Sex differences in face recognition--women's faces make the difference

Sex differences favoring women have been found in face recognition tasks as well as in verbal episodic memory tasks. Women's higher face recognition performance was hypothesized to be related to either their higher verbal ability or to their superiority in recognizing female faces, rather than faces in general. Results showed that whereas there were no differences between men and women in the recognition of male faces, or in verbal ability, women performed at a higher level than men in the recognition of female faces. Verbal ability did not influence women's face recognition performance. Potential explanations for this pattern of data, such as sex differences in interest and prior knowledge, are discussed.     

Interaction of vision and movement via a mirror

I have noticed a striking effect that vision can have on movement: when a person makes circular motions with both hands, clockwise with the left hand, counterclockwise with the right hand, while watching the reflection of one hand in a parasagitally placed mirror, if one arm makes a vertical excursion, the other arm tends to make the same vertical excursion, but not typically if the excursing arm is viewed in plain vision. This observation may help in understanding how visual feedback via a mirror may be beneficial for rehabilitation of some patients with movement deficits secondary to certain neurologic conditions, and illustrates that the traditional division of neural processes into sensory input and motor output is somewhat arbitrary.     

FOK判断等级及其准确性的实验研究

通过实验集中控制了ＦＯＲ判断等级及其准确性的影响因素。实验以中文字串为学习材料,使用组内设计的实验方法研究了被激活信息的量和强度对ＦＯＤ等级及准确性的影响。实验结果表明：ＦＯＫ判断的等级是由被激活信息的总量决定;的,和被激活信息的正确与否无关;ＦＯＤ判断的准确性是由被激活信息的强度决定的;且二者是在内联系的。     

人类自我意识的多重起源：兼论精神分裂症的进化论解释

将ＰｏｗｖｉｎｅｌｌｉａｎｄＣａｎｔ提出的栖处降服假说推广以生态位－亚生态位中的维数－参量之间的更一般的互相降服情景,提出了人类的自我意识的多重起源的假设及对精神分裂症作出了进化方面的解释,最后对意识起源之谜进行了探讨和推测：意识具有精炼信息的功能。     

Depressive symptoms in Swedish adolescents

This study examined the prevalence of self-reported depressive symptoms in a Swedish urban school sample (n=547) aged 13 to 18 years using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The data obtained were examined with respect to sex and age differences and compared with a clinical sample of adolescents hospitalized because of psychiatric disturbances. The results indicated a strong preponderance of depressive symptoms among girls in the school sample, in particular for the severe symptom level. Eight percent of subjects reported depressive symptoms sufficiently high to be classified as a moderate, and 2% as a severe, level of depression. Factor analysis yielded four factors representing dysphoric mood, social activity, relationship, and food-related dimensions. The BDI showed a high internal consistency, and test-retest reliability calculated for a 2-week and a 2-month interval revealed strong correlations. The means of total scores on the BDI for the clinical sample were significantly higher than for those in the school sample.     

Defects of immediate memory related to the cerebral blood flow distribution

Different forms of memory defects were studied in 16 patients with organic dementia. The test performance was related to the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in the left (dominant) hemisphere. Verbal memory (Paired Associates) correlated to the blood flow in temporal and parietal regions. Spatial recognition (Memory for Objects, Memory for Geometrical Design) correlated to the temporal and lower frontal regions. One spatial memory test (Visual Retention test) correlated to the temporal region only. Another spatial memory test (Memory for Design) did not show correlations to any regions of the dominant hemisphere. Finally it was found that the hemisphere mean flow values did not correlate to performance. This emphasizes the main finding—the regional correlations. It is concluded that memory performance involves various extratemporal regions depending upon the specific quality of the memory task to be performed.     

Models for normal intuitionistic modal logics

Kripke-style models with two accessibility relations, one intuitionistic and the other modal, are given for analogues of the modal systemK based on Heyting's prepositional logic. It is shown that these two relations can combine with each other in various ways. Soundness and completeness are proved for systems with only the necessity operator, or only the possibility operator, or both. Embeddings in modal systems with several modal operators, based on classical propositional logic, are also considered. This paper lays the ground for an investigation of intuitionistic analogues of systems stronger thanK. A brief survey is given of the existing literature on intuitionistic modal logic.     

The induced effect,vertical disparity,and stereoscopic theory

The induced effect is an apparent slant of a frontal plane surface around a vertical axis, resulting from vertical magnification of the image in one eye. It is potentially important in suggesting a role for vertical disparity in stereoscopic vision, as proposed by Helmholtz. The paper first discusses previous theories of the induced effect and their implications. A theory is then developed attributing the effect to the process by which the stereoscopic response to horizontal disparity is scaled for viewing distance and eccentricity. The theory is based on a mathematical analysis of vertical disparity gradients produced by surfaces at various distances and eccentricities relative to the observer. Vertical disparity is shown to be an approximately linear function of eccentricity, with a slope or gradient which decreases with observation distance. The effect of vertical magnification on such gradients is analyzed and shown to be consistent with a change in the eccentricity factor, but not the distance factor, required to scale horizontal disparity. The induced effect is shown to be an appropriate stereoscopic response to a zero horizontal disparity surface at the eccentricity indicated. However, since extraretinal convergence signals provide conflicting evidence about eccentricity, they may attenuate the induced effect from its mathematically predicted value. The discomfort associated with the induced effect is attributed to this conflict.     

NOTE ON THE RETENTION OF CONNECTED DISCOURSE

Two sentences were constructed having roughly the same content but different predictability ( P -) scores. One or other of the sentences was presented auditorily once only to different groups of subjects who were instructed to listen carefully, without however, being informed of the learning character of the experiment. The groups were then tested for retention after one of the following intervals: IM, 3 min., 2 hours, 20 hours. The sentences were found to differ in memorability (amount recalled) in IM but not in LTM. The reproductions were also analysed with regard to synonym and non-synonym substitutions and the implications for the chunking hypothesis discussed.     

The Personality of R’ Nahman of Bratslav: Comparing Dream Content Analysis and Biography

The technique of dream content analysis as a source for gaining a clear personality picture of the dreamer was first formalized by Calvin S. Hall. It has been used in this paper to gain a better understanding of a historical, renowned personage—R Nahman of Bratslav, who established a distinct sect within the Jewish-Hasidic circles in Eastern Europe about two hundred years ago. He was a very controversial figure, and remains so to this day. Following a detailed analysis of 17 of his dreams, a personality picture of R Nahman has been derived. A comparison of this picture with what is known from his biography, showed many correspondences, as well as some non correspondences. The dream analysis discloses basic, psychological motivation, while the biography points to relatively more specific behavioral traits, even though both relate to the highly complex personality of R Nahman.