不同学业成绩类型学生的抑制控制研究

根据全市三次统考平均成绩及科任教师对学生学习能力的综合评定,选择小学三年级、五年级、初中二年级、高中二年级学生为被试（各80人）,共320人。每个年级的80人中,又分别包括四种类型（每种类型20人）,进行抑制控制测量。结果发现：抑制控制力与学业成绩有高度的相关,即（1）双优生两种抑制控制测试成绩最好;相反双差生的两种抑制控制测试成绩最差,二者差异非常显著。（2）两种偏科的学生的两种抑制控制测试成绩处于中等,二者有些项目差异显著,有些项目差异不显著。（3）双优生与两种偏科生相比,除个别项目之外,差异也十分显著,而两种偏科生与双差生相比有差异,但表现在两种抑制控制测试中各个项目的程度不一样。     

小学优生与差生完成系列回忆任务错误类型发展的实验研究

主要探讨了小学优生与差生在完成系列回忆记忆任务时出现错误的发展情况。实验以小学一、三、五年级的学生作为被试,每年级优生与差生各10名。以普通(不形似,不近音)、形似和近音三种类型汉字为实验材料,要求被试按材料呈现的顺序进行回忆。结果发现：在完成系列回忆任务时,小学生表现出四种错误类型,错误率从高到低依次是：移动错误、遗漏错误、侵入错误、重复错误。每一类型的错误率都是优生显著少于差生。研究还发现四种错误受材料特点的影响,即各年级小学生错误率从高到低近音字、形似字、普通字。     

Haptic pictures: fit judgments predict identification,recognition memory,and confidence

DAngiulli et al (1998 Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 39 187-190) found blind and sighted (blindfolded) children identified common objects in raised-outline drawings explored haptically, and corrected themselves without feedback. The self-correction suggests that participants can assess the extent to which the referents they suggest as possible identifications fit the haptic pictures. Indeed, when we asked subjects to identify haptic pictures, and to judge how well the referents they mentioned fitted the pictures, their fit judgments predicted the accuracy of their suggestions. Also, when one group of subjects offered the suggestions and another group assessed the fit of the suggestions to the pictures, the fit judgments predicted the accuracy of the suggestions. Further, good fit predicted successful recognition memory. In addition, both high and low fit judgments were made confidently, so the range of confidence judgments was smaller than the range of fit judgments. Finally, visual judgments of fit by one group predicted the level of success of the suggestions from another (haptic) group. In sum, subjects assess their suggested identifications appropriately, most likely on the basis of object shape criteria, outlined surface edges, and use of a vantage point.     

Perception of men's personal qualities and prospect of employment as a function of facial hair

The present study investigated the contribution of men's facial hair to impression formation. Participants evaluated photographs of one of four versions of a man--clean shaven, mustached, goateed, or bearded--on a 7-point scale. In Study 1, participants were 106 Brazilian undergraduates (68 men and 38 women). Beardedness was associated with older age, greater responsibility, and leftist political ideas. In Study 2, respondents were 50 Brazilian personnel managers (28 men and 22 women) who made hiring decisions at different companies in the city of Sa? Paulo. Personnel managers clearly preferred clean shaven over bearded, mustached, or goateed men as prospective employees. In a hiring situation for a conservative occupation, a man who signals disposition to conform to rules may be preferred by personnel managers over another who signals nonconformity.     

Environmental Ethics as Applied to Outdoor Physical Practices: An Analysis Through the Lens of Hans Jonas

In times of social and moral crises, sport has often been called to boost individual moral development. By the same token, outdoor activities are viewed as good educational practices to enhance environmental responsibility. However, the present paper argues that these physical activities are currently following the same technological development trend as the mainstream society, and challenges this trend itself in terms of sustainability by critically asking this question: Do outdoor activities really enhance environmental responsibility? The research supporting this paper is based on a qualitative inquiry using interviews with outdoor activities practitioners: mountain guides and white water sports instructors. The findings of this research show that environmental responsibility development depends on the sport contexts. It is fostered in slow and none-technological activities (e.g. trekking) and lowered in fast and technological activities (e.g. canoeing, kayaking). The paper concludes with the following paradox reached by the preliminary research results: the birth of modern technology calls for greater need of environmental responsibility, but it may also prevent its development at the same time.     

