No advantage for remembering horizontal over vertical spatial locations learned from a single viewpoint

Previous behavioral and neurophysiological research has shown better memory for horizontal than for vertical locations. In these studies, participants navigated toward these locations. In the present study we investigated whether the orientation of the spatial plane per se was responsible for this difference. We thus had participants learn locations visually from a single perspective and retrieve them from multiple viewpoints. In three experiments, participants studied colored tags on a horizontally or vertically oriented board within a virtual room and recalled these locations with different layout orientations (Exp. 1) or from different room-based perspectives (Exps. 2 and 3). All experiments revealed evidence for equal recall performance in horizontal and vertical memory. In addition, the patterns for recall from different test orientations were rather similar. Consequently, our results suggest that memory is qualitatively similar for both vertical and horizontal two-dimensional locations, given that these locations are learned from a single viewpoint. Thus, prior differences in spatial memory may have originated from the structure of the space or the fact that participants navigated through it. Additionally, the strong performance advantages for perspective shifts (Exps. 2 and 3) relative to layout rotations (Exp. 1) suggest that configurational judgments are not only based on memory of the relations between target objects, but also encompass the relations between target objects and the surrounding room—for example, in the form of a memorized view.     

Testosterone and Proactive-Reactive Aggression in Youth: the Moderating Role of Harsh Discipline

This study tests a biosocial model of the link between testosterone and proactive-reactive aggression in youth at varying levels of harsh discipline. Given that proactive aggression is used to gain power and status and the importance of social learning in its formation, we hypothesized that testosterone would be associated with proactive aggression at higher levels of harsh discipline, and that this relationship would be more pronounced in boys than girls. Participants (n?=?445; 50% male; M age?=?11.92 years; 80% African-American) and their caregivers completed questionnaires including demographics, conflict tactics, and proactive-reactive aggression. Youth also provided a saliva sample for testosterone. Analyses revealed an interaction between testosterone and harsh discipline on proactive aggression in both boys and girls, and an interaction between testosterone and harsh discipline on reactive aggression in boys only. For those experiencing high levels of harsh discipline, testosterone was positively associated with proactive aggression, with the magnitude of the association increasing as harsh discipline increased. For below average levels of harsh discipline, there were protective effects of high testosterone for boy’s reactive aggression and for girl’s proactive aggression. The findings support basic tenets of the biosocial model which suggest that links between testosterone and aggressive behavior are dependent on contextual forces, highlighting the complex relationship between hormones, social context, and aggression. Novel findings include protective effects of high testosterone for those exposed to low levels of harsh discipline. Findings are discussed in light of the context-contingency effect and also within the differential susceptibility framework.     

Time–Frequency Cross Mutual Information Analysis of the Brain Functional Networks Underlying Multiclass Motor Imagery

To study the physiologic mechanism of the brain during different motor imagery (MI) tasks, the authors employed a method of brain-network modeling based on time–frequency cross mutual information obtained from 4-class (left hand, right hand, feet, and tongue) MI tasks recorded as brain–computer interface (BCI) electroencephalography data. The authors explored the brain network revealed by these MI tasks using statistical analysis and the analysis of topologic characteristics, and observed significant differences in the reaction level, reaction time, and activated target during 4-class MI tasks. There was a great difference in the reaction level between the execution and resting states during different tasks: the reaction level of the left-hand MI task was the greatest, followed by that of the right-hand, feet, and tongue MI tasks. The reaction time required to perform the tasks also differed: during the left-hand and right-hand MI tasks, the brain networks of subjects reacted promptly and strongly, but there was a delay during the feet and tongue MI task. Statistical analysis and the analysis of network topology revealed the target regions of the brain network during different MI processes. In conclusion, our findings suggest a new way to explain the neural mechanism behind MI.     

