金刚铃:藏传佛教之器

藏传佛教金刚铃,可将它归为法器与乐器两种:一般作为供奉物,或任何造像的相关器物时会尊崇为法器;实际演奏时又归为乐器。金刚铃在藏传佛教寺院仪轨中有着特殊的地位,但很少被人们关注。本文依据宗教学、音乐学、图像学等研究方法,对藏传佛教法器(乐器)中具有代表性的法器金刚铃的词释义、法相、历时(纵向)性和共时(横向)性,金刚铃中佛学内涵以及诵经仪轨中的运用进行说明。     

内涵与外延之辩:基于含糊性语义解释演进的分析

在含糊性问题研究领域,多值语义解释和超赋值语义解释是两个经典的研究进路。相较多值语义中的经典三值解释和基于概率赋值的模糊逻辑解释,范启德(1975)给出的超赋值语义由于引入了基于可能世界语义的可精确化结构,具有更强的表达力,能够弥补三值和模糊逻辑处理的很多不足。距离超赋值语义发表40余年后,秋叶研(2017)给出了同样满足可精确化结构条件的一个布尔多值解释。由于超赋值语义一直被当作典型的内涵语义处理方式,而在含糊性问题研究领域,布尔多值方法却在大多数时候被认为是模糊逻辑这个基于概率处理的典型的外延语义的复杂版本,内涵语义与外延语义的殊途同归,非常值得仔细思考和探究。本文将结合含糊性问题研究领域的多值语义解释和超赋值语义解释的演进过程,以内涵语义和外延语义的区分为切入点,最终指出,(当下主流定义下的)内涵语义与外延语义的界限是模糊的,而在原有界定基础上,对内涵语义增加“内涵语义要可以表达非线序的偏序结构”这一限制,能够进一步对内涵语义和外延语义进行区分。     

实践推理:从信念和愿望应该形成什么目标

这篇文章探讨实践推理中目标推理的问题,试图发现一个理性主体从信念和愿望形成目标的基本逻辑标准。文中的分析以循序渐进的方式展开,从只包含信念和愿望的基础模型开始,到增加了数值和排序方式表示愿望偏好的混合拓展模型结束,都给出了相应的目标形成标准,并构造出了形式化的目标形成理论。最后,我们探讨了不同模型形成的目标之间的关系,并证明了混合拓展模型中目标的存在性等基本定理。     

Social attention across borders: A cross-cultural investigation of gaze cueing elicited by same- and other-ethnicity faces

The gaze-cueing effect is a robust phenomenon which illustrates how attention can be shaped by social factors. In four experiments, the present study explored the interaction between the ethnic membership of the participant and that of the face providing the gaze cue. Firstly, we aimed to further investigate the differential impact of White, Black, and Asian faces on the gaze-cueing effect in White individuals. Secondly, we aimed to explore, for the first time, the impact of faces belonging to different ethnicities on gaze cueing in Chinese participants. The results allowed to rule out alternative accounts and showed that White participants exhibit a gaze-cueing effect for White and Asian faces, but not for Black faces, consistent with previous studies. As regards Chinese participants, the overall findings suggested a stronger gaze-cueing effect for White faces than for Asian faces. The results are discussed with reference to differences in the perceived social status of the various groups, pointing to the need of taking into account different cultural contexts.     

Gaussian variational estimation for multidimensional item response theory

Multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) is widely used in assessment and evaluation of educational and psychological tests. It models the individual response patterns by specifying a functional relationship between individuals' multiple latent traits and their responses to test items. One major challenge in parameter estimation in MIRT is that the likelihood involves intractable multidimensional integrals due to the latent variable structure. Various methods have been proposed that involve either direct numerical approximations to the integrals or Monte Carlo simulations. However, these methods are known to be computationally demanding in high dimensions and rely on sampling data points from a posterior distribution. We propose a new Gaussian variational expectation--maximization (GVEM) algorithm which adopts variational inference to approximate the intractable marginal likelihood by a computationally feasible lower bound. In addition, the proposed algorithm can be applied to assess the dimensionality of the latent traits in an exploratory analysis. Simulation studies are conducted to demonstrate the computational efficiency and estimation precision of the new GVEM algorithm compared to the popular alternative Metropolis–Hastings Robbins–Monro algorithm. In addition, theoretical results are presented to establish the consistency of the estimator from the new GVEM algorithm.     

