边界研究——后现代进路

新进路的丰富传统与前提可以在地理边界学这门有关边界的新学科中,区分出多个可以认为是传统的或者后现代的连续的理论进路。每个阶段都会看到结合而不是替代始终在不断加以完善的传统进路,来应用新的进路(明吉,1963;鲁姆莱和明吉,1991)。诸如历史地图绘制、类型地图绘制、功能地图绘制和政治地图绘制等等传统的进路,在一些理论著述中已经早有描述(科洛索夫和奥洛克林,1998;科洛索夫和图罗夫斯基,1998;科洛索夫和米罗年科,2001)。我们在这里将论述大多在20世纪90年代和最近10年之间出现的后现代进路。地缘政治进路全球化和一体化对于政治边…     

Visual processing speed: effects of auditory input on visual processing

The ability to process simultaneously presented auditory and visual information is a necessary component underlying many cognitive tasks. While this ability is often taken for granted, there is evidence that under many conditions auditory input attenuates processing of corresponding visual input. The current study investigated infants' processing of visual input under unimodal and cross-modal conditions. Results of the three reported experiments indicate that different auditory input had different effects on infants' processing of visual information. In particular, unfamiliar auditory input slowed down visual processing, whereas more familiar auditory input did not. These results elucidate mechanisms underlying auditory overshadowing in the course of cross-modal processing and have implications on a variety of cognitive tasks that depend on cross-modal processing.     

The influences of partner accuracy and partner memory ability on social false memories

In this study, we examined whether increasing the proportion of false information suggested by a confederate would influence the magnitude of socially introduced false memories in the social contagion paradigm Roediger, Meade, & Bergman (Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 8:365–371, 2001). One participant and one confederate collaboratively recalled items from previously studied household scenes. During collaboration, the confederate interjected 0 %, 33 %, 66 %, or 100 % false items. On subsequent individual-recall tests across three experiments, participants were just as likely to incorporate misleading suggestions from a partner who was mostly accurate (33 % incorrect) as they were from a partner who was not at all accurate (100 % incorrect). Even when participants witnessed firsthand that their partner had a very poor memory on a related memory task, they were still as likely to incorporate the confederate’s entirely misleading suggestions on subsequent recall and recognition tests (Exp. 2). Only when participants witnessed firsthand that their partner had a very poor memory on a practice test of the experimental task itself were they able to reduce false memory, and this reduction occurred selectively on a subsequent individual recognition test (Exp. 3). These data demonstrate that participants do not always consider their partners’ memory ability when working on collaborative memory tasks.     

Investigating the Links Between Cultural Values and Belief in Conspiracy Theories: The Key Roles of Collectivism and Masculinity

Research suggests that belief in conspiracy theories (CT) stems from basic psychological mechanisms and is linked to other belief systems (e.g., religious beliefs). While previous research has extensively examined individual and contextual variables associated with CT beliefs, it has not yet investigated the role of culture. In the current research, we tested, based on a situated cultural cognition perspective, the extent to which culture predicts CT beliefs. Using Hofstede's model of cultural values, three nation-level analyses of data from 25, 19, and 18 countries using different measures of CT beliefs (Study 1, N = 5323; Study 2a, N = 12,255; Study 2b, N = 30,994) revealed positive associations between masculinity, collectivism, and CT beliefs. A cross-sectional study among U.S. citizens (Study 3, N = 350), using individual-level measures of Hofstede's values, replicated these findings. A meta-analysis of correlations across studies corroborated the presence of positive links between CT beliefs, collectivism, r = .31, 95% CI = [.15; .47], and masculinity, r = .39, 95% CI = [.18; .59]. Our results suggest that in addition to individual differences and contextual variables, cultural factors also play an important role in shaping CT beliefs.     

