Body language reading of emotion in schizophrenia: Associations with symptoms and functional outcome

Our aim was to explore how body language reading of emotion relates to neurocognition, symptoms and functional outcome in schizophrenia. Fifty‐four individuals with schizophrenia and eighty‐four healthy controls participated in the study. Emotion perception was assessed with a point‐light display (PLD) task, the Emotion in Biological Motion (EmoBio) test, neurocognition was measured with the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB), and functioning was indexed by one measure of functional capacity and by one self‐report questionnaire. Clinical symptoms were assessed with a five factor Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) symptoms model. Participants with schizophrenia had impaired body language reading of emotions compared to healthy controls (Cohen's d = 0.69). In participants with schizophrenia, emotion perception was associated with neurocognition (r = 0.42), functional capacity (r = 0.27) and disorganization symptoms (r = –0.27). Mediation analyses showed that disorganization symptoms mediated the effects of emotion perception and neurocognition, respectively, on social functional capacity. These results suggest that in individuals with schizophrenia, reduced emotion perception from body movements has negative consequences for functional outcome, but that the effect is mediated through disorganization symptoms.     

Melting point depression method for determining the solid–liquid interfacial energy of metal elements: theoretical validation and updated compilation of data

Comparative analyses of the crystal nucleation method and the melting point depression (MPD) method for measuring the solid–liquid interface energy γ_sl are carried out. The MPD method is found more reliable and has several advantages from experiment through data analysis to theoretical generalisation. The MPD data in use, all reported before the 1970s, are updated with the derived γ_sl re-compiled. Finally, by invoking a melting model that we developed recently, an equation for calculating γ_sl is proposed on basis of the melting point depression method.     

Switching memory perspective

The perspective in which memories were spontaneously recalled, field (original perspective) or observer (see oneself in the memory), was examined for both recent and remote memories. Recent memories were dominated by field perspective whilst remote memories were dominated by observer perspective. Further, field memories contained reliably more episodic detail than observer memories. After a 1-week interval, the same memories were recalled again but with a switched memory perspective. Switching from an observer to a field perspective did not reliably increase the amount of episodic details in a memory. Switching from field to observer perspective did, however, reliably reduce the number of episodic details. These findings suggest that memories may be represented in long-term memory with a fixed perspective, either field or observer, which can be temporarily altered sometimes changing the nature of a memory, i.e. how much detail remains accessible.     

风险决策的概率权重偏差：心理机制与优化策略

概率权重偏差指人对事件发生的主观概率估计与客观概率的差异。它影响投资、投保、医患沟通等方面。“重结果轻概率”的非补偿性策略和参照点诱发的情绪波动会引发概率权重偏差; 改变“概率”的描述形式、“结果”的情绪体验、“损益”的参照点、风险的心理距离等可调整权重偏差、优化决策。未来需深究权重偏差的适用情境、机制关联及偏差辨别等问题。     

Hume on the Standard of Virtue

Among those sympathetic to Hume'smoral philosophy, a general consensus hasemerged that his first work on the topic,A Treatise of Human Nature, is his best. Hislater work, An Enquiry Concerning thePrinciples of Morals, is regarded as scaleddown in both scope and ambition. In contrastto this standard view, I argue that Hume'slater work offers a more sophisticated theoryof moral evaluation. I begin by reviewing theTreatise theory of moral evaluation tohighlight the reasons why commentators find socompelling Hume's account of the corrections wemake to our moral sentiments. The method isendorsed by philosophers such as Henry DavidAiken and Annette C. Baier because, theyallege, it shows that moral sentiments reflecta process of judgment that includes thepossibility of corrigibility and ofjustification. But Hume's method of correctionfalls short and does not establish why thesentiments conforming to the standard of virtueshould count as moral judgments. In the secondEnquiry, Hume lays out a different set ofcriteria, including not only the need forcertain virtues of good judgment but attentionto the particular cultural and historicalorigins of the norms governing the virtues ofgood judgment. Hume's attention to diversityin evaluative outlook in his more matureposition takes seriously the relation betweenmoral authority and public debate.     

