The social phobia and anxiety inventory: Further validation in two nonclinical samples

The Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI) has been developed to assess specific symptoms of social phobia and agoraphobia. Although the SPAI was developed with both clinical and nonclinical populations, research with this measure is currently focused primarily on clinical samples. We examined the factor structure and psychometric properties of the SPAI in adult community and college undergraduate samples. We found that single-sample and multisample confirmatory factor analyses provided support for extending use of the correlated two-factor SPAI subscales to our nonclinical samples. In addition, we found evidence for the internal consistency reliability of the SPAI subscales in both samples. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Set size,assertion form,thematic content and sampling in the selection task

Participants attempted to solve a modified version of Wason's (1966) selection task. Variables were: (1) sizes of the sets referenced by a specified assertion, (2) form of the assertion (conditional or categorical), (3) thematic content of the assertion (letters and numbers or makes and owners of taxicabs), and (4) the need for sampling or not. In Experiment 1, participants were given enough information to determine the truth or falsity of the specified assertion with certainty; in Experiment 2, they had to rely on sampling and could not determine the assertion's truth or falsity with certainty. Performance was better in Experiment 1 than in Experiment 2, but in both cases much better than what is typically obtained with the conventional selection task. The results support the hypothesis that performance of the selection task is sensitive to the sizes of the sets involved, add credence to the conclusion that framing the task in a thematically meaningful way can facilitate performance, and demonstrate that facilitation does not require deontic reasoning or a well-known convention being involved. The relationship between expressed confidence and level of performance is consistent with other studies showing the former to be a good predictor of the latter.     

关于我国高等师范院校公共课心理学教材整体改革的构想

本文在作者实践基础上,从建设新时期具有我国特色的高师公共课心理学教材的高度,提出四点改革构想:1.在教材体系上,围绕师范生今后“教书”和“育人”工作组织心理学基本内容,形成有机联系的“双主线’结构;2.在教材内容上,突出“三个性”——以强调心理学内容对中学教育实践指导意义的实用性,带动理论阐述上的针对性和实践运用上的可操作性;3.在教材论述上,兼顾师范生的认识规律,采用现象—规律—运用的“三段法”程式;4.在教材编写上,提倡专家、高师公共课心理学教师和中学优秀教师“三结合”原则。     

An expert–novice comparison of feature choice

Perceptual experts have learned to rapidly and accurately perceive the structural regularities that define categories and identities within a domain. They extract important features and their relations more efficiently than novices. We used fingerprint examination to investigate expert–novice differences in feature choice. On each fingerprint within our set, experts and novices selected one feature they thought was most useful for distinguishing a particular print and one feature they thought was least useful. We found that experts and novices often differed in the features they chose, and experts tended to agree more with each other. However, any such expert–novice difference appeared to depend on the image at hand typically emerging when salient or more conspicuous features of a fingerprint were unclear. We suggest that perceptual training ought to direct attention to useful features with the understanding that what is useful may change depending on the clarity of the stimuli.     

特征和结构信息对草图人脸识别的影响

在人脸认知研究的特征说、结构说和整体说的基础上,通过草图人脸与人脸相似程度主观评价的调查,发现五官位置、拓扑结构、五官比例、轮廓外形和五官外形等五个维度对人脸识别影响的权重依次减小,并且存在着多种显著的不同水平的交互作用。进而提出,五官位置和拓扑结构可组合成具体图形意义上的结构关系,这种结构关系将整体人脸分解成有序的特征集。     

When does feature search fail to protect against attentional capture?

ABSTRACT

When participants search for a shape (e.g., a circle) among a set of homogenous shapes (e.g., triangles) they are subject to distraction by colour singletons that are more salient than the target. However, when participants search for a shape among heterogeneous shapes, the presence of a non-target colour singleton does not slow responses to the target. Attempts have been made to explain these results from both bottom-up and top-down perspectives. What both accounts have in common is that they do not predict the occurrence of attentional capture on typical feature search displays. Here, we present a case where manipulating selection history, rather than the displays themselves, leads to attentional capture on feature search trials. The ability to map specific colours to the target and distractor appears to be what enables resistance to capture during feature search.     

