On the Interaction of Prior Knowledge and Stimulus Structure in Category Learning

Contemporary theories of categorization propose that concepts are coherent in virtue of being embedded in a network of theories about the world. Those theories function to pick out some of the many possible features of a set of objects as most salient for purposes of classification, a process that is complex and still poorly understood (Murphy & Medin, 1985). Part of what makes this account incomplete is a lack of information as to (1) what makes a feature salient on a given occasion and (2) how feature salience interacts with category structure to determine the course of learning. We report on the results of three studies of category learning using complex schematic drawings to show that (1) the contrast set defined by one's initial encounters with category exemplars can be a source of individual differences in feature salience assignments; (2) such effects are short-lived in the face of clear evidence about actual feature diagnosticity; and (3) more robust prior hypotheses interact with category structure to either enhance learning or impede it. The enhancement occurs when the hypothesis emphasizes category-relevant features, even if the hypothesis is in fact incorrect. A hypothesis that assigns high salience to irrelevant features impedes learning. Learning does occur as feedback concerning category structure leads to enhanced salience for relevant features. Salience of irrelevant features remains high, however, suggesting that such learning as occurs involves augmentation and not total revision of the (incorrect) prior hypothesis.     

Discovering the Sequential Structure of Thought

Multi‐voxel pattern recognition techniques combined with Hidden Markov models can be used to discover the mental states that people go through in performing a task. The combined method identifies both the mental states and how their durations vary with experimental conditions. We apply this method to a task where participants solve novel mathematical problems. We identify four states in the solution of these problems: Encoding, Planning, Solving, and Respond. The method allows us to interpret what participants are doing on individual problem‐solving trials. The duration of the planning state varies on a trial‐to‐trial basis with novelty of the problem. The duration of solution stage similarly varies with the amount of computation needed to produce a solution once a plan is devised. The response stage similarly varies with the complexity of the answer produced. In addition, we identified a number of effects that ran counter to a prior model of the task. Thus, we were able to decompose the overall problem‐solving time into estimates of its components and in way that serves to guide theory.     

智慧:结构、类型、测量及与相关变量的关系

智慧是个体在其智力与知识的基础上,经由经验与练习习得的一种德才兼备的综合心理素质,包括聪明才智与良好品德两大成份.智慧可分为常规智慧与应变智慧、群体智慧与组织智慧、个人智慧与一般智慧、德慧与物慧等,可用三维智慧量表、自我评估智慧量表以及智慧发展量表等进行测量,并与年龄、性别、文化、教育、人格、思维方式、智力等存在重要关联.今后应该深入探究智慧的概念与结构,拓展其研究方法、测量工具与教育策略以及开展中国化研究.     

以"法天不息"的精神贯通伦理与人生--文山精神世界结构层次的哲学阐释

文天祥虽然较少哲学方面的专门著作,但是我们却不能忽略他在中国伦理学史上的重要地位。他以“法天不息”作为自己精神的核心,建构了广阔的精神空间,贯通了伦理和人生,自强不息地进行修养。爱国主义是他的最高伦理成就,他还超越伦理与宇宙大道合一,达到了人生的大自由境界。他以生命验证了儒家文化的内在尊严和精神高度。     

NMDA受体的结构与药理学特性

NMDA受体是一类离子型谷氨酸受体,其功能主要参与发育过程中神经回路的细化及触发多种形式的突触可塑性。近年来的证据表明,组成NMDA受体的亚单位有着复杂的生理学和药理学特性;NMDA受体的数量、分布和亚单位组成并非一成不变,而是在发育过程中、神经元活动时,以一种细胞特异性和突触特异性的方式变化着。这种NMDA受体的双向变化是突触可塑性重塑的基础,而其调节的异常又可导致神经-精神疾病的发生,如可卡因成瘾、精神分裂症等     

中医学学术流派与中医学学术范式

学派众多 ,源远流长 ,是中医学发展史上的特异现象。诸多的医学流派 ,数以千百计的医家在丰富的临床经验基础上 ,从不同领域不同角度阐释、发挥《内经》中所蕴含的医学思想 ,使中医理论体系似乎更加完善、系统了。然而问题在于 ,科学地评价学派在中医学发展史上的地位 ,表面化、形式化地论列现象是远远不够的 ,更需要的是以进化的思想分析各学派的学术观点 ,进一步判明在学术本体上学派的存在对中国医学到底产生了什么影响 ?学派争鸣带来的学术繁荣又真正给中医学输入多少新鲜血液呢 ?在争鸣中 ,大多胶执一点 ,不遗余力地发挥两端。如伤寒学…     

Illusions of Sense in the Tractatus: Wittgenstein and Imaginative Understanding

Certain expositors of the Tractatus have tried to make sense of Wittegnstein's curious revocation of its propositions by suggesting that although they lack content, they nonetheless express ("show," but do not say) some ineffable truths about reality. Such a view Cora Dimaond labels "chickening out." I attempt to diagnose the lingering attraction of the 'chicken' (in this case an attraction to an illusion of sense) by condsidering a (false) parallel with the case of perceptual illusion. To this end, I make a brief excursion into the work of Gareth Evans in order to draw out what the parallel would look like and more specifically how the chicken might be tempted to think that there is indeed such a parallel. In this way, I hope to better 'understand' the chicken and her seduction, and in the process make a plea for not "chickening out." I then turn to a positive consideration of how we should in fact read this work. In particular, I consider Diamond's idea that the Tractatus requires an "imaginative understanding" of its reader, an ability to 'think' oneself into certain philosophical illusions of sense in order to dismantle them from within. I explore exactly what such an imagination involves. In particular, I suggest that it presupposes a kind of 'metaphysical' thesis of its own about the nature of human beings and their innermost tendencies, a position, I argue, that Wittegnstein held.     

