不同认知作业年老化特点的比较研究

本工作应用自行设计的软件程序和微机人机对话方式,完成六项认知作业的年老化特点的比较研究,被试506人,46—75岁。研究结果表明:1)“心算”和“符号数字”两项作业完成速度随年老迅速减慢,但测验成绩随年老缓慢降低,速度变化是该两项作业年老化过程的主要特点;2)“数字鉴别”和“计数”两项作业完成速度随年老减慢较缓;3)“双位数字顺序回忆”和“无意义图形再认”两项作业测验成绩随年老下降迅速,但前者更为明显;4)速度和成绩两项指标的个体差异均随年老有增大趋向。     

Reliability of diagnosis in older psychiatric patients using the structured clinical interview for DSM-III-R

We conducted one of the few studies that has examined the reliability of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R Axis I (SCID-I) with a mixed inpatient and outpatient population of adults 55 years old and over (range, 56–84 years; mean, 67.33 years). All SCID interviews were videotaped or audiotaped and were administered by Master's-level clinicians working toward their doctorate degrees in clinical psychology. Interrater reliability estimates (kappa and percentage agreement) were calculated for current major depressive episode (47% base rate) and the broad diagnostic categories of anxiety disorders (15% base rate) and somatoform disorders (12% base rate). Kappa values were .70, .77, and 1.0. Respective percentage agreement was 85% for major depression, 94% for anxiety disorders, and 100% for somatoform disorders. Overall percentage agreement was 91%. We conclude that the SCID-I can be effectively administered by relatively inexperienced clinicians to diagnose older psychiatric patients reliably. Directions that future research might take are offered.     

发散性思维的年龄差异及“位置法”记忆训练的作用

该研究的目的是探讨发散性思维的年龄差异以及“位置法”记忆训练对发散性思维的迁移作用。训练组为经过记忆训练的青年人24名,老年组20名,对照组为相匹配的青年人24名、老年人19名。结果表明:(1)在图形、符号、语义三方面的流畅性、变通性和独特性上,老年组均很显著地比青年组差。青年组的个别差异较大,老年组的更大,尤其是独特性。(2)青年训练组的图形流畅性、独特性及语义的独特性成绩显著优于其对照组,老年训练组图形的变通性有优于其对照组的趋势(P=.052),说明“位置法”记忆训练对发散性思维有一定的间接迁移作用,尤其是对青年人。(3)发散性思维与想象力、数字符号、训练前和训练后词的记忆以及图形的记忆成绩均有很显著正相关。而词汇成绩只与训练组两项发散性思维有显著相关。     

A graph theory model of the semantic structure of attitudes

The semantic structure underlying the attitudes of pretreatment and posttreatment drug addicts was modeled using a network analysis of free word associations. Measures of graph theoretic properties were used to assess structural differences in the associative networks of the two populations. These measures modeled the information processes of associative networks proposed in the spreading activation theory of semantic processing. As expected based on graph theory, the structure of the associative networks of post-treatment subjects was more dense, less constrained, and more hierarchically organized by the self concept. In a test of the network model, the subjects' evaluations of concepts in the associative network were found to be a function of their evaluations of semantically similar concepts. Although preliminary and limited, the results suggest that graph theory may provide a broad mathematical foundation for diverse models of cognitive systems.The research was funded by a grant from the National Institute for Drug Abuse to the Institute of Cultural Studies, Inc.Daytop Village.     

Brief report: Identifying potential positive reinforcers in a residential treatment center for female adolescents who are conduct disordered

This study compares the ratings of potential reinforcers for two sample populations, residentially placed females who are conduct disordered (CD) and normal females. It was anticipated that the CD population would rank potential reinforcers lower than the normal population; however, the results contradict this hypothesis It was found that females who are CD consistently rated potential reinforcers higher than the normal female sample. Possible explanations for this finding are addressed and future research needs are discussed.     

Behavioural conversion in a compliance paradigm: A replication and a refinement

While a compliance strategy induced almost all subjects to agree to forego first a lunch and then a dinner and the following breakfast, simply observing an accomplice break his commitment to forego lunch was enough to produce a significant reduction in subjects' commitment to forego two meals, even though the effect was not immediate. This pattern of influence, similar to a ‘behavioural conversion’, appeared if the accomplice had first agreed to the initial request and only later refused to continue, but not if he refused to make the commitment at the outset.     

Categorical processing of visual stimuli in relation to geometrical,graphemic, or lexical context

Summary Categorical perception was first demonstrated in studies of speech sounds (Liberman, Harris, Hoffman, & Griffith, 1957). The present work employed visual stimuli to explore categorical responding in relation to the context in which the stimuli were embedded. The target stimulus was a vertical line whose length was varied from 20 to 31 min (approximately) in steps of 1.2 min. Experiment 1 examined the effect of a geometrical context on the subjects' ability to discriminate between pairs of lines. The context improved performance, but produced no evidence of categorical responding. In Experiment 2 a graphemic context depressed performance, but failed to show clear evidence of categorization. By contrast, strong evidence of categorical responding was obtained in Experiment 3, in which the graphemes used in Experiment 2 were embedded in meaningful words. From this pattern of results it is argued that categorical responding is reflective not of relatively peripheral perceptual activity, but of higher-order decision processes.     

Problem-solving strategies on a partial reinforcement task: Effects of socioeconomic status and cognitive level

Differences in performance between lower- and middle-class children on partial reinforcement tasks have often been attributed to motivational differences between the groups. An alternate hypothesis suggests that different environmental experiences have resulted in differences in familiarity with problem-solving tasks. Both of these hypotheses have generated research; neither has received clear-cut support. A third hypothesis is that there is a developmental lag in the lower class so that equating the two groups on chronological age confounds the social class by cognitive-level interaction. In the present study, children were matched on cognitive abilities (preoperational, transitional, and concrete operational) and administered a partial reinforcement task. The main hypotheses that social-class differences would not be found but that cognitive level differences in success on the task and in problem-solving strategies would be found were supported. Implications were made concerning a developmental learning model that includes both qualitative and quantitative changes in abilities.