启动任务中语言经验对藏-汉双语者主导语的影响

采用语义启动任务及藏语与汉语语义相关词和无关词对,探究语言经验能否改变熟练藏-汉双语者的母语主导优势和双语语义表征方式。结果表明,1)无论启动词为藏语还是汉语,藏-汉双语者对汉语L2目标词的加工速度和正确率均显著好于藏语L1,存在语义启动效应; 而在藏语目标词条件下则未发现显著的语义启动效应; 2)藏语到汉语的语义启动效应大于汉语到藏语的启动效应。结果表明,藏-汉双语者的汉语经验对藏语词的表征有影响,但汉语还不能完全替代母语藏语为主导语,结果在一定程度上支持Kroll的RHM模型和Green的ICM模型。     

海洛因戒断者的阈下情绪启动研究

研究表明海洛因戒断者的情绪加工异常,但其阈下情绪加工是否异常尚无定论。本研究采用阈下情绪启动范式,考察其阈下情绪加工能力。结果：戒断组的反应时显著高于控制组;两组中,相比不一致、控制状态,一致状态反应时均显著最短;在戒断组中,不一致状态的反应时显著大于控制状态,负性图片的反应时显著大于正性图片,而在控制组中差异不显著。结论：戒断者存在阈下情绪启动效应,阈下情绪加工存在正性偏向,且能力弱于正常人。     

Prime and probability: causal knowledge affects inferential and predictive effects on self-agency experiences

Experiences of having caused a certain outcome may arise from motor predictions based on action–outcome probabilities and causal inferences based on pre-activated outcome representations. However, when and how both indicators combine to affect such self-agency experiences is still unclear. Based on previous research on prediction and inference effects on self-agency, we propose that their (combined) contribution crucially depends on whether people have knowledge about the causal relation between actions and outcomes that is relevant to subsequent self-agency experiences. Therefore, we manipulated causal knowledge that was either relevant or irrelevant by varying the probability of co-occurrence (50% or 80%) of specific actions and outcomes. Afterwards, we measured self-agency experiences in an action–outcome task where outcomes were primed or not. Results showed that motor prediction only affected self-agency when relevant actions and outcomes were learned to be causally related. Interestingly, however, inference effects also occurred when no relevant causal knowledge was acquired.     

阿尔兹海默病患者中的范畴特异性语义记忆损伤

脑损伤可导致范畴特异性语义损伤, 即某一范畴的语义记忆选择性损伤或损伤更严重。阿尔兹海默病患者中的范畴特异性语义损伤可能来自不同范畴之间在熟悉度、词频、获得年龄、视觉复杂度、语义距离、加工要求以及所涉及的主要语义特征等方面的差别。然而, 有无生命范畴本身是否也是一个来源, 尚不清楚。进一步的研究不仅需要整合范畴途径和特征途径, 并区分语义记忆的存储和通达, 而且需要考查疾病严重程度如何影响语义记忆损伤模式。     

面孔重复启动效应:知觉结构和语义表征的贡献

以30名大学生为被试,探讨了熟悉和陌生的正倒立面孔对重复启动效应的影响,以此考察知觉结构和语义表征对面孔重复启动的贡献.结果表明:(1)熟悉面孔的重复启动既存在知觉启动也存在语义启动,而不熟悉面孔仅仅存在知觉启动.(2)知觉结构和语义表征对启动效应的贡献是联合的,而不是分离的;在熟悉面孔中,语义表征对重复启动的贡献大于知觉结构的贡献.(3)知觉结构和语义表征对重复启动的贡献与加工阶段有关.知觉结构在初始阶段起作用,随后作用逐渐减弱;而语义表征存在于信息加工的整个过程.     

No evidence for a cue mismatch in negative priming

An experiment is reported in which the cue mismatch hypothesis of negative priming, an important novel variant of the mismatching hypothesis, was tested. A cue mismatch and a no mismatch condition were contrasted in a visual discrimination task. In the prime display of cue mismatch ignored-repetition trials, the colour of the prime distractor was different from the colour of the cue indicating the selection feature (coloured square). In probe displays, cue and repeated stimulus had the same colour. In the no mismatch condition, the visual cue was neutral in terms of colour (always black), so that there was always no cue mismatch between prime and probe displays. Contrary to the prediction of the cue mismatch hypothesis, the negative priming effect was not larger in the cue mismatch than in the no mismatch condition. The cue mismatch hypothesis must therefore be rejected. In contrast, the episodic retrieval account is consistent with the results.     

Magnitude of negative priming varies with conceptual task difficulty: Attentional resources are involved in episodic retrieval processes

In a variant of the negative priming (NP) procedure, the larger of two presented animals is to be named in each trial. Eight animals of different sizes are used, which allows a manipulation of conceptual task difficulty in terms of pair distance (difficult: one step, versus easy: three steps) on the series. Distances are varied for prime pairs and probe pairs orthogonally. NP effects were found for easy (wide) probe distances (Experiments 1 and 2) and, additionally, for easy (wide) prime distances (Experiment 2). This pattern is interpreted in terms of different theories of NP, which emphasize either forward-acting (prime to probe) or backward-acting (probe to prime) processes. The present results are most compatible with a backward-acting mechanism defined by the episodic retrieval perspective; they are less compatible with a forward-acting inhibition perspective. The results have implications for resource requirements of retrieval-based accounts of NP.     

Influence of prime lexicality,frequency, and pronounceability on the masked onset priming effect

The present study investigates the origins of the masked onset priming effect (MOPE). There are two alternative interpretations that account for most of the evidence reported on the MOPE, so far. The speech planning account (SP) identifies the locus of the MOPE in the preparation of the speech response. In contrast, the dual-route theory proposes that the effect arises as a result of the processing of the prime by the nonlexical route. In a series of masked onset priming word naming experiments we test the validity of these accounts by manipulating the primes' frequency, their lexical status, and pronounceability. We found consistent MOPEs of similar magnitude with high- and low-frequency prime words as well as with pronounceable nonwords. Contrarily, when primes consisted of unpronounceable consonantal strings the effect disappeared, suggesting that pronounceability of the prime is a prerequisite for the emergence of the MOPE. These results are in accordance with the predictions of the SP account. The pattern of effects obtained in the present study further defines the origins of the MOPE.     

Across-task long-term priming: Interaction of task readiness and automatic retrieval

When humans carry out actions in response to external stimulation, they acquire associations between the stimulus and the action it triggered. When the same stimulus is used in two different tasks, the retrieval of associations compiled in the competing task hampers current performance. Previous research suggests that this across-task priming depends on the task set for the preceding task remaining active across the switch of tasks and, thus, competing with the activations needed for the new task. We present two experiments investigating this notion. Participants switched between two semantic classification tasks. In Experiment 1, participants switched between short runs of the two tasks. Across-task priming was observed on switch and repeat trials. In Experiment 2, participants switched between longer runs of the two tasks. Across-task priming was markedly reduced on repeat trials. The data suggest that whether or not across-task priming affects behaviour after the switch trial depends, amongst others, on whether the task set necessary for the previous task spills into the repeat trials. The implications of these findings for mechanisms of cognitive and mnemonic control are discussed.