this research also explored the moderating role of product typicality, product claim and regulatory focus in the process of product transparency affecting consumers’ brand perceptions and attitudes, which also enriched the research on product typicality and product claim and regulatory focus. From a practice perspective, this research is an invaluable guide to the selection of a company’s product appearance and the creation of a branding strategy. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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On the reliability of point estimation of model parameters: Taking cognitive diagnostic models as an example LIU Yanlou, CHEN Qishan, WANG Yiming, JIANG Xiaotong 2023, 55 (10):  1712-1728.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01712 Abstract ( 708 )   HTML ( 20 )   PDF (607KB) ( 1023 )   Peer Review Comments Cognitive diagnostic models (CDMs) are psychometric models that have received increasing attention within fields such as psychology, education, sociology, and biology. It has been argued that an inappropriate convergence criterion for a maximum likelihood estimation using the expectation maximization (MLE-EM) algorithm could result in unpredictable and inaccurate model parameter estimates. Thus, inappropriate convergence criteria may yield unstable and misleading conclusions from the fitted CDMs. Although several convergence criteria have been developed, it remains an unexplored question, how to specify the appropriate convergence criterion for fitted CDMs. A comprehensive method for assessing convergence is proposed in this study. To minimize the influence of the model parameter estimation framework, a new framework adopting the multiple starting values strategy (mCDM) is introduced. To examine the performance of the convergence criterion for MLE-EM in CDMs, a simulation study under various conditions was conducted. Five convergence assessment methods were examined: the maximum absolute change in model parameters, the maximum absolute change in item endorsement probabilities and structural parameters, the absolute change in log-likelihood, the relative log-likelihood, and the comprehensive method. The data generating models were the saturated CDM and the hierarchical CDM. The number of items was set to J = 16 and 32. Three levels of sample sizes were considered: 500, 1000, and 4000. The three convergence tolerance value conditions were 10-4, 10-6, and 10-8. The simulated response data were fitted by the saturated CDM using the mCDM and the R package GDINA. The maximum number of iterations was set to 50000. The simulation results suggest the following. (1) The saturated CDM converged under all conditions. However, the actual number of iterations exceeded 30000 under some conditions, implying that when the predefined maximum iteration number is less than 30000, the MLE-EM algorithm might inadvertently stop. (2) The model parameter estimation framework affected the performance of the convergence criteria. The performance of the convergence criteria under the mCDM framework was comparable or superior to that of the GDINA framework. (3) Regarding the convergence tolerance values considered in this study, 10-8 consistently had the best performance in providing the maximum value of the log-likelihood and 10-4 had the worst performance. Compared to all other convergence assessment methods, the comprehensive method in general had the best performance, especially under the mCDM framework. The performance of the maximum absolute change in model parameters was similar to the comprehensive method, but this good performance was not consistent. On the contrary, the relative log-likelihood had the worst performance under the mCDM and GDINA frameworks. The simulation results showed that the most appropriate convergence criterion for MLE-EM in CDMs was the comprehensive method with tolerance 10-8 under the mCDM framework. The results from the real data analysis also demonstrated that the proposed comprehensive method and mCDM framework had good performance. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

Theory and History of Psychology

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The formation and consolidation of scientific paradigm in American psychology after World War Ⅱ: Analysis based on social character LIU Wenxin, YANG Ling, SHU Yueyu 2023, 55 (10):  1729-1744.  doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01729 Abstract ( 1264 )   HTML ( 70 )   PDF (636KB) ( 1719 )   Peer Review Comments The flourish development of scientific psychology in America was often understood as the necessary subsequence of the evolution of intellectual history in psychology, in which psychology separated itself from philosophy and gradually found its own scientific methods during the past centuries. However, as one of categories of culture, the history of psychology could not be understood without the considering of societies and people who live in it. According to Fromm’s social psychological studies, social change may form the social character of a given society, and the social character will initiate new thoughts or ideas which constitutes new culture and ideology. This new kind of culture and ideology will be easy to be accepted by the society, and solidify its social character in turn. So it will be interesting if we explore the process in which psychology in America committed to scientism from the perspective of social change and social character after World War Ⅱ. There ware a lot of changes after World War Ⅱ in America society in terms of politics, economics, industrial structure, population, education, and belief. On the material level, America reached the so-called advanced industrial society and consumer society. On the mental level, the worship of knowledge gradually replaced the worship of god in America society. These changes formed the social character of America after World War Ⅱ through pragmatism and individualism that were parts of American culture. The key trait of this kind of social character are one-dimensionalization, pursuing of instrumental rationality, and individual priority. What this kind of social character looking forward in terms of psychology as a part of culture and ideology is the disenchantment of innerworld, or we can say the secularization of mind, which will offer some kind of certainty for the working of American society. World War Ⅱ promoted the development of psychology on general, and also left abundant of problems for America society, such as psychic trauma of veteran, the need for mental health, how to avoid the reviving of totalitarianism, how the collective affect the behavior of individual, and how to train more scientists, professors, and engineers for America and finally win the competition with Soviet Union. All these needs from society led to the boom of clinical psychology, social psychology, developmental and educational psychology, and psychometrics in America. Not only the numbers of APA members and journals, but also the number of PHD in American psychology surged during three decades after World War Ⅱ. The schools of psychology in America also changed during that time. New behavioralism declined after Hull and Skinner’s time due to its neglect of psyche. Psychoanalysis used to affect American psychology and evolved to ego psychology which could be seen as the product of Americanization. However, psychoanalysis was finally marginalized by scientific psychology in America because of the rise of evidence based medicine. The Third Force Psychology once made a noise in America, but it finally faded due to its attempt to connect psychology and philosophy again, and its complicated methods. It was cognitive psychology that became most popular and the main paradigm of American psychology. In a nutshell, the history of American psychology expressed its social character after World War Ⅱ, which called for the secularization of mind. The scientific psychology in America also plays its ideological role in maintaining the efficient work of American society in turn. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics