想象未来的认知加工成分及其脑网络

合理预期和想象未来事件或场景, 有利于个体做出适应性反应, 促进生存与发展。近年来, 研究者对想象未来的认知加工成分和神经机制进行了深入探讨, 提出了想象未来的相关概念和理论。我们首先概述了想象未来实验常用的思维采样范式和词语-线索范式, 接着介绍了想象未来的自我参照加工、心理场景构建等认知加工成分。此外, 特别介绍了想象未来的默认网络模型以及与之相关的其他大尺度脑网络, 并进一步提出了想象未来的脑网络研究框架。未来的研究可从想象未来的动态脑网络、复杂脑网络以及与疾病的关系等角度入手, 深入探究想象未来的神经机制。     

Never quite good enough: The paradox of sticky developmental relationships for elite university graduates

Drawing on the mentoring, education, and social psychology literatures, this longitudinal study examines how the persistence of developmental relationships from an elite graduate school influences subjective career outcomes during early career. Participants (n = 136) were surveyed about their developmental networks—a group of individuals who take an active interest in and action to advance a focal individual’s career—and subjective career outcomes over the 10 years (1996-2006) post graduation. Results show that although receiving mentoring from one’s entire developmental network was positively related to career-related self-efficacy and perceptions of career success, this was not the case for ties retained from graduate school. Continuing to receive mentoring support from developers from graduate school and further, from peers from graduate school, was negatively related to perceptions of career success. These findings offer insight into the dynamics and potentially negative consequences of developmental networks and highlight the significance of social comparison during early career.     

Automatic processing of pain: the change of implicit pain associations after psychotherapy

This study explores the utility of a pain IAT for the assessment of dysfunctional cognitive beliefs in chronic pain patients before and after a cognitive behaviour therapy. A patient group suffering from chronic pain (N=25) treated with a 4-week cognitive behavioural psychotherapy is compared with an untreated healthy control group (N=27) at two points in time. In addition, both groups completed a self-esteem questionnaire (Rosenberg-scale) and a self-esteem IAT. In the clinical group a questionnaire assessing self-reported pain cognitions was administered. The pain IAT was able to differentiate between chronic pain patients and healthy controls before the treatment. Most important, pain-related implicit associations could be shown to change over the course of treatment in the clinical group of chronic pain patients. Results provide first evidence for an application of the IAT in chronic pain research.     

The multi-level approach: a road map for couples therapy

This paper presents a multi-level framework and road map to guide the therapeutic process. Starting with the couple's reactive pattern, the multi-level approach first orients the therapist on how to create a "holding environment." It then suggests how the therapist, in collaboration with the couple, can proceed to explore interactional, sociocultural/ organizational, intrapsychic, and intergenerational processes that might be fueling the couple's dynamics. Central to this approach is the construct of the vulnerability cycle, a nexus of integration that helps the therapist stay anchored while moving through the many layers of therapeutic work. The overall goal is to help the partners move from reactivity to responsibility for their own feelings and behavior; from impasse to a greater ability to reflect, express feelings, listen, negotiate, and make choices about how to be in the relationship. This paper describes a range of concepts and interventions from basic to complex; it is intended as an organizational tool for practice and clinical training.     

An Integrative Approach to Somatoform Disorders Combining Interpersonal and Cognitive-behavioral Theory and Techniques

Data regarding the treatment of somatoform disorders suggest that the gains associated with current psychopharmacologic or psychotherapeutic treatments are modest at best. There have been a few moderately effective treatments for selected functional somatic syndromes, but patients who present with multi-system symptoms meeting criteria for the DSM-IV somatoform disorders are notoriously unresponsive to treatment. Experts in the field have advocated several approaches, including interpersonally oriented and cognitive-behavioral therapies, and have emphasized the importance of the provision of reassurance within the doctor-patient relationship. While each individual approach has merit, none is likely to be maximally efficacious as a stand-alone treatment. In this article we describe the theoretical underpinnings and technical aspects of a treatment for somatizing patients that integrates these three elements.     

