Risk-taking behavior and response inhibition of commuter motorcyclists with different levels of impulsivity

The purposes of this study were to identify the relationships between the risk-taking behavior, response inhibition, and risky motorcycle riding behavior of commuter motorcyclists with different levels of impulsivity, and to examine how these behaviors contribute to motorcycle accidents. A total of 255 Chinese commuter motorcyclists were recruited for this study. Their levels of impulsivity were classified according to the Chinese Barratt Impulsiveness Scale version 11th. Their risk-taking behavior was assessed by the Balloon Analogue Risk Task and their response inhibition was assessed by the Chinese version of the Stroop test Victoria version. The Chinese Motorcycle Rider Driving Violation Scale was used to assess risky motorcycle riding behaviors. Results showed that impulsivity was associated with risk-taking behavior and risky motorcycle riding. Highly impulsive motorcyclists carry out more risk-taking behaviors and are less able to inhibit responses than those with low impulsivity. Motorcyclists with medium impulsivity (OR, 4.74; 95% CI, 1.91–11.39) and those with high impulsivity (OR, 4.91; 95% CI, 2.34–10.24) were about 5 times more likely to be actively involved in motorcycle accidents than those with low impulsivity. Postlicense motorcycle riding experience and risky motorcycle riding behavior were two significant predictors of motorcycle traffic accidents after controlling for other sociodemographic variables. These results can facilitate the development of interventions, including the training and testing of motorcyclists, public education, and mass media messages about traffic risk.     

Psychosocial Factors Predicting SARS-Preventive Behaviors in Four Major SARS-Affected Regions

This multinational study examined intended and actual adoption of SARS-preventive behaviors in major SARS-affected regions: Guangdong (China), Hong Kong, Singapore, and Toronto (Canada). The theory of reasoned action (TRA) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) were adopted as theoretical frameworks. A measure was constructed to assess attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control (PBC), knowledge of SARS, and SARS-preventive behaviors. Seventy-five working adults were recruited from each region. They completed the new measure in an initial study, and reported their actual behaviors 2 weeks later. Results provided cross-cultural generalizability of the TRA by showing that attitude and subject norm predicted SARS-preventive behaviors for all the groups. PBC was a statistically significant predictor for all participants except those from Guangdong, indicating that the TPB is applicable only to people from Hong Kong, Singapore, and Toronto. Knowledge of SARS also was found to be an independent predictor.     

拉图尔的科学哲学观——在巴黎对拉图尔的专访

传统的科学哲学研究经过20世纪的蓬勃发展之后,目前,正面临着新的挑战与机遇。一方面,代表科学哲学研究主流路径的科学实在论与反实在论的论证方式,遇到了在原有框架内难以解决的内在矛盾,陷入了无法自救的困境;另一方面,随着一批人文学者运用人类学的方法和社会学的术语,对科学事实、科学实验、科学知识等基本概念的重新阐述,以及对科学知识产生的理性基础和科学家的认知活动的客观性前提的根本质疑,强烈要求更新传统的科学哲学研究模式。在这种背景下,为了全面了解西方科学哲学的研究现状与发展趋势,有选择性地对著名的科学哲学家与科学知识社会学家进行系列专访,是一件非常有意义的事情。     

学业自我概念及其与学业成绩关系的研究述评

自1976年Shavelson将自我概念区分为学业自我概念和非学业自我概念以来,教育心理学家对学业自我概念的结构及学业自我概念与学业成绩的关系进行了广泛研究。本文在阐述学业自我概念的多侧面结构和等级结构模型的基础上,着重探讨了学业自我概念与学业成绩的关系,并对学业自我概念的研究进行了展望。     

人的体视抗干扰能力

设计了四套随机点立体图对,用以说明双眼视差、图形大小和结构、图像质地与人的体视抗干扰能力之间的关系。我们得出的主要结果是: (1) 体视抗干扰能力与视差的大小和方向有关。在本工作所取视差范围(0.32°—1.6°)内,视差大,噪声容限低;视差小,噪声容限高。交叉视差和不交叉视差的噪声容限是不对称的,交叉的比不交叉的高。 (2) 立体视觉抗干扰能力与图形的大小和结构有关。图形越小越复杂,噪声容限就越低。 (3) 立体视觉抗干扰能力与图像质地有关。“棋盘格”质地的噪声容限略高于“窗纱布”质地的噪声容限。 (4) 随机点立体图对的最大噪声容限看来不会超过30％。     

