Visual attention shift to printed words during spoken word recognition in Chinese: The role of phonological information

The aim of this study was to investigate the extent to which phonological information mediates the visual attention shift to printed Chinese words in spoken word recognition by using an eye-movement technique with a printed-word paradigm. In this paradigm, participants are visually presented with four printed words on a computer screen, which include a target word, a phonological competitor, and two distractors. Participants are then required to select the target word using a computer mouse, and the eye movements are recorded. In Experiment 1, phonological information was manipulated at the full-phonological overlap; in Experiment 2, phonological information at the partial-phonological overlap was manipulated; and in Experiment 3, the phonological competitors were manipulated to share either fulloverlap or partial-overlap with targets directly. Results of the three experiments showed that the phonological competitor effects were observed at both the full-phonological overlap and partial-phonological overlap conditions. That is, phonological competitors attracted more fixations than distractors, which suggested that phonological information mediates the visual attention shift during spoken word recognition. More importantly, we found that the mediating role of phonological information varies as a function of the phonological similarity between target words and phonological competitors.     

70岁高龄男性助孕引发的问题及伦理思考

报道了1例70岁高龄男性的助孕情况,探讨了高龄男性生育现状、高龄男性助孕存在的问题以及助孕易于引发的伦理问题。意在提醒生殖中心工作人员在接诊高龄男性患者助孕时,既要尊重其与配偶的生育权,又要充分告知高龄男性生育给自身、配偶及后代带来的风险。助孕前应加强医患沟通,遵循有利于患者原则、知情同意原则、有利于后代原则,同时接受伦理委员会的监督,严防技术滥用,适时劝导高龄男性患者放弃助孕治疗。     

类别标签在类别特征推理中的极化效应

采用学习—测试二阶段实验范式,对比了类别标签与类别特征在类别特征推理中的极化效应.研究结果表明,在类别标签组,标签匹配项目上的特征推理分数显著高于标签不匹配项目上的特征推理分数;在特征标签组,标签匹配项目上的特征推理分数与标签不匹配项目上的特征推理分数之间差异不显著.类别标签组的失匹配分数显著高于特征标签组.即在类别特征推理任务中,类别标签的极化效应显著高于类别特征的极化效应,因此,类别标签与类别特征存在本质差异,类别标签在类别特征推理中起主导作用.而且,本研究还发现,高前提概率条件下的特征推理分数都显著高于低前提概率条件下的特征推理分数,所以,前提概率也影响类别特征推理任务.     

Neural bases of binocular rivalry

During binocular rivalry, conflicting monocular images compete for access to consciousness in a stochastic, dynamical fashion. Recent human neuroimaging and psychophysical studies suggest that rivalry entails competitive interactions at multiple neural sites, including sites that retain eye-selective information. Rivalry greatly suppresses activity in the ventral pathway and attenuates visual adaptation to form and motion; nonetheless, some information about the suppressed stimulus reaches higher brain areas. Although rivalry depends on low-level inhibitory interactions, high-level excitatory influences promoting perceptual grouping and selective attention can extend the local dominance of a stimulus over space and time. Inhibitory and excitatory circuits considered within a hybrid model might account for the paradoxical properties of binocular rivalry and provide insights into the neural bases of visual awareness itself.     

Diagnostics of Robust Growth Curve Modeling Using Student's t Distribution

Growth curve models with different types of distributions of random effects and of intraindividual measurement errors for robust analysis are compared. After demonstrating the influence of distribution specification on parameter estimation, 3 methods for diagnosing the distributions for both random effects and intraindividual measurement errors are proposed and evaluated. The methods include (a) distribution checking based on individual growth curve analysis; (b) distribution comparison based on Deviance Information Criterion, and (c) post hoc checking of degrees of freedom estimates for t distributions. The performance of the methods is compared through simulation studies. When the sample size is reasonably large, the method of post hoc checking of degrees of freedom estimates works best. A web interface is developed to ease the use of the 3 methods. Application of the 3 methods is illustrated through growth curve analysis of mathematical ability development using data on the Peabody Individual Achievement Test Mathematics assessment from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 Cohort (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2005).     

Computer-Mediated Communication Versus Vocal Communication and the Attenuation of Pre-Interaction Impressions

Conflicting theoretical approaches yield divergent predictions about the effects of telephones versus computer-mediated communication (CMC) in the persistence or dissipation of pre-interaction expectancies. Moreover, different theoretical orientations and their underlying assumptions often invoke different methodologies, which can bias the results of research. The current studies articulate and assess rival hypotheses from alternative theoretical paradigms to uncover how CMC and vocal communication affect interpersonal impressions. Methodological issues in past CMC research are evaluated that limit the generalizability of previous findings in the area. Experiments employing alternative assumptions and methods indicate that CMC is functionally equivalent to vocal communication in its ability to ameliorate expectancies and that in some cases it can be superior in transmitting positive impressions.     

社会认同与内、外群体态度的关系：群际威胁和群体情绪的中介作用

为探究社会认同、群际威胁和群体情绪如何同时影响内、外群体态度,本研究以中日撞船事件为考察蓝本向天津市431名大学生被试进行调查研究,结果发现：国家认同在认同威胁对两种群体态度的总影响和通过群体愤怒的间接影响中都起到负向的调节作用;群际威胁和群体情绪在社会认同与内、外群体态度之间具有显著中介作用。结论：国家认同在对群体态度的影响中起基础性作用,不同群际威胁与不同群体情绪相对应进而影响群体态度。     

儿童早期数学认知能力的结构及其特点

从北京市10所幼儿园中选取234名3、4岁的儿童为被试,采用个别测查的方法对儿童早期数学认知能力的结构及其特点进行了考察。经验证性因素分析发现：(1)儿童早期数学认知能力的结构模型是合理的,可接受的,具有较好的构想效度,具体讲,数、计算、测量、空间／几何和模式认知能力五个维度共同解释着儿童早期的数学认知能力;(2)不同年龄儿童早期数学认知能力的结构具有稳定性,但是结构模型并不完全一致,某些项目的解释率有所不同;(3)男、女儿童早期数学认知能力的结构模型具有一致性。     

An Appraisal Account of Individual Differences in Emotional Experience

People can differ tremendously in the emotions they experience, both in general as well as in response to specific events, and such differences have large impact on their lives. Based on recent research on individual differences in appraisal and emotion, we propose a framework to understand the basis for individual differences in emotional experience. In this framework, individual differences in how people appraise their circumstances and in how these appraisals are related to emotional experience are seen as crucial in determining how people differ in both contextualized emotional experience and more stable emotional dispositions. We discuss parallels with other explanatory frameworks, implications for the nature of emotion traits, and directions for future research.