时间洞察力对拖延行为的影响机制:时间折扣的中介作用

采用津巴多时间洞察力量表（ZTPI）、一般拖延量表（GPS）和跨期选择任务,考察了时间洞察力对拖延行为的影响,并从时间折扣视角检验了时间洞察力影响拖延行为的中介机制。结果表明（1）对553名大学生的测量数据进行逐步回归和优势分析,结果表明：\"未来\"时间洞察力对拖延行为具有良好的预测力,解释率最高;（2）对121名大学生的测量数据进行中介分析,结果表明：时间折扣在时间洞察力影响拖延行为过程中起着中介作用。这些结果说明,\"未来\"时间洞察力对拖延行为具有较好的预测作用,而且未来时间洞察力对拖延行为的影响可能是通过时间折扣为中介实现的。     

时间贴现在神经和行为上的年龄特征

时间贴现的年龄发展具有阶段性。前额皮质, 边缘系统和多巴胺能系统的发展成熟是从儿童期到成人期时间贴现发展变化的神经生物基础。成人期到老年期时间贴现年龄特征的研究结果不一致。概率贴现、未来定向、延迟满足等被用来探讨时间贴现年龄发展特征。可以从大脑不同区域的发展轨迹, 延迟时段的心理意义来进一步深入研究。     

成瘾人群的决策障碍：研究范式与神经机制

药物成瘾者和赌博成瘾者常常偏好即刻的奖赏而忽视将来的消极结果。在进行决策任务时, 他们倾向于做出不利的选择, 偏好短时的获益而不顾长期的损失, 这是一种决策障碍的表现。延迟折扣任务(DDT)、爱荷华赌博任务(IGT)和剑桥赌博任务(CGT)是研究决策障碍的三种常用方法和范式, 分别考察成瘾人群的冲动性决策、决策短视和决策时的冒险行为。近十几年来的研究表明, 前额叶皮层(PFC)在人类的决策活动中起重要作用。其中, 腹内侧前额叶(VMPFC)、眶额叶(OFC)、背外侧前额叶(DLPFC)等皮层的功能变化与成瘾人群的决策障碍有密切关系。     

跨期选择的性质探索

跨期选择指人们对发生在不同时间点的价值做出的权衡与决策。大量研究证明, 跨期选择中人们存在普遍的时间折扣倾向, 即将未来的价值折扣后与当前价值进行权衡。跨期选择研究不仅与人类心智的起源与机制等基础科学问题密切相关, 也关系到国家公共政策的制定等现实问题。本项目拟采用实验室研究和大规模问卷调查结合的方法, 深入探索跨期选择的本质。一方面, 采用实验室研究法探讨影响跨期选择的重要因素, 以探索：(1) 跨期选择的效价及其与价值数量、延迟时间的交互作用及其心理机制; (2) 跨期选择中是否存在领域特异性及其心理机制; 另一方面, 通过全国范围的调查, 从而：(1) 建立中国城镇居民时间折扣率的常模; (2) 测量不同类型人群的时间折扣率, 以探讨跨期选择的性质与内涵。项目研究结果将有利于加深学界对跨期选择现象的理解。     

Retrieval-induced forgetting,delay, and sleep

Retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) refers to the finding that retrieval of a subset of previously studied material can cause forgetting of related unpractised material. Prior work on the role of delay between practice and test for RIF reported mixed results. Whereas some studies found RIF to be a relatively transient phenomenon, others found RIF to persist over time. We examined whether the persistence of RIF can depend on whether wakefulness or sleep follows retrieval practice. We employed a variant of the retrieval-practice paradigm with short (20 minutes) and long (12 hours) delay conditions. In all conditions participants studied a perceptually categorised list followed by retrieval practice on some of the items from some of the categories. Participants studied and practised the material in the morning or the evening. RIF was present in the short-delay conditions, and it was present in the long-delay condition if the delay included nocturnal sleep; if the long delay was filled with diurnal wakefulness, RIF was absent. Results show that whether delay eliminates RIF or not can depend on whether sleep or wake follows retrieval practice. Connections of the results to recent findings about the role of delay and sleep for RIF are discussed.     

Charity Begins at Home: Cultural Differences in Social Discounting and Generosity

People often consider how their actions influence others when making decisions. However, we are not equally generous to everyone alike. Our willingness to share resources declines as a function of social distance between the decision maker and the recipient. This function is likely to be influenced by culture, but research on behavioral decision making is still lacking empirical evidence. In Western societies, individuals generally perceive themselves as autonomous and independent from others, whereas the distinction between self and close others is less sharply defined by Eastern individuals where relationships and group membership are more centralized. Therefore, the social discount function should reflect this difference in the distinction of self and others by a reduced decline in generosity over close social distances. A social decision‐making task was adapted to the intercultural context, and data were collected in Germany and China. For seven different social distances, we estimated how much money German and Chinese subjects were willing to forego to give a certain reward to another person. A hyperbolic model was fitted to the data. We found that other‐regarding generosity declines as a function of social distance independent of cultural identity. However, German subjects showed a marked drop in generosity across close social distances, which was significantly less pronounced in Chinese participants. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Emotional and self‐esteem consequences of perceiving discrimination against a new identity group

With a sample of Asian international students, the consequences of perceiving pervasive discrimination against one's in‐group were examined by experimentally manipulating perceived discrimination (pervasive vs rare) and group identification (low vs high). We report evidence that supports and integrates aspects of two contrasted models; namely, the discounting model and the rejection–identification model. Consistent with both models, the effects of perceiving discrimination on one's psychological well‐being depended on the level of group identification. Nevertheless, after reading about pervasive discrimination, low (vs high) identifiers reported less depressed affect, consistent with the discounting model. However, they also reported lower self‐esteem, consistent with the rejection–identification model.