News

Jokes for the brain: Unlock the neural mechanisms of the brain in reading different humorous materials

Humor is a good medicine for physical and mental health, as well as an effective lubricant for interpersonal relationships. Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have revealed the neural structure of the brain in reading humorous materials, and the different brain regions dedicated to reading and understanding different humorous materials. Based on this, Chen and Chang’s research team is the first to use event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate the cognitive processes of different humorous materials, taking advantage of the high temporal resolution of ERPs to clarify the dynamic temporal differences in the cognitive processes of humor comprehension. The results not only enable us to understand how the brain interprets different types of humorous materials (e.g., pun jokes and semantic jokes) from the perspective of brain science, but also contribute to the integration of psychological research in Taiwan and abroad, and facilitate academic/scientific exchanges between international scholars.

Taiwan's motorcycle waterfall spectacle poses health risks

Motorcycles are the most common mode of transportation in Taiwan, as they are convenient and can quickly reach their destination, saving a great deal of commuting time, but is riding a motorcycle related to people's healthy lifestyle habits? Or is it related to increasing the risk of obesity? The research team of Professor Liao in the Department of Health Promotion and Health Education at National Taiwan Normal University conducted a series of analyses and discussions on this topic. The research team measured motorcycle use behavior among more than 1,000 Taiwanese adults and explored their association with healthy lifestyle habits and obesity risk. The first findings showed that “high motorcycle users” (more than 280 minutes per week) had a 1.5-fold increase in obesity risk compared with "non-motorcycle users." The second study found that Taiwanese adults who ride more than 30 minutes a day on motorcycles replace more traffic-related physical activity (such as walking and cycling). Based on the results of this study, it is suggested that health promotion programs need to be designed specifically for the motorcycle population in the future.

Does online social anxiety using instant messaging software affect job engagement?

In today's workplace, it is a social trend for workers to have a variety of evolving real-time communication software to help them communicate and coordinate at work. The Instant Messaging (IM) software LINE has played an important role in the trend of responding to the real-time needs of the public to improve government effectiveness. However, because of its immediacy and convenience, government workers often receive a high volume of messages. There is a lack of relevant and objective research data on the impact on civil servants’ perceived experiences of their work under such a workplace norm as a basis for promoting the use of LINE in the government sector. To address this gap, this study examined the relationship between online social anxiety, Line cognitive fatigue (LCF), perceived information overload of instant messaging (PIOIM), and job engagement among civil servants based on the media richness theory.

Taiwan 3-year-olds average over 2 hours of daily screen time: survey

Over 90 percent of Taiwanese children aged between 3 and 5 use personal electronic devices at home, with 3-year-olds averaging an overall screen time of two hours and 17 minutes per day, according to a survey released on Thursday.

Does it matter if you regret it? Using negative experience to open the door to the future

From childhood, we were taught to strive for a life without regrets, but in reality, things often go against our wishes. Since regret is a common feeling, what is the thing we regret most in life? According to Western studies, the most regretful thing is, surprisingly, education, ranking much higher than career, love, upbringing, and security (Streep & Bernstein, 2015). Fries et al. (2005) also found that regardless of whether they had clear academic goals or not, as many as 90% of students reported experiencing confusion and conflict over course selection, which had a profound impact on their cognitive experiences and academic emotion.