Bidding for delayed rewards: Accumulation as delay discounting,delay discounting as regulation,demand functions as corollary

In the accumulation paradigm animals press one manipulandum to accumulate pellets or seconds of access to food, and then press another manipulandum, or run some distance, to collect it. The accumulation may be interpreted as delay discounting, with the animals adjusting the distal amount to compensate for its distance or delay. The amount accumulated before being collected is a linear function of the distance or time that the experimental paradigm stipulates for collecting it. That linear function follows from the Unit‐Price/Unit‐Amount axiom. The inverse of the linear compensation functions gives a delay‐discount hyperbola. The advantages of the accumulation paradigm and analytic framework for delay discounting studies are noted. Compensation functions are then derived from a behavioral regulation model, which generalizes them to contexts where the individual's budget for response cost becomes over‐taxed. In turn, such compensation/regulation models lead directly to representative demand functions. In sum, regulation models provide a theoretical grounding for demand functions, compensation functions, and delay discounting hyperbolas. The parameter that links them is the unit amount k, the slope of the compensation function and of the discount function, the setpoint for consumption in a regulation model, and the ideal quantity consumed at minimal price in a demand analysis.     

A Cost Analysis of Self-Management Programs for People with Chronic Illness

The soaring cost of health care is a national problem that needs response at multiple levels, including that of the community. Reducing or limiting health care costs through interventions that emphasize the self-management of health may promote broader health care coverage, better quality of health care, and a sense of control over one's health. Therefore, it behooves community psychologists to perform cost analyses when testing interventions for people in a community. The present study investigated the effects of social support and education interventions on psychosocial variables, health status, and health care costs in older people with osteoarthritis. Participants were 363 members of a health maintenance organization (HMO), 60 years of age and older, with osteoarthritis. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups (social support, education, or a combination of both) or to a control group. The results indicated that feelings of helplessness decreased in the intervention groups but not in the control group. All groups showed increases in self-efficacy and overall health status. In addition, health care costs increased less in the intervention groups than in the control group. Cost analysis was used to demonstrate that the monetary savings of the intervention greatly outweighed the cost of conducting the intervention. It appears that interventions can limit health care costs while improving health and increasing feelings of control for older people with osteoarthritis. Further, this paper demonstrates how a cost-benefit focus can benefit community studies.     

Psychometric adaptation of the driving cost and benefit scale in Chinese drivers

The present study aimed to adapt the Driving Cost and Benefit Scale (DCBS, Taubman-Ben- Ari, 2008) to Chinese drivers and examine its relationships with driving style and traffic violations. Nine hundred drivers aged 18 to 60 years were asked to complete the DCBS and the Multidimensional Driving Style Inventory. The results of exploratory factor analysis (n = 429) and confirmatory factor analysis (n = 429) yielded a 36-item scale with satisfactory reliability. The Chinese version of the DCBS contains seven factors, including three driving cost factors (damage to self-esteem, life endangerment and distress) and four driving benefit factors (impression management, sense of control, thrill and pleasure). Significant associations between the DCBS-C factors and driving styles and traffic violations show that the discriminant validity of the scale is acceptable. Moreover, the driving cost factor of damage to self-esteem and the driving benefit factor of thrill both contributed to drivers’ traffic violations and crashes. The findings show that the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the DCBS are acceptable, and it can be used as a tool to measure driving motivation in China.     

The use of probabilistic lexicality cues for word segmentation in Chinese reading

In an eye-tracking experiment we examined whether Chinese readers were sensitive to information concerning how often a Chinese character appears as a single-character word versus the first character in a two-character word, and whether readers use this information to segment words and adjust the amount of parafoveal processing of subsequent characters during reading. Participants read sentences containing a two-character target word with its first character more or less likely to be a single-character word. The boundary paradigm was used. The boundary appeared between the first character and the second character of the target word, and we manipulated whether readers saw an identity or a pseudocharacter preview of the second character of the target. Linear mixed-effects models revealed reduced preview benefit from the second character when the first character was more likely to be a single-character word. This suggests that Chinese readers use probabilistic combinatorial information about the likelihood of a Chinese character being single-character word or a two-character word online to modulate the extent of parafoveal processing.     

