Violent words are related to emotional words, but the traditional dimensions describing the lexical properties of emotional words may not capture the key properties of violent words. In addition, it is unclear how violent words differ from emotional words in cognitive processing and whether this difference shows itself differently across experimental tasks. Study 1 examined the differences in lexical properties between violent words and emotional words through a lexical rating task. The results showed that, compared to emotional words, violent words had lower scores of pleasure, dominance, tendency, and familiarity, and higher scores of arousal, aggression, and injury. The results of the principal component factor analysis further showed that socio-emotional properties and arousal were the two more integrated indicators for evaluating and distinguishing violent words from emotional words. Study 2 explored the cognitive processing differences between violent words and emotional words through a lexical judgment task and a category judgment task. The results showed that cognitive processing of violent words and emotional words differed in response time, and were moderated by the experimental task. Combining the results of the two studies, it is evident that violent words differ from emotional words in both lexical properties and cognitive processing, suggesting the specificity of violent words. The proposed two-dimensional model of violent words based on the two-dimensional model of emotions helps to explain the specificity of violent words better.

To investigate the role of age of acquisition (AoA) and cumulative frequency in children’s visual character recognition, four types of characters (early AoA - high frequency, early AoA - low frequency, medium AoA - low frequency, and late AoA - low frequency) were designed, and three types of tasks were conducted in the present study to explore the effects of AoA and cumulative frequency. The results showed that the cumulative frequency effects were present in both the semantic classification task and the immediate naming task, and the AoA effects were present in both the phonetic classification task and the immediate naming task. The regression analysis confirmed that the log-transformed reaction time of recognizing characters in the semantic classification task and the immediate naming task were both predicted by the ln(cumulative frequency), while the reaction time of recognizing characters in the phonetic classification task and the immediate naming task were both predicted by the ln(time known). The above results consistently indicate that the phonological completeness hypothesis and the network plasticity hypothesis, but not the semantic hypothesis and the cumulative frequency hypothesis, can account for AoA and cumulative frequency effects in children’s visual character recognition.

This study investigated the effect of cue generation, both for oneself and for others, on recall performance and metacognitive monitoring within a two-person group memory task. Participants engaged in two experiments. In Experiment 1, they generated mnemonic cues for their own use, while in Experiment 2, they generated cues for the partner. Following cue generation, participants were asked to predict their own and their partners’ recall performance based on the cues. The main findings revealed that: 1) self-generated cues significantly enhanced participants’ own recall performance more than those generated for others, 2) cues tailored for others were more effective in boosting recall compared to self-generated cues, and 3) the participants showed greater accuracy in monitoring their own recall performance, whereas they tended to overestimate their partners’ recall performance. In conclusion, firstly, although the encoding process remains consistent regardless of cue recipient, the efficacy of cues in enhancing recall varies based on their origin, supporting the two-process hypothesis of mnemonic cue influence on recall. Secondly, after generating cues, individuals tend to rely heavily on encoding fluency for metacognitive monitoring, resulting in higher accuracy in self-monitoring but lower accuracy in monitoring others.

The horizontal spatial metaphor of morality is the process of mapping from the concept of horizontal spatial orientation as the source domain to the target domain represented by abstract moral concepts. The study set up two experiments using the spatial Stroop paradigm to explore this effect from both behavioral and cognitive neural perspectives. The results showed that: 1) the interaction between vocabulary type and presentation orientation was not significant; 2) there was no significant difference in the activation levels of EEG components P300, N200, and N400 under consistent conditions (moral words appearing on the right and immoral words appearing on the left) and inconsistent conditions (moral words appearing on the left and immoral words appearing on the right). The results indicate that there may not be a horizontal spatial metaphorical effect in Chinese moral concept words, and individuals may not use left and right positions as a reference to represent moral concepts. To some extent, the study provides new empirical references for the study of moral conceptual metaphors and embodied morality.

A 1.5-year follow-up longitudinal design was used to explore the patterns change of victimization and aggression from the perspective of individual attributes among 1135 Chinese middle school students. The results showed that: 1) Four distinct patterns of victimization and aggression, that is, uninvolved group, high victimization - low aggression, medium victimization - high aggression, and medium victimization - low aggression (wave 1)/ high victimization - high aggression (wave 2), were identified. There were stability and transitions among patterns of victimization and aggression. 2) Friends’ victimization and aggression had significant impacts on the changing patterns of adolescents’ victimization and aggression. Specifically, if adolescents’ friends experienced more victimization at wave 1, the probability of these adolescents transforming from the uninvolved group to the high victimization - low aggression group was higher. If Adolescents’ friends experienced more aggression at wave 1, the probability of these adolescents transforming from the uninvolved group to the medium victimization - high aggression group and high victimization - high aggression group was higher. 3) Friendship quality played different roles in the above relationships. High friendship quality strengthened the impact of friends’ victimization, while low friendship quality intensified the impact of friends’ aggression. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the diversity of patterns of change in victimization and aggression among middle school students and facilitate the development of targeted preventive intervention programs.

