“旁观者清”还是“旁观者不清”？ ——偏向知觉的非对称性研究

心理学家近年来开始重视人们对社会认知偏向的知觉的研究。文章回顾了心理学对偏向以及对偏向知觉的研究历史,重点介绍了“偏向盲点”与“内省错觉”两种偏向知觉的实验,分析了偏向知觉的相关理论解释,并提出偏向知觉研究是社会知觉研究的一个新领域     

消费活动中品牌错觉产生和错觉类型的年龄特征的试验研究

本研究通过实验得出以下结论：(1)记忆错觉与消费者的年龄有关,老年组的错误率最高,青年组的错误率最低;(2)记忆错觉类型与年龄有关,老年组在英文和色彩项目上错误率最高,少儿在英文和汉字项目上错误最高,而对形状和色彩相对要敏感,青年组比较平均,是错误率最低的一组被试：(3)消费者记忆错觉的产生与消费者具体的消费实践有关,接触少的品牌产生错觉的概率高,接触得比较多的品牌错觉率相对要低。     

因果错觉的实验研究

本研究分别从可控情境和不可控情境两方面探讨了在工具性条件反射中,人对因果关系的认知的特点。结果发现：1．在可控情境下。延迟反馈可能导致被试的因果错觉;2、在不可控情境下,被试同样表现出因果错觉：迷信和控制幻觉,并且这种现象具有一定的普遍性;3、提供恰当的外部线索能有效地帮助被试消除已经形成的因果错觉。     

情绪效价、唤醒度和有无评价影响手部动作

研究探讨情绪正-负效价、唤醒度水平(高、中、低)以及有意识评价对推拉动作的影响。分3个实验进行, 收集反应时(RT)和手部动作指标等。实验1使用正-负效价下高、中、低唤醒水平的图片进行评价并执行推-拉动作任务; 实验2使用中性图片和灰色空白图片完成相同任务; 实验3在不进行效价评估情况下完成推-拉动作。结果表明(1)情绪效价对反应时, 运动时间和到达峰速时间等有显著影响：向上拖动图片时, 消极图片拖得更快; 向下拖动时, 则积极图片更快。(2)情绪唤醒度调节情绪效价对推-拉动作的作用：唤醒度越高, 情绪效价尤其是负性情绪对推-拉动作的作用越大; 反之, 则作用越小。(3)无评价条件下, 情绪效价对推-拉动作无显著影响; 即情绪对动作的影响需要有意识评价的参与。这些结果说明情绪对推拉动作影响可能发生在早期, 不仅影响动作计划, 而且影响到随后动作的执行, 而高唤醒度和有意识评价增强了这种影响。     

Manipulating body representations with virtual reality: Clinical implications for anorexia nervosa

Anorexia nervosa patients exhibit distorted body-representations. Specifically, they represent their bodies as larger than reality. Given that this distortion likely exacerbates the condition, there is an obligation to further understand and, if possible, rectify it. In pursuit of this, experimental paradigms are needed which manipulate the spatial content of these representations. In this essay, I discuss how virtual reality technology that implements full-body variants of the rubber-hand illusion may prove useful in this regard, and I discuss some issues related to the clinical application of this method.     

Consistent inter-individual differences in susceptibility to bodily illusions

Illusory senses of ownership and agency (that the hand or effector that we see belongs to us and moves at our will, respectively) support the embodiment of prosthetic limbs, tele-operated surgical devices, and human-machine interfaces. We exposed forty-eight individuals to four different procedures known to elicit illusory ownership or agency over a fake visible rubber hand or finger. The illusory ownership or agency arising from the hand correlated with that of the finger. For both body parts, sensory stimulation across different modalities (visual with tactile or visual with kinesthetic) produced illusions of similar strength. However, the strengths of the illusions of ownership and agency were unrelated within individuals, supporting the proposal that distinct neuropsychological processes underlie these two senses. Developing training programs to enhance susceptibility to illusions of agency or ownership for people with lower natural susceptibility could broaden the usefulness of the above technologies.     

Superstitious beliefs and the associative mind

Persistence of superstitions in the modern era could be justified by considering them as a by-product of the brain’s capacity to detect associations and make assumptions about cause-effect relationships. This ability, which supports predictive behaviour, directly relates to associative learning. We tested whether variability in superstitious behaviour reflects individual variability in the efficiency of mechanisms akin to habit learning. Forty-eight individuals performed a Serial Reaction Time Task (SRTT) or an Implicit Cuing Task (ICT). In the SRTT, participants were exposed to a hidden sequence and progressively learnt to optimize responses, a process akin to skill learning. In the ICT participants met with a hidden association, which (if detected) provided a benefit (cf. habit learning). An index of superstitious beliefs was also collected. A correlation emerged between susceptibility to personal superstitions and performance at the ICT only. This novel finding is discussed in view of current ideas on how superstitions are instated.     

Enhancing performance expectancies through visual illusions facilitates motor learning in children

In a recent study by Chauvel, Wulf, and Maquestiaux (2015), golf putting performance was found to be affected by the Ebbinghaus illusion. Specifically, adult participants demonstrated more effective learning when they practiced with a hole that was surrounded by small circles, making it look larger, than when the hole was surrounded by large circles, making it look smaller. The present study examined whether this learning advantage would generalize to children who are assumed to be less sensitive to the visual illusion. Two groups of 10-year olds practiced putting golf balls from a distance of 2 m, with perceived larger or smaller holes resulting from the visual illusion. Self-efficacy was increased in the group with the perceived larger hole. The latter group also demonstrated more accurate putting performance during practice. Importantly, learning (i.e., delayed retention performance without the illusion) was enhanced in the group that practiced with the perceived larger hole. The findings replicate previous results with adult learners and are in line with the notion that enhanced performance expectancies are key to optimal motor learning (Wulf & Lewthwaite, 2016).     

集中和分散注意对多感觉整合中听觉主导效应的影响

听觉主导效应是指多感觉通道信息整合过程中,听觉通道中的信息得到优先加工,从而主导其他感觉通道的信息。研究采用经典的声音诱发闪光错觉的范式,通过两个实验操纵了注意资源的分配方式以及实验任务难度,考察了主动注意听觉通道的声音刺激对声音诱发闪光错觉产生的影响,以及任务难度对声音诱发闪光错觉的影响。结果发现:(1)裂变错觉会受到注意资源分配程度的影响,但是融合错觉则不然;(2)任务难度既不会影响裂变错觉,也不会影响融合错觉。说明了分散注意能够影响听觉主导效应中的裂变错觉,并且这种主导效应与任务难度无关。