制度伦理:建构和谐社会的伦理支撑——论制度伦理与和谐社会伦理生态之共契

制度伦理是对建构和谐社会“良序情结”的一种回应,不管从制度伦理对建构和谐社会的功能助益,甚或二者在理性诉求和终极眷注方面的公度与通约,都可以看出,制度伦理与和谐社会二者之间是一种互构互益性的关系。制度伦理与和谐社会伦理生态之契合还体现了人类社会共同的美学期待。     

大学生问题发现过程的表征层次研究

在矛盾式与潜藏式两类情境中, 用出声思维的方法考察大学生问题发现过程的表征层次特点。40名大学生参与实验, 高低分组被试各20名。研究结果显示:(1)高分组大学生在问题总数量和核心问题数量上高于低分组, 矛盾式情境中发现的问题数量和质量均高于潜藏式情境。(2)充分的表征是发现高质量问题的基础;联系性表征对问题发现有积极影响, 但目的性表征对问题发现有负面作用;潜藏式情境的问题发现更需要借助内部信息表征。(3)各类表征层次出现的先后顺序存在差异, 高低分组大学生遵循同样的表征次序。     

情绪汉词的主动遗忘效应:ERP研究

尽管证明人类具有主动遗忘能力的研究比较多,但是,探索情绪汉词主动遗忘效应以及电生理机制的实验却非常少。本研究采用事件相关电位技术、T/NT范式探索情绪汉词主动遗忘效应。实验一(行为研究)的结果显示,在中性和情绪汉词条件下,不回忆组的正确率都显著低于基线组,即得到了主动遗忘效应。同时,情绪汉词的主动遗忘效应量小于中性汉词。实验二(脑电研究)结果显示,在200-300ms,Fz,Cz,Pz电极点,回忆组的P2波幅高于不回忆组。在300-400ms,在Fz,Cz,Pz电极点,不回忆组的N2波幅高于回忆组。N2跟抑制过程高度相关,提示抑制是主动遗忘的一个主要原因。在400-500ms,在Pz电极点,回忆组的LPC波幅高于不回忆组。顶叶LPC跟记忆提取高度相关,提示主动遗忘阻止了回忆,这可能是主动遗忘效应发生的内在机制     

连续报告任务中无效后线索对后线索效益的影响

本文采用连续报告任务,从非线索指示项目的角度入手,探讨无效后线索的存在是否会影响后线索效应的产生,以此进一步了解“后线索效益”的产生机制。结果表明,无论采用空间后注意线索,还是非空间的颜色后注意线索,都产生了“后线索效益”,即后线索确实提高了被试视觉工作记忆的表现。无效后线索的存在不会影响“后线索效益”的产生,该效益的理论解释符合优先提取说,即被试会利用后注意线索优先提取线索指示项目,产生更快和更准确的反应。     

Influence of pedestrian-to-vehicle technology on drivers’ response and safety benefits considering pre-crash conditions

Pedestrian-to-vehicle (P2V) technology may offer a promising approach to reducing pedestrian crashes. However, its influences on both driver response and safety benefits have been little studied in previous research, particularly in regard to the variation of influences between different pre-crash scenarios. To investigate these influences, this study designed three pre-crash scenarios based on pedestrian crash contributing factors identified from crash reports, and collected 44 drivers’ driving simulator experiments’ data. The results clarified how using P2V technology to warn drivers of an impending collision improves safety by causing a series of changes for both brake operation and braking profile. These series of changes were further demonstrated to vary between scenarios. The study showed that P2V technology may be particularly useful in scenarios in which a pedestrian’s crossing intention is unclear; specifically, in this type of scenario, the P2V warning had changed the braking process from a panic brake of “slow reaction-hard brake” to a comfortable brake of “quick reaction-gentle brake.” In addition, the P2V warning may be less effective in “low-risk” level scenarios where a driver is confident that he/she can handle the situation through a more conservative evasive action and don’t need to react strongly to a warning. Moreover, depending on the pre-crash scenario, the P2V warning may be mostly beneficial for drivers who had a crash/citation in the past five years and working-aged drivers.     

任务切换中的反应重复效应

在任务重复试次中反应的重复对反应有促进作用,而在任务切换试次中反应的重复对反应有阻碍作用,此现象即为反应重复效应（response repetition effects, RRE）。RRE普遍存在不同任务切换范式中,是一种抽象反应编码重复效应,受刺激效价和一致性、反应编码重复度和准备时间等因素影响。其理论解释主要有重构论、启动-抑制论、以及情境检索说。现有研究初步表明前额叶皮层是RRE的关键脑区,但RRE的认知神经机制及理论解释还有待进一步探讨。