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Publication INVESTIGATING THE EFFECTS AND MECHANISMS OF A BRIEF LOVING KINDNESS MEDITATION SESSION ON PROSOCIAL INTENTIONS(2022-04-06) GOH QI RONG; PSYCHOLOGY; TONG MUN WAI EDDIE; LOHSNAH JEEVANADAMAlthough in recent years, research on Lovingkindness Meditation has looked into its interpersonal prosocial effects, empirical studies are lacking and the mediators of this process are not well understood. Although Lovingkindness Meditation is made up of two components: directing lovingkindness to oneself and to others, their differential prosocial effects are also not clear. The current study hypothesizes that affective and cognitive empathy are mediators between a brief Lovingkindness Meditation and prosocial intentions and a Lovingkindness Meditation with both components of lovingkindness will confer additional benefits than a Lovingkindness Meditation with only one component. The results suggests that the prosocial effects of Lovingkindness Meditation is mediated by affective empathy and only for a Lovingkindness Meditation that directs lovingkindness to oneself. Additionally, a Lovingkindness Meditation that directed lovingkindness to both oneself and others conferred lesser prosocial benefits than a Lovingkindness Meditation that directed lovingkindness to oneself only. Future studies should work towards understanding why a Lovingkindness Meditation that directs lovingkindness to others seemingly reduces prosocial intentions and why cognitive empathy is not a mediator in the relationship between a brief LovingKindness Meditation and prosocial intentions.Publication ASSOCIATIONS IN IMPULSIVE BEHAVIOURS AND BRAIN STRUCTURE WITH TWAS SIGNIFICANT POLYMORPHISM rs11210892 FOR ADHD(2020-04-20) LEONG ZE XI; PSYCHOLOGY; DERBYSHIRE, STUART WILLIAM GEORGE; GEOFFERY TAN CHERN-YEEAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a heritable, chronic, neurodevelopmental disorder with serious long-term repercussions. Impulsivity is a trait found in normal behavioural repertoire however excessive impulsivity is related to psychopathologies and is considered a core symptom of ADHD. Due to the polygenic nature of ADHD, investigations into its genetic basis has produced ambiguous results. Impulsivity is proposed as a possible simpler intermediate phenotype – hence an endophenotype approach was used in this study to clarify the genetic associations of ADHD. There exists strong evidence for the genetic influence and neural basis of impulsivity. This points us in the direction that by observing an interaction of the genes and brain regions could explain for individual differences in impulsiveness. This study aims to add on to the existing literature by examining the biological underpinnings of the proposed endophenotype impulsivity, utilising a behavioural approach and various measures of impulsive personality traits. By understanding the genetic basis of this endophenotype, we hope this will shed light on the genetic contributions to ADHD. Imaging genetics was tapped on in this study to enable us to understand the neural mechanisms underlying gene-behaviour or gene-disease associations, thereby giving further insight into the medical phenomenon being studied. In the present study, we performed an association study between rs11210892, a genetic variant that is significantly associated with ADHD on a TWA study, brain volumes and various impulsivity measures. Impulsivity was measured using stop signal task and various personality scales, which were reduced to a simpler structure using principal component analysis. We used structural brain images that were previously acquired using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a past study. Voxel based morphometry and sequential mediation model was used to examine the interactive effects between genetic variant of rs11210892 and impulsivity measures on grey matter volumes. Our study revealed that the relationship between genetic variant and BAS scale (Behavioural Activation System) was mediated by left parietal grey matter eigenvectors. Our study also found cerebellum volume to be associated with both the genetic variant and stop signal performance. Our findings converge with existing literature that propose differential neural circuitry underlying different aspects of impulsiveness and ADHD. Our results suggest that our genetic variant demonstrates pleiotropic effects and contributes to the total picture of genes implicated in the aetiology of ADHD.Publication PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER CHECKLIST FOR DSM-5 IN SINGAPORE(2021-04-07) LEE JIA LE FRANCESCA; PSYCHOLOGY; HONG YEE SHIUN RYANThe Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) is a widely-used assessment tool to assess PTSD. To date, there is no published study that has validated the use of the PCL-5 in Singapore, nor assessed how the DSM-5 criteria for PTSD should be adapted for local use. The present study examined the reliability, structural validity as well as convergent and discriminant validity of the PCL-5 in a local sample. Psychometric analyses were conducted among Singaporean university students (N = 208). Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) demonstrated little support for adequate fit of four-factor DSM-V model. Instead, CFA demonstrated adequate fit for the six-factor Anhedonia model and seven-factor Hybrid model. Non-nested model comparison support the seven-factor Hybrid model as the best fitting model. However, the four-factor DSM-V model demonstrated more favourable internal consistency for PCL-5 subscales. Convergent and discriminant validity of PCL-5 was evidenced using a wide range of measures. Overall, this study evidenced promising psychometric qualities of the PCL-5 for use in Singapore and provided preliminary insights into local responses to trauma. Future research is needed to confirm the results of this study especially using a local, clinical sample.Publication RELATING LEFT EAR ADVANTAGE TO COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE IN PATIENTS WITH BRIEF PSYCHOTIC DISORDER OR SCHIZOPHRENIA: A DICHOTIC LISTENING STUDY(2018-04-19) TAN JIAN WEI, RUSSELL; PSYCHOLOGY; COLLINSON, SIMON LOWES; HO NEW FEILeft ear advantage (LEA), the ability to report more correct syllables in the forced-left condition of the dichotic listening task, is reported to involve executive control. This study therefore sought to uncover the relationship between LEA and the cognitive dysfunction seen across psychosis spectrum disorders, specifically, that reduced LEA is related to poorer performance on Verbal Memory, Digit Sequencing (working memory) and Tower of London (executive functions) tasks. Patients from IMH diagnosed with Brief Psychotic Disorder or Schizophrenia were recruited to complete a dichotic listening task and a cognitive test (Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia). Scores on the forced-left condition of the dichotic listening task were correlated with scores of the cognitive subtests. Findings revealed that poorer performance in the forced-left condition were significantly related to poorer performance on the Verbal Memory and Digit Sequencing (working memory) subtests. No significant correlation exists between performance in the forced-left condition and Tower of London (executive functions) subtest. Further analyses revealed the relationship to be found in patients with psychosis spectrum disorders but not in controls. This finding suggests that certain aspects of psychosis could be mediating/moderating the relationship.Publication A CONSTRUAL LEVEL ANALYSIS OF SELF-CONTROL AND ITS EFFECT ON THE PERCEPTIONS OF PROACTIVE STRATEGIES IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS(2019-12-04) LENIS LOH SI PEI; PSYCHOLOGY; JIA LILEResearch on self-control and construal level theory have largely focus on preventing self-control failure, with a lack of understanding the effect of construal level on proactive self-control. The present study seeks to investigate the effect of construal level on proactive self-control using hypothetical scenarios, in addition to investigating potential moderators and mediators that would affect individual's perceptions towards proactive self-control strategies. Presented with a self-control dilemma set in an academic context, participants were manipulated to have either high- or low-level construal, and asked to rate their preference, perceived effectiveness, and perceived balance of proactive strategies of varying execution and reversal cost. Results found support for high-level construal increasing perceived balance, in addition to balance as a mediator between construal level and preference. Results also found promising support for execution and reversal cost dimensions in proactive self-control strategies, highlighting potential mediators that affect's an individual's judgement towards proactive self-control strategy. Theoretical and practical implications of the present findings was also discussed.Publication CHILDHOOD PARENTAL INVALIDATION AND VALIDATION ON EMOTION DYSREGULATION: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF AFFECTIVE STYLES(2024-04-12) TAN ZHI HUI; PSYCHOLOGY; LEE SI MIN, STEPHANIEAffective styles are crucial variables affecting the process of emotion regulation. However, the antecedents to affective styles are not well-established despite their influence on the experience and regulation of emotions. The present study investigates affective styles as potential mediators in a parallel mediation model, where it is hypothesised that affective styles will mediate the relationship between parental invalidation and emotion dysregulation, as well as parental validation and emotion dysregulation. Two hundred and two undergraduates in Singapore completed three questionnaires on parental invalidation and validation, affective styles and emotion dysregulation in a cross-sectional study. Mediation analysis revealed that concealing and adjusting affective styles partially mediated the relationship between parental invalidation and emotion dysregulation. Furthermore, both adjusting and tolerating affective styles fully mediated the relationship between parental validation and emotion dysregulation. These findings highlighted the impact of parental invalidation and parental validation on affective styles and subsequently, emotion dysregulation. Additionally, the study underscored the importance of investigating affective styles as both etiological factors and targets for interventions in mental health conditions.Publication NUDGING FAMILY DECISION-MAKING PROCESS ON ORGAN DONATION(2019-12-04) NG WEI HENG; PSYCHOLOGY; HON HSUEH HSIEN, NICHOLAS; JEAN LIUOrgan donation shortages worldwide are enduring throughout time and prevalent in all countries. Traditional measures to increase organ donation numbers had been expensive and ineffective. This study set out to explore the effects of behavioral insights techniques (i.e., nudges) on