Psychology and African-American women: Findings from applied research

The current applied research on African-American women is characterized by a limited focus on primarily poor and single mothers and comparative studies with white women. The resulting research ignores the diversity within African-American women generalizing from noncomparative or restrictive samples to all African-American women and provides narrowly focused and/or inappropriate research models in which to study the development of these women across the life span. This review focuses on some of this research as it relates to social context factors in African-American women's lives: social supports and parenting, work and self-esteem, gender role attitudes and marital life, and mental health. An examination of methodological problems and suggestions for future research is discussed.     

顿悟问题解决的心理机制的验证性研究

目前顿悟问题解决的心理机制主要存在两个有争议性的理论：进程监控理论和表征变化理论。现以非限制性的停车场问题为实验材料,检验顿悟问题解决的这两个心理机制。结果发现：（1）进程监控理论可解释顿悟被试的成绩优劣;（2）表征变化理论可对顿悟问题能否解决做出解释。     

Bringing the Organization into Organizational Research: An Examination of Academic Research Inside Organizations

One common suggestion for reducing the gap between research and practice is for academics to conduct more of their research in real organizational settings. However, there is considerable skepticism among academics about the willingness of organizations to open their doors to researchers, and among both academics and practitioners about the potential value of doing so. The present study examines how 141 successful academic research projects in real organizations proceeded from start to finish. Our results suggest that organizations may be more open to academic research than is commonly believed, and that most researchers experience few problems with participating organizations. On the other hand, most of the examined projects were not heavily collaborative, and only half of the researchers maintained organizational contact after the research was completed. Based on our findings, we offer suggestions for researchers wishing to do organizational research as well as for their organizational partners.     

Semantic categorization and event-related potentials

The N400 component of the event-related brain potential (ERP) was examined by presenting subjects with a series of words belonging to the same category and a series of declarative sentences. Half of the word series ended with a semantically unrelated word, while half of the sentences ended with a semantically inappropriate word. In the first experiment, subjects were instructed to read the word series and sentences, while in the second experiment they were instructed to indicate whether the word series or sentences ended appropriately or not with a button-press response. Word series and sentences with semantically incongruous endings produced a robust negative component at 400 msec followed by a positive-going wave for both the reading and decision tasks. When the subjects were required to categorize the word series and sentences endings, the negative component was followed by a robust P3 in both conditions. Analysis of scalp amplitude distributions for each task taken in conjunction with previous findings suggests that the semantically induced N400 component is most likely a "generic" N2. The relationship between the N2, N400, and P3 is discussed.     

A physiologically motivated model for change detection in audition

Burbeck & Luce (Perception & Psychophysics, 1982, 32 (2), 117–133) argue that their simple reaction time data is best accounted for by the parallel operation of a change and a level detector. Here a specific example of such a compound model is tested. The primary focus is on the change detector which is modeled after a post inhibitory rebound (PIR) neuron. PIR neurons are plausible candidates for the “off” units found throughout the auditory system. The level detector is assumed to be a simple leaky integrator. Computer simulations of the compound model are compared to simple reaction time data. The results, although not without some deficiencies, support the model.     

Spouse involvement and a possible long-term follow-up trap in weight loss

The present study was conducted to determine if husband attendance at treatment sessions and participation in behavioral contracting would produce greater weight losses than two other levels of spouse involvement. The three treatment groups investigated did not significantly differ at post-treatment but by 1-yr follow-up female Ss who attended treatment sessions alone and contracted with the counselor (HA) lost significantly more weight than women who attended sessions with their husbands and also contracted with the counselor (HNC). The Ss who attended sessions with their husbands and contracted with them (HC) did not significantly differ from Ss in the other two conditions. The total amount lost by Ss in the HA, HNC and HC conditions by 1-yr follow-up was 16.4, 4.4 and 15.5 lb, respectively. The study was also conducted to collect preliminary data about procedures Ss used during long-term follow-up to ascertain if weight losses during follow-up could be attributed to the behavioral weight-loss techniques learned during the treatment program. At all follow-up periods, many Ss reported using behavioral weight-loss techniques but 4 of the 36 Ss (11.1%) at 1-yr follow-up, 15 of the 23 (65.2%) and 24 of the 25 (96.0%) who responded, respectively, at 3- and 4-yr follow-up had used other weight-loss programs or methods. A possible confound for follow-up data was identified and suggestions for future research were presented.     

论现代高科技在中药复方研究中的应用

中药复方是中医临床治疗的重要方法。由于具有多组分、多环节协同作用的特色,因此在某些方面可能优于以单一成分为主的西药。但是这一特点也增加了对其治疗机理进行研究的难度,从而影响到中医药的进一步发展和走向世界。本文认为应用现代高新技术是中医复方研究和发展的必由之路,但是在具体应用时应注意中医药本身所具有的独特的理论框架和思路,不能拘泥于西药药用植物的研究思路和方法。     

走出中医药学科研的误区

本文基于对中医药学独到的文化本质的分析,清理了近年某些具有典型意义的中医药学科研现象,从认识误区,判断误区和设计误区三个层次,对中医药学科研失误问题进行了论述,并指出导致这种失误的根本原因在于对中医药学缺少文化意识,对中医学的特殊本质没有清醒和深刻的理解,从而错误地把不属于科学范畴的不能实证的文化信箱     

Evoked potential and visual half-field evidence for task-dependent cerebral asymmetries in congenitally deaf adults

Evoked potentials to laterally presented stimuli were collected from left and right tempero-parietal sites during performance of two visual half-field tasks, lexical decision, and line orientation discrimination. Reaction time and accuracy data were simultaneously collected. The behavioral data indicated the development of a right field advantage for the lexical decision task as a function of practice. A principal components analysis revealed three independent evoked potential components which displayed task-dependent hemispheric asymmetries. Multiple regression analyses revealed that visual half-field asymmetries in response accuracy were closely related to hemispheric asymmetries on several independent evoked response components. Subject's scores on independent tests of verbal reasoning and spatial relations were also found to be closely related to hemispheric asymmetry on several independent evoked response components. These data support a multidimensional concept of cerebral specialization. They also suggest that visual field asymmetries reflect the confluence of several underlying processes which have independent lateralization distributions across the population. In general, the results underscore the need for further research on the nature of the relationship between cerebral and perceptual asymmetries.