Neural changes in the ventral and dorsal visual streams during pattern recognition learning

The learning process related to pattern and object recognition is difficult to study because the human brain has a remarkable capacity to recognise complex visual forms from early infancy. In the present study, we investigated on-going neural changes underlying the learning process of visual pattern recognition by means of a device substituting audition for vision. Functional MRI evidenced the gradual pattern recognition-induced recruitment of the ventral visual stream, bilaterally, from learning session 1 to session 3, and a slight decrease in these activation foci from session 3 to session 4. The initial increase in activation is thought to reflect the gradually enhanced visualisation of patterns in the subjects' mind across sessions. By contrast the subsequent decrease reported at the end of the training period is interpreted as the progressive optimisation of neuronal responses elicited by the task. Our results, in accordance with previous observations, suggest that the succession of activation increase and decrease in sensori-motor areas could be a general rule in sensory and sensori-motor learning.     

Local Dynamic Stability of the Locomotion of Lower Extremity Joints and Trunk During Backward Upslope Walking

Backward slope walking was considered as a practical rehabilitation and training skill. However, its gait stability has been hardly studied, resulting in its limited application as a rehabilitation tool. In this study, the effect of walking direction and slope grade were investigated on the local dynamic stability of the motion of lower extremity joints and trunk segment during backward and forward upslope walking (BUW/FUW). The local divergence exponents (λ_S) of 16 adults were calculated during their BUW and FUW at grades of 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15%. Mean standard deviation over strides (MeanSD) was analyzed as their gait variability. Backward walking showed larger λ_S for the abduction-adduction and rotational angles of knee and ankle on inclined surface than forward walking, while λ_S for hip flexion-extension angle at steeper grades was opposite. No grade effect for any joint existed during BUW, while λ_S increased with the increasing grade during FUW. As to the trunk, walking direction did little impact on λ_S. Still, significant larger λ_S for its medial-lateral and vertical motion were found at the steeper grades during both FUW and BUW. Results indicate that during BUW, the backward direction may influence the stability of joint motions, while the trunk stability was challenged by the increasing grades. Therefore, BUW may be a training tool for the stability of both upper and lower body motion during gait.     

当代大学生职业兴趣的结构与测量

该研究考察了我国当代大学生职业兴趣的结构,并编制出相应的测量工具.首先通过开放式问卷调查、文献调研,以及对已有测评工具中条目的整理,构建出职业兴趣描述库,再以此为基础编制自陈式职业兴趣调查表,对大学生的职业兴趣结构进行初步探索,得出九个维度,分别命名为研究型、艺术型、展示型、社会型、冒险型、企业型、常规型、现实型和生态型.其次通过验证性因素分析方法检验测验的构想效度,结果发现各指标拟合良好.此外,实证数据也表明测验具有良好的同质性信度和重测信度.研究结果证明大学生职业兴趣调查表具有较好的心理测量学品质,可应用于实践领域.     

Types of Leaders Across the Organizational Hierarchy: A Person-Centered Approach

Leadership pipeline research typically has taken a “skill-centered” approach to describe the changing skill requirements across management positions. However, the current study advances previous research by taking a “person-centered” approach to investigate the prevalence of different leader types along the organizational hierarchy. Based on an inverse principle components analysis, this study identified three unique patterns of skill configuration. We labeled the three leader types: (a) Driven Experts, (b) Principled Partners, and (c) Charismatic Advocates. It was found that the prevalence of one type (Principled Partners) decreased across organizational levels, whereas the other two types (Driven Experts and Charismatic Advocates) increased in the prevalence from the low to high management levels. The implications of the findings on leadership development are discussed.     

Are Chinese narcissists disagreeable? Evidence from self‐ and peer‐ratings of agreeableness

Many studies have found that narcissism is negatively related to agreeableness in Western samples. Four experiments explored this relationship in a Chinese population. In Study 1, 228 junior high school students reported their narcissism and Five Factor Personality traits. In Study 2, participants recruited through the internet completed the measures of narcissism and agreeableness. In Study 3, 145 college students completed the measures of narcissism and agreeableness, as well as self‐esteem and social desirability. In Study 4, 204 senior high school adolescents reported their own narcissistic and agreeableness personality traits. They also received peer‐ratings of agreeableness. We found that narcissism was positively related with self‐reported agreeableness (Study 1, 2 and 4), but not with other ratings of agreeableness (Study 4). Chinese narcissists perceived themselves as agreeable, and their self‐perceptions of agreeableness were more positive than their peers rated them. We discuss the current findings in relation to the Chinese cultural context and underscore cultural roots of narcissism.     

表现性测验在能力评价中的应用

相对传统的纸笔测验形式,表现性测验的突出特点是任务的真实性水平较高。表现性测验是一种认知导向的测验。在国外教育、医学、心理咨询与治疗等领域的能力评价中,一系列表现性测验已被开发出来并用于实践,获得了较好的心理测量学指标。表现性测验可用于国内学生、教师的能力评价,辅助人才选拔以及相关职业资格认证的实践。表现性测验开发过程中若合理应用概化理论、项目反应理论等现代测量理论,对于提高测验信度和效度都有一定积极意义。     

HO-DINA模型的MCMC参数估计及模型性能研究

认知诊断目前在国内外越来越受到重视,而要真正实现认知诊断,需借助一定的计量学模型即认知诊断模型。国际上,目前已开发近60种认知诊断模型,不同模型又各具特点。本研究重点分析国外研究较成熟的模型--HO-DINA/DINA模型,具体探讨该模型参数估计的实现及模型性能,采用Monte Carlo模拟方法进行,研究发现：(1)本研究对项目参数、属性参数和被试参数估计返真性较好、稳健性较强、HO-DINA模型具有较高的判断率,MCMC算法可行;（2）诊断的属性个数越多,诊断的模式正确率越低,建议实际使用该模型时,诊断的属性个数不宜超过7个;（3）用于诊断的项目数越多,诊断的模式正确率越高,在实际工作中,若要保证有80%以上的模式判准率,则4个属性的至少需20题,5个、6个和7个属性的至少需要40题,8个属性至少需60题。实际运用者应根据实际情况考虑适当的项目数及属性数。     

Children's memory for the times of events from the past years

This study tested 8–12‐year‐olds' ability to localize in time parent‐reported events from four time intervals ranging from 6 months to 4 years ago. Memory for content was very accurate, and children's time estimates showed substantial agreement with the times provided by their parents. Accuracy of year judgments declined with retention interval, with the greatest change occurring between the 1–2‐year and 2–3‐year intervals. Season, month and time of day accuracy were much more stable over time. There were significant improvements with age in performance on measures of conventional time knowledge, and this performance was correlated with the accuracy of time estimates on the long time scales, controlling for age and general cognitive ability. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Going my way? The benefits of travelling in the same direction

Couples' marital satisfaction can depend on whether they commute to work in the same or different directions. Two surveys, conducted in the United States and Hong Kong, showed that partners' satisfaction with their relationship was greater when they traveled to work in the same direction than when they traveled in different directions. This was true regardless of whether the partners left for work at the same or different times. A controlled laboratory study eliminated alternative interpretations of the survey findings, showing that even randomly paired participants reported greater attraction to one another when they walked to an experimental task in the same direction rather than in different directions.