Reproducibility and variability of the cost functions reconstructed from experimental recordings in multifinger prehension

The study examines whether the cost functions reconstructed from experimental recordings are reproducible over time. Participants repeated the trials on three days. By following Analytical Inverse Optimization procedures, the cost functions of finger forces were reconstructed for each day. The cost functions were found to be reproducible over time: application of a cost function C(i) to the data of Day j (i≠j) resulted in smaller deviations from the experimental observations than using other commonly used cost functions. Other findings are: (a) the 2nd order coefficients of the cost function showed negative linear relations with finger force magnitudes; (b) the finger forces were distributed on a 2-dimensional plane in the 4-dimensional finger force space for all subjects and all testing sessions; (c) the data agreed well with the principle of superposition, i.e. the action of object prehension can be decoupled into the control of rotational equilibrium and slipping prevention.     

Carrot eaters or moving heads: inductive inference is better supported by salient features than by category labels

How do words affect generalization, and how do these effects change during development? One theory posits that even early in development, linguistic labels function as category markers and thus are different from the features of the stimuli they represent. Another theory holds that early in development, labels are akin to other features, but that they may become category markers in the course of development. We addressed this issue in two experiments with 4- to 5-year-olds and adults. In both experiments, participants performed a categorization task (in which they predicted a category label) and an induction task (in which they predicted a missing feature). In the latter task, the category label was pitted against a highly salient feature, such that reliance on the label and reliance on the salient feature would result in different patterns of responses. Results indicated that children relied on the salient feature when performing induction, whereas many adults relied on the category label. These results suggest that early in development, labels are no more than features, but that they may become category markers in the course of development.     

Analysis of the relation between structure and the superconducting transition in YBa2 Cu3 O∼7

Abstract

It is shown that in the high-T_c YBa₂ Cu₃ O_～7 superconductor the critical temperature is a function of the orthorhombic distortion (b–a)/a of the unit cell. From the extrapolation of the (b - a)/a ratio against T_c , a maximum critical temperature of 66 K for the tetragonal phase of YBa₂ Cu₃ O_～7 was predicted. From the correlation between the transition width δT_c and the orthorhombic distortion there was deduced an upper limit for T_c , in the orthorhombic phase of YBa₂ Cu₃ O_～7 of 94·5K.     

Early information processing biases in social anxiety

Considerable controversy persists regarding the nature of threat-related attention biases in social anxiety. Previous studies have not considered how variations in the temporal and energetic dimensions of affective stimulus delivery interact with anxiety-related individual differences to predict biased attention. We administered a visual dot-probe task, using faces that varied in affective intensity (mild, moderate, strong) and presentation rate (100, 500, 1,250 ms) to a selected sample. The high, compared to the low, socially anxious group showed vigilance towards angry faces and emotionally ambiguous faces more generally during rapid (100 ms) presentations. By 1,250 ms, there was only a non-specific motor slowing associated with angry faces in the high socially anxious group. Findings suggest the importance of considering both chronometric and energetic dimensions of affective stimuli when examining anxiety-related attention biases. Future studies should consider using designs that more closely replicate aspects of real-world interaction to study processing biases in socially anxious populations.     

Directional variability of the isometric force vector produced by the human hand in multijoint planar tasks

Numerous studies have examined control of force magnitude, but relatively little research has considered force direction control. The subjects applied isometric forces to a handle and the authors compared within-trial variability when force is produced in different directions. The standard deviation of the force parallel to the prescribed direction of force production increased linearly with the targeted force level, as did the standard deviation of the force perpendicular to the instructed direction. In contrast, the standard deviation of the angle of force production decreased with increased force level. In the 4 (of 8) instructed force directions where the endpoint force was generated due to a joint torque in only 1 joint (either the shoulder or elbow) the principal component axes in force space were well aligned with the prescribed direction of force production. In the other directions, the variance was approximately equal along the 2 force axes. The variance explained by the first principal component was significantly larger in torque space compared to the force space, and mostly corresponded to positive correlation between the joint torques. Such coordinated changes suggest that the torque variability was mainly due to the variability of the common drive to the muscles serving 2 joints, although this statement needs to be supported by direct studies of muscle activation in the future.