No abstract

False belief understanding (FBU) enables people to consider conflicting beliefs about the same situation. While language has been demonstrated to be a correlate of FBU, there is still controversy about the extent to which a specific aspect of language, complementation syntax, is a necessary condition for FBU. The present study tested an important notion from the debate proposing that complementation syntax task is redundant to FBU measures. Specifically, we examined electrophysiological correlates of false belief, false complementation, and their respective true conditions in adults using electroencephalography (EEG), focusing on indices of oscillatory brain activity and large-scale connectivity. The results showed strong modulation of parieto-occipital alpha (8-12 Hz) and beta (13-20 Hz) power by the experimental manipulations, with heightened sustained alpha power reflective of effortful internal processing observed in the false compared to the true conditions and reliable beta power reductions sensitive to mentalizing and/or syntactic demands in the belief versus the complementation conditions. In addition, higher coupling between parieto-occipital regions and widespread frontal sites in the beta band was found for the false-belief condition selectively. The result of divergence in beta oscillatory activity and in connectivity between false belief and false complementation does not support the redundancy hypothesis.

Objective: Chinese students comprise the largest group of foreign-born tertiary students studying in Australia, and these students face unique challenges when striving toward their academic goals. The challenges including acculturation stress, culture shock, and studying in a foreign language. In this article, we explore implicit acculturation strategies of China-born student sojourners in Australia, and how this relates to academic outcomes. Method: In Study 1, the capacity for the go/no-go association task to assess implicit cultural identification was established in local samples of local students (39 in Australia, 36 in China). These data were then used as a comparison after measuring the implicit acculturation of students studying abroad. Thus, in Study 2, 68 China-born student sojourners in Australia responded to this measure of implicit acculturation, as well as levels of academic adjustment, acculturation stress, and life satisfaction.Results: The sojourning sample demonstrated implicit separation acculturation attitudes, and moreover the excessive implicit associations with their home (Chinese) culture suggested an implicit cultural reaffirmation effect. Implicit acculturation was associated with increases in acculturation stress and decreases in life satisfaction, academic lifestyle, and motivation. Conclusions: These findings suggest that Chinese student sojourners may not be able to (or choose not to) self-integrate within the Australian-based education community; however, this implicit cultural reaffirmation may be beneficial for ameliorating education-related outcomes.