A review of the animate-inanimate distinction in infancy: Implications for models of social and cognitive knowing

The ability to distinguish people from things sheds light on an important theoretical question: how is the development of social cognition related to the development of physical cognition? According to Piaget (1954), cognition is unitary and the processes used in dealing with the physical world are the same as those employed in the social world. This statement should be questioned. Although people and objects share certain fundamental properties (size, shape, etc.), only people can communicate, act independently and have feelings and intentions. Thus, people seem much more complex to deal with than things. If all cognitive development derives from the growth of a unitary system, then knowledge about animate objects should lag behind that of inanimate objects. The present paper explores this idea by examining what infants know about the attributes that distinguish people from things. It is concluded that the onset of this distinction begins early in life. Even 2-month-old infants treat people and objects differently when confounding variables of the stimuli are controlled. Rather than lagging behind, the infants' understanding of people appears precocious. The infants' recognition of the crucial distinction between the two classes suggests that a conceptual system is beginning to be formed soon after birth. This conceptual system appears different for social and non-social objects and serves as a foundation from which infants might come to understand the distinctive properties of animate and inanimate objects.     

A new objectively scored version of the Defence Mechanism Test

Kragh's Defence Mechanism Test has proved its worth in a number of applied settings but has hitherto required skilled time-consuming interpretation. Two studies are reported which validate an "objectively scored" version of the test developed using G-analysis. In the first, it was found that this version of the test could successfully predict the performance of trainee pilots. The second study examined the construct validity of this version of the test. It was found that the predictive factor from Study I re-emerged within a sample of students, where it correlated positively with scores on a test of perceptual defence and the Shrewdness (N) scale of the 16PF, and negatively with two of the identification scales of the Defence Mechanism Test. This factor was tentatively identified as one of general defensiveness. It is concluded that this form of the test deserves consideration when selecting individuals for stressful occupations.     

The culture of perceptual expertise and the other-race effect

In our commentary, we propose that the ORE can be viewed as a form of perceptual expertise. Like experts, we recognize own-race faces at the subordinate level as individuals and novices when recognize other-race faces at the basic level of race. Applying a perceptual expertise account, we explain the ORE in terms of its cognitive, neural, and motivational factors. We suggest that by creating a culture of “other-race” expertise, improvements in other-race face recognition can be achieved.     

弱智儿童感知动作技能特点的实验研究

本研究以难易程度不同的两个打洞操作作业 ,对弱智儿童和正常儿童的感知 动作技能进行了多种参数的测查。结果发现 :两类儿童在理解操作要点、操作速度、操作动作协调性以及操作正确性等各个方面都有明显的差异。同时通过比较 ,对弱智儿童感知 动作技能的特点 ,从外部肢体动作方式和内部智力动作方式两方面进行了详细的分析 ,并在此基础上对弱智儿童的感知 动作技能的教育与训练提出了建议 ,这对弱智学校改革教学、提高教学质量具有重要意义。     

图形型归纳推理的神经机制:一项fMRI研究

利用fMRI脑成像技术探讨图形型归纳推理的神经机制。设计了一种由图形形状和条纹方向描述的简单几何图形组成的归纳推理任务,这种图形型任务与以往研究中常用的语句型归纳推理任务是同质的。根据两个图形共享特征数量的不同设计了两种实验任务:共享两个特征(2T)和共享一个特征(1T),以休息基线(Rest)作为控制任务。2T和1T任务均为归纳推理任务,但2T任务包含知觉特征整合成分,而1T任务不包括。结果发现:与控制任务相比,归纳推理任务在前额区(BA6、9、11、46、47)、尾状核、壳核和丘脑等脑区有显著激活,反映了"前额皮层-纹状体-丘脑"通路在图形型归纳推理中的重要作用;图形型归纳推理中的知觉信息整合与右侧额下回(BA47)、双侧尾状核头部、壳核等脑区有关。     

注意捕获效应受知觉负载及目标与干扰项距离的共同影响

研究考察了无关干扰项引发的注意捕获效应如何受到任务知觉负载以及目标与干扰项距离的共同影响。被试在视觉搜索集中搜索目标并做辨别反应。通过控制搜索集的大小来控制任务知觉负载, 同时在搜索集中存在一个用颜色标定的无关干扰项(奇异项), 该奇异项与当前的搜索目标存在一致、中性或不一致的关系, 该奇异项的位置与当前目标相邻或相距较远。结果发现, 被试在低负载条件下出现显著的干扰效应(不一致条件的反应时减中性条件的反应时), 而在高负载条件下干扰效应减小。此外, 在高负载条件下, 当目标与干扰项相距较近时没有出现干扰效应, 而当目标与干扰项相距较远时存在显著的干扰效应。干扰效应受到任务知觉负载和目标与无关干扰项距离的共同影响。这些结果说明, 与任务无关的刺激是否捕获注意取决于当前任务总体上是否存在可用的剩余注意资源, 也受到其周围临近区域的局部注意资源是否充足的影响。     

从知觉负载理论来理解选择性注意

知觉负载理论被认为解决了选择性注意研究的早选择和晚选择观点之争。当前任务对注意资源的耗用程度决定了与任务无关的干扰刺激得到多少加工,从而导致在低知觉负载下,注意资源自动溢出去加工干扰刺激（晚选择）,而在高知觉负载下,注意资源被当前任务耗尽而无法加工干扰刺激（早选择）。知觉负载理论提出后,研究者进行了一系列研究。一部分工作专注于知觉负载对选择性注意的调节作用;另外一些工作则关注其他认知过程如何影响注意资源的分配,其中知觉负载与工作记忆负载的关系是当前关注重点。     

记忆的知觉干扰效应研究概述

知觉干扰效应是指在识记阶段快速呈现一个单词,紧接着给予一个倒行掩蔽的刺激,在随后的记忆测验中被试表现出对单词的记忆增强的一种现象。知觉干扰效应的影响因素分为测验方式、实验设计方式、实验材料的属性和其他影响因素四个方面。理论解释主要有六种：精细加工假说、时空背景假说、任务要求假说、补偿加工假说、选择性复述假说以及项目特异关联假说。最后,文章从研究领域和实验材料的拓展以及主观因素的影响展望了该研究领域     

概念内隐记忆中的注意促进效应

Swallow和Jiang (2010)最早发现, 编码时的目标探测会促进同时呈现的背景信息在随后记忆测验中的表现, 并将这一现象称为注意促进效应(Attentional Boost Effect, ABE)。随后研究发现这一现象并不会出现在概念内隐测验中, 由此提出目标探测主要促进的是背景信息的知觉加工, 而非语义加工。本研究通过3个实验, 操纵了对背景信息的编码加工类型(知觉加工或概念加工)。结果发现, 当与目标探测同时进行的是对背景信息的概念加工任务, 则ABE会出现在随后的概念内隐测验中。反之, 当对背景信息进行的是知觉加工任务时, 则ABE会出现在随后的知觉内隐测验而不是概念内隐测验中。这些结果表明, 目标探测既可能促进背景信息的知觉加工, 也可能促进背景信息的语义加工, 但只有在目标探测下背景信息的编码加工与随后内隐测验中所依赖的提取加工具有一致性, 才会产生ABE。