Effect of post-encoding emotion on recollection and familiarity for pictures

Although prior studies have examined the effect of post-encoding emotional arousal on recognition memory for words, it is unknown whether the enhancement effect observed on words generalizes to pictures. Furthermore, prior studies using words have showed that the effect of emotional arousal can be modulated by stimuli valence and delay in emotion induction, but it is unclear whether such modulation can extend to pictures and whether other factors such as encoding method (incidental vs. intentional encoding) can be modulatory. Five experiments were conducted to answer these questions. In Experiment 1, participants encoded a list of neutral and negative pictures and then watched a 3-min neutral or negative video. The delayed test showed that negative arousal impaired recollection regardless of picture valence but had no effect on familiarity. Experiment 2 replicated the above findings. Experiment 3 was similar to Experiment 1 except that participants watched a 3-min neutral, negative, or positive video and conducted free recall before the recognition test. Unlike the prior two experiments, the impairment effect of negative arousal disappeared. Experiment 4, where the free recall task was eliminated, replicated the results from Experiment 3. Experiment 5 replicated Experiments 1 and 2 and further showed that the impairment effects of negative arousal could be modulated by delay in emotion induction but not by encoding method or stimuli valence. Taken together, the current study suggests that the enhancement effect observed on words may not generalize to pictures.     

The effect of feedback on children’s metacognitive judgments: a heuristic account

In three experiments, we investigated whether the feedback effect on the accuracy of children’s metacognitive judgments results from an improvement in monitoring processes or the use of the Anchoring-and-Adjustment heuristic. Experiment 1 revealed that adding feedback increased the accuracy of young children’s (aged 4, 6, and 8 years) memory prediction. In Experiment 2, the influence of an external anchor on children’s metacognitive judgment was established. Finally, in Experiment 3, two memory tasks that differed in terms of difficulty were administered. Participants were randomly assigned to an anchoring (high/low/no anchor) and a feedback (feedback/no feedback) condition. Results demonstrated that children in the feedback condition adjusted their predictions toward the feedback, regardless of the task’s difficulty. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that external information provided by feedback is used as an anchor for judgment. This interpretation is strengthened by the correlation found between the two scores computed to assess participants’ susceptibility to anchoring and feedback effects, which indicates that children who are more sensitive to the anchoring effect are also more sensitive to the feedback effect.     

Effects of student pairing and public review on physical activity during school recess

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of student pairing and feedback during recess on children's step counts. During baseline, participants wore a sealed pedometer during recess. During intervention, we paired participants with higher step counts with participants with lower step counts. We encouraged teams to compete for the highest step count each day and provided feedback on their performance during each recess session. Results showed a large mean increase in step count from baseline to intervention. These results suggest that children's steps during recess can be increased with a simple and cost‐effective intervention.     

Do kinematic metrics of walking balance adapt to perturbed optical flow?

Visual (i.e., optical flow) perturbations can be used to study balance control and balance deficits. However, it remains unclear whether walking balance control adapts to such perturbations over time. Our purpose was to investigate the propensity for visuomotor adaptation in walking balance control using prolonged exposure to optical flow perturbations. Ten subjects (age: 25.4 ± 3.8 years) walked on a treadmill while watching a speed-matched virtual hallway with and without continuous mediolateral optical flow perturbations of three different amplitudes. Each of three perturbation trials consisted of 8 min of prolonged exposure followed by 1 min of unperturbed walking. Using 3D motion capture, we analyzed changes in foot placement kinematics and mediolateral sacrum motion. At their onset, perturbations elicited wider and shorter steps, alluding to a more cautious, general anticipatory balance control strategy. As perturbations continued, foot placement tended toward values seen during unperturbed walking while step width variability and mediolateral sacrum motion concurrently increased. Our findings suggest that subjects progressively shifted from a general anticipatory balance control strategy to a reactive, task-specific strategy using step-to-step adjustments. Prolonged exposure to optical flow perturbations may have clinical utility to reinforce reactive, task-specific balance control through training.     

4～6岁幼儿经济博弈中的信任行为及其影响因素

本研究通过两个实验考察幼儿是否在博弈任务中表现出对陌生人的信任行为,同时考察可能对幼儿的信任产生影响的因素,包括个体认知因素(观点采择)和环境因素(负性反馈和代际传递)。研究对189名4~6岁幼儿及其家长进行多种任务的测量。实验一通过修订Evans和Krugger(2011)的信任博弈任务,考察幼儿在匿名信任博弈中的信任行为,结果发现与4岁幼儿相比,6岁幼儿对他人的信任更低;实验二考察了幼儿信任的影响因素,结果发现,幼儿在得到负性反馈结果后再次进行信任博弈任务时,他们对他人的信任比前次有所降低,6岁幼儿对他人返还数量的预期比4岁幼儿下降程度更大;6岁幼儿的信任行为(第一次给出意愿)与观点采择能力显著相关;6岁幼儿的信任水平与家长的信任水平显著相关。     

情绪感染的发生机制

原始性情绪感染理论认为, 情绪感染是一个“情绪觉察-无意识模仿-生理反馈-情绪体验”的过程, 情绪感染是一个由生理诱发情绪的过程。早在1884年, 詹姆士和兰格就提出了情绪外周学说, 同样描述了从身体变化到情绪变化的关系路径, 但没有描述从刺激事件到外周身体变化的发生机制。对情绪感染的发生机制的研究能揭示这一“自下而上”的情绪产生机制。研究选取有效大学生被试62名, 参与下列研究：(1) 在眼动实验中使用情绪图片作为感官情绪信息, 以考察觉察者的情绪觉察水平。(2) 在生物反馈实验中, 使用仿真课堂教学视频作为感官情绪信息, 以考察觉察者的无意识模仿水平和生理反馈水平。使用路径分析证实了情绪感染的路径机制, 在真实情境的诱发下, 这种通过生理唤醒而诱发情绪的机制是可能的。     

Improving judgmental forecasts with judgmental bootstrapping and task feedback support

This study examines the utility of two widely advocated methods for supporting judgmental forecasts—providing task feedback and providing judgmental bootstrapping support. In a simulated laboratory based experiment that focused on producing composite sales forecasts from three individual components, we compared the effectiveness of these two methods in improving final judgmental forecasts. In the presence of cognitive feedback task, feedback led to better forecasts than providing judgmental bootstrap forecasts. Simply providing bootstrap forecasts was of no additional benefit over a control condition. This was true in terms of the Brunswik Lens model measures of achievement, knowledge, and consistency, and in terms of forecast accuracy. This occurred both in stable environments and when special events (unusual one‐time events requiring adjustments to the forecasts) arose. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Learning in the brain–computer interface: insights about degrees of freedom and degeneracy from a landscape model of motor learning

In this paper, we examine the role of degrees of freedom and their degeneracy in learning in the brain–computer interface paradigm. Though the traditional notion of degrees of freedom in motor learning gave emphasis to muscle and joint activity, the broader concept of dimensions of behavior is relevant to brain–computer interface learning where there is no muscle activity. The role of degeneracy in the dimensions of brain activity is proposed to enhance learning through robustness to stability loss and adaptability in the search for new stable states. Principles for the application of augmented information for learning to coordinate and control the degenerate degrees of freedom in the brain–computer interface are outlined.