Perceptual training strongly improves visual motion perception in schizophrenia

Schizophrenia patients exhibit perceptual and cognitive deficits, including in visual motion processing. Given that cognitive systems depend upon perceptual inputs, improving patients’ perceptual abilities may be an effective means of cognitive intervention. In healthy people, motion perception can be enhanced through perceptual learning, but it is unknown whether this perceptual plasticity remains in schizophrenia patients. The present study examined the degree to which patients’ performance on visual motion discrimination can be improved, using a perceptual learning procedure. While both schizophrenia patients and healthy controls showed decreased direction discrimination thresholds (improved performance) with training, the magnitude of the improvement was greater in patients (47% improvement) than in controls (21% improvement). Both groups also improved moderately but non-significantly on an untrained task—speed discrimination. The large perceptual training effect in patients on the trained task suggests that perceptual plasticity is robust in schizophrenia and can be applied to develop bottom-up behavioral interventions.     

Prolonged subjective duration near the hands: Effects of hand proximity on temporal reproduction

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review - It has been reported that human visual perception and attention are altered when the hands are nearby. Previous studies indicate that placing hands near stimuli...     

道德情绪在道德隐喻映射中的作用及其神经机制

道德隐喻的加工, 实质上是从始源域的身体感知觉经验映射到目标域, 表征抽象道德概念的过程。新近研究从认知神经科学角度揭示道德隐喻加工的神经机制, 进而探讨情绪因素在道德隐喻映射中的作用。道德隐喻映射机制是在具体道德情境中身体感知经验与情绪体验、认知加工相互作用的结果。未来研究应拓展道德隐喻映射的维度和方向, 在社会交互环境中丰富和完善研究范式, 提高生态效度和跨文化效度。     

解释水平对自我控制的影响

解释水平理论认为自我控制是人们依据对事件整体的高解释水平方式而非局部的低解释水平方式做出决策和完成任务。对时间折扣、坚持和健康行为以及前瞻性自我控制的研究表明高解释水平会促进自我控制。高解释水平是通过改变对诱惑的加工(包含对诱惑的态度和诱惑的激活模式)来促进自我控制, 但这种促进作用会受到目标和任务属性(重要性、难度、效价、完成时间和呈现方式)以及解释水平线索属性(外显和内隐)的调节。解释水平理论视角下的自我控制研究可以拓宽自我控制双系统理论和资源理论的视野, 如提供可能的边界条件和认知机制。未来研究还需要深入挖掘解释水平影响自我控制的内在机制和生理基础, 重视心理距离的影响以及加强对自控能力的长期追踪研究。     

Adolescent coping in different Chinese family environments

This study explored the relationship between family environment and adolescent coping in a Chinese sample. Four family types were identified with cluster analysis: (a) conflict-control, (b) structured, cohesive, expressive, and recreation-oriented, (c) structured, cohesive, and low conflict, and (d) unstructured and low control. Families with high cohesion, expressiveness, organization, low conflict, and low to medium level of control were associated with a more constructive coping style. Chinese adolescents tended to (a) mobilize personal resources, (b) seek help from social resources, and (c) adopt a philosophy of doing nothing as their major coping style when they had a positive perception of their family environment. This coping style was termed "fatalistic voluntarism." Finally, boys' coping behaviors were somewhat different from girls'. Girls tended to rely more on social support, whereas boys tended to avoid the problem or engage in blaming.     

