Additive,Multi-Component Treatment of Emerging Refusal Topographies in a Pediatric Feeding Disorder

This case study describes inter-disciplinary treatment of chronic food refusal and tube dependency in a 2-year-old female with a pediatric feeding disorder. Evidence-based behavioral components—including escape extinction (EE), differential reinforcement of alterative mealtime behavior (DRA), and stimulus fading—were introduced sequentially as the focus of treatment shifted to address refusal topographies along the chain of behaviors associated with consumption. The assessment process, treatment planning and sequencing, and generalization of treatment gains to caregivers are presented in detail. In doing so, the study illustrates the core features involved in applying a flexible, evidenced-based approach to treat severe feeding difficulties.     

The Susceptibility of Intuitive Knowledge to Akrasia in Spinoza's Ethical Thought

Spinoza unequivocally states in the Ethics that intuitive knowledge is more powerful than reason. Nonetheless, it is not clear what exactly this greater power promises in the face of the passions. Does this mean that intuitive knowledge is not liable to akrasia? Ronald Sandler offers what, to my knowledge, is the only explicit answer to this question in recent Spinoza scholarship. According to Sandler, intuitive knowledge, unlike reason, is not susceptible to akrasia. This is because, intuitive knowledge enables the knower to greater power over the passions due to its immediacy, its foundation and because it engenders the boundlessly powerful intellectual love of God. In this paper, I consider to what extent (if at all) intuitive knowledge is liable to akrasia by exploring whether Sandler's claim can justifiably be attributed to Spinoza. I argue that, given our modal status, it is not plausible to claim that akrasia would never apply to intuitive knowledge. Since intuitive ideas are the ideas of a finite mind actually existing as a part of Nature, even the intellectual love of God accompanying these ideas cannot provide a boundless power guaranteeing that the power of these ideas will not be overridden by passionate ideas.     

Intuitive prediction: ecological validity versus representativeness

Insufficiently regressive intuitive predictions have been attributed to mistaken reliance on the representativeness heuristic. In contrast, we suggest that intuitive predictions stem from a conceptualization of ‘goodness of prediction’ that differs from the accepted statistical definition in terms of error minimization, namely, ecological validity—that is, representation of the substantive characteristics of the predicted variable Y and its distribution as well as of the relationship between Y and the predictor X—rather than minimization of prediction errors. Simultaneous satisfaction of the above representation requirements is achieved by multivalued prediction: The prediction of different Y′ values for the same X value, resulting in conditional distributions Y′|X for at least some X values. Empirical results supporting this hypothesis are presented and discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

9—16岁儿童因果判断过程中经验信息与共变信息的作用

本研究考察了小学、初中、高中三个年龄组的被试在使用经验信息和共变信息进行因果判断时所具有的不同特点。研究结果表明:(1)当经验信息无法证明待判断原因是否可信时,共变信息的作用要大一些;(2)随着被试年龄的增长,他们越来越多地采用共变信息进行判断;(3)ΔP值的作用并不是直线性的,只有当它增大到一定程度时,被试才会改变自己的判断。     

Infants' use of material properties to guide their actions with differently weighted objects

Two studies with 9‐, 11‐ and 13‐month‐old infants were conducted to investigate infants' ability to use an object's material properties to guide their object‐directed actions. In study 1, 9‐ and 11‐month‐old infants played in an exploration phase with two objects made of different materials, one very heavy and the other one light and playable. Subsequently, when given the choice between both objects in a preferential reaching task, only the 11‐month‐olds' used the object's material information to remember and choose the lighter object. In study 2, 11‐ and 13‐month‐old infants underwent the same exploration phase. In the test phase, novel objects made of the same materials were offered. The 13‐ but not the 11‐month‐olds chose the objects made from the same material as the lighter object in the exploration phase. Additionally, infants' performances in the reaching task were positively correlated with their exploratory behaviour during the exploration phase. Altogether, the studies show a developmental progression in the use of an object's material information to guide infants' action. The results are discussed in respect to infants' perception of object properties and their implications for the development of physical knowledge. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

婴儿关于物体支撑的直觉性物理知识

支撑问题是儿童朴素物理理论知识结构中的重要部分, 是指关于一个物体放在固体平面上是否稳定以及如何才能稳定的问题。支撑问题目前有两种主要实验方法。此领域中的主要实验研究使用这两种方法, 探索了婴儿获得与支撑相关的直觉性物理知识的发展过程及“先建立核心性的初始概念, 再以此为基础增加各类变量”的规律。目前研究中存在“范式单一、缺乏各类研究相互印证”的问题, 有待未来的研究进一步发展。     

共变信息的程度差异对归因的影响

本研究通过两个实验探讨了1种自我关联的共变信息的程度差异对归因的影响。实验1中38名被试阅读一些情境,情境中包含被试好/不好的结果、及相关的一致性信息,并操作一致性的程度,然后在原因的4个维度进行归因。结果表明一致性高/低分别被归于人的外/内因,而一致性信息无或不明确时的归因则在内外归因之间。同时在4个原因维度均表现出利己归因偏好,一致性信息的程度差异对利己归因偏好没有显著干扰作用。实验2采用实验1的方法但给予了区别性信息,实验2基本复制了实验1的结果。另外本研究发现一致性或区别性高时在可控制性维度利己归因偏好消失。最后探讨了共变信息对归因及利己归因偏好的影响。     

Awareness training reduces college students' speech disfluencies in public speaking

Recent research suggests that a modified habit reversal procedure, including awareness training alone or combined with competing response training, is effective in decreasing speech disfluencies for college students. However, these procedures are potentially lengthy, sometimes require additional booster sessions, and could result in covariation of untargeted speaker behavior. We extended prior investigations by evaluating awareness training as a sole intervention while also measuring collateral effects of treatment on untargeted filler words and rate of speech. We found awareness training was effective for all participants without the use of booster sessions, and covariation between targeted filler words and secondary dependent variables was idiosyncratic across participants.     

因果变化模式与因果联结强度在幼儿因果推理中的作用

对93名幼儿进行了五种因果变化模式的因果推理题目的测试。结果表明:(1)在不同的因果变化模式下,被试进行因果推理的成绩存在差异,且在对于这五类题目的掌握上具有一定的顺序。(2)被试在同样因果变化模式题目的表现之间具有较高的相似性,而在因果联结强度相同的题目之间则具有显著的差异。(3)被试对于各题目回答的正确率并不随原因与结果联结次数的增多而提高。(4)即使是在观察到的刺激完全一致的情况下,被试的回答仍会因因果变化模式的差异及主试对于题目解释的不同而存在差别。