Capturing and evaluating blinks from video-based eyetrackers

Blinks are related to several emotional states, and the present report describes a simple, reliable way to measure blinks from the video stream of an eye obtained during eyetracking, where the source of the eye video is a video camera attached to a head-mounted eyetracker. Computer vision techniques are employed to determine the moments that a blink starts and ends, for the purpose of calculating blink frequency and duration. The video is first processed to show blocks of eyelid and pupil movements, and is then analyzed for blink starts and ends. The moment of a blink start is reported when the eyelid starts to move quickly, exceeding a predetermined threshold. The end of a blink arises when the pupil size increases by less than a separate threshold. We observed several different blink patterns from different subjects, and our algorithm was designed to work for all of these patterns. We evaluated our algorithm by manually measuring the true blinks of five different subjects while they were eyetracked. To test the sensitivity and specificity of the algorithm, we employed a series of threshold values to plot the receiver operating characteristic curves. Using the best thresholds, we achieved excellent sensitivity (>90 %) and specificity (>99 %) over the five subjects. Potential applications of this research include real-time, nonintrusive, continuous and automated measurements of mental workload and other emotional states related to blink rates and durations.     

The Psychological Displacement Paradigm in Diary-Writing (PDPD) and its Psychological Benefits

The present study aimed to investigate the psychological displacement paradigm in diary-writing (PDPD) had both immediate and short-term psychological benefits. Participants were randomly assigned to write about their recent negative life experiences two times a week for 2 weeks in PDPD group or comparison group. Results revealed that the PDPD group displayed a decrease in negative emotion and an increase in positive emotion immediately after each writing session; they also showed an increase in psychological well-being relative to the comparison group for at least 2 weeks. Implications for PDPD are discussed.     

关于儿童自闭症行为矫治法的几个理论问题

了解儿童自闭症行为矫治法有助于提高自闭症治疗的质量和效果。本文讨论了有关儿童自闭症行为矫治法的几个理论问题。作者还介绍分析了中外自闭症文献中记载的儿童自闭症行为矫治法的临床实验及其治疗效果。     

Cytokine-Purine Interactions in Behavioral Depression in Rats

This paper reviews recent findings from our laboratories concerning metabolic and immune mediators of behavioral depression in rats. Specifically, a single injection of 6 mg/kg of reserpine substantially increases behavioral depression, as evidenced by an increase in the amount of time spent floating by independent groups of rats tested for swim performance at various times during the next week. The behavioral impairment consists of two components. An early component emerges one hour after reserpine treatment and persists for about 24 hours. The deficit is not reversed by intracranial ventricular infusion of the receptor antagonist for interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta). A second, late-component deficit appears approximately 48 hours after reserpine treatment and recovers within a week. Late-component depression is reversed by central infusion of the IL-1beta receptor antagonist, and is mimicked by central infusion of the proinflammatory cytokine. Importantly, both early and late components of reserpine-induced depression and IL-1beta induced depression are reversed by a systemic injection of the highly selective A2A adenosine receptor antagonist 8-(3-Chlorostyryl) caffeine. These data are discussed in terms of the overlap in the conservation-withdrawal reaction during sickness, traumatic stress, and major depression and the regional contribution of purines and cytokines to the organization of this reaction in the brain.     

Job Level and National Culture as Joint Roots of Job Satisfaction

Pour examiner les variations de la satisfaction au travail dans une perspective transculturelle et interfonctions, des donées d'enquête d'une compagnie internationale auprès de 129,087 répondants de 39 pays ont été analysées. Des analyses à plusieurs niveaux ont montré que la satisfaction au travail est positivement liée au statut et au niveau de l'emploi exercé dans les pays individualistes sans que soit le cas dans les pays collectivistes. De plus, la relation positive entre la satisfaction au travail et le niveau de l'emploi exercé ne se marque que pour les emplois offrant l'opportunité d'exercer ses compétences dans les pays individualistes. Le niveau de l'emploi est même négativement liéà la satisfaction au travail pour des emplois offrant peu d'opportunité d'exercer ses compétences dans les pays collectivistes.
To examine cross-cultural and cross-occupational variations in job satisfaction, data from a multinational company survey with 129,087 respondents from 39 countries was analysed. Multilevel analyses showed that job level is positively related to job satisfaction in individualistic countries but not in collectivistic countries. Moreover, the positive relationship between job level and job satisfaction holds only for jobs with much opportunity to use one's skills and abilities, especially in individualistic countries. Job level is even negatively related to job satisfaction in jobs with little opportunity to use one's skills and abilities in collectivistic countries.     

