The gap between medical and monetary choices under risk persists in decisions for others

Decisions under risk in the medical domain have been found to systematically diverge from decisions in the monetary domain. When making choices between monetary options, people commonly rely on a decision strategy that trades off outcomes with their probabilities; when making choices between medical options, people tend to neglect probability information. In two experimental studies, we tested to what extent differences between medical and monetary decisions also emerge when the decision outcomes affect another person. Using a risky choice paradigm for medical and monetary decisions, we compared hypothetical decisions that participants made for themselves to decisions for a socially distant other (Study 1) and to recommendations as financial advisor or doctor (Study 2). In addition, we examined people's information search in a condition in which information about payoff distributions had to be learned from experiential sampling. Formal modeling and analyses of search behavior revealed a similarly pronounced gap between medical and monetary decisions in decisions for others as in decisions for oneself. Our results suggest that when making medical decisions, people try to avoid the worst outcome while neglecting its probability—even when the outcomes affect others rather than themselves.     

镜像呈现方式对青年人和老年人汉语阅读过程的影响:眼动研究

拼音文字文本阅读研究发现,同青年人相比,老年人在阅读过程中有更多的跳读发生、向前眼跳幅度更长、回视次数更多。基于这些研究结果,研究者提出了老年人阅读的“风险阅读”策略。为探究在中文阅读过程中老年人的加工特点以及与拼音文字阅读的策略异同,实验采用镜像和正常两种方式呈现文本进行了考察。结果发现,在中文阅读过程中,相较于青年人,老年人的跳读率更低,向前眼跳幅度更小,采用的是一种更为谨慎的阅读策略。在镜像呈现的条件下,老年人与青年人之间的跳读率没有显著差异,在正常呈现的条件下,老年人的跳读率显著低于青年,表明在汉语阅读中老年人采取更加谨慎的阅读策略与其副中央凹加工能力下降,以及汉语与拼音文字两种不同书写系统的基本属性有关。     

中国背景下自我效能感与心理健康的元分析

社会认知理论指出自我效能感对心理健康具有重要意义,但两者的关系在以往的研究中尚不一致。当前研究采用元分析技术分析自我效能感对心理健康影响的主效应,并重点考察各调节变量在两者关系中的调节效应。通过文献检索和筛查,最终符合元分析纳入标准的文献有117篇。结果表明,自我效能感与心理健康积极因素呈显著正相关,而与心理健康消极因素呈显著负相关。此外自我效能感与心理健康的关系受自我效能感层级、社会发展和性别的调节;而年龄阶段仅调节了自我效能感与心理健康积极因素的关系。以上结果说明,高自我效能感个体的心理健康水平更高,同时还要考虑年龄阶段、自我效能感层级、社会发展和性别在两者关系中的作用。     

教学设计中的成绩表现和心流体验:基于认知负荷视角

教学设计是为优化教学效果而形成的教学实施方案。为提高学习表现,认知负荷理论认为在组织教学设计时需考虑内、外认知负荷两大因素,但少有研究关注学生在学习过程中的体验。本研究通过单词复合性操纵内在负荷,通过呈现方式操纵外在负荷,探究两类负荷对心流体验及表现的影响。结果发现,内在负荷对心流及表现均有影响,外在负荷仅在低水平组表现出对心流及表现的影响,另外内外负荷在低水平组的表现上存在交互作用。结果表明,教学设计中的内在负荷是影响心流及表现的稳定因素,外在负荷不仅受知识水平影响,其对表现的有效性还受内在负荷的调节。     

