Repetition blindness and homophone blindness in young and older adults

We tested age effects on repetition blindness (RB), defined as the reduced probability of reporting a target word following presentation of the same word in a rapidly presented list. We also tested age effects on homophone blindness (HB), in which the first word is a homophone of the target word rather than a repeated word. Thirty young and 28 older adults viewed rapidly presented lists of words containing repeated, homophone, or unrepeated word pairs and reported all of the words immediately after each list. Older adults exhibited a greater degree of RB and HB than young adults using a conditional scoring method that provides certainty that blindness has occurred. The existence of RB and HB for both age groups, and increased blindness for older compared to young adults, supports predictions of a binding theory that has successfully accounted for a wide range of phenomena in cognitive aging.     

药物成瘾者相关线索反应的自动化用药行为特征及其消退

采用ERP技术考察海洛因成瘾者相关线索下的用药行为的性质和神经机制, 在此基础上结合虚拟现实技术(VR)和途径偏向矫正训练(AAT), 探究基于“相关线索-习惯性用药”联结的自动化用药行为的动作消退、替代训练的有效性。研究发现, (1)相比对照线索, 成瘾者在相关线索下的反应时更长, N1波幅更小, N1潜伏期更短; 相比对照组被试, 成瘾者在相关线索下的行为任务的正确率更低, 反应时更长, N1波幅更小; N1波幅的组间组内差异和潜伏期的组内差异主要集中在中央区。(2)结合VR技术的途径偏向矫正训练后, 训练组被试的生理指标和途径偏向系数显著降低, 且显著低于对照组被试; 追踪测试中, 训练组被试的分数显著低于对照组。这表明相关线索下成瘾者的用药行为具有自动化、无意识的性质, 感觉运动区N1的异常活动是其神经机制之一。VR提取用药动作记忆-AAT消退替代训练, 可以有效削弱或消退成瘾者的成瘾动作倾向, 而且训练效果持续性较好, 可达到减少或停止现实情境中的用药和复吸行为的目的。     

语义关联性对重复知盲效应的影响：来自汉语成语的证据

重复知盲是在快速系列视觉呈现任务中对第二个重复刺激的加工缺陷。以汉语中反义字和成语为实验材料,采用全部报告任务,探讨刺激的语义关联性对重复知盲的影响。实验1以汉语单字为材料,采用单因素三水平（目标刺激之间的语义关系：无关、相同、相反）被试内设计,结果是重复字产生重复知盲效应,反义字产生语义启动效应。实验2以成语为材料,采用2（目标刺激之间的语义关系：相同、无关）×2（位置：前位置、后位置）设计,结果是语义关联性消解了重复知盲效应。结果表明：（1）反义字不产生重复知盲效应。（2）语义关联性消解成语中重复字的重复知盲效应。（3）实验结果支持竞争假设。     

Retrospective accounts of recurrent parental physical abuse as a predictor of adult laboratory‐induced aggression

Child abuse has been frequently associated with adult aggression in its many forms. The Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm (PSAP) is a popular laboratory‐based procedure derived from the retaliatory responses of participants engaged in a monetary‐reinforced computer game. PSAP responses have been found to discriminate between participants with and without violent, antisocial, substance abuse, and even contact‐sport athletic histories. The present study provided an initial test of the sensitivity of the PSAP and the Overt Aggression Scale (OAS) in discriminating between college students (n=28) with and without reported histories of recurrent physical abuse as defined by incidents of being pushed, shoved, struck, punched, or threatened with physical violence by a parent more than once every six weeks over 15 years of upbringing. PSAP responses were substantially higher (d=2.1) among participants reporting histories of recurrent parental physical abuse, with 46% (as opposed to 0% for controls) of these individuals generating PSAP responses in excess of 400 (average found for violent parolees). Group differences on the OAS were also considerable (>1 SD). Larger factorial designs examining relationships between a range of developmental variables (e.g., domestic abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, parental divorce, family climate, etc.) and adult PSAP responding may help advance present knowledge regarding the impact of childhood adversity on psychological development. Aggr. Behav. 30:217–228, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

