Subjects: Psychology >> Management Psychology submitted time 2024-06-20
Abstract： Large quantities of suboptimal food, which contain defects but are perfectly safe for consumption, are wasted. Commercializing suboptimal food has become an important strategy in reducing food waste. However, experimental outcomes regarding the effectiveness of marketing intervention strategies for suboptimal food have exhibited inconsistency. This study adopted a meta-analysis approach to review empirical research on marketing intervention strategies for suboptimal food. It examined the effectiveness of cognitive-oriented and affective-oriented marketing intervention strategies in influencing consumer evaluations and purchase intentions towards suboptimal food. Additionally, the study aimed to identify variables that may impact the effectiveness of these strategies. In total, 32 relevant primary studies were included, comprising 94 effect sizes from 57 independent samples. The study showed that both cognitive-oriented and affective-oriented marketing intervention strategies can effectively improve consumers’ positive evaluations and willingness to purchase suboptimal food with a moderate level of efficacy. Moreover, affective-oriented strategies demonstrated a better intervention effect compared to cognitive-oriented ones. Factors such as suboptimal food characteristics, marketing features, and customer characteristics were found to moderate the effectiveness of these interventions. This study provided valuable insights for food-related enterprises and food policy makers regarding the effectiveness of marketing interventions for suboptimal food.
Subjects: Psychology >> Other Disciplines of Psychology submitted time 2024-06-20
Abstract： Psychological and brain science study human behavior and the human brain by study volunteers who participate these studies. Given the mind and behavior of participants influenced by their own biological and social factors, the generalizability of findings in these fields largely depends on the representativeness of samples. However, the representativeness of samples in psychological and brain science has long been criticized as WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic). In recent years, several meta-researches have surveyed the representativeness of samples in published studies across different subfields, but the overall understanding of sample representativeness in psychological and brain science is lacking. In this review, we analyze these meta-researches to provide a more comprehensive perspective on the current state of sample representativeness in the field.
Two major issues were found in these meta-researches. First, much important sample information was never reported in the published studies. Most psychological and brain science studies reported participants’ gender, age, and country, while participants’ race/ethnicity, education level, and socioeconomic status were less commonly reported. Other important demographic variables, such as rural/urban, were reported completely ignored. And from a temporal perspective, the reporting of these demographic variables has increased only slightly in recent years compared to the past. The current situation of neglect in reporting demographic information has not fundamentally changed.
Second, based on the reported information, the current sample in the field is far from being representative of the world population: most participants are young, highly educated Caucasian females in Western countries; middle-aged and older, less educated, disadvantaged people in and outside Western countries are less likely to be studied. In terms of countries, African, Latin American, and Middle Eastern countries appear fewer in psychological and brain science research.
These two issues may be due to the following reasons: convenience sampling as the main sampling method; Western researchers dominating the research of psychology and brain science, with most of the editors-in-chief, editorial board members, and authors coming from Europe and America; traditionally, psychology and brain science under-valued the effect of culture and various demographic factors; the assumption that findings from Western participants can be generalized to all human beings. Addressing the issue of sample representativeness in psychological and brain sciences requires a concerted effort by researchers, academic societies, journals, and funding agencies: Researchers should collect and report detailed demographic information about participants, state the limitations of generalizability, and use sampling methods that can increase representativeness whenever possible (e.g., probability sampling); academic societies should raise the awareness of the representativeness issues by organizing more academic symposium or workshops on this topic; journals should increase the representativeness of editorial board members and encourage more rigorous research with samples from underrepresented groups or studies that examine the generalizability of important findings; funding agencies can encourage researchers to pay more attention to study groups from underrepresented countries, and provide financial support for studying hard-to-research population. Improving sample representativeness will enhance the application of psychological and brain science knowledge to real-life setting and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Peer Review Status:
Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2024-06-20
