On becoming a leader: Effects of gender and cultural differences on power distance reduction

The present research focused on power processes in a simulated organizational structure consisting of three hierarchical levels occupied by different numbers of mules and females. Subjects were presented with a chart showing the organizational hierarchy of which they were a member placed at the lowest level, and asked to nominate any person for the leader position vacated by the current incumbent. The results of Experiment I (n = 88 Dutch male and female university students) showed that male subjects strongly overnominated themselves, whereas a majority of the female subjects nominated either self or another female. Of the others that were nominated by both males and females, almost all were occupants of positions immediately below the leader position, indicating the normative influence of a bureaucratic rule of leader succession. Experiment 2 was a replicational study carried out in a different culture (n = lOl Polish male and female university students). Polish subjects adhered to the bureaucratic rule more strongly than their Dutch counterparts, and both females and males nominated mostly males. Results are discussed with reference to gender self-stereotypes and cultural differences.     

Beyond belief bias: Reasoning from conceptual structures by mental models manipulation

Mental models constitute an alternative to the rule-based systems in the explanation of human reasoning (Johnson-Laird, 1983). In this paper, we claim that the concept of believability generally used to categorize content and context effects is of little use within a semantic theory. Thus, we propose the use of categories that are directly extracted from subjective relations among concepts within the reasoning problem. We demonstrate that manipulations based on this kind of categorization produce predictable patterns of responses in reasoning problems. We present two experiments to test our predictions, using conditional and syllogistic reasoning problems, and in both cases, we demonstrate the influence of conceptual knowledge not only in natural contexts, but also in experimentally created artificial contexts.     

死亡凸显对自我姓名注意瞬脱对抗效应的影响

已有研究表明死亡凸显会抑制自我面孔和自我参照记忆加工的自我优势,可是死亡凸显对自我姓名的影响尚不明确,本研究采用事件相关电位技术,探索死亡凸显对自我姓名注意瞬脱对抗效应及其大脑神经活动的影响。58名被试在经历不同的启动任务后,完成自我姓名、朋友姓名和名人姓名的注意瞬脱任务。行为结果发现自我姓名识别正确率显著高于朋友姓名和名人姓名,表现出稳定的自我姓名加工的注意瞬脱对抗效应;电生理数据发现死亡启动后自我姓名诱发的P300波幅显著低于消极启动组和中性启动组,而朋友姓名和名人姓名并不受启动的影响。本研究结果与以往研究结果共同表明死亡想法凸显会使个体将抑制自我加工（自我姓名、自我面孔和自我参照记忆）作为应对远端死亡焦虑的一种手段。     

Aptitude Tests: Can We Predict Their Future?

Garcia, J. The Logic and Limits of Mental Aptitude Testing. American Psychologist, 1981, 36, 1172–1180. Hargadon, F. Tests and College Admissions. American Psychologist, 1981, 36, 1112–1119.     

Visual symmetry recognition by pigeons

Summary Pigeons learned to discriminate a large number of bilateral symmetric and asymmetric visual patterns successively projected on the pecking-key of an operant conditioning chamber. Responses to the positive stimuli were reinforced according to a variable interval schedule. Once acquisition was complete generalization trials, involving sets of new stimuli, were instituted under extinction. The birds classified these novel test stimuli with high accuracy throughout, according to their symmetry or asymmetry. Their performance was not disturbed by sets of test stimuli whose geometrical style differed considerably from the training stimuli. Pigeons were even able to discriminate when only allowed the use of one eye. The generalization series were partly designed to test some classical symmetry recognition theories. None was found to be adequate. Subsidiary experiments suggested that most pigeons have a slight spontaneous preference for asymmetric patterns and that symmetry/asymmetry differences can aid pattern discrimination learning at an early stage. It is concluded that pigeons, much like humans, can discriminate bilaterally symmetric from non-symmetric visual forms in a concept-like, generalizing way. The ontogenetic and phylogenetic development of this competence is considered. A novel symmetry recognition hypothesis based on spatial frequency analysis and neuronal feature-detector considerations is proposed.     