A total of 1043 participants were recruited and researched to explore the relationship between multiple family factors and internet gaming disorder (IGD), as well as the mediating role of maladaptive cognition on such relationship among middle school students by using latent profile analysis (LPA) and structural equation models. The results showed that: 1) The LPA analysis suggested three sub-groups in combination of multiple family factors and IGD, low family risk - high support - low IGD group, marital conflict and parental neglect - low support - high IGD group and high family risk - low support - high IGD group. 2) Maladaptive cognition significantly mediated the relationship between multiple family factors and IGD. More attention should be paid to the accumulative impact of multiple risk factors and protective factors in the prevention and intervention of IGD. It is necessary to decrease marital conflict and parental conflict and enhance parental support to improve middle school students’ maladaptive cognition and prevent IGD.

Although the phenomenon of information narrowing (echo chamber effect) is becoming increasingly prominent and has negative consequences, people would engage in echo-adaptation to cope with or mitigate the effects of information narrowing. College students are at a critical period of role transition, and their engagement in echo-adaptation may be related to the level of development of their self-identity. This study explored this issue based on the assumptions of identity capital and the I³ behavioral framework. A questionnaire survey of 366 college students was conducted. The results showed that, the score of echo-adaptive behavior was highest for college students in the ego-identity completion state, then for the transformation, and was lowest for the diffuse state. The overload information and perceived utility explained the echo-adaptive behavior of college students in the diffuse state, while the identity bubble reinforcement and perceived utility explained the echo-adaptive behavior of college students in the transformation state. The results indicate that echo-adaptive behavior for individuals in a diffuse state may be associated with ineffective and overload information recommendation, while for individuals in a transitional state, it may be related to the effective information provided by information recommendation technologies that establishs an “identity bubble” mechanism for individuals.

Latent profile analysis was used to explore the potential patterns of sibling relationships of 3- to 6-year-old children, and to further explore the influence of children’s individual theory of mind and parent-child relationships on the categories of their sibling relationships. A total of 1410 3- to 6-year-old children from two-child families were recruited and their parents completed the Sibling Inventory of Behavior Scale, the Social Understanding Scale, and the Parent-Child Relationship Scale. Results reveal that: 1) children’s sibling relationships can be categorized into the growing (48.94%), relative harmonious (47.09%), and contradictory (3.97%) types, and 2) the higher children’s theory of mind as well as the parent-child intimacy, the lower parent-child conflictiveness, their sibling relationships are more inclined to be categorized into the harmonious type.

The present study employed a cross-lagged panel model to examine the longitudinal association between negative peer relationships, specifically deviant peer affiliation and bullying victimization, and impulsivity during preadolescence. A cohort comprising 1987 middle school students from Guangdong and Shandong provinces were evaluated during three distinct time periods: the fall and spring of seventh grade, and the fall of eighth grade. The assessment encompassed evaluations of deviant peer affiliation, experiences of bullying victimization, and levels of impulsivity. The results revealed no significant effect of negative peer relationships at one time point on subsequent impulsivity; nevertheless, impulsivity exhibited at T1/T2 positively correlated with deviant peer affiliation and bullying victimization experienced during T2/T3. These findings highlight the significant role of impulsivity in the development and progression of negative peer relationships during preadolescence, underscoring the importance of targeted interventions to regulate impulsive tendencies among adolescents.

To investigate the relationship between perfectionism, self-kindness, and academic burnout among middle school students, this study conducted three longitudinal surveys (labeled as T1, T2, and T3) over one semester among 427 middle school students using questionnaire methodology. Cross-lagged analysis and longitudinal mediation analysis were applied to explore the relationship between different types of perfectionism and academic burnout, as well as the mediating role of self-kindness. The results showed that: 1) negative perfectionism positively predicted academic burnout; 2) negative perfectionism at T1 negatively predicted self-kindness at T2, while self-kindness at T2 negatively predicted academic burnout at T3; 3) self-kindness at T2 played a mediating role between negative perfectionism at T1 and academic burnout at T3. The findings of this study indicate that negative perfectionism has a significant impact on academic burnout among middle school students, in which self-kindness serves as a mediator. These results have practical implications for effectively intervening in academic burnout among middle school students.

This study investigated the relationship between motor competence and problem behavior in left-behind children, as well as the mediating role of physical activity and sedentary behavior in such relationship. A total of 327 children participated in this study, including 149 left-behind children and 178 non-left-behind children. Data of motor competence, problem behaviors, physical activity, sedentary behavior were collected by using accelerometry, the Test of Gross Motor Development-2, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. The results showed that: 1) motor competence was significantly and negatively correlated with problem behavior in left-behind children; 2) moderate to vigorous physical activity and sedentary behavior were identified as partial mediators in such relationship. To effectively tackle problem behaviors among left-behind children, interventions should emphasize the development of motor competence, which is crucial for promoting more physical activity and decreasing sedentary lifestyles.