Abstract： The self plays a significant role in shaping social interactions, often capturing attention due to an inherent preference for stimuli related to the self. However, the mechanisms that govern attention in this context remain not fully elucidated. Research has suggested that the self holds social salience, potentially underpinning the prioritization of self-related information in attentional processes. Yet, other studies indicate that the self may not bias attention as automatically as physiologically salient stimuli, implying that self-related cues do not influence attention at an early, pre-attentive stage. We hypothesize that the self might enhance the salience of meaning post the initial perceptual phase, rather than affecting spatial prominence at an early stage. The current study is designed to investigate how neutral stimuli linked to an individual’s self impact selective attention processing, thereby illuminating the mechanisms of self-biased attentional processes. We conducted three experiments, each enlisting 24-25 college students. Initially, participants were engaged in an associative learning task, where they associated labels for themselves (’you’), familiar others (’friend’), or strangers (’stranger’) with neutral colors (Experiments 1 and 2) or abstract symbols (Experiment 3). Subsequently, they were tasked with identifying which labels matched the given neutral stimuli. We then employed the dual-rectangle cuing paradigm to distinguish between space-based and object-based attention, with the neutral stimuli serving as the target-irrelevant dimension, allowing us to examine the influence of self-association on selective attention. In addition to behavioral responses, we utilized the Hierarchical Drift Diffusion Model (HDDM) to dissect the decision-making process. Experiment 1 revealed that processing associated with the self primarily affects object-based selective attention. The object-based effect—calculated by the difference between the same and different object conditions—was diminished or absent when targets contained self- or friend-associated stimuli, compared to those with stranger-associated stimuli. However, the space-based effect—determined by the difference between valid and invalid cueing conditions—did not significantly vary among the three social identities. Experiment 2 replicated this finding, even when the associative learning context was different from the cueing task, thereby ruling out the impact of context familiarity. Experiment 3, which used abstract symbols for identity association and colors for task stimuli in the cueing task, did not find a significant effect of self-related information on object-based attention. Further analysis indicated that the influence of self-association on object-based attention was only evident among participants with longer reaction times. These results suggest that the activation of self-representation can be essential for modulating object-based attention. Moreover, the HDDM analysis indicated that the impact of self-related information on object-based selective attention predominantly occurs during the stimulus encoding stage. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that self-associated stimuli, when task-irrelevant, regulate object-based selective attention over space-based selective attention, consistently across varying experimental contexts. This research uncovers a critical distinction between object-based and space-based attention in the realm of self-associated processing, offering new insights into the complex dynamics of attentional mechanisms related to the self. It not only deepens our understanding of the self’s influence on cognitive processes but also paves the way for future explorations in this domain.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Management Psychology submitted time 2024-06-19
Abstract： Online work has progressively emerged as a prevalent work pattern. Although physical separation from the organization grants employees a high degree of autonomy, it erodes leaders’ sense of control and creates uncertainties. How leaders maintain control in virtuality and thus maintain managerial effectiveness has become a hot topic recently. However, little research has integrated “online work” with “territorial behavior,” which limits the understanding of online control and manifestations of online leader territorial behavior. The present research aims to, first, develop an online leader territorial behavior measurement that fits with the current online work era, providing an empirical measurement tool. Second, this research discusses and analyzes the association between online work and online leader territorial behavior. Moreover, while online leader territorial behavior can alleviate leader concerns about control, it violates employee expectations for autonomy. Therefore, this research proposes and analyzes its double-edged-sword effect. Finally, this research investigates the moderating effect of digital human resource management. Focusing on the topic of online leader territorial behavior can provide meaningful insights for online control.
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2024-06-17
Abstract： Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by significant and lasting sadness. Previous studies have indicated that cognitive deficits, particularly in cognitive flexibility, are one of the core features of MDD, and the impairment pattern may play a key role in the onset and development of MDD. Cognitive flexibility, as a key component of cognitive function, often manifests as impaired in MDD patients, evidenced by rigid thinking and difficulty in flexibly switching among negative stimuli. Research suggests that cognitive inflexibility to emotional information may underlie the chronicity of negative emotional states in MDD./t/nWhile previous neuropsychological tests and clinical observations have shown that patients with MDD exhibit abnormal cognitive flexibility, behavioral studies have failed to reach a consensus on whether cognitive flexibility is impaired in both non-emotional and emotional stimuli in patients with MDD. It is suggested that integrating more precise neurophysiological measures could offer clearer insights into the mechanisms of cognitive inflexibility in MDD. Given the established link between the theta, alpha and beta bands and cognitive flexibility, the non-phase-locked activities that occur during task switching, which may be ignored in ERPs studies, may hold significant importance. Therefore, it is still necessary to further conceptualize EEG as multi-dimensional time-frequency signals to capture the changes of neural oscillations during task switching. Since time-frequency analysis offers temporal context while analyzing frequency components, the analysis of time-varying signals becomes more intuitive and comprehensible. Therefore, this study aims to employ time-frequency analysis to scrutinize the alterations of ERS/ERD in the theta, alpha and beta bands during both non-emotional