汉语儿童语素意识对阅读理解的影响:默读流畅性的中介效应

通过对149名小学一年级学生两年的追踪研究,在控制了一般认知能力、语音意识以及所关注变量自回归效应的情况下,探讨默读流畅性在语素意识与阅读理解关系中的作用。结果发现：（1）儿童语素意识、默读流畅性及阅读理解随时间均有显著发展;（2）一年级下学期儿童的默读流畅性在一年级上学期语素意识影响二年级上学期阅读理解过程中的中介作用显著,而二年级上学期的默读流畅性在一年级下学期语素意识影响二年级下学期阅读理解过程中的中介作用不显著。结果表明,在小学低年级阶段,默读流畅性在早期语素意识与之后的阅读理解中发挥跨时间点的中介作用,且该中介效应随儿童认知技能的发展会发生一定的变化。     

Chinese acceptance of mistreatment by in-relation offenders can be neutralized by triggering a “group” collectivism perspective

Examining the effect of culture on workplace revenge, we predict and find that people in a Chinese cultural context are more likely than people in an American cultural context to adjust their response to mistreatment based on being, or not being, “in relation” to the harm-doer. Specifically, Chinese people are more likely to let a harm-doer off the hook if they have a prior relationship with him or her, while Americans are less likely to do so. However, this Chinese sensitivity to relational status with the harm-doer ceases to be a factor if they receive a stimulus that shifts their perspective from relational collectivism to group collectivism. Implications for Chinese management and society are explored.     

记忆的顿悟优势效应

记忆的顿悟优势效应指, 与加工非顿悟问题相比, 加工顿悟问题能够产生更优的记忆保持量。该效应在顿悟的两种操作性定义以及不同实验材料中稳定出现。基于顿悟阶段观, 研究者提出两种理论解释记忆的顿悟优势效应的认知机制：认知的生成效应和表征转化理论认为, 顿悟加工过程中的认知努力、适当迁移加工以及顿悟的表征转换加工促进记忆的保持效果; 情绪的“啊哈”体验理论认为, 加工顿悟问题后的情绪对后续的信息提取具有促进作用。未来的研究可从优化顿悟的指标、巩固记忆的顿悟优势效应、评估其持续性以及更加系统探讨记忆的顿悟优势效应的认知机制等四个方面展开。     

语义和句法信息在副中央凹加工中的作用

读者能够从副中央凹中提取到什么类型的信息, 是当前阅读眼动研究领域关注的焦点问题.当前普遍认为低水平信息(如正字法信息)可以在副中央凹中得以加工, 但是高水平的信息(如语义和句法信息)能否从副中央凹中进行提取存在争议.本文总结了近年来高水平信息在副中央凹加工的研究进展, 包括拼音文字和非拼音文字(如中文)阅读过程中语义和句法预视效益的研究现状及影响因素, 当前眼动控制模型(如E-Z读者和SWIFT)对预视效益的解释和不足之处, 最后提出未来关于语义和句法预视加工的研究方向.     

The effect of educational environment on identity recognition and perceptions of within-person variability

Individuals from small communities show impoverished face recognition relative to those from large communities, suggesting that the number of faces to which one is exposed has a measurable effect on face processing abilities. We sought to extend these findings by examining a second factor that influences the population of faces to which one is exposed during childhood: educational setting. In particular, we examined whether formerly home-schooled participants show reduced performance relative to non-homeschoolers on the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT) and on a sorting task in which participants sort photographs of two unfamiliar identities into piles representing the number of identities they believe are present. On the CFMT, there was no effect of educational setting. However, formerly home-schooled participants showed significant deficits on the sorting task. Such results suggest that reduced exposure to faces early in life as a function of home-schooling may have lasting effects on the face processing system.     

Religious experience and mental health: anthropological and psychological approaches

ABSTRACT

Moreira-Almeida, Sharma, van Rensburg, Verhagen and Cook have written a very comprehensive position statement pertaining to religion and psychiatry. While presenting a good overview of studies of religion, spirituality and mental health it does not include the important area of the health implications of religious experience which is the focus of this piece. I begin by discussing definitions of religious experience before examining the work of William James. The second part of this paper focuses upon specific religious experiences and psychopathology with a focus on mysticism, hallucinations and culture.