Recognition Memory for Faces: Reliability and Validity of the Warrington Recognition Memory Test (RMT) in a Neurological Sample

In response to critiques regarding the psychometric limitations of the Warrington Recognition Memory Test for faces (RMT-F), the current study was conducted to examine the test-retest reliability and validity of the measure in a neurological sample. Forty adult outpatients, ages 35–81, were administered the RMT-F as part of their diagnostic exam. A second evaluation was conducted after an average interval of 7 months (range = 2–20 months). Results yielded a Pearson reliability coefficient of 0.81 (p < .001), indicating a clinically satisfactory index of stability. Correlations with other measures were conducted to examine convergent and divergent validity. Results indicate that the facial component of the RMT has adequate reliability for patients with established neurological disease, shows moderate correlations with other measures of complex visuospatial function, and shows no significant correlation with measures of verbal reasoning, visual problem-solving, or verbal fluency. These findings provide additional support for the clinical efficacy of this instrument for use in a diverse neurological patient sample.     

Innate versus learned recognition of conspecifics in great spotted cuckoos Clamator glandarius

When birds raised by another species become adults, they (if they are non-brood-parasitic species) usually attempt to mate with birds of their foster species rather than with birds of their own species, a phenomenon called sexual imprinting. Avian brood parasites lay their eggs in nests of other species (the hosts) that rear the young, but the problem of sexual imprinting among brood parasites has generally been neglected, and brood parasites have been considered as an exception among birds. Here, we show, with data from field observations and field experiments, firstly, that adult great spotted cuckoos Clamator glandarius sometimes maintain contact with both older nestling and fledgling cuckoos. Adult cuckoos visited parasitized nests during the last days of the nestling period (5 observations) and, when parasitic chicks left the nest, adult cuckoos maintained contact with the young (14 observations). Adults and fledgling cuckoos communicated vocally (5 observations), and an adult great spotted cuckoo even fed a parasite fledgling in two cases. Secondly, when experimentally cross-fostered in nests of magpie Pica pica hosts outside the parasite breeding range (thus avoiding visual and acoustic communication with adult cuckoos), young cuckoos did not learn to recognize their own species when only one cuckoo chick was introduced per nest, but they learnt to recognize conspecifics when two cuckoos were reared together. This means that young great spotted cuckoos apparently must learn to recognize conspecifics, that is, recognition is not innate. Social interactions between adult brood parasites and young have also been reported in other brood parasites; thus, brood parasites are probably not an exception to the general phenomenon of imprinting, and young brood parasites may need to be imprinted on conspecifics, although more studies on other brood parasite species are needed to confirm this. Received: 7 January 1999 / Accepted after revision: 27 February 1999     

汉字词识别过程的形,音,义编码作用的研究

本文通过两个实验,采用汉字词形、音、义特征匹配任务,探讨了影响汉字词的形、音、义编码与提取方式的有关因素。实验一发现在速示条件下,对汉字词再认的成绩并不受字词的使用度的影响,反应时无明显变化,而主要受编码加工的深度影响。在形、音、义特征加工中,对音码的加工时间最长,再认的正确率最低;义码的加工时间较短,再认正确率最高;形码的反应时及再认成绩介于音码与义码之间。实验二在非速示条件下也获得了相同的结果。研究结果表明,在汉字词的形、音、义特征中,存在着编码加工深度的差异。     

Coping and emotional distress in a sample of Swedish unemployed.

The study investigated the associations between coping and symptoms of emotional distress within a sample of 166 unemployed men and women (mean age 40 +/- 10 years, range 22 to 63 years, 52% males). All variables were measured with a questionnaire comprising sociodemographic background, length of unemployment, financial strain, coping style ("Ways of Coping Checklist"), and emotional distress (Hopkins Symptom Check List-25). Emotional distress was positively related to financial strain and more common among younger subjects, divorced subjects and those with foreign background, but less frequent among subjects who had been unemployed for more than three years. After controlling for age, gender, education, foreign background, length of unemployment and financial strain, hierarchical regression analyses showed that emotion-focused coping, i.e. self-blame and wishful thinking, was positively related to emotional distress. Problem-focused coping and cognitive restructuring were negatively associated with emotional distress. Younger subjects and divorced subjects made frequent use of both emotion-focused and problem-focused coping. Female subject and subjects with mandatory school made frequent use of emotion focused coping, if exposed to high financial strain. Problem-focused coping was less frequent among subjects with a low education coupled with low financial strain. Cognitive restructuring was less common among subjects who had been unemployed for more than three years. Younger subjects who were also divorced made less use of both problem-focused coping and cognitive restructuring. The results confirm that coping style has importance for the mental health of the unemployed, and indicate a differential use of coping strategies among subjects with different sociodemographic backgrounds and different levels of financial strain.     

School Counselors and Gifted Kids: Respecting Both Cognitive and Affective

Giftedness can be both an asset and a burden when gifted students respond to developmental challenges. Characteristics associated with high intellectual ability likely affect how gifted students experience social, emotional, and career development, regardless of level of academic achievement. Counselors' lack of awareness of such qualitative differences, as well as positive and negative biases, may interfere with the therapeutic relationship. Characteristics related to giftedness, vulnerabilities, concerns, and counseling strategies are the focus of this article.     