and emotional task switching in patients with MDD, and explore the time-frequency characteristics that may indicate cognitive inflexibility in patients with MDD./t/nA demographically matched cohort of 74 MDD patients and 72 healthy control (HC) subjects completed both non-emotional and emotional task switching paradigms, with behavioral and electroencephalogram data being collected simultaneously. Neural oscillation activities of θ, α and β bands were analyzed as indices of brain electrical time-frequency dynamics, with their event‐related synchronization (ERS) or event‐related desynchronization (ERD) analyzed by 2 (group: MDD vs. HC) ×2 (paradigm: non-emotional vs. emotional) ×2 (task: repeat vs. switch) ×4 (region of Interest: frontal, central, parietal, occipital) repeated-measures ANOVA to compare the group differences in power across frequency bands./t/nOur results showed that the MDD group made more errors and took longer to complete the task-switching paradigms compared with the HC group. Specifically, the MDD group had significantly smaller θ-ERS in all regions of interest during non-emotional repeat and switch tasks, and significantly smaller θ-ERS in the frontal and central regions during emotional tasks. Additionally, the energy difference of θ band in the parieto-occipital region was significantly larger during emotional task switching. The MDD group had significantly smaller α-ERD in the non-emotional task switching paradigm, significantly smaller β-ERD in non-emotional repeat task, and significantly smaller β-ERD in both emotional tasks./t/nThe study concludes that patients with MDD exhibits impaired cognitive flexibility in response to both neutral stimuli and negative stimuli. Cognitive inflexibility in response to non-emotional stimuli is associated with less θ-ERS and excessive activity of α-ERD and β-ERD. Similarly, cognitive inflexibility in response to emotional stimuli is associated with less θ-ERS and excessive activity of β-ERD in MDD, with β-ERD emerging as a potentially sensitive biomarker for impaired cognitive flexibility in MDD. This study sheds new light on the understanding of impaired cognitive flexibility in MDD and further clarifies the underlying neural oscillatory mechanism of impaired cognitive flexibility.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Management Psychology submitted time 2024-06-17
Abstract： The role and significance of empowerment are increasingly highlighted in the activation of employees and their autonomy. As a differentiated leadership behavior, empowerment by leaders brings unique resources and asymmetric preferential treatment to employees, which can be perceived by colleagues as observers and directly affects their work performance. However, current studies have mainly focused on the employees who are empowered, and few have focused on the colleagues as observers. It is important to recognize and discuss the emotional changes and subsequent behavioral reactions caused by colleagues being empowered from the perspective of observers.
Based on social comparison theory, this research discusses the effect of the interaction between colleagues being empowered and procedural justice on envy and admiration of colleagues. The mediating effect of envy and admiration on the above interaction items and workplace ostracism and observational learning is explored, and a mediated moderation model is constructed. The hypotheses are tested in an experimental study (N = 238), a field sample (N = 306) and an experience sampling method (N = 1285). In Study 1, a between-participant scenario experimental design was used to manipulate procedural justice and colleagues being empowered, 238 participants from China who passed the attention test were retained. Participants were randomly assigned to a scenario to eliminate the effect of their own differences on the experimental results. In Study 2, empirical data from 306 employees in China were collected using a three-wave questionnaire survey. At Time 1, employees reported procedural justice and colleagues being empowered and provided their own demographic information. At Time 2, employees reported envy and admiration towards their colleagues. At Time 3, employees reported workplace ostracism and observational learning. In Study 3, we conducted a field study using an experience sampling method to collect data from employees in northeastern China. The survey process included an initial one-time entry survey and daily surveys administered over two weeks. One week before the start of the daily surveys, employees reported their leader–member exchange social comparison, colleagues’ guanxi and their own demographic information. During the two-week daily surveys, employees reported procedural justice, colleagues being empowered, envy and admiration at 11 am, and reported workplace ostracism and observational learning at 5 pm. The final sample included 1285 usable observations from 137 employees.
We applied analysis of variance, confirmatory factor analysis, path analysis, bootstrap method and Monte Carlo simulation to analyze the data. There are three findings. First, when procedural justice is low, colleagues being empowered and procedural justice interaction have a positive impact on envy; when procedural justice is high, colleagues being empowered and procedural justice interaction have a positive impact on admiration. Second, envy has a positive impact on workplace ostracism, and admiration has a positive impact on observational learning. Third, envy and admiration play a mediating role in the interaction terms of colleagues being empowered and procedural justice on workplace ostracism and observational learning, thus showing a mediated moderation model.
This research has the following four implications. First, the research enriched the research perspective of empowerment from the perspective of the observer party. Second, the research integrated the contrast effect and assimilation effect caused by colleagues being empowered, which enriched the research framework of social comparison theory. Third, the boundary conditions of the two social comparison effects caused by colleagues being empowered were expanded. Final, the mediating mechanism of the effect of colleagues being empowered was revealed.
