Cody Ding

Neural correlates of reward-driven attentional capture in visual search.

Event-related potentials (ERPs) were used to investigate whether a physically non-salient and task-irrelevant stimulus feature previously associated with reward can capture attention. In the training phase, participants implicitly associated a certain color with reward. In the subsequent test phase, participants searched for a uniquely shaped singleton among non-target shapes, with color completely irrelevant to the current task demand. Response time was delayed on trials wherein the target was simultaneously presented with an associated distracter, compared with trials without one. In ERPs, a lateralized reward-associated distracter elicited an N2pc component when a concurrent target was presented on the vertical meridian. The control experiment discounted the possibility that this N2pc was caused by familiarity of the reward-associated distracter. Presenting both the target and reward-associated distracter on the opposite side elicited N2pc, with the reward-associated distracter-elicited N2pc preceding the target-elicited N2pc, albeit only in trials with slow responses. These results show that the participants shifted their attention to the target only after noticing the task-irrelevant reward-associated distracter in slow trials. Therefore, task-irrelevant reward-driven salience can capture attention. Distracter positivity was observed in fast distracter-present trials presenting both a lateral distracter and a midline target. Thus, the reward-associated distracter should be actively suppressed to efficiently select the task-relevant target. Lastly, the distracter-elicited N2pc was negatively correlated with individual differences in reward drive score. This correlation may provide insight into reward sensitivity problems.

Multidimensional scaling modelling approach to latent profile analysis in psychological research

Because profile analysis is widely used in studying types of people, we propose an alternative technique for such analysis in this article. As an application of the multidimensional scaling (MDS) model, MDS profile analysis is proposed as an approach for studying both group and/or individual profile patterns. This approach requires one to think of MDS solutions as profiles. The MDS profile analysis approach re‐parameterizes the linear latent variable model in such a way that the latent variables can be interpreted in terms of profile patterns rather than factors. It is an exploratory profile analysis method to identify major patterns among psychological variables and can serve as the basis for further study of correlates and/or predictors of profiles and other background and external variables. In the article, we have outlined the procedure of MDS profile analysis and discussed the issues that are related to parameter estimation and interpretation of the results. Such a discussion is presented in the cont...

Neural correlates of near-misses effect in gambling

The present study investigated the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying the gambling near-miss effect by measuring event-related-potentials. Using a simple gambling task, we measured behavioral response and electrophysiological activity of gambling outcomes. Self-rating results showed that when compared to full-miss outcome, near-miss outcome were rated as less pleasant, but yielded higher motivation to play. Whereas the feedback-related negativity (FRN) amplitude did not reflect the motivation rating differences between near-miss and full-miss, the P300 amplitude mirrored the motivation rating differences between near-miss and full-miss, with larger amplitudes for near-miss outcomes. Dipole source analysis of the difference wave (near-miss minus full-miss) indicated that two generators of the P300, localized in the putamen and orbitofrontal cortex, might be involved in motivational evaluation and regret, respectively. Our findings indicated that the near-miss effect stems from sources: higher levels of motivation and the presence of regret, caused by counterfactual thinking.

Assessing Content Validity and Content Equivalence Using Structural Equation Modeling

Content validity is rarely evaluated based on empirical data, independent of that from a panel of content experts. In this article, procedures are used to construct parallel test forms based on statistical equivalence rather than content equivalence. This article describes an alternative approach to assessing content validity and content equivalence in terms of item-content structures and content area constructs. Structural equation modeling is applied to item-response data from 2 Regents College examinations to empirically verify content constructs developed by a panel of content experts and to examine content equivalence across-parallel test forms. The results suggest the different degrees of inconsistency and bias of content experts in assigning items to their corresponding content areas. The results also show that content equivalence across-parallel test forms is disputable based on randomly splitting methods. The implication and importance of the study is discussed in terms of test development.

Reduced representations capacity in visual working memory in trait anxiety

Neural processes that support individual differences in trait anxiety and the amount of representations in visual-spatial working memory (WM) are currently unclear. We measured the contralateral delay activity (CDA) in a lateralized change detection task to explore this question. Different levels of memory load were varied within each block. Despite their unimpaired behavioral performance, individuals with high traitanxious(HTA) displayed several changes in the neuronal markers of the memory processes. The CDA amplitudes reached asymptote at loads of three and four items for HTA and low traitanxious(LTA) individuals, respectively. This result indicates that HTA individuals reach the upper limit of representation capacity with a smaller memory load than LTA individuals. Furthermore, the smaller CDA amplitudes in HTA individuals under high memory loads could be attributed to less contralateral cortical activity, which further indicates that HTA individuals are associated with reduced representations of taskrelevantitems in WM.