情绪领导力：概念、测量、发展与模型建构

情绪领导力是指领导者基于自身情绪能力, 通过情绪传染和策略运用来有效管理组织成员的正性和负性情绪, 充分发挥不同情绪的有利效价, 营造应景的组织情绪氛围, 带领组织成员为实现组织共同目标而奋斗。目前, 情绪领导力的测量主要是借用情绪智力量表, 缺乏标准化工具。情绪领导力的研究发展经历3个阶段：以领导情绪能力为中心、以领导情绪传染为中心和以情绪领导力为中心。基于各阶段研究梳理, 建构整合模型：遗传基因、人格和情绪特质对情绪领导力起预测作用, 大脑活动(右侧额叶)与情绪领导力互为因果关系。情绪领导力通过直接和间接两条路径对个体和组织层面的领导效能产生显著影响。未来研究应加强对概念、测量、调节机制、生物基础、组织层面议题和跨文化对比等方面进行探讨。     

Decision Strategies and the Confidence–Accuracy Relationship in Face Recognition

The decision strategy used to select a choice set from an array of alternative options is known to affect the composition of the final choice set. Specifically, individuals incorporate more answers into their choice set when it is created by eliminating implausible items than when the set is created through the inclusion of plausible options. This difference is accounted for in a decision framework that posits a general reluctance to change the status quo (i.e., actively include or exclude an item). We extended this work to investigate, not only the decisions themselves, but also metacognitive judgments (i.e., confidence in the accuracy of the choice set). In two face recognition experiments, we tested the impact of decision strategy (Experiment 1) and confidence judgment strategy (Experiment 2) on the confidence–accuracy relationship. In Experiment 1, participants completed two blocks of recognition trials, one under inclusion (marking previously seen faces) and one under elimination (marking previously unseen faces) instructions. We observed superior resolution (i.e., discrimination between correct and incorrect) for inclusion trials, but only when they were completed prior to use of the elimination strategy. In Experiment 2, all participants completed face recognition trials under inclusion instructions, but we manipulated the strategy used to assess confidence. Again, we observed a significant impact of strategy on confidence–accuracy resolution. Thus, we observed that both the strategy employed to reach a decision and that employed to assess confidence affected the confidence–accuracy relationship. We discuss theoretical and applied (particularly for eyewitness identification and multiple‐choice testing) implications. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

句子语境中汉语词汇识别的即时加工过程

视觉词汇的认知加工及语境对这一过程的影响是心理语言学和认知心理学研究的热点。本研究采用眼动方法与ERP技术相结合的手段,考察了句子语境中汉语词汇识别的加工过程。通过六个实验, 探讨了不同限制性语境中汉语词汇形、音的作用及作用的脑机制, 不同偏向性语境对词汇歧义消解的影响及词汇歧义消解的脑机制。该研究结果揭示了句子语境对汉语词汇识别的影响, 提供了眼动方法和ERP技术相结合考察语言认知的研究范例。     

Differences in alexithymia and emotional awareness in exhaustion syndrome and chronic fatigue syndrome

Symptoms of Exhaustion Syndrome (ES) and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) are overlapping and create difficulties of differential diagnosis. Empirical studies comparing ES and CFS are scarce. This study aims to investigate if there are any emotional differences between ES and CFS. This cross‐sectional study compared self‐reported alexithymia and observer‐rated emotional awareness in patients with ES (n = 31), CFS (n = 38) and healthy controls (HC) (n = 30). Self‐reported alexithymia was measured with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale‐20 (TAS‐20) and emotional awareness with an observer‐rated performance test, the Level of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS). Additionally, depression and anxiety were scored by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results show that patients with ES expressed higher self‐reported alexithymia in the TAS‐20 compared to HC, but had similar emotional awareness capacity in the observer‐rated performance test, the LEAS. Patients with CFS expressed more difficulties in identifying emotions compared to HCs, and performed significantly worse in the LEAS‐total and spent more time completing the LEAS as compared to HC. Correlation and multiple regressions analyses revealed that depression and anxiety positively correlated with and explained part of the variances in alexithymia scores, while age and group explained the major part of the variance in LEAS. Findings of this study indicate that emotional status is different in patients with ES and CFS with respect to both self‐reported alexithymia and observer‐rated emotional awareness. Emotional parameters should be approached both in clinical investigation and psychotherapy for patients with ES and CFS.     

IS MY FEELING YOUR PAIN BAD FOR OTHERS? EMPATHY AS VIRTUE VERSUS EMPATHY AS FIXED TRAIT

The purpose of this article is to (1) critique the primary arguments given by Paul Bloom and Jesse Prinz against empathy, and (2) to argue instead that empathy is best understood as a virtue that plays an important but complicated role in the moral life. That it is a virtue does not mean that it always functions well, and empathy sometimes contributes to behavior that is partial and unfair. In some of their writings, both Bloom and Prinz endorse the view that empathy is a fixed trait, but there is little reason to think this, and the studies that they cite do not support this view. Further, a number of recent studies suggest the opposite: our empathic reactions are malleable and subject to environmental effects and learning. Although our capacities for cognitive and emotional empathy are clearly not sufficient for being moral, I argue that they are functionally necessary traits that, like other virtues, must be cultivated correctly.