认知方式、视错觉及其关系的跨文化研究

运用测验法研究了藏、回、汉族小学三年级、五年级、初二、高二共1032名儿童认知方式的特点,考察了不同认知方式与视错觉之间的关系。结果表明:1)认知方式的民族、居住环境和年龄差异显著,藏族儿童、居住在草原上的儿童、低年级儿童倾向于场依存性,汉族和回族儿童、生活在城市和山村的儿童、高年级儿童倾向于场独立性;2)视错觉的文化差异显著,居住环境和年龄是影响视错觉的重要变量;3)认知方式对视错觉有影响,场独立性者错觉量小,场依存性者错觉量大。     

环境因素与出生缺陷

出生缺陷是严重影响出生人口素质的重要因素之一。引起出生缺陷的因素分为遗传因素和环境因素,单纯由遗传因素或环境因素引起的出生缺陷不到其总数的1/3,另外2/3以上的出生缺陷是由遗传因素和环境因素共同作用所导致的。因此,只有不断深入研究和认识导致出生缺陷发生的原因,辩证地分析不同环境因素在出生缺陷中的作用,才能采取相应的预防和治疗措施,这对于提高出生人口素质具有十分重要的现实意义。     

论中国多民族认知方式的跨文化研究

本文在国内外跨文化心理学研究的背景上,论述了中国多民族认知方式跨文化研究的理论意义和实际意义,提出了这一研究的目的和主要任务,并从多方法结合的角度阐述了被试的选择、社会人类学方法、心理测量学方法及具体测验的编制,以及材料的整合与分析等问题。     

少数民族的认知方式

认知方式是人们在对信息和经验进行组织和加工过程中表现出来的个别差异, 是一个人在感知、记忆和思维中经常采取的、受到偏爱的和习惯化了的态度与风格。少数民族认知方式的跨文化研究集中在认知方式的发展规律、认知方式的性别差异、民族间认知方式的差异, 以及与其他变量相关程度的探究上。     

学生认知方式与性格特质相互关系的跨文化研究

场独立性认知方式(Field Independent Cognitive Style)是威特金最早用来把性格特征与认知过程统一起来的一个基本概念。他从长期的实证研究结果中发现,场独立性认知方式对人的各种活动(包括知觉过程、心理能力、情绪问题和人际关系)具有普遍的影响,是广泛起作用的个别差异变量,是性格的重要维度。那么这种性格维度究竟是性格特征在认知过程中的特有表现,还是它本身就是性格结构中的一个独立维度呢?     

表情认知与人格的关系研究

表情认知是非言语认知技能中最主要的成分。个体的表情认知与诸多人格特征有密切的关系,本文综述了表情认知与人格特质、表情认知中的人格线索、表情认知偏差中人格特质的作用等方面的研究,并在此基础上做了概要性评价。     

具体认知和抽象认知与社会文化因素的关系

采用认知测试、查阅人类学资料、现场调查和谈话等多种方法,探讨了我国不同生产方式、不同地区和不同民族４６０名成人的具体认知、抽象认知和认知方式及其与生态文化因素的关系。研究结果基本支持了我们理论上所假设的社会文化因素与具体认知操作、抽象认知操作、认知方式的关系,即狩猎和城市社会的生态环境和生产方式对人施加一种生态压力,增进其个体的具体的和抽象的认知,促使其抽象型认知方式的形成;而在捕鱼、游牧和农耕社会的生态环境和生产方式的作用下,个体倾向于较低水平的具体和抽象认知操作以及具体型的认知方式。紧密的社会结构和强调服从的社会化过程,与其个体较低水平的具体和抽象认知及具体型的认知方式相关联;而松散的社会结构和强调自主性的社会化过程,与较高水平具体和抽象认知操作、抽象型的认知方式相联系。正规教育等现代化因素是促进人认知,特别是抽象认知的有力因素。     

数量认知和密度认知的关系

数量和密度认知的关系是数量认知研究的关键问题。相关研究在三个方面存在不足：首先, 先前实验研究缺乏对两种加工的有效操控和区分; 其次, 现有理论或认为“数量和密度加工完全独立”, 或认为“数量加工是对密度进行推论的结果”, 比较片面; 第三, 已有理论模型抽象, 不重视功能模块的解释。基于数量认知的多阶段加工特点, 未来研究可以讨论数量认知进行基于密度认知的整合加工的可能性, 提出整合数量和密度加工的理论构想。     