When to Cry Over Spilled Milk: Young Children's Use of Category Information to Guide Inferences About Ambiguous Behavior

Three studies (N = 171) examined preschool children's tendency to use category information to make inferences about ambiguous behavior. Children heard stories in which category information about story characters was manipulated and behavioral information was held constant. Participants were asked to evaluate, explain, and determine the significance of the behavior in question. Children tended to be harsher judges of the same ambiguous behaviors when performed by (a) humans as compared to animals, (b) boys compared to girls, and (c) older children compared to younger children. Results suggest that young children hold differentiated notions of the mental states and dispositions that underlie behavior and that these notions vary as a function of category membership. These findings support the conclusion that even young children can hold and use multiple folk psychologies.     

Agents and Causes: Dispositional Intuitions As a Guide to Causal Structure

Currently, two frameworks of causal reasoning compete: Whereas dependency theories focus on dependencies between causes and effects, dispositional theories model causation as an interaction between agents and patients endowed with intrinsic dispositions. One important finding providing a bridge between these two frameworks is that failures of causes to generate their effects tend to be differentially attributed to agents and patients regardless of their location on either the cause or the effect side. To model different types of error attribution, we augmented a causal Bayes net model with separate error sources for causes and effects. In several experiments, we tested this new model using the size of Markov violations as the empirical indicator of differential assumptions about the sources of error. As predicted by the model, the size of Markov violations was influenced by the location of the agents and was moderated by the causal structure and the type of causal variables.     

不同概念范畴和特征类别对儿童归纳推理多样性效应的影响

为探讨概念范畴和特征类别对归纳推理多样性效应的影响, 采用2(概念范畴: 生物类别与非生物类别)´2(特征类别: 不可见的隐蔽特征和可见的外显特征)的实验设计, 设计了四组任务来考察5~6岁、8~9岁儿童归纳推理多样性效应的表现水平。结果显示: 在非生物类别范畴材料上, 5~6岁儿童在两种特征类别上均未表现出多样性效应, 8~9岁儿童在隐蔽特征类别上表现出多样性效应; 在生物类别材料上, 5~6岁、8~9岁儿童在外显特征和隐蔽特征上均未表现出多样性效应。概念范畴和特征类别对8~9岁儿童的归纳判断力有显著影响: 在概念范畴上, 儿童在非生物范畴材料上的表现显著高于生物范畴; 在特征类别上, 儿童在隐蔽特征上的表现高于外显特征。     

“动态的空”与历程哲学——宗教间创造性的相互转化的一个案例分析

本文首先分析了在耶佛对话的背景下,阿部正雄是如何向西方对话伙伴阐释佛教"空"的思想,并指出阿部诠释"空"的最大特色在于其"动态性"。接着,针对一些学者认为阿部的"空"观沿袭了中国传统佛教对"空"的阐释,本文提出了不同看法,认为阿部对"空"的诠释有其独创性。最后,通过分析怀特海的历程思想与阿部"空"的联系,指出阿部对"空"的创造性阐释受到了其宗教对话的启发,实践了"促进宗教间创造性的相互转化"的理念。     

The Structure and Phenomenon of Sexual Harassment: Impact of Category of Sexually Harassing Behavior, Gender, and Hierarchical Level

Several researchers (Fitzgerald & Hesson-Mclnnes, 1989; Padgitt & Padgitt, 1986; Till, 1980) have suggested that the construct of sexual harassment is multidimensional and consists of five categories of behavior: gender harassment, seductive behavior, sexual bribery, sexual coercion, and sexual assault. Unfortunately, these categories have not been considered in studies investigating the nature and correlates of perceptions of sexual harassment. This paper presents a study that examined the impact of three factors–categories of sexually harassing behavior, gender of subjects, and hierarchical level of the initiator relative to the recipient–on subjects' perceptions of sexual harassment. The results indicated that gender and hierarchical level influenced the perceptions of two categories of sexual harassment–gender harassment and seductive behavior–but did not influence perceptions of sexual bribery, sexual coercion, and sexual assault. Implications for future research and organizational policies are discussed.     

责任意识:前因与后果、结构与动力

责任意识,不仅是一个多学科、多领域共同关注的社会性主题,也是一个可以从多个视角审视、多种认知逻辑考量的复杂性问题.心理学对责任意识有着特殊的关注,已经取得了大量的研究成果,对责任归因、儿童责任意识发展、责任与情感关系等进行了实验研究,对责任意识的文化特征和文化差异,也有研究者做了深入分析.