Distinct from nominal metaphors, predicate metaphors entail metaphorical abstraction from concrete verbs, which generally involve more action and stronger motor simulation than nouns. It remains unclear whether and how the concrete, embodied aspects of verbs are connected with abstract, disembodied thinking in the brains of L2 learners. Since English predicate metaphors are unfamiliar to Chinese L2 learners, the study of embodiment effect on English predicate metaphor processing may provide new evidence for embodied cognition and categorization models that remain controversial, and (...) offer practical insights into L2 metaphor processing and pedagogy. Hence, we aim to investigate whether the embodiment of verbs, via the activation of sensorimotor information, influences two groups of L2 learners during their comprehension of conventional and novel predicate metaphors. The results show a significant effect of embodiment: a stronger facilitation for novel predicate metaphors in both higher-level and lower-level groups, and a weaker facilitation for conventional predicate metaphors in the lower-level group. The findings demonstrate preliminary evidence for a graded effect of embodiment on predicate metaphors processing, modulated by L2 proficiency and metaphor novelty. The study supports a hybrid view of embodied cognition and reveals that sensorimotor aspects of verbs may be the intermediate entity involved in the indirect categorization. (shrink)

This research revisits the conceptual foundations and definitions of ‘game’, distinguishing it from ‘sport’ and ‘play’ through an etymological and philosophical lens. Given the vast range of ‘game’ in everyday use and the enormous diversity of the activities called games, Wittgenstein argued that games cannot be defined at all but have only ‘Family Resemblances’. Philosophers such as Bernard Suits have rejected Wittgenstein’s claim that there is no commonality among all games. But in recent years, some researchers have questioned Suits’ failure (...) to refute Wittgenstein’s claim that games are definable on the basis of Wittgenstein’s anti-essentialist stance. Our analysis incorporates the interplay of etymology, historical context and philosophical discourse, clarifies the incompleteness of Suits’s definition, and addresses Meier’s physical-skill-fixed logical difficulties regarding conceptual models of ‘game’. By proposing a nuanced Venn diagram illustrating the intersections and divergences among play, game, and sport, we offer a redefinition that integrates the intrinsic motivations and societal influences underlying these activities. This redefinition emphasizes the voluntary goal-oriented, rule-constrained and non-utility nature of games while acknowledging the complex relationships between play, games, and sports within a broader socio-historical framework. (shrink)

With the deep popularity of mobile Internet, the “eyeball economy” is more active than ever. Driven by powerful modern media, livestreaming, as a new form of attracting public attention to obtain economic benefits, is worth studying its influence path on consumers. Based on the technology acceptance model and the mediating effect of emotion, this study constructs the consumer influencing factor model of livestreaming e-commerce. The research model and related hypotheses are verified by SPSS and linear multiple regression models. The research (...) found that emotional trust and perceived emotional value could be regarded as mediating variables to stimulate consumers' purchase intention in livestreaming e-commerce. They have a full mediating effect on product and atmosphere and a partial mediating effect on homogeneity and promotion, which identifies that online celebrity's homogeneity, and sales promotion could influence consumers' purchase intention through the partial mediating role of emotional trust and perceived emotional value, while product and atmosphere induced by emotional contagion could exert influence on consumers' purchase intention through the full mediating effect of emotional trust and perceived emotional value. (shrink)

PurposeThis research studies an important, but relatively unexplored entrepreneurial aspect: motivation and aspiration on opportunity finding/discovery.Design/Methodology/ApproachThis study surveyed 230 nascent entrepreneurs on their opportunity finding behavior. A poisson regression and a logistic analysis were conducted to discover the relationship between motivation/aspiration and opportunity search behavior.FindingsMotivation and aspiration interact to influence active search in a positive way. However, only willingness to become an entrepreneur is found to search for opportunities purposefully.Research Limitations/ImplicationsParticipants of the research are from a Midwest state in United (...) States. Future research may collect sample from more and larger areas.Practical ImplicationsBankers may use entrepreneurial opportunity search behavior as one criterion determining if to fund a person or not.Originality/ValueThis article answers the call to study motivation/aspiration on opportunity finding (Yitshaki and Kropp, 2018;Murnieks et al., 2020). It is one of the first studies to explore the above relationship. (shrink)

Background: The pregnancy and psychological status of infertile couples has always been a concern, but there is no clear evidence for the efficacy of psychotherapy for infertile couples. This study aimed to summarize the current evidence of the effects of psychotherapy on psychological and pregnancy outcomes for infertile couples. Method: We searched Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMbase, The Cochrane Library, and Web of Science for articles published from 1946 to June 26, 2020. The pregnancy outcomes, psychological outcomes, and acceptability were involved (...) in the study. Results: Overall, 29 studies with a combined total of 3,522 adult participants were included in the meta-analysis. Compared with a placebo, psychotherapy was associated with the pregnancy rate [risk ratio = 1.43, 95% CI [1.07, 1.93]], total psychological scales associated with infertility [standardized mean difference = −0.33 95% CI [−0.63, −0.02]], subsymptoms of psychological scores using the 28-item version of GHQ, and the integrative body–mind–spirit ; total psychological scales associated with infertility using other treatments and more than a month; and anxiety using BMS had significant statistical significance. The funnel plots of all outcomes were approximately symmetrical, and no significant publication bias was found. Conclusions: The study showed that psychotherapy can lead to improvements in the pregnancy rate for infertile patients, especially for patients receiving assisted fertility. In addition, it may help improve total psychological scales associated with infertility and depression. CBT and BMS play an important role in improving rate of pregnancy, and BMS is associated with reducing anxiety. Although psychological interventions had limited effects on the pregnancy outcomes of infertility, our study still recommended that psychotherapies, in particular CBT and BMS, were applied to the therapeutic regimen for infertility, especially for patients receiving assisted fertility. (shrink)