Retroactive interference in single-cue probability learning

Abstract.— When two single-cue probability learning tasks with different amounts of unpredictable variance were learned in succession. a low variance task interfered with the retention of a high variance task, but the opposite was not true. The effects were positive in that they enabled the subjects to reach a higher response consistency and, thus, a higher level of achievement. It was suggested that the subjects made use of the low variance task to reject incorrect hypotheses about the cue-criterion relation and that interference from an interpolated task occurs only when this task provides information which has functional value for the subject.     

Detection of counter-changing contrast: second-order apparent motion without postrectification motion-energy analysis or salience mapping/feature tracking

The perception of 2nd-order, texture-contrast-defined motion was studied for apparent-motion stimuli composed of a pair of spatially displaced, simultaneously visible checkerboards. It was found that background-relative, counter-changing contrast provided the informational basis for the perception of 2nd-order apparent motion; motion began where contrast changed toward the contrast value of the background checkerboard and ended where contrast changed away from the background value. The perceived apparent motion was not attributable to either postrectification motion-energy analysis or salience-mapping/feature-tracking mechanisms. Parallel results for 1st-order, luminance-defined motion (H. S. Hock, L. A. Gilroy, & G. Harnett, 2002) suggest that counter-changing activation provides a common basis for the perception of both luminance- and texture-contrast-defined apparent motion.     

多元文化经历对领导者能力及发展的影响

随着全球化发展的深入, 越来越多的企业领导者具有多元文化经历。多元文化经历是指个体具有直接或间接与外国文化元素或人群进行交互的经历。拟从领导者发展(leader development)和领导力发展(leadership development)两个层面, 全面地探讨多元文化经历对企业领导者能力形成及发展的影响：第一, 探讨多元文化经历对领导者能力发展(包括个人层面、关系层面和社会层面能力)的影响及内部机制; 第二, 探讨多元文化经历对领导力发展(包括领导力涌现、领导力选拔和领导力效能)的影响及内部机制。项目成果不仅能够丰富领导者能力形成与发展等组织管理相关理论, 还能为企业的全球化管理及国际化人才培养实践提供建议。     

A zero-bounded model of operant demand

Contemporary approaches for evaluating the demand for reinforcers use either the Exponential or the Exponentiated model of operant demand, both derived from the framework of Hursh and Silberberg (2008). This report summarizes the strengths and complications of this framework and proposes a novel implementation. This novel implementation incorporates earlier strengths and resolves existing shortcomings that are due to the use of a logarithmic scale for consumption. The Inverse Hyperbolic Sine (IHS) transformation is reviewed and evaluated as a replacement for the logarithmic scale in models of operant demand. Modeling consumption in the “log₁₀-like” IHS scale reflects relative changes in consumption (as with a log scale) and accommodates a true zero bound (i.e., zero consumption values). The presence of a zero bound obviates the need for a separate span parameter (i.e., k) and the span of the model may be more simply defined by maximum demand at zero price (i.e., Q₀). Further, this reformulated model serves to decouple the exponential rate constant (i.e., α) from variations in span, thus normalizing the rate constant to the span of consumption in IHS units and permitting comparisons when spans vary. This model, called the Zero-bounded Exponential (ZBE), is evaluated using simulated and real-world data. The direct reinstatement ZBE model showed strong correspondence with empirical indicators of demand and with a normalization of α (ZBEn) across empirical data that varied in reinforcing efficacy (dose, time to onset of peak effects). Future directions in demand curve analysis are discussed with recommendations for additional replication and exploration of scales beyond the logarithm when accommodating zero consumption data.     

Discounting model selection with area‐based measures: A case for numerical integration

A novel method for analyzing delay discounting data is proposed. This newer metric, a model‐based Area Under Curve (AUC) combining approximate Bayesian model selection and numerical integration, was compared to the point‐based AUC methods developed by Myerson, Green, and Warusawitharana (2001) and extended by Borges, Kuang, Milhorn, and Yi (2016). Using data from computer simulation and a published study, comparisons of these methods indicated that a model‐based form of AUC offered a more consistent and statistically robust measurement of area than provided by using point‐based methods alone. Beyond providing a form of AUC directly from a discounting model, numerical integration methods permitted a general calculation in cases when the Effective Delay 50 (ED50) measure could not be calculated. This allowed discounting model selection to proceed in conditions where data are traditionally more challenging to model and measure, a situation where point‐based AUC methods are often enlisted. Results from simulation and existing data indicated that numerical integration methods extended both the area‐based interpretation of delay discounting as well as the discounting model selection approach. Limitations of point‐based AUC as a first‐line analysis of discounting and additional extensions of discounting model selection were also discussed.     

Preference for Sex of Child Among Primiparous Women

Primiparous American women (N = 140) were questioned during their third trimester concerning their choice of sex of offspring and their willingness to use sex preselection techniques (if available). Eighty-two women expressed no preference for sex of offspring; of the remaining 58, 33 chose girls and 25 chose boys. Of the 26 women who indicated they would have used preselection technology, 13 chose boys and 13 chose girls. Fifty-three percent of the sample indicated they would not have used preselection techniques; 29% were undecided. These results were at variance with earlier studies that indicated a consistent choice of male firstborns, especially in nonpregnant samples. The discrepancy is discussed in terms of a move from boy preference to no preference and a gradual weakening of societal bias against women.     

The Effect of Gender and Self‐Care Behaviors on Counselors' Perceptions of Colleagues With Depression

This study examined the effects of gender and self‐care behaviors on counselors' perceptions of depressed colleagues. Three hundred and six respondents completed 1 of 8 versions of vignettes describing either a male or female counselor responding to his or her depressive symptoms through the use of antidepressants, counseling, alternative therapies, or no course of action. Target counselors who took antidepressants were perceived as more competent than counselors who practiced holistic measures and those who chose no course of action. Target counselors who sought personal counseling were perceived as more ethical than those choosing no course of action.     

中国古代辟疫思想的当代启示

通过对以未病先防为主导的中国古代主要辟疫思想及方法的回顾与思考,探讨了其对今天传染病预防的参考价值。认识到在当代传染病预防工作中,借鉴中国古代医学的思想与实践之精粹或许可为当代新发传染病的防治另辟新径,以期能对现代传染病的预治有所启示。     

癌症患者健康赋权能力的研究现状

追溯赋权的起源及其概念的演变,全面研究健康赋权的内涵及其对癌症患者的重要性。通过总结癌症患者健康赋权的测评工具、相关影响因素、促进健康赋权策略三个方面,了解国内外癌症患者健康赋权研究与实施的关键点与未来挑战,以期为探索适合我国癌症患者健康赋权的专科评估、干预模式构建和护理实践提供依据,以提高患者对健康相关知识的掌握,促使患者与医务人员共同规划、设计医疗保健行为,并最终实现以患者为中心的医疗服务理念,促进医疗系统的可持续发展。