On the role of attention in generating explicit awareness of contingent relations: evidence from spatial priming

In a series of four experiments, we examine the hypothesis that selective attention is crucial for the generation of conscious knowledge of contingency information. We investigated this question using a spatial priming task in which participants were required to localize a target letter in a probe display. In Experiment 1, participants kept track of the frequency with which the predictive letter in the prime appeared in various locations. This manipulation had a negligible impact on contingency awareness. Subsequent experiments requiring participants to attend to features (color, location) of the predictive letter increased contingency awareness somewhat, but there remained a large proportion of individuals who remained unaware of the strong contingency. Together the results of our experiments suggest that the construct of attention does not fully capture the processes that lead to contingency awareness, and suggest a critical role for bottom-up feature integration in explicit contingency learning.     

Forecasting good or bad behaviour: A non‐transparent test of contrastive responses to cultural cues

Bicultural individuals vary in the degree to which their two cultural identities are integrated – Bicultural Identity Integration (BII). Among Asian‐Americans, for example, some experience their Asian and American sides as integrated (high BII) whereas others experience the two as divided (low BII). Past research on social judgement found that individual differences in BII affect the way biculturals respond to cultural cues or norms in their situation. Asian‐Americans with low BII tend to contrast to the cultural norm (e.g. they exhibit typically American judgements when in Asian cultural situations) rather than assimilate to them, a response observed more among high BII individuals (e.g., they exhibit typically Asian judgements when in Asian cultural situations). Research has interpreted the contrastive response as reflecting implicit identity motives, yet past studies used measures that make cultural differences salient. Conscious awareness of the experimental hypothesis could elicit contrastive responses. The present research assessed forecasts of others' behaviour in which cultural group differences are less obvious: Asians, compared to Westerners, forecast more positive behaviours from others. In three experiments with Asian‐Americans, we found the contrastive response by low BII individuals persisted. They made more positive forecasts after exposure to American versus Asian cultural cues. This suggests that the moderating role of BII on responses to cultural cues is not a matter of demand characteristics or limited to stereotypical cultural differences. Implications for bicultural identity, implicit processes, and organizational behaviour are discussed.     

The revised perceived locus of causality in physical education scale: Psychometric evaluation among youth

Objectives

Given instances of less than optimal internal consistency levels of the Perceived Locus of Causality (PLOC) scale when applied to school-based physical education (PE), the aim of the study was to examine the psychometrics of a revised PLOC instrument for use in PE.

Design

A cross-sectional study in which self-report data on behavioral regulations, perceived autonomy support by the PE teacher, and subjective vitality were collected from 1729 students in relation to their PE participation at the elementary school (5th and 6th grade), middle school, and high school levels, including boys and girls.

Results

The revised instrument (PLOC-R) demonstrated satisfactory levels of internal consistency; a sound factor structure; evidence in support of a simplex-like structure; configural, metric, strong, and strict measurement invariance across boys and girls, students who participate or not in out-of-school sport activities, and across the three school grade levels; and nomological validity.

Conclusions

Initial evidence has emerged in favor of the PLOC-R as a scale appropriate for use with 5th and 6th grade elementary, middle school, and high school students to measure the degree of self-determined motivation for participation in compulsory school-based physical education classes.     

Influences on employee perceptions of organizational work–life support: Signals and resources

This study examined predictors of employee perceptions of organizational work–life support. Using organizational support theory and conservation of resources theory, we reasoned that workplace demands and resources shape employees' perceptions of work–life support through two mechanisms: signaling that the organization cares about their work–life balance and helping them develop and conserve resources needed to meet work and nonwork responsibilities. Consistent with our hypotheses, we found that higher demands (work hours and work overload) were associated with reduced perceptions that the organization was supportive of work–life integration. Resources (job security, fit between employees' needs and the flexible work options available to them, supervisor support and work group support) were positively associated with perceptions of organizational work–life support. The results of this study urge further scholarly attention to work-based demands and resources as predictors of perceived organizational work–life support and yield implications for managerial practice.     