This study aimed to develop and validate an instrument for measuring failure mindset in Chinese college students. Based on literature analysis and semi-structured interviews, the initial items of the Failure Mindset Scale (FMS) were developed. The factor structure of the FMS was examined by exploratory factor analysis (n=699) and confirmatory factor analysis (n=684). Then the scale validity was verified again by examining the relationship between failure mentality and mental health (n=2922). The results showed that the final formal scale contains two relatively independent dimensions, that is, the negative failure mindset and the positive failure mindset. The internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, construct validity and criterion validity of FMS all met the requirements of psychometric characteristics. Both dimensions of failure mindset predicted subjective well-being and general psychological problems significantly. In conclusion, the FMS can be used as an effective tool to measure the level of failure mindset among Chinese college students.

In the present study, items of numerical reasoning were developed for Grade 7 and Grade 8 students in China, which was based on the subscale numerical reasoning of the Differential Aptitude Test from America. Twenty-two items were included in the initial test. More than 7500 7th and 8th grade students participated in the study. After exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch analysis, the final instrument consisted of 18 items with good reliability and validity, which showed no gender differential item functioning. It suggests that the test is an effective and reliable tool for assessing 7th and 8th grade students’ numerical reasoning. The test can be used to identify underachieving students who have a high numerical ability. In addition, it can be used to screen for students with mathematical learning difficulties that caused by insufficient numerical reasoning ability. Therefore, the application of the test is helpful for educators to provide assistance to students who need help.

To further test the reliability and validity of the initial questionnaire on social adjustment for students in grades 4 to 9, this study was based on a large sample, through item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, reliability and validity tests, and finally formed a 31-item six-dimensional social adjustment questionnaire for students in grades 4 to 9. The measurement invariance of the questionnaire was also tested using multi-group confirmatory factor analysis. The results showed that the questionnaire had good reliability, validity, and equivalence of measurement structure. The questionnaire meets psychometric standards and can be used as a valid instrument to measure social adjustment for students in grades 4 to 9.

Continuing bonds (CB) is one of the common experiences following bereavement, yet its relationship with grief symptoms during acute grief remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the patterns and correlates of CB among recently bereaved adults, as well as to examine the variations in grief symptoms across distinct subgroups. In total, 159 recently bereaved adults completed the demographic inventory, the Inventory of Complicated Grief, and the Continuing Bond Scale. Latent profile analysis identified four CB subgroups: 1) lowest CB group; 2) higher internalized CB - lower externalized CB group; 3) moderate CB group and 4) highest CB group. Gender and age of the bereaved, as well as the relationship and intimacy of the bereaved with the deceased, significantly predicted subgroup memberships. Individuals in the lowest CB group exhibited the lowest level of grief symptoms. This study reveals qualitative differences in CB at the individual level among recently bereaved adults, underscoring the importance of tailored preventive interventions during the early phases of bereavement.

The present study utilized an emotional Go/No-go task (Experiment 1) and a masked Go/No-go task (Experiment 2) to examine the conscious and unconscious response inhibition abilities of violent offenders and a control group with neutral and angry emotional conditions. In Experiment 1, we found that both the control group and violent offenders had shorter Go reaction times and higher No-go error rates with the angry condition compared to the neutral condition. We also found that with the angry condition, violent offenders had even shorter Go reaction times and higher No-go error rates than the control group. In Experiment 2, the results showed that compared to the neutral condition, violent offenders had shorter No-go reaction times and RT-slowing on the angry condition, while no such significant differences were observed in the control group. Violent offenders had shorter No-go reaction times and RT-slowing under the angry condition compared to the control group. The results indicate that, compared to the neutral condition, violent offenders exhibit impaired conscious and unconscious response inhibitions on the angry condition. Additionally, the performance of violent offenders in conscious and unconscious response inhibitions are worse on the angry condition than that of the control group.

To explore the relationship between fear of negative evaluation and social anxiety in parents of autistic children, 582 fathers or mothers of autistic children were investigated by Negative Evaluation Fear Scale, Perceived Social Support Scale and Social Anxiety Scale. The results showed that: 1) fear of negative evaluation significantly positively predicted the social anxiety of parents of autistic children; 2) perceived social support mediated the association between fear of negative evaluation and social anxiety of parents of autistic children; 3) gender moderated the first half of the mediation model of fear of negative evaluation → perceived social support → social anxiety. The indirect mediating effect of fear of negative evaluation on social anxiety through perceived social support was significant in the mother group of autistic children, but not significant in the father group. This study reveals the relationship between fear of negative evaluation and social anxiety of parents of autistic children and its mechanism, which has certain enlightenment on alleviating social anxiety of parents of autistic children.

This study investigates the relationship between solitude capacity and the sense of meaning in life among Chinese elderly, with a focus on the underlying mechanisms through a survey of 1082 senior adults (aged≥55 years). A moderated structural equation model revealed that: 1) Solitude capacity positively predicted the sense of meaning in life. 2) This association was fully mediated by the satisfaction of three basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness, with autonomy exhibiting the strongest mediating effect. 3) Family cohesion negatively moderated the first part of the pathway of the mediating effect. The findings indicate that in the absence of family support, the positive impact of solitude capacity on the fulfillment of basic psychological needs was intensified, thus partially mitigating the negative effects of a lack of intimacy.