Learning of letter names and sounds and their contribution to word recognition

This study investigated knowledge of letter names and letter sounds, their learning, and their contributions to word recognition. Of 123 preschoolers examined on letter knowledge, 65 underwent training on both letter names and letter sounds in a counterbalanced order. Prior to training, children were more advanced in associating letters with their names than with their sounds and could provide the sound of a letter only if they could name it. However, children learned more easily to associate letters with sounds than with names. Training just on names improved performance on sounds, but the sounds produced were extended (CV) rather than phonemic. Learning sounds facilitated later learning of the same letters' names, but not vice versa. Training either on names or on sounds improved word recognition and explanation of printed words. Results are discussed with reference to cognitive and societal factors affecting letter knowledge acquisition, features of the Hebrew alphabet and orthography, and educational implications.     

The siren's call: terror management and the threat of men's sexual attraction to women

Why do sexually appealing women often attract derogation and aggression? According to terror management theory, women's sexual allure threatens to increase men's awareness of their corporeality and thus mortality. Accordingly, in Study 1 a subliminal mortality prime decreased men's but not women's attractiveness ratings of alluring women. In Study 2, mortality salience (MS) led men to downplay their sexual intent toward a sexy woman. In Study 3, MS decreased men's interest in a seductive but not a wholesome woman. In Study 4, MS decreased men's but not women's attraction to a sexy opposite-sex target. In Study 5, MS and a corporeal lust prime increased men's tolerance of aggression toward women. Discussion focuses on mortality concerns and male sexual ambivalence.     

Follow-up of a cross-national comparison on flashbulb and event memory for the September 11th attacks

Flashbulb memories are defined as vivid and long-lasting memories for the reception context of an important public event (Brown & Kulik, 1977). They are supposed to be triggered by both emotional reactions to the original event and rehearsal processes (Brown & Kulik, 1977; Finkenauer, Luminet, Gisle, El-Ahmadi, van der Linden, & Philippot, 1998; Neisser & Harsch, 1992). A test-retest design (21 vs 524 days after the event on average) was employed to assess flashbulb memory and event memory for the September 11th attacks and the impact of their emotional and rehearsal predictors in a sample of 985 respondents coming from six countries (i.e., Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Japan, and the USA). Results showed that national membership had a significant impact on event memory, and the emotional and rehearsal variables, but flashbulb memories for the September 11th attacks were found to be high and consistent across different countries. The implications of these findings for the debate about the nature and maintenance of flashbulb memories are discussed.     

Relationship between a history of consistent maternal employment and depression in young adults

Research on the correlates of maternal employment has yielded inconsistent results. In this study, 79 male and 120 female undergraduates with mothers who had been employed from the students' infancy through their adolescence scored higher on the Beck Depression Inventory-II than those whose mothers had not been employed. This relationship between children's depressive symptoms and mothers' employment history was not evident among young adults whose mothers' employment was perceived to be financially unnecessary.     

Time estimation could be impaired in male,but not female adults with attention deficits

The ability to judge the passage of time is critical to behavioral regulation and planning and can be impaired among individuals with attention deficit. Time estimation was tested in young adults screened for attention deficit, based on scores of a self-report questionnaire for attention problems (CAARS), using a prospective reproduction paradigm. Four time intervals (3, 6, 12, and 24 s) were tested in two conditions: (1) reproduction of the duration of a visual stimulus and (2) reproduction of an empty time interval. A significant interaction between gender and group was found suggesting that males, but not females, with attention deficits made larger errors than controls. Males with attention deficits and both groups of females made larger underestimations of time judgement than control males.     

重返童年

在我的整个一生中,人们总是对我说:“戴尔,你从来也没长大过,你简直还是一个孩子!为什么你的举止与你的年纪不相称呢?”只要能继续听到人们说我太孩子气的话,那么我就会知道自己的行为表现得正好。我喜欢做一个小孩。对于我来说,小孩就象夏天那清凉宜人的井水。尤为重要的是,那些由于我的帮助而变得越来越象小孩的人,正因为如此而似乎更加感到身心舒适,生活愉快。你也许会对自己说:“当然,我也愿意     

第十一世班禅额尔德尼·确吉杰布的贺信

中国佛教协会第七次全国代表会议：金秋九月,中国佛教协会第七次全国代表会议在北京召开,这是中国佛教三大语系、全国各民族佛教信徒的盛会,是我国佛教界的一件喜事,我对会议的胜利召开表示热烈的祝贺！中国佛教协会是我国各民族佛教徒联合的爱国团体和教务组织,是中国共产党和人民政府联系信教群众的桥梁和纽带。在我的成长过程中,中国佛协和德高望重的赵朴老给予了无微不至的关心和帮助,在此表示衷心的感谢！希望中国佛协新一届领导班子带领全国各民族佛教徒坚持赵朴老生前大力倡导的“人间佛教”的思想,弘扬中国佛教的优良传统,…     

普特南与相对主义的威胁

普特南在《戴有人类面孔的实在论》中谈到,“我常常被问到我在什么地方与罗蒂不同”①而我则经常会听到相反的问题。我们两人之所以会被问及这些问题,是因为我们可以在其他哲学家不愿接受的许多问题上达成共识。