The effects of warned loss magnitude and timeout duration on human avoidance behavior

This study experimentally investigated the determinants of avoidance behavior when participants are forewarned of aversive outcomes. The effects of 3 variables on avoidance behavior were examined: point-loss amount (5 levels, from 20 to 100 points), duration of timeout from positive reinforcement (5 levels, 20 to 100 s), and 3 predictive accuracy levels (100%, 50%, and 0%) of warning stimuli. Twelve participants completed 3 sessions, each comprising 25 discrete trials, that differed in predictive accuracy level. Throughout a session, a participant engaged in button press responses that were reinforced by points under a conjunctive fixed-ratio fixed-interval schedule. During each trial, a warning stimulus that indicated a loss amount and a timeout duration was presented. If the participant pressed the avoidance button, then the timeout started, otherwise the loss occurred. The trial ended with termination of timeout or an occurrence of the loss. Results showed that avoidance responses increased when the loss amount increased and decreased when the timeout duration increased. The frequency of avoidance responses was lowest when the predictive accuracy of warning stimuli was 0%. These findings demonstrated that this experimental procedure could be useful for investigating human avoidance behavior outside the laboratory.     

Bayesian change-point analysis reveals developmental change in a classic theory of mind task

Although learning and development reflect changes situated in an individual brain, most discussions of behavioral change are based on the evidence of group averages. Our reliance on group-averaged data creates a dilemma. On the one hand, we need to use traditional inferential statistics. On the other hand, group averages are highly ambiguous when we need to understand change in the individual; the average pattern of change may characterize all, some, or none of the individuals in the group. Here we present a new method for statistically characterizing developmental change in each individual child we study. Using false-belief tasks, fifty-two children in two cohorts were repeatedly tested for varying lengths of time between 3 and 5 years of age. Using a novel Bayesian change point analysis, we determined both the presence and—just as importantly—the absence of change in individual longitudinal cumulative records. Whenever the analysis supports a change conclusion, it identifies in that child’s record the most likely point at which change occurred. Results show striking variability in patterns of change and stability across individual children. We then group the individuals by their various patterns of change or no change. The resulting patterns provide scarce support for sudden changes in competence and shed new light on the concepts of “passing” and “failing” in developmental studies.     

肿瘤疫苗治疗肿瘤的前景

肿瘤疫苗的发展已经历了一个多世纪,20世纪50年代,人们开始了自体肿瘤疫苗的研究.使肿瘤疫苗(主动性免疫治疗)成为继手术、放疗、化疗之后的肿瘤治疗方法.肿瘤疫苗作为主动特异性免疫治疗,在临床中起到越来越重要的作用,人们开始尝试利用多种方法制备肿瘤疫苗并利用其促进机体免疫应答,从整体细胞,分子水平调控机体对肿瘤的免疫.目前肿瘤疫苗的研制已取得很大进展,给人类战胜肿瘤提供很大希望.     

Asking ‘why’ still increases intrusions: A response to Ayduk and Kross (2008)

In their response piece, Ayduk and Kross (Ayduk, O., & Kross, E. (2008). Asking ‘why’ from a distance facilitates emotional processing: a reanalysis of Wimalaweera and Moulds (2008). Behaviour Research and Therapy) raised a number of interesting and important points regarding the findings reported in our recently published paper (Wimalaweera, S., & Moulds, M.L. (2008). Processing memories of anger-eliciting events: the effect of asking ‘why’ from a distance. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 46, 402-409.). Their additional analyses of our dataset resulted in a thought-provoking response to our paper. We are grateful for their interest in and consideration of our findings, and for the opportunity to respond to their concerns. We concur with many of the points that they raised. Nonetheless, a number of their procedures and interpretations warrant comment and clarification. Most critically, we correct what appears to be a fundamental misunderstanding of our argument that encouraging distanced-why recall facilitates rather than results in avoidance. In so doing, we address their repeated criticism that the avoidance subscale of the Impact of Event Scale was omitted from the original analyses. Second, we address the rationale for the lack of consistency in the inclusion of all of the experimental conditions in the additional analyses, particularly in light of the theoretical relevance of the immersed-what condition to elucidating the processes that facilitate emotional processing. We call for a consistent analytic strategy, emphasize the need for replication with larger samples, and urge caution in the extrapolation of experimental findings to clinical recommendations.     

Genetic and environmental transactions underlying educational attainment

This report used a population-representative longitudinal twin study with two birth cohorts to explore the association between intelligence and education by understanding how genetic and environmental influences on intelligence moderate genetic and environmental influences on school grades and educational attainment. Nonshared environmental influences on grades were strong when IQ was low, but decreased across the range of IQ. Shared environmental influences common to age 24 educational attainment and age 17 IQ were strong when IQ was low, but genetic influences common to IQ and education were strong when IQ was high. These results suggest that the causal mechanisms linking educational variables with intelligence differ for people with different levels of intelligence.