心理传记学的研究方法思考

摘 要 当代心理学由于“本体与方法”的割裂形成科学心理学与人文心理学双峰对峙的局面,科学心理学受自然科学方法的影响而难以直面人性关怀问题;以人文心理学为研究传统的心理传记学,通过对悬疑性问题的逐层解读,直面人类心理动力系统,从而能够直面人性关怀问题。为进一步促进心理传记学的发展,对当前心理传记研究的资料筛选、研究模式、理论运用改进,以期研究者能够更好地通过史料分析进入传主生命事件的历史现场,对传主生命历程进行恰当的理论解释,从而进一步激发中国本土心理传记学发展的动力。     

Human reactions to technological failure: How accidents rooted in technology vs. human error influence judgments of organizational accountability

Two experiments examine how the identification of technology as a causal factor in an organizational accident influences judgments of organizational accountability. In study 1, organizations were found to be held less accountable for their actions when a misfortune was rooted in a computer error than when rooted in human error. The predicted mechanism for this effect, counterfactual thinking, was confirmed. Specifically, technologically induced accidents were found to generate fewer counterfactual thoughts of better possible outcomes than similar accidents resulting from human error. Study 2 replicated the findings of study 1 in a more natural setting and using a less intrusive measure for counterfactual thoughts.     

Performing the vertical jump: movement adaptations for submaximal jumping

The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the kinematics and kinetics of the vertical jump when jumping for different heights and to investigate movement effectiveness as a criterion for movement control in submaximal jumping. In order to jump high a countermovement is used and large body segments are rotated, both of which consume energy which is not directly used to gain extra jump height. It was hypothesized that the energy used to reach a specified jump height is minimized by limiting the non-effective energy consumed. Standing vertical jumps attempting 100%, 75%, 50%, and 25% of maximal height were performed by a group of 10 subjects. Force and motion data were recorded simultaneously during each performance. We found that jump height increased due to increasing vertical velocity at take off. This was primarily related to an increase in countermovement amplitude. As such, flexion amplitude of the hip joint increased with jump height whereas the ankle and knee joint flexion did not. These findings revealed that for submaximal jumping a consistent strategy was used of maximizing the contribution of distal joints and minimizing the contribution of proximal joints. Taking into account the high inertia of proximal segments, the potential energy deficit due to countermovement prior to joint extension, the advantageous horizontal orientation of the foot segment during stance and the tendon lengths in distal muscles, it was concluded that movement effectiveness is a likely candidate for the driving criterion of this strategy.     

The scaling of postural adjustments during bimanual load-lifting in traumatic brain-injured adults

Previous postural studies of traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients have been limited to identifying deficits in static and quasi-dynamic postural control tasks such as weight shifting. In this study, we examined whether or not patients with TBI are able to scale adequately their postural adjustments during the performance of the dynamic task of bimanual load-lifting. An age matched group of healthy adults served as controls. We used the Tetrax posturography system that calculates a stability score (ST) based on fluctuations in vertical ground reaction forces, normalized for body weight. During quiet standing, the ST scores of the TBI group were significantly higher than the control group. Forward weight shift and percentage change in the vertical ground reaction forces (lift postural adjustment (LPA) and post-lift postural adjustment (PLPA) scores) linearly increased with increasing load weight in both healthy and TBI subjects. Group differences were found in the magnitude of forward weight shift but not in the relative increase of the LPA and PLPA scores during the lifting and post-lifting phases respectively. The forward weight shift of the TBI group was lower-than-normal and asymmetrical--there was significantly less forward weight shift on the more affected than on the less affected limb. In addition, a significant amplitude coupling was found between the scaling of the weight shift of the heel and forefoot of each limb. However, no coupling was found between the weight shift amplitudes of homologous parts of both limbs in the TBI group. The results showed that scaling based on prior experience was preserved in the TBI group, though some TBI subjects demonstrated absent scaling in either the more affected or less affected heel or forefoot. The differences between the normal and TBI groups in postural adjustments are not necessarily a sign of pathology; rather they may represent a deliberate choice of the central nervous system to counteract predictable disturbances.     

