Semantic facilitation and translation priming effects in Chinese-English bilinguals

In two experiments, semantic facilitation and translation priming effects in Chinese-English bilingual speakers were demonstrated with a lexical decision task. A 300-msec stimulus-onset asynchrony (SOA) was used between display of the prime and the target item. Experiment 1 showed that subjects' lexical decision responses were facilitated to a greater extent when primed by a translation equivalent than a semantically related between-language word. In Experiment 2, we found that pictorial, between-language, and within-language primes produced comparable effects of semantic facilitation. These results are in line with the hypothesis that lexical items in different languages and pictures are processed by means of an amodal conceptual system.     

Misalignment effects in 3-D versions of Poggendorff displays

Strong misalignment effects are found in three-dimensional (3-D) versions of Poggendorff displays viewed binocularly. The components of the standard 2-D Poggendorff figure—the parallels and the oblique segments—were presented in 3-D depth as a flat rectangular object with occluding edges and an oblique line situated behind the object. Three experiments investigated the misalignment effects under three different observation instructions: Subjects were told to look at the oblique (Experiment 1), at the rectangle (Experiment 2), or at the background (Experiment 3). Experiments 1 and 2 examined the effects on judgments of alignment of varying the distance in depth that separates the oblique from the rectangle. Experiment 3 examined the effects of varying the distance between the fixated background and the 3-D Poggendorff figure. Both standard and reversed misalignment effects were obtained. When the viewing condition produces crossed disparity for the oblique, perceived misalignment occurs in the usual Poggendorff direction, but it is reversed with uncrossed disparity. Moreover, the amount of misalignment is related to the amount of disparity, and it can be much stronger than is usual in the 2-D versions of the Poggendorff. The misalignment effects can be explained by binocular integration to produce a single cyclopean image.     

Counseling applications of RET in a Chinese cultural context

To explore the potential of Rational Emotive Therapy (RET) with clients of Chinese background, a brief review is conducted with respect to parallels between RET philosophy and some key components of Chinese culture and ways in which Chinese think. Arguments are advanced as to why RET is particularly suitable for use within a Chinese cultural context. Issues involved in using RET with Chinese clients are addressed including the appreciation many Chinese have for the logical and rational aspects of RET, the most appropriate type of client-counselor relationship to facilitate RET therapeutic progress, appropriate ways to dispute, and some cautionary words on the use of “emotive methods”. Areas where the RET counselor needs to be particularly sensitive to the cultural background of the client are highlighted. Charles P. Chen holds a master's degree in educational counseling and is currently a Ph.D. student and instructor in the Department of Counselling Psychology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. His interests include cross-cultural and multi-cultural counseling, career counseling, and group counseling.     

Trial spacing is a determinant of cue interaction

Four conditioned lick suppression experiments with rats examined the effect of trial spacing on cue interaction. Experiments 1 and 2 found overshadowing to be eliminated with massed compound stimulus-outcome pairings and the usual trial spacing effect to be reversed with compound acquisition trials. Experiment 3 found that whether acquisition compound-outcome pairings were massed or spaced determined the effect of posttraining extinction treatment. Extinction of the overshadowing cue reduced responding following massed training and increased responding following spaced training. Extinction of the context decreased responding following massed training. Experiment 4 found the conditioning and devaluation results to be associative and stimulus specific. These results are in accord with the extended comparator hypothesis (J. C. Denniston, H. I. Savastano, & R. R. Miller, 2001).     

半结构化概率论辩

群组方法概率论辩是一种建模因知识不确定性而导致论证不确定性的有效方法。目前已有工作假设所有论证之间具有独立性,悬隔了论证之间的支持关系,在语义的解释上造成三个与直觉不甚相符的问题:第一,存在接受一个论证却不接受其子论证的可能性;第二,存在可能接受子论证间相互矛盾的论证;第三,论证受到其子论证的保护作用可能被削弱。针对这三个问题,在群组方法概率论辩的基础上引入直接子论证关系,建立半结构化概率论辩框架,恰当地修补原有群组方法的不足。     

Target locations in visual field and character recognition by students of Chinese