Human vs. supervised machine learning: Who learns patterns faster?

The capabilities of supervised machine learning (SML), especially compared to human abilities, are being discussed in scientific research and in the usage of SML. This study provides an answer to how learning performance differs between humans and machines when there is limited training data. We have designed an experiment in which 44 humans and three different machine learning algorithms identify patterns in labeled training data and have to label instances according to the patterns they find. The results show a high dependency between performance and the underlying patterns of the task. Whereas humans perform relatively similarly across all patterns, machines show large performance differences for the various patterns in our experiment. After seeing 20 instances in the experiment, human performance does not improve anymore, which we relate to theories of cognitive overload. Machines learn slower but can reach the same level or may even outperform humans in 2 of the 4 of used patterns. However, machines need more instances compared to humans for the same results. The performance of machines is comparably lower for the other 2 patterns due to the difficulty of combining input features.     

Using relational structure to detect symmetry: a Voronoi tessellation based model of symmetry perception

Numerous models of symmetry perception have been proposed in recent years. Unfortunately, it is difficult to assess the relative utility of these models as little effort has been made to directly compare them. This paper outlines a new model of symmetry perception based upon the relational structure revealed by Voronoi tessellation. The model has been developed in response to evidence suggesting that the human visual system is generating a Voronoi-like representation at an early stage in processing. Bayesian model selection is employed to compare the performance of the Voronoi model to that of five previously published models across six empirical datasets. The results indicate that the Voronoi model provides a more likely account of the data than the five alternative models.     

A general linear model for estimating effect size in the presence of publication bias

When the process of publication favors studies with smallp-values, and hence large effect estimates, combined estimates from many studies may be biased. This paper describes a model for estimation of effect size when there is selection based on one-tailedp-values. The model employs the method of maximum likelihood in the context of a mixed (fixed and random) effects general linear model for effect sizes. It offers a test for the presence of publication bias, and corrected estimates of the parameters of the linear model for effect magnitude. The model is illustrated using a well-known data set on the benefits of psychotherapy.Authors' note: The contributions of the authors are considered equal, and the order of authorship was chosen to be reverse-alphabetical.     

心算的策略选择

从策略选择的角度来研究心算是当前心算研究的一个重要领域。有关心算活动中问题大小效应、距离效应、奇偶效应等的行为与认知神经科学研究揭示了心算活动中不同的策略选择, 进一步加深了我们对心算加工特点的了解。未来研究在注重具体问题解决的同时, 还应注重实验设计的严密性、研究的深入性与综合性相兼顾等问题。     

数量化维度特征搜索的影响因素探索

有关数量化维度特征搜索的研究表明 ,目标搜索斜率 (反应时间对呈现项目数量函数的斜率 )是由目标与干扰子之间的差异决定的 ,然而以往研究中其差异的值取决于具体的实验条件。根据韦伯定律 ,笔者推测 ,目标搜索斜率应由目标与干扰子之间的相对差异 (C)决定 ,C为目标值 (T)与干扰子值 (D)的差值与该干扰子值的比值。当C值对应相等时 ,不同几何形状刺激的目标搜索斜率应无差异。为此笔者分别采用圆 (实验一 )和三角形 (实验二 )进行实验研究。实验结果支持了上述假设 ,并发现目标大于干扰子时的目标搜索斜率对C值的函数是单调递减函数     

心算活动中混合策略选择的ERP研究

考察问题大小、距离、奇偶及答案正误对心算策略选择的影响。采用先答案后算式的呈现方式, 记录了15名被试的64导ERP。研究发现, 在小问题中, 错误答案与正确答案相比, 诱发了算术不一致N400, 距离和奇偶因素影响其波峰及潜伏期。在大问题中, 距离和奇偶因素影响晚期正波, 近距离奇偶一致情境诱发了波幅较小的晚期正慢波。表明在混合情境, 距离比奇偶信息优先得到加工; 在小问题心算中距离和奇偶信息影响答案提取, 而在大问题心算中, 对于依靠距离信息较难直接判断的小距离问题, 在进一步的加工中会借助奇偶信息判断是否采用精确计算策略。     

