Normalized Paper Credit Assignment: A Solution for the Ethical Dilemma Induced by Multiple Important Authors

With the growth of research collaborations, the average number of authors per article and the phenomenon of equally important authorships have increased. The essence of the phenomenon of equally important authorships is the approximately equal importance of authors, both because of the difficulties in comparing authors’ contributions to a paper and some actual research evaluation practices, which (approximately) give full paper credit only to the most important authors. A mechanism for indicating that various authors contributed equally is required to maintain and strengthen collaboration. However, the phenomenon of multiple important authors can cause unfair comparisons among the research contributions and abilities of authors of different papers. This loophole may be exploited. Normalizing the credit assigned to a given paper’s authors is an easy way to solve this ethical dilemma. This approach enables fair comparisons of the contributions by the authors of different articles and suppresses unethical behaviour in author listings. Bibliometric researchers have proposed mature methods of normalized paper credit assignment that would be easy to use given the current level of computer adoption.     

“Seeing-in” and twofold empathic intentionality: a Husserlian account

In recent years, the phenomenological approach to empathy becomes increasingly influential in explaining social perception of other people. Yet, it leaves untouched a related and pivotal question concerning the unique and irreducible intentionality of empathy that constitutes the peculiarity of social perception. In this article, I focus on this problem by drawing upon Husserl’s theory of image-consciousness, and I suggest that empathy is characterized by a “seeing-in” structure. I develop two theses so as to further explicate the seeing-in structure in question: first, empathy as a phenomenologically sui generis act is an intentional fusion of both presentation and re-presentation; and second, empathic intentionality is in essence twofold in that it is at once directed at both the other’s sensuously given body and the other’s non-sensuously given mentality. In this light, I argue that empathy is better conceived as a quasi-perceptual act that is fundamentally different from external perception simpliciter and other complex acts such as signitive, recollective and imaginative intention.     

Young children's self‐benefiting lies and their relation to executive functioning and theory of mind

It is well established that children lie in different social contexts for various purposes from the age of 2 years. Surprisingly, little is known about whether very young children will spontaneously lie for personal gain, how self‐benefiting lies emerge, and what cognitive factors affect the emergence of self‐benefiting lies. To bridge this gap in the literature, we situated children between 2 and 4 years of age in a zero‐sum game where children must lie to their opponent if they wanted to win a desirable reward. We found that the majority of young children did not lie even when they experienced personal losses repeatedly. However, some children spontaneously lied during the game; as the game progressed, more children lied. Further, we found that children's theory of mind understanding and executive functioning in terms of a combination of inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility had significant positive and unique correlations with how frequently children lied for personal gain. The present results taken together with the existing findings regarding children's lies for self‐protection and politeness purposes suggest that the act of lying begins early in life. Further, its emergence and development are influenced by children's specific cognitive abilities in the domains of theory of mind understanding and executive functioning.

Highlights

• The study investigated whether very young children will spontaneously lie for personal gain.
• This study used a zero‐sum game to elicit children's self‐benefiting lies. Results showed the majority of young children did not lie, and it is related to children's theory of mind understanding and executive functioning.
• The act of lying begins early in life, and its emergence and development are influenced by children's specific cognitive abilities in the domains of theory of mind understanding and executive functioning.

     

Dorsomedial prefrontal cortex 5-HT6 receptors regulate anxiety-like behavior

The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) plays a very important role in decision-related and anxiety-related information processing. It has enriched 5-HT6 receptors; however, the precise role of dmPFC 5-HT6 receptors in anxiety remains to be fully investigated. In this study, we injected dmPFC with the 5-HT6 receptor agonist EMD 386088 and antagonist SB 271046 using stereotactic technology. 5-HT6 receptor activation in mice increased time spent in the center area on the open-field test, increased exploration of the open arms on the elevated plus maze test, and increased ratio on the social interaction test. 5-HT6 receptor inactivation induced the opposite effects. In brain slices, EMD 386088 decreased both spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSC) and spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSC), while SB 271046 only increased sEPSC. These effects of EMD 386088 and SB 271046 could be reversed by the GABA_A receptor antagonist bicuculline (BMI) and positive allosteric modulator clonazepam (CLZ), respectively. Our results suggest that neurotransmission in the dmPFC by 5-HT6 receptor activation and inhibition may play an important role in anxiety-like behavior, and may provide new insight into the pathological mechanism and potential target of anxiety disorders.     