Variations in academic performance trajectories during high school transition: exploring change profiles via multidimensional scaling growth profile analysis

This study examines the baseline change profiles of academic performance (math and English) trajectories during the high school transition for the students who went from middle school to high school. Using multidimensional scaling growth profile analysis, we identified a no-change group plus 4 other groups with different change profile types: 1 with a dramatic change from Grades 8 to 9, one with a change from Grades 9 to 10, and 2 unstable groups. We further found that ethnicity, but not gender, distinguished 2 types of change profiles. These findings help to better understand the baseline change patterns of academic performance during the high school transition and provide a reference pattern for evaluating the effectiveness of any transition programs aimed at helping students with the future transition adjustment.

An ERP study on the time course of facial trustworthiness appraisal.

The importance of facial trustworthiness for human interaction and communication is difficult to exaggerate. Reflections on daily experience indicate that the presence of a human face elicits rapid appraisals of its trustworthiness. Relatively little is known, however, about the exact brain processes related to this response. In the present study, event-related brain potentials were recorded during trustworthiness appraisals of various emotionally neutral faces. On the one hand, trustworthy faces elicited a more positive C1 than untrustworthy faces; a finding that might be related to initial stages of perceptual processing that categorizes faces on the basis of structural properties. On the other hand, untrustworthy faces elicited a more positive late positive component (LPC) than trustworthy faces, indicating that greater amounts of motivated attention are allocated to faces appearing to be untrustworthy. The LPC effect in this study was consistent with the prediction of the emotion overgeneralization hypothesis of trustworthy face evaluation.

The relationship between interpersonal traits and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms: Analyses from Wenchuan earthquake adolescent survivors in China

This study explores the relationship between interpersonal traits and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in a sample of 617 middle and high school students 16 months after the Wenchuan earthquake in China using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) and the Interpersonal Self-Supporting Scale (ISSS). Even when the effects of gender and grade level were controlled for, the results from regression analyses revealed that greater interpersonal independence, interpersonal initiative, interpersonal responsibility, and interpersonal openness are associated with lesser PTSD symptoms 16 months later.

An ERP study on the processing of common fractions

The aim of this study was to examine how adults processed common fractions with common numerators under two distinct conditions. Whereas participants were presented with only common fractions in a “simple” condition, a “complex” condition involved the random presentation of common fractions as well as decimal fractions. In both conditions, participants were required to assess whether various “target” fractions were larger than or smaller than a “standard” common fraction (1/5). Behavioral results indicated that under both conditions, participants mentally processed the fractions componentially in terms of their constituent parts rather than holistically in terms of the numerical value of the fraction as a whole. The data provided by the event-related potentials (ERPs) demonstrated electrophysiological correlates of the componential processing of common fractions in the simple condition, as reflected in the latency and amplitude of P3. However, in contrast to what the behavioral data showed, there was no strong electrophysiological evidence to indicate that common fractions were accessed componentially in the complex condition. In addition, the complex condition was linked to longer latency and more negative amplitude of N2 over the frontal scalp than the simple condition, which could be attributed to the fact that the comparison of fractions in the complex condition involved task switching and thus was more taxing on cognitive control than the simple condition.

The Study of Factor Structure and Reliability of an Abbreviated School Climate Survey.

The concept of school climate has been an important variable in research on quality of school life and student learning. One of the challenges in such a research effort is to develop instruments that could effectively and efficiently measure the construct. The purpose of the current study was to examine the factor structure and reliability of an abbreviated version of the Developmental Study Center’s School Climate Survey. Based on data from a comprehensive character education project implemented in an urban school district in 2007 (n = 5,914), 2008 (n = 5,874) and 2009 (n = 5,149), results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) revealed a seven-factor structure across 3 years, indicating a stable factor structure of the abbreviated form. The scales in the abbreviated form demonstrated similar reliability to those of the original form.