Assessing emotional processing difficulties in normotensive individuals with high and isolated blood pressure elevations

This study examined the effect of sense modality (auditory/visual) on emotional dampening (reduced responsiveness to emotions with elevation in blood pressure). Fifty‐six normotensive participants were assessed on tasks requiring labelling and matching of emotions in faces and voices. Based on median split of systolic and diastolic blood pressures (SBP and DBP, respectively), participants were divided into low BP, high BP and isolated BP groups. On emotion‐labelling tasks, analysis revealed reduced emotion recognition in the high BP than the low BP group. On emotion‐matching tasks, reduced emotion recognition was noted in high and also isolated BP group as compared to low BP group for the task that required matching a visual target with one of the four auditory distractors. Our findings show for the first time that even isolated elevations in either SBP or DBP may result in emotional dampening. Furthermore, the study highlights that the emotional dampening effect generalises to explicit processing (labelling) of emotional information in both faces and voices—and that these effects tentatively occur during more pragmatic and covert (matching) emotion recognition processes too. These findings require replication in clinical hypertensives.     

Effects of auditory rhythm on movement accuracy in dance performance

The present study addresses the impact of the rhythmic complexity of music on the accuracy of dance performance. This study examined the effects of different levels of auditory syncopation on the execution of a dance sequence by trained dancers and exercisers (i.e., nondancers). It was hypothesized that nondancers would make more errors in synchronizing movements with moderately and highly syncopated rhythms while no performance degradation would manifest among trained dancers. Participants performed a dance sequence synchronized with three different rhythm tracks that were regular, moderately syncopated, and highly syncopated. We found significant performance degradation when comparing conditions of no syncopation vs. high syncopation for both trained dancers (p = .002) and nondancers (p = .001). Dancers and nondancers did not differ in how they managed to execute the task with increasing levels of syncopation (p = .384). The pattern of difference between trained dancers and nondancers was similar across the No Syncop and Highly Syncop conditions. The present findings may have marked implications for practitioners given that the tasks employed were analogous to those frequently observed in real-life dance settings.     

威胁性刺激注意偏向的时间进程

注意偏向各成分间关系及发生时间进程尚存争议。本研究以情绪图片为刺激,采用类别判断任务,通过眼动技术探讨正常个体对威胁性刺激注意偏向的时间进程。结果显示,(1)向左的首次眼跳概率高于向右,而潜伏期短于向右,存在左侧偏向;(2)注意回避发生在250ms以内,解除锁定困难发生在400ms之后;(3)注意偏向影响类别判断过程。结果表明,注意回避与左侧偏向在威胁性刺激注意偏向形成早期存在相互作用,且比解除锁定困难更早发生。     

无意识情绪研究的新方向

首先介绍关于“无意识情绪”的两种概念。接着介绍可较好地对该两类无意识情绪概念进行整合的无意识情绪信息加工模型--Wiens模型(Wiens & Öhman, 2007), 分析了Wiens模型中“刺激聚焦途径”与“体验聚焦途径”两条途径下的无意识情绪的基本观点、相关实证研究、分别面临的研究难题或受到的质疑, 及不同途径下无意识情绪的本质。在此基础上指出, 传统情绪理论下情绪的意识属性或可与Wiens模型中体验聚焦途径下情绪的无意识属性互为补充, 相辅相成; 无意识情绪研究的新方向是体验聚焦途径。最后, 对未来研究提出了展望。     

Asymmetrical retention functions for sequences of light flashes or tone bursts in the rat

In Experiment 1, rats were trained in a symbolic delayed matching-to-sample task to discriminate sample stimuli that consisted of sequences of magazine light flashes. The intertrial interval was illuminated by the houselight for Group Light, and it was dark for Group Dark. Retention functions exhibited a choose-many response bias when the delay interval was illuminated by the houselight in both groups, and no consistent response bias when the delay interval was dark. In Experiment 2, rats were trained to discriminate sample stimuli that consisted of sequences of tone bursts. During delay testing, a different tone (i.e., different frequency and location than the sample tone) was present or absent during the delay interval. The retention functions exhibited a significant choose-many bias when tone was present during the delay and a choose-few bias when tone was absent. Asymmetrical retention functions for tone burst and light flash sequences are due to the similarity between the stimulus conditions of the delay interval and the modality of the sequential event being discriminated. These results are consistent with an instructional ambiguity explanation of response biases in memory for number.     