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2024-06-17
Abstract： Terror management theory suggests that the salience of mortality unconsciously produces severe anxiety and triggers a change in an individual’s attitude. Most of the research based on terror management theory has utilized experimental methods, and most of these studies have focused on the results of experimentally priming death thoughts, but have rarely considered the effects of death information in real-world settings. The present research explores the salience of mortality in real-world settings based on textual Big Data and large-scale social survey results. We first used a large word vector database to generate death-related words, and created a mortality salience index for each province based on newspaper word frequency, and found that the level of provincial mortality salience was associated with population density, environmental emergencies, suicide rate, and cultural tightness (Study 1). We then examined the effect of mortality salience on collectivism and cultural tightness using publication texts across time, and the vector autoregression results showed that mortality salience had a strong effect on cultural tightness (Study 2). Finally, we examine the effect of provincial death salience on individual and family financial decisions, and multilevel linear modeling results indicate that mortality salience increases family savings rates and reduces individuals’ willingness to intergenerational cooperation (Study 3). These results contribute to the understanding of the impact of death in contemporary societies, provide new evidence for terror management theory, and offer new perspectives for understanding the evolution of cultural and social attitudes.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Developmental Psychology submitted time 2024-06-15
Abstract： Previous quantitative genetic studies have demonstrated that adolescent self-control is influenced by parenting and genetics. In most existing studies, researchers have explored only the impact of the interaction between a single gene and parental factors on adolescent prosocial behaviour, but exploration of the endophenotype mechanism underlying the impact of the interaction between genes and the environment on prosocial behaviour is lacking. According to social cognitive models of prosocial behaviors, sociocognitive and socioemotive traits may be important mediators of environmental and genetic interactions on individual behaviors. In recent years, the single-polymorphism G×E design has been criticized for unreliable findings and difficult replication. As a potential solution, researchers have constructed multilocus genetic profile scores (MGPSs) to explore how environmental factors interact with genetic factors to predict adolescent development. Therefore, this study examined self-control as a mediator of the link between parental emotional warmth and adolescents’ prosocial behavior. Furthermore, this study developed an MGPS composed of five functional SNPs (COMT gene rs6269, HTR2A gene rs6313, OXTR gene rs53576, OXTR gene rs2254295, and OXTR gene rs2254298) and examined whether the MGPS moderates the mediating effect of self-control.
Using a 2-time longitudinal design (6 months apart), this study recruited 880 adolescents by cluster sampling at T1 in Guangzhou, China. All adolescents completed questionnaires about parental emotional warmth, prosocial behavior, and demographic characteristics and provided saliva samples for DNA extraction. At T2, 723 adolescents remained in the study and reported their prosocial behavior and self-control. All polymorphisms were genotyped using SNaPshot analysis (Applied Biosystems).
After controlling for the baseline levels of prosocial behavior, parental emotional warmth positively and significantly predicted adolescents’ prosocial behavior. Self-control mediated the link between parental emotional warmth and adolescents’ prosocial behavior. Furthermore, the MGPS moderated the mediating mechanism but not the direct impact of parental emotional warmth on adolescents’ prosocial behavior, and the model coefficients were invariant for mothers and fathers. Specifically, the MGPS moderated the effect of parental emotional warmth on self-control such that the effect was stronger in adolescents with higher MGPS than in those with lower MGPS. For adolescents with higher MGPS, parental emotional warmth was related to higher levels of self-control, which in turn increased prosocial behavior. However, this mediating effect was not observed among adolescents with lower MGPS.
The results highlight the importance of examining multiple genes and endophenotypic mechanisms to explore the relationship between gene–environmental interactions and adolescents’ prosocial behavior and provide new evidence for the “environment×polygene–endophenotypic–behavior” research framework.
