Table of Content

15 May 2026, Volume 42 Issue 3

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Social Mindfulness Preference of Preschool Young Children in Peer Selection from the Perspective of Traits

TAN Ruifeng, CHEN Suiqing, GUO Xinying, LI Mengna

Psychological Development and Education. 2026, 42(3):  305-314.  doi:10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2026.03.01

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Social mindfulness, as an independent trait dimension, may influence preschool children’s peer selection and preferences. This study investigated 6-year-old preschool young children’s cognitive preferences between social mindfulness and three general traits—warmth, morality, and competence—in peer selection, through three experiments involving social mindfulness understanding task and situational traits stories. The results showed: (1) Compared to optimistic/active traits, preschool young children demonstrate a higher cognitive preference for social mindfulness in peer selection; (2) Children’s cognitive preference for social mindfulness in peer selection is significantly lower than that for the sincere/integrity traits; (3) Children’s cognitive preference for social mindfulness is significantly higher than that for the intelligent traits. These experimental results indicated that social mindfulness, which mainly characterized by the intent of prosocial altruism, is relatively independent of the three general qualities of warmth, morality, and competence. Furthermore, social mindfulness could influence the social cognition and peer impression evaluation of young children, which is of great significance for understanding early childhood trait cognition and social interaction.

The Influence of Collaborative Reasoning on Chinese Adolescents’ Development of Peer Relationships

LI Xuan, MA Shufeng

Psychological Development and Education. 2026, 42(3):  315-325.  doi:10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2026.03.02

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This study introduced a student-centered, discussion-based learning format called Collaborative Reasoning (CR) in middle school classrooms and examined its impact on the development of peer relationships among Chinese adolescents. The participants included 474 seventh graders from eight classes in a rural school in northern China. Four classes, consisting of 238 students, were randomly assigned to engage in CR discussions, while the remaining four classes, with 236 students, received traditional, teacher-directed Chinese reading instruction. To assess students’ social characteristics and friendship dynamics, sociometric questionnaires were administered to all participants. Three types of friendship networks were established based on peer nominations: gained friendships, maintained friendships, and lost friendships. Social network analysis of these friendship networks revealed that students in the CR group formed more new friendships compared to those in the control group. Notably, within the CR group, quiet girls and those with low peer-liking ratings were more likely to maintain stable social networks than their counterparts in the control group. These findings indicate that CR not only promotes the development of adolescent peer relationships but also effectively maintains the stability of social networks among disadvantaged groups.

Structural Differentiation of Executive Function in Children with Reading Difficulties Lags behind that of Typically Developing Children

HAN Yan, GUO Xiaolin, YANG Wenjing, ZHANG Heng, WANG Tengfei

Psychological Development and Education. 2026, 42(3):  326-336.  doi:10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2026.03.03

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Although there have been studies indicating that children with reading difficulties perform worse on executive function tasks than typically developing children, it remains unclear whether there is a distinction in the structure of executive function between the two groups of children. The present study, for the first time, explored the structure of executive function in children with reading difficulties. To this end, children with reading difficulties in grades 3~6 (n = 117) and typically developing children (n = 117) were asked to complete seven experimental tasks tapping working memory updating, inhibition and shifting. First, the analysis of variance was conducted to test the differences in the performance on executive function tasks between children with reading difficulties and typically developing children. Second, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to verify five competing models among children with reading difficulties and typically developing children, respectively. The results showed that children with reading difficulties performed significantly worse than their typically developing counterparts on working memory updating, inhibition and shifting tasks. More importantly, the working memory updating, inhibition and shifting components were characterized as an undistinguished single-factor structure in children with reading difficulties. However, in the control group, working memory updating had differentiated into an independent component, while inhibition and shifting remained undissociated. In summary, the executive function deficits of children with reading difficulties are reflected not only at the task-performance level, but also at the structural level. Specifically, the structural differentiation of executive function in children with reading difficulties lags behind that of typically developing children.

Abnormal Social Punishment Avoidance Processing in Individuals with Internet Gaming Disorder: Evidence from an ERP Study

NIE Yufeng, GUO Junyi, HE Jinbo, LI Yongxin

Psychological Development and Education. 2026, 42(3):  337-347.  doi:10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2026.03.04

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Recent studies have revealed abnormalities in social reward processing among individuals with internet gaming disorder (IGD). Both punishment avoidance and reward acquisition in social interactions serve as motivational drivers, and this dual mechanism may jointly influence the behavioral patterns of IGD individuals. This study employed a Social Incentive Delay task combined with event-related potential (ERP) techniques to investigate game-related versus real-life social punishment avoidance processing in IGD subjects. Behavioral results demonstrated that IGD participants exhibited significantly shorter reaction times in game-social contexts compared to real-social contexts. At the neural level, game-social incentive cues elicited significantly larger cue-P3 amplitudes than real-social cues, while successful game-social punishment avoidance evoked greater reward positivity (RewP) compared to real-social avoidance. These findings suggest that IGD individuals demonstrate stronger motivational drive for avoiding game-social punishments than real-social punishments, and experience enhanced reward effects when successfully evading game-social punishments.

