393 research outputs found
Creativity Enhancement Methods for Adults: A Meta-Analysis
This meta-analysis synthesizes 332 effect sizes of various methods to enhance creativity. We clustered all studies into twelve methods to identify the most effective creativity enhancement methods. We found that, on average, creativity can be enhanced, Hedges’ g = 0.53, 95%-CI [0.44, 0.61], with 70.09% of the participants in the enhancement conditions being more creative than the average person in the control conditions. Complex training courses, meditation and cultural exposure were most effective (gs = 0.66), while the use of cognitive manipulation drugs was least and also non-effective, g = 0.10. The type of training material was also important. For instance, figural methods were more effective in enhancing creativity, and enhancing converging thinking was more effective than enhancing divergent thinking. Study effect sizes varied considerably across all studies and for many subgroup analyses, suggesting that researchers can plausibly expect to find reversed effects occasionally. We found no evidence of publication bias. We discuss theoretical implications and suggest future directions for best practice in enhancing creativity.Peer Reviewe
Do student samples provide an accurate estimate of the general public?
Most psychological studies rely on student samples. Students are usually considered as more homogenous than representative samples both within and across countries. However, little is known about the nature of the differences between student and representative samples. This is an important gap, also because knowledge about the degree of difference between student and representative samples may allow to infer from the former to the latter group. Across 59 countries and 12 personality (Big-5) and attitudinal variables we found that differences between students and general public were partly substantial, incoherent, and contradicted previous findings. Two often used cultural variables, embeddedness and intellectual autonomy, failed to explain the differences between both groups across countries. We further found that students vary as much as the general population both between and within countries. In summary, our results indicate that generalizing from students to the general public can be problematic when personal and attitudinal variables are used, as students vary mostly randomly from the general public. Findings are also discussed in terms of the replication crisis within psychology
Mapping the Structure of Human Values through Conceptual Representations
The present research provides the first direct examination of human values through concept categorization tasks that entail judging the meaning of values. Seven studies containing data from nine samples (N = 1086) in two countries (the UK and Brazil) asked participants to compare the meaning of different values found within influential quasi-circumplex model of values. Different methods were used across experiments, including direct similarity judgment tasks, pile sorting, and spatial arrangement. The results of these diverse conceptual assessments corresponded to spatial configurations that are broadly convergent with Schwartz's model, both between and within participants
Albedo and Reflection Spectra of Extrasolar Giant Planets
We generate theoretical albedo and reflection spectra for a full range of
extrasolar giant planet (EGP) models, from Jovian to 51-Pegasi class objects.
Our albedo modeling utilizes the latest atomic and molecular cross sections, a
Mie theory treatment of extinction by condensates, a variety of particle size
distributions, and an extension of the Feautrier radiative transfer method
which allows for a general treatment of the scattering phase function. We find
that due to qualitative similarities in the compositions and spectra of objects
within each of five broad effective temperature ranges, it is natural to
establish five representative EGP albedo classes: a ``Jovian'' class (T K; Class I) with tropospheric ammonia clouds, a ``water
cloud'' class (T K; Class II) primarily affected by
condensed HO, a ``clear'' class (T K; Class III)
which lacks clouds, and two high-temperature classes: Class IV (900 K
T 1500 K) for which alkali metal absorption
predominates, and Class V (T 1500 K and/or low surface
gravity ( 10 cm s)) for which a high silicate layer
shields a significant fraction of the incident radiation from alkali metal and
molecular absorption. The resonance lines of sodium and potassium are expected
to be salient features in the reflection spectra of Class III, IV, and V
objects. We derive Bond albedos and effective temperatures for the full set of
known EGPs and explore the possible effects of non-equilibrium condensed
products of photolysis above or within principal cloud decks. As in Jupiter,
such species can lower the UV/blue albedo substantially, even if present in
relatively small mixing ratios.Comment: revised LaTeX manuscript accepted to Ap.J.; also available at
http://jupiter.as.arizona.edu/~burrows/paper
Brief Resilience Scale: testing its factorial structure and invariance in Brazil
Across two studies we aimed to provide evidences of validity and reliability for the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) in Brazil. In study 1, 171 individuals participated (Age M = 21.9, SD = 6.59) and 232 in Study 2 (Age M = 26.3, SD = 7.06). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported the predicted
one-factor solution, with five items and satisfactory internal consistence (α= 0.76). A multi-group CFA revealed partial measurement equivalence between our and the original (USA) versions of the BRS. The BRS correlated significant with positivity and personality traits. The composite reliability was satisfying; the convergent validity, measured with the average variance extracted, was slightly below the recommendations. Overall, the results show that the measure is psychometrically suitable for research in Brazil
Mg-chelatase of tobacco: The role of the subunit CHL D in the chelation step of protoporphyrin IX
Organic environments on Saturn’s moon, Titan: Simulating chemical reactions and analyzing products by FT-ICR and ion-trap mass spectrometry
A self-organized model for cell-differentiation based on variations of molecular decay rates
Systemic properties of living cells are the result of molecular dynamics
governed by so-called genetic regulatory networks (GRN). These networks capture
all possible features of cells and are responsible for the immense levels of
adaptation characteristic to living systems. At any point in time only small
subsets of these networks are active. Any active subset of the GRN leads to the
expression of particular sets of molecules (expression modes). The subsets of
active networks change over time, leading to the observed complex dynamics of
expression patterns. Understanding of this dynamics becomes increasingly
important in systems biology and medicine. While the importance of
transcription rates and catalytic interactions has been widely recognized in
modeling genetic regulatory systems, the understanding of the role of
degradation of biochemical agents (mRNA, protein) in regulatory dynamics
remains limited. Recent experimental data suggests that there exists a
functional relation between mRNA and protein decay rates and expression modes.
In this paper we propose a model for the dynamics of successions of sequences
of active subnetworks of the GRN. The model is able to reproduce key
characteristics of molecular dynamics, including homeostasis, multi-stability,
periodic dynamics, alternating activity, differentiability, and self-organized
critical dynamics. Moreover the model allows to naturally understand the
mechanism behind the relation between decay rates and expression modes. The
model explains recent experimental observations that decay-rates (or turnovers)
vary between differentiated tissue-classes at a general systemic level and
highlights the role of intracellular decay rate control mechanisms in cell
differentiation.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure
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