Subjects: Psychology >> Other Disciplines of Psychology submitted time 2024-06-15
Abstract： Good human-pet relationship can bring many benefits to human beings, but the internal mechanism of intimate and important human-pet relationship is still unclear. It may be that due to prolonged close contact, pet owners will treat their pets as part of the family, and may even integrate pets into their self-concept, showing a processing advantage in the processing of pet-related information./t/nBased on this, this research adopts three studies to systematically investigate the relationship between pet owners and pets. Specifically speaking, in study 1, the IOS scale, self-concept questionnaire and anthropomorphic scale were used to examine the relationship between the self-concept of pets and pet owners. In study 2, R/K paradigm was used to investigate the processing characteristics of pet-related information by pet owners in terms of memory processing, and to confirm the existence of the reference effect of pets. Study 3 further used ERP technology to investigate the pet reference processing bias of pet owners from an electrophysiological perspective./t/nThe results showed that: (1) Compared with non-pet owners, pet owners would integrate pets into their self-concept and form the pet self, in which anthropomorphism played an intermediary role. (2) Pet owners have a stronger memory processing advantage for pet-related information, the recognition rate of the pet reference is significantly higher than celebrity reference and semantic reference, and is similar to self-reference and mother reference. (3) The induced LPC amplitude of pet reference was significantly higher than celebrity reference, but similar to mother reference, and significantly lower than self-reference./t/nIn conclusion, the present research demonstrated that pet owners will regard their pets as part of themselves, forming the pet self, and showing the pet reference effect on memory, but the pet self is essentially a relational self, and there is still a certain distance from the core self. Current research on the self focuses on significant others, but doesn’t involve the field of pets. More importantly, it is necessary for us to consider the impact of pets on individuals. Pet owners often treat their pets as important family members, creating a close bond that can help individuals recognize their pets as an extension of themselves and contribute to the positive impact that pets can have on their physical and mental health.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Psychological Measurement submitted time 2024-06-14
Abstract： The identifiability of cognitive diagnosis models relies heavily on the completeness of the Q matrix. However, existing test designs primarily focus on dichotomously-scored items, neglecting the importance of polytomous cognitive diagnostic test design. Moreover, this limitation poses a significant obstacle to the advancement of cognitive diagnosis. To bridge this gap, this paper aimed to introduce novel designs for the construction of polytomous structured and unstructured simplest complete Q matrices (SSCQM/USCQM). Our proposed approach considered all ideal response patterns (IRPs) of knowledge states (KSs) on the reachability matrix as research objects, with the objective of minimizing the number of columns selected from the reachability matrix. This ensured one-to-one correspondence between the set of KSs and the set of IRPs, thereby enhancing the completeness of the SSCQM. Additionally, we derived a polytomous USCQM by considering the relationship between the SSCQM and the sub-matrix of the corresponding identity matrix while ensuring that each row contains at least one 1 . Interestingly, the construction process revealed that there were more USCQMs than SSCQMs. This innovative approach expanded the possibilities for polytomous cognitive diagnostic test design.
This study focused on the design and evaluation of cognitive diagnostic tests using polytomous structured and unstructured Q matrices (SSCQM/USCQM). We conducted two studies to comprehensively examine the influence of factors such as the number of attributes, attribute hierarchies, and item parameters on the precision of the SSCQM, USCQM, and reachability matrix. In the first study, variations in attribute structures and item parameter values were investigated to understand their impact on Q matrix accuracy. On the other hand, the second study explored the effects of attribute hierarchies and the number of attributes on the precision of the SSCQM, USCQM, and reachability matrix.
Both simulation studies and actual measurement data were utilized to assess the robustness and efficacy of the two methods. Firstly, the simulation results revealed several key findings. Notably, increasing the number of SSCQMs or USCQMs positively influenced the accuracy of the results. In the context of long tests, the USCQM demonstrated higher Pattern Match Ratio (PMR) and Marginal Match Ratio (MMR) compared to the SSCQM and the reachability matrix. This trend was particularly evident when there was an increase in item parameters, attribute numbers, or a change in attribute hierarchy. However, it is noteworthy that, regardless of these various factors, the PMR and MMR of the three tests exhibited minimal differences. On the other hand, in short tests with good item quality, the SSCQM achieved the best performance compared to other methods. This highlights the importance of considering specific test characteristics and item quality when selecting the appropriate Q matrix type. These findings provide valuable insights into the factors that influence the precision of Q matrices. They emphasize the benefits of increasing the number of matrices, understanding the impact of item parameters, and recognizing the performance disparities among different matrix types. Obtaining a comprehensive understanding of these relationships is vital for optimizing the design and implementation of cognitive diagnostic testing, ultimately guaranteeing accurate assessments of individual knowledge states. Secondly, analysis of the actual measurement data showed high identification repetition rates for the SSCQM and the reachability matrix, with a minimal difference in attribute mastery ratio.
In summary, both the SSCQM and the USCQM demonstrate adequate performance when compared to other Q matrices under similar conditions. These findings emphasize the significance of prioritizing completeness in cognitive diagnostic testing. This research seeks to contribute to the advancement of cognitive diagnosis by addressing the limitations of existing test designs and introducing new techniques for constructing polytomous Q matrices. In addition, the findings presented in this paper offer valuable insights for researchers and practitioners seeking to design high-quality cognitive diagnostic tests that accurately assess individual knowledge states.
Subjects: Psychology >> Developmental Psychology submitted time 2024-06-14
Abstract： The emotional information conveyed through phonological prosody and facial expressions forms the foundation for human interpretation of others’ emotions and facilitates interpersonal interactions. Investigating how infants perceive, discriminate, and evaluate emotions embedded in these two modalities deepens our understanding of infants’ cognitive development and neural mechanisms. This paper comprehensively reviews emotion processing in infants, revealing that the temporal and frontal cortex play crucial roles in processing emotional speech and facial expressions. Although emotional processing involves both brain hemispheres, infants initially show a right-hemisphere advantage similar to adults. Within the first week after birth, infants can distinguish emotional information and exhibit a processing bias toward positive emotions. The bias gradually shifts to favor negative emotions around six months of age. By twelve months, infants’ negative emotional biases stabilize, and they can understand and respond to emotional cues from speech and facial expressions. Based on these findings, we propose the Developmental Theory of Emotional Bias. Importantly, cross-modal visual-auditory information significantly enhances infants’ ability to discern and understand specific emotions.