The reliability and stability of visual working memory capacity

Because of the central role of working memory capacity in cognition, many studies have used short measures of working memory capacity to examine its relationship to other domains. Here, we measured the reliability and stability of visual working memory capacity, measured using a single-probe change detection task. In Experiment 1, the participants (N = 135) completed a large number of trials of a change detection task (540 in total, 180 each of set sizes 4, 6, and 8). With large numbers of both trials and participants, reliability estimates were high (α > .9). We then used an iterative down-sampling procedure to create a look-up table for expected reliability in experiments with small sample sizes. In Experiment 2, the participants (N = 79) completed 31 sessions of single-probe change detection. The first 30 sessions took place over 30 consecutive days, and the last session took place 30 days later. This unprecedented number of sessions allowed us to examine the effects of practice on stability and internal reliability. Even after much practice, individual differences were stable over time (average between-session r = .76).     

三类多层中介效应分析方法比较

比较了贝叶斯法、Monte Carlo法和参数Bootstrap法在2-1-1多层中介分析中的表现。结果发现：1)有先验信息的贝叶斯法的中介效应点估计和区间估计都最准确;2)无先验信息的贝叶斯法、Monte Carlo法、偏差校正和未校正的参数Bootstrap法的中介效应点估计和区间估计表现相当,但Monte Carlo法在第Ⅰ类错误率和区间宽度指标上表现略优于其他三种方法,偏差校正的Bootstrap法在统计检验力上表现略优于其他三种方法,但在第Ⅰ类错误率上表现最差;结果表明,当有先验信息时,推荐使用贝叶斯法;当先验信息不可得时,推荐使用Monte Carlo法。     

Beyond the leftward limit of the perceptual span: Parafoveal processing to the left of fixation in Chinese reading

During reading, Chinese readers have been found to obtain useful visual information from one character to the left to three characters to the right of fixation. The perceptual span is asymmetrical, and its leftward extent seems to be limited compared with the rightward extent. We conducted an experiment to investigate whether Chinese readers could process written information beyond the leftward extent of the perceptual span. We did this by using a variation of the gaze-contingent display change paradigm (Rayner, Cognitive Psychology, 81, 65–81, 1975) in order to manipulate the parafoveal “postview” that was available to the left of where readers were fixating. Each sentence contained an invisible boundary. Once the readers’ eyes crossed the boundary, all of the characters to the left of the boundary except for one, two, or three characters directly to the left of the boundary were replaced with visually similar characters. The change lasted for only one single fixation, resulting in four different “postview” conditions including a control condition (n ? 1, n ? 2, n ? 3, control). The results showed that, compared with the control condition, there were more regressions to the display change area immediately after readers’ eyes crossed the boundary in the n ? 1, n ? 2, and n ? 3 conditions, demonstrating that readers can acquire information from the three characters to the left of fixation at least.     

类比推理的发展理论评析

类比在认知科学领域具有特殊的地位,儿童类比推理能力的发展是其认知发展的重要成分之一。本文系统介绍了类比推理发展研究中的几个重要理论,即能力限制说、知识经验说和关系转换说等。在此基础上,作者进一步对类比推理发展研究中涉及的几个焦点问题,如类比推理出现的最早年龄,类比推理发展的影响因素及类比推理的发展趋势等进行了综合评析。     

作为效应的ERP研究

晚正成分能够反映不同效价和不同唤醒度的情绪。作为后悔的一种现象,作为效应是否与晚正成分具有关联是研究关心的问题。采用运气轮博弈的范式,记录与分析被试在“做”与“不做”决策下的ERPs。研究发现,决策结果的正误显著影响了FRN、P300和LPC的波幅大小。作为类别对FRN、P300和LPC波幅的影响受到不同决策结果的影响,在决策正确的条件下,作为类别对FRN、P300和LPC波幅不产生影响,而在决策错误的条件下,作为类别对FRN、P300和LPC波幅产生了显著的影响。结果表明作为效应不仅影响了FRN、P300的波幅,同时也影响了LPC的波幅,将来研究应进一步探明晚正成分与后悔的密切关联。     

全真女冠与元代社会

元代社会道德观念的限制使得妇女的宗教活动更多地需要女性宗教师,而全真女冠们禁欲苦修的信条又契合元代社会道德观念对守节妇女的要求,得到了上层社会的广泛支持,从而形成了继唐代女冠热后又一个女性信仰道教的热潮。在这场热潮中虽然很多全真女冠表现出了封建社会女性难得的独立意识和平等精神。但是,在男女不平等的封建社会大环境下,即使在标榜平等的全真教内,她们也很难获取真正的平等。