Effects of context expectation on prospective memory performance among older and younger adults

This experiment examined the impact of context expectation on prospective memory (PM) performance among older and younger adults. Participants responded to PM target words embedded in an ongoing lexical decision task (LDT). Older and younger adults performed similarly on the PM task. Regardless of age, PM was significantly better for participants in the correct context expectation condition and significantly worse in the incorrect context expectation condition relative to participants who held no expectations about the context in which targets would appear. Participants’ LDT response latencies were used to assess cost of the PM task to the ongoing task. Latencies were discernibly longer in the LDT block where the PM targets were expected compared to the block where they were not expected. The findings provide new information about how context can be used to support PM aging and suggest that contextual information can be equally beneficial for older and younger adults.     

Training of practitioners and beliefs about family skills in family-based prevention programmes

To ensure close adherence to the contents of a family-based cognitive-behavioural programme, and maintain a high standard of quality in its implementation, it is important that practitioners’ attitudes and beliefs regarding family skills coincide with those of the programme. This paper describes and analyses (observed) potential changes in these beliefs, after training courses held prior to the application of a prevention programme for families: the Family Competence Programme. A questionnaire was devised to examine practitioners’ beliefs regarding family skills; and completed both before and after the training course. The results point to significant changes in family dynamics, realistic expectations and active listening. Thus, it can be demonstrated that preliminary training courses promote practitioner attitudes and beliefs which are more coherent with a subsequent programme’s approach.     

安乐死立法为什么这样难

关于安乐死的争论由来已久,虽然目前全世界仅有荷兰等极少数国家通过了有关安乐死的法案,但安乐死实际已经在许多国家悄悄实施,越来越多的人对安乐死持肯定态度已成为不争的事实.贵州省贵阳市一个体行医者赵某还声称自己实施过几例"安乐死".我们实在不知道这种"违规"操作在现实中究竟有多少?这些事实提醒我们不应再就安乐死问题采取回避和视而不见的态度,而应正视它,并尽快制定出明确的法规,在认可安乐死的同时,规范安乐死的实施,作出符合人类理性的选择和符合人类法的精神决断.     

对未来思考的思考

未来思考是前瞻性思考,旨在解决人生发展任务。人类的未来思考有多种类型。从是否具有现实性上来看,可以把未来思考分为两种主要形式：期望和幻想。幻想抑制动机和行为,但是,如果对幻想和不利现实因素进行心理对照,幻想就可以转变成执行性意图,这是因为心理对照过程能够产生美好未来和当前现实的同时通达。我们还探讨了习惯于不同自我监控思维模式的人对待时间、失败的人格差异,并提出了进一步的研究方向。     

Bridging the intention–behavior gap: Inducing implementation intentions through persuasive appeals

The potential of using implementation intentions—action plans that link a critical situational cue to a specific goal-directed behavior—to bridge the intention–behavior gap in consumer behavior has been limited by the practice of using explicit instructions to induce the construct. In two studies, we therefore tested the effectiveness of an indirect, persuasive strategy that benefits from the positive consequences of implementation intentions by ‘mimicking’ their underlying psychological processes. Experiment 1 showed that a strategy presenting vivid information on critical cues and appropriate behavioral responses affected mental imagery. Experiment 2 demonstrated that this strategy affected actual purchase behavior.     

The effects of "thin ideal" media on women's body image concerns and eating-related intentions: the beneficial role of an autonomous regulation of eating behaviors

The present study examines the protective role of an autonomous regulation of eating behaviors (AREB) on the relationship between trait body dissatisfaction and women's body image concerns and eating-related intentions in response to “thin ideal” media. Undergraduate women (n = 138) were randomly assigned to view a “thin ideal” video or a neutral video. As hypothesized, trait body dissatisfaction predicted more negative affect and size dissatisfaction following exposure to the “thin ideal” video among women who displayed less AREB. Conversely, trait body dissatisfaction predicted greater intentions to monitor food intake and limit unhealthy foods following exposure to the “thin ideal” video among women who displayed more AREB.     

Extending the challenge-hindrance model of occupational stress: The role of appraisal

Interest regarding the challenge-hindrance occupational stress model has increased in recent years, however its theoretical foundation has not been tested. Drawing from the transactional theory of stress, this study tests the assumptions made in past research (1) that workload and responsibility are appraised as challenges and role ambiguity and role conflict are appraised as hindrances, and (2) that these appraisals mediate the relationship between these stressors and outcomes (i.e., strains, job dissatisfaction, and turnover intentions). For a sample of 479 employees, we found that although workload, role ambiguity, and role conflict could be appraised primarily as challenges or hindrances, they could also simultaneously be perceived as being both to varying degrees. Support was also found for a model in which primary appraisal partially mediated the stressor-outcome relationship.     

前瞻记忆意图后效中执行错误的机制

前瞻记忆意图后效是指已完成或取消的意图失活失败对当前认知任务造成的干扰。近期研究采用前瞻记忆任务范式探究意图后效的影响因素及认知机制。自发提取-抑制失败和预备性监控两种认知机制的分歧在于提取旧意图是否依赖注意资源的参与。脑成像研究也证实意图提取存在两条神经通路：自发提取通路和预备性监控提取通路。未来研究应探索兼容有意遗忘失败、旧意图再提取、抑制失败三者的研究范式以及降低执行错误的有效措施。     

The effect of personality variables in the prediction of the execution of different prospective memory tasks in the laboratory

The study of prospective memory (ProM), the remembering of the delayed execution of intentions, has been growing in recent years, and we know quite a bit about the cognitive variables that affect it. But the performance of a task depends on personality variables as well as on cognitive ones, and the role of personality variables in ProM has only been partially studied, the results being less conclusive. We sought to address two main objectives: (1) to quantify the joint influence of cognitive and personality variables on three ProM tasks in the laboratory (two based on events and the other on time), and (2) to identify the personality profiles of those who perform well in these three ProM tasks as opposed to those who do not. The cognitive and personality variables were evaluated with two sessions of 157 participants. The 16 PF-5 was applied (Cattell, Cattell & Cattell, 1993) and other cognitive variables were measured. With the data obtained, we ran several regression analyses to determine how some cognitive variables (sustained attention, verbal fluency, interference, retrospective memory, selective attention) and personality factors (tested using the 16 PF-5) can help to explain the variance in the performance of prospective memory tasks. Our results show that the contribution of personality predictor variables is moderate and smaller than that of the cognitive variables for predicting the execution of ProM tasks in the laboratory. Furthermore the intervention of the personality variables differs depending on the ProM tasks used. Global self-control and rule-consciousness were the personality variables that contributed the most in the prediction of the scores in the ProM tasks that were used.     

《公羊传》“以义解经”的意图探析

一般史家眼中的《春秋》是一部简单的历史著作,可公羊家视阈中的《春秋》却是蕴涵“微言大义”的经学宝典。《公羊传》“以义解经”,以为“义”之所在可从作者意图、文本意图和读者意图来窥探。一方面《公羊传》有还原倾向,旨在探求作者意图和文本意图,表现为尊圣宗经原道;另一方面又有生成倾向,多“非常异义可怪之论”,旨在阐述自己的政治、历史、道德理想。