From Fragments to Geometric Shape: Changes in Visual Object Recognition Between 18 and 24 Months

ABSTRACT— Visual object recognition is foundational to processes of categorization, tool use, and real-world problem solving. Despite considerable effort across many disciplines and many specific advances, there is no comprehensive or well-accepted account of this ability. Moreover, none of the extant approaches consider how human object recognition develops. New evidence indicates a period of rapid change in toddlers' visual object recognition between 18 and 24 months that is related to the learning of object names and to goal-directed action. Children appear to shift from recognition based on piecemeal fragments to recognition based on geometric representations of three-dimensional shape. These findings may lead to a more unified understanding of the processes that make human object recognition as impressive as it is.     

浅谈我国应用ICD分类存在的问题

国际疾病分类（ICD）是目前国际公认的卫生信息标准分类,但是由于我国的ICD分类工作开展的时间还不是很长,推广还不够广泛和深入,目前我国应用ICD分类还存在很多问题,ICD分类质量有待进一步提高和完善,加强临床医师的ICD分类知识培训和编码人员的专业培训及责任心教育是提高ICD分类质量的重要途径。     

Implicit self and the right hemisphere: Increasing implicit self‐esteem and implicit positive affect by left hand contractions

Unilateral hand contraction typically activates the contralateral hemisphere and has led to changes in psychological states and performances in previous research. Based on a right hemisphere model of the implicit self, we hypothesized and found that left hand contraction increases momentary levels of implicit self‐esteem (Studies 1 and 2) and implicit positive affect (Study 3). The findings are discussed with respect to potential differences between the hemispheres in implicit and explicit affective processing and how they can be integrated in the existing literature on hemisphere asymmetries.     

Experiencing Buddhist practices promotes nonbelievers’ preference for future rewards in intertemporal choices

Religious individuals often prefer future rewards more in intertemporal decision-making than nonreligious individuals, but the reasons behind this preference remain under-investigated. Focusing on decision-making in Buddhist culture, the current study aimed to examine three potential mechanisms: Buddhist practices, self-control and belief in future-oriented concepts. In five studies, we consistently found that nonbelievers’ preference ratings for Larger and Later (LL) options increased after visiting a temple (Study 1, n = 99) or participating in Buddha name chanting (Studies 2–5, n = 314). We also found in Studies 3 and 4 that this effect was mediated by the individual's level of self-control, but no evidence was found to support the mediation of belief in future-oriented concepts. These results contribute to the work attesting to the effect of religious practices on individuals (especially nonbelievers). They also provide a mechanism (self-control) for the positive correlation between individuals’ religiousness and preference for future rewards in intertemporal decision-making.     

金融消费者的品牌效应及其心理影响机制研究

本研究从金融消费者的行为分析视角出发,以我国商业银行品牌为研究对象,提出了金融品牌效应心理影响机制的理论模型,并从形象可信、网点便捷、业务技能、服务态度以及营业环境等五个银行品牌消费选择影响因素出发,对其进行了实证检验,验证了品牌效应心理影响机制的客观存在,揭示出消费态度与品牌传播之间的内在联系与作用规律,从而为金融消费者行为决策提供了有效的理论模型诠释。     

The role of Hebrew letter names in early literacy: the case of multiphonemic acrophonic names

English-speaking children spell letters correctly more often when the letters' names are heard in the word (e.g., B in beach vs. bone). Hebrew letter names have been claimed to be less useful in this regard. In Study 1, kindergartners were asked to report and spell initial and final letters in Hebrew words that included full (CVC), partial (CV), and phonemic (C) cues derived from these letter names (e.g., kaftor, kartis, kibepsilonl, spelled with /kaf/). Correct and biased responses increased with length of congruent and incongruent cues, respectively. In Study 2, preschoolers and kindergartners were asked to report initial letters with monosyllabic or disyllabic names (e.g., /kaf/ or /samepsilonx/, respectively) that included the cues described above. Correct responses increased with cue length; the effect was stronger with monosyllabic letter names than with disyllabic letter names, probably because the cue covered a larger ratio of the letter name. Phonological awareness was linked to use of letter names.     

Salesperson–brand relationship: main dimensions and impact within the context of private brand retailing

Private branding is considered one of the most effective and efficient influencers of retailers’ return on investment in their fiercely competitive industry. However, no study to date has examined these brands’ impact on salespeople's motivation and commitment to their own employer. This study, based upon extensive qualitative and quantitative research, shows that salespeople's relationships with their private brands can be influential in increasing their selling motivation and organizational commitment. Toward this end, our study first identifies the three important dimensions of salesperson–brand relationship (affect, trust, perceived customer recognition due to the brand) and develops their measures. Second, the findings show that salesperson–brand relationships, which exist between the retail frontline employees and retailers’ private brand, strongly influence sales motivation and firm commitment with a moderating influence of role clarity regarding management's expectations from its salespeople.     

姓名对个体心理与行为的实际影响：证据和理论

姓名不仅会影响他人的印象与评价, 还可能会影响个体实际的心理与行为。近几十年来, 心理学家在决策、成就、健康、人格四个领域开展了大量实证研究来考察姓氏或名字对个体的实际影响。姓名的多个维度(如独特性、性别倾向、含义效价、温暖-能力维度等)在不同程度上可以预测这些领域的心理与行为(包括职业决策/生活决策/经济决策、职业成就/学业成就、生理健康/心理健康/犯罪行为、人格特质/心理需要/面孔特征等)。但是, 现有研究证据比较混杂, 理论解释有待完善。未来研究应全面考虑姓名维度, 重点解决可重复性、因果关系、心理机制、跨文化普遍性等问题, 努力构建更系统、更包容的理论来解释姓名的心理与行为效应。     

Can self-relevant stimuli help assessing patients with disorders of consciousness?

Emotional and self-relevant stimuli are able to automatically attract attention and their use in patients suffering from disorders of consciousness (DOC) might help detecting otherwise hidden signs of cognition.We here recorded EEG in three Locked-in syndrome (LIS) and four Vegetative State/Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome (VS/UWS) patients while they listened to the voice of a family member or an unfamiliar voice during a passive. Data indicate that, in a passive listening condition, the familiar voice induces stronger alpha desynchronization than the unfamiliar one. In an active condition, the target evoked stronger alpha desynchronization in controls, two LIS patients and one VS/UWS patient. Results suggest that self-relevant familiar voice stimuli can engage additional attentional resources and might allow the detection of otherwise hidden signs of instruction-following and thus residual awareness. Further studies are necessary to find sensitive paradigms that are suited to find subtle signs of cognition and awareness in DOC patients.     

How to administer the Initial Preference Task

Individuals like their name letters more than non‐name letters. This effect has been termed the Name Letter Effect (NLE) and is widely exploited to measure implicit (i.e. automatic, unconscious) self‐esteem, predominantly by means of the Initial Preference Task (IPT). Methodological research on how to best administer the IPT is, however, scarce. In order to bridge this gap, the present paper assessed the advantages and disadvantages of different types of IPT administrations with two meta‐analyses (k = 49; N = 11,514) and a follow‐up experiment (N = 449). As a result, a new type of administration is recommended which (1) treats the effects of the first and the last name initials separately, (2) uses a duplicate administration for reliability reasons, (3) uses the likability as well as the attractiveness item wording and (4) exploits not only letters but also numbers (i.e. birthday number effect) to measure implicit self‐esteem. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.