Control deprivation and styles of thinking

Westerners habitually think in analytical ways, whereas East Asians tend to favor holistic styles of thinking. We replicated this difference but showed that it disappeared after control deprivation (Experiment 1). Brief experiences of control deprivation, which stimulate increased desire for control, caused Chinese participants to shift toward Western-style analytical thinking in multiple ways (Experiments 2-5). Western Caucasian participants also increased their use of analytical thinking after control deprivation (Experiment 6). Manipulations that required Chinese participants to think in Western, analytical ways caused their sense of personal control to increase (Experiments 7-9). Prolonged experiences of control deprivation, which past work suggested foster an attitude more akin to learned helplessness than striving for control, had the opposite effect of causing Chinese participants to shift back toward a strongly holistic style of thinking (Experiments 10-12). Taken together, the results support the reality of cultural differences in cognition but also the cross-cultural similarity of using analytical thinking when seeking to enhance personal control.     

Alerting and orienting of attention without visual awareness

Two types of the attentional network, alerting and orienting, help organisms respond to environmental events for survival in the temporal and spatial dimensions, respectively. Here, we applied chromatic flicker beyond the critical fusion frequency to address whether awareness was necessary for activation of the two attentional networks. We found that high-frequency chromatic flicker, despite its failure to reach awareness, produced the alerting and orienting effects, supporting the dissociation between attention and awareness. Furthermore, as the flicker frequency increased, the orienting effect attenuated whereas the alerting effect remained unchanged. According to the systematic decline in temporal frequency sensitivity across the visual hierarchy, this finding suggests that unconscious alerting might be associated with activity in earlier visual areas than unconscious orienting. Since high-frequency flicker has been demonstrated to only activate early visual cortex, we suppose that neural activation in early visual areas might be sufficient to activate the two attentional networks.     

Does high memory load kick task-irrelevant information out of visual working memory?

The limited capacity of visual working memory (VWM) requires the existence of an efficient information selection mechanism. While it has been shown that under low VWM load, an irrelevant simple feature can be processed, its fate under high load (e.g., six objects) remains unclear. We explored this issue by probing the “irrelevant-change distracting effect,” in which the change of a stored irrelevant feature affects performance. Simple colored shapes were used as stimuli, with color as the target. Using a whole-probe method (presenting six objects in both the memory and test arrays), in Experiment 1 we found that a change to one of the six shapes led to a significant distracting effect. Using a partial-probe method (presenting the probe either at the screen center or at a location selected from the memory array), in Experiment 2 we showed the distracting effect again. These results suggest that irrelevant simple features can be stored into VWM, regardless of memory load.     

"Heartwarming memories: Nostalgia maintains physiological comfort": Correction to Zhou et al. (2012)

Reports an error in "Heartwarming Memories: Nostalgia Maintains Physiological Comfort" by Xinyue Zhou, Tim Wildschut, Constantine Sedikides, Xiaoxi Chen and Ad J. J. M. Vingerhoets (Emotion, Advanced Online Publication, Mar 5, 2012, np). In the article, the last sentence was incorrect. The corrected sentence is provided in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2012-05385-001.) Nostalgia, a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, is a predominantly positive and social emotion. Recent evidence suggests that nostalgia maintains psychological comfort. Here, we propose, and document in five methodologically diverse studies, a broader homeostatic function for nostalgia that also encompasses the maintenance of physiological comfort. We show that nostalgia-an emotion with a strong connotation of warmth-is triggered by coldness. Participants reported stronger nostalgia on colder (vs. warmer) days and in a cold (vs. neutral or warm) room. Nostalgia, in turn, modulates the interoceptive feeling of temperature. Higher levels of music-evoked nostalgia predicted increased physical warmth, and participants who recalled a nostalgic (vs. ordinary autobiographical) event perceived ambient temperature as higher. Finally, and consistent with the close central nervous system integration of temperature and pain sensations, participants who recalled a nostalgic (vs. ordinary autobiographical) event evinced greater tolerance to noxious cold. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

文字熟悉度对电影字幕偏好性影响的眼动研究

字幕作为电影和电视节目的重要组成部分,在视频观看过程中起到辅助加工的作用。研究以电影视频作为刺激材料,设置了中文、英文、乱码三种字幕,采用眼动技术探讨了文字熟悉性对电影观看过程中字幕偏好性的影响作用。结果发现:虽然仅凭电影中的声音就完全可以理解电影内容,但是被试仍然对不同熟悉度的字幕表现出了字幕偏好性;字幕的偏好性受到文字熟悉性的影响,随着文字熟悉度的下降,字幕的偏好性也随之降低。     

大学生网络幸福感的特点及其与网络使用偏好的关系

采用自编的大学生网络幸福感问卷、网络使用偏好问卷,对400名大学生进行测试,以探索大学生网络幸福感的特点及其与网络使用偏好的关系。结果表明：（1）大学生的网络幸福感总体处于中等偏上水平,网络使用偏好中休闲娱乐维度的得分最高,网络使用偏好类型中普通型居主导地位;（2）网络幸福感和网络使用偏好类型存在显著正相关,其中与休闲娱乐偏好的相关最高;（3）回归分析结果表明,休闲娱乐偏好对网络幸福感有正向预测作用,游戏偏好对网络幸福感中的便利感、活力感、自由感因子有预测作用。     

闹剧背后:从思想史的角度看"评法批儒"运动

对70年代中期的“评法批儒”运动,人们一般都从政治的角度做出评价。该文试图从思想史的角度审视一下这场具有闹剧色彩的运动。作者认为,起码要注意这场运动的两个思想史背景：近代以来法家地位的节节上升和“五四”以来强大的反传统主义。作者还认为,该运动中的大量印刷古书,可以看做是对“文革”开始时烧古书的修错。文章最后对法家的现代价值和儒法互补提出个人看法。     

空间方位及SOA对视觉选择注意的影响

该文采用注意线索技术探讨颜色、角度和空间方位对视觉选择性注意的影响。研究结果表明:1)随着突现刺激呈现角度的变化,表现出从左至右的明显的倒“V”字型效应,当突现刺激特征显著时(颜色明显变化),“V”字型效应消失;2)随着SOA的延长,空间角度对选择注意加工的影响越来越显著;3)综合处理空间角度结果表明,被试对“上”方目标的反应速度最快,其次是左和右,对“下”的目标的反应速度最慢,而且相对受SOA的影响较小。     

新一代测验理论-认知诊断理论的源起与特征

认知诊断理论被视为新一代测验理论的核心,是认知心理学与现代测量学相结合的产物。对认知诊断的研究已成为当前国外心理学研究的一个重要热点,并引起国内学者的广泛关注。本文从认知诊断的源起、概念、特征,及研究的基础、框架、意义和难点等七个方面对认知诊断的理论与技术作了一个简要述评,以期推进我国心理学界认知诊断的研究工作。     

琼台观求仙露

从琼台庙向西行不远处,万仞绝壁之上,绿树掩映之中有一座琼台观,是道家南宗著名的道观之一,因得仙露功效奇异而名扬天下。琼台观宫观小,名气大,实际上是个四合院,观中住着一老一小两个道士,老道长叫林中子,道僮叫张承天。有人问鹤发童颜的的老道长高寿?老道长从不开口,只伸出二