国外父母-孩子自传叙事研究现状及展望

父母-孩子自传叙事是指父母与孩子共同对过去发生的生活事件进行回忆和交流, 是实现自传记忆社会功能的一种重要形式。父母-孩子自传叙事的社会功能有教育和指导孩子、保持亲子亲密性等作用。在父母-孩子自传叙事的风格、结构和内容三个层面, 父母-孩子自传叙事对儿童认知发展、社会情感发展、自传记忆表征等方面有重要影响; 另外, 父母-孩子自传叙事中还存在有性别和社会、文化差异。未来的研究应注意线索词材料的类型以及与儿童心理理论发展、社会层次、纵向研究设计的结合。     

Deconstructing the tower: Parameters and predictors of problem difficulty on the Tower of London task

The Tower of London (TOL) task has been widely used in both clinical and research realms. In the current study, 104 healthy participants attempted all possible moderate- to high-difficulty TOL problems in order to determine: (1) optimal measures of problem solving performance, (2) problem characteristics, other than the minimum moves necessary to solve the problem, that determine participants’ difficulty in solving problems successfully, quickly, and efficiently, and (3) effects of increased task experience on which problem characteristics determine problem difficulty. A factor analysis of six performance measures found that, regardless of task experience, problem difficulty could be captured well either by a single factor corresponding to general quality of solution or possibly by three subordinate factors corresponding to solution efficiency, solution speed, and initial planning speed. Regression analyses predicting these performance factors revealed that in addition to a problem’s minimum moves three problem parameters were critical in determining the problem difficulty: goal position hierarchy, start position hierarchy, and number of solution paths available. The relative contributions of each of the characteristics strongly depended on which performance factor defined performance. We conclude that TOL problem performance is multifaceted, and that classifying problem difficulty using only the minimum moves necessary to solve the problem is inadequate.     

Form follows function: Learning about function helps children learn about shape

Object functions help young children to organize new artifact categories. However, the scope of their influence is unknown. We explore whether functions highlight property dimensions that are relevant to artifact categories in general. Specifically, using a longitudinal training procedure, we assessed whether experience with functions highlights shape as important for categorization. Seventeen-month-olds were provided experience with novel categories of similarly shaped objects. In Study 1, the function group learned about the objects’ shape-based functions; a control group did not. In Study 2, 17-month-olds were trained on the same categories, but the objects’ shapes and functions were no longer causally related. Only the function group in Study 1 subsequently used shape reliably when categorizing novel objects. These results suggest that function is instrumental in establishing a ‘shape bias’ in early categorization and that it does so via conceptually based processes.     

THE EFFECTS OF FIXED‐TIME ESCAPE ON INAPPROPRIATE AND APPROPRIATE CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR

Few studies have explored the effects of fixed‐time (FT) reinforcement on escape‐maintained behavior of students in a classroom setting. We measured the effects of an FT schedule on the disruptive and appropriate academic behaviors of 2 junior high students in a public school setting. Results demonstrated that FT escape from tasks resulted in a substantial decrease in disruptive behavior and an increase in time engaged in tasks for both participants.     

慢性军事应激致军人海马形态、认知功能和应对方式的变化

通过对572名连续4~16个月高强度军事训练的军人进行SCL-90测评, 研究慢性军事应激条件下军人海马形态、认知、心理特质和特质应对方式的变化特征。将其中l7例焦虑因子分≥3分者(焦虑或伴焦虑)设为研究组(A), 并以匹配法设对照组(B)。检测两组军人血皮质醇, 并用MRI观察海马形态、检测简单和复杂认知作业功能、以STAI测评状态-特质焦虑及以CCSQ测评应对方式, 探讨两组对应变化。研究结果显示：(1)血皮质醇：A、B组均高于正常水平, 有差异显著, A组显著高于B组。(2)海马形态：A组与B组MRI海马形态标准化后, A组海马形态显著萎缩, 与B组相比有显著性差异, 但各组每个同体的左右两侧之间相比无显著性差异。(3)认知作业功能：A组简单认知作业成绩与B组无显著差异, 但复杂认知作业成绩与B组相比有显著性差异。(4)状态-特质焦虑：A组的状态焦虑、特质焦虑分别与B组和常模比较均有显著变化, B组与常模相比状态焦虑变化显著, 特质焦虑变化不显著。(5)应对方式：A组积极应对方式平均值低于B组和常模并有显著性差异, B组高于常模; A组消极应对方式平均值高于B组和常模且有非常显著性差异, B组与常模无显著改变。结论 在慢性军事应激条件下, 特质焦虑个体的海马形态出现双侧萎缩, 复杂认知功能下降, 更易发生状态焦虑, 行为取向表现出积极应对方式降低、消极应对方式增加。     

