成年期残疾个体对不同类型社交线索的注意偏向

为了探讨成年期残疾个体对不同类型社交线索的注意偏向,以正常人作为对照组,通过两个实验,分别采用情绪Stroop任务和同中选异任务考察了成年期残疾个体对社交反馈言语线索和社交反馈情绪线索的注意偏向。研究发现:(1)残疾人对社交拒绝词的颜色命名显著快于正常人,即残疾人对消极社交反馈言语线索存在注意偏向;(2)残疾人对愤怒面孔的检测显著快于正常人,正常人对快乐面孔的检测显著快于残疾人,即残疾人对消极社交反馈情绪线索更加敏感,而正常人则对积极社交反馈情绪线索更加敏感;(3)残疾人不存在对消极社交反馈情绪线索的注意解脱困难。     

Heart-rate deceleration and smiling in 3-month-old infants

The relation between heart-rate deceleration and the expression of positive affect in infancy is examined by testing the hypothesis that intensity of orienting (as indexed by heart-rate deceleration) is predictive of intensity of positive affect (smile size and duration). A social-stimulation procedure was utilized to elicit smiles in 41 3-month-old infants. The first smile elicited was coded for smile size and duration, and the preceding heart-rate deceleration was coded for magnitude, duration, and slope of deceleration. Slope and duration of heart-rate deceleration proved to be reliable predictors of smile size, but none of the heart-rate measures correlated with smile duration. Results suggest that the steeper and more rapid the deceleration, the larger the ensuing smile. Possible mechanisms for this finding are discussed.     

视觉加工的双侧视野优势及其脑机制

等量的视觉任务呈现在双侧视野比仅仅呈现在单侧视野能够获得更好的任务表现, 这被称为双侧视野优势(bilateral field advantage BFA)。BFA产生于两个紧密连接的机制：枕叶视皮层内的竞争性相互作用及背侧额顶叶网络自上而下的注意调控。前者主要发生在V1–V4等与视网膜存在拓扑映射关系的视皮层区, 后者则主要涉及两侧的顶内沟、右侧楔前叶及额眼区。未来的研究可以进一步采用三维立体视觉材料探讨BFA, 考察它与其它视野效应间交互的脑机制, 同时也可尝试解决背侧额顶叶网络的各脑区在系统的功能连接方面尚存的争议。     

视觉工作记忆内容对自上而下注意控制的影响：一项ERP研究

采用视觉搜索范式, 以二维抽象对称图形为材料, 通过记录\16名被试在长短两种时间间隔(ISI)条件和有效、中性、无效三种视觉工作记忆内容条件下的行为反应和事件相关电位(ERPs), 探讨视觉工作记忆内容对自上而下注意控制影响的认知过程和脑机制。结果发现：(1)无论ISI长或短, 有效信息条件(记忆图形与目标所在的背景图形相同)的反应时均显著短于无效信息条件(记忆图形与目标所在的背景图形不同)。(2)有效信息条件下的额区P2波幅显著大于中性信息条件(记忆图形不出现在搜索序列中); 枕区P1、N1波幅和潜伏期在视觉工作记忆内容条件下差异不显著; 短ISI条件下, 有效信息条件下的枕区P300波幅显著大于无效信息条件; 长ISI条件下, 有效信息条件的枕区P300波幅显著小于无效信息条件。表明当目标出现在与记忆内容相匹配的客体中时, 激活了工作记忆中的客体表征, 以自上而下的方式优先捕获注意; 同时ISI变化对此过程起着调节作用。     

社会行为的效价信息对注意捕获的影响：基于帮助和阻碍行为的探讨

采用学习-测验两任务范式,通过3项实验探讨了社会行为的效价信息对注意捕获的影响。在学习阶段,被试观看具有积极效价的帮助行为(某智能体帮助另一智能体爬山)和消极效价的阻碍行为(某智能体阻碍另一智能体爬山),以及与各自运动特性匹配的无社会交互行为,其目的为建立不同智能体颜色与社会行为效价信息的联结关系。在测验阶段,则分别检验社会行为中的施动方(帮助者和阻碍者)颜色和受动方(被帮助者和被阻碍者)颜色的注意捕获效应。结果发现,消极社会行为中施动方颜色和受动方颜色均更容易捕获注意,而积极社会行为效价信息并没有改变联结特征值的注意捕获效应;且相比于受动方,与消极社会行为效价建立联结的施动方颜色的注意捕获效应更强。该结果提示,存在消极社会行为效价驱动的注意捕获,且消极的效价信息与卷入社会行为所有个体的特征建立联结,但该联结中施动方物理特征具有更高的注意优先性。这一发现暗示,声誉信息与对社会交互行为的整体表征可能综合作用于对社会交互事件的注意选择。     