认知操作和认知方式与生态文化因素的关系

采用认识测试、查阅人类学资料、现场调查和谈话等多种方法探讨了我国不同生产方式、不同地区和不同民族４６０名成人的分析综合的认知操作和认知方式及其与生态文化因素的关系．认知测试分数的８×２×３的ＡＮＯＶＡ协方差分析表明,在分析操作水平上存在着显著的组间差异、性别差异、年龄差异和协变量（现代化影响）的效应;在综合操作上,存在着显著的组间差异、年龄差异和协变量效应;在认知方式上,存在着显著的组间差异和协变量效应．Ｓｔｅ－ｐｗｉｓｅ方法的多重回归分析表明,生态环境艰难程度、生产方式所决定的食物贮存程度、社会结构的紧密性、社会化的倾向性和现代化影响是预测被试认知操作和认知方式的有效因素．研究结果与“中国人认知操作和认知方式与生态文化关系”的理论模式所提出的预测基本一致,即研究结果支持了该理论模式．     

认知操作、认知方式与外倾性人格特质的关系

对28名外倾被试和28名内倾被试进行实验性认知测试,以考察认知操作、认知方式与外倾性人格特质的关系。结果表明,内外倾被试在含有社会认知操作、非社会认知操作的认知任务的测试总分上没有差异,而在社会认知一非社会认知方式的评价分数上存在显著差异。外倾被试更多地倾向于社会认知型认知方式,内倾被试更多地倾向于非社会认知型认知方式。研究结果支持了外倾性与智力关系的假设：外倾性与社会认知一非社会认知的认知方式存在相关关系,而与认知操作测试总分无关。     

Relationship Between Private Religious Activity and Physical Functioning in Older Adults

This study sought to further understand the relationship between physical functioning and use of private religious activity in older adults. Subjects were age 65 or older from urban and rural counties in North Carolina who participated in the Duke University Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (Duke/EPESE). A total of 3,851 subjects responded to a question that inquired about their use of prayer, meditation, or Bible reading in 1986. Their response was correlated to number of impairments in activities of daily living (ADLs) (n = 3,791). Subjects who indicated use of private religious activity either dailyor neverhad the greatest number of impairments. Those who prayed or meditated one time per weekhad the least number of impairments. This cross-sectional finding is explained in terms of both changes in private religious activity in response to increasing physical disability and changes in physical disability in response to private religious activity. Previous research has found that prayer is often used as an effective coping mechanism with various sicknesses and chronic conditions. Further studies are needed to examine older individuals' health over time and evaluate their use of private religious activity to see its impact over time on physical disability.     

Gender Differences and Cognition Among Older Adults

The more replicated findings about gender difference in cognitive performance suggest female superiority on visuomotor speed and language ability and male superiority on mechanical and visuospatial tasks. Generally, group strengths found in the early school years become more established at adolescence and remain stable through adulthood. The current study tested whether the patterns established in the early years remained among 30 adult subjects. We also utilized a series of exploratory analyses to determine if observed gender differences were impacted by the covariance present between all cognitive tests. Results suggest that although the patterns established in the early years remain stable through time for males, the established patterns for females are altered with age. Our findings are compelling in supporting a male advantage on visuospatial tasks among older adults. These findings are discussed in terms of common variance between test instruments as a possible source of difference. Our finding that the gender effect tended to increase when common variance was controlled argues that this methodology may enhance the ability to detect domain specific effects.     

The Relationship Between Spirituality and Eysenck's Personality Dimensions: A Replication Among English Adults

A serial recall task was used to compare performance of 15 normal and 15 learning disabled elementary school children matched on CA, IQ, and sex with two and three dimensional representations of nonverbal eight-point shapes. Two a priori assumptions were not supported: (a) no differences in recall were found between groups and (b) no differences in recall were found for either group using two or three dimensional stimuli. Three imensional stimuli did facilitate visual rehearsal at the primacy position for both groups. Learning disabled children's performance was consistent with the mediation deficiency hypothesis found with normal children.     

What Studies of Actors and Acting Can Tell Us About Memory and Cognitive Functioning

ABSTRACT— The art of acting has been defined as the ability to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances. Our many years of researching theatrical expertise have produced findings relevant to text comprehension, learning theory, cognitive aging, and expert memory. In this article, we first discuss how large amounts of dialogue, learned in a very short period, can be reproduced in real time with complete spontaneity. We then turn to abstracting the essence of acting and applying it to diverse undertakings, from discovering optimal learning strategies to promoting healthy cognitive aging. Finally, we address the implications of acting expertise on current theories of embodied cognition.     

