Mechanisms for attentional modulation by threatening emotions of fear,anger, and disgust

Appropriately attending to threatening environmental stimuli is evolutionarily adaptive and crucial for survival. This study revealed that nonconscious attentional modulation of disgust has different behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) patterns, as compared to fear and anger. To facilitate its evolutionary purpose of avoidance, disgust first diverts rather than attracts attention. Accordingly, the N1 was smaller in a validly than in an invalidly disgust-cued condition. Furthermore, the frontal P3a for disgust, anger, and fear was found to be larger in the valid than in the invalid condition, which was interpreted as an involuntary switching of attention toward threat-related events to mobilize cognitive resources for action or defense. On the contrary, the parietal P3b only occurred at the conscious level; the enhanced P3b indicated that more cognitive resources were being allocated toward the task-relevant but previously less attended location, to ensure the effective achievement of task goals. In addition, group comparisons between individuals with low and high disgust sensitivity showed that the ERP differences between the disgust and the anger/fear conditions at the unconscious level may be attributed only to individuals with high disgust sensitivity. These findings, together with previous knowledge of the effects of fear and anger on attention, strengthen our confidence in the two-stage scheme of attentional modulation by threats, which consists of an early stage of bottom-up response scaling of sensory processing (reflected by the P1 and N1) and a later stage of top-down integration and regulation of emotion and behavior (reflected by the P3).     

In the Face of Terrorism: Evidence that Belief in Literal Immortality Reduces Prejudice Under Terrorism Threat

Based on terror management theory, previous research has shown that terrorism threat increases prejudice against Muslims and is mediated by death‐related thoughts. Because this effect was found on a correlational level, it remains unclear whether terrorism threat increases prejudice against Muslims because of enhanced death‐related thoughts or the opposite: terrorism threat increases death‐related thoughts because of stronger prejudice against Muslims. To disentangle this shortcoming, we varied death‐related thoughts by systematically manipulating the belief in literal immortality. Using two studies, we found that participants exposed to terrorism pictures (vs. controls) had increased prejudice against both Muslims (Study 1) and immigrants (Study 2) when they were led to believe that literal immortality does not exist but not when they were led to believe that it does exist. Mediation analysis indicated that this effect was mediated by death‐related thoughts. This provides further evidence that terrorism threat increases prejudice because of death‐related thoughts.     

眼动分析法在学前儿童认知研究中的应用

眼动分析法是心理学研究的一种重要手段,它对于研究儿童的认知活动有着非常重要的意义。文章介绍了眼动记录的原理、眼动指标,并对该方法在研究学前儿童的图画观看、图文阅读、视觉搜索等领域的应用进行了评介。最后,对眼动分析法在学前儿童认知研究中的应用前景进行了展望。     

社会支持与人格对大学生压力的影响

将横断与纵向研究相结合,对660名大学生进行了问卷调查。结果发现,社会支持对同期压力的主效应非常显著,对后期压力的主效应则不显著。社会支持的变化类型对后期压力也具有显著的主效应。“开朗—果断”与“拘谨—温和”两类人格对同期压力的主效应非常显著,前者同期的各类压力均显著低于后者的同类压力;前期人格类型对两年后压力的主效应依然显著。社会支持与人格的独立主效应和交互作用均显著;社会支持的变化与人格的独立主效应和交互作用均显著     

现代科学技术对大肠癌微转移诊断的推进作用及启示

大肠癌是最常见的恶性肿瘤之一,转移和复发依然是影响大肠癌患者预后的重要因素,肿瘤细胞在血液、骨髓及淋巴结中的微转移是肿瘤转移和复发的基础;随着现代科学技术的发展,出现了通过逆转录聚合酶链式反应(RT-PCR)来检测细胞角蛋白20(CK20)mRNA的表达,从而诊断大肠癌微转移的高度敏感与特异的方法,并引发了关于如何看待事物、认识事物及如何科学思维的几点思考.     

探析美国国家生命伦理学委员会--历史沿革及启示

在一个没有单一国教或价值权威能全盘解决科技政策与价值问题的多元社会中,由政府设置公共论坛性质的政策咨询委员会,是一项值得采纳的作法.美国先后设立过6个国家生命伦理学委员会,探析它们的建立与变迁,可以为我国类似组织提供参考.     

关于医疗同意书的若干法律问题的思考

医疗知情同意书与病人知情权密切相关,还涉及病人的自我决定权和隐私权。对知情同意书的本质及其法律效力,签署主体及告知的标准进行了一些探讨。     

从深层次研究和认识卫生改革的方向与目标

20年的卫生改革是伴随着社会经济改革与发展的过程慢慢地进行摸索,改革的‘彼岸’并没有一个清晰的图景;由于改革的目标模式所提供的信息是不充分的,我们没有更多的信息来判断我们改革的进程与结果。因此,卫生改革最迫切的事情是需要更大的耐心,以新的认识,新的理念和勇气,来进行系统的反思,以促进卫生改革从一种经验性的改革进入到一种理性的改革过程。     

医学创新教育的目标与模式研究

结合国内外创新教育的经验,将创新教育的两种教学模式结合起来,开展实验研究。对医学创新教育的目标、模式、内容进行了探讨,为高教改革,特别是医学院校的深入改革、医学生创新能力的开发与培养提供调查分析资料。     

器官移植准入制度迫在眉睫

器官移植在我国正在迅速、蓬勃发展。但是在各种利益的驱使下,我国的器官移植出现严重偏差。一些不具备技术实力的医院违反原则地盲目上马该项目。使国内器官移植生存率与国际相比有相当大差距,并在经济上及器官来源等各方面都造成了巨大浪费。因此,我国亟需配套与器官移植有关的各种法律、法规出台,以规范目前的混乱状况,提高我国器官移植质量。