The potential influence of target location in a visual field on search should be considered in layouts of control panels and advertisements. This investigation was done to verify the assumption that the upper-left portion of a page or its equivalent naturally attracts the attention of the viewer. Exp. 1 used a tachistoscope to test which of eight Chinese characters first attracted the attention of viewers. The eight Chinese characters are arranged in a square and a circular configuration. In the square layout, a large square (18 cm x 18 cm) was first conceptually subdivided into nine equal parts (6 cm x 6 cm). Then, the eight Chinese characters were put in the center of each part, leaving the central part blank. In the circular layout, the same Chinese characters were symmetrically placed on the conceptual circumference (r = 6 cm) of a circle within a large square. Exp. 2 was a paper-and-pencil test. An embedded-fault-character-search was used to examine the location of the first faulty character discovered by the subjects. 60 college students and 36 schoolchildren were selected as subjects for the tachistoscopic experiment and paper-and-pencil test. Finally, five graduate students participated in Exp. 3 in which an eye camera registered subjects' eye movements to measured distribution of durations of looking over eight locations. The measurements indicated a slight predominance of the upper-left portion for college students and graduate students, and a slight predominance of the upper-right portion for schoolchildren.     

Transfer of value from fit

People experience regulatory fit when they pursue a goal in a manner that sustains their regulatory orientation (E. T. Higgins, 2000). Five studies tested whether the value experienced from regulatory fit can transfer to a subsequent evaluation of an object. In Studies 1 and 2, participants gave the same coffee mug a higher price if they had chosen it with a strategy that fit their orientation (eager strategy/promotion; vigilant strategy/prevention) than a strategy that did not fit. Studies 3-5 investigated possible mechanisms underlying this effect. Value transfer was independent of positive mood, perceived effectiveness (instrumentality), and perceived efficiency (ease), and occurred for an object that w as independent of the fit process itself. The findings supported a value confusion account of transfer.     

选择性注意加工机制上学困生和学优生的比较研究

本实验使用正、负启动技术 ,在严格控制各种条件下比较学困生和学优生在选择性注意加工机制———目标激活和分心物抑制方面的差异 ,进而探讨学困生在选择性注意加工机制上所存在的问题。结果显示 ,学困生和学优生的正启动量差异不显著 (p >0 .0 5 ) ,但学困生的负启动量显著小于学优生 (p <0 .0 0 1。这一结果说明 ,学困生在对目标反应期间易受分心物干扰 ,其抑制分心物干扰的能力较弱。同时启示我们应注重训练学困生抑制分心物干扰的能力     

同伴团体对儿童青少年学业成就和社会功能关系的影响

运用同伴评价、教师评估和学校记录等多种渠道收集关于同伴团体、社会功能、同伴接纳以及学业成就的资料,旨在考察同伴团体与儿童青少年学业成就和社会功能的关系。研究发现：绝大多数儿童青少年都有自己的同伴团体。这些同伴团体在学业成就上有很高的同质性。学业成就与社会适应无论在团体内的个体水平还是在团体水平上都密切相关。而且,团体的学业表现是个体学业成就和社会适应间的重要调节因素,表明团体学业规范对个体水平上学业成就与社会功能的关系有增强或是减弱的作用。这项研究再一次证明同伴团体在儿童个体发展中的重要意义。     

召唤与职业:驳韦伯对基督教职业观的理解——从克尔恺郭尔的基督教思想出发

韦伯在《新教伦理与资本主义精神》中,将职业与天职联系起来,并从这一角度指出,新教伦理促进了资本主义精神的兴起。该文认为这种直接的联系的基础是自然神论。通过引入克尔恺郭尔对西方理性形而上学的批判,笔者将论证,一方面,由自然神论衍生的基督教职业观在克尔恺郭尔的视野下是错误的,因为职业只是一个人生存的偶然性境遇之一,因此不是上帝的“召唤”。根据克尔恺郭尔对基督教的阐释,上帝的召唤是超越性的,这决定了它不可能直接地被人的理性理解,它以一种独特的———我称之为“否定性的”、“间接的”———方式被领会,召唤超越于职业,前者超越了人的理性,而后者是理性分工体系的产物;另一方面,上帝的召唤又与职业有关系。偶然性境遇恰恰是上帝进行召唤以及人作出回应的“场合”(occassion),一个基督徒如果占据某一职业,那么他(她)就必须辛勤劳动,甘愿“受苦”(suffering),韦伯正确地看到了基督徒对职业的重视、在职业上吃苦耐劳的表现,但未能正确地解释其原因。总之,依据克尔恺郭尔的思想,存在着一种有别于韦伯的基督教职业观,从而将基督教与资本主义精神联系起来是值得疑问的。