Musical Experience Mitigates the Age-related Decline in Categorical Perception of Lexical Tones: Working Memory Is the Mediator

HE Mengjie, YAO Yao, CHEN Fei

Psychological Development and Education. 2026, 42(3):  348-357.  doi:10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2026.03.05

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Previous studies have shown that musical experience is beneficial for improving speech perception at the segmental level in older adults. However, it is unclear whether it could help mitigate the decline in categorical perception (CP) of lexical tones at the suprasegmental level. Furthermore, the cognitive mechanisms underlying the effects of musical experience on CP in older adults remains unknown. To investigate the issue, this study employed a classical CP experimental paradigm to compare the performance of younger musicians, younger non-musicians, older musicians, and older non-musicians on the perception of Mandarin tones (T1-T2) continuum. The results revealed that: (1) Compared to younger individuals, older participants showed a significant decline in CP of lexical tones, but musical experience could enhance their CP competence; (2) Age and musical experience had opposite impacts on influencing older adults’ CP performance through working memory mediation. The findings indicated that musical experience could improve CP ability by enhancing working memory, thereby delaying the decline in fine-grained pitch perception in older adults. The findings provided a solid theoretical foundation for conducting musical training to combat age-related decline in speech perception, which will further deepen the application of musical training in the fields of education and healthcare.

The Changes of Donation Behavior in China: An Age-period-cohort Effects Analysis (2010—2022)

WANG Linxin, LIN Jing, KOU Yu

Psychological Development and Education. 2026, 42(3):  358-369.  doi:10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2026.03.06

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As a crucial aspect of social capital, donation behavior is the typical prosocial behavior in which individuals voluntarily donate money, goods, or time to individuals, groups, or institutions in need. The current study utilized seven-wave data (N = 76377, 44.89% females; age range: 18~100 years old, M_age = 52.85 years old, SD = 16.41) based on the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) spanning from 2010 to 2022, including adult and household economic questionnaires. Employing hierarchical age-period-cohort-cross-classified random effects models (HAPC-CCREM), the current study investigated the trends in changes in Chinese donation behavior. Our results indicated: (1) Donation behavior exhibited an inverted J-shaped trend concerning age; (2) After controlling for demographic and socio-economic status variables, period effects revealed a U-shaped trend in donation behavior from 2010 to 2020, followed by a decline in 2022 in China; (3) Cohort effects revealed a V-shaped pattern in donation behavior among cohorts born between 1912 and 2002. In specific, two peaks were observed in the 1912—1926 Cohort and 1978—1984 Cohort, while the 1958—1961 Cohort was at the lowest point. Subsequently, there was a decline in donation behavior in the 1985—1991 Cohort and 1992—2002 Cohort.

Active Control Influences Self-regulated Category Learning: The “Decision-driven” Perspective

ZHENG Xiaoxing, LI Peijin, XING Qiang

Psychological Development and Education. 2026, 42(3):  370-378.  doi:10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2026.03.07

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The “decision-driven” view of the self-regulated learning advantage has been demonstrated in the area of memory, and while minimal control is sufficient to improve memory, the role of autonomy in higher-order tasks is not yet clear. In this study, we examined the sources and mechanisms of the self-regulated learning advantage based on a category learning task using the yoked design with progressively higher levels of autonomy, and used sequence entropy to characterize the orderliness of autonomy in the selection of categories. The results showed that no self-regulated learning advantage was found when learning intervals or control intervals and durations were autonomously controlled; a self-regulated categorical transfer advantage was found when learning intervals, durations, and sequences were autonomously controlled, and self-regulated individuals dynamically adapted their sequential decision-making during the learning process, preferring an interleaved strategy at a later stage. Self-regulated learning eventually facilitated category generalization as the level of autonomy control increased.

