Translating Cognition Into Action

This experiment examined the role of two forms of visual guidance in facilitating the translation of cognitive representations into action. Subjects matched a modeled action pattern either concurrently with the model or after the modeled display. They then either did or did not visually monitor their actions during tests of production accuracy in the model’s absence. Acquisition of the cognitive representation was assessed periodically. Concurrent matching of modeled actions or visual monitoring of productions both increased the level of observational learning. The more accurate the cognitive representation, the more skilled were subsequent reproductions of the modeled actions. After acquiring proficiency in converting cognition to action, subjects maintained their level of performance accuracy even though modeled and visual-monitoring guidance were withdrawn. These results are in accordance with the theory that cognitive representation mediates response production and that corrective adjustments through visual guidance aid in the translation of conception into action.     

The Impact of Abuse and Learning Difficulties on Emotion Understanding in Late Childhood and Early Adolescence

Children's affective experiences and cognitive abilities have an impact on emotion understanding. However, their relative contribution, as well as the possibility of an interaction between them, has rarely been examined. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of severe abuse and learning difficulties on simple and complex components of emotion understanding in late childhood and early adolescence. A total of 28 older children and young adolescents were selected for the study. Half of the participants had suffered from severe abuse, and half of these abused children additionally had learning disabilities. The remaining half of the sample had no history of abuse but were matched with the abused children on learning difficulties, age and gender. The participants’ emotion understanding was assessed with the Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC). Results showed that (a) learning difficulties but not abuse had an impact on emotion understanding, (b) there was no interaction effect of abuse and learning difficulties on emotion understanding, and (b) the observed effects of learning difficulties were most apparent for the understanding of relatively complex components of emotion and not for simple components. The results are discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical implications.     

Infant directed speech and the development of speech perception: Enhancing development or an unintended consequence?

Infant directed speech (IDS) is a speech register characterized by simpler sentences, a slower rate, and more variable prosody. Recent work has implicated it in more subtle aspects of language development. Kuhl et al. (1997) demonstrated that segmental cues for vowels are affected by IDS in a way that may enhance development: the average locations of the extreme “point” vowels (/a/, /i/ and /u/) are further apart in acoustic space. If infants learn speech categories, in part, from the statistical distributions of such cues, these changes may specifically enhance speech category learning. We revisited this by asking (1) if these findings extend to a new cue (Voice Onset Time, a cue for voicing); (2) whether they extend to the interior vowels which are much harder to learn and/or discriminate; and (3) whether these changes may be an unintended phonetic consequence of factors like speaking rate or prosodic changes associated with IDS. Eighteen caregivers were recorded reading a picture book including minimal pairs for voicing (e.g., beach/peach) and a variety of vowels to either an adult or their infant. Acoustic measurements suggested that VOT was different in IDS, but not in a way that necessarily supports better development, and that these changes are almost entirely due to slower rate of speech of IDS. Measurements of the vowel suggested that in addition to changes in the mean, there was also an increase in variance, and statistical modeling suggests that this may counteract the benefit of any expansion of the vowel space. As a whole this suggests that changes in segmental cues associated with IDS may be an unintended by-product of the slower rate of speech and different prosodic structure, and do not necessarily derive from a motivation to enhance development.     

单侧化准备电位启始时间点的测算:刀切法*

刀切法是统计学家Quenouille提出的一种参数估计方法,由Miller等在1998年首次将刀切法应用在单侧化准备电位(LRP)启始时间点(onset)的测量中。相对于以往单个被试法而言,它是较新的一种统计方法。本文综述了刀切法的统计原理和基本使用过程,并和单个被试法进行了差异比较,最后对这一方法的发展趋势做了展望。     

Positive reappraisals after an offense: Event-related potentials and emotional effects of benefit-finding and compassion*

Using a within-subjects design, three emotion regulation strategies (compassion-focused reappraisal, benefit-focused reappraisal, and offense rumination) were tested for their effects on forgiveness, well-being, and event-related potentials. Participants (N = 37) recalled a recent interpersonal offense as the context for each emotion regulation strategy. Both decisional and emotional forgiveness increased significantly for the two reappraisal strategies compared to offense rumination. Compassion-focused reappraisal prompted the greatest increase in both decisional and emotional forgiveness. Furthermore, both reappraisal strategies increased positively oriented well-being measures (e.g. joy, gratitude) compared to offense rumination, with compassion-focused reappraisal demonstrating the largest effect on empathy. Late positive potential (LPP) amplitudes in response to unpleasant affect words were larger following the benefit-focused reappraisal strategy, indicating frontal LPP augmentation due to affective incongruence of the unpleasant stimuli with the positive, silver-lining orientation of the benefit-focused reappraisal emotion regulation strategy.     

