Audience Design in Multiparty Conversation

How do speakers design what they say in order to communicate effectively with groups of addressees who vary in their background knowledge of the topic at hand? Prior findings indicate that when a speaker addresses a pair of listeners with discrepant knowledge, that speakers Aim Low, designing their utterances for the least knowledgeable of the two addressees. Here, we test the hypothesis that speakers will depart from an Aim Low approach in order to efficiently communicate with larger groups of interacting partners. Further, we ask whether the cognitive demands of tracking multiple conversational partners' perspectives places limitations on successful audience design. We find that speakers can successfully track information about what up to four of their partners do and do not know in conversation. When addressing groups of 3–4 addressees at once, speakers design language based on the combined knowledge of the group. These findings point to an audience design process that simultaneously represents the perspectives of multiple other individuals and combines these representations in order to design utterances that strike a balance between the different needs of the individuals within the group.     

Smoking, body weight, and their effects on smoking behavior: a comprehensive review of the literature

This article provides a comprehensive review of the research on smoking and body weight. The relationships between smoking and body weight are evaluated in 70 cross-sectional and longitudinal investigations. The mechanisms responsible for differences in body weight are discussed, the weight-related issues that promote smoking behavior are reviewed, methods for reducing postcessation weight gain are summarized, and future research directions are proposed. A proposed working research model for studying the relationship between smoking, energy balance, and weight gain is offered. It is concluded that smoking and body weight relationships are closely related and pose significant challenges for smoking researchers.     

Nest box entrance hole size can influence nest site selection and nest defence behaviour in Japanese tits

Animal Cognition - Birds have the ability to assess the risk of predation in their environment and adjust their antipredation strategies based on this risk information. However, whether nest site...     

An individual difference model for the multidimensional analysis of preference data

A model for the analysis of paired comparison data is presented which combines features of the BTL-model with features of the Unfolding model. The model is metric, mathematically tractable, and has an exact algebraic solution. Since it is multidimensional and allows for individual differences, it is thought to be more realistic for some choice situations than either the Thurstone model or the BTL-model. No claim is made that the present model will be appropriate for all conceivable choice situations. Rather, it is argued that the fact that it is explicitly falsifiable is a point in its favor.This work was supported by a grant of the United States Public Health Service (1 R03 MH19139 01 MSM) and a David Ross (XR) grant of the Purdue Research Foundation (PRF 2132), both of which are gratefully acknowledged. We also owe thanks to Dr. Terry Cooper, whose careful scrutiny of an earlier draft of this paper allowed us to reduce the number of errors from n to n-1.     

从情绪描述看青少年期到成人期认知结构的发展

该研究依据研究者制定的认知发展水平评价系统,对年龄范围在13—55岁之间的90名被试关于生气、害怕、伤心、高兴四种情绪的自我描述进行了评价分析。结果表明,青少年期的思维具有形式化、外在、抽象等特点,成人期的思维具有内在、具体、形象等特点,前者具有刻板性、封闭性,后者具有灵活性、开放性。     

整体汉字字形识别过程探索

本研究用微观发生范式探索了整体汉字和人工字的字形识别过程 ,主要获得以下结果 :1真字和人工字的正确提取率随呈现时间增长而提高 ,字形刺激的特征提取是一个有序的发展过程 ,字形识别加工受字特性 (真字与人工字 )和笔划数因素影响。2在以“十”为骨架和以“囗”为包围结构的字刺激中经常首先提取“十”或“囗”,而且首特征“十”或“囗”的提取不受字形熟悉性影响 ;笔划数变量仅对含“十”特征的字刺激的首特征提取产生影响。3在以上两类汉字中 ,“十”或“囗”作为首特征提取促进了字形识别加工过程。     

学业不良学生类型与特点的聚类分析

该研究运用Ｑ聚类分析对上海市区１４８０名初中预备班学生的能力和个性特征进行分类研究。结果发现１４８０名被试中存有心理发展水平不同的六个主要类别,这些类别与学生学业成绩的优劣关系密切。同时,３５３名差生可分为四个主要类型：即,暂时性困难学生、能力型困难学生、动力型困难学生和整体性困难学生,不同类型的差生具有不同的特点。这为针对不同类型学生的特点制定有效的教育措施提供了依据。     

LTP诱导期向维持或转化过程中的突触形态学特征

该研究探讨了视皮层ＬＴＰ由诱导期向维持期转化过程的突触形态学特征。实验选用１８－３０天龄的健康ＳＤ大鼠,分实验组、空白对照组及实验对照组进行电镜观测和图象分析。结果发现,在常规ＬＴＰ实验程序中强直刺激后有ＬＴＰ产生并记录８０分钟的实验组脑片标片,局部有界面曲率大于２的较大Ｕ型突触形成,这种突触多有两个以上活性区。图象分析结果显示,实验组与对照组相比较,突触的界面曲率明显增大（Ｐ〈０．０５）,活性区     

成人脑涨落图年龄变化特点的研究

该工作研究了１２０名２０－７９岁正常成人脑涨落图的年龄变化特点。结果表明：（１）从２０岁到５０岁,Ｓ系谱线活动向低频方向集中,６０岁后谱线又向高频方向有所移动;（２）部分谐振系的随龄变化表现明显,其中以Ｓ１７系变化最为敏感;（３）脑区间相干活动和各脑区的连频活动随年龄增强,脑能量分布的有序性逐渐破坏;（４）增龄性变化主要反映在优势脑区（左前脑）和优势脑轴（左前／右后脑）上,与脑高级机能活动密切相关的左前脑的退行性变化最为明显。上述结果反映了脑功能的减退是一个非线性的多层次的复杂过程。