The influence of temporal selection on spatial selection and distractor interference: an attentional blink study.

Both spatial and temporal selection require focused attention. The authors examine how temporal attention affects spatial selection. In a dual-task rapid serial visual presentation paradigm, temporal selection of a target (T1) impairs processing of a second target (T2) that follows T1 within 500 ms. This process is the attentional blink (AB). To test the effects of withdrawing temporal attention, the authors measured concurrent distractor interference on T2 when the distractors were presented during and outside of the AB. Perceptual interference was manipulated by the similarity in color between T2 and concurrent distractors, and response interference was manipulated by the flanker congruency task. Results showed that perceptual interference was larger during the AB. Response interference also increased during the AB, but only when perceptual interference was high. The authors conclude that temporal selection and spatial selection rely on a common attentional process.     

The Physical Appearance Perfectionism Scale: Development and Preliminary Validation

Eight studies with data from 2316 students are presented describing the development and preliminary validation of the Physical Appearance Perfectionism Scale (PAPS), a brief measure with two subscales: Worry About Imperfection and Hope For Perfection. Results from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the measure’s two-dimensional structure. Moreover, correlation analyses provided first evidence for the two subscales’ differential validity: Worry About Imperfection showed negative correlations with positive self-perceptions of one’s appearance (e.g., appearance self-esteem) and positive correlations with maladaptive concerns aspects of perfectionism, physical appearance concerns (e.g., body image disturbances), and body weight control whereas Hope For Perfection showed positive correlations with positive striving aspects of perfectionism, positive self-perceptions, and impression management. In addition, all PAPS scores showed high reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) and temporal stability (test-retest). Overall the findings suggest that the PAPS is a reliable and valid instrument to assess positive and negative aspects of physical appearance perfectionism.     

Measuring QoL with SF-36 in Older Americans with TBI

This study demonstrated reliability and factor structure of the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) among older Americans with Traumatic brain injury (TBI), and evaluated effects of injury severity and race on SF-36's items and latent domains. A representative sample of 654 older, racially diverse patients with TBI was selected from the South Carolina Traumatic Brain Injury Follow-up Registry. Reliability and factor structure of SF-36 were evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Multiple-indicator multiple-causes (MIMIC) models were used to study effects of injury severity and race on items (differential item functioning, DIF) and latent domains (population heterogeneity) of SF-36. SF-36 was reliable and its current eightfactor structure was confirmed. While TBI severity did not impact latent domain scores of SF-36, race did. Blacks had higher vitality and lower role-emotional scores than whites. The measurement model was invariant to injury severity and race (free of DIF), and DIF did not contribute to the differences of vitality and role-emotional between black and white older TBI patients. SF-36 was valid to measure quality of life (OoL) after TBI in racially diverse elderly population. Blacks tend to assert to strong coping behaviors in the presence of physical stress while admitting low performance due to emotional stress. In QoL research where the primary outcomes are usually composite scores from instruments, MIMIC models have advantages over conventional multivariable regression models in testing the validity of the instruments and assessing covariate effects on latent traits of instruments while controlling for DIF effects.     

Goal-relevant events need not be rare to boost memory for concurrent images

In the attentional boost effect, memory for images presented at the same time as unrelated targets (e.g., an orange square) is enhanced relative to images presented at the same time as distractors (e.g., a blue square). One difficulty in understanding the nature of this enhancement is that, in most experiments demonstrating the attentional boost effect, targets have been less common than distractors. As a result, the memory enhancement associated with target detection may have been driven by differences in the relative frequencies of targets and distractors. In four experiments, participants encoded images into memory at the same time that they monitored a second, unrelated stimulus stream for targets. In some conditions, targets were as common as distractors (1:1 ratio); in others, targets were rare (1:6 ratio). The attentional boost effect was present when the target and distractor frequencies were equated, ruling out oddball and distinctiveness effects as explanations. These effects were observed when targets required a buttonpress and when they were covertly counted. Memory enhancements were not observed for images presented at the same time as rare distractor stimuli. We concluded that selectively attending to events that require an overt or covert response enhances the processing of concurrent information.     

Childhood abuse in Chinese patients with borderline personality disorder

This study examined (1) the relative prevalence of childhood abuse and other pathological childhood experiences in China reported by outpatients with borderline personality disorder (BPD), with other personality disorders, and without personality disorders; and, (2) whether the primary predictors of BPD in North America are associated with the development of BPD in China. The childhood experiences of 203 outpatients with BPD, 109 outpatients with other personality disorders, and 70 outpatients without Axis II diagnoses were assessed with the Chinese version of the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse Questionnaire (CECA.Q). Patients with BPD reported significantly more physical, emotional, and sexual abuse than either comparison group. Four types of childhood experiences were significant predictors of BPD: maternal neglect, paternal antipathy, sexual abuse, and maternal physical abuse. The findings suggest that maternal physical abuse is as strong a predictor of BPD in China as sexual abuse, a finding not replicated in North America.     

弗雷格《概念文字》理解的两点注记

文章旨在简要地讨论弗雷格《概念文字》,指出其中的两个重要但被一些国内学者误解或忽略的贡献：首先我们指出,根据Boolos等人的论证,弗雷格《概念文字》中的逻辑本质上是带完整二阶存在概括规则的二阶逻辑,这点在国内一些学者的著作与文章中存在误解;其次,我们讨论弗雷格如何用遗传性概念来定义祖先关系,进而定义自然数或有穷数,并使得数学归纳法仅根据自然数的定义就得以成立,这也为弗雷格把算术还原为逻辑奠定了基础。     

论维特根斯坦的“哲学语法”概念

<正>近些年来,国内外哲学界在维特根斯坦思想研究中,逐渐关注到维特根斯坦的"哲学语法",特别是试图从当代哲学的视角解读他的语法概念的思想内容。(Forster;陈嘉映;韩林合,第11章)我在阅读过程中发现,维特根斯坦对"语法"概念的使用完全不像我们想象的那样严格,而如何理解其"哲学语法"概念,实际上意味着如何理解维特根斯坦哲学。     

High impulsivity,low self-control and problematic mobile phone use: The effect of poor sleep quality

Current Psychology - In order to ascertain the onset mechanism of problematic mobile phone use (PMPU), the current study tested the mechanism by which sleep quality is associated with PMPU though...     

破除迷信须狠抓、严管、不松劲

一、狠抓不久前,秦皇岛市海港区耀振里小区,有一名自称“神仙附体”、名为“三太爷”的老妇,在她的“仙阁”内,周围桌子上摆放着不少神像,墙上悬挂着许多自制的写有“神医下界”、“妙手回春”的牌匾,装神弄鬼,标榜“包治百病”,骗取群众钱财,少则数十、数百,多则数千元。在得知上述情况后,秦皇岛市卫生执法监督所医疗卫生监督科王科长与《燕赵都市报·冀东版》