Holes and wholes: a reply to Rubin and Kanwisher

This paper, contrary to skepticism about the human ability to perceive topological properties, addresses some commonly heard nontopological counterexplanations and provides evidence to rule out these apparent counterexamples against the topological hypothesis. Data from improved control conditions show that the reason why these counterexamples seem inconsistent with the topological hypothesis is that they fail to take due account of two factors: visibility, and organization other than physical connectedness.     

Lexical processing in a non-native language: Effects of language proficiency and learning strategy

In three experiments, native Chinese speakers were asked to use their native and non-native languages to read and translate Chinese words and to name pictures. In Experiment 1, four groups of subjects with various degrees of proficiency in their second language, English, participated. In Experiments 2 and 3, subjects were first asked to learn a list of words in a new language, French, using either Chinese words or pictures as media; then they performed the reading, naming, and translation tasks. All subjects performed better in reading words than in naming pictures, when responding in Chinese. When the response was in the non-native language (English or French), high-learning subjects were equally efficient in translation and picture-naming tasks. Low-learning subjects, however, performed better in either the translation or the picture-naming task, depending on their learning strategies. These results are consistent with the idea that both proficiency in a non-native language and the strategy for acquiring the language are main determinants for the pattern of lexical processing in that language.     

句子理解的实验研究

在三种不同的条件下,对人验证句子的过程作了比较研究。结果表明,无论在哪种条件下,验证不同类型句子的时间模式是一致的。在句子-图形验证任务中,不管这些图形是抽象的符号还是与常识有关的具体事物的图形,其加工所需的时问基本上是相同的。但是,句子-常识验证所需的时间,要比句子-图形验证的时间明显地短。实验还表明,否定词在句中的位置,对句子的理解有一定的影响。     

特殊青少年感觉寻求特质的研究

本文对优秀少年、少年犯和普通少年进行了感觉寻求特质、认知复杂性、棒框测验和心率的研究。旨在检验和证实F.Farley的有关理论:高感觉寻求者由于寻求刺激方式的不同而具有两种不同的行为倾向;并深入探讨不同少年的认知和生理特点。实验结果表明,少年犯和优秀少年比普通少年具有更高的感觉寻求倾向。优秀少年和少年犯寻求刺激的方面是不同的。优秀少年的认知复杂性分数较高,并倾向于场独立性特征,对新异刺激倾向于朝向反射特点;少年犯则具有较低的认知复杂性和场依存性特征。     

Computational and reasoning abilities in arithmetic: Cross-generational change in China and the United States

A Chinese advantage over Americans was found for economically relevant computational and reasoning abilities in arithmetic for groups of 6th- and 12th-grade students matched or equated on general intelligence. No cross-national difference for computational or reasoning abilities was found for samples of older (60- to 80-year-old) Chinese and American adults equated on general intelligence. The pattern of change in arithmetical competencies across cohorts suggests that the Chinese advantage in 6th and 12th grade is due to a cross-generational decline in competencies in the United States and a cross-generational improvement in China.     

Chicks Injected with Antisera to either S-100α or S-100β Protein Develop Amnesia for a Passive Avoidance Task

The cellular expression of S-100β protein is upregulated in Alzheimer's disease and in Down's syndrome, and this protein has been implicated in memory-related processes in laboratory animals. However, the possibility that the α subunit of S-100 is also involved in memory has not yet been examined. In the present study, day-old black Australorp white Leghorn cockerel chicks (Gallus domesticus) received injections of monoclonal antisera to S-100α (1:50) or S-100β (1:500) into each hemisphere immediately after training on a one-trial passive avoidance task. The chicks displayed significantly lower retention levels than control birds that had been injected with antisera to carbonic anhydrase, or with saline (p< .01). S-100α antisera had an amnestic effect when injected between 0 and 20 min after training, with memory deficits occurring from 30 min postlearning, at the point of transition between the A and the B phases of the Gibbs-Ng intermediate memory stage. By contrast, the S-100β antisera needed to be injected either 5 min before or immediately after training and produced amnesia 10 min earlier, at the start of the A phase of the intermediate memory stage. We conclude that the two subunits of the S-100 protein are required at different points in the sequence of events leading to the consolidation of passive avoidance memory.     

A human-centered approach for designing World-Wide Web browsers

Because the World-Wide Web has features that are not found in traditional information systems, it has some unique problems pertaining to human use, such as the difficulty of searching for specific information. This paper describes human cognitive limitations pertinent to the design of Web browsers and provides a conceptual model for human information processing on the Web. It also compares user strategies and use of browser functions for two tasks that differ in the specificity of the information that is to be retrieved. General principles and specific recommendations for the design of Web browsers are derived from these considerations.     

快速书写条件下硬笔笔迹变量与认知及个性特征的关系

以圆珠笔为书写工具．北京市某中学高一学生为被试,有效数据169人．探讨了在快速抄写条件下,笔迹书写特征与认知及个性的关系：18个笔迹变量可抽取笔压、结构、特征、字体和空间五个反映字的书写特征的因素;书写特征与认知因素间,横、竖笔压与概念形成速度。整篇压与视力追踪、字位与眼手协调相关显著;横笔压与16PF测验中的畏缩退怯——冒险敢为有正相关;竖笔压与艾森克个性因素的N有高相关。     

小学儿童合取概念的形成及其与元认知的关系

采用个别访谈与问卷相结合的方法．研究了小学四、五、六年级共48名儿童合取概念的形成及其元认知的发展。结果表明．小学儿童形成合取概念的能力发展既具有渐进性,又有不均衡性;其元认知知识水平和元认知监控能力的发展均呈现出稳中有变的趋势;各年级的元认知能力与形成合取概念的步数之间均存在非常显著的相关。     

中国和澳大利亚父母报告的儿童社会性发展

采用作者编制的《３－９岁儿童社会性发展量表》的英译本,在２８４名澳大利亚儿童中进行测试。结果表明,对于社会文化背景差异巨大的中国和澳大利亚,本量表具有较好的稳定性和跨文化适用性。儿童社会性发展的各个方面,在中澳父母心目中占有不同地位：中国父母重视自我意识、社会技能、意志品质,而澳大利亚父母更重视社会技能和社会情绪的发展。在中澳两个样本中,女孩的社会性发展量表得分均高于男孩。