Global effect of a nearby distractor on targeting eye and hand movements

Eye-hand coordination was investigated with the global effect paradigm. In this paradigm, saccades typically land in between the target and a nearby presented distractor, the configuration's center of gravity. This so-called global effect, or spatial averaging, is attributed to incomplete target selection. Four experiments demonstrated a similar effect for hand movements; thus, eye and hand are coupled during target selection. However, under some conditions the global effect was different for eye and hand, suggesting that their coupling is not achieved through a shared target representation. Instead, eye and hand seem to use 2 separate target representations that exchange information. The convergent amplitudes of eye and hand with simultaneous execution support this interpretation. Latencies showed a similar converging pattern.     

Inhibition of action rules

Inhibition is often proposed as an important executive-control process, but its existence is difficult to establish empirically. Recently, Mayr and Keele (2000) reported that it takes longer to switch to a recently disengaged task set (i.e.,n−2 task-set repetitions) than to a less recently disengaged task set. Thissetalternation cost may indicate inhibition of the disengaged task set. The primary goal of the present study was to test the inhibition account of set-alternation costs against an important alternative account based on automatic episodic retrieval. The episodic retrieval account predicts reaction time facilitation instead of costs for the special case ofcomplete n−2 repetitions of both task sets and all stimulus— response aspects. A new task-switching paradigm, in which action rules varied on a trial-by-trial basis while the relevant stimulus dimension remained invariant, allowed the implementation of a high proportion of completen−2 repetitions. Consistent with the inhibition view, set-alternation costs were obtained even for these constellations.     

Blocking is sensitive to causal structure in 4-year-old and 8-year-old children

In a contingency learning task, 4-year-old and 8-year-old children had to predict the outcome displayed on the back of a card on the basis of cues presented on the front. The task was embedded in either a causal or a merely predictive scenario. Within this task, either a forward blocking or a backward blocking procedure was implemented. Blocking occurred in the causal but not in the predictive scenario. Moreover, blocking was affected by the scenario to the same extent in both age groups. The pattern of results was similar for forward and backward blocking. These results suggest that even young children are sensitive to the causal structure of a contingency learning task and that the occurrence of blocking in such a task defies an explanation in terms of associative learning theory.     

Speaking the unspeakable: institutional reactions to boundary violations by training analysts

The work of a COPE study group on boundary violations is summarized, with particular focus on the impact on institutes and societies of sexual misconduct by training analysts. Difficulties in evaluating such situations are discussed, and the dynamics of institutional avoidance explicated. In addition, psychodynamic themes that are commonly observed in analysts who engage in sexual boundary violations with their patients are elaborated. Finally, suggestions are made for managing, through existing mechanisms, instances of boundary violations by training analysts.     

Help-seeking atititudes among Israeli adolescents

This study investigated the willingness of Israeli adolescents to seek help for emotional and health problems, and their preference for various helping agents. Nearly fifteen hundred students in grades 7-12 participated in a comprehensive survey of attitudes, health status, and concerns, and the data were analyzed. Gender and age were identified as factors associated with help-seeking attitudes. Females reported a higher level of distress and greater willingness to seek help than did males. Younger adolescents tended to state that they would turn to parents for help, whereas older adolescents increasingly preferred peers. In general, the adolescents preferred to seek help from family and peers for emotional and social problems, rather than turning to professionals. Adolescents in grades 9-10 reported the highest level of distress and were least willing to seek help for interpersonal problems and depressed mood. Overall, level of distress was not directly related to willingness to seek help. In subgroups of depressed and suicidal adolescents, an inverse relationship was found between willingness to seek help and levels of depression and suicidal ideation. Recommendations for health care services and counseling programs are discussed.     

Dissociating retention and access in working memory: an age-comparative study of mental arithmetic

In two experiments, young and older adults solved arithmetic chain tasks with single-digit operands, with or without a concurrent memory load of three or six digits. Variables in the arithmetic tasks had to be replaced by digits from the screen or from the memory set. A task-irrelevant concurrent load impaired neither speed nor accuracy of arithmetic in younger adults. In Experiment 2, this was also true for older adults. A large decrease in arithmetic performance was observed, however, when variables in the arithmetic task had to be substituted by digits from the memory list. Older adults had specific problems with this condition in Experiment 1, where the substitution involved two successive steps, but not in Experiment 2, where the substitution from memory could be done in a single step. The results are difficult to reconcile with models assuming a common resource for storage and processing. Rather, they are compatible with the hypothesis that a concurrent memory load interferes with a processing task only during the points of access to working memory. Further, even though access to working memory was found to be the critical source of concurrent-load interference, it was found to be insensitive to the effects of adult aging.     

Hierarchical modeling of paired comparison data

The method of paired comparisons belongs to a small group of techniques that provide explicit information about the consistency of individual and aggregated choices. This article investigates the link between the individual- and group-level judgments by extending R. D. Luce's (1959) model, which was originally developed for individual choice behavior, to a mixed-effects paired comparison model. It is shown that standard multilevel software for binary data can be used to estimate the model. The interpretation of the paired comparison parameters and statistical model tests are discussed in detail. An extensive analysis of an experimental study illustrates the usefulness of a hierarchical approach in modeling multiple pairwise judgments.     

性别和社会发展对中国大学生男性观念的影响

1　前言　　男性观念是“在两个性别之间的结构性关系的基础上 ,有关男子气和男性性别的内化了的文化信念体系”(Ｐｌｅｃｋ ,Ｓｏｎｅｎｓｔｅｉｎ ,＆Ｋｕ ,1993 ,Ｐ .88)。社会建构论与实质论在男性观念上观点不同。社会建构论认为 ,性别角色是为适应特定历史时期的特定社会需要而构造起来的心理和社会的东西。男性观念没有单一标准 ,也不存在各种文化都通用的男性观念 ,不存在固定不变的男性观念 (Ｂｒｏｄ ,1987;Ｐｌｅｃｋ ,1995 )。由于男性观念有社会性 ,不同社会阶层、不同民族、不同性别、不同生命阶段、不同历史时期的人 ,其男性…     

生命的慰籍

时间跨越生命的年轮,从额头的皱纹悄悄掠过,墙头的挂历不觉已翻到底。一株发月之树,随着春的来临又再飘落三百六十五张叶子。时间把真相和实质交给我们,使我们乘上一艘直达彼岸的船,载住你我向前疾驱,没有码头让我们停靠,更没有返程的船票。多变的风浪中有严峻的人生,越过一个激浪,为什么双有一个激浪掀来。假若不是一次次聆听“你们为什么胆怯？”（玛八：16）的质问,很难知道,是什么力量让我们在狂风急浪之上搏击。工作本是一口填不满的井,今天的事虽已做完,但明晨会不会面对白纸惶然？人都会有忙里偷闲的本性,也会有无可奈…     

自画像

我出生于奥尔登堡城,父亲出生于耶伏尔州,母亲出生于布加丁根,两地均临北海海岸。在我的整个童年时代,我们每年都到佛里兰岛消磨时光,并同大海一同成长。我记得,我三、四岁那年,我们曾住在斯皮格罗格,但根本不记得那里是大海,而只记得灌木丛和房屋。但几年后,我们住在诺德尼岛,傍晚时分,父亲拉着我的手,走下宽阔的海滩,向大海走去。退潮了,路穿过清洁的海滩,那番情景,令我惊讶,难以忘怀。