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2024-06-12
Abstract： Attention is the orientation and concentration of individuals to specific objects. Basic attentional functions such as alerting, orienting, and executive control, and complex attentional functions such as selective attention and sustained attention have various trajectories of germination, development, and decline. Based on previous studies on attention development, this paper reviewed the lifelong development trajectories of basic and complex attentional functions and suggested that the development of attention roughly includes three stages: the germination period (0–1 year old), the development period (1 year old-adulthood), and the degenerating period (adulthood-old age). Furthermore, this paper emphasized the significance of the cooperation among attentional functions for understanding the development of attention. In specific, complex attentional functions depend on the cooperation of basic attentional functions. Their developmental trajectories also depend on the development of the latter. In the future, longitudinal studies especially in adolescents and studies of the cooperation among attentional functions should be strengthened with high reliability and validity measurement tools sensitive to attention levels. The theory of attentional development would benefit from such studies.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2024-06-11
Abstract： Under the influence of the mass media, many individuals have embraced the “thin-ideal” social norm, wherein people accept and adhere to the behavioral norm that perceives thinness as the ideal body type. This trend has resulted in many young adults compromising their positive body image and adopting unhealthy weight loss practices, such as reducing their caloric intake. Based on the self-discrepancy theory, this paper proposes that the thin-ideal social norm will strengthen the thin-ideal self-concept, which will amplify any existing discrepancy between the ideal self and the actual self, ultimately diminishing the individual’s positive body image. In that light, the present research explored the effects of social norm interventions on improving young adults’ positive body image and increasing their caloric intake. The findings suggest that interventions that address misconceptions, particularly when combined with role models, yield more favorable outcomes than interventions that focus solely on correcting misunderstandings within the social norm framework do.
The present research comprised one questionnaire study and three intervention studies, involving 612 participants. Study 1 examined the mediating role of body mass index (BMI) self-discrepancy in the relationship between the thin-ideal social norm and a positive body image. Two hundred eleven participants (113 females, aged 22.31 ± 2.10 years) completed questionnaires assessing their perceptions of the social norms, their BMI self-discrepancy, and their positive body image. Studies 2–4 were dedicated to practical interventions. In Study 2, 117 participants (79 females, aged 22.56 ± 2.28 years) received either interventions that addressed misinformation about social norms, or no information. The participants reported their positive body image at the beginning and end of the study, along with their caloric intake over 4 days. Study 3 involved 155 participants (111 females, aged 22.06 ± 2.13 years) who were randomly assigned to one of three interventions: correcting misunderstandings alone, combining that intervention with role models, or no intervention. As was the case with Study 2, the participants reported their positive body image and caloric intake over 4 days. In Study 4, 147 participants (89 females, aged 22.57 ± 2.10 years) were randomly assigned to one of three interventions that were similar to those in Study 3 but spanned 10 days. Those participants reported their body image at two time points and their caloric intake at five time points.
Study 1 revealed that self-discrepancy partially mediated the relationship between the social norms of the thin ideal and body image. Specifically, both the thin-ideal de This research contributes valuable insights into thin-ideal social norms. It suggests a more effective intervention strategy that provides practical recommendations which are applicable to individuals, role models, and commercial organizations.
Subjects: Psychology >> Management Psychology submitted time 2024-06-09
Abstract： With the increasing utilization of information communication technologies (ICT) in organizations, virtual communication has emerged as the predominant method of communication. In contrast to traditional face-to-face communication, the filtering of cues and the geographically distributed nature of virtual communication significantly diminish power cues and social norm constraints. More importantly, the inherent asynchronicity of virtual communication interrupts the process of power expression and acceptance. All these have a significant impact on the existing power configuration between supervisor and subordinate. However, limited research has focused on whether and how virtual communication affects traditional hierarchical power configuration. Drawing on the perspectives of identity self-construction and mutual construction, this study will examine the impact of technical cues, message exchange behavior, and virtual communication patterns on supervisor power expression and subordinate power acceptance, considering individual-, episodic-, and interpersonal-level. By integrating the perspectives and theories of organizational behavior, information systems, and communication disciplines, this study aims to contribute to the theoretical advancement of research on the utilization of ICT and hierarchical power configurations. Furthermore, it also aims to provide a theoretical foundation for the design of communication software and the implementation of hierarchical virtual communication practices.