Effects of Attention on the Strength of Lexical Influences on Speech Perception: Behavioral Experiments and Computational Mechanisms

The effects of lexical context on phonological processing are pervasive and there have been indications that such effects may be modulated by attention. However, attentional modulation in speech processing is neither well documented nor well understood. Experiment 1 demonstrated attentional modulation of lexical facilitation of speech sound recognition when task and critical stimuli were identical across attention conditions. We propose modulation of lexical activation as a neurophysiologically plausible computational mechanism that can account for this type of modulation. Contrary to the claims of critics, this mechanism can account for attentional modulation without violating the principle of interactive processing. Simulations of the interactive TRACE model extended to include two different ways of modulating lexical activation showed that each can account for attentional modulation of lexical feedback effects. Experiment 2 tested conflicting predictions from the two implementations and provided evidence that is consistent with bias input as the mechanism of attentional control of lexical activation.     

Relationships Among Religiousness,Spirituality, and Health for Individuals with Stroke

The current study evaluated the relationships among spiritual beliefs, religious practices, physical health, and mental health for individuals with stroke. A cross-sectional analysis of 63 individuals evaluated in outpatient settings, including 32 individuals with stroke and 31 healthy controls was conducted through administration of the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality (BMMRS) and the Medical Outcomes Scale-Short Form 36 (SF-36). For individuals with stroke, the SF-36 General Mental Health scale was significantly correlated with only the BMMRS Religious and Spiritual Coping scale (r = .43; p < .05). No other BMMRS factors were significantly correlated with SF-36 mental or physical health scales. Non-significant trends indicated spiritual factors were primarily related to mental versus physical health. This study suggests spiritual belief that a higher power will assist in coping with illness/disability is associated with better mental health following stroke, but neither religious nor spiritual factors are associated with physical health outcomes. The results are consistent with research that suggests that spiritual beliefs may protect individuals with stroke from experiencing emotional distress.     

Social psychology and social networks: Individuals and social systems

Social psychology and social network research are both centrally concerned with human sociality. Despite some historically significant interactions between the two, these areas of investigation have not been usefully deployed together in recent research endeavours. The present paper attempts to bring out some points of both theoretical and methodological contentions, to characterize the gap between them, to traverse briefly the trajectories of their historical development, and to provide some concrete instances of these differences. Intellectual resources available to Asian social psychology are reviewed, which may help bridge the gap between the two areas of research. We conclude by calling for a greater integration of social psychology and social network perspectives in future research.     

Who do students with mild disabilities nominate as cool in inclusive general education classrooms?

Examined the nominations that elementary students with mild disabilities made for peers they perceived as cool. The total sample was comprised of 948 students (496 girls, 452 boys) from the metropolitan Chicago area and North Carolina and included 107 (11.3%) students with mild disabilities. Overall, students with mild disabilities nominated prosocial and athletic peers who affiliate with students with mild disabilities. However, aggressive boys who are central in the social network were highly likely to view aggressive peers as cool. Results are discussed in relation to implications for social interventions for students with mild disabilities.     

Memory Maintenance

ABSTRACT— Change in the synaptic communication between neurons—known as synaptic plasticity—plays a key role in learning and memory. It is not yet clear, however, whether the properties of synaptic plasticity are sufficient to account for long-term-memory maintenance. Recent studies have revealed that synaptic plasticity can indeed persist for weeks or months, as might be expected of a long-term-memory mechanism. However, memories encoded by neural systems are not static; they continue to evolve as new learning occurs. Furthermore, neural-network modeling has shown that synapses must be able to reconfigure their connection strengths during new learning if old information is to be preserved. Recent tests confirm that synapses, once modified, retain their capacity for further modification, indicating that they can indeed operate in the manner predicted to be necessary for memory maintenance in a dynamic learning network.