Stagewise multidimensional visual discrimination by pigeons

We trained six pigeons in a stagewise Multiple Necessary Cues (MNC) go/no‐go task to document the dynamics of discrimination learning involving increasingly complex visual stimuli. The compound stimuli were composed from four dimensions, each of which could assume either of two extreme values or their intermediate value: Shape, Size, Line Orientation, and Brightness. Starting with a stimulus composed entirely from intermediate values, we replaced those values with each of the two extreme dimensional values in four successive stages, thereby increasing the stimulus set from 2 in Stage 1 to 16 in Stage 4. In each stage, only one combination of values signaled food (S⁺), whereas the remaining combinations did not (S^?s). We calculated the rate of pecking during the first 15 s of each stimulus presentation and, in any given stage, training continued until the rate of responding to all of the S^?s was less than 20% of the rate of responding to the S⁺. All pigeons successfully acquired the final discrimination, suggesting that they attended to all of the dimensions relevant for the discrimination. We also replicated the key results of prior MNC studies: (1) the number of extreme dimensional values in each stage was positively related to the amount of training required for pigeons to acquire the discrimination; (2) attentional tradeoffs were most often observed when three or four dimensions were being trained; and (3) throughout training, the number of dimensional values in the S^?s that differed from the S⁺ was positively related to their discriminability from S⁺.     

知觉负载影响注意选择和冲突解决的系列效应

研究考察了无关侧抑制项引起的侧抑制效应如何受到当前试次知觉负载和先前试次知觉负载与目标?侧抑制项关系的交互影响。被试在视觉搜索集中搜索目标朝向刺激(水平或竖直朝向)并作辨别反应, 非目标项在低负载条件下彼此朝向一致, 在高负载条件下彼此朝向不一致。在搜索集的左侧或右侧存在一个与当前目标一致或不一致的无关侧抑制项(flanker)。结果发现, 整体上, 在当前试次低负载条件下会产生较大的干扰效应, 而在当前试次高负载下无干扰效应。此外, 先前试次(trial n-1)为高负载条件时, 当前试次(trial n)出现了典型的知觉负载效应, 即低负载条件干扰效应较大, 高负载条件无干扰效应。但是, 先前试次为低负载条件时, 当前试次的干扰效应大小受到先前试次冲突解决状态的影响。先前试次为低负载条件且目标?无关侧抑制项不一致时, 下一试次低负载条件的侧抑制效应显著减小, 与高负载条件没有差异; 反之, 先前试次为低负载且目标?侧抑制项一致条件时, 下一试次低负载条件的侧抑制效应显著增大。先前试次为低负载条件时, 完成了知觉加工的侧抑制项或者引发了冲突效应(不一致条件), 或者促进了对目标的反应(一致条件), 造成不同的注意选择和冲突解决状态, 显著影响了下一试次的行为表现。这说明, 注意选择与冲突控制过程是动态变化的, 除了受到当前试次知觉负载的影响, 也受到先前试次注意选择和冲突解决状态的调节。     

Attentional capture by irrelevant emotional distractor faces is contingent on implicit attentional settings

Although expressions of facial emotion hold a special status in attention relative to other complex objects, whether they summon our attention automatically and against our intentions remains a debated issue. Studies supporting the strong view that attentional capture by facial expressions of emotion is entirely automatic reported that a unique (singleton) emotional face distractor interfered with search for a target that was also unique on a different dimension. Participants could therefore search for the odd-one out face to locate the target and attentional capture by irrelevant emotional faces might be contingent on the adoption of an implicit set for singletons. Here, confirming this hypothesis, an irrelevant emotional face captured attention when the target was the unique face with a discrepant orientation, both when this orientation was unpredictable and when it remained constant. By contrast, no such capture was observed when the target could not be found by monitoring displays for a discrepant face and participants had to search for a face with a specific orientation. Our findings show that attentional capture by emotional faces is not purely stimulus driven and thereby resolve the apparent inconsistency that prevails in the literature on the automaticity of attentional capture by emotional faces.     

Attending to emotional expressions: no evidence for automatic capture in the dot-probe task

Research on automatic attention to emotional faces offers mixed results. Therefore we examined validity effects for facial expressions of different emotions (compared to neutral faces) with a dot-probe paradigm in seven studies (total N?=?308). Systematic variations of type of emotion, CTI, task, cue size, and masking allow for a differentiated assessment of attentional capture by emotions and possible moderating factors. Results indicate a general absence of emotional validity effects as well as a lack of significant interactions with either of the manipulated factors, indicating that facial expressions of emotions do not capture attention in a fully automatic fashion. These findings suggest that situational and contextual factors have to be taken into account when investigating attentional capture of emotional faces.     

Guided search through memory

In “hybrid” search, observers search a visual display for any of several targets held in memory. It is known that the contents of the memory set can guide visual search (e.g., if the memorized targets are all animals, visual attention can be guided away from signs). It is not known if the visual display can guide memory search (e.g., if the memory set is composed of signs and animals, can a visual display of signs restrict memory search to just the signs?). In three hybrid search experiments, participants memorized sets of items that belonged to either one or several categories. Participants were then presented with visual displays containing multiple items, also drawn from one or several categories. Participants were asked to determine if any of the items from their current memory set were present in the visual display. We replicate the finding that visual search can be guided by the contents of memory. We find weaker, novel evidence that memory search can be guided by the contents of the visual display.