Freud's metapsychological speculations1

In this paper, the author seeks to analyse the nature and function of metapsychological theory in Freudian psychoanalysis. He shows that Freudian psychoanalytic theory is composed of an empirical part‐the psychology of clinical facts‐and a speculative part‐metapsychology. Freud considers this latter part as being a speculative superstructure of value that is only heuristic, capable of being supplanted by other superstructures of the same type. The author sustains the idea that this metapsychology is the fruit of speculative method, whose foundations were elaborated by philosophers and epistemologists before Freud, including Immanuel Kant and Ernst Mach. He concludes with considerations regarding the future of metapsychological theorisation, presenting criticisms of Freudian metapsychology offered by both philosophers and psychoanalysts, and pointing to the perspective opened by Donald W. Winnicott of a psychoanalysis without metapsychology.     

‘Women are Bad at Math,but I'm Not,am I?’ Fragile Mathematical Self‐concept Predicts Vulnerability to a Stereotype Threat Effect on Mathematical Performance

The present research reports the results of three studies showing that individuals with a fragile self‐concept in the domain of performance are particularly vulnerable to stereotype threat effects. Specifically, women who explicitly described themselves as rather mathematical but whose implicit self‐concepts contradicted these claims were vulnerable to stereotype threat effects on mathematical performance. This effect was robust across three studies, independent of the subtleness or content of the stereotype threat manipulation. Additionally, it was shown that the effect was mediated by anxious worrying (Study 3). Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

内隐联想测验“内隐性”的可控性研究

在许多社会科学研究中,社会称许性会对研究的效度产生不良影响。研究者希望能得到被试的真实态度和反应,从而极力避免这种社会称许性偏见。内隐测量工具的一个主要目的是让研究者能够获得未加任何粉饰的态度测量结果从而消除和避免自我表现和社会称许性。本文通过四个实验考察了内隐联想测验的可掩饰性、掩饰的持久性、掩饰的条件化和IAT经验的迁移性,结果显示：（1）被试可以通过一定的反应策略来掩饰其真实的内隐态度,从而使所测得的个体内隐态度和群体内隐态度失真,典型的反应策略是均衡相容和不相容任务的反应速度;（2）内隐联想测验的可掩饰性需以先前的IAT经验为基础,且IAT经验无需属于相同的测验范畴,对IAT原理的掌握将有助于被试成功地实施掩饰;（3）内隐联想测验的可掩饰性具有一定的时效性,先前的IAT经验越久远,则成功掩饰的可能性越低;总之,内隐联想测验并不能彻底避免社会称许性。     

人格理论的系统发展观初探

文章以遗传论、精神动力论、学习论、特质论、社会文化及认知一情感系统理论为基础。利用系统科学中的系统论观点,对人格理论进行系统发展观分析。该观点将人格看作一个复杂的“大”系统,它包括外部系统和内部系统两部分。外部系统即外环境系统,内部系统则分为个体心理系统和个体行为系统,其核心是个体心理系统,它由认识系统、情意系统、自我系统及需要系统构成。人格的形成是内外两个系统相互作用、循环运动的结果。     

Orientation-invariant object recognition: evidence from repetition blindness

The question of whether object recognition is orientation-invariant or orientation-dependent was investigated using a repetition blindness (RB) paradigm. In RB, the second occurrence of a repeated stimulus is less likely to be reported, compared to the occurrence of a different stimulus, if it occurs within a short time of the first presentation. This failure is usually interpreted as a difficulty in assigning two separate episodic tokens to the same visual type. Thus, RB can provide useful information about which representations are treated as the same by the visual system. Two experiments tested whether RB occurs for repeated objects that were either in identical orientations, or differed by 30, 60, 90, or 180 degrees . Significant RB was found for all orientation differences, consistent with the existence of orientation-invariant object representations. However, under some circumstances, RB was reduced or even eliminated when the repeated object was rotated by 180 degrees , suggesting easier individuation of the repeated objects in this case. A third experiment confirmed that the upside-down orientation is processed more easily than other rotated orientations. The results indicate that, although object identity can be determined independently of orientation, orientation plays an important role in establishing distinct episodic representations of a repeated object, thus enabling one to report them as separate events.     