延迟间隔和提取条件对短时错误记忆的影响

采用短时DRM迫选任务,探讨提取条件和延迟间隔对短时错误记忆的影响,以进一步考察短时错误记忆的产生机制。结果发现,短时错误记忆的产生主要源于提取时对存贮细节通达的缺失。在无有效提取线索的条件下,延迟间隔能够增加错误记忆率;而有效提取线索存在时,真实记忆痕迹的可通达性增加能够极大避免错误记忆的产生,延迟间隔的作用则不显著。该实验的结果是对错误记忆理论解释的一种补充。     

“集体主义—个体主义”的差异:来自基因、大脑的证据

文章以"集体主义—个体主义"这一基本文化差异维度为基础,围绕文化、基因和大脑之间的关系,介绍了国内外最新研究进展。研究显示当人类执行各种文化任务时,那些为人类生存提供有力帮助的基因会被选择和保留下来;在自我表征,注意和知觉,决策、情绪和意向推断等心理状态或过程上的"集体主义—个体主义"文化差异都可追溯到脑功能的差异。研究者先后提出社会脑假设、文化—基因协同进化论、神经—文化交互作用模型等理论来解释基因、文化与大脑交互作用的现象。文章分析了当前研究中存在的问题,并对未来的研究进行了展望。     

Judgments About Fact and Fiction by Children From Religious and Nonreligious Backgrounds

In two studies, 5‐ and 6‐year‐old children were questioned about the status of the protagonist embedded in three different types of stories. In realistic stories that only included ordinary events, all children, irrespective of family background and schooling, claimed that the protagonist was a real person. In religious stories that included ordinarily impossible events brought about by divine intervention, claims about the status of the protagonist varied sharply with exposure to religion. Children who went to church or were enrolled in a parochial school, or both, judged the protagonist in religious stories to be a real person, whereas secular children with no such exposure to religion judged the protagonist in religious stories to be fictional. Children's upbringing was also related to their judgment about the protagonist in fantastical stories that included ordinarily impossible events whether brought about by magic (Study 1) or without reference to magic (Study 2). Secular children were more likely than religious children to judge the protagonist in such fantastical stories to be fictional. The results suggest that exposure to religious ideas has a powerful impact on children's differentiation between reality and fiction, not just for religious stories but also for fantastical stories.     

Modeling of 1-3 piezoelectric composites operating in thickness-stretch vibration mode

For bulk piezoelectric ceramics plates, the fundamental thickness-stretch (TSt) waves are always coupled to the in-plane extension waves and the symmetric thickness-shear waves. The occurrence of these spurious modes in bulk piezoelectric ceramics plates is undesirable as it may interfere with the operation of transducers. 1–3 piezoelectric composites are promising candidates to suppress the spurious modes mentioned above. However, theoretical modelling of multiphase ceramic composite objects is very complex. In this study, a simple analytical TSt vibration model is constructed from three-dimensional equations of linear piezoelectricity. The mechanical damping is considered in the model by introducing a complex elastic constant. The performance of 1–3 piezoelectric composites is analysed and the electrical impedance results from theoretical and experimental analysis are compared. The results show that there is excellent agreement between the experimental electrical impedance and that obtained by the theoretical TSt vibration analysis. This indicates that 1–3 piezoelectric composites can be operated in a nearly pure TSt vibration mode near the fundamental resonance. The analytical model we present is valid for analysing 1–3 piezoelectric composites plates with large aspect ratios quickly and efficiently.     

Muslim Experiential Religiousness in Pakistan: Meaning in Life,General Well-Being and gender differences

This study examined relationships of Muslim spirituality with positive psychology in Pakistan. In a sample of 200 university students and community members, the spirituality of Muslim Experiential Religiousness displayed direct linkages with Meaning in Life and General Well-Being subscales. Muslim Experiential Religiousness also correlated positively with single-item assessments of the Intrinsic, Extrinsic Personal, and Extrinsic Social Religious Orientations and explained the relationships of these religious motivations with General Life Satisfaction. Women scored higher than men on Muslim Experiential Religiousness, but at least some linkages of Muslim spirituality with positive psychology were more robust in men. As in other recent investigations, these data confirmed Muslim Experiential Religiousness as a valid index of Muslim spirituality beyond the Iranian cultural context in which it was developed.