汉语学龄前儿童正字法意识的发展

本研究选择北京地区幼儿园3岁、4岁、5岁儿童各31、48、33名, 采用单部件意识测验和部件位置及功能意识测验系统探查了学龄前儿童的正字法意识各个层面的发展状况。单部件意识测验包括部件替换、部件缺失和部件旋转三个部分; 部件位置及功能意识测验分为假字和非字两个部分, 而非字又包括两形非字和形声非字。结果发现单部件意识测验中, 5岁组儿童在部件替换水平上的得分显著高于3岁组儿童, 而3岁组与4岁组、4岁组与5岁组儿童之间无显著差异; 部件缺失和部件旋转水平上, 三个年龄段的儿童的得分表现出明显的增长趋势。部件位置及功能意识测验中, 假字得分在三个年龄段之间无显著差异; 非字得分随年龄增长显著提高。这些结果表明, 单部件意识在学前期处于不断发展的阶段, 其中对部件替换的非字的拒绝能力发展较早, 部件缺失和部件旋转非字的拒绝能力发展较晚; 部件位置及功能意识在学前期已经开始发展, 3岁儿童已经具有假字符合正字法规则的认识, 但对非字违反部件位置合法性和功能完整性的认识直到4岁左右才开始萌芽, 5岁还未成熟。     

Cognitive deficits of executive functions and decision‐making in obsessive‐compulsive disorder

The nature of cognitive deficits in obsessive‐compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by contradictory findings in terms of specific neuropsychological deficits. Selective impairments have been suggested to involve visuospatial memory, set shifting, decision‐making and response inhibition. The aim of this study was to investigate cognitive deficits in decision‐making and executive functioning in OCD. It was hypothesized that the OCD patients would be less accurate in their responses compared to the healthy controls in rational decision‐making on a version of the Cambridge gambling task (CGT) and on the color‐word interference test and on a version of the Tower of Hanoi test (tower test) of executive functioning. Thirteen participants with OCD were compared to a group of healthy controls (n = 13) matched for age, gender, education and verbal IQ. Results revealed significant differences between the OCD group and the healthy control group on quality of decision‐making on the CGT and for achievement score on the tower test. On these two tasks the OCD group performed worse than the healthy control group. The symptom‐dimension analysis revealed performance differences where safety checking patients were impaired on the tower test compared to contamination patients. Results are discussed in the framework of cognition and emotion processing and findings implicate that OCD models should address, specifically, the interaction between cognition and emotion. Here the emotional disruption hypothesis is forwarded to account for the dysfunctional behaviors in OCD. Further implications regarding methodological and inhibitory factors affecting cognitive information processing are highlighted.     

Executive functioning moderates the relationship between motivation and adolescent depressive symptoms

We investigated the association between adolescent depressive symptoms and components of executive functioning (EF), including planning (Tower of London), set-shifting (Wisconsin Card Sorting Task), and inhibition (Stop Signal Task) in a community sample of 12–14 year olds. Further, EF was tested as a moderator of motivation (as operationalized by revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory) effects on depressive symptoms. Results suggested that planning ability was associated with depressive symptoms. Furthermore, planning ability moderated the relationship between motivation (fight-flight–freeze system; FFFS) and depressive symptoms, such that among adolescents with poor planning ability the FFFS positively predicted depressive symptoms, but among adolescents with strong planning ability the FFFS negatively predicted depressive symptoms. Neither set-shifting nor inhibition were associated with depressive symptoms. Findings highlight the need to consider multiple components of EF and to integrate motivational and executive dysfunction models to the study of depression.     

A group comparison of those with hypertension and other chronic illness: A factor and item level analysis of anger and hostility

Abstract

A considerable body of research has suggested that essential hypertension is related to both expressed anger and suppressed hostility. This study suggests and provides some evidence that these reported results may simply have arisen as the result of a lack of proper statistical control and differential item functioning across the items on which the measures were based. Three groups of respondents were selected (a) those diagnosed as having hypertension (b) a group who admitted to having a chronic medical condition unrelated to hypertension and (c) individuals who did not have a chronic medical condition. A confirmatory factor model was used to test the structure of a measure of expressed anger and suppressed hostility. Differences were then examined across the three conditions at both the factor and item levels within a MIMIC structure and controlling for age and gender. Differential effects were found between females and males on two observed measures of expressed anger. Age had a direct effect on both the measure of expressed anger and suppressed hostility. After the effects of age and gender were controlled, no statistically significant group differences were found. Previous results indicating a difference on expressed anger and suppressed hostility may, as in the present analysis, be put down to a combination of lack of appropriate statistical control, and to ignoring the differential pattern of responding across the observed measures.