Mental rotation performance in soccer players and gymnasts in an object-based mental rotation task

In this study, the effect of motor expertise on an object-based mental rotation task was investigated. 60 males and 60 females (40 soccer players, 40 gymnasts, and 40 non-athletes, equivalent males and females in each group) solved a psychometric mental rotation task with both cube and human figures. The results revealed that all participants had a higher mental rotation accuracy for human figures compared to cubed figures, that the gender difference was reduced with human figures, and that gymnasts demonstrated a better mental rotation performance than non-athletes. The results are discussed against the background of the existing literature on motor experts, mental rotation performance as well as the importance of the testing situation and the test construction.     

认知心理学的实用性转向

认知心理学实用性转向的根本涵义在于强调认知对于行动的效用与价值。传统认知心理学视认知系统的主要工作是怎样精确地 “表征” 世界，以便在大脑中建立一个外部世界的心理模型。实用性转向则强调认知系统的主要工作不是 “表征” 或 “反映”，而是指导有机体更有效地行动，认知是有 “效用” 的，它的效用就在于指导有机体适应和改造环境的活动。认知产生于行动、服务于行动，与行动水乳交融。这些理论观点来源于实用主义哲学。詹姆斯、杜威等人的经典实用主义对行动和效果的强调深刻影响了部分认知心理学家，促使他们放弃表征为中心的认知观而转向行动导向的认知观。在作者看来，由于这种转向强调了认知的 “效用”，因而对于认知心理学的健康发展将产生积极影响。     

A reflection on a humanistic approach to narrative inquiry into the lived experience of women casual academics

Qualitative research is said to add flesh to the bones of quantitative data, and narrative inquiry, more specifically, is described as emotionally comforting, reassuring and validating for participants who share their stories. But little is said of the impact of the flesh, bone and emotions of the narrative inquirer on the qualitative research process. This paper explores a humanistic approach to a narrative inquiry into the lived experience of women casual academics in Australian universities, and exposes the emotional and embodied labour involved in researching others’ stories. Through reflecting in and on her practice as a narrative inquirer, the author discusses how she was affectively and ideologically motivated to investigate the lives of women casual academics and demonstrates how her heart worked in conjunction with her head when ‘handling’ the narrative data. The author finally explores how reflecting on a humanistic approach to narrative research exposes that emotional and cognitive alignment can create research ‘flow’, and that fully embodied engagement with research aligns with ‘slow’ and feminist ‘in-the-making’ scholarship where journey and outcomes emerge and cannot be pre-determined.     

On some common objections to a behavioral approach to psychological categories

This paper addresses several objections that have been leveled against a behavioral approach to psychological categories. It reconstructs and critically assesses (a) the so-called causal objection; (b) alleged counterexamples whereby one can exhibit the typical behaviors associated with a psychological phenomenon without exhibiting the latter, including Lewis’ “perfect actor” case and Kirk’s “zombie”; (c) alleged counterexamples whereby organisms can exemplify psychological phenomena without exhibiting any behavior associated with them, including Armstrong’s imagined brain in a vat, Putnam’s “super-super-spartans” scenario, and related cases; and (d) the holistic objection. Mistaken assumptions in each of these objections are pinpointed. The paper starts with a brief characterization of behaviorism about psychological categories and a summary of the particular version thereof supported here, which draws upon Ryle and Skinner, among others.     

Studies on spontaneous attention to number (SAN) are based on spontaneous focusing on numerosity (SFON)

Li and Baroody presented a study in which they investigate children’ spontaneous attention to exact quantity without acknowledging how previous studies of spontaneous focusing on numerosity (SFON) are related to their concept and methods. The authors’ reaction to our pointing this out makes it is clear that SFON research has had foundational role in the development of Baroody and his colleagues spontaneous attention to number (SAN) idea. Thus the authors must acknowledge the SFON literature as the substantial part of their theoretical and methodological construct. The latest definition of SAN states this undeniably. “SAN is the attentional process that underlies exact number recognition initiated by the mathematical thinking triggered by SFON (e.g., attention to “threeness” directed by conceptual knowledge of “three” activated by SFON).” Furthermore, in their response, Dr Baroody and Dr Li admit that “An awareness of the SFON literature did help us explicitly recognize that, given the ambiguous instructions that do not explicitly direct a child’s attention to number, both the nonverbal production and matching tasks were useful in assessing unguided or spontaneous attention to a number.” It is surprising that in their response to the European Journal of Educational Psychology, the authors maintain their claim that they have cited the SFON literature adequately in their study about SAN.     

对象概念的具身认知能力模型构建

研究旨在从具身认知视角重新建构概念熟悉度、概念掌握度及名词具身性的定义和评价指标,探索了具体名词的具身性与概念掌握度的关系。借助Amsel等(2012)的调查结果和MRC心理语言学数据,采用逻辑演绎与回归分析结合的建模法构建了376个具体名词的具身性与概念掌握度的关系模型,提出了具身认知能力假设。结果表明,对象概念的在线加工过程呈现出一个较长的“停滞期”,反映了认知主体的具身认知潜势。     

具身认知视角下的道德隐喻表征

道德隐喻已成为道德心理学研究的热点问题,随着具身认知相关理论的兴起,道德隐喻的具身研究逐渐展开。目前,具身道德隐喻的维度主要包括空间、温度、洁净、颜色、明暗、触觉、味觉、嗅觉等。具身道德隐喻的相关理论解释主要包括概念隐喻理论、具身认知理论、知觉符号理论和架构理论。今后的具身道德隐喻应更多的探讨跨文化的差异性,丰富道德隐喻具身维度的内容以及各维度之间的相关性,同时要引入道德隐喻的影响机制分析。     

心智化社会认知观的演变及发展——来自潜心智化的思考

社会认知的机制一直存在心智化与具身认知观点的争论。前者认为社会认知是对心理状态的推测,而后者则认为社会认知是具身实践活动。虽然,心智化研究者认为具身认知有关灵长类动物和婴儿的社会认知的解释可以兼容于内隐心智化,但内隐心智化在解释社会互动时仍然存在间接性的问题。近期,潜心智化理论旨在挑战上述立场中有关社会认知先天论的预设,该理论将个体的潜心智化视为内隐心智化的替代,通过检验与分析相关研究的构想效度,强调社会认知是从非社会性的一般认知功能中衍生而来的,这种立场在社会认知的领域特殊性与非社会认知的领域一般性之间建立起了纽带,从而挑战了心智化与具身认知的争论。未来研究应设计更为严谨的心智化研究方法并对其进行方法学验证,借助先进的技术手段,尝试在神经科学层面探索一般认知功能与社会认知的关系。     

Let’s twist again! Embodiment effects in spatial judgments on human figures rotated along a vertical axis

We investigated whether individuals used mental rotation and embodiment for arm laterality judgments of human figures that were stepwise rotated from back view to front view along a vertical axis. In Experiment 1, figures’ heads were always shown in profile, while only the bodies were rotated. Judgments were faster and more correct when figures were presented in back view compared to front view, but the relation between reaction times (RTs) and rotation angles was not strictly linear. In addition, judgments on figures in anatomically possible postures were better than on figures in impossible postures. In Experiment 2, figures’ heads were turned together with their body. RTs and rotation angles were linearly related. Results suggest that individuals use both mental rotation and a more direct matching between their own body and that of the figures, when making arm laterality judgments of human figures that are rotated along a vertical axis.