The Functions of Integration and Confrontation in Internal Dialogues

While integrative and confrontational internal dialogues (IDs) are often treated as opposing and numerous positive functions are ascribed to the former, this paper assumes that integration and confrontation are not mutually exclusive but independent processes. When exploring IDs that simulate social relationships and are described by different configurations of integrative and confrontational characteristics, canonical correlation analysis revealed that in competitive dialogue, the strong confrontational attitude of the dialogue's author is accompanied by the weak integrative attitudes of both ID parties. The more the ID is based on a rivalry between the parties, the lower the levels of bond, support, and insight functions are and the higher the level of substitution is. In persuasive dialogue, the confrontational attitude of the dialogue's author is combined with the integrative attitudes of both parties. The more the ID is based on persuasion, the higher the intensity of substitution, insight, bond, support, and self-guiding is. The findings suggest a synergistic effect of co-occurring integrative and confrontational attitudes in one ID.     

Flying dreams stimulated by an immersive virtual reality task

Despite a high prevalence and broad interest in flying dreams, these exceptional experiences remain infrequent. Our study aimed to (1) induce flying dreams using a custom-built virtual reality (VR) flying task, (2) examine their phenomenological correlates and (3) investigate their relations to participant state and trait factors. 137 participants underwent VR-flying followed by a morning nap. They also completed home dream journals for 5 days before and 10 days after the VR exposure. VR-flying successfully increased the reporting of flying dreams during the laboratory nap and on the following morning compared to both baseline frequencies and a control cohort. Flying dreams were also changed qualitatively, exhibiting higher levels of Lucid-control and emotional intensity, after VR exposure. Factors such as prior dream-flying experiences and level of VR sensory immersion modulated flying dream induction. Findings are consistent with a new vection-based explanation of dream-flying and may facilitate development of dream flight-induction technologies.     

A simulation sickness study on a driving simulator equipped with a vibration platform

Simulator sickness is a well-known side effect of driving simulation which may reduce the passenger well-being and performance due to its various symptoms, from pallor to vomiting. Numerous reducing countermeasures have been previously tested; however, they often have undesirable side effects. The present study investigated the possible effect of seat vibrations on simulator sickness. Three configurations were tested: no vibrations, realistic ones and some that might affect the proprioception. Twenty-nine participants were exposed to the three configurations on a four-minute long automated driving in a simulator equipped with a vibration platform. Simulator sickness was estimated thanks to the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) and to a postural instability measure. Results showed that vibrations help to reduce the sickness. Our findings demonstrate that some specific vibration configurations may have a positive impact on the sickness, thus confirming the usefulness of devices reproducing the road vibrations in addition to creating more immersion for the driver.     

A driving simulation study to investigate the information threshold of graphical variable message signs based on visual perception characteristics of drivers

Graphical variable message signs (VMSs) are infrastructure-based advanced traveler information systems widely used to provide drivers with real-time traffic condition information about a road section or area. However, there is a lack of research on the suitable volume of information to be shown on graphical VMSs. In practice, an overload of VMS information commonly exists, especially on China’s highways. Building on our earlier findings obtained through surveys and static cognitive experiments, this study introduces the use of dynamic simulation experiments to assess the influence of the volume of information (i.e., number of roads displayed) on graphical VMSs from the perspective of drivers’ visual perception characteristics. Thirty-two drivers participated in the driving simulation experiment and questionnaires. Five indexes, including legibility speed, legibility distance, legibility time, comprehension accuracy, and driver subjective scoring, were thoroughly analyzed to evaluate their relationships to different volumes of information (i.e., four, five, and six roads shown on a VMS). The results show that the legibility distance notably decreased with increasing volumes of information. The comprehension accuracy decreased significantly when the number of roads shown increased to six. The legibility speed, legibility time, and subjective scoring also deteriorated as the number of roads displayed on the VMS increased. The index scores were evaluated, in combination with the data of the drivers’ subjective scoring, data-based statistical analyses, and comprehensive evaluations using the TOPSIS method, to recommend that five is the recommended maximum number of roads to be shown on a graphical VMS. The results of this study support the goal of providing understandable and effective messages for drivers by addressing issues relating to how much information should be displayed on a VMS. These findings provide a basis for policy development to ensure consistent and practical designs of graphical VMSs on highways.     

