A Bayesian hierarchical model for the measurement of working memory capacity

Working memory is the memory system that allows for conscious storage and manipulation of information. The capacity of working memory is extremely limited. Measurements of this limit, and what affects it, are critical to understanding working memory. Cowan (2001) and Pashler (1988) suggested applying multinomial tree models to data from change detection paradigms in order to estimate working memory capacity. Both Pashler and Cowan suggested simple formulas for estimating capacity with these models. However, in many cases, these simple formulas are inadequate, and may lead to inefficient or biased estimation of working memory capacity. I propose a Bayesian hierarchical alternative to the Pashler and Cowan formulas, and show that the hierarchical model outperforms the traditional formulas. The models are easy to use and appropriate for a wide range of experimental designs. An easy-to-use graphical user interface for fitting the hierarchical model to data is available.     

Interactive context integration in children? Evidence from an action memory study

Action–object phrases (e.g., “lift the bottle”) are remembered better if they have been enacted rather than learned verbally. This enactment effect is largest in free recall for phrases with objects (e.g., “bottle”) present because these phrases can be interactively encoded with those context objects (interactive context integration) that serve as retrieval cues. The current study investigated whether 6- and 8-year-olds are already capable of interactive context integration. Experiment 1 demonstrated interactive context integration with 8-year-olds. This was hindered in a condition where attention was directed away from context objects. Experiment 2 demonstrated interactive context integration with 6-year-old kindergartners. Taken together, our findings show that even 6-year-olds are capable of incidental context integration through enactment and that this process is attention based.     

RELIGION,SCIENCE, AND NATURE: SHIFTS IN MEANING ON A CHANGING PLANET

Abstract This article explores how religion and science, as worlding practices, are changed by the processes of globalization and global climate change. In the face of these processes, two primary methods of meaning making are emerging: the logic of globalization and planetary assemblages. The former operates out of the same logic as extant axial age religions, the Enlightenment, and Modernity. It is caught up in the process of universalizing meanings, objective truth, and a single reality. The latter suggests that the processes of globalization and climate change break open any universalizing attempt at meaning onto a proliferation of different, evolving planetary contexts. Both science and religion are affected by these changes, and the ways in which they shape our understandings of and relationship to the rest of the natural world are changed.     

The discounting model selector: Statistical software for delay discounting applications

Original, open‐source computer software was developed and validated against established delay discounting methods in the literature. The software executed approximate Bayesian model selection methods from user‐supplied temporal discounting data and computed the effective delay 50 (ED50) from the best performing model. Software was custom‐designed to enable behavior analysts to conveniently apply recent statistical methods to temporal discounting data with the aid of a graphical user interface (GUI). The results of independent validation of the approximate Bayesian model selection methods indicated that the program provided results identical to that of the original source paper and its methods. Monte Carlo simulation (n = 50,000) confirmed that true model was selected most often in each setting. Simulation code and data for this study were posted to an online repository for use by other researchers. The model selection approach was applied to three existing delay discounting data sets from the literature in addition to the data from the source paper. Comparisons of model selected ED50 were consistent with traditional indices of discounting. Conceptual issues related to the development and use of computer software by behavior analysts and the opportunities afforded by free and open‐sourced software are discussed and a review of possible expansions of this software are provided.     

Swedish women's perceptions of and conformity to feminine norms

The relatively high gender equality in the Swedish society is likely to exert an influence on gender role construction. Hence, the present research aimed to investigate Swedish women's perceptions of and conformity to feminine norms. A mixed methods approach with two studies was used. In Study 1, young Swedish women’s gender role conformity, as measured by the Conformity to Feminine Norms Inventory 45 (CFNI‐45), was compared to the results from previously published studies in Canada, the United States, and Slovakia. Overall, Swedish women displayed less conformity than their foreign counterparts, with the largest difference on the subscale Sexual fidelity. In Study 2, focus group interviews with young Swedish women added a more complex picture of feminine norms in the Swedish society. For instance the results indicated that Swedish women, while living in a society with a strong gender equality discourse, are torn between the perceived need to invest in their appearances and the risk of being viewed as non‐equal when doing so. In sum, despite the fact that traditional gender roles are less pronounced in Sweden, gender role conformity is still a pressing issue. Since attending to the potential roles of feminine norms in women’s lives previously has been proposed to be useful in counseling and therapeutic work, the present research also offers valuable information for both researchers and practitioners. [Correction added on 5 May 2017, after first online publication in April 2017: An incorrect Abstract was inadvertently captured in the published article and has been corrected in this current version.]     

For the Good of the Group? Balancing Individual and Collective Risks and Benefits in Community Psychology Research

Balancing risks and benefits is a necessary ethical task for social science researchers. Community psychologists must often consider risks and benefits not just for individual participants, but also for the group, system, or society that those individuals inhabit. Little ethical guidance currently exists for how to navigate this ethical challenge across these multiple levels. In this article, we use a case example of social network research incorporating multiple levels of analysis to identify common risks and benefits and understand their relationship to each other. We conclude by discussing distinctive ethical considerations revealed by this case example.     

不同教学方法激发与调节大学生学业情绪的教育实验

对天津某高校大二3个教学班77名被试,采用教育实验法探讨了传统教学法、归因训练干预、活动教学法在大学生英语课堂教学中学业情绪的激发与调节情况。结果表明:传统教学法无显著影响;归因训练干预后,学生的焦虑、气愤、放松、自豪、厌烦、失望和兴趣等学业情绪有显著改变;活动教学后,学生的焦虑、羞愧、厌烦、愉快和兴趣等学业情绪有显著改变。实施后两种教学法后,正性情绪得分均有所提高,负性情绪得分均有所下降。两种教学法在激发与调节学业情绪的效果上各有侧重。     

元分析的特点、方法及其应用的现状分析

元分析是心理、教育及其他科学领域内新近出现的一种重要研究方法,它主要是借助统计方法,对针对同一问题的大量研究结果进行综合分析与评价,从而概括出其研究结果所反映的共同效应,即普遍性的结论。但这种方法在目前国内心理与教育研究中仍不多见。本文首先将通过与其他整合研究结果的分析方法的比较,归纳出元分析的主要特点及其局限性,其次本文着重介绍目前应用较为广泛的三种重要的元分析方法,并对三种方法作出比较分析;最后本文还将对元分析技术在国内心理学研究中的应用现状作分析与评价。     

系统生物学的发展与思维方法的变革

通过论述系统生物学发展的动因及其对未来生命科学发展的影响,揭示生命科学研究正发生一场从分子生物学时代过渡到系统生物学时代的趋势,必将推动科研思维方法的变革.