Auditory repetition priming is impaired in pure alexic patients

Alexia without agraphia, or "pure" alexia, is an acquired impairment in reading that leaves writing skills intact. Repetition priming for visually presented words is diminished in pure alexia. However, it is not possible to verify whether this priming deficit is modality-specific or modality independent because reading abilities are compromised. Hence, auditory repetition priming was assessed with lexical decision and word stem completion tasks in pure alexic patients with lesions in left inferior temporal-occipital cortex and the splenium. Perceptually based, modality-specific priming models predict intact auditory priming, since auditory association cortex is spared in the patients. Alternatively, modality-independent models, which suggest that priming reflects the temporary modification of an amodal system, might predict impairments. Baseline performance was matched in the patients and controls, although lexical decision priming measures showed an interaction between group and repetition lag. The patients showed intact immediate priming but significantly less priming than controls at longer delays. Furthermore, word stem completion priming was abolished in the patients. One explanation for the deficit is that left inferior temporal-occipital cortex supports amodal aspects of priming, as suggested by recent neuroimaging results. Another possibility is that long-term auditory priming relies on covert orthographic representations which were unavailable in the patients. The results provide support for interactive models of word identification.     

The ethics of earthquake prediction

Scientists’ responsibility to inform the public about their results may conflict with their responsibility not to cause social disturbance by the communication of these results. A study of the well-known Brady-Spence and Iben Browning earthquake predictions illustrates this conflict in the publication of scientifically unwarranted predictions. Furthermore, a public policy that considers public sensitivity caused by such publications as an opportunity to promote public awareness is ethically problematic from (i) a refined consequentialist point of view that any means cannot be justified by any ends, and (ii) a rights view according to which individuals should never be treated as a mere means to ends. The Parkfield experiment, the so-called paradigm case of cooperation between natural and social scientists and the political authorities in hazard management and risk communication, is also open to similar ethical criticism. For the people in the Parkfield area were not informed that the whole experiment was based on a contested seismological paradigm.     

Judgments of remembering: the revelation effect in children and adults

When items on a recognition test are presented as a series of increasingly complete fragments rather than being presented initially in their fully intact form, adults' judgments of recognition exhibit an increased tendency to judge items as "old," an illusion of recognition referred to as the revelation effect. The present study used pictorial stimuli to test for a revelation effect with 4-year-olds, 8-year-olds, and adults (N = 76). A reliable revelation effect was found at all ages tested, indicating that the complex fluency-of-processing discrepancy detection and attribution mechanisms thought to be responsible for the effect function similarly across an age range from 4-years-of-age through adulthood. It was also found that the recognition decisions of the 8-year-olds and the adults were affected by how quickly they were able to identify a picture during the revelation phase of the recognition test. This effect was not found with the 4-year-olds, suggesting an age difference in the awareness and strategic use of an implicit memory effect when making explicit judgments of recognition.     

内隐自尊的稳定性--成败操纵对内隐自尊的影响

本研究以瑞文智力测验为成败操纵基本任务,对成败操纵前后、接受成功反馈和失败反馈的个体在内隐联想测验中的反应及其内隐自尊情况进行了分析研究,结果表明：(1)不论是接受成功反馈还是失败反馈,成败操纵后,被试的反应速度都显著地快于操纵前;(2)不论是接受成功反馈还是失败反馈,成败操纵后,被试的内隐自尊水平都显著地低于操纵前。内隐自尊易受即时的关于自我的情绪体验的影响,具有不稳定性,当个体兴奋水平、情绪唤醒水平较高,动机较为强烈时,内隐自尊作用将受到抑制。     

Is Putnam's Causal Theory of Meaning Compatible with Internal Realism?

Putnam originally developed his causal theory of meaning in order to support scientific realism and reject the notion of incommensurability. Later he gave up this position and adopted instead what he called ‘internal realism’, but apparently without changing his mind on topics related to his former philosophy of language. The question must arise whether internal realism, which actually is a species of antirealism, is compatible with the causal theory of meaning. In giving an answer I begin with an analysis of the content and metaphysical background of scientific realism. I show that it presupposes metaphysical realism and that Putnam's philosophical conversion is due to his becoming aware of the latter's incoherence. After giving a brief sketch of internal realism I conclude by arguing that within this new theoretical framework the causal theory of meaning loses its force as a weapon against incommensurability. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.