Attention and memory biases for aggressive information in college students with fragile high self-esteem

In this study, we examined attention and memory biases for aggressive information in two groups of college students. Individuals with fragile high self-esteem (n = 30) and individuals with secure high self-esteem (n = 30) first performed a dot-probe task investigating attention bias, followed by a memory task. Incidental free recall of words presented in the memory task was then completed to assess memory bias. Results revealed that individuals with fragile high self-esteem exhibited significant attention and memory biases for aggressive words compared with secure high self-esteem individuals. Attention bias for aggressive words was positively correlated with memory bias in individuals with fragile high self-esteem, but no correlation was found for individuals with secure high self-esteem. These findings suggest that individuals with fragile high self-esteem selectively attend to and remember aggression-related information. They may process information in ways that are congruent with an aggression-related schema. This study reveals the aggressive cognitive processes of individuals with fragile high self-esteem, which may be related to aggression.     

“THAT’S HOW THEY TAUGHT US TO DO IT”: Learned Deviance and Inadequate Deterrents in Retail Banking

The recent reports of Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley being engaged in widespread fraudulent sales practices in the retail banking industry make this field a timely and interesting area of study. The current study expands upon previous research examining retail banking deviance and seeks to further explore potential causes of such conduct. Specifically, the current study seeks to explore whether the underlying deviance is being taught by senior employees and also whether current ethics and compliance policies are adequate deterrents. To achieve this goal, the current study utilizes an approach mirroring a qualitative case study. Results indicate that new employees are being taught these fraudulent practices and that current ethics and compliance practices and policies are largely ineffective in curtailing such conduct. Informed by these findings, policy recommendations are presented.     

Prospective emotion enables episodic prospection to shift time preference

The episodic effect suggests that episodic prospection (imagining future events) can effectively reduce time discounting, the propensity to discount the value of delayed rewards relative to immediate ones. However, less clear is how episodic prospection modulates time preference. As engagement in episodic prospection usually evokes prospective emotions, it was proposed that episodic prospection might work by inducing prospective emotions. Although one previous study has attempted to provide evidence to the emotional account of the episodic effect, shortcomings in its experimental design make its conclusion questionable. In this study, we replicated previous experimental design with improvements to further test the effects of prospective emotion on time preference. By manipulating the emotional valency associated with episodic prospection in a delay discounting task, we found that positive episodic prospection attenuated time discounting; negative episodic prospection exacerbated time discounting; and episodic prospection did not shift time preference when prospective emotion is removed. These results were essentially identical to the result of the previous study. Together, these studies suggested that the effects of episodic prospection depended on prospective emotion. Thus, one cannot ignore prospective emotion if counting on episodic prospection to combat humans’ impulsive behaviours.     

When negative affect drives attentional control: The role of motivational orientation

According to recent theorizing, cognitive control and affective processing are closely linked. Specifically, it has been suggested that negative affect acts as a driving force for attentional adjustment. Empirical support comes from a study by van Steenbergen et al. (Psychol Sci 20:1473–1477, 2009) demonstrating that negative stimuli increase the congruence sequence effect (CSE), a behavioural marker that indexes attentional adjustment. In this research, we provide a theoretical analysis that identifies motivational orientation (approach vs. avoidance) as a potential moderator. To test this, we replicated the study by van Steenbergen et al. (2009) and additionally manipulated the motivational orientation of participants. Participants either gained extra money after task completion (gain-focused group) or lost money after task completion (loss-focused group). Results showed that negative stimuli boost attentional adjustment, but only in the loss-focused group. This finding highlights the role of motivation for recent theorizing on emotion-driven control.

     

The Longitudinal Relationships between Family Functioning and Children’s Conduct Problems: The Moderating Role of Attentional Control Indexed by Intraindividual Response Time Variability

Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment - Previous studies have examined the associations among the family environment, children’s attentional control indexed by intraindividual...