语言理解中情绪的动态模拟

采用混合实验设计, 句子-图片匹配范式和动态过程再现范式, 以包含静态情绪和动态变化情绪信息的句子为实验材料, 以被试对图片的反应时间为因变量指标, 通过不同时间间隔的设置以及不同的实验程序, 探讨了语言理解中静态情绪和动态情绪的心理模拟及其时间进程。结果表明：(1)被试对情绪的心理模拟与句中的语言描述一致, 情绪语境能够激活被试的经验模拟。(2)被试在句子理解加工的初期就能迅速、即时地模拟静态情绪信息, 且这种模拟具有一定的稳定性和持久性。(3)被试可以对动态变化的情绪进行动态的心理模拟, 不过这种模拟所需的时间要长, 是在句子理解加工的后期完成的。被试对不同情绪变化方向的句子模拟受到原情绪状态的影响, 当阅读由消极情绪向积极情绪变化的句子时, 由于被试固着于原来的消极情绪而发生了模拟积极情绪的困难。     

Support for lateralization of the Whorf effect beyond the realm of color discrimination

Recent work has shown that Whorf effects of language on color discrimination are stronger in the right visual field than in the left. Here we show that this phenomenon is not limited to color: The perception of animal figures (cats and dogs) was more strongly affected by linguistic categories for stimuli presented to the right visual field than those presented to the left. Moreover, the magnitude of the visual field asymmetry was reduced when demands on verbal working memory were increased by a secondary task. This reduction did not occur when the secondary task imposed demands on spatial working memory. Taken together, these results demonstrate that the lateralized Whorf effect may be quite general, reflecting an interaction of linguistic and perceptual codes primarily in the left hemisphere.     

God and the government: testing a compensatory control mechanism for the support of external systems

The authors propose that the high levels of support often observed for governmental and religious systems can be explained, in part, as a means of coping with the threat posed by chronically or situationally fluctuating levels of perceived personal control. Three experiments demonstrated a causal relation between lowered perceptions of personal control and the defense of external systems, including increased beliefs in the existence of a controlling God (Studies 1 and 2) and defense of the overarching socio-political system (Study 4). A 4th experiment (Study 5) showed the converse to be true: A challenge to the usefulness of external systems of control led to increased illusory perceptions of personal control. In addition, a cross-national data set demonstrated that lower levels of personal control are associated with higher support for governmental control (across 67 nations; Study 3). Each study identified theoretically consistent moderators and mediators of these effects. The implications of these results for understanding why a high percentage of the population believes in the existence of God, and why people so often endorse and justify their socio-political systems, are discussed.     

Cannabiskonsum und -missbrauch bei Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen

After a long time of growth current studies on representative samples of adolescents indicate that the number of adolescent cannabis users in Germany is possibly decreasing. However, it may be presumptuous to expect a similar trend concerning the number of clients with cannabis-related disorders. Even if there is in fact a downward trend which is not yet proven, the rapidly growing number of clients presenting with these disorders in recent years cannot be explained by a similar growth in the number of regular cannabis users. Treatment centres should therefore expect a further inreasing number of especially male adolescents and young adults seeking help for problems related to cannabis use. The development, evaluation and implementation of specific treatment options concerning cannabis use disorders will be increasingly needed in the future. Cognitive-behavioral and motivational interventions have been shown to be evidence-based treatments. The paper describes some promising or already successful treatment approaches and related research projects in Germany.     

Explaining the Relation between Religiousness and Reduced Suicidal Behavior: Social Support Rather Than Specific Beliefs

Religiousness has been associated with decreased risk of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and completed suicide, but the mechanisms underlying these associations are not well characterized. The present study examined the roles of religious beliefs and social support in that relation. A survey measuring religiousness, social support, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts was administered to 454 undergraduate students. Involvement in public, but not private, religious practices was associated with lower levels of both suicidal ideation and history of suicide attempts. Social support mediated these relations but religious beliefs did not. Results highlight the importance of social support provided by religious communities.     

Gender and gender-role identity influences upon self- and other-reports of communicative competence

This study examines the influence of gender-role identity on interpersonal perceptions of communicative competence in a natural setting over an extended period of time. After working in small task-oriented groups for 15 weeks, 146 students (74 females, 72 males) completed a questionnaire containing measures of gender-role identity (Bem Sex Role Inventory) and communicative competence [J. M. Wieman, Explication and test of a model of communicative competence. Human Communication Research, 1977, 3, 195–213]. A three-way ANOVA (masculinity, femininity, gender) was used for analysis. Predictions based on prior models were only partially supported. Findings suggest that gender-role identity functions in more complex ways than prior models suggest. For all dimensions of communicative competence, gender-role identity resulted in different patterns for males and females. Furthermore, comparisons of self- vs other-perceptions indicate the possibility that one model may hold for self-perceptions and another for other-perceptions.The authors gratefully acknowledge the helpful comments contributed by Kenneth R. Wilson and Kristina Troost.     

The lived experience of disability

In this paper I reflect upon my personal experience of chronic progressive multiple sclerosis in order to provide a phenomenological account of the human experience of disability. In particular, I argue that the phenomenological notion of lived body provides important insights into the profound disruptions of space and time that are an integral element of changed physical capacities such as loss of mobility. In addition, phenomenology discloses the emotional dimension of physical disorder. The lived body disruption engendered by loss of mobility includes a change in the character of surrounding space, an alteration in one's taken-for-granted awareness of (and interaction with) objects, the disruption of corporeal identity, a disturbance in one's relations with others, and a change in the character of temporal experience. The loss of upright posture is of particular significance since it not only concretely diminishes autonomy but affects the way one is treated by others. Such a change in posture is, therefore, particularly disruptive in the social world of everyday life. An understanding of the lived body disruption engendered by disability has important applications for the clinical context in devising effective therapies, as well as for the social arena in determining how best to resolve the various challenges posed by chronic disabling disorders.I should like to thank Frances Chaput Waksler for her helpful comments on my work.