认知神经心理学简介

认知神经心理学是认知心理学的一个分支。它的目的是探讨当人们执行认知活动的时候,心理信息加工过程是怎样的,所采用的手段是研究这些认知功能受损的病人。它与认知神经科学的不同在于：认知神经心理学关注的是心理（mind）,而认知神经科学关注的是大脑（特别是关注与认知有关的大脑机制）。研究认知神经心理学的方法也可以用于研究发展性认知障碍,如阅读障碍,或者特殊的语言损伤,这就是发展性认知神经心理学。这些方法还可以用于高级认知发面的研究,如信念形成和心理理论。这些高级认知方面的障碍是精神病学的范畴,因此这类研究错觉、幻想或虚构等的认知神经心理学叫做认知神经精神病学。认知神经心理学的典型特征有：1）研究症状,而不是并发症;2）采用个案研究,而不是群体研究;3）主要数据来源是症状间的双分离;4）致力于模块化认知模型的建立。     

Saccades compress space, time and number

It has been suggested that space, time and number are represented on a common subjective scale. Saccadic eye movements provide a fascinating test. Saccades compress the perceived magnitude of spatial separations and temporal intervals to approximately half of their true value. The question arises as to whether saccades also compress number. They do, and compression follows a very similar time course for all three attributes: it is maximal at saccadic onset and decreases to veridicality within a window of approximately 50ms. These results reinforce the suggestion of a common perceptual metric, which is probably mediated by the intraparietal cortex; they further suggest that before each saccade the common metric for all three is reset, possibly to pave the way for a fresh analysis of the post-saccadic situation.     

Estimating confidence intervals for eigenvalues in exploratory factor analysis

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) has become a common procedure in educational and psychological research. In the course of performing an EFA, researchers often base the decision of how many factors to retain on the eigenvalues for the factors. However, many researchers do not realize that eigenvalues, like all sample statistics, are subject to sampling error, which means that confidence intervals (CIs) can be estimated for each eigenvalue. In the present article, we demonstrate two methods of estimating CIs for eigenvalues: one based on the mathematical properties of the central limit theorem, and the other based on bootstrapping. References to appropriate SAS and SPSS syntax are included. Supplemental materials for this article may be downloaded from http://brm.psychonomic-journals.org/content/supplemental.     

Danger ideation reduction therapy for obsessive-compulsive checking: preliminary findings

Danger Ideation Reduction Therapy (DIRT) is a cognitive treatment package developed in the mid-1990s to treat obsessive-compulsive (OC) washing. DIRT is solely directed at decreasing threat expectancies and does not involve direct or indirect exposure. The effectiveness of the DIRT package for OC washers has been examined, and to date a number of publications, including two randomised controlled trials, support its efficacy. Recently, the DIRT package was modified to treat people with the OC checking subtype. In the current study, three adult OC checkers received DIRT in 12 to 14 individual 1-hr sessions conducted by a clinical psychologist. At posttreatment, substantial and clinically significant reductions in scores on a range of standardized outcome measures of obsessive-compulsive disorder symptom severity were apparent for all three participants. Crucially, these improvements were maintained at 4-month follow-up. Although further research is clearly warranted, these preliminary findings suggest that DIRT for checkers may prove as effective as DIRT for OC washers.     

Weber fractions for weight and mass as a function of stimulus intensity

Laboratory simulations of weightlessness have shown that the Weber fraction for mass is higher than that for weight in the range 1000-7000 g. Experiments in the weightless conditions of orbital and parabolic flight have found the same at the 50 g level. To obtain measures at intermediate intensities, the Weber fractions for weight and mass were measured for 15 subjects at 50, 200 and 400 g. The stimuli were canisters suspended on strings. The subjects lifted them for the weight condition and swung them firmly sideways for the mass condition. The Weber fraction was higher for mass than for weight at all intensities, and increased at 50 g for both conditions. In a second mass condition, in which the subjects shook the cylinders within a loosely clenched hand, the Weber fraction remained almost constant at all intensities and was significantly smaller than for the firm swing method at 50 g. The differences in performance between conditions may be related to the continuity or intermittency of pressure information. Other explanations are discussed.     

Unskilled, unaware, or both? The better-than-average heuristic and statistical regression predict errors in estimates of own performance

People who score low on a performance test overestimate their own performance relative to others, whereas high scorers slightly underestimate their own performance. J. Kruger and D. Dunning (1999) attributed these asymmetric errors to differences in metacognitive skill. A replication study showed no evidence for mediation effects for any of several candidate variables. Asymmetric errors were expected because of statistical regression and the general better-than-average (BTA) heuristic. Consistent with this parsimonious model, errors were no longer asymmetric when either regression or the BTA effect was statistically removed. In fact, high rather than low performers were more error prone in that they were more likely to neglect their own estimates of the performance of others when predicting how they themselves performed relative to the group.     

Punishment revisited--science,values, and the right question: comment on Gershoff (2002)

In this comment on E. T. Gershoff (2002), the author notes the historical phases of punishment research. Punishment as a disciplinary tactic is best viewed as a packaged variable and therefore needs to be investigated in the context of other socialization practices. The role of parental values in this debate about punishment utilization and effectiveness merits more consideration. New directions in punishment research are also noted. These include the need for a family-systems perspective, a family-typology approach, a transactional model of punishment, the use of innovation observation and self-report methods, and more culturally sensitive paradigms.