Not just standing there: the use of postural coordination to aid visual tasks

Postural control is an integral part of all physical behavior. Recent research has indicated that postural control functions in a manner that facilitates other higher order (suprapostural) tasks. These studies, while showing that postural sway is modulated in a task specific manner, have not examined the form of postural coordination that allows for the achievement of these higher behavioral goals. The current study examined the relation between visual task constraints (viewing distance), environmental constraints (changes in the surface of support), and the postural coordination employed to complete the task. Thirty-one participants were asked to perform a reading task while standing on various surfaces. Postural motion was recorded from the head, cervico-thoracic spine, sacrum (hip), and ankle. It was found that body segment coordination changed as a function of surface characteristics and task constraints. Additionally, the overall pattern of postural sway (head motion) replicated that which was found by Stoffregen et al. [J. Exp. Psychol. Human Percep. Perform. 25 (6) (1999) 1641]. These findings suggest that postural adaptation involves more than basic reduction or increase of motion; it involves the functional coordination of body segments to achieve a particular goal. The data further suggest that there is a need to examine postural control in the absence of external perturbations.     

Kicking coordination captures differences between full-term and premature infants with white matter disorder

This study explores the relation of white matter disorder (WMD) to intralimb coordination patterns in premature infants with very low birth weight (VLBW). We specifically measured the temporal-spatial characteristics of intralimb coordination patterns of the legs. Three groups of infants were compared at one month corrected age (CA): 10 premature infants born VLBW and WMD (PTWMD), 10 premature infants born VLBW without WMD (PT) and 10 full term infants (FT). Using kinematic variables, we discriminate among VLBW infants with WMD from the two comparison groups. Infants born with WMD maintain patterns of tight coupling among leg joints (all flexion or all extension) while PT and FT term infants have begun to decouple leg joints by this age (combinations of flexion with extension). The coupling pattern is captured through joint correlations, discrete relative phase, and phase plane portraits. The PTWMD infants also demonstrate aberrant patterns of coordination evident through both temporal and spatial characteristics of the kicks. This is the first evidence that movement disorder associated with brain lesions can be identified and quantified with kinematic variables as early as one month of age.     

Evaluating a split processing model of visual word recognition: effects of orthographic neighborhood size

The split fovea theory proposes that visual word recognition of centrally presented words is mediated by the splitting of the foveal image, with letters to the left of fixation being projected to the right hemisphere (RH) and letters to the right of fixation being projected to the left hemisphere (LH). Two lexical decision experiments aimed to elucidate word recognition processes under the split fovea theory are described. The first experiment showed that when words were presented centrally, such that the initial letters were in the left visual field (LVF/RH), there were effects of orthographic neighborhood, i.e., there were faster responses to words with high rather than low orthographic neighborhoods for the initial letters ('lead neighbors'). This effect was limited to lead-neighbors but not end-neighbors (orthographic neighbors sharing the same final letters). When the same words were fully presented in the LVF/RH or right visual field (RVF/LH, Experiment 2), there was no effect of orthographic neighborhood size. We argue that the lack of an effect in Experiment 2 was due to exposure to all of the letters of the words, the words being matched for overall orthographic neighborhood count and the sub-parts no longer having a unique effect. We concluded that the orthographic activation found in Experiment 1 occurred because the initial letters of centrally presented words were projected to the RH. The results support the split fovea theory, where the RH has primacy in representing lead neighbors of a written word.     

A historical review of the representation of the visual field in primary visual cortex with special reference to the neural mechanisms underlying macular sparing

This article comprises a historical review of the literature pertaining to the representation of the visual field in human primary visual cortex. A brief survey of the anatomy of the visual system is followed by a critical evaluation of the key studies that have informed both the issue of the disproportionate representation of central vision within primary visual cortex, and the anatomical basis underlying the phenomena of macular sparing and macular splitting hemianopia.     

尝试提取复杂信息失败的学习：吃一堑长一智？

摘 要：在学习中,提取失败能否产生对知识的有效学习是一个很有意义的研究课题。以事实和概念类知识为实验材料,三个实验采用经典范式探讨了复杂意义条件下的提取失败后的学习效果。结果显示仅在尝试提取事实类题目失败后,促进了知识的保持和迁移;在迁移成绩上延时反馈优于即时反馈的效果。表明尝试提取复杂材料的信息失败后,知识的类型和反馈的时机决定了学习效果。