Realism,Rational Action,and the Humean Theory of Motivation

Realists about practical reasons agree that judgments regarding reasons are beliefs. They disagree, however, over the question of how such beliefs motivate rational action. Some adopt a Humean conception of motivation, according to which beliefs about reasons must combine with independently existing desires in order to motivate rational action; others adopt an anti-Humean view, according to which beliefs can motivate rational action in their own right, either directly or by giving rise to a new desire that in turn motivates the action. I argue that the realist who adopts a Humean model for explaining rational action will have a difficult time giving a plausible account of the role that desire plays in this explanation. I explore four interpretations of this role and argue that none allows a Humean theory to explain rational action as convincingly as an anti-Humean theory does. The first two models, in different ways, make acting on a reason impossible. The third allows this possibility, but only by positing a reason-sensitive desire that itself demands an explanation. The fourth avoids this explanatory challenge only by retreating to an empty form of the Humean view. In contrast, an anti-Humean theory can provide an intuitively plausible explanation of rational action. I conclude that the realist about reasons should adopt an anti-Humean theory to explain rational action.

哀伤研究：新的视角与理论整合

哀伤（bereavement）研究长期以来都依循“悲伤过程假设（griefworkhypothesis）”,但20世纪80年代后其强调“与逝者分离”的基本假设受到挑战,界定的模糊也使得实证研究工作难以进行。当代研究者从依恋理论、创伤研究、认知应对研究、情感的社会功能等视角多方面对哀伤领域进行深入探索并出现了一些整合性的理论模型,文中对有代表性的“依恋与哀伤双程模型”作了介绍,并对“悲伤过程假设”进行了重新检视     

“大五”与五因素模型：两种不同的人格结构

随着词汇学取向的“大五”结构和理论取向的五因素模型的出现,人格研究者就人格分类系统的问题达成了初步的共识。“大五”结构和五因素模型在形式和内容上有很多相似之处,但二者在历史渊源、内容形式、基本性质、研究走向等方面都存在一定的差异。文章试图从以上方面明确二者的差异,以澄清相关的混淆和误解,并在文章结语部分对两种取向研究对中国人人格结构研究的启示进行了详细的分析     

关于学习环模式的研究综述

学习环模式是一种有效的科学学习与教学模式。西方科学教育工作者对此做了大量研究,取得了丰硕成果。本文综述了学习环模式的理论基础、基本结构与发展。这一模式对于我国当前中小学科学课程设计和探究性学习的开展有一定的借鉴意义。     

合作数学问题解决与心理模型建构关系研究

合作学习研究者很早就开始关注合作互动中解释的作用。Chi关于自我解释的研究表明解释是一种非常有效果的学习现象,能够起到修补和建立学习者的心理模型的作用。本研究以28名高一学生为被试,采取了两种程序的合作学习任务,研究中虽然没有发现两种程序在问题解决结果上的显著差异,但是却表现出在心理模型建构方面互动效果上的差异,或表现为同等效果下的互动次数有显著性差异。     

基于三角互动模型评判人员选拔的有效性

分析了评判人员选拔的有效性存在的误区,指出评判人员选拔的有效性不应局限于评判素质测评的有效性,还应该全面地评判工作分析、人员管理、绩效评估等环节的有效性。提出了评判人员选拔有效性的三角互动模型,并指出这一模型所揭示的提高人员选拔有效性的途径。     

Burnout and connectedness among Australian volunteers: A test of the Job Demands-Resources model

This study used the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, developed in the context of occupational well-being in the paid workforce, to examine the antecedents of burnout and connectedness in the formal volunteer rural ambulance officer vocation (N = 487). Structural equation modeling using self-reports provide strong evidence for the central assumptions of the JD-R model. The findings confirm that burnout fully mediates the relationship between job demands and health problems (Hypothesis 1), and between job demands and determination to continue (Hypothesis 2). In addition, results show that connectedness fully mediates the relationship between job resources and determination to continue (Hypothesis 3). These findings have important practical implications because of the increasing problem of volunteer recruitment and retention.     

Explaining errors in children's questions

The ability to explain the occurrence of errors in children's speech is an essential component of successful theories of language acquisition. The present study tested some generativist and constructivist predictions about error on the questions produced by ten English-learning children between 2 and 5 years of age. The analyses demonstrated that, as predicted by some generativist theories [e.g. Santelmann, L., Berk, S., Austin, J., Somashekar, S. & Lust. B. (2002). Continuity and development in the acquisition of inversion in yes/no questions: dissociating movement and inflection, Journal of Child Language, 29, 813-842], questions with auxiliary DO attracted higher error rates than those with modal auxiliaries. However, in wh-questions, questions with modals and DO attracted equally high error rates, and these findings could not be explained in terms of problems forming questions with why or negated auxiliaries. It was concluded that the data might be better explained in terms of a constructivist account that suggests that entrenched item-based constructions may be protected from error in children's speech, and that errors occur when children resort to other operations to produce questions [e.g. Dabrowska, E. (2000). From formula to schema: the acquisition of English questions. Cognitive Liguistics, 11, 83-102; Rowland, C. F. & Pine, J. M. (2000). Subject-auxiliary inversion errors and wh-question acquisition: What children do know? Journal of Child Language, 27, 157-181; Tomasello, M. (2003). Constructing a language: A usage-based theory of language acquisition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press]. However, further work on constructivist theory development is required to allow researchers to make predictions about the nature of these operations.     

Model specification search using a genetic algorithm with factor reordering for a simple structure factor analysis model

Abstract:  Many techniques for automated model specification search based on numerical indices have been proposed, but no single decisive method has yet been determined. In the present article, the performance and features of the model specification search method using a genetic algorithm (GA) were verified. A GA is a robust and simple metaheuristic algorithm with great searching power. While there has already been some research applying metaheuristics to the model fitting task, we focus here on the search for a simple structure factor analysis model and propose a customized algorithm for dealing with certain problems specific to that situation. First, implementation of model specification search using a GA with factor reordering for a simple structure factor analysis is proposed. Then, through a simulation study using generated data with a known true structure and through example analysis using real data, the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed method were demonstrated.     

Independence of sampling of motion parallax and binocular disparity in discrimination of depth1

Abstract: The sampling strategy of the visual system in binocular disparity and motion parallax to discriminate depth was investigated. Human observers were asked to discriminate between the depths of two surfaces defined by both cues. Gaussian noise was added to the depths represented by each cue, and the correlation in noise was manipulated. Human performance was compared with two types of likelihood models. The first was based on independent sampling, in which data from the two cues were gathered from independent sets of points in the display. The second was based on paired sampling, in which data from these cues were gathered from the same set of points. The former model yielded a better fit with human performance. This suggests that the visual system is more likely to adopt independent sampling.