Shooting the messenger won’t change the news

Malcolm-Smith, Solms, Turnbull and Tredoux [Malcolm-Smith, S., Solms, M., Turnbull, O., & Tredoux, C. (2008). Threat in dreams: An adaptation? Consciousness and Cognition, 17, 1281–1291.] conducted a rigorous study that sampled two populations differentially exposed to threat in real life, and found that critical predictions from the Threat Simulation Theory of dreams [Revonsuo, A. (2000a). The reinterpretation of dreams: An evolutionary hypothesis of the function of dreaming. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 23, 877-901.; Revonsuo, A. (2000b). Did ancestral humans dream for their lives? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 23, 1063–1082.] were not supported. Specifically, we found no evidence of increased realistic threats to physical survival or enhanced threat avoidance in the dreams of those from the exposed population. Revonsuo and Valli’s [Revonsuo, A., & Valli, K. (2008). How to test the threat simulation theory. Consciousness and Cognition, 17, 1292-1296.] commentary on our study argues that the methods we used are so flawed as to render the results meaningless. In this response article, we address the criticisms raised in their commentary.     

War-Related Dream Themes in Germany from 1956 to 2000

Based on the continuity hypothesis of dreaming, the effects of World War II on the dreams of German persons have been studied. The present study included four representative samples from 1956 to 2000 (repeated cross-sectional surveys). Although a decline of war-related dream themes over time was found, the heightened rate of these themes in the oldest age group (60 years and older) in the year 2000 indicate the long-lasting effect of emotionally salient life experiences on dreams. The present findings indicate that the method of dream content analysis is a very informative approach to study the effects of political events on the inner life of people and, thus, of value for the field of political science.     

Broadcasting of violence on Spanish television: a quantitative panorama

A quantitative analysis of broadcasted violence by the main television (TV) channels transmitting for Madrid (Spain) was carried out using a novel method that randomly selects fragments of delimited duration from TV broadcasts. The device selects acts of aggression shown in those TV extracts, and classifies them according to their type. There was a high incidence of aggressive acts, especially physical (particularly leading to death), in TV fiction: films, serials and promos. The device also allowed examination of the prominence of aggression in children's programs, as well as showing minimal variation in the number of aggressive acts over screened time intervals. The pattern of the collected data suggests that the broadcasting of violence on TV emphasizes the conflicting elements of social reality, reproducing it in fiction, news reports and children's shows. Aggr. Behav. 32:137–145. 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

学习与推行“恶性肿瘤诊治规范”是临床（肿瘤）医生紧迫而持久的任务

恶性肿瘤是迄今威胁人民生命健康最常见、最凶险的一大类疾病,关于它的诊断和治疗,既十分复杂而又涉及多学科协作,制定一种权威性的临床肿瘤诊治规范或指南,去规范临床(肿瘤)医生的医疗实践,有着多方面的重要意义,学习与贯彻指南需要采取一系列措施。     

15-month-old infants detect violations in pretend scenarios

Are 15-month-old infants able to detect a violation in the consistency of an event sequence that involves pretense? In Experiment 1, infants detected a violation when an actor pretended to pour liquid into one cup and then pretended to drink from another cup. In Experiment 2, infants no longer detected a violation when the cups were replaced with objects not typically used in the context of drinking actions, either shoes or tubes. Experiment 3 showed that infants' difficulty in Experiment 2 was not due to the use of atypical objects per se, but arose from the novelty of seeing an actor appearing to drink from these objects. After receiving a single familiarization trial in which they observed the actor pretend to drink from either a shoe or a tube, infants now detected a violation when the actor pretended to pour into and to drink from different shoes or tubes. Thus, at an age (or just before the age) when infants are beginning to engage in pretend play, they are able to show comprehension of at least one aspect of pretense in a violation-of-expectation task: specifically, they are able to detect violations in the consistency of pretend action sequences.     

光栅朝向分辨学习中存在关于45°对角线对称的镜像迁

采用光栅朝向分辨任务来探讨视知觉学习中是否存在关于45°对角线对称的镜像迁移现象。训练被试分辨15°或75°朝向3或5天,每天约1小时,训练前后测量15°、75°、45°朝向的分辨阈值。通过训练,训练朝向（15°或75°）的阈值下降,该学习效应没有迁移至45°朝向,但基本迁移到关于45°对称的朝向（75°或15°）上。这提示,视知觉学习可能发生在中间视皮层,该皮层同时具有一定的朝向特异性和关于45°对角线对称的镜像迁移性     

高中二年级学生双字词阅读知觉广度的眼动研究

采用“呈现随眼动变化技术”对12名高中二年级学生的双字词阅读知觉广度进行了眼动研究。结果发现：（1）高中二年级学生的双字词阅读知觉广度具有不对称性。（2）高中二年级学生的双字词阅读知觉广度为注视点左侧一个双字词到右侧两个双字词的空间。     

THOG问题促进效应研究

通过选取经典的THOG问题作为实验材料,探讨了大学生解决具体以及抽象选言推理问题的认知机制,结果发现:(1)具体内容的选言推理问题对抽象内容的选言推理问题有明显的促进效应,表现为先解决逃犯问题后解决THOG问题组的正确率显著高于先解决THOG问题后解决逃犯问题组;(2)提供笼统的解题策略对大学生解决THOG问题几乎没有促进作用。     

言语理解中的知觉符号表征与命题符号表征

采用移动窗口技术探讨言语理解中信息表征的方式。被试为华南师范大学本科生96名。实验材料按照探测图画中物体的形状跟先前阅读的句子中描述的物体的隐含形状的关系总体上分为两类,一类是匹配版本,一类是不匹配版本。采用相关样本t检验分别对两种条件下图画再认的反应时间和正确率进行统计分析。实验1中被试读完句子以后马上进行图画探测任务,结果表明这时被试头脑中进行的是知觉符号表征。实验2中被试的阅读任务难度增大,结果表明这时被试头脑中进行的是命题符号表征。实验3中被试阅读的关键信息进入长时记忆以后再进行图画探测任务,结果表明这时被试头脑中进行的也是命题符号表征。总的实验结果表明言语理解中既存在知觉符号表征,也存在命题符号表征,知觉符号表征是信息表征的一种早期状态,人类头脑中最终的信息表征形式主要是命题符号表征。     

认知与情绪相互关系的实验研究——刺激的局部知觉特征改变对再认成份的影响

通过实验性分离,考察了刺激材料的局部知觉特征的改变如何影响再认的加工过程。结果发现刺激的局部知觉特征改变主要影响了再认的自动提取加工,对于意识性提取加工影响不大。综合前期的研究结果,对人的认知系统如何加工信息以唤醒情绪与再认的过程及其特点进行了深入分析。