时间的多维度空间表征:分离的起源与激活机制

近期研究发现时间可以分别在三个空间维度(左右、前后和上下)进行表征, 但不同维度心理时间线的起源和激活机制尚存争议。最新证据表明, 左右维度时间线主要起源于阅读/书写习惯所伴随的感觉运动经验, 其激活可能是一种低水平的感觉运动机制; 前后和上下维度时间线主要起源于语言中的空间隐喻, 其激活可能是一种高水平的语义机制。未来研究应更关注心理时间线的起源多样性、先天基础、神经机制以及时间线和数字线的类比。     

Effects of specific emotions on subjective judgment,driving performance,and perceived workload

The aim of this paper was to explore effects of specific emotions on subjective judgment, driving performance, and perceived workload. The traditional driving behavior research has focused on cognitive aspects such as attention, judgment, and decision making. Psychological findings have indicated that affective states also play a critical role in a user’s rational, functional, and intelligent behaviors. Most applied emotion research has concentrated on simple valence and arousal dimensions. However, recent findings have indicated that different emotions may have different impacts, even though they belong to the same valence or arousal. To identify more specific affective effects, seventy undergraduate participants drove in a vehicle simulator under three different road conditions, with one of the following induced affective states: anger, fear, happiness, or neutral. We measured their subjective judgment of driving confidence, risk perception, and safety level after affect induction; four types of driving errors: Lane Keeping, Traffic Rules, Aggressive Driving, and Collision while driving; and the electronic NASA-TLX after driving. Induced anger clearly showed negative effects on subjective safety level and led to degraded driving performance compared to neutral and fear. Happiness also showed degraded driving performance compared to neutral and fear. Fear did not have any significant effect on subjective judgment, driving performance, or perceived workload. Results suggest that we may need to take emotions and affect into account to construct a naturalistic and generic driving behavior model. To this end, a specific-affect approach is needed, beyond the sheer valence and arousal dimensions. Given that workload results are similar across affective states, examining affective effects may also require a different approach than just the perceived workload framework. The present work is expected to guide emotion detection research and help develop an emotion regulation model and adaptive interfaces for drivers.     

Personality,counterfactual thinking,and negative emotional reactivity

ObjectivesPeople differ substantially in their emotional responses to negative stimuli. Separate lines of research have reported that individual differences and mental simulations contribute to emotional symptoms. Here, we explore the independent and interrelated contribution of personality traits and counterfactual thoughts to the intensity, duration, and overproduction of negative emotions.MethodA sample of mixed-level athletes (n = 243) completed questionnaire assessments in relation to their most recent unsuccessful competition.ResultsWe found that personality dimensions (extraversion, neuroticism, and openness) relate to the direction and magnitude of person counterfactuals. We also found that personality dimensions (neuroticism, extraversion, openness, and agreeableness) and the direction of counterfactual thoughts (upward or downward) relate to the intensity, duration, and/or overproduction of negative emotions. Lastly, we found that personality and counterfactual thoughts had independent rather than interrelated contributions to the experience of unpleasant emotions.ConclusionsThese findings carry important theoretical and practical implications with regard to identifying individuals susceptible to experiencing elevated emotional symptoms in response to short-term stressors.     

An Evolutionary Analysis of Learned Attention

Humans and many other species selectively attend to stimuli or stimulus dimensions—but why should an animal constrain information input in this way? To investigate the adaptive functions of attention, we used a genetic algorithm to evolve simple connectionist networks that had to make categorization decisions in a variety of environmental structures. The results of these simulations show that while learned attention is not universally adaptive, its benefit is not restricted to the reduction of input complexity in order to keep it within an organism's processing capacity limitations. Instead, being able to shift attention provides adaptive benefit by allowing faster learning with fewer errors in a range of ecologically plausible environments.     

缺失数据的结构方程建模:全息极大似然估计时辅助变量的作用

本研究通过蒙特卡洛模拟考查了采用全息极大似然估计进行缺失数据建模时辅助变量的作用。具体考查了辅助变量与研究变量的共缺机制、共缺率、相关程度、辅助变量数目与样本量等因素对参数估计结果精确性的影响。结果表明,当辅助与研究变量共缺时:(1)对于完全随机缺失的辅助变量,结果更容易出现偏差;(2)对于MAR-MAR组合机制,纳入单个辅助变量是有益的;对于MAR-MCAR或MAR-MNAR组合机制,纳入多于一个辅助变量的效果更好;(3)纳入与研究变量低相关的辅助变量对结果也是有益的。