Subjects: Psychology >> Management Psychology submitted time 2024-06-08
Abstract： The prevalence of anxiety and depression has escalated, prompting the current study to investigate the antecedents and coping strategies for these conditions in the digital media era. A theoretical framework grounded in affective events theory and social comparison theory is built to elucidate the relationships between social comparison and anxiety and depression, acknowledging that such relationships are contingent upon the influences of the social media environment. This review unveils that negative social comparison (upward comparison and downward assimilation comparison) exerts a deleterious impact on anxiety and depression, with social networking applications catalyzing these adverse effects. Conversely, emotional comparison (i.e., social comparison of emotions) and downward contrast comparison are positively associated with alleviated anxiety and depression, as online health communities fostered a supportive milieu for emotional comparison, thereby helping to mitigate these conditions. This study extends social comparison theory in the realm of emotion and identifies the affordance of online health communities for coping with anxiety and depression. The implications for the principles of design, management, and operation of such communities are further discussed.
Subjects: Psychology >> Other Disciplines of Psychology submitted time 2024-06-06
Abstract： The sensory dominance is a phenomenon in which the brain selectively processes specificsensory information when presented with multisensory inputs, thereby enhancing humanperception of external stimuli. Previous studies have discussed the sensory dominance atperceptual and response levels. However, how the intermediate processing level betweenperceptual and response levels affects the sensory dominance remains unknown. Therefore, thepresent study adopted the cross-modal 2-1 mapping paradigm and manipulated object categoriesthrough three studies to investigate the role of the intermediate processing level on sensorydominance in cross-modal conflict. In this paradigm, based on key mapping, cognitive processing levels can be defined intopreresponse level (included perceptual and semantic levels) and response level. The differencebetween the audiovisual incongruent condition and the audiovisual congruent condition was calledthe conflict effect, and the sensory dominance can be obtained by comparing the conflict effect ofattention to vision and auditory. Experiment 1 manipulated the degree of difference in objectcategories to explore its impact on sensory dominance. Experiments 1a~c involved animal objects(small differences), tool objects (moderate differences), and animal and musical instrument objects(large differences), 30 participants were recruited for each experiment. Because visual picturesreach perceptual representation earlier, while auditory sounds reach semantic representation earlier. Therefore, Experiment 2 (34 participants) changed visual pictures into visual words on the basis ofExperiment 1c to explore effects of visual presentation way of object categories on sensorydominance. In Experiment 3 (20 participants), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) wasused on the left anterior temporal lobe, an important brain region responsible for processing objectcategories to further causally study effects of object category on the sensory dominance of theresponse level. The results of Experiment 1 showed that, no matter what the difference of object categories, at the preresponse level, the conflict effect of attention to auditory was significantly greater thanthat of attention to vision, that is, visual dominance. However, at the response level, visualdominance appeared when the object category difference was small (Experiment 1a), no sensorydominance was observed when the object category difference was moderate (Experiment 1b), auditory dominance appeared when the object category difference was large (Experiment 1c). Itwas found that the results of Experiment 2 and Experiment 1c were consistent, that is, auditorydominance, indicating that this behavior pattern was not affected by the bottom-up visualpresentation way. The results of Experiment 3 showed that under cathodal tDCS condition, thepreresponse level still showed visual dominance, but the response level no longer showed sensorydominance. This result showed that effects of object categories on the sensory dominance of theresponse level from the causal level. The mechanism of sensory dominance is still under investigation. The present study was firstto find that object categories affected the sensory dominance of the response level. Fromtheperspective of cognitive processing level, intermediate processing level played a regulating role inthe sensory dominance of the response level, enriching the explanatory theory of sensorydominance and providing a new perspective for the study of sensory dominance in cross-modalconflict.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Applied Psychology submitted time 2024-06-06
Abstract： In recent years, mindfulness interventions have been applied across various fields and have achieved significant efficacy. With the widespread adoption of mobile Internet, online mindfulness interventions are flourishing, thus holding tremendous potential. However, a prominent issue is the generally low adherence of participants in such online mindfulness interventions. Concurrently, previous studies have demonstrated that poetry is also regarded as an important supplement to psychotherapy and mindfulness intervention therapy. Yet, no research has been conducted on the integration of Chinese classical poetry and mindfulness interventions—a topic that warrants further exploration. Moreover, Chinese classical poetry possesses distinct Chinese characteristics and is a highly appreciated literary art form among the local population. Therefore, based on the above propositions, this study considers the feasibility of integrating Chinese classical poetry into mindfulness intervention and whether it can enhance participants’ adherence.