正念注意觉知量表儿童版~MAAS-C在中国城市及农村儿童中使用的信效度检验

目的:修订中文版正念注意觉知量表儿童版(the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale—Children,MAAS-C),考察其在中国文化背景下的适用性及信效度。方法:城市及农村地区共619名小学4-6年级学生参与研究。对数据进行项目分析、探索性因素分析、验证性因素分析、信度分析、效标关联效度分析、性别及城乡地区等值性检验。结果:中文版MAAS-C为单维结构,具有良好的结构效度、效标效度及信度。测量不变性检验表明,该量表在不同性别儿童间达到严格等值,城乡地区儿童间达到弱等值。结论:正念觉知量表儿童版的中文版本各项心理测量学指标良好,适宜在我国儿童群体中使用。     

基于社交媒体数据的心理指标识别建模:机器学习的方法

心理指标识别建模是基于海量数据结合计算机机器学习算法识别心理特征的一种新兴方式。由于传统纸笔测量方式所存在的诸多限制,本文对基于社交媒体数据的心理建模方法及应用于心理测量的可行性进行综述,介绍了特征及提取方法、常用机器学习算法以及应用场景,并对心理指标识别建模的优势和不足进行了总结与展望。该测量方法基于社交媒体数据,相比自我报告法具有时效性高、可回溯测量、生态效度好等独特优势。然而,基于社交媒体的心理指标识别建模方法也在学习成本、硬件成本等方面存在局限性。未来研究人员需要进一步探索社会媒体信息与用户心理变量间的关联机制,并将心理指标识别模型同传统心理学研究方法结合进行更多的探索和应用。心理指标识别建模结合心理测量基本原理和计算机领域机器学习的技术,将为心理学研究打开一扇新的大门。     

Fear of Crime and Behavioral Adaptations: Testing the Effects of Fear of Violence on Unstructured Socializing with Peers

This study examines whether fear of violent crime experienced by adolescents influences their involvement in unstructured socializing with peers. To test this relationship, we examine data on youth in Chicago collected as part of the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN). The results show that the fear of violent crime in neighborhoods and at schools reduces participation in unstructured socializing with peers. However, this result was only observed for adolescents living in neighborhoods with low levels of concentrated disadvantage. This study provides insight into the consequences of fear of crime for individual behavior. Fear of crime can result in withdrawal from social situations, including avoidance of situations that increase the risk for delinquency and victimization.     

智能手机成瘾者的注意执行控制功能:心智游移的作用

智能手机成瘾可能会影响个体的注意执行控制功能,以往研究结果在该影响是否取决于实验刺激与成瘾物的相关性上存在不一致,研究关注心智游移在其中的作用。采取《大学生智能手机成瘾量表》筛选被试90人分为成瘾组和非成瘾组。实验一采用反应的持续注意任务考察不同水平智能手机成瘾者的心智游移特点,采用《白日梦量表》辅助研究,结果发现智能手机成瘾被试量表得分显著更高,在实验中更多地评估任务表现,且其心智游移与偶然性的任务疏忽、一般性任务疏忽以及反应分离状态有关。实验二采用AX版本的持续操作任务探究智能手机成瘾者的注意执行控制功能中心智游移的调节作用,结果发现高频心智游移的智能手机成瘾者比低频心智游移的智能手机成瘾者维持目标更困难。研究对于理解智能手机成瘾对个体认知的影响具有一定的启示作用。     

Task-irrelevant emotional faces impair response adjustments in a double-step saccade task

Cognitive control enables us to adjust behaviours according to task demands, and emotion influences the cognitive control. We examined how task-irrelevant emotional stimuli impact the ability to inhibit a prepared response and then programme another appropriate response. In the study, either a single target or two sequential targets appeared after emotional face images (positive, neutral, and negative). Subjects were required to freely viewed the emotional faces and make a saccade quickly upon target onset, but inhibit their initial saccades and redirect gaze to the second target if it appeared. We found that subjects were less successful at inhibiting their initial saccades as the inter-target delay increased. Emotional faces further reduced their inhibition ability with a longer delay, but not with a shorter delay. When subjects failed to inhibit the initial saccade, the longer delay produced longer intersaccadic interval. Especially, positive faces lengthened the intersaccadic interval with a longer delay. These results showed mere presence of emotional stimuli influences gaze redirection by impairing the ability to cancel a prepared saccade and delaying the programming of a corrective saccade. Therefore, we propose that the modulation of response adjustment exerted by emotional faces is related to the stage of initial response programming.