网络语言的创造性加工过程:新颖N400与LPC

采用事件相关电位(ERP)技术比较在语义违反范式下网络语言和标准汉语的语义加工差异。结果发现:(1)不管是网络语言还是标准汉语,相对于语义一致条件,语义不一致条件在400 ms诱发了一个更负的负成分,但网络语言的经典N400差异波具有更晚的潜伏期和更长的持续时间;(2)溯源结果发现,网络语言和标准汉语的经典N400差异波的早期和晚期的定位均分别定位于丘脑和前扣带回,表明N400延迟效应是由个体对网络语言相对低的流利度所致,反映了认知冲突的延续;(3)在语义一致性条件下,网络语言比标准汉语诱发了一个更负的新颖N400和一个更正的晚期正成分(LPC),分别定位于前扣带回和海马,二者分别反映了新颖网络含义的识别以及新颖语义信息的整合与新颖语义联结的形成。ERP结果支持了网络语言加工属于创造性思维过程。     

Paths to Late Midlife Well-Being for Women and Men: The Importance of Identity Development and Social Role Quality

Theories of adult development suggest that personality development and social role involvements are sources of adult well-being for both men and women. However, previous research on this topic has focused mainly on (a) women, and (b) early stages of adulthood. We tested an alternative model for predicting late-midlife adults’ well-being, with role quality, number of roles, and healthy adaptation to late midlife (reflected in lower concern about aging) as mediators of the relationship between young adult identity development and well-being in late midlife. Results indicated that the model fit women’s experience very well, and men’s experience somewhat. Follow-up analyses indicated that the model fit men’s experience with respect to family role quality, but that young adult identity played a lesser role in men’s well-being in later midlife, and that problems in the late-midlife work role were reflected in concerns about aging for men, but not for women.     

A comparison of prompting methods to teach sight words to students with autism spectrum disorder

Time delay procedures are one of the most commonly used and effective strategies for teaching sight words to learners with disabilities. However, less is known about whether they are differentially effective and efficient with learners. This study compared the effectiveness and efficiency of progressive time delay and simultaneous prompting on sight word acquisition among three learners with autism spectrum disorder using an adapted alternating treatments design across word sets. For two participants, both procedures led to skill acquisition with no clear differences in efficiency. For the remaining participant, neither procedure was effective; therefore, the reading task was changed to a receptive one, and a stimulus fading intervention package was implemented.     

/n/-/l/音位合并现象的神经机制：来自MMN的证据

采用ERP技术,比较音位合并者与非音位合并者辨别合并音位/n/-/l/的脑电和行为反应。结果发现,非音位合并者在注意前阶段展现了显著的MMN;而音位合并者没有展现MMN,但在晚期展现了一个显著的负波。行为实验发现,相比于音位合并者,非音位合并者在分辨/n/-/l/时正确率更高,反应时更短。这些结果表明：两组被试区分/n/-/l/的能力在早期自动加工阶段就已经有了显著的差异。方言经验可能降低了音位合并者在听觉感觉加工阶段检测合并音位差异的敏感度。     

RELIGION,SCIENCE, AND DISENCHANTMENT IN LATE MODERNITY

Late modernity has witnessed a growing semantic shift from “religion” to “spirituality.” In this article, I argue what underlies this shift is a cultural structure I call the religion of the heart. I begin with an explication of what I mean by the “religion of the heart,” and draw on the work of Ernst Troeltsch and Colin Campbell to identify what I take to be its historical antecedents. Second, I analyze the ambiguous relationships fostered between the religion of the heart and the discourses of science and religion, respectively, in late modernity. I illuminate how the social conditions of late modernity undermine or challenge what we conventionally think of as scientific and religious authorities, while at the same time creating existential needs that the religion of the heart is well adapted to meet. I conclude with a brief discussion of the implications of this process, especially as it relates to the sustainability of science and religion, as independent enterprises, in the twenty‐first century.