未来取向应对的双阶段序列模型及其时间透视机制

最近的研究表明, 未来取向应对对于应激管理起着不可忽视的重要作用。但预先应对和预防应对的关系及其作用机制, 一直是困扰应对研究者的重要问题。我们的前期工作显示, 序列模型比平行模型能更好地表征预先应对和预防应对的内在关系, 时间透视比威胁知觉更能解释预防应对的前因。本项目首次以时间知觉和内隐态度为切入点, 探索未来取向应对机制的理论模型。研究内容拟包括：(1)以大学生就业为情境, 构建未来取向应对的双阶段序列模型; (2)以大学生入学适应为情境, 用内隐认知充实和验证未来取向应对的序列模型; (3)用时间折扣模型的任务范式, 探讨未来取向应对不同阶段的时间透视机制：(4)用威胁性和中性的阈下面孔作情绪启动, 验证未来取向应对不同阶段的时间透视机制。本研究为发掘预先应对和预防应对的关系及其内在机制, 及基于未来取向应对的干预在心理健康和教育领域的应用奠定了基础。     

The hidden persuaders break into the tired brain

There is a long-lasting debate on whether subliminal advertising actually works. In this context there are some studies suggesting that subjects’ motivation is a crucial point. Karremans et al. [Karremans, J. C., Stroebe, W., & Claus, J. (2006). Beyond Vicary’s fantasies: The impact of subliminal priming and brand choice. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 42, 792-798] showed that subjects were influenced in their intention to drink a specific brand of soft drink by a subliminally presented brand prime, but only if they were thirsty. In the present study, we adapted their paradigm to the concept of ‘concentration’ and embedded the subliminal presentation of a brand logo into a computer game. Actual subsequent consumption of dextrose pills (of the presented or a not presented brand) was measured dependent on the level of participants’ tiredness and the subliminally presented logo. We found the same pattern as Karremans et al. (2006): only tired participants consumed more of the subliminally presented than the not presented brand. Therefore, the findings confirm that subjects are influenced by subliminally presented stimuli if these stimuli are need-related and if subjects are in the matching motivational state.     

单侧化准备电位的含义和应用

单侧化准备电位（Lateralized readiness potential, LRP）是指在随意运动中,反应效应器方位所对应的对侧大脑皮层出现的准备电位。LRP分析的关键是确定启动时间点。LRP可以揭示刺激-反应不同阶段的认知加工时间特性。可以从反应准备的抽象性或具体性以及大脑控制运动输出的“中枢”机制或“外周”机制这两个思路去验证LRP。LRP在阈下知觉和内隐学习、运动准备和反应执行、西蒙效应等方面的认知心理学研究以及新兴的脑-机界面工程心理学研究得到了广泛的应用,但LRP的应用存在着某些限制因素,如：脑电干扰、测量的低信噪比和其本身对反应效应器的要求等     

Response suppression by visual stimuli paired with postsession d-amphetamine injections in the pigeon

Responding of pigeons, maintained under a fixed-interval 3-minute schedule of food presentation, was decreased on days that the color of the lights illuminating the food magazine was changed and d-amphetamine (1.0 mg/kg, i.m.) was injected after the session. Responding was not decreased by keylight color changes paired with postsession d-amphetamine or by postsession injections of saline. Administration of pentobarbital (3.0 to 5.6 mg/kg), but not d-amphetamine (.3 to 3.0 mg/kg), before the session increased rates of responding suppressed by drug-paired magazine lights. Responding maintained under a fixed-ratio 30-response schedule was not decreased when differently colored magazine lights were paired with a low (.3 mg/kg) postsession dose of d-amphetamine; with high (3.0 mg/kg) postsession doses, however, responding was completely suppressed after two pairings. The effects of pairing magazine stimuli with an intermediate (1.0 mg/kg) postsession dose of d-amphetamine depended upon the magnitude of prior postsession doses. After being paired with a low dose, stimuli paired with 1.0 mg/kg did not suppress responding. After being paired with a high dose, stimuli paired with 1.0 mg/kg completely suppressed responding. The suppression of food-maintained responding by stimuli paired with postsession drug administration depends upon both behavioral and pharmacological variables.     

Attention in the pigeon: a reevaluation

During training sessions, pigeons were successively exposed to compounds consisting of a white triangle on a red background and a white circle on a green background. Key pecking intermittently produced grain reinforcers in the presence of one form-color compound. Once key pecking was confined to the compound associated with reinforcement, the elements—red, green, triangle, and circle—were presented during a test in which no reinforcement was available. Each bird pecked nearly exclusively in the presence of the color previously associated with reinforcement, a result that might be interpreted as indicating that the subjects had attended to color, but not form during training. Pecking was next reinforced when either the triangle or the circle was present. Pecking in the presence of the form previously associated with reinforcement was acquired more rapidly. This result suggests that the birds had learned about the forms during training, and that conclusions about attention based on the lack of differential pecking in the nonreinforcement test may not be appropriate.