高社交焦虑者识别动态情绪面孔的神经机制

近年来, 大量的研究对高社交焦虑者的情绪面孔加工和社交焦虑的干预进行了考察, 取得了丰富成果, 但仍存在以下不足: (1) 在以往的中国动态情绪面孔库存中, 刺激材料的情绪类别、视频维度以及视频持续时间的种类偏少; (2) 高社交焦虑者识别动态情绪面孔的神经机制未被系统探讨; (3) 注意偏向训练的效果存在争议, 即一些研究者发现注意偏向训练对社交焦虑有明显的缓解作用, 而其他研究者却未发现注意偏向训练的效果。针对这些不足, 当前项目建设的中国人动态情绪面孔库拟增加刺激材料的情绪类别、视频维度以及视频持续时间的类型, 此外运用神经科学的技术系统探究高社交焦虑者对动态情绪面孔的识别机制, 最后采用工作记忆训练改善高社交焦虑者对动态生气面孔识别的注意偏向。本研究团队提出了高社交焦虑个体识别动态情绪面孔的神经机制模型, 该模型主要包括机制和干预两个部分。本项目的开展不仅为动态情绪面孔加工和社交焦虑研究提供了新视角, 还突破原有单一的研究方法, 拟从行为、电生理和脑成像三个层次进行研究。研究成果将促进社交焦虑干预工作的开展, 从而缓解社交焦虑个体的心理健康问题, 对于提高他们的幸福感和生命质量有重要价值。     

You are not alone – adolescents’ experiences of participation in a structured skills training group for ADHD

Little is known about how adolescents with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience participating in group therapy, an important factor to consider when developing treatment methods for this age group. This study aimed to explore how adolescents with ADHD experience participating in a structured skills training group program based on dialectical behavioral therapy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 adolescents (15–18 years of age) with ADHD after participating in a structured skills training group. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and qualitative content analysis were used to analyze the text. The participants emphasized the value of meeting other adolescents with ADHD and the opportunity to exchange experiences, strategies and tips. Participating in the group treatment made the adolescents realize that they were not alone, and feelings of togetherness and an increased acceptance of themselves were described. The participants associated the treatment with elevated knowledge and understanding, for example, about ADHD, their own functioning and helpful strategies. They also described emotional and behavioral changes, such as higher self-esteem, fewer inter-personal conflicts and improved concentration. Activating and experiential exercises were considered important elements of the treatment, and the participants expressed a need for a variation of exercises, as well as more time for practicing skills, discussions and breaks. The results indicate that the group format add an extra value to the treatment and that the use of an active approach throughout the treatment is of importance for this group of patients.     

Attempts to predict intelligent behavior: II. A study of problem solving

In Experiment I a group of pupils from a secondary school was given a test of general intelligence, a test of the ability to categorize objects in a flexible way, and five different problem-solving tasks. Subjects who were successful on the problems had higher scores on the intelligence test than the rest. The Categorizing Test was not, however, a good indicator of success. In Experiment II a comparison was made between scores on different parts of the so-called Family Test. With high school pupils and university students as subjects, correlation coefficients in the neighborhood of 0.40 were found between scores when suggesting possible classifications of objects, and scores when choosing a classification to fit different sets of objects. The triangular form of the scatterplots was taken as an indication that an ability to present different interpretations of one's experience is a necessary, but not sufficient condition for success in problem-solving tasks.     

Effect of mode of presentation on performance in a familiar task

Contrasting interpretations of the role of overt, exploratory activity in problem solving was evaluated by presenting a task that could be solved by the application of a familiar physical principle under abstract and concrete conditions. Contrary to what is found under unfamiliar task conditions, superior problem solving performance was obtained under the abstract condition. The findings support the hypothesis that the utility of overt, exploratory activity is related to the degree of novelty of the task.     

Prediction and diagnosis: An experimental comparison

Diagnostic tasks differ from predictive tasks in two respects (1) the direction of the inference in diagnosis (from effect to cause) is inverse to that in prediction (from cause to effect), and (2) the event to be inferred is more distal in diagnostic tasks than in predictive tasks. These task features led to the hypothesis that a diagnostic task would be harder to learn than a predictive task. This hypothesis was tested in an experimental situation in which the causal mechanism was random sampling with replacement. Five groups of subjects with 10 subjects in each (two predictive and three diagnostic groups) were run in individual sessions with 100 trials of feedback training. The two predictive groups learned more rapidly and to a higher level compared to the diagnostic groups. Conclusion: the present data support the hypothesis that predictive tasks are easier to learn than comparable diagnostic tasks.     

A functional interpretation of the modality effect

A functional conceptualization of the modality effect is presented, i. e. of the empirical finding showing a superior short-term retention of auditorily as opposed to visually presented verbal information. This theoretical view proposes that memory performance should be regarded as a function of an interaction between specific demands of the memory task and available cognitive capabilities. This notion is contrasted with two existing interpretations of the modality effect stating larger processing or storage capacities for a hypothetical memory system when information is auditorily as opposed to visually presented. Four experiments are reported, which all demonstrate the viability of the present view: The nature of the recall difference between modalities varies as a function of the interaction between task demands and cognitive capabilities and not as a function of certain properties of a hypothetical memory system.     

Boundary conditions for the modality effect: Type of material and time of test

Recall of auditory and visually presented information was studied using three different types of material. Although auditory presentation was superior for all three types of material, the size and pattern of the effect depended upon whether the visual presentation was successive or simultaneous. Successive visual presentation reduced recall performance compared to auditory presentation considerably for real sentences, while smaller effects were obtained for noun sequences and scrambled sentences. The overall supremacy in recall of auditory presented items was reduced further when compared to a simultaneous visual presentation. In the last two experiments, all effects of modality of presentation obtained in immediate recall were replicated, but were eliminated in delayed recall. The finding that this modality effect is eliminated in delayed recall is taken to indicate that semantic aspects of the material to be remembered are by and large unaffected by mode of presentation, while more superficial aspects are the ones influenced.     

Schizophrenic reactions in the Serial Spiral After-Effect Test

A group of 52 schizophrenics, 13 neurotics and 30 normals were studied by means of the Serial Spiral After-Effect Test. Schizophrenics with classical overt symptoms showed significantly higher values compared to neurotics, normals and latent schizophrenics on the residual variability in ten consecutive durations of the after-effect, i.e. the total variability minus the variability ascribable to linear change. Significant correlations were obtained between residnal variability in the Serial Spiral After-Effect Test and psychosis, as assessed by a psychiatric rating scale for the schizophrenics with classical overt symptoms, when the mean level in the Serial Spiral After-Effect Test was checked.