Lateralization in the visual perception of Chinese characters and words

It has been reported that tachistoscopic perception of single Chinese characters is better with a left-visual-field (LVF) than with a right-visual-field (RVF) presentation and that of Chinese words consisting of characters is better with a RVF presentation (O. J. L. Tzeng, D. L. Hung, B. Cotton, & S.-Y. Wang, 1979, Nature (London), 382, 499-501). In this study, the nature of this character-word difference in lateralization was explored in a task in which stimuli were presented unilaterally to a visual field for recognition test. Four types of stimuli were used: Single character, single pseudo- or noncharacter, two-character word, and two-character pseudoword. Results show (a) no visual-field advantage for illegal characters and words, (b) a LVF-advantage effect for characters associated with a more prominent LVF than RVF character-superiority effect, (c) a RVF-advantage effect for words associated with a more prominent RVF than LVF word-superiority effect, and (d) these two visual-field effects for characters and words being not absolute, they occur only with a low rather than with a high recognition for their respective illegal counterparts. These results suggest that the character-word difference is due to a more efficient lexical interpretation of character stimuli in the right than in the left hemisphere and a more efficient lexical interpretation of word stimuli in the left than in the right hemisphere.     

Representing statics as forces in equilibrium

Resting objects can be described according to the physical forces operating on them, forces that are balanced in static scenes. We hypothesized that in a related way, the perception of static scenes and objects might involve a representation of underlying dynamics. In our first experiments, subjects were shown a picture of a plant resting upon a table or hanging from a hook, followed by a picture of the plant in the same position without the supporting table or hook. Subjects attempted to remember the position of the plant and were then shown a third display, in which the plant was in the same position or was slightly above or slightly below the original position. We found that subjects made more errors for test displays showing the plant slightly below, as compared with displays showing the plant slightly above, the original position. That is, memory for the position of the previously supported object was distorted in the direction consistent with what would happen if the plant was to lose its source of support in real life. This effect depends on the initial display of support; in Experiment 2 we found no memory asymmetry when the plant was initially displayed without support. We replicated the results of Experiments 1 and 2 with a new stimulus set and modified procedure in Experiment 3. In our fourth study we experimented with a slightly different stable situation: a spring with a box on top of it. We found that subjects misremembered the spring as either more compressed or less compressed as predicted by the implied dynamics of the display sequence. We discuss issues raised by our findings, including the possibility that the conscious experience of concreteness in static scenes stems from the representation of underlying forces.     

双眼立体视觉的信息加工 Ⅱ.空间滤波对双眼立体感的影响

本工作的目的是希望了解立体感形成时双眼图象空间频谱的融合规律。我们利用不同质地的两套随机点立体图对,经过不同空间频带(低通、高通、带通)的光学滤波处理,然后将滤波后的图象作各种左右眼搭配观察。得到: 1.同样滤波的立体图对均能形成立体感; 2.不同质地的立体图对,空间频带搭配相同,但观察结果并不完全相同。 3.目前我们尚不能用立体图对的两个图像的空间频带是否重叠来了解两眼融合的规律。     

Equipercentile equating via data-imputation techniques

In the design of common-item equating, two groups of examinees are administered separate test forms, and each test form contains a common subset of items. We consider test equating under this situation as an incomplete data problem—that is, examinees have observed scores on one test form and missing scores on the other. Through the use of statistical data-imputation techniques, the missing scores can be replaced by reasonable estimates, and consequently the forms may be directly equated as if both forms were administered to both groups. In this paper we discuss different data-imputation techniques that are useful for equipercentile equating; we also use empirical data to evaluate the accuracy of these techniques as compared with chained equipercentile equating.A paper presented at the European Meeting of the Psychometric Society, Barcelona, Spain, July, 1993.     

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) Remember Two Near-Target Landmark Constellations

A set of experiments tested whether honeybees can remember two different landmark constellations within the same room, or whether the two constellations are mixed together in a single composite memory. Bees were trained to find a reward location with two different landmark arrays. For example, when the blue landmark was north of the yellow one, the reward was to the east; when the yellow landmark was north of the blue one, the reward was to the west. On occasional unrewarded tests, either one of the training arrays was presented (control tests), or else a training array rotated by 90° (rotated tests). A rotated array consisted of part of one training array added to a part of the other training array. Should honeybees form a single composite memory by combining the two training arrays, they should search as much at the target location on rotated tests as on control tests. Results refute this and suggest that they had two separate memories.