选择性注意机制在情景线索效应中的作用

情景线索效应是指个体在视觉搜索过程中通过学习重复不变的情景信息提高搜索效率的现象。本文从情景线索效应相关行为特征、眼动特征及大脑神经活动等三个方面探讨了情景线索效应与选择性注意机制的交互作用,发现现有研究中存在着许多互相冲突的现象,增加了理解注意机制的难度。未来研究应结合认知神经科学技术寻找更多的实证数据,探索注意机制对情景线索效应的影响,以进一步完善情景线索效应中的注意机制理论。     

A cross-national comparison of Mexican and Mexican American couples using the Marital Satisfaction Inventory-Revised (Spanish)

This study examined psychometric properties of the Spanish translation of the Marital Satisfaction Inventory-Revised (MSI-R) in a sample of 71 Spanish-speaking couples in Mexico. Results from this sample were compared to findings obtained from 65 Mexican American couples who completed the MSI-R in Spanish. Both the internal consistency and factor structure of the Spanish MSI-R with Mexican couples were found to be comparable to findings on the Spanish MSI-R for Mexican American couples. Moreover, multivariate analysis indicated no significant mean profile differences between these two groups as a function of nationality, gender, or nationality-by-gender interaction. These findings offer initial evidence toward establishing the appropriateness of the Spanish MSI-R for use with Spanish-dominant Mexican couples.     

Attentional blink and attentional capture: endogenous versus exogenous control over paying attention to two important events in close succession

Identification of the second of two targets is impaired if it is presented less than about 500 msec after the first This attentional blink (AB) occurs under dual-task conditions in which observers are required to report both targets. AB magnitude has been estimated by subtracting the accuracy scores in the dual task from the corresponding scores in a single task in which observers are instructed to ignore the first target. Experiment 1 showed this procedure to be inappropriate, because the first target cannot be ignored. The remaining three experiments elaborated on this finding andrevealed separate endogenous and exogenous sources of the second-target deficit. A parallel was drawn between the AB deficit and the deficit observed in attentional capture. Both types of deficit can be explained on the basis of a hybrid input-filtering model in which endogenous and exogenous factors are subserved by different pathways.     

Italian developmental dyslexic and proficient readers: where are the differences?

Italian dyslexic children are characterized by a pervasive reading speed deficit, with relatively preserved accuracy. This pattern has been associated with predominant use of the nonlexical reading procedure. However, there is no evidence of a deficit in the lexical route of Italian dyslexics. We investigated both lexical and nonlexical reading procedures in dyslexic children through two marker effects, namely, the word frequency effect and the effect of contextual grapheme-to-phoneme conversion rules. Although dyslexics were slower and less accurate than controls, they were affected by word frequency, grapheme contextuality, and their interaction in a similar manner as average readers. These results show the use of lexical reading in Italian dyslexics, and refute the claim of a deficit in whole-word processing with consequent over-reliance on the nonlexical route.     

Saccade-stepping interactions revise the motor plan for obstacle avoidance

The authors used a stimulus-response compatibility paradigm to assess the effect of changing the estimated time to obstacle contact. A limb-selection cue was presented in different phases of gait to young (n = 5) and to older (n = 4) adults while they were moving toward a foam obstacle in the walking path. A downward saccade was initiated after the cue; the saccade typically occurred during the stance phase of the target limb (the foot cued to lead the step over the obstacle). The mean saccade-step latency after the cue was on the order of -500 ms in both young and elderly participants. On reaching the obstacle, both groups generated an upward saccade approximately -300 ms before target footlift in both groups. Saccades following the limb-selection cue appeared to direct the gaze toward footfall targets just beyond the obstacle, whereas saccades generated just before obstacle footlift moved the gaze to the forward-looking direction. The elderly had significantly longer saccade-trailing-footlift latencies and prolonged gaze-fixation times than did the younger adults. Transient disruptions in optical flow appeared to be necessary for successful obstacle-avoidance behavior when there was an unexpected change in the estimated time to obstacle contact.     

Sociocultural influences on body image and body changes among adolescent boys and girls

In 2 studies, the authors evaluated the role of parents, peers, and the media in body image and body-change strategies among adolescent boys and girls. The respondents for Study 1 (423 boys and 377 girls) completed the Body Image and Body Change Inventory (L. A. Ricciardelli & M. P. McCabe, 2002) and the Perceived Sociocultural Influences on Body Image and Body Change Questionnaire (M. P. McCabe & L. A. Ricciardelli, 2001b). Body mass index and age were also included in the analyses. Regression analyses demonstrated that sociocultural influences and feedback from the participant's best male friend were important predictors for all body-change strategies among boys. For girls, sociocultural influences and feedback from the participant's best female friend and mother were important predictors for body-change strategies. The most consistent predictor of weight loss, weight gain, and strategies to increase muscles was body-image importance. In Study 2, the authors examined the influence of the same sociocultural variables, as well as negative affect and puberty on body image and body-change strategies among a second group of 199 boys and 267 girls. The results demonstrated that a broad range of sociocultural influences predicted body-change strategies for boys and girls, with negative affect also having a unique influence for boys but not for girls. Puberty played a minor role, once other sociocultural variables were entered into the regression equation. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Body image attitudes and concerns among indigenous Fijian and European Australian adolescent girls

Research on body image has primarily been conducted among Western women who highly value the thin ideal body size. There has been limited research that has examined body image attitudes among Fijian adolescent girls who are exposed to both traditional sociocultural pressures that promote a larger body size and Western pressures that promote slimness. Using in-depth semi-structured interviews, we examined the factors associated with body image attitudes and concerns among a sample of 16 indigenous Fijian and 16 European Australian adolescent girls aged between 13–18 years. An inductive analysis of girls’ responses indicated that both groups of girls experienced body image concerns including body dissatisfaction, a preference for thinness and concerns associated with weight gain. These findings have implications for our understanding of the role of culture in shaping body image among girls and may prove useful in the development of future survey research that can be implemented among both Fijian and Western adolescents.     

Word length effect in early reading and in developmental dyslexia

Vocal reaction times were measured in Italian dyslexics and in proficient readers while they read single words. Three groups of control participants (for a total of 79) were tested. All were in the first, second or third grade of elementary school. Nine third graders with a low level of reading ability when assessed by standard reading procedures were also tested. Results indicated that vocal RTs of control participants were faster and less sensitive to word length as a function of age; also, there was a particularly marked change between first and second graders. Dyslexics' vocal RTs and errors were much worse than those of peer control participants and resembled those of first grade controls. It is suggested that normal readers in an orthographically transparent language (Italian) adopt a lexical strategy quite early in their learning. On the contrary, dyslexics seem unable to learn this mode of processing and continue to use a sub-lexical reading procedure.     

Inhibition of return to an occluded object depends on expectation

Inhibition of return (IOR) is indexed by slower reaction times to targets presented at previously attended locations or objects. If a moving object is occluded, some studies find IOR, others do not. Four experiments examined whether this inconsistency hinges on the observer's expectation as to whether the object continues to exist at the end of its motion sequence. Results showed that observer expectation is a powerful determining factor: IOR occurs only if the observer expects the object to continue to exist. In contrast, if the object is not occluded, IOR occurs only if the object remains on view immediately before the target is presented. It was concluded that 2 factors, object continuity and observer expectation, mediate both location- and object-based IOR.