Factors Affecting the Use of Dimensional Prepositions in German and American English: Object Orientation, Social Context, and Prepositional Pattern

Spatial language and the use of spatial prepositions has recently been intensively investigated. We add two novel aspects to the question of which frame of reference, i.e., the deictic or the intrinsic frame, is used when communicating about dimensional relations between objects. We restrict ourselves to the use of prepositions that refer to the first horizontal axis, i.e., in front of and behind in English, and vor and hinter in German, respectively, and report on a series of 16 experiments on the connection between the use of these prepositions and the indication of particular subspaces adjacent to reference objects in a traffic environment. First, we will show that an interaction between the intrinsic orientation of the reference object, the type of social situation in which spatial communication occurs, and the used language's pattern of prepositional word forms for temporal and spatiodimensional relations contributes to the proper prediction of the use of spatial prepositions. Second, we systematically consider production as well as interpretation of prepositions in two different languages in the same experimental setting, which allows for the estimation of communicative success. Here, it turns out that in German as well as in American English there are conditions in which speakers and listeners either agree or disagree on the chosen frame of reference; however, these conditions are different in the two languages investigated.     

An animal model of the interpersonal communication of interoceptive (private) states.

Pigeons were taught to interact communicatively (i.e., exchange discriminative stimuli) based on 1 pigeon's internal state, which varied as a function of cocaine, pentobarbital, and saline administration. These performances generalized to untrained pharmacological agents (d-amphetamine and chlordiazepoxide) and were observed in the absence of aversive stimulation, deprivation, and unconditioned reinforcement. The training procedure used in this study appears similar to that by which humans learn to report on (tact) their internal environments and may be construed as a rudimentary animal model of the interpersonal communication of private events.     

THE PRIMORDIAL ROOTS OF BEING

Abstract. Suffering, alongside the feeling of sanctity of life, pervades human experience, generating primal anxiety, which humans learn to shore up with social solidarity and with the practice of communication in religious rituals. The roots of social belonging spring from the primordial sentiments toward ethnicity, race, language, religion, customs and traditions, and region. Self–identity, mediated by mental formations derived from social relations, is composed of thinking and values. Daily experience reveals that cultural differences produce blind spots in thinking and barriers in values—-governing areas of activity, social relations, the world, and identity of being—-that impedes cross—-cultural understanding.     

高中生的亲子沟通质量对情绪性刺激注意偏向的影响

为了探讨高中生亲子沟通质量对情绪性刺激注意偏向的影响,实验一采用亲子沟通量表,筛选出亲子沟通高分组和低分组,两组被试参加点探测任务,要求被试迅速判断情绪性图片出现后呈现的圆点的位置。实验为2（组别：高亲子沟通组、低亲子沟通组）×2（情绪类型：负性和正性）×2（探测点位置一致性：一致、不一致）的混合实验设计。结果发现,负性和正性刺激的不一致条件反应时均显著短于一致条件的反应时。实验二采用事件相关电位（ERP）记录了情绪性图片诱发的信号反应。结果发现,亲子沟通高分组对负性刺激所诱发的注意指向和集中（P2成分）及选择和巩固（P3成分）显著高于低分组。以上结果表明,亲子沟通较好,在注意早期定向和选择中会对负性情绪刺激产生注意偏向。亲子沟通较差,则对情绪性的刺激没有明显的偏向性,类似于“漠不关心”的状态。     

REDUCING BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS THROUGH FUNCTIONAL COMMUNICATION TRAINING

It is generally agreed that serious misbehavior in children should be replaced with socially appropriate behaviors, but few guidelines exist with respect to choosing replacement behaviors. We address this issue in two experiments. In Experiment 1, we developed an assessment method for identifying situations in which behavior problems, including aggression, tantrums, and self-injury, were most likely to occur. Results demonstrated that both low level of adult attention and high level of task difficulty were discriminative for misbehavior. In Experiment 2, the assessment data were used to select replacements for misbehavior. Specifically, children were taught to solicit attention or assistance or both verbally from adults. This treatment, which involvedthe differential reinforcement of functional communication, produced replicable suppression of behavior problems across four developmentally disabled children. The results were consistent with an hypothesis stating that some child behavior problems may be viewed as a nonverbal means of communication. According to this hypothesis, behavior problems and verbal communicative acts, though differing in form, may be equivalent in function. Therefore, strengtheningthe latter should weakenthe former.     

非民营企业领导型态、沟通满足与领导效能之研究

本文以非民营企业台湾糖业公司为研究对象 ,探讨其员工沟通满足及主管领导型态与领导效能间之关系。本研究采用问卷调查法 ,针对台糖公司所属机构进行调查 ,所搜集的有效问卷共 63 2份。利用 Pearson相关分析、回归分析、规则相关分析以及路径分析来探讨领导型态、员工沟通满足及领导效能各构面间之关系 ,本研究之主要发现为 :(1 )台糖公司主管的领导型态属于PM型领导 ,员工沟通满足及领导效能仍低 ,尚待转型中之台糖公司主管积极改善。 (2 )主管领导型态与员工沟通满足间、员工沟通满足与领导效能间以及主管领导型态与领导效能间均呈现显著正相关。(3 )“领导型态”与“领导效能”之直接相关性较之经由员工“沟通满足”为中介变数时之相关性为弱。     

Family Communication and Genetic Counseling: The Case of Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer

In familial breast/ovarian cancer, the information that the proband is able to supply about other family members is of critical importance for genetic counseling. This frequently requires family communication. Forty-six women attending a cancer genetics clinic were interviewed as part of a longitudinal study. Nearly all reported affected maternal, rather than paternal relatives, which may indicate lack of awareness by women with paternal histories. There was also much more communication among female relatives. Mothers, where they were still alive, were key figures in supplying family information. Although the majority of the sample contacted at least one relative regarding counseling, most named a relative with whom they did not feel able to communicate on this subject. Probands balanced the perceived obligation of passing on information with that of not causing alarm. Communication, both obtaining and giving information, was impeded by adoption, divorce and remarriage, family rifts, and large age gaps between siblings.     

中学生合作行为的影响因素的实验研究

用囚犯两难游戏和懦夫游戏作实验材料,采用L16（215）正交实验设计,对64名初二、高二学生在不同实验情境中的合作行为反应策略进行了研究。结果表明,被试对交流的预期、交流的进行、被试对对手社会地位的评估、以及被试所面临的游戏矩阵和被试自身的年龄特点都影响被试对对手的表征,进而影响被试游戏行为的决策过程和合作行为的反应倾向。研究结果支持社会表征理论,为创设有利于合作的人际互动情境提供一定的理论依据。