Belief in a just world lowers bribery intention

Corruption is rampant around the world and can be detrimental to social justice. We aim to understand whether and how belief in a just world to self (BJW‐self) influences individuals' intentions to become involved in bribery. We measured bribery intention using hypothetical scenarios. In Study 1 and Study 2, we consistently found that BJW‐self negatively predicted bribery intention, and this pattern was mediated by perceived punishment of getting involved in bribery. We further demonstrated the causal effect of BJW‐self on bribery intention in an experiment (Study 3). These results indicate that BJW as one lay belief can be important in suppressing people's bribery intention, and perceived punishment mediates the effect of BJW on rule‐breaking behaviours. Implications for anti‐corruption policies and future research are also discussed.     

A study of mild cognitive impairment in veterans: role of hypertension and other confounding factors

Introduction: Hypertension has shown to be an important risk factor for the decline in cognitive function. Aim of our study is to investigate the presence of cognitive impairment of the elders with hypertension and other confounding factors.

Methods: This study was conducted on 400 veterans who were matched one-to-one with the confounding factors for assessing the presence of mild cognitive impairment using both MMSE and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). The 13 related factors of patient data were studied.

Results: The prevalence rate of cognitive impairment was 29.25%. Age (OR 2.679, 95%CI 1.663–6.875), sleep impairment (OR 1.117, 95%CI 1.754–7.422), uncontrolled hypertension (OR 1.522, 95%CI 1.968–4.454), type 2 diabetes (OR 2.464, 95%CI 1.232–4.931), and hyperlipidaemia (OR 1.411, 95%CI 1.221–8.988) are the risk factors for the cognitive deterioration, while the protective factors are high level of education (OR 0.032, 95%CI 0.007–0.149) and regular exercise (OR 0.307, 95%CI 0.115–0.818).

Discussion: Because some vascular disease risk factors, such as hypertension, can be treated effectively, cognitive decline related to these risk factors, and vascular disease per se, may be prevented or its course modified through more aggressive treatment and improved compliance.     

Stimulus–reinforcer relations established during training determine resistance to extinction and relapse via reinstatement

The baseline rate of a reinforced target response decreases with the availability of response‐independent sources of alternative reinforcement; however, resistance to disruption and relapse increases. Because many behavioral treatments for problem behavior include response‐dependent reinforcement of alternative behavior, the present study assessed whether response‐dependent alternative reinforcement also decreases baseline response rates but increases resistance to extinction and relapse. We reinforced target responding at equal rates across two components of a multiple schedule with pigeons. We compared resistance to extinction and relapse via reinstatement of (1) a target response trained concurrently with a reinforced alternative response in one component with (2) a target response trained either concurrently or in separate components from the alternative response across conditions. Target response rates trained alone in baseline were higher but resistance to extinction and relapse via reinstatement tests were greater after training concurrently with the alternative response. In another assessment, training target and alternative responding together, but separating them during extinction and reinstatement tests, produced equal resistance to extinction and relapse. Together, these findings are consistent with behavioral momentum theory—operant response–reinforcer relations determined baseline response rates but Pavlovian stimulus–reinforcer relations established during training determined resistance to extinction and relapse. These findings imply that reinforcing alternative behavior to treat problem behavior could initially reduce rates but increase persistence.     

The use of probabilistic lexicality cues for word segmentation in Chinese reading

In an eye-tracking experiment we examined whether Chinese readers were sensitive to information concerning how often a Chinese character appears as a single-character word versus the first character in a two-character word, and whether readers use this information to segment words and adjust the amount of parafoveal processing of subsequent characters during reading. Participants read sentences containing a two-character target word with its first character more or less likely to be a single-character word. The boundary paradigm was used. The boundary appeared between the first character and the second character of the target word, and we manipulated whether readers saw an identity or a pseudocharacter preview of the second character of the target. Linear mixed-effects models revealed reduced preview benefit from the second character when the first character was more likely to be a single-character word. This suggests that Chinese readers use probabilistic combinatorial information about the likelihood of a Chinese character being single-character word or a two-character word online to modulate the extent of parafoveal processing.