Conditioned Reflex and Perception: The Concept of Syncretism

Delay discounting occurs when the subjective value of an outcome decreases because its delivery is delayed. Past research has shown that how steeply participants discount an outcome varies inversely with the value of previously discounted outcomes. In the present study, participants discounted the same hypothetical monetary outcome ($1,000) after their hypothetical annual income was halved (Experiment 1) or doubled (Experiment 2). Rates of discounting decreased and increased, respectively, after these manipulations (although a similar change in discounting was observed for the control and treatment groups in Experiment 2). These results suggest that altering the context in which the discounting task is framed alters the subjective value of the outcome itself, in this case money. This result has implications for understanding contrast effects that are observed in rates of discounting, as well as for researchers and practitioners who are interested in determining methods for altering how individuals discount delayed outcomes.     

《四库全书》关于“意志”概念的描述

用文渊阁《四库全书》电子版检索"意""志""意志"等词汇,运用内容分析法,发现中国文化认为"意""志"是人体器官"心"所具有的能力,心包含"性"与"情","意"、"志"统属于"情";基于此,先秦文献中使用"意"或"志"时可以互换,"志意"、"意志"含义相同;心以自禁、自使的能力"节"意、"立"志,于此层面上所说的"意志"才具有心理学含义,指克服自身缺陷而与善性合一的心理过程。     

The Concept of Psychological Health in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy

The argument has been made that if Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is to survive and prosper in the 21st century, its underlying personality theory requires further development and clarification. In this spirit, the concept of psychological health in REBT theory is examined in the present article. The concept of psychological health in personality theories is discussed briefly, as are the core aspects of the REBT view of emotional disturbance. Given that necessary context, a definition of the essence of psychological health in REBT theory is proposed and discussed. The clinical implications of the proposed definition are then explored.     

Application of the Generalized Matching Law for Description of Student Behavior in the Classroom

Matching law and theory have applied implications for classroom instruction and student behavior. The Generalized Matching Law (GML) is examined in this exploratory study to assess its utility for quantitatively describing student behavior in the classroom. Data were collected using computer-based observational software. Time-lag sequential analysis was used to identify specific teacher behaviors following specific student behaviors as estimates of reinforcement. Derived rates of student and teacher behaviors were analyzed in a linear regression of the natural logarithmic form of the GML. On average, the GML described over 70% of the variance in two students' behavior in a first-grade regular education classroom. Discussion addresses the potential utility of the GML for observation and intervention in the classroom.     

A Model of Knower-Level Behavior in Number Concept Development

Abstract We develop and evaluate a model of behavior on the Give- N task, a commonly used measure of young children's number knowledge. Our model uses the knower-level theory of how children represent numbers. To produce behavior on the Give- N task, the model assumes that children start out with a base rate that makes some answers more likely a priori than others but is updated on each experimental trial in a way that depends on the interaction between the experimenter's request and the child's knower level. We formalize this process as a generative graphical model, so that the parameters—including the base rate distribution and each child's knower level—can be inferred from data using Bayesian methods. Using this approach, we evaluate the model on previously published data from 82 children spanning the whole developmental range. The model provides an excellent fit to these data, and the inferences about the base rate and knower levels are interpretable and insightful. We discuss how our modeling approach can be extended to other developmental tasks and can be used to help evaluate alternative theories of number representation against the knower-level theory.     

Merely Activating the Concept of Money Changes Personal and Interpersonal Behavior

ABSTRACT— Money plays a significant role in people's lives, and yet little experimental attention has been given to the psychological underpinnings of money. We systematically varied whether and to what extent the concept of money was activated in participants' minds using methods that minimized participants' conscious awareness of the money cues. On the one hand, participants reminded of money were less helpful than were participants not reminded of money, and they also preferred solitary activities and less physical intimacy. On the other hand, reminders of money prompted participants to work harder on challenging tasks and led to desires to take on more work as compared to participants not reminded of money. In short, even subtle reminders of money elicit big changes in human behavior.     

The Interrater Reliability of Subjective Assessments of the Babinski Reflex

The Babinski reflex is a clinical diagnostic tool; however, the interrater reliability of this tool is currently greatly contested. A comparison between rater groups with objective measurements of the Babinski reflex was therefore conducted. Fifteen recorded Babinski reflexes were assessed by 12 neurologists and 12 medical students as being either pathological or nonpathological. Kinematic and electromyographic variables were collected and used to assess which aspects of the Babinski reflex predict classification. Substantial interrater agreement within the neurologist and student groups (κ = .72 and .67, respectively) was shown; however, there were some differing aspects between what neurologists and students used to assess the reflex as determined by objective kinematic measurements.     

Career Process: A New Concept for Vocational Behavior

Vocational guidance has been traditionally too concerned with helping individuals choose an occupation. There is need for more awareness of change in vocational life. The concept “career process” stresses the continual changes and the varied developmental tasks in occupational life. Implicit in the career process concept is that no final ohoicepoint in vocational behavior exists; rather, counselors should help the individual learn key developmental tasks that will ultimately better equip him to face the realities of change as a part of vocational life.     

Changes in Skin Potentials During the Psychogalvanic Reflex

Researchers have shown that working memory is related to a variety of high-level cognitive processes. However, the results of recent research have suggested that may be because of its role in attentional control. In the present experiment, the authors investigated that hypothesis by using an attentional interference task with musical stimuli. Listeners were asked to monitor one ear for either a clarinet or violin tone and to ignore any information in the other ear. On some of the trials, they heard only one tone and on other trials, either the same instrument in both ears or different instruments. Individual differences were measured in working memory and musical experience. The results showed more attentional interference in the different-instrument condition for participants with lower working memory scores, which suggested that working memory involves the ability to control attention to inhibit irrelevant information.     

Reflex and reflectivity: Wuwei in the Zhuangzi

I will explicate Zhuangzi's conception of wuwei as it is articulated in the image of the ‘hinge of dao.’ First, I will discuss the few actual instances of the term “wuwei’ in the Zhuangzi. Second, I will show that the text uses this imagery to suggest an adaptive or reflective mode of conduct. Third, I will analyse the metaphor of the hinge, and show how this metaphor can illuminate Zhuangzi's notion of wuwei and the behaviour of the realised person. I will show that the hinge represents the way in which the ideal person responds to inevitability, and that Zhuangzi's ideal person could be described as “perfectly well‐adjusted”. Finally, I will demonstrate that this reading offers new meanings and textures to a text that has long been read in only certain ways, so that many of its subtleties have been overlooked.     

The Troublesome Concept of the Person

In today'sbioethical debates, the concept of the person plays a major role. However, it does not hold this role justly. The purpose of this paper is to argue that the concept of the person is unsuited to be a central concept in bioethical debates, because its use is connected with serious problems. First, the concept is superfluous. Secondly, it is a confusing concept and it lacks pragmatic use. Thirdly, its use leads to simplifications. Finally, the concept can easily be used as a cover-up concept. Therefore, it is argued that relinquishing the concept of the person could enhance the clarity and quality of bioethical debate. Moreover, the historic origin of much of the present confusion surrounding the concept of the person is clarified. It is demonstrated that three influences resulting from Locke'sideas on the person and personal identity can be determined as contributing factors to the confusion and controversy within the present bioethical debates centering around the person.