A review of methods in the study of attention in autism

Atypical attention, while not a diagnostic feature, is common in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The study of these atypicalities has recently gained in both quantity and quality, due in part to an increased focus on attentional atypicalities as one of the earliest signs of ASD in infancy. A range of attentional processes and components have been investigated, and the methods used are varied, from Posner-type paradigms, to the more recent use of eye-movement recording and change-detection techniques. This methodological complexity is one factor in the production of conflicting evidence on the topic of attention in ASD. This review uses a focus on methodology to clarify the literature to date and provide a resource for researchers wishing to study attention in ASD. Other factors that have contributed to the current discrepancies in findings are discussed, particularly the role of individual and group differences within the population of people with ASD.     

多通道变化盲:理论、方法与进展

人们在特定条件下通常难以探测到事物的变化,这种现象发生在视、听、触感觉通道分别称为变化盲视、变话盲听和变化盲触。文章主要对以下四个方面进行详细的探讨:变化盲视及视觉表征理论、变化盲听及听觉信息加工机制、变化盲触及体表空间表征、多通道变化盲及空间注意和空间表征跨通道一致性本质。此外,文章还对多通道变化盲的理论深度和拓展方向及相关应用研究进行了展望。     

Mind the gap: Misdirection, inattentional blindness and the relationship between overt and covert attention

The present commentary addresses two issues arising from Memmert’s (2010) paper. First, can the ‘misdirection’ and ‘inattentional blindness’ paradigms provide important insights into the relationship between ‘overt’ and ‘covert’ attentional processes? Second, what are the most fruitful directions for research that seeks to combine these attentional paradigms in ecologically valid settings? We argue that although Memmert’s (2010) paper postulates several important differences between the misdirection and inattentional blindness paradigms, it may not emphasise sufficiently strongly the significant insights into attention that have been yielded by the former approach. To illustrate, we discuss the utility of the misdirection paradigm in providing an ecologically valid method to investigate the relationship between overt and covert attentional processes. Such naturalistic methods are required to ensure optimal integration of the misdirection and inattentional blindness paradigms within a general theory of attention.     

Applicability and attachment findings of the Strange Situation Paradigm in infants with visual impairment

Attachment studies with diverse populations enrich the understanding of infants’ socioemotional development by documenting both universal and idiosyncratic aspects of attachment. Given the effects of attachment in children's socioemotional outcomes, such studies are necessary to investigate the impact of children's sensory impairments on attachment development. Yet, very little attachment research has focused on infants with visual impairment (VI infants), a population in which infant–caregiver emotional exchanges through visual means are reduced/absent. We investigated the applicability of the Strange Situation Paradigm (SSP), with added instructions to compensate for degraded visual input, in 20 VI infants (with no additional disabilities and who were receiving developmental counseling). In all but 1 of the SSPs coded, VI infants displayed observable attachment behavior that was classifiable. Nineteen VI infants showed attachment by 12 months of age. Across the ages tested (fractional age range = 0.9–2.33 months), most VI infants’ attachment patterns were classified as secure and organized.     

The memory‐impairing effects of simulated amnesia for a mock crime

The present study examined whether mock offenders, who were instructed to falsely deny crime details or to simulate amnesia, would consequently experience impaired memory. Ninety‐three university students were first asked to commit a mock crime and were then assigned to three different conditions (i.e., false denial, simulated amnesia, and truth telling) and then received the first memory test. The following day, participants completed a second memory test. Results showed that the memory impairment was not observed in participants in the false denial condition. However, in the simulated amnesia group, memory about being interviewed in the first session was impaired. The simulated amnesia group also had lower recollection and belief ratings in the occurrence of true details for the mock event. Findings suggest that after simulating amnesia, offenders can forget details related to the interview and exhibit diminished ratings for the recollection of and belief in their memory for experienced events.