Does providing props during preparation help children to remember a novel event?

We investigated the conditions under which preparatory information presented 1 day before a novel event influenced 6-year-olds' recall 1 week later. Children were assigned to one of six experimental conditions. Three conditions involved preparatory information that described the event accurately but differed according to the presence and type of props (verbal, real props, and toy props). In two conditions, which also differed according to whether verbal information was supplemented with real props, half of the preparatory information described the event accurately, whereas the other half was thematically similar to, but inconsistent with, the event (misleading verbal and misleading props). Compared with the attentional control condition, all forms of preparation that described the event accurately increased correct recall. Preparation that included props improved photograph recognition. When half of the accurate information was replaced by misleading information, the positive benefit on recall was reduced, and when misleading props accompanied the misleading information, errors increased. The potential underlying mechanisms and implications for pediatric settings are discussed.     

社会信用体系的道德支撑与法律保障

我国社会信用危机的存在有多方面的原因:社会体制转轨导致社会秩序失范;社会转型导致道德困惑;信用法规不健全,缺少法治观念.建立社会信用体系需要从以下几方面着手:以道德观教育为切入点,构建信用体系的思想基础;建立道德建设的长效机制;信用行为应是一种"制度安排".同时,社会信用体系的构建还需要法律保障.     

Religious Belief and Practice in Urban China 1995–2005

Drawing on relevant data from surveys conducted in 1995 and 2005, this article explores the perceptible changes in religious beliefs and practices among the Han Chinese in urban areas during this ten-year period. Through analysing the survey data, the article attempts to examine these changes—the increasing awareness of religious others and the more revealing interaction between change and continuity—in the context of greater changes of society, economy, and politics. It concludes that, while commercialism and rationalism continue to dominate the ideological sky of urban China, spiritual beliefs and practices in various forms have also gained a strong footing in contemporary society and demonstrate a complex religiosity.     

马克思主义"互动式结合"发展模式探微

互动式结合是马克思主义存在发展的基本模式.这种模式具有其他思想流派不具备的先进特征,包含有多方面的具体内容.     

Improved statistics for contrasting means of two samples under non‐normality

This paper presents the asymptotic expansions of the distributions of the two‐sample t‐statistic and the Welch statistic, for testing the equality of the means of two independent populations under non‐normality. Unlike other approaches, we obtain the null distributions in terms of the distribution and density functions of the standard normal variable up to n^?1, where n is the pooled sample size. Based on these expansions, monotone transformations are employed to remove the higher‐order cumulant effect. We show that the new statistics can improve the precision of statistical inference to the level of o (n^?1). Numerical studies are carried out to demonstrate the performance of the improved statistics. Some general rules for practitioners are also recommended.     

The paradox of healing pain

Pain may be seen as a problem to be healed or as a means for healing. The secular biomedical view of pain is that it is to be avoided and alleviated; its only meaning is as a symptom of underlying disease. In contrast, there have been throughout history other views of suffering—as redemptive or as transformative, for example. This paper considers the disparity between these perspectives, examining the role of the emotions and the underlying neurobiological processes though which pain and suffering come to be experienced as meaningful, then analyzes interview material exploring how religion and religious beliefs help people cope with suffering or with pain. The experience of pain is subjective, enculturated experience; the meaning that pain or suffering holds within a given cultural context affects the experience of pain and suffering. In a context where pain and suffering are understood to be valuable, those experiences can be used for spiritual transformation and integrated within a meaningful identity. In contrast, in a context where pain and suffering are not understood to have value, that attitude can create more suffering, even in conditions meant to alleviate suffering, such as in biomedical situations.     

建设性后现代主义视角下的中医:如何返魅

中医在现代科学的祛魅过程中受到了严重冲击,并选择了"中医科学化"作为应对之策,后果并不理想.从建设性后现代主义视角来看,中医理应选择返魅,发挥自己在整体观、有机论、和谐观等方面的独特价值.推动中医的创新与发展,需要放弃科学与中医的对立,认识到中医的独特价值,复兴中医在医惠关系上的优良传统,增强中医的自身实力.     

关系推理中信念偏差效应的研究

采用结论评估范式,考察时向和空间关系推理中信念偏差效应的表现形式,以及心理模型理论对关系推理中信念偏差效应的解释力。研究结果表明,关系推理中信念偏差效应的表现形式与三段论有所不同,不论是时间推理还是空间推理中都存在信念主效应,但没有发现信念与逻辑的交互作用;心理模型理论不能对关系推理中信念偏差效应作出合理解释。     

以"自由"为核心的普世价值观念与中国伦理学

"自由"是现代市场经济制度的必然要求,并且表达着生活在现代市场经济制度中的"人"的理想.在当今世界,谁掌握了普世价值观念的话语权,谁就占据了道义制高点,就在国际交往中处于主动地位.但是西方国家至今垄断着普世价值观念的话语权,对中国的"妖魔化"正愈演愈烈,我们则处在欲辩无词的窘境.中国的现代伦理学应当高举"自由"的旗帜,从"自由"这些普世价值观念的角度深入和系统地总结改革开放以来的成功经验,从而丰富和发展马克思主义,进一步建构和完善社会主义核心价值体系.在经济全球化的背景中,在历史给定的不同民族文化传统和不同生活方式的基础上,通向"自由"的道路永远敞开着新的可能性.     

Environmental enrichment improves behavioral performance and auditory spatial representation of primary auditory cortical neurons in rat

Environmental enrichment (EE) has an important role in brain plasticity. Early research has shown that EE increases the response strength of neurons in the auditory cortex, but it remains unknown whether EE can influence the process of spatial localization in the auditory system. In this study, we raised rats in enriched and standard conditions from postnatal day 10 to day 56. By testing behavioral tasks via auditory cues, we have shown that EE improved the number of correct scores, but decreased the reaction time and azimuth deviation in behavioral performance of sound-azimuth discrimination. By in vivo extracellular recording, we have shown that EE enhanced the directional sensitivity of neurons in the primary auditory cortex. For example, EE rats had a smaller spatial receptive field, sharper frequency tuning curve and directional selective curve of auditory neurons compared with normal rats. Our findings indicate that early exposure to EE increases directional sensitivity. These results provide an insight into developmental plasticity in the auditory system.