A longitudinal evaluation of a social support model of medication adherence among HIV-positive men and women on antiretroviral therapy.

Nonadherence in the management of chronic illness is a pervasive clinical challenge. Although researchers have identified multiple correlates of adherence, the field remains relatively atheoretical. The authors propose a cognitive-affective model of medication adherence based on social support theory and research. Structural equation modeling of longitudinal survey data from 136 mainly African American and Puerto Rican men and women with HIV/AIDS provided preliminary support for a modified model. Specifically, baseline data indicated social support was associated with less negative affect and greater spirituality, which, in turn, were associated with self-efficacy to adhere. Self-efficacy to adhere at baseline predicted self-reported adherence at 3 months, which predicted chart-extracted viral load at 6 months. The findings have relevance for theory building, intervention development, and clinical practice.     

民国佛教刊物所见当代韩国佛教史料摭议

中日甲午战争后,日本全面占领了韩国,两国佛教界的来往渐次减少,但是两国人民和佛教徒面对日本侵略者,共同要求民族独立和国土解放的目的,于20世纪上半叶仍然不断地保持联系。本文根据现在所见民国出版的报刊,集中介绍了这方面的史料,并对这些史料做了初步的分析,指出可以分为学术性、消息报导性、政治论说性、观感、募捐五种情况。本文特别考察了沟通中韩两国佛教的重要人物如太虚、圆瑛、玉慧观等人的活动,并重点阐述了韩国佛教徒玉慧观在华反对日本帝国主义的活动,及其在中韩佛教界的影响。玉慧观遇害以后,中国的佛教刊物从此再也没有韩国佛教的重要消息,仅此一点,就足以说明他在沟通韩中两国佛教中所起的重要作用。     

视时距知觉适应后效的空间选择性

时距知觉适应后效是指长时间适应于某一特定时距会导致个体对后续时距产生知觉偏差。其中对视时距知觉适应后效空间选择性的探讨存在争议,有研究支持位置不变性,也有研究支持位置特异性。这类研究能有效揭示时距编码的认知神经机制,位置不变性可能意味着时距编码位于较高级的脑区,而位置特异性则可能意味着时距编码位于初级视觉皮层。未来还可以探究时距知觉适应后效的视觉坐标表征方式,开展多通道研究以及相应的神经基础研究。     

Do incompatible arguments cause extensive processing in the evaluation of arguments? The role of congruence between argument compatibility and argument quality

Previous studies have demonstrated that arguments incompatible with prior beliefs are subjected to more extensive refutational processing, scrutinized longer, and judged to be weaker than arguments compatible with prior beliefs. However, this study suggests whether extensive processing is implemented when evaluating arguments is not decided by argument compatibility, but by congruence between two evaluating tendencies elicited by both argument compatibility and argument quality. Consistent with this perspective, the results of two experiments show that relative to congruent arguments, participants judged arguments eliciting incongruent evaluating tendencies as less extreme in strength, spent more time, and felt more hesitant generating strength judgments for them. The results also show that it is mainly incongruent arguments, not congruent arguments, whose strength ratings were more closely associated with the perceived personal importance of the issue, which intensified the tendency to evaluate arguments depending on argument compatibility. These results suggest that it is the incongruity between argument compatibility and argument quality, and not simply the argument compatibility, that plays a more important role in activating an extensive processing in the evaluation of arguments.