Visual attention and manual response selection: Distinct mechanisms operating on the same codes

In four experiments, participants made a speeded manual response to a tone and concurrently selected a cued visual target from a masked display for later unspeeded report. In contrast toaprevious study of H.Pashler (1991), systematic interactions between the two tasks were obtained. First, accuracy in both tasks decreased with decreasing stimulus (tone-display)-onset asynchrony (SOA)— presumably due to a conflict between stimulus and response coding. Second, spatial correspondence between manual response and visual target produced better performance in the visual task and, with short SOAs, in the tone task, too— presumably due to the overlap of the spatial codes used by stimulus- and response-selection processes. Third, manual responding slowed down with increasing SOA — reflecting either a functional bottleneck or strategic queuing of target selection and response selection. Results suggest that visual stimulus selection and manual response selection are distinct mechanisms that operate on common representations.     

辅助上肢康复训练与自助Bobath握手训练对卒中患者的对比观察

观察由护士辅助上肢运动能力康复训练与患者自助Bobath握手上举训练对脑卒中偏瘫患者上肢功能恢复的影响。将60名患者随机分为对照组和试验组,对照组患者自助做Bobath握手上举训练,试验组由护士给予上肢运动能力分期康复训练。1个月后,两组患者上肢功能差异及日常生活活动（activities of daily living,ADL）能力差异有统计学意义（P〈0．05）。1个月后,两侧肩峰差差异也有非常显著的统计学意义（P〈O．01）。因此,由护士给予上肢运动能力分期康复训练有利于脑卒中偏瘫患者提高上肢功能和日常生活活动能力,以及保持正常的人体姿势利于患者康复。     

From STEM to STEAM: Cracking the Code? How Creativity & Motivation Interacts with Inquiry-based Learning

STEM subjects enriched with Arts (STEAM) are assumed to enhance science lessons and making them more attractive. A multidisciplinary STEAM module integrating inquiry-based learning was implemented to a sample of 160 students (11–12 years; 43.1% females). In a four-hour lesson, dealing with scientific phenomena surrounding bird flight, students learned at self-explanatory workstations that allowed space for creativity and a high level of autonomy. An arts facet was employed, using collaborative handicraft artwork. A workbook offered guidance, while the teacher’s role was of a passive tutor. A pre-/post-/retention-test design monitored knowledge, motivation, and two factors associated with creativity (Act and Flow) two weeks before, immediately after and six weeks later. The intervention produced long-term knowledge and built stable scores of intrinsic motivation, but self-reported aspects of creativity were not affected with a single STEAM intervention. Thus, it seems obvious that regular training in an adequate sociocultural setting is needed to develop creativity sustainably. Nevertheless, this study monitored the correlation of knowledge motivation and creativity in a science education setting for the first time. The findings indicate that fostering creativity, for example in STEAM environments, is a promising starting point for research into promoting motivation and creativity in educational settings.     

Self-regulatory cognitions,social comparison,and perceived peers’ behaviors as predictors of nutrition and physical activity: a comparison among adolescents in Hungary,Poland, Turkey,and USA

This study investigated whether the effects of self-regulatory cognitions and social influence variables on healthy behaviors – nutrition and physical activity – vary across countries. Adolescents (N?=?2387) from Hungary, Poland, Turkey, and the USA participated in the study. Measures included self-efficacy, future orientation, social comparison orientation (SCO), perceived behaviors of peers, as well as age and gender. These variables were included in the path model as predictors of healthy behaviors. The role of a country as a moderator was also examined. Results showed that self-efficacy, SCO, and perceived behaviors of peers predicted both health-promoting behaviors in all four countries. Some differences were found regarding the role of future orientation and gender.     

Examining the Impact of Training on the Homosexual Conduct Policy for Military Personnel

The impact of training related to the Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue policy on training outcomes of military personnel was examined with data from the Department of Defense Inspector General's Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue Policy Survey of military personnel (N = 71,570). We hypothesized that training related to the Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue policy would impact participant's reactions, learning and cognitive outcomes, and behavioral and organizational outcomes. Results indicate that individuals who reported having received training on the homosexual conduct policy perceived the policy to be more effective at preventing/reducing harassment; were more likely to feel free to report harassment complaints; reported greater levels of understating and were more knowledgeable of the policy; reported higher levels of intolerance of harassment; and reported that more actions had been take at their installation/ship to reduce and prevent harassment than individuals who had not received any training. Although the pattern of results was statistically significant, the magnitude of these effects were small (η ² = .001–.109). These findings highlight the continuing need to expand current efforts to reduce and curtail harassment based on perceived sexual orientation.     

Rape,money, and the psychology of taboo

Policy and legal decision making sometimes requires difficult assessments about how to translate the harm of sexual assault into dollar amounts. A web‐based experiment (n = 743) was designed to test the psychology of taboo theory in this important context. The experiment included two unique features. First, subjects were randomly assigned to assess vignettes in either a dollar metric, a 7‐point harm scale metric, or a years‐in‐jail metric. Second, subjects were given the opportunity, but not required, to provide a comment when making their assessment. Assignment to the dollar metric treatment group resulted in subjects freely expressing significantly more constitutive incommensurability comments. The effect was most pronounced when the level of sexual assault in the vignette was greatest.     

Properties of bootstrap tests for N‐of‐1 studies

N‐of‐1 study designs involve the collection and analysis of repeated measures data from an individual not using an intervention and using an intervention. This study explores the use of semi‐parametric and parametric bootstrap tests in the analysis of N‐of‐1 studies under a single time series framework in the presence of autocorrelation. When the Type I error rates of bootstrap tests are compared to Wald tests, our results show that the bootstrap tests have more desirable properties. We compare the results for normally distributed errors with those for contaminated normally distributed errors and find that, except when there is relatively large autocorrelation, there is little difference between the power of the parametric and semi‐parametric bootstrap tests. We also experiment with two intervention designs: ABAB and AB, and show the ABAB design has more power. The results provide guidelines for designing N‐of‐1 studies, in the sense of how many observations and how many intervention changes are needed to achieve a certain level of power and which test should be performed.     

Individual Differences in Accurately Judging Personality From Text

This research examines correlates of accuracy in judging Big Five traits from first‐person text excerpts. Participants in six studies were recruited from psychology courses or online. In each study, participants performed a task of judging personality from text and performed other ability tasks and/or filled out questionnaires. Participants who were more accurate in judging personality from text were more likely to be female; had personalities that were more agreeable, conscientious, and feminine, and less neurotic and dominant (all controlling for participant gender); scored higher on empathic concern; self‐reported more interest in, and attentiveness to, people's personalities in their daily lives; and reported reading more for pleasure, especially fiction. Accuracy was not associated with SAT scores but had a significant relation to vocabulary knowledge. Accuracy did not correlate with tests of judging personality and emotion based on audiovisual cues. This research is the first to address individual differences in accurate judgment of personality from text, thus adding to the literature on correlates of the good judge of personality.