The Effect of Adult’s Gesture in Picture Book Shared-reading on Story Retelling of 4- to 6-year-olds

ZHANG Wenjie, YANG Li, WANG Yaqin, ZHANG Xinyue, FAN Wei

Psychological Development and Education. 2026, 42(3):  379-390.  doi:10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2026.03.08

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The present study examined the effects of adults’ gestures in picture book shared-reading videos on story retelling among children aged 4 to 6 years.In Experiment 1, 166 children aged 4 to 6 years were randomly assigned to either a natural gestures group or a non-gestures group. The results showed that children who viewed the shared-reading videos with natural gestures performed better in story retelling than those in the non-gestures group.Building on these findings,Experiment 2 randomly assigned 266 children aged 4 to 6 years to four groups: iconic gestures, deictic gestures, beat gestures, and no gestures. The results showed that children who viewed the shared-reading videos with iconic gestures performed better in story retelling than those exposed to deictic gestures, beat gestures, or non-gestures. Moreover, the facilitative effect of gestures, especially iconic gestures, on story retelling became more pronounced as the children grew older. These results indicate that adults’ gestures in picture book shared-reading videos are beneficial for enhancing story retelling in 4- to 6-year-old children, with iconic gestures showing the most significant positive impact.

The Role of Character Recognition and Rapid Naming on Reading Fluency: Based on Component and Development View

LI Liping, LUO Li, WU Xinchun

Psychological Development and Education. 2026, 42(3):  391-399.  doi:10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2026.03.09

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Aiming to explore the role of character recognition and rapid naming on reading fluency, 564 children from 1~4 grades in two primary schools were tested by character recognition, rapid naming and reading fluency in a cross sectional study. At the same time, in order to examine the effect of character recognition and rapid naming on subsequent reading fluency, a four-year longitudinal study was conducted on 116 children. The results were found: (1) Character recognition and rapid naming predicted the concurrent reading fluency significantly; (2) Character recognition in grade 2 and 3 predicted significantly subsequent reading fluency in grade 3 and 4; rapid naming in grade 1, 2 and 3 predicted significantly the subsequent reading fluency in grade2, 3 and 4. This research suggested that character recognition and rapid naming had an important influence on the reading fluency.

The Effect of Visual-audio Modalities on Text Comprehension in Chinese Children

JIANG Mengwen, LENG Qiuyi, LI Hong

Psychological Development and Education. 2026, 42(3):  400-407.  doi:10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2026.03.10

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This study aimed to explore the effect of modalities on text comprehension in Chinese children across different grades. In Experiment 1, participants were 298 elementary children in Grades 2, 4 and 6. We compared their text comprehension under two modalities (listening only, reading only). In Experiment 2, participants were 466 elementary children in Grades 1 through 5. We added dual-modality text comprehension and compared their text comprehension under three modalities (listening only, reading only, and dual-modality). The character recognition efficiency test assessed children’s decoding ability to explore its role in the modality effect model on text comprehension. The results indicated that: (1) Reading comprehension equals listening comprehension by Grade 2; (2) Dual-modality text comprehension is more beneficial; (3) Strong decoding skills accelerate parity between listening and reading comprehension in early grades. This study reveals the impact of modalities on Chinese children’s text comprehension, offering significant implications for future educational practices.

Influence of Teacher Feedback Timing and Feedback Complexity on College Students’ Learning Engagement during Online Video Learning

LIU Ying, LIU Rude, MAO Chenying, LIN Jingmin, LIU Jiabin

Psychological Development and Education. 2026, 42(3):  408-417.  doi:10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2026.03.11

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Regarding the controversial findings about how teacher feedback timing affects learning engagement, it might be due to the moderation of feedback complexity. This study examines the impact of teacher feedback timing (synchronous vs. asynchronous) and feedback complexity (simple vs. elaborate) on college students’ learning engagement during online learning. An event-based experience sampling method was employed in study 1 to collect 984 valid data points during online video learning from 68 sophomore students (M_age=19.01±0.79, 89.71% female) over a period of five weeks. Participants were randomly selected through cluster sampling from two out of ten online and offline blended teaching classes at a university. The results indicated an interactive effect of feedback timing and feedback complexity on cognitive engagement. Specifically, in simple feedback situations, feedback timing was not related to cognitive engagement. Whereas in elaborate feedback situations, immediate/synchronous feedback had a significantly more positive impact on cognitive engagement than delayed feedback. Study 2 used an experimental design, randomly selecting 88 sophomore students (M_age=19.35±0.85, 86.36% female), to further examine the impact of manipulated feedback timing and feedback complexity on learning engagement. The results showed that feedback timing and feedback complexity had an interactive effect on affective engagement. Specifically, in simple feedback situations, feedback timing was not related to students’ affective engagement. However, in elaborate feedback situations, immediate feedback had a significantly more positive impact on affective engagement than the task-completed feedback. This study reveals the moderating role of feedback complexity in the process of learning engagement influenced by different types of feedback timing, thereby deepening the understanding of the complex relationship between teacher feedback and learning engagement.

