The Neural Basis of Implicit Attitudes

ABSTRACT— Evidence that human preferences, beliefs, and behavior are influenced by sources that are outside the reach of conscious awareness, control, intention, and self-reflection is incontrovertible. Recent advances in neuroscience have enabled researchers to investigate the neural basis of these implicit attitudes, particularly attitudes involving social groups. From this research, a model with three identified neural components related to the automatic activation and regulation of implicit attitudes is beginning to emerge. The amygdala is implicated in the automatic evaluation of socially relevant stimuli, while the anterior cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices are involved in the detection and regulation, respectively, of implicit attitudes. Further support for this model comes from the inclusion of these regions in current models concerning the cognitive regulation of emotion and the detection of conflict. The identification of a putative neural substrate for implicit attitudes has had a direct impact on psychological research into their nature and operational characteristics. We discuss how this emerging neural model has influenced current research on implicit attitudes and describe the importance of such models for directing future research.     

An Invitation to Behavior Analysts: Review of in Search of Memory: The Emergence of A New Science of Mind by Eric R. Kandel

This fascinating autobiography and multifaceted case history in neuroscience research is accessible to laymen and potentially instructive to working scientists. Kandel takes the reader through his thought processes as he describes experiments that led to some of the past decades'' major neuroscience discoveries (some highlights of which are summarized in the review''s Appendix), and eventually to his Nobel Prize. The review analyzes some of the terminological and conceptual issues that have often inhibited communication between behavior analysts and neuroscientists, with special attention to some of Bennett and Hacker''s admonitions viewed from the perspective of language evolution and linguistics. The review then discusses opportunities for behavior analysts to collaborate with neuroscientists by applying behavioral contingency analysis to help specify the independent variables of neuroscience experiments described by Kandel. Finally, it examines Kandel''s provocative heuristics for locating important research problems, and the lessons that can be gleaned from the book regarding the attributes of potentially great achievers.     

PERCEPTIONS OF TRUST AND EMPLOYEES’ ATTITUDES: A LOOK AT NIGERIA’S AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION WORKERS

This study examined the attitude reactions to trust among coworkers and between employees and management. Sample included 296 extension personnel drawn from two Agricultural Development Programs in southwest Nigeria. Exploratory principal component factor analysis showed that the perceptions of trust have the dimensions of: management-affective, coworkers-affective, management-cognitive, and coworkers-cognitive. Based on a hierarchical regression procedure, coworkers-cognitive trust was unrelated to group cohesion and affective commitment, and coworkers-affective, management-affective and -cognitive trusts were related to cohesion and affective commitment. Quit intentions was predicted by coworkers-cognitive, management-affective and -cognitive trusts, and not by coworkers-affective trust. Implications of the results are discussed.I would like to appreciate the efforts of Helen Asishana and T. Amore during the data collection phase of this study. Also, the author wishes to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper.     

学校组织气氛对教师组织承诺的预测效应

问卷调查410名北京市中学教师,探讨了学校组织气氛对教师组织承诺的影响.结果表明:修订的《学校组织气氛问卷》是可靠而有效的适用于中学教师组织气氛相关研究的工具;在持续承诺维度上,本科学历的教师显著高于硕士学历的教师,高级职称的教师非常显著地高于中教二级的教师;所教学生人数的多少与情感承诺、规范承诺有显著的正相关;在控制了人口统计学变量之后,分层回归和优势分析发现:支持行为、同事行为和疏远行为对预测情感承诺做出了新的贡献,支持行为的贡献更大;支持行为和亲密行为对预测规范承诺做出了新贡献,支持行为的贡献更大;亲密行为能预测持续承诺.     

晚发性抑郁的生物学机制

晚发性抑郁是指发病年龄大于60岁的一组抑郁综合征,发病机制至今尚不明确。研究表明,晚发性抑郁的遗传因素不明显,而血管损害则与之密切相关;多数患者伴有明显的执行功能损害,痴呆的发病风险增高。围绕晚发性抑郁的两个基本特征:血管损害与认知障碍做一回顾,初步探讨了晚发性抑郁生物学机制对临床决策的影响,并由此展望了未来的研究方向。     

心算加工的认知神经科学研究

近几年(1999-2005)有关心算加工的脑活动机制研究发现,类似九九乘法表这样的算术知识提取(如3×5)主要与左脑顶内沟有关,但当心算变得更复杂时(如26×38),左脑额叶下部出现明显激活,这表明心算与语言和工作记忆关系密切。另一方面,也存在不依赖于语言的即表现为视觉表象活动的心算,右脑的一些脑区在其中起了作用。简言之,所有与心算有关的脑区涉及到大脑前额皮层和颞顶枕联合皮层的综合作用,并总体表现为左脑优势,但具有特殊心算能力的人其心算还与右脑前额叶和颞叶内侧脑区的活动有关。     

情绪启动研究的实验范式

情绪启动是探讨情绪和态度自动激活的有效方法,近期其研究范式有了较大的发展,相继产生了经典情绪启动实验、阈下情绪启动实验、向后情绪启动实验以及情绪启动与其他范式相结合的实验等较有影响的研究范式。文章分别梳理了这些范式及其研究结果,并在此基础上,总结研究所采用的范式并展望今后研究的发展趋势。     

Attention, Joint Attention, and Social Cognition

ABSTRACT— Before social cognition there is joint processing of information about the attention of self and others. This joint attention requires the integrated activation of a distributed cortical network involving the anterior and posterior attention systems. In infancy, practice with the integrated activation of this distributed attention network is a major contributor to the development of social cognition. Thus, the functional neuroanatomies of social cognition and the anterior–posterior attention systems have much in common. These propositions have implications for understanding joint attention, social cognition, and autism.     

论神经哲学的兴起

人类心身问题的研究一直是科学界关注的热点。近年来,国外学者将神经科学与哲学研究统一起来,集合两门学科的研究方法、综合双方的研究成果,以此来共同推进人类心身问题的研究,因此诞生了一门介于神经科学和哲学之间的独立学科,它有着学科交叉的研究领域和特殊的跨学科研究方法,这门学科就是神经哲学。     

Following the Path to Equality Through Law: Reflections on Baker et al., <Emphasis Type="Italic">Equality: from Theory to Action</Emphasis>

This article assesses the significance of Baker et al., Equality: from Theory to Action from the perspective of current concerns occupying legal equality scholars in the UK, focusing in particular on the practical relevance of equality studies to the kinds of issues arising from the debate over the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR). The article highlights and considers key issues, including the delineation of the sphere of inequality protection, the normative content of the concept of equality espoused by law and the potential of law to reach beyond its current limits to embrace the broader dimensions of (in)equality identified in Baker et al.’s account.