Randomization-based inference about latent variables from complex samples

Standard procedures for drawing inferences from complex samples do not apply when the variable of interest cannot be observed directly, but must be inferred from the values of secondary random variables that depend on stochastically. Examples are proficiency variables in item response models and class memberships in latent class models. Rubin's multiple imputation techniques yield approximations of sample statistics that would have been obtained, had been observable, and associated variance estimates that account for uncertainty due to both the sampling of respondents and the latent nature of. The approach is illustrated with data from the National Assessment for Educational Progress.This research was supported by Grant No. NIE-G-83-0011 of the Office for Educational Research and Improvement, Center for Education Statistics, and Contract No. N00014-88-K-0304, R&T 4421552 from the Cognitive Sciences Program, Cognitive and Neural Sciences Division, Office of Naval Research. It does not necessarily reflect the views of either agency. I am grateful to R. Darrell Bock for calling my attention to the applicability of multiple imputation to the assessment setting; to Albert Beaton and Eugene Johnson for enlightening discussions on the topic; and to Henry Braun, Ben King, Debra Kline, Gary Phillips, Paul Rosenbaum, Don Rubin, John Tukey, Ming-Mei Wang, Kentaro Yamamoto, Rebecca Zwick, and two anonymous reviewers for comments on earlier drafts. Example 4 is based on the analysis of the 1984 National Assessment for Educational Progress reading survey, carried out at Educational Testing Service through the tireless efforts of too many people to mention by name, under the direction of Albert Beaton, Director of NAEP Data Analyses. David Freund, Bruce Kaplan, and Jennifer Nelson conducted additional analyses of the 1984 and 1988 data for the example.     

面孔识别中脑电成分N170的研究概述

N170是在面孔刺激呈现后的130-200ms记录到的并在160~170ms时达到峰值的一种脑电负成分。目前, 在N170的研究中存在争议性的问题有：N170反映面孔结构编码还是面孔特征编码; N170是否是面孔特异性成分; 以及N170是否受注意的影响等。这些争议也为N170后续研究指明了方向, 即探讨结构编码和特征编码在诱发N170成分上起着怎样的作用; 比较不同熟悉度的刺激材料所诱发的N170反应差异; 探讨N170成分与识别电位间的关系;采用多研究方法的结合从不同层面深入揭示N170的认知机制。     

EVOLUTION OF RELIGIOUS CAPACITY IN THE GENUS HOMO: ORIGINS AND BUILDING BLOCKS

The large, ancient ape population of the Miocene reached across Eurasia and down into Africa. From this genetically diverse group, the chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and humans evolved from populations of successively reduced size. Using the findings of genomics, population genetics, cognitive science, neuroscience, and archaeology, the authors construct a theoretical framework of evolutionary innovations without which religious capacity could not have emerged as it did. They begin with primate sociality and strength from a basic ape model, and then explore how the human line came to be the most adaptive and flexible of all, while coming from populations with reduced genetic variability. Their analysis then delves into the importance of neurological plasticity and a lengthening developmental trajectory, and points to their following article and the last building block: the expansion of the parietal areas, which allowed visuospatial reckoning, and imagined spaces and beings essential to human theologies. Approximate times for the major cognitive building blocks of religious capacity are given.     

Theory change in immunology part II: The clonal selection theory

This two-part article examines the competition between the clonal selection theory and the instructive theory of the immune response from 1957–1967. In Part I the concept of a temporally extended theory is introduced, which requires attention to the hitherto largely ignored issue of theory individuation. Factors which influence the acceptability of such an extended theory at different temporal points are also embedded in a Bayesian framework, which is shown to provide a rational account of belief change in science. In Part II these factors, as elaborated in the Bayesian framework, are applied to the case of the success of the clonal selection theory and the failure of the instructive theory.