Demonstration of an aftereffect occurring in the tactile-kinesthetic domain

Summary The aim of this work is the demonstration of a tactile-kinesthetic aftereffect. A sequence of stimuli was offered to adult subjects whose task was to compare two weights presented simultaneously to both hands by means of a Piéron gravimeter. In Experiment 1 the inspection stimuli consisted of two successive presentations of unequal weights for a period of 2 × 10 s. The test stimuli consisted of two equal weights rapidly following an inspection stimulus. Control stimuli consisting of two equal weights not preceded by an inspection stimulus were interspersed in the sequence. The results obtained confirm the existence of a contrast effect after presentation of an inspection stimulus. In Experiment 2 the inspection stimuli consisted of a single presentation of two unequal weights for a period of 20 s. The results confirm those of the first experiment and provide data enabling the contrast effect obtained to be interpreted as a Köhler-type aftereffect. In order to avoid confusion with the kinesthetic-figural aftereffect, we propose to call the effect demonstrated here the Gravimetric Aftereffect.     

得失情境下他人参照点及心理距离对自我-他人利益权衡的影响

以福利权衡率(WTR)为利他程度的指标,通过3个实验逐步深入地考察了得失情境下他人参照点及心理距离对自我-他人利益权衡的影响。实验1的结果表明,得失情境并未改变被试的WTR。实验2引入他人底线、现状和目标三个参照点变量,发现被试获益情境下的WTR高于损失情境,且WTR从高到低依次为他人临近底线、目标和现状;他人临近底线时,被试在获益情境下的WTR高于损失情境,而他人临近现状和目标时,个体在得失情境下的WTR无显著差异。实验3进一步引入心理距离变量,发现心理距离较近他人的WTR高于较远他人,且与得失情境和参照点发生了复杂的交互效应,得失情境的主效应消失了,但总体上并未改变实验2发现的参照点效应。这些结果对于更深入地理解得失不对称效应、三参照点理论及社会折扣和自我-他人决策差异研究的相关发现具有一定的启示意义。     

多媒体环境下图文的具体程度对学习效果的影响

让70名小学生在多媒体环境中学习概念材料与原理材料,以探讨文本和图画材料的具体程度对学习迁移效果的影响。结果表明,在概念材料上,文本与图画的具体性程度之间存在显著的交互作用,即在具体图水平上,具体文的迁移成绩显著高于抽象文;在抽象图水平上,具体文的迁移成绩低于抽象文,但没有达到显著性水平。在原理材料上,文本与图画的具体性程度之间也存在显著的交互作用,但交互作用的方式与概念材料相反,即在具体图水平上,具体文的迁移成绩显著低于抽象文;在抽象图水平上,具体文的迁移成绩高于抽象文,但没有达到显著水平。     

1993~2013年常驻高海拔地区军人心理健康状态的横断历史研究

研究为探索常驻高海拔地区军人心理健康水平如何随社会年代变迁而改变,运用了横断历史元分析的方法,对1993年至2013年38篇采用90项症状自评量表(SCL-90)的文献调查数据进行分析,考察了11454名常驻高海拔地区军人在该量表上9个因子得分随年代变化的趋势.结果发现:(1)SCL-90的7个因子均值与年代负相关,且不受期刊类型等的影响.20年来,7个因子下降了5%~15%不等.其中,强迫变化最大,抑郁、焦虑、人际敏感、偏执和精神病性均变化明显.这说明,常驻高海拔地区军人心理健康虽有所波动但整体水平逐步提升,变化幅度大致属于中等程度.(2)当年军费占GDP比值、居民消费水平指数与SCL-90部分因子均值负相关显著;5年前的居民消费水平指数与7个因子显著负相关.这说明,国防建设的经济投入和居民消费水平可能是影响常驻高海拔地区军人心理健康水平的重要因素.