Learning to map: strategy discovery and strategy change in young children

A series of microgenetic experiments was conducted to examine the role of experience on 2.5- to 5-year-old children's discovery of spatial mapping strategies. With experience, 3- to 4-year-olds discovered a strategy for mapping corresponding locations that shared both featural and spatial similarities. When featural and spatial correspondences were placed in conflict, requiring children to negotiate both object-centered and location-centered mapping possibilities, 4- to 5-year-olds proved capable of discovering a novel mapping strategy, abandoning an ineffective strategy, and generalizing the acquired strategy across analogous tasks. Upon examining the mechanisms underlying developmental differences in strategy discovery and strategy change, the author observed that 3 key components contributed to the children's spatial mapping skills: encoding locations within each space, noticing a potential analogy between spaces, and detecting precise mapping correspondences.     

Causal attribution for interfirm contract violation: a comparative study of Chinese and American commercial arbitrators

In this study, the authors examined differences between Chinese and American commercial arbitrators. They predicted and found that Chinese arbitrators make higher awards for interfirm contract violations than Americans. This difference is partially explained by differences in attributions. Prior theory suggests, and the authors found, that the Chinese tend to have more internal attributions for events when observing group actions. When evidence provided to arbitrators is mixed (evidence is provided for both internal and external attributions), Chinese-American differences in awards become even stronger.     

Standing balance of children with developmental coordination disorder under altered sensory conditions

Maintenance of standing balance requires that sensory inputs be organized with the motor system. Current data regarding the influence of sensory inputs on standing balance in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) are limited. This study compared the influence of sensory organization and each sensory input on the standing stability between a group of 20 children, 4-6 years old, with DCD and an age- and gender-matched control group of 20 children. Three types of visual inputs (eyes open, eyes closed, or unreliable vision) and two types of somatosensory inputs (fixed or compliant foot support) were varied factorially to yield six sensory conditions. Standing stability was measured with a Kistler force plate for 30s and expressed as the center of pressure sway area. The results showed that the standing stability of the children with DCD was significantly poorer than that of the control children under all sensory conditions, especially when the somatosensory input was unreliable (compliant foot support) compared to when it was reliable (fixed foot support). The effectiveness of an individual sensory system, when it was the dominant source of sensory input, did not significantly differ between the groups. The results suggest that children with DCD experience more difficulty coping with altered sensory inputs, and that such difficulty is more likely due to a deficit in sensory organization rather than compromised effectiveness of individual sensory systems.     

归纳推理中的属性中心性效应

通过三个实验研究了属性的中心性程度对归纳推理的影响,结果表明,在归纳推理中存在属性中心性效应,中心属性比其他属性（次中心属性、再次中心属性）更能影响归纳推理。但属性中心性效应的出现受到了前提对象和结论对象相似性程度的制约,当前提对象和结论对象的相似程度高时,中心属性比其他属性更能影响归纳推理;随着相似性水平的降低,中心属性的归纳推理力度越来越弱,而次中心属性、再次中心属性的归纳推理力度则会依次表现出越来越强的趋势,到最后当前提对象和结论对象的属性完全不相似时,最次中心属性的归纳推理力度达到最高水平,而中心属性的归纳推理力度则降低到最低水平。由于再次中心属性的归纳推理力度的最高水平没有显著高于随机水平,而中心属性的归纳推理力度的最低水平却显著低于随机水平,因此,研究者认为,在前提对象和结论对象完全不相似的情况下,被试将确信不能采用中心属性来进行归纳推理的力度判断,而采用猜测的方式选择了肯定可以排除的项目之外的其他项目,这体现了具有不确定的归纳推理活动的过程的典型特征     

事件性前瞻记忆的加工机制：来自ERP的证据

采用事件相关电位技术,对前瞻记忆的加工机制——主要是执行前的加工机制进行研究。控制条件为单纯的背景任务,实验条件为背景任务含前瞻记忆任务,对两种条件下非靶线索的行为数据进行比较,结果表明实验条件下被试的反应时显著长于控制条件,可能说明两种条件的认知过程存在差异,这种差异在ERPs上主要体现为刺激呈现200ms以后,两种条件的波形和脑地形图存在显著差异。结果支持预备注意加工和记忆加工理论,也部分支持多重加工理论     

阅读中文时信息整合的即时性

通过两个实验对中文语篇理解中相关背景信息的激活与整合到底是即时发生抑或延时进行这一问题进行了探讨。研究所用的阅读材料都包含一个目标句,它与局部语境一致,但与前文提供的背景信息冲突或无关。实验一采用自定步速逐行阅读技术,考察了一致性条件以及句子结束的标记（即句号）是否存在对目标句阅读时间的影响。结果发现,句子结束的标记是否存在并不影响目标句整合加工的进行。实验二运用眼动追踪技术着重探讨信息整合加工能否在目标句关键区中即时进行,实验条件仍为当前信息与背景信息的一致性,重点考察其对目标句中关键前区、关键区及关键后区的作用。结果表明,自变量的操纵导致关键区中反映初次加工的指标产生可靠的效应。这一结果表明中文语篇理解中整合加工的过程开始得非常迅速,是一个即时引发、而非延时进行的过程     

播种 耕耘 收获——贺“上海道教音乐”列为国家级非物质文化遗产

今年6月14日,是中国第三个"文化遗产日",国务院公布了第二批国家级非物质文化遗产名录.在名录中,上海道教音乐榜上有名,可喜可贺.喜的是改革开放以来,宗教信仰自由政策不断落实,道教遇到了百年难遇的契机."修庙建观"、"著书立说"、"妙音缭绕",一派生气勃勃的太平景象.     

论杨庆堃先生的分散性宗教

杨庆堃先生通过"分散性宗教"这一概念准确地分析出了中国人的宗教信仰状态和性质,并有力地回应了一部分西方学者的"中国人无宗教信仰"的错误观点.本文重点分析杨庆堃先生"分散性宗教"这一核心概念,并通过对其特性和社会作用的探讨来加深对这一概念的认知.     

失译《杂譬喻经》之《六牙象王本生》考证

在佛教文学中,本生是有固定的格式的。通过对有关《六牙象王本生》的巴利语、藏语、各种汉语译本的比较研究,可以确定,历史上一直流传至今的失译《杂譬喻经》之《六牙象王本生》存在错简现象;同时,这个文本与巴利语Chaddantaj仭taka更一致,因而二者有十分密切的关系。