The Relationship between Purpose in Life, Self-control and Academic Burnout of College Students: A Longitudinal Study

WAN Huanlan, NIU Yujie, WANG Bochen, JIN Cancan

Psychological Development and Education. 2026, 42(3):  418-426.  doi:10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2026.03.12

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The present study explored the relationship between purpose in life, self-control, and academic burnout of college students. We used a half-longitudinal design to test 375 college students. The results showed that purpose in life at T1 significantly predicted self-control at T2, and self-control at T1 significantly predicted academic burnout at T2. Self-control mediated the relationship between purpose in life and academic burnout. There were two types of academic burnout among college students: “high burnout group” and “low burnout group”, with high stability of the academic burnout category. Purpose in life and self-control predicted the change in the academic burnout category. The results of this study provide an empirical basis for alleviating the academic burnout of contemporary college students and establishing correct life goals, and promote the positive development of college students.

The Effect of Left-behind Adversity on the Developmental Trajectory of Personal Growth Initiative of Left-behind Children in Junior Middle School: The Mediation of the Developmental Trajectory of Social Support

FAN Xinghua, JIN Jianing, YAN Lifei, LI Xiaotong, DENG Huixi

Psychological Development and Education. 2026, 42(3):  427-436.  doi:10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2026.03.13

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The survey was conducted with children in Grade 7 from five rural middle schools in Hunan Province three times over two years. 363 children who had been left behind (left-behind children, LBC) during the period were taken as the research objects. Latent Growth Modeling (LGM) was used to investigate the influence of T1 left-behind adversity on the development trajectory of personal growth initiative (PGI) and the mediating effect of social support. Results showed that the level of PGI of LBC in junior middle school was linearly decreased, and the level of social support was relatively stable; T1 left-behind adversity was negatively correlated with the intercept of PGI but positively correlated with the slope of PGI, which were partially and fully mediated by the intercept and slope of social support respectively. It can be seen that left-behind adversity will weaken LBC’s current PGI, but slow down its subsequent descent speed concurrently, thus showing a coexistence of negative and positive influences called “double-edged sword” effect. In this process, the development of social support plays a longitudinal mediating role.

Longitudinal Associations between Parental Emotional Warmth and Adolescent Prosocial Behavior Tendency: The Mediation Role of Upward Social Comparison

ZHAO Taige, SHENG Liang, GAO Junjie, XIN Sufei

Psychological Development and Education. 2026, 42(3):  437-446.  doi:10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2026.03.14

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In order to explore the longitudinal association and internal mechanism between parental emotional warmth and prosocial behavior tendency. This study recruited 1,647 adolescents for a two-wave longitudinal surveys. The results showed that: (1) The bidirectional predictive relationship between parental emotional warmth and prosocial behavior tendency is only valid between parental emotional warmth and anonymous prosocial behavior tendency; (2) Parental emotional warmth promotes the development of adolescent’s public and anonymous prosocial behavior tendency by improving their upward social comparison; (3) The mediating effect of upward social comparison between parental emotional warmth and public prosocial behavior tendency is stronger than its effect between parental emotional warmth and anonymous prosocial behavior tendency. The study shows that parental emotional warmth promotes the development of adolescent prosocial behavior tendency through shaping upward social comparison, and forms a cyclic enhancement model with upward social comparison and anonymous prosocial behavior.

The Influence of Family Socioeconomic Status on the Development of Social Competence during Early Adolescence: Longitudinal Mediating Effect of General Self-concept

LIU Yang, YAN Zhe, CHANG Shumin

Psychological Development and Education. 2026, 42(3):  447-456.  doi:10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2026.03.15

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To investigate the influence of family socioeconomic status (SES) on the development of social competence during early adolescence and examine the longitudinal mediating effect of general self-concept, a sample of 1041 seventh grade students was followed up three times over two years using questionnaire surveys. Results indicated that both social competence and general self-concept exhibited linear increasing trends during early adolescence. The mechanisms of SES effects on social competence development were as follows: SES directly predicted the initial level of social competence and indirectly predicted it through the initial level of general self-concept. Additionally, SES influenced the growth rate of social competence via the growth rate of general self-concept. These findings demonstrate that general self-concept plays a longitudinal mediating role in the relationship between family socioeconomic status and the development of social competence during early adolescence.