九十年代的心理学:潮流与挑战

在1990年,人们可能会期望心理学家以从未有过的巨大热情来关注个体和群体的理性机制问题,据此,我们可以来解释威胁着我们的全球性危机,诸如核武器竞赛等。安全系统的心理学研究需要控制这些有可能膨胀的威胁。然而,这或许会导致心理学中“科学”与“人文”倾向之间紧张度的增加。另一方面,我们也能够期望有更认真的尝试,通过分析心理学的哲学背景,发展一种历史的心理学,在社会心理学的帮助下,通过沟通不同的分支,可产生一种综合的心理学。     

天才大脑机制的神经学研究

天才是指那些在创造力和技巧方面有特殊才能或倾向,以及具有非凡成就的极少数个体。人们认为天才的最普遍特征是智商(IQ)高,创造力强,并有强烈的动机感(承担任务)。本文对目前有关智能及创造力的脑研究知识作一个综述,包括脑电波(EEG)的生理测量,脑功率谱分析,大脑诱发电位和阳离子发射层面x射线照相术,并考虑了现存的矛盾、争议、正式假说和研究中的争端问题。我们特别对脑电波动力学的确定性功能加以阐述,提出了一个天才认知组织和大脑加工过程层次的混沌模型。     

宗教在道德教育中的作用

长期以来,大多数宗教总是很自然地把道德与宗教信仰和实践联系在一起。例如,在古希腊,道德教育基本上是通过传奇式的宗教文学来进行的,象关于上帝的传说以及希腊英雄的故事等。正是由于这个原因,柏拉图十分审慎地对待道德教育中所采用的诗歌和典故。柏拉图批评当时的大多数诗歌,认为他们不适合于用来教育青少年,因为这些诗歌错误地把上帝描绘成具有迷惑力的、骗人的、好战的和假的东西。相反,柏拉图认为真正的上帝是完美无缺的,是不可更换的,也不可能欺骗人。     

重在实践

至大的真主在《古兰经》中说:“你们是诵经的人,你们怎么可以命人行善,而忘却自身呢?难道你们真不明白吗?”(2∶44)从这段详明的经文,我们应当知道:有些人,他们常以诚信者自诩。他们常以信仰和善功命令别人,而他们自身却放任自流,     

公正:变化中的美德观念

有两种互不相容的公正观念:一是通过说明怎样根据各人所挣之物赋予其权利和赋予哪些权利来解释公正概念;一是通过说明根据各人的基本需要及其满足方法而确立的平等权利来解释公正概念。 分析道德哲学家R·诺齐克和J·罗尔斯对上述基于合法所得权利和基本需要这两种主张在理论上作出表述: 罗尔斯认为,在规定任何社会制度下对利益的公正分配时都将依据下述两条原则和一条规     

人道主义伦理学与理性

1.问题在最近几个世纪中,一种自豪和乐观的精神使西方文化闻名于世:对作为人理解和驾驭自然界的手段的理性的自豪;对实现人类最渴求的希望即为最大多数人取得最大幸福的乐观。人的自豪是有道理的。他凭借着理性创造出一个物质世界,其现实甚至胜过了各种神话故事和乌托邦的梦想与幻想。他利用了各种物质能力,它们将使人类能保证获得有尊严和生产性的存在所必不可少的物质条件,尽管他的许多目的还未达到,但几乎毫无问题,这些目的是能够达到的。生产的问题(这是个老问题)原则上解决了。现在,人在他的历史上第一次能够感觉到,人类统一和为人而征服自然的思想不再是一种梦幻,而是一种现实的可能性。难道他没有理由感到自豪,自信并对人类的将来充满信心吗?     

Choice between repleting/depleting patches: A concurrent-schedule procedure

Six pigeons responded on two concurrently available keys that defined patches with the following characteristics. Reinforcer stores repleted on a patch as a linear function of time when the bird had last responded to the other patch, or else did not replete. Repletion schedules thus timed only when the bird was absent from the patch. Reinforcer stores on a patch could be depleted and reinforcers obtained, again as a linear function of time, when the bird responded on a key. Depletion schedules thus timed only when the birds were present at a patch. Experiment 1 investigated changing relative depletion rates when repletion rates were constant and equal (Part 1) and changing relative repletion rates when the depletion rates were constant and equal (Part 2). Response- and time-allocation ratios conformed to a generalized matching relation with obtained reinforcer ratios, and there appeared to be no control by the size of the reinforcer stores. In Experiment 2, absolute depletion rates were varied with a pair of unequal repletion rates (Part 3), and absolute repletion rates were varied with a pair of unequal depletion rates (Part 4). Dwell times in the patches were not affected by either variation. Melioration theory predicted the results of Experiment 1 quite closely but erroneously predicted changing dwell times in Experiment 2. Molar maximization theory did not accurately predict the results of either experiment.     

Fixed-ratio pausing: Joint effects of past reinforcer magnitude and stimuli correlated with upcoming magnitude

Pigeons responded on fixed-ratio schedules ending in small or large reinforcers (grain presentations of different duration) interspersed within each session. In mixed-schedule conditions, the response key was lit with a single color throughout the session, and pausing was directly related to the past reinforcer (longer pauses after large reinforcers than after small ones). In multiple-schedule conditions, different colors accompanied the ratios ending in small and large reinforcers, and pausing was affected by the upcoming reinforcer as well as the past one. Pauses were shorter before large reinforcers than before small ones, but they continued to be longer after large reinforcers than after small ones. The influence of the past reinforcer was modulated by the magnitude of the upcoming reinforcer; in the presence of the stimulus before the small reinforcer, the effect of the past reinforcer was enhanced relative to its effect in the stimulus before the large reinforcer. These results show that pausing between ratios is jointly determined by two competing factors: past conditions of reinforcement and stimuli correlated with upcoming conditions.     

Discriminability between alternatives in a switching-key concurrent schedule

Six pigeons were trained to discriminate between two intensities of white light in a symbolic matching-to-sample procedure. These stimuli were then used to signal which schedule was available on the main key in a switching-key concurrent schedule. The concurrent schedules led to a symbolic matching-to-sample phase in which the subject identified the concurrent schedule to which it last responded before a reinforcer could be obtained. The concurrent schedules were varied across conditions. Discriminability, measured during the symbolic matching-to-sample performance, was high throughout and did not differ across the two procedures. Performance in the concurrent schedules was like that typically obtained using these schedules. Delays were then arranged between completion of the concurrent schedules and presentations of the symbolic matching-to-sample phase. A series of conditions with an intervening delay of 10 s showed that both concurrent-schedule performance and symbolic matching-to-sample performance were affected by the delay in a similar way; that is, choice responding was closer to indifference.     

Effects of reinforcer delays on choice as a function of income level

Three rats earned their daily food ration by responding during individual trials either on a lever that delivered one food pellet immediately or on a second lever that delivered three pellets after a delay that was continuously adjusted to ensure substantial responding to both alternatives. Choice of the delayed reinforcer increased when the number of trials per session was reduced. This result suggests that models seeking closure on choice effects must include a parameter reflecting how preference changes with sessionwide income. Moreover, models positing that reinforcer probability and immediacy (1/delay) function equivalently in choice are called into question by the finding that probability and immediacy produce opposing effects when income level is changed.