Negation in context: Evidence from the visual world paradigm

Literature assumes that negation is more difficult to understand than affirmation, but this might depend on the pragmatic context. The goal of this paper is to show that pragmatic knowledge modulates the unfolding processing of negation due to the previous activation of the negated situation. To test this, we used the visual world paradigm. In this task, we presented affirmative (e.g., her dad was rich) and negative sentences (e.g., her dad was not poor) while viewing two images of the affirmed and denied entities. The critical sentence in each item was preceded by one of three types of contexts: an inconsistent context (e.g., She supposed that her dad had little savings) that activates the negated situation (a poor man), a consistent context (e.g., She supposed that her dad had enough savings) that activates the actual situation (a rich man), or a neutral context (e.g., her dad lived on the other side of town) that activates neither of the two models previously suggested. The results corroborated our hypothesis. Pragmatics is implicated in the unfolding processing of negation. We found an increase in fixations on the target compared to the baseline for negative sentences at 800?ms in the neutral context, 600?ms in the inconsistent context, and 1450?ms in the consistent context. Thus, when the negated situation has been previously introduced via an inconsistent context, negation is facilitated.     

“Primary Relations” In a New Foundational Axiomatic Framework

The new system of axioms we propose is based on the foundational theory of De Giorgi et al. Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, Preprints di Matematica 26: 1 (1996) slightly modified. In that paper (which is dedicated to a new axiomatic framework for mathematics, informatics and logic) the authors use two kinds of primitive notions: relations and qualities. Since their system is based on the distribution paradigm, they start from distinction. We propose to shift the perspective and to start from unity and then from within unity to pass to distinction; to this end we apply ideas of Lesniewski, Nijhoff International Philosophy Series 44 (1992). We introduce only one kind of entity as a primitive notion, namely relations, and treat qualities as articulations of relations. The new concept of “primary relation” permits the introduction of a dynamic, non-standard form of identity, which we hope will find application in various fields where self-referential structures are required.     

The role of control functions in mentalizing: dual-task studies of theory of mind and executive function

Conflicting evidence has arisen from correlational studies regarding the role of executive control functions in Theory of Mind. The current study used dual-task manipulations of executive functions (inhibition, updating and switching) to investigate the role of these control functions in mental state and non-mental state tasks. The 'Eyes' pictorial test of Theory of Mind showed specific dual-task costs when concurrently performed with an inhibitory secondary task. In contrast, interference effects on a verbal 'Stories' task were general, occurring on both mental state and non-mental state tasks, and across all types of executive function. These findings from healthy functioning adults should help to guide decisions about appropriate methods of assessing ToM in clinical populations, and interpreting deficits in performance in such tasks in the context of more general cognitive dysfunction.     

工作记忆对动态范式中基于客体的返回抑制的影响

采用双任务干扰范式探讨了工作记忆对动态范式中基于客体的返回抑制的影响。三个实验分别考察了在言语、空间和视觉工作记忆负载条件下基于客体的返回抑制效应,结果发现只有在空间工作记忆负载条件下,动态范式中的返回抑制才受到损害。这表明空间工作记忆不但在静态范式中的IOR信息的维持和更新中起着重要的作用,在动态范式中的IOR信息的维持和更新中同样起着重要的作用。同时也为动态范式中基于客体的返回抑制的空间抑制动态更新说提供了新的证据     

人工语法范式下的无意识知识探析

人工语法范式不仅是内隐学习领域广泛运用的范式,同时也是研究无意识知识的主要方法。文章通过对人工语法范式组成材料中的刺激频率、组块等方面进行深入探讨,不仅使人们对无意识知识有了更全面的认识,而且也有利于对内隐学习获得规则知识的假设提出更确定的回答;并通过对无意识知识的神经机制研究以及考察镜射规则学习过程的脑神经激活状况,获得了规则学习对应更为准确的脑神经活动,推动了人工语法范式下无意识知识的深入研究。     

权力操作范式的分析与比较

从认知的视角研究权力已是目前权力研究的主流,但权力的认知研究结果和外部效度均受制于其实验操作范式.对国外现有权力操作范式进行分析,可在促进其完善的同时,更对建构适合中国背景下的权力操作方式有一定的借鉴意义.从对现有主流权力操作范式,即奖惩法、回忆法、信息控制法、具体数值法、BATNA法、语义唤起等方法介绍,以及对其实证应用与检验结果中,可以明显对比出各种范式的优势与不足.现有学者较少意识到该点,使用各范式时不加区分,这引起了各范式在适用研究、多等级操作、相关概念操作等方面的混乱.未来研究仍需从角色分配、区分自我权力与他人权力操作、操作检验等角度,改进现有权力操作范式.     

场景知觉及其研究范式

场景知觉关注的是人如何知觉和加工复杂的真实环境信息。场景包括物体和背景两个重要的组成部分,根据复杂性与真实性程度,场景刺激材料可以分为三种不同的类型。已有研究主要从自上而下和自下而上两种方式来解释场景知觉中信息的提取和加工,也有研究试图从二者交互的角度来进行解释。此外,基于不同的实验目的和技术,研究者分别采用了眼动、背景提示、物体觉察、变化觉察和点线索追随几种不同的研究范式来探讨场景信息的知觉问题。场景知觉研究在场景的定义、不同范式间的整合、研究内部效度和不同加工阶段的加工方式四个方面还需要进一步深入和探讨     

无意识信息加工中的“完型”——无意识捆绑假说的新证据

采用连续闪烁范式(Continuous Flash Suppression,CFS)考察了无意识状态下完型能否发生.研究通过2(线条完整性)×2(意义破坏)×2(熟悉性)的被试内实验设计考察了8种条件下图片的突破抑制时间(Suppression Time,ST).结果发现:线条完整和意义未破坏的图片能更快地克服噪音图片的抑制进入意识;熟悉性不影响突破抑制时间.重要的是,不完整的图片也可以出现意义破坏效应.这表明即使在被抑制的状态下,不完整图形的信息也能够传达至与完型相关的高级视觉区域形成客体表征.研究为无意识捆绑假说(The Unconscious Binding Hypothesis)提供了新的实验证据.     

西方志愿者行为研究述评

志愿者行为是在组织背景下, 个体经过深思熟虑之后, 自愿对主动寻求帮助的对象实施的一种长期且无偿的帮助行为; 其形成和发展可以用功能理论、特质理论和多因素模型来解释。志愿者行为的测量工具主要有志愿功能量表、志愿精神问卷和志愿者行为问卷。研究者对人口统计学特征、人格变量、动机变量及组织因素等志愿者行为的前因变量及志愿者身心健康、社会收益等志愿者行为的结果变量的探讨比较深入, 但在概念明晰、理论整合、测量工具、取样探索等方面还有待进一步研究。     

蔡元定对河图洛书的区分——兼论蔡氏父子的范数之学

蔡元定主张"河十洛九"、"河先洛后",与刘牧的"河九洛十"、"河洛同出"说相反。蔡元定强调河图与洛书的区分,与朱熹的"虚中为易、实中为范"说企图融合河图、洛书也不同。其目的是加强十数图与《周易》八卦的关联,九数图与《洪范》九畴的关联,进而将《洪范》纳入易学系统。其子蔡沈的《洪范皇极》以《周易》为象学,对应河图,以《洪范》为数学,对应洛书,正是这一目的的体现。这一区分是对刘牧河图、洛书说的发展,蔡氏父子由此构建了其范数之学。