The Relationship Between Childhood Teasing and Later Interpersonal Functioning

The current study explored the relationship between recall of a form of bullying, specifically childhood teasing, and later interpersonal functioning in a sample of 414 college students. It was predicted that memories of frequent teasing during childhood would be associated with fewer close friends, a more anxious attachment style in the context of romantic relationships, and lower social self-esteem in early adulthood. Although recalled-teasing was not associated with number of friends later in life, it was related to other interpersonal difficulties. Specifically, frequent teasing was associated with less comfort with intimacy and closeness, less comfort in trusting and depending on others, a greater degree of worry about being unloved or abandoned in relationships, and poorer social self-esteem. The relationship of these difficulties to specific domains of teasing was also explored.     

The Cognitive Neuroscience of Aging and Culture

ABSTRACT— Research into the cognitive neuroscience of aging has revealed exciting and unexpected changes to the brain over the lifespan. However, studies have mostly been conducted on Western populations, raising doubts about the universality of age-related changes. Cross-cultural investigation of aging provides a window into the stability of changes with age due to neurobiology, as well as into the flexibility of aging due to life experiences that impact cognition. Behavioral findings suggest that different cultures process distinct aspects of information and employ diverse information-processing strategies. The study of aging allows us to identify those age-related neural changes that persist across cultures as well as the changes that are driven by culture-specific life experiences.     

Social Network Size and Cognitive Functioning in Middle-Aged Adults: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Associations

The objective of the present study was to examine relations between social network size and three cognitive abilities (episodic memory, semantic memory, visuospatial ability) in middle-aged adults. We analyzed cross-sectional data on social network size and cognitive functioning that were available for 804 participants aged 40–60 years. In addition, we examined 5- and 10-year follow-up measurements of cognitive functioning that were available for 604 and 255 participants, respectively. Cross-sectional analyses revealed a positive association between social network size and each of the three cognitive abilities. Baseline network size was positively related to 5-year changes in semantic memory, and to 10-year changes in semantic as well as episodic memory, but was unrelated to changes in visuospatial performance. A minor portion of the sample (n = 131) had 10-year follow-up data on network size. Cross-lagged panel correlations revealed that baseline network size was associated with follow-up measurement in cognitive functioning (episodic memory, semantic memory), whereas baseline cognitive performance was unrelated to future network size. Together, the results demonstrate a small but positive relation between network size and declarative memory abilities, in line with models proposing a cognitive reserve built up by factors such as the increased cognitive stimulation associated with a more extensive social network.     

Culture and Cognitive Development

Human beings are biologically adapted for culture in ways that other primates are not. The difference can be clearly seen when the social learning skills of humans and their nearest primate relatives are systematically compared. The human adaptation for culture begins to make itself manifest in human ontogeny at around 1 year of age as human infants come to understand other persons as intentional agents like the self and so engage in joint attentional interactions with them. This understanding then enables young children (a) to employ some uniquely powerful forms of cultural learning to acquire the accumulated wisdom of their cultures, especially as embodied in language, and also (b) to comprehend their worlds in some uniquely powerful ways involving perspectivally based symbolic representations.     

爬行经验与婴儿空间认知能力的发展

本研究采用“A非B”时间延搁测验对34名9-12个月缨儿的爬行经验与其空间认知能力发展的关系进行了研究。协方差分析表明,婴儿的爬行经验对其在“A非B”延搁任务中表现出来的空间认知能力有显著的主效应,而年龄的效应不明显;进一步分析显示,爬行经验7周以内的婴儿与爬行经验10周以上的婴儿空间认知能力发展水平差异显著。本研究说明,爬行经验与婴儿在“A非B”延搁任务上表现出来的空间认知能力发展有密切的关系。     

轻度认知功能障碍与颈动脉狭窄的相关性研究

为了探讨颈动脉狭窄与轻度认知功能障碍(MCI)的关系,选取轻度认知功能障碍病例89例,健康对照组100例,全部行颈动脉彩超检查及简易智能状态量表(MMSE),蒙特利尔认知量表(MoCA),临床痴呆量表(CDR),日常生活能力量表(ADL),汉密尔顿抑郁量表(HAMD)测评.结果发现轻度认知功能障碍组颈动脉狭窄发生率明显高于对照组,左侧发生率明显高于右侧.其中随着狭窄的严重程度增加,患者在延迟回忆、视空间与执行功能、计算力与注意力、语言能力方面评分显著下降.从这一结果可以看出轻度认知功能障碍与颈动脉狭窄密切相关.