Emotional reactions to scandals: When does moral character make a difference?

A scandal can evoke public outrage when it is widely publicized and involves an individual who is perceived to have a high level of cultural representativeness. Two experiments showed that when the scandalous target's moral character was highlighted, emotional responses towards the target were least negative when the scandal was widely circulated and when the target was seen as a representative of his culture. These results suggest that when a cultural symbol is implicated in a widely‐circulated scandal, the negative emotions directed towards the scandalous individual can be alleviated when the public remains confident in his or her commitment to morality.     

两种道德情境下中学生的自我与他人情绪判断

将246名中学生分为三个年龄组,运用情境故事考察其在犯过和亲社会道德情境下的自我与他人情绪判断。进行卡方检验发现,在犯过情境中,12岁组的自我和他人情绪判断均以消极情绪为主,14和16岁组的自我和他人情绪判断之间存在差异,表现为他们对犯过情境中损人者的情绪判断多为积极情绪,而对自己的情绪判断则多为消极情绪;在亲社会情境中,三个年龄组的自我和他人情绪判断之间不存在差异,多以积极情绪判断为主。     

Probing the visual representation of faces with adaptation: A view from the other side of the mean

Sensory adaptation and visual aftereffects have long given insight into the neural codes underlying basic dimensions of visual perception. Recently discovered perceptual adaptation effects for complex shapes like faces can offer similar insight into high-level visual representations. In the experiments reported here, we demonstrated first that face adaptation transfers across a substantial change in viewpoint and that this transfer occurs via processes unlikely to be specific to faces. Next, we probed the visual codes underlying face recognition using face morphs that varied selectively in reflectance or shape. Adaptation to these morphs affected the perception of "opposite" faces both from the same viewpoint and from a different viewpoint. These results are consistent with high-level face representations that pool local shape and reflectance patterns into configurations that specify facial appearance over a range of three-dimensional viewpoints. These findings have implications for computational models of face recognition and for competing neural theories of face and object recognition.     

学前儿童对事实、信念、愿望和情绪间关系的认知

76名3至5岁儿童接受了区分事实和信念、根据信念推测他人愿望、根据愿望推测他人情绪等实验任务,通过考查学前儿童对事实、信念、愿望和情绪间关系的认知,探察学前儿童心理理论发展的特点。结果显示3岁儿童在区分信念和事实时,出现错报事实或错报信念两种错误,而不单纯是现实主义偏向错误;在推测他人愿望时,部分3岁和4岁儿童虽然能够正确报告他人的信念却不能正确推测他人愿望,愿望认知发展有其复杂性的一面。学前儿童主要依据愿望推测他人情绪,儿童对信念和愿望的认知水平制约儿童对他人情绪的理解。     

Narrative comprehension and retelling abilities of children with nonverbal learning disabilities

Nonverbal learning disabilities (NLD) are characterized by weaknesses in narrative discourse. Thirty-three children (M ag e= 11.7 years), 15 girls and 18 boys, listened to stories to evaluate their narrative comprehension and retelling abilities. Children with NLD (n = 11) performed as poorly as children with verbal impairment (n = 10) on all narrative measures. Compared to typical controls (n = 12), the NLD group was poorer in comprehending inferences, but not facts. They included less of the original content than controls in their story retells, and there were strong trends suggesting fewer utterances and less variety in their vocabulary usage. Results are discussed regarding their implications for understanding the neuropsychological profile of NLD.     

Towards a functional neural systems model of developmental stuttering

This paper overviews recent developments in an ongoing program of brain imaging research on developmental stuttering that is being conducted at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. This program has primarily used H₂¹⁵O PET imaging of different speaking tasks by right-handed adult male and female persistent stutterers, recovered stutterers and controls in order to isolate the neural regions that are functionally associated with stuttered speech. The principal findings have emerged from studies using condition contrasts and performance correlation techniques. The emerging findings from these studies are reviewed and referenced to a neural model of normal speech production recently proposed by Jürgens [Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 26 (2002) 235]. This paper will report (1) the reconfiguration of previous findings within the Jürgens Model; (2) preliminary findings of an investigation with late recovered stutterers; (3) an investigation of neural activations during a treatment procedure designed to produce a sustained improvement in fluency; and (4) an across-studies comparison that seeks to isolate neural regions within the Jürgens Model that are consistently associated with stuttering. Two regions appear to meet this criterion: right anterior insula (activated) and anterior middle and superior temporal gyri (deactivated) mainly in right hemisphere. The implications of these findings and the direction of future imaging investigations are discussed.

Educational objectives: The reader will learn about (1) recent uses of H₂¹⁵O PET imaging in stuttering research; (2) the use of a new neurological model of speech production in imaging research on stuttering; and (3) initial findings from PET imaging investigations of treated and recovered stutterers.     

医学分子生物学的发展历程和展望

回顾了医学分子生物学的发展历程,展望了新世纪的医学分子生物学,分子生物学的理论和技术进步改变了医学研究的格局和观念,使人们对疾病的认识深入到分子水平,分子病,基因病,构象病和信息病等概念继续被提出。医学分子生物学的未来发展必将更紧密地与其它学科如细胞生物学,发育生物学,神经生物学,理论医学等相结合,实现分子水平,细胞水平和整体水平的整合,创造更加辉煌的成就。     

Definitions of physical abuse: A preliminary inquiry into children's perceptions

Research and policy-makers have frequently called for operational definitions of child abuse, however neither group has considered including children's perceptions of what constitutes abuse. The purpose of this study was to expand the discussion on definitions of child abuse by examining children's perceptions of physical abuse. This was done by collecting data to begin to document abused children's ratings of the seriousness of various abusive acts and to begin to examine gender and age differences in children's perceptions. The data revealed significant differences in children's perceptions of the seriousness of specific acts of abuse and a significant interaction between age and type of abuse. Although young children generally produced lower seriousness ratings than older children, their ratings were significantly lower on only a few types of abuse. When children's ratings were compared to similar ratings reported in earlier studies of adolescents, community members, and mental health professionals, the children in this study rated the abusive acts as less serious than the adolescents or community members, but very similar to the professionals who work in the area of child abuse and neglect. Although this must be considered a preliminary investigation, the potential implications for various legal and social contexts are discussed.     

学前儿童对短时时距的区分及其认知策略

本研究以令儿童比较时距长短为手段进一步探查学前（５、６岁）儿童对短时时距的认知过程,挖掘幼儿的认知潜力。研究结果表明：１）学前５、６岁儿童已能区分只有几秒钟差异的短时时距;２）６岁儿童已能使用时间标尺测量时间,５岁儿童已有潜力把时间看成是可以计数的维量;３）两时距的时间差别大小是影响儿童认知成绩的主要因素之一。     

关于闪光盲的研究——Ⅱ 短暂强闪光对中心视觉恢复时间的影响

在暗适应条件下对11名正常视力的男性受试者测定了进入眼内的闪光能量与恢复时间的关系。当闪光时间为0.1—5毫秒,积分亮度为0.07—1.69熙提秒时,人眼辨别一6’视角的蓝道环缺口所需的恢复时间仅取决于亮度和曝光时间的乘积,即Bloch律成立。文章并对防闪光盲护目镜应具的关闭时间进行了讨论。