Combined visual illusion effects on the perceived index of difficulty and movement outcomes in discrete and continuous fitts’ tapping

The speed-accuracy trade-off is a fundamental movement problem that has been extensively investigated. It has been established that the speed at which one can move to tap targets depends on how large the targets are and how far they are apart. These spatial properties of the targets can be quantified by the index of difficulty (ID). Two visual illusions are known to affect the perception of target size and movement amplitude: the Ebbinghaus illusion and Muller-Lyer illusion. We created visual images that combined these two visual illusions to manipulate the perceived ID, and then examined people’s visual perception of the targets in illusory context as well as their performance in tapping those targets in both discrete and continuous manners. The findings revealed that the combined visual illusions affected the perceived ID similarly in both discrete and continuous judgment conditions. However, the movement outcomes were affected by the combined visual illusions according to the tapping mode. In discrete tapping, the combined visual illusions affected both movement accuracy and movement amplitude such that the effective ID resembled the perceived ID. In continuous tapping, none of the movement outcomes were affected by the combined visual illusions. Participants tapped the targets with higher speed and accuracy in all visual conditions. Based on these findings, we concluded that distinct visual-motor control mechanisms were responsible for execution of discrete and continuous Fitts’ tapping. Although discrete tapping relies on allocentric information (object-centered) to plan for action, continuous tapping relies on egocentric information (self-centered) to control for action. The planning-control model for rapid aiming movements is supported.     

A Scanpath Analysis of the Risky Decision‐Making Process

In the field of eye tracking, scanpath analysis can reflect the sequential and temporal properties of the cognitive process. However, the advantages of scanpath analysis have not yet been utilized in the study of risky decision making. We explored the methodological applicability of scanpath analysis to test models of risky decision making by analyzing published data from the eye‐tracking studies of Su et al. (2013); Wang and Li (2012), and Sun, Rao, Zhou, and Li (2014). These studies used a proportion task, an outcome‐matched presentation condition, and a multiple‐play condition as the baseline for comparison with information search and processing in the risky decision‐making condition. We found that (i) the similarity scores of the intra‐conditions were significantly higher than those of the inter‐condition; (ii) the scanpaths of the two conditions were separable; and (iii) based on an inspection of typical trials, the patterns of the scanpaths differed between the two conditions. These findings suggest that scanpath analysis is reliable and valid for examining the process of risky decision making. In line with the findings of the three original studies, our results indicate that risky decision making is unlikely to be based on a weighting and summing process, as hypothesized by the family of expectation models. The findings highlight a new methodological direction for research on decision making. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

方位和视空间工作记忆广度对空间情境模型更新的影响

该研究采用混合实验设计,以含有空间信息的语篇为实验材料,选取32名不同视空间工作记忆广度的大学生作为被试,考察方位和视空间工作记忆广度对空间情境模型更新的影响。研究发现:方位对空间情境模型更新的影响是显著的,视空间工作记忆广度对模型更新后的左右方位的判断有显著影响。研究验证了方位效应的稳定性,发现了视空间工作记忆广度对空间情境模型更新的影响。     

预期理论的提出、演进及危机

1979年,Kahneman与Tversky修正了von Neumann与Morgenstern的期望效用理论(expected utility theory,EU)中有关线性概率的假设,提出了预期理论(prospect theory,PT)。1992年,两人对预期理论作了进一步的改进,将该理论演进为累积性预期理论(cumulative prospect theory,CPT)。本文就从PT到CPT的发展、CPT与PT的差异及CPT所面临的危机进行了述评。     

邪教的划分依据、治理对策

同宗教相比,邪教目前已成为国际社会的公害和文明社会的天敌。打击邪教不仅是受危害国家的紧迫任务,而且是国际社会的共同责任。     

决策者-建议者系统模型的回顾与前瞻

自从决策者-建议者系统于1995年被提出以来,在决策领域引起了广泛的关注。通过总结决策者-建议者系统的研究范式和过程模型,比较了其与群体决策和团队决策的异同。目前在该系统模型中的主要研究变量涉及信任、建议者信心、专门知识、报酬、任务难度和相似性,已有的理论解释主要包括心理契约理论、态度改变理论、信念修正理论和沉没成本理论。未来的研究应当从变量关系、信任机制、建议提出和任务类型的角度进行专题探讨,并应当开展跨文化研究。     

事件相关振荡与振荡脑网络

事件相关振荡是伴随认知、情感和行为过程的脑电磁振荡活动,观察到其各类调频、调幅和调相现象,这种介观和宏观尺度上大量神经元的集体活动与微观尺度上神经元平均发放率和发放定时相互影响,共同参与神经信息的编码、表征、通讯和调控。动态细胞集群假说认为大脑认知功能是神经网络通过同步振荡相互作用的结果,在基于振荡的大脑理论指引下,多尺度、跨脑区和跨频率事件相关振荡研究为揭开振荡脑网络的工作原理带来了希望     

Paired associate learning in Chinese children with dyslexia

A total of 82 Chinese 11- and 12-year-olds with and without dyslexia were tested on four paired associate learning (PAL) tasks, phonological awareness, morphological awareness, rapid naming, and verbal short-term memory in three different experiments. Experiment 1 demonstrated that children with dyslexia were significantly poorer in visual-verbal PAL than nondyslexic children but that these groups did not differ in visual-visual PAL performance. In Experiment 2, children with dyslexia had more difficulties in transferring rules to new stimuli in a rule-based visual-verbal PAL task as compared with children without dyslexia. Long-term retention of PAL was not impaired in dyslexic children across either experiment. In Experiment 3, rates of visual-verbal PAL deficits among children with dyslexia were all at or above 39%, the highest among all cognitive deficits tested. Moreover, rule-based visual-verbal PAL, in addition to morphological awareness and rapid naming ability, uniquely distinguished children with and without dyslexia even with other metalinguistic skills statistically controlled. Results underscore the importance of visual-verbal PAL for understanding reading impairment in Chinese children.