Shepard's universal law supported by honeybees in spatial generalization

An animal that is rewarded for a response in one situation (the S+) is likely to respond to similar but recognizably different stimuli, the ubiquitous phenomenon of stimulus generalization. On the basis of functional analyses of the probabilistic structure of the world, Shepard formulated a universal law of generalization, claiming that generalization gradients, as a function of the appropriately scaled distance of a stimulus from S+, should be exponential in shape. This law was tested in spatial generalization in honeybees. Based on theoretically derived scales, generalization along both the dimensions of the distance from a landmark and the direction to a landmark followed Shepard's law. Support in an invertebrate animal increases the scope of the law, and suggests that the ecological structure of the world may have driven the evolution of cognitive structures in diverse animals.     

再论《周易》与中国画

本文对《周易》的直观意象思维和中正和谐思想与中国画的创作特点进行了深入的比较分析,表明了《周易》思维方式对中国画的深刻影响,同时,对《周易》的玩占与艺术家们的玩墨也作了比较研究,揭示了玩占与玩墨所体现的深刻文化意蕴。     

Lay Theories of Happiness

Over 230 young people completed a battery of questionnaires measuring personality, self-esteem, and happiness as well as one developed specifically for this study on their theories of the causes of happiness. The 36 causes factored into six internally coherent and interpretable factors. Self-reported happiness, extraversion and sex were correlated with the lay theory factors. Four of the six factors were modestly (r < 0.20) correlated with the Oxford Happiness Inventory (OHI) scores. Path analysis, using the OHI as the dependent variable, showed self-esteem, extraversion and neuroticism direct predictors of happiness but that among the lay theories, only lay theories about optimism and contentment were direct predictors. Personality and demographic variables did predict the lay theories but the latter did not act as moderator or mediating factors between the former and happiness. The role and function of lay theories with respect to happiness are discussed.     

Learning to see faces and objects

Visual recognition of objects is an impressively difficult problem that biological systems solve effortlessly. We consider two aspects of this ability. First, is the recognition of all objects accomplished by either a single system or multiple, domain-specific systems? Behavioral, neuropsychological and neuroimaging data indicate that a single system is sufficient for the recognition of all objects at all levels. Second, how does such a system 'tune' itself to the constraints imposed by recognition at different levels of specificity? Evidence indicates that the task demands and learning that arise from different forms of feedback determine which computational routines are recruited automatically in object recognition.     

Comparison of the Cognitive Styles Analysis and the Style of Processing Scale

The Cognitive Styles Analysis and the Style of Processing Scale are two tests designed to assess verbal-visual cognitive style. These scales represent two of the main approaches to assessing verbal-visual cognitive style, namely, computer-based testing and paper-and-pencil testing. A student sample (N=75; sex: 23 men, 52 women; age: M= 18.1 yr., SD= 1.7 yr.) yielded low correlations between the verbal-visual components of the tests (largest r = .08), indicating that they are unlikely to be related. The Cognitive Styles Analysis has some support for validity but its reliability has recently been criticised. The Style of Processing Scale has demonstrated reliability but has little support for validity. Currently, neither test could be considered a dearly dependable scale for assessing verbal-visual cognitive style.     

Discriminative facility and its role in the perceived quality of interactional experiences

Discriminative facility refers to an individual's sensitivity to subtle cues about the psychological meaning of a situation. This research aimed at examining (a) the conceptual distinctiveness of discriminative facility, (b) the situation-appropriate aspect of this construct, and (c) the relationship between discriminative facility and interpersonal experiences. Discriminative facility was assessed by a new measure of situation-appropriate behaviors across a variety of novel stressful situations. Results from study 1 showed that discriminative facility had weak positive relationships with cognitive complexity and nonsignificant relationships with self-monitoring and social desirability, indicating that discriminative facility is a unique construct. Results from Study 2 revealed that higher levels of discriminative facility were associated with higher levels of perceived social support and a greater number of pleasant interpersonal events experienced, thus providing support for the theoretical proposition that discriminative facility is an aspect of social intelligence.     

Assessing coping flexibility in real-life and laboratory settings: a multimethod approach

This research sought to formulate a theoretically based conceptualization of coping flexibility and to adopt a multimethod approach in assessing this construct. A self-report daily measure and an experiment were designed geared to theoretical and empirical grounds. The new daily measure was used in Study 1 to examine coping flexibility in a life transition. Findings showed individual differences in patterns of coping flexibility across different real-life stressful events. In Study 2, coping flexibility was examined in both real-life and laboratory settings. Results replicated those of Study 1 and further revealed consistency between the self-report and the experiment data. Study 3 extended previous studies by adopting a longitudinal design over a 3-month time span. Participants' flexibility in coping with laboratory tasks was found to predict how flexible they would be in handling real-life stressful events.     

当前积极心理学变革的新趋向及理论价值

近20年来西方积极心理学以其独特的研究视角曾经吸引过全球人的目光,被誉为是理论心理学研究的一个新的重要方向。积极心理学主要围绕着“一个中心三个支撑点” 来开展相关的研究,即以主观幸福感为中心,以积极体验、积极人格、积极社会制度为支撑点。在强硬的现实面前,具有“理想主义情怀”的积极心理学也面临着许多困境与挑战。近年来西方一些学者正在寻求突破积极心理学的瓶颈性因素,围绕着“美德、意义、韧性和幸福”这四大支柱打造新的版本,促进积极心理学理论研究的可持续发展和升级换代。     

做知恩善报的穆斯林

《古兰经》说:"我确已把智慧赏赐鲁格曼,[我说]:‘你当感谢真主。感谢的人,只为自己而感谢,辜负的人,须知真主确是无求的,确是可颂的。’"(31:12)经文告诉我们,真主赐予鲁格曼贤哲的智慧中,就有感恩一项,而且,要知道感恩对自己有好处;而不知道感恩的人,则对自己有伤害,会导致贫穷和声誉受损。《古兰经》还反复告诉我们这样的道理:"感谢者,只为自己的利益而感谢;辜负者[须知]我的主确是无求的、确是尊荣的。’"(27:40)经文中说此话的人是苏莱曼圣人,他同样告诉我们感恩能带来利益和荣耀。