Psychopathological correlates of self-reported behavioural inhibition in normal children.

The present study examined the relationship between self-reported behavioural inhibition and psychopathological symptoms in a sample of 152 children aged 12-14 years. Children were provided with a definition of behavioural inhibition and then asked to classify themselves as low, middle or high on behavioural inhibition. Furthermore, children completed questionnaires of worry, depression and anxiety symptoms. Results showed that children who endorsed the high behavioural inhibition category had elevated levels of anxiety, worry and depression compared to children who endorsed the low or middle behavioural inhibition categories. Moreover, children high on behavioural inhibition more frequently reported anxiety disorders symptoms in the subclinical range. These findings fit well with those of previous studies on behavioural inhibition.     

Imaginative suggestibility and hypnotizability: an empirical analysis.

Hypnotic and nonhypnotic suggestibility were investigated in 2 experiments. In Experiment 1, nonhypnotic suggestibility was suppressed when measured after hypnotic suggestibility, whereas hypnotic suggestibility was not affected by the order of assessment. Experiment 2 confirmed a small but significant effect of hypnosis on suggestibility when nonhypnotic suggestibility was measured first. Nonhypnotic suggestibility was correlated with absorption, fantasy proneness, motivation, and response expectancy, but only expectancy predicted suggestibility when the other variables were controlled. Behavioral response to hypnosis was predicted by nonhypnotic suggestibility, motivation, and expectancy in a model accounting for 53% of the variance. Experiential response to hypnotic suggestion was predicted only by nonhypnotic suggestibility. Unexpectedly, hypnosis was found to decrease suggestibility for a substantial minority of participants.     

Division by multiplication

In two experiments, item-specific transfer was examined in simple multiplication and division with prime and probe problems separated by four to six trials. As was predicted by Rickard and Bourne's (1996) identical-elements model, response time (RT) savings were larger with identical (e.g., prime 63 divided by 7, probe 63 divided by 7) than with inverted (63 divided by 9 and 63 divided by 7) division problems, whereas identical (7 x 9 and 7 x 9) and inverted (9 x 7 and 7 x 9) multiplication problems produced equivalent transfer. Nonetheless, there was statistically significant transfer between inverted division problems. Furthermore, RT savings in the multiplication-to-division transfer conditions (e.g., prime 7 x 9, probe 63 divided by 7) indicated that multiplication mediated large-number division problems. These latter effects are not predicted by the identical-elements model but may be reconciled with the model by distinguishing associative transfer (facilitation owing to strengthening of a common problem node in memory) from mediated transfer (facilitation owing to mediation by a strengthened, related problem). Skilled adults can exploit the conceptual correspondences between multiplication and division facts in a highly efficient way to facilitate performance.     

Relationship of arithmetic problem solving and reflective-impulsive cognitive styles in third-grade students

Different individuals approach mathematical problems in a variety of ways, with these different approaches also reflected in over-all cognitive styles. This investigation had two purposes, first, to determine whether good and poor arithmetic problem solvers differ substantially in cognitive style, and second, to determine whether the students, after training in techniques of solving arithmetic problems, improve their performance with no significant change in cognitive style. A total of 98 third graders participated (mean age 8.1 yr.; 50 boys, 48 girls). The Matching Familiar Figure Test was used to classify the students by cognitive style as either Reflective or Impulsive. Students also were given training with different problem-solving exercises for different arithmetic problems. The training program in problem-solving strategies did not improve performance on arithmetic problems for Reflective students; however, Impulsive students' performance did improve after training.     

Mathematical engineering and mathematical change 1

In this paper, I introduce and examine the notion of “mathematical engineering” and its impact on mathematical change. Mathematical engineering is an important part of contemporary mathematics and it roughly consists of the “construction” and development of various machines, probes and instruments used in numerous mathematical fields. As an example of such constructions, I briefly present the basic steps and properties of homology theory. I then try to show that this aspect of contemporary mathematics has important consequences on our conception of mathematical knowledge, in particular mathematical growth.     

知识图对阅读的作用研究现状述评

知识图作为辅助阅读的一种方式,其辅助作用已为大量的研究所证实。本文介绍了知识图的概念和种类及其影响因素等方面研究的基本发现和结论。但目前对知识图作用的研究还停留在对辅助作用的方式的探讨上,对机制问题的研究数量和质量上都需加强。     

Preserved topographical memory following right temporal lobectomy

In an attempt to study remote memory for visuospatial information, geographical knowledge was examined in patient J.N., who had received a radical right temporal lobectomy to remove a large glioblastoma. In postoperative tests J.N. displayed severe deficits in anterograde memory for visuospatial and verbal material, visuoperceptual functions, constructions, attention, and response initiation. Despite her global cognitive deficiencies she performed normally on the WAIS Information Scale and the Fargo Map Test, a measure of geographical knowledge. In contrast, patients known to have severe amnesia exhibited impairments on tests of geographical knowledge that required precise localization of features such as cities. Assuming that J.N.'s performance is typical of patients with extensive damage to the right temporal lobe, the findings suggest that the integrity of the right temporal lobe is not essential for the retrieval of premorbidly established visuospatial memories.     

Processing resources and age differences in working memory

This study investigated the performance of young and old subjects on a modified version of the working memory task developed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974). Subjects were required to verify a set of sentences of varying complexity while they repeated aloud zero, two, or four words. The older subjects took longer to verify the sentences, especially when the sentences were grammatically complex, but the effect of concurrent memory load on verification latency was the same in both groups. These results cast doubt on the notion that there is an age-related decline in one general pool of processing resources. They also suggest that older people have greater difficulty with the active processing aspects, rather than with the passive holding aspects, of working memory tasks.     

Eye movement as a cue to figure motion in anorthoscopic perception

When a figure moves behind a narrow aperture in an opaque surface, if it is perceived as a figure, its shape will often appear distorted. Under such anorthoscopic conditions, the speed or direction of the object's motion is ambiguous. However, when the observer simultaneously tracks a moving target, a figure is always perceived, and its precise shape is a function of the speed or direction of tracking. The figure is seen as moving with the speed or in the direction of the target. Thus, it is argued that eye movement serves as a cue to the figure's motion, which, in turn, determines its perceived length or orientation.     

Relative allocation on concurrent schedules can depend on schedule parameters when behavioral parameters are constant

We develop a simple model of switching between the initial links of a concurrent-chain procedure. Behavior is determined by four parameters μ₁, μ₂, q₁, and q₂. The first two are the basic rates of switching from Schedule 1 and Schedule 2, respectively. The second two are the probabilities of leaving Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 after the corresponding terminal link has been completed. We show that for fixed values of these four parameters, the relative allocation on the initial links may change as a result of changes in initial-link schedules. The effect can be quite large if the switching rates are low. An implication is that relative allocation is not necessarily a good measure of behavior.