Hierarchy and scope of planning in subject–verb agreement production

Two subject–verb agreement error elicitation studies tested the hierarchical feature-passing account of agreement computation in production and three timing-based alternatives: linear distance to the head noun, semantic integration, and a combined effect of both (a scope of planning account). In Experiment 1, participants completed subject noun phrase (NP) stimuli consisting of a head NP followed by two prepositional phrase (PP) modifiers, where the first PP modified the first NP, and the second PP modified one of the two preceding NPs. Semantic integration between the head noun and the local noun within each PP was held constant across structures. The mismatch error pattern showed an effect of linear distance to the head noun and no influence of hierarchical distance. In Experiment 2, participants completed NP PP PP stimuli in which both PPs modified the head noun, and both the order of the two PPs and the local nouns’ degree of semantic integration with the head noun were varied. The pattern of mismatch errors reflected a combination of semantic integration and linear distance to the head noun. These studies indicate that agreement processes are strongly constrained by grammatical-level scope of planning, with local nouns planned closer to the head having a greater chance of interfering with agreement computation.     

Religion and suicide acceptability: a cross-national analysis

Four perspectives (moral community thesis, religious integration, religious commitment, and social networks) guide the selection of variables in this study. Data are from the combined World Values/European Values Surveys for 2000 (50,547 individuals nested in 56 nations). The results of a multivariate hierarchical linear model support all four perspectives. Persons residing in nations with relatively high levels of religiosity, who are affiliated with one of four major faiths, are religiously committed, and are engaged with a religious network are found to be lower in suicide acceptability. The religious integration perspective, in particular, is empirically supported; affiliation with Islam is associated with low suicide acceptability. The findings provide strong support for an integrated model and demonstrate the usefulness of the moral community thesis in understanding suicide acceptability.     

图形型归纳推理的神经机制:一项fMRI研究

利用fMRI脑成像技术探讨图形型归纳推理的神经机制。设计了一种由图形形状和条纹方向描述的简单几何图形组成的归纳推理任务,这种图形型任务与以往研究中常用的语句型归纳推理任务是同质的。根据两个图形共享特征数量的不同设计了两种实验任务:共享两个特征(2T)和共享一个特征(1T),以休息基线(Rest)作为控制任务。2T和1T任务均为归纳推理任务,但2T任务包含知觉特征整合成分,而1T任务不包括。结果发现:与控制任务相比,归纳推理任务在前额区(BA6、9、11、46、47)、尾状核、壳核和丘脑等脑区有显著激活,反映了"前额皮层-纹状体-丘脑"通路在图形型归纳推理中的重要作用;图形型归纳推理中的知觉信息整合与右侧额下回(BA47)、双侧尾状核头部、壳核等脑区有关。     

采用跨学科概念图推进中学生跨学科学业成就

为了检验跨学科概念图在跨学科知识整合中的作用,设计了跨学科概念图干预计划,以180名中学生为被试,采用实验组与控制组对比实验方法,探讨了跨学科概念图对跨学科学业成就的影响。结果表明:(1)跨学科概念图干预计划显著提高了实验组被试的跨学科学业成绩;(2)对于不同成就者而言,干预计划显著提高了中低成就者的跨学科学业成绩,而对高成就者跨学科学业成绩的影响不显著。这意味着跨学科概念图作为跨学科知识整合领域的智力适应工具能够有效提高学习者的跨学科学业成就,但是其对不同层次学习者跨学科学业成就的影响具有适应性差异。     

实现医学整合,满足门诊患者新需求——“一站式”多学科综合门诊

为了在门诊落实"一切以病人为中心"的服务理念,通过调查、了解病人的需求,改变传统的就医模式,将多学科整合,推出创新的"一站式"多学科综合门诊。改善了就诊流程,简化了就诊手续,对疑难杂症提供全方位、多学科综合诊疗,同时缩短患者就诊等候时间和多次往返各门诊的不便,减少就诊环节,实现医学整合,满足患者需求。     

从技术创新看负压封闭引流技术的发展

负压封闭引流技术(vacuumsealing drainage,VSD)是近几年来发展起来的一项新的创口引流技术,其操作方便,应用简单,在临床各个科室得到广泛应用和发展,作者介绍了这一新的引流技术的发展历史、技术原理及临床应用情况。并对负压封闭引流技术的创新特点和创新方法进行了简要论述及展望。