A response binding effect in visual short-term memory

The current study aimed to investigate the effect of action on the preservation of stored feature bindings. Prior research suggests that stimuli presented after a memory array can disrupt the feature bindings of memory array items. Here, we conducted three experiments to examine whether response to targets disrupts feature bindings. Two of four letters (A, B, C, D) were presented in a memory array, and were followed by a second array containing a single target letter. After either identifying or localizing the target letter, participants were required to report the identity or location of the memory array items. There was a deficit in memory performance involving spatial repetition when participants were required to localize targets, and involving identity repetition when participants were required to identify targets. We conclude that response codes are fundamentally linked to stimulus representations, and can affect retrieval from visual working memory.     

The GROOP effect: groups mimic group actions

Research on perception–action links has focused on an interpersonal level, demonstrating effects of observing individual actions on performance. The present study investigated perception–action matching at an inter-group level. Pairs of participants responded to hand movements that were performed by two individuals who used one hand each or they responded to hand movements performed by an individual who used both hands. Apart from the difference in the number of observed agents, the observed hand movements were identical. If co-actors form action plans that specify the actions to be performed jointly, then participants should have a stronger tendency to mimic group actions than individual actions. Confirming this prediction, the results showed larger mimicry effects when groups responded to group actions than when groups responded to otherwise identical individual actions. This suggests that representations of joint tasks modulate automatic perception–action links and facilitate mimicry at an inter-group level.     

消费者决策分析的新视角:双通道心理账户理论

双通道心理账户是指人们在购买决策时具有一个双向通道的心理账户,其中一个通道记录了付款后消费者剩余的正效用,而另一个通道则记录了除去消费后付款带来的负效用.当消费与支付联结紧密时,会让人们更易想起支付的痛苦,从而降低消费快感,此时快乐弱化系数(α)大;当消费与支付联结较弱时,人们更不易记起支付的金额,从而在消费时拥有更多快乐,此时痛苦钝化系数(β)大.文章通过整理已有研究发现:先付款后消费的α系数更小,而先消费后付款的β系数更小;奢侈品的α系数更大,而必需品的β系数更大;吝啬者的α系数更大,而挥霍者的β系数更大.文章进一步阐述了影响消费者购买联结的心理机制是债务规避和负的时间偏好、支付贬值等.在此基础上为消费者做出购买决策以及商家选择促销方式提出了建议.同时也为消费者决策行为研究提供了新的视角和研究课题.     

Do equilibrium constraints modulate postural reaction when viewing imbalance?

Action observation and action execution are tightly coupled on a neurophysiological and a behavioral level, such that visually perceiving an action can contaminate simultaneous and subsequent action execution. More specifically, observing a model in postural disequilibrium was shown to induce an increase in observers' body sway. Here we reciprocally questioned the role of observers' motor system in the contagion process by comparing participants' body sway when watching displays of antero-posterior vs. lateral imbalance. Indeed, during upright standing, biomechanical constraints differ along the antero-posterior (A-P) and medio-lateral (M-L) axes; hence an impact of observers' postural constraints on the contagion response would result in different reactions to both types of stimuli. In response to the displays, we recorded greater area of center of pressure (CoP) displacement when watching forward/backward compared to left/right imbalance. In addition, after normalizing A-P and M-L CoP displacements by a control condition (fixation cross), A-P CoP path length when viewing forward imbalance tended to be higher than M-L CoP path length when viewing imbalance to the left or right. These results indicate that postural contagion is promoted when the display is compatible with observers' motor stabilization strategy which is mainly oriented along the A-P axis. In terms of clinical application, this study brings new indications for adaptation of observational training devices in rehabilitation programs.