Intelligence and neural efficiency: The influence of task content and sex on the brain–IQ relationship

In studying physiological correlates of human intelligence, new brain imaging techniques like positron emission tomography (PET) and electroencephalography (EEG) mapping methods focus on the level and topographical distribution of cortical activation. Actually, there is strong empirical evidence that more intelligent individuals display a more focused cortical activation during cognitive performance resulting in lower total brain activation than in less intelligent individuals (i.e., neural efficiency hypothesis). Former studies have used only single, homogeneous tasks and most of the studies have been performed using males. Therefore, here the influence of different task content and of sex on the relationship between intelligence and cortical activation has been tested. In a sample of 26 males and 25 females, we administered verbal, numerical, and figural versions of a well-known elementary cognitive task, the so-called Posner task. Our results suggest a comparatively low cortical activation in brighter as compared to less intelligent individuals but this expected neural efficiency pattern interacted with sex and task content: In the verbal Posner task, the females were more likely to produce cortical activation patterns in line with the neural efficiency hypothesis, whereas in the figural task, primarily the males displayed the expected inverse relationship between IQ and cortical activation.     

金钱激励在社会排斥影响不确定性决策中的调节作用

研究从金钱补偿的视角考察社会排斥对不确定性决策的影响以及金钱激励的调节作用。实验发现,有金钱激励时,被排斥者在爱荷华赌博任务(Iowa gambling task,IGT)中的行为分数(组块2和3的选牌净分数和总的盈利分数)显著高于社会接纳者,表现为风险规避; 在无金钱激励时,被排斥者在IGT任务中的行为分数(组块4和5的选牌净分数和总的盈利分数)显著低于被接纳者,表现为风险寻求。实验结果表明社会排斥对不确定性决策的影响受到金钱激励的调制。     

建议者面部宽高比对决策者建议采纳的影响

在建议采纳过程中,建议者面孔宽高比作为可靠性线索可能影响决策者的决策与判断。本研究通过3个实验来分析建议者面孔宽高比对决策者建议采纳的影响及其机制,并探讨了建议者性别与决策情境的调节作用。结果显示: (1) 相较于女性与低面孔宽高比建议者,男性高面孔宽高比建议者的建议被更低程度地采纳,建议者可靠性感知中介了这一过程。(2) 建议情境的情绪困难程度调节了上述关系,高情绪困难会削弱面孔宽高比对建议采纳的影响。     

基于人机互动的任务中断管理研究述评

科技的发展增加了人机互动中任务中断现象的发生,任务中断管理（Task Interruption Management, TIM）成为工作取得成功日益重要的部分。任务中断管理研究主要采用中断消极影响减少和中断价值评估两种范式,基于记忆的理论、多重资源管理理论和中断管理模型为任务中断管理提供了理论基础,在此基础上研究者发展出基于用户和基于环境的中断管理方法。未来研究需从关注中断的积极影响、内部中断、人的因素尤其是情感性和社会性因素入手加强任务中断管理研究。     

项目难度与分值对自定步调学习时间的影响

为了探讨项目难度与分值对自定步调学习时间的影响及学习时间分配的内在机制。实验1a和实验1b分别检验项目难度与分值对自定步调学习时间的影响,发现学习者倾向于将更多学习时间分配到困难或高分值的项目上;实验2设置”难1分项目-中5分项目-易5分项目”和“难1分项目-中1分项目-易5分项目”两种情境,在前者中发现难1分项目与中5分项目的自定步调学习时间显著多于易5分项目,后者中发现难1分项目的自定步调学习时间显著多于中1分项目和易5分项目,表明了学习者在自定步调学习中存在权衡过程。     

工作记忆广度与自我损耗的关系

以往研究表明,工作记忆能力高的个体在自我控制方面也表现得更好,通过考察工作记忆广度（working memory span, WMS）与自我损耗的关系,有助于揭示这种现象的内在机制。66名被试随机分为损耗组和控制组,采用自动化操作广度测验测量WMS。双任务实验中,任务一为情绪抑制任务,任务二为Stroop任务。结果发现,损耗组的Stroop效应明显高于控制组。进一步分析显示,损耗组中高WMS被试的自我损耗效应要强于低WMS被试,此结果表明：高WMS个体在自我控制任务中表现得更好并不是因为固有的自我控制能量水平更高,而是因为他们倾向于在自我控制过程中投入更多能量。     

Interaction of Perception and Action in Discrete and Continuous Rapid Aiming Tasks

Previously, we have shown that discrete and continuous rapid aiming tasks are governed by distinct visuomotor control mechanisms by assessing the combined visual illusion effects on the perceived and effective index of difficulty (ID). All participants were perceptually biased by the combined visual illusion before they performed the rapid aiming tasks. In the current study, the authors manipulated the order of performing perceptual and motor tasks to examine whether perceptual or motor experience with the illusory visual target would influence the subsequent perceived and effective ID in discrete and continuous tapping tasks. The results supported our hypothesis showing that perceptual experience with the illusory visual target in the discrete condition reduced the effective ID in the subsequent discrete tapping task, and motor experience with the illusory visual target in the continuous condition reduced the illusion effects on the perceived ID in the subsequent perceptual judgment task. The study demonstrates the coinfluence of perception and action, and suggests that perception and action influence one another with different magnitude depending on the spatial frame of reference used to perform the perceptuomotor task.     

集中和分散注意对多感觉整合中听觉主导效应的影响

听觉主导效应是指多感觉通道信息整合过程中,听觉通道中的信息得到优先加工,从而主导其他感觉通道的信息。研究采用经典的声音诱发闪光错觉的范式,通过两个实验操纵了注意资源的分配方式以及实验任务难度,考察了主动注意听觉通道的声音刺激对声音诱发闪光错觉产生的影响,以及任务难度对声音诱发闪光错觉的影响。结果发现:(1)裂变错觉会受到注意资源分配程度的影响,但是融合错觉则不然;(2)任务难度既不会影响裂变错觉,也不会影响融合错觉。说明了分散注意能够影响听觉主导效应中的裂变错觉,并且这种主导效应与任务难度无关。     

Sense of agency in continuous action: Assistance-induced performance improvement is self-attributed even with knowledge of assistance

In a task involving continuous action to achieve a goal, the sense of agency increases with an improvement in task performance that is induced by unnoticed computer assistance. This study investigated how explicit instruction about the existence of computer assistance affects the increase of sense of agency that accompanies performance improvement. Participants performed a continuous action task in which they controlled the direction of motion of a dot to a goal by pressing keys. When instructions indicated the absence of assistance, the sense of agency increased with performance improvement induced by computer assistance, replicating previous findings. Interestingly, this increase of sense of agency was also observed even when instructions indicated the presence of assistance. These results suggest that even when a plausible cause of performance improvement other than one’s own action exists, the improvement can be misattributed to one’s own control of action, resulting in an increased sense of agency.     

Creativity as a Matter of Choice: Prior Experience and Task Instruction as Boundary Conditions for the Positive Effect of Choice on Creativity

This study investigates the effects of prior experience, task instruction, and choice on creative performance. Although extant research suggests that giving people choice in how they approach a task could enhance creative performance, we propose that this view needs to be circumscribed. Specifically, we argue that when choice is administered during problem solving by varying the number of available resources, the high combinatorial flexibility conferred by a large choice set of resources can be overwhelming. Through two experiments, we found that only individuals with high prior experience in the task domain and given explicit instruction to be creative produced more creative outcomes when given more choice. When either of these two conditions is not met (i.e., low prior experience or given non‐creativity instruction), more choice did not lead to more creative performance. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.