the family decision-making process as nudges are inexpensive and effective. Participants were first given a vignette that contains nudges, to simulate a real-world scenario of a family member suffering from a car accident and then measured on their decisions to 'turn off life support' or 'wait and see', their willingness to donate family member's organs under brain death, cardiac death and their willingness to donate their own organs. Subjective experiences were also measured. Results showed that nudges had no significant effect on family decision-making and subjective experiences. Instead, age and gender were found to significantly predict family decision-making. These unexpected findings contributed to the wider literature and has implications for neo-classical models on decision-making and practical applications for medical scripts in organ donation.Publication THE INTERPERSONAL EFFECT OF EMOTIONAL AMBIVALENCE IN NEGOTIATION: THE MODERATING ROLE OF ATTRIBUTION?(2021-04-08) JIA WEN WONG; PSYCHOLOGY; AU KIN CHUNG ALComplex emotions such as emotional ambivalence are widely felt but understudied as compared to single emotions. Emotional ambivalence has garnered substantial attention due to the controversies surrounding its usefulness in interpersonal interactions. Two studies examined the effect of perceived emotional ambivalence of a negotiation counterpart on the integrative behaviours of the perceiver, when mediated by perceived cognitive flexibility. The moderator, attribution, of perceived emotional ambivalence on perceived cognitive flexibility was investigated too. Overall, a moderated-mediation model was hypothesized. Study 1 used a hypothetical negotiation scenario to test the hypothesized model and examined the tendency for integrative behaviours by the perceiver. When emotional ambivalence of a negotiation counterpart was externally attributed, the ambivalent counterpart was perceived to be more cognitively flexible than a counterpart showing non-ambivalent emotion, which led to greater tendency for integrative behaviours by the perceiver. Hence, the moderated-mediation model was supported in Study 1. Study 2 used a scripted text-based negotiation paradigm to investigate the proposed model and actual integrative behaviours of the perceiver were examined. However, findings from Study 1 were not replicated. Theoretical implications and speculations were made for these findings, limitations of this research and future research directions were discussed too.Publication MALE RAPE MYTHS: ANTECEDENTS AND CONSEQUENCES(2022-04-10) VICTORIA LIM YUK KI; PSYCHOLOGY; SANDY LIMThe first study was a cross-sectional survey (N=1,183; 503 men) conducted in a local university. The effects of experiencing sexual harassment (SH) and the moderating effects of MRM among men were examined. Higher SH predicted worse life satisfaction. While we expected men who endorse MRM or expect victim-blaming attitudes to be worsened by SH, our results showed that the negative relationship between SH and mental health was only found among men with low MRM. The positive relationship between SH and academic disengagement was only found among men expect less victim-blaming attitudes. These individuals may appraise the victimisation experience to be more frightening, resulting in worse outcomes. In the second study (N=173) involving two questionnaires, we hypothesised and found that beliefs in traditional male role norms (MRN), hostile and benevolent sexism, hostility and benevolence toward men strongly predicted MRM endorsement. We expected atypical gender role primes to reduce MRM and MRN, compared to typical gender role primes and control. The priming was generally ineffective, and instead strengthened MRM and MRN among individuals with high baseline hostile sexism and benevolence toward men. Our findings suggest that people with high sexism will strengthen their beliefs through cognitive dissonance when exposed to counter-attitudinal information.Publication INSULTS TO INJURIES: EFFECTS OF (IN)CIVILITY ON PAIN INFLICTED BY TRAUMA TEAM MEMBERS(2018-04-12) GOH E-YANG; PSYCHOLOGY; TONG MUN WAI, EDDIE; LIM GEOK PENG SANDYThis paper sought to answer two questions. Firstly, how exposure to incivility and civility affect the amount of pain inflicted by individual trauma team members on trauma patients during trauma treatment. Secondly, whether enacting behaviours of incivility and civility were associated with trauma team members adopting a more humanistic or mechanistic mindset towards trauma treatment. To do so, a conceptual model was proposed and tested through three studies. Studies 1 and 3 involved an observational study conducted on trauma teams at a hospital in Singapore, which analysed the behaviours of 645 trauma team members. Study 2 used an anonymous online questionnaire with 303 responses to verify a behavioural coding scheme for study 3. Using hierarchical linear modeling, study 1 demonstrated that only incivility resulted in greater amounts of pain inflicted on patients, while study 3 revealed that levels of incivility and civility were partially predicted by the mindset adopted by trauma team members towards trauma treatment. To supplement these findings, on-site observations from the hospital were referenced, following which the conceptual model was revised based on results. Finally, the need to maintain incivility-free trauma treatment climates was emphasized and that adopting a more humanistic mindset could facilitate this.