In Study 1, a 49-day online self-help mindfulness intervention incorporating Chinese classical poetry was developed based on Mindfulness Intervention for Emotional Distress (MIED) and poetry therapy. A total of 54 participants were recruited online who completed the pre- and postintervention assessments, including measures of mindfulness, perceived stress, and general well-being. The participants were required to answer additional questions regarding the feasibility of the intervention within one week postintervention. Then, the effectiveness of the intervention was analyzed using paired samples t-tests, whereas its feasibility was evaluated across five dimensions: Acceptability, Demand, Implementation, Practicality, and Limited-efficacy testing. In Study 2, 258 participants were recruited online and randomly assigned to Group A or Group B. Group A attended a mindfulness intervention program that integrated Chinese classical poetry, while Group B attended the same program without poetry. In the end, a total of 245 participants joined the study (118 in Group A and 127 in Group B). All participants were required to complete pre-, mid-, and postintervention assessments measuring mindfulness, perceived stress, and general well-being levels. Furthermore, the intervention’s effectiveness was examined using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA), whereas the impact of the presence or absence of Chinese classical poetry on participants’ adherence was analyzed using chi-square tests.
The results confirmed the feasibility of the developed online self-help mindfulness intervention integrating Chinese classical poetry in terms of Acceptability, Demand, Implementation, Practicality and Limited-efficacy testing, with participants perceiving the intervention as effective. The results of Study 2 demonstrated that both programs with and without poetry significantly improved participants’ mindfulness, perceived stress, and general well-being levels. However, the former significantly enhanced participants’ adherence. In addition, compared with the overall adherence levels of current online mindfulness interventions (ranging from 35% to 92%), the participants’ adherence to the proposed online intervention with Chinese classical poetry (84.75%) is relatively high. Finally, the study also found that integrating poetry into mindfulness interventions enhanced the majority of Chinese individuals’ engagement and completion rates, regardless of their personal preferences for Chinese classical poetry at baseline.
This study represents the first integration of Chinese classical poetry into mindfulness intervention, resulting in a program enriched by Chinese cultural elements. The program facilitates the combination of outstanding traditional Chinese culture with modern psychological theories and practices, fostering their creative transformation and innovative development. Furthermore, the purely online self-help program employed in this study reduces reliance on therapists while simultaneously enhancing participants’ adherence. At the same time, this study provides more possibilities for the widespread application of mindfulness intervention and provides individuals with more choices for mental health treatment. Overall, these contributions hold significant practical significance and social value.
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2024-06-06
Abstract： Objectives: The form analysis system efficiently conceptualizes how object recognition is encoded in a frame-and-fill model. However, little is known about the neural basis of the form system. The present study aimed to narrow this gap using EEG. Methods: Participants were instructed to passively view six types of images: geometric shapes, animal headless bodies, plants, Chinese words, English words, and Greebles. Result: Shared negativity waves in the occipital lobe from 100 ms to 200 ms were observed across the three object domains, including geometric figures, animal bodies, and plants, but not observed in Chinese characters, English words, or Greebles. Conclusion: The form analysis system was engaged with geometries, bodies, and plants, but not with words or faces. These results suggest that stimuli holding the medial axis structure can induce similar negativity waves in the human brain. Our study sheds new light into the human visual system, revealing a form analysis system existed. Understanding the neural patterns of the form analysis system enhances our comprehension of visual object recognition. It could inform advancements not only in human visual cognition research but also in machine visual fields.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2024-06-06
Abstract： People often use the phrase different paths, no conspiracy to describe the difficulty of reaching a consensus after an interpersonal value conflict occurs. Due to the conflict, people will not only experience a series of negative subjective feelings, but also develop prejudice and hostility toward their opponents. Together, these feelings make it very difficult to resolve interpersonal conflicts based on value differences. Values are represented and constructed in such a way that people are prone to two cognitive biases in the face of interpersonal value conflicts: self-threat and the illusion of personal objectivity. Currently, researchers have focused on two interpersonal values conflict mediation strategies: self-affirmation and other-affirmation. Future research needs to enrich the relevant theoretical explanations, focus on the influencing factors and their effects in interpersonal value conflicts, and expand their mediation strategies and related application practices.
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2024-06-06
Abstract： In the 21st century, human society is highly prosperous, but it is still facing a happiness crisis. Since the birth of scientific psychology, psychologists have been committed to understanding and improving human happiness and well-being. With the rapid development of human society and the continuous advancement of science and technology, scientific research on happiness and well-being in scientific psychology has become more comprehensive and diverse, and has gradually transformed from an abstract concept to an interdisciplinary research field that is quantifiable, operational and improvable. Based on the theoretical framework, research paradigm and research conclusions of scientific psychology, this article sorts out and comments on how factors at the individual, interpersonal and social levels affect human happiness and well-being, and explores the great potential and future prospects of scientific psychology in improving human happiness and well-being.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
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