The Maternal (Non) Responsiveness Questionnaire: Initial Factor Structure and Validation

The purpose of this paper was to examine the reliability, stability, and convergent and predictive validity of the newly developed Maternal Responsiveness Questionnaire (MRQ). Participants were 224 first‐time mothers. Mothers completed the MRQ when their infants were 6 and 14 months old. Convergent validity was examined in relation to mother‐reported personality, depressive symptoms, and emotion socialization practices and observed maternal sensitivity. Predictive validity was examined in relation to mother‐reported child behaviour problems and social competence, infant attachment security assessed via the Strange Situation, and observed child dysregulation. Three MRQ factors emerged based on exploratory factor analysis and were confirmed via confirmatory factor analysis: responsiveness, non‐responsiveness, and delayed responsiveness. All three scales demonstrated good internal consistency reliability and significant stability from 6 months to 14 months. Consistent evidence emerged for convergent and predictive validity of the non‐responsiveness subscale, but not the other subscales. The potential utility of the non‐responsiveness subscale of the MRQ is discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of task-irrelevant emotional information on deception

Deception has been reported to be influenced by task-relevant emotional information from an external stimulus. However, it remains unclear how task-irrelevant emotional information would influence deception. In the present study, facial expressions of different valence and emotion intensity were presented to participants, where they were asked to make either truthful or deceptive gender judgments according to the preceding cues. We observed the influence of facial expression intensity upon individuals’ cognitive cost of deceiving (mean difference of individuals’ truthful and deceptive response times). Larger cost was observed for high intensity faces compared to low intensity faces. These results provided insights on how automatic attraction of attention evoked by task-irrelevant emotional information in facial expressions influenced individuals’ cognitive cost of deceiving.     

Comparison of affective and semantic priming in different SOA

Researchers have been at odds on whether affective or semantic priming is faster or stronger. The present study selects a series of facial expression photos and words, which have definite emotional meaning or gender meaning, to set up experiment including both affective and semantic priming. The intensity of emotion and gender information in the prime as well as the strength of emotional or semantic (in gender) relationship between the prime and the target is matched. Three groups of participants are employed separately in our experiment varied with stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) as 50, 250 or 500 ms. The results show that the difference between two types of priming effect is revealed when the SOA is at 50 ms, in which the affective priming effect is presented when the prime has negative emotion. It indicates that SOA can affect the comparison between the affective and semantic priming, and the former takes the priority in the automatic processing level.     

The My Emotions Questionnaire: A self-report of mothers’ emotional responses to infant crying

The purpose of this article was to examine the psychometrics of the My Emotions Questionnaire, a self-report designed to assess mothers’ emotional reactions when their infants cry. Participants were 240 first-time mothers. When infants were 6 months and 1 year old, mothers completed the new questionnaire and measures assessing beliefs and behavioral responses to infant crying, and interview-based measures of mothers’ emotional reactions and causal attributions about crying were administered. Maternal sensitivity and negative behaviors were observed when infants were 6 months and 1 and 2 years old. Mothers reported on their discipline practices when children were 2 years old. Five emotion factors emerged based on exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the 6-month data: Amusement, Anxiety, Frustration, Sympathy, and Protective. The five-factor structure was supported via a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the 1-year data. All scales demonstrated adequate internal consistency reliability and significant stability from 6 months to 1 year. Amusement, Frustration, and Protectiveness demonstrated the best convergent validity with cry cognitions and predictive validity to parenting measures, followed by Anxiety, although effects tended to be small to moderate. Evidence for the validity of Sympathy was less compelling. The potential utility of the questionnaire for basic and applied research is discussed.     

Delayed response, preoperative overtraining, and prefrontal lesions in the rat

An earlier study in this laboratory found that preoperative overtraining improved retention of a delayed alternation task after prefrontal lesions in the rat. In this study, however, it was found that preoperative overtraining did not improve performance of the rat in a delayed response task following prefrontal lesions. These results support the hypothesis that preoperative overtraining can improve postoperative performance only when postoperative recovery is ordinarily present, as it is with delayed alternation. but not with delayed response, in the prefrontal rat. This suggests that effects of preoperative overtraining and postoperative recovery may be mediated by similar mechanisms. It further suggests that a shift of function, which seems to account for postoperative recovery, may occur in some parts of the normal adult brain as a result of overtraining.     

提取方式对相继记忆效应的影响

采用学习－测验（自由回忆和再认）研究范式和事件相关电位方法,研究图形的相继记忆效应（Dm效应）。14名大学生作为研究被试,根据其测验成绩将图片分为记住和未记住两类,对相应编码过程的ERPs进行分析。结果表明：⑴行为上,再认的平均击中率显著高于自由回忆;⑵脑电活动上,在刺激出现后400~700ms编码过程中记住项目的ERPs更正于未记住项目的ERPs;同时两种测验方式Dm效应的脑区分布不同,自由回忆主要分布在额区,再认主要分布在中央区和顶区,且在500~600ms自由回忆有左侧优势。这些结果表明,两种提取方式对Dm效应有不同的影响,这一结果预示自由回忆和再认的编码过程可能有不同的神经生理机制。     

国外关于右脑的语言功能研究的进展

对国外有关右脑语言功能的研究作了简要概述,对研究中达成的共识和存在的分歧作了初步介绍;在此基础上,对有关右脑的语言功能研究意义和趋势作了概括和预测。从而为国内相关研究提供借鉴和启示。     

青少年孤独感与人格五因素的关系:人际关系能力的中介作用

该研究采用小五人格问卷、中学生孤独感问卷和人际关系能力问卷,以784名青少年为被试,考察青少年孤独感的特点及其与人格五因素、人际关系能力的关系。结果发现:(1)青少年的孤独感存在显著的性别差异,男生显著高于女生;(2)在孤独感各维度中,除同伴关系评价与开放性的相关不显著外,其他维度与人格各维度及人际关系能力间均相关显著;(3)人格的情绪性和开放性显著正向预测孤独感,外向性、宜人性和人际关系能力显著负向预测孤独感;(4)在外向性、情绪性及开放性与孤独感的关系中,人际关系能力起部分中介作用,而在宜人性与孤独感的关系中,人际关系能力起完全中介作用。     

语音信息对中国英语学习者语义加工的影响及其脑机制

本研究采用经典的句尾畸义词诱发N400的ERP实验范式探讨了中国英语学习者在进行英文阅读时语音的影响及其相关脑机制。实验包括两类畸义语句:1.同音畸义:句尾词有畸义,但语音和相应正常语义句尾词相同;2.非同音畸义:句尾词有畸义,且语音和相应正常语义句尾词不同。行为数据显示:在错误率上同音畸义显著地高于非同音畸义。ERP显示:无论在早期(N100)还是晚期(N400)脑电成份上,同音畸义和非同音畸义的ERP振幅都有明显差异。本研究从行为和脑电两个方面一致揭示中国英语学习者阅读英文时受到了语音的影响。