The Influence of Approach and Avoidance Cues on Attentional Flexibility

Motivation and Emotion - In two experiments, we tested the prediction that rudimentary approach, relative to avoidance, motivational cues bolster attentional flexibility. This prediction was...     

Flexible coping responses to severe acute respiratory syndrome-related and daily life stressful events

Based on the theoretical framework of coping flexibility, the present study examined the coping flexibility of university students in response to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-related and daily life stressful events. The Coping Flexibility Questionnaire was used to investigate 93 university students' coping responses toward 10 SARS-related stressful events and 10 daily life stressful events that generally occur among university students. Results showed that the patterns of coping flexibility were different for the two types of stressful events. The flexible and the active-inflexible patterns were most commonly found in coping with daily life stressful events. By contrast, the passive-inconsistent pattern was dominant when coping with daily life stressful events. Moreover, participants showed lower discriminating ability to situation controllability, and displayed poorer strategy-situation fit to cope with SARS-related events than with daily life stressful events. The theoretical and practical implications of this study are discussed.     

大鼠注意定势转移任务模型的深入研究：种系和检测程序的影响

注意定势转移任务(attentional set-shifting task, AST)可用于特异性检测啮齿类动物前额叶皮层及其皮层下神经通路介导的认知灵活性, 是目前研究认知灵活性及其障碍神经基础的重要模型。本研究系统调查了大鼠种系和检测程序差异对AST结果的影响。通过比较Wistar和Sprague Dawley (SD)两个种系大鼠在七阶段和五阶段两种AST检测程序中的认知表现, 研究发现：(1) SD和Wistar大鼠前额叶认知功能存在差异, 后者的总体认知表现优于前者。尤其是Wistar大鼠在逆反学习阶段的达标训练次数及错误率显著低于SD大鼠, 表明Wistar大鼠具有更高的策略转换灵活性。(2)在AST测试中逆反学习和外维度定势转移是认知灵活性评价的核心指标。这两种认知转换过程分别以前期策略和注意定势建立为基础。结果显示在两种AST检测程序中Wistar和SD大鼠在逆反学习和/或外维度定势转移等复杂学习阶段的达标训练次数和错误率均高于其它简单关联学习阶段, 表明在目前实验条件下大鼠均表现出定势形成和转换困难的反应模式, 不同认知反应间的结构关系具有稳定性。这些结果提示大鼠前额叶皮质介导的认知灵活性存在种系差异, AST各阶段认知反应间的结构效度不受目前使用的大鼠种系和检测程序差异的影响, 扩展了对AST模型的认识。     

HIERARCHIES: THE CORE ARGUMENT FOR A NATURALISTIC CHRISTIAN FAITH

This article takes on a perhaps impossible task: not only to reconstruct the core argument of Arthur Peacocke's program in science and religion but also to evaluate it in two major areas where it would seem to be vulnerable, namely, more recent developments in systems biology and the philosophy of mind. If his theory of hierarchies is to be successful, it must stand up to developments in these two areas and then be able to apply the results in a productive way to Christian theological reflection. Peacocke recognized that one's model of the mind‐body relation is crucial for one's position on the God‐world relation and divine action. Of the three models that he constructed, it turns out that only the third can serve as a viable model for theology if it is to be more than purely deistic or metaphorical.     

积极情绪对视觉注意的调节及其机制

在积极心理学思潮的推动下, 已有研究不但发现积极情绪扩展了空间和时间注意范围、增加了注意灵活性, 而且发现在积极情绪下个体对积极刺激表现出了注意偏向。对这些现象, 先前研究主要以积极情绪的扩展与建构理论、情绪信息等价说等理论来加以解释。但这些理论主要从宏观上强调情绪信息对注意加工的启动或积极情绪对注意资源分布的调节, 并不能清楚地揭示积极情绪对注意调节的内在机制。神经生化机制研究发现, 这些现象可能与多巴胺系统对注意控制能力的调节以及积极情绪对初级视觉皮层编码的调节有关。将来研究者可以基于不同的种类的注意选择和注意模型来进一步拓展积极情绪对注意调节的研究, 同时注重对其机制的探讨和理论的整合与创新。     

Supporting the formal verification of mathematical texts

The formal verification of mathematical texts is one of the most interesting applications for computer systems. In fact, we argue that the expert language of mathematics is the natural choice for achieving efficient mathematician–machine interaction. Our empirical approach, the analysis of carefully authored textbook proofs, forces us to focus on the language and the reasoning pattern that mathematician use when presenting proofs to colleagues and students. Enabling a machine to understand and follow such language and argumentation is seen to be the key to usable and acceptable math assistant systems. In this paper, we first perform an analysis of three textbook proofs by hand; we then describe a computational framework that aims at mechanising such an analysis. The resulting proof-of-concept implementation is capable of processing simple textbook proofs and constitutes promising steps towards a natural mathematician–machine interface for proof development and verification.     

小学生数学应用题解题水平影响因素的研究——视空间能力、认知方式及表征方式的影响

研究采用3(年级)×2(场认知方式)×2(视空间能力水平)×3(问题表征方式)四因素混合实验设计,探讨了这四种因素对小学生数学应用题解题水平的影响。结果表明:年级、认知方式、空间能力以及问题表征方式均是影响小学生应用题解决水平的关键因素;问题表征方式、认知方式、空间能力以及年级四个因素对小学生解题水平存在交互作用,其中图形提示有利于场依存性学生解题水平的提高,低空间-场依存型的学生更适合图形提示;高空间-场依存型的学生随年级升高解题能力发展较快,而低空间-场依存型的学生解题水平提高较慢;随着年级的升高,图式表征对小学生问题解决的促进作用增强。     

Psychoticism and attentional flexibility

In three separate experiments, we tested the hypothesis that a systematic relationship between psychoticism (P) and visual selective attention is infrequently observed because the tasks typically used to test individual differences in efficiency of attentional mechanisms do not entail attentional flexibility. We manipulated the selection rule of the computerized divided visual attention (DIVA) task to be either (a) a predictable, or (b) a random manner, and a secondary task was added to check the quality of high P scorers’ performance in an interference condition; and we also introduced breaks between DIVA tasks to allow for cue utilization. Results revealed that low P scorers outperformed high P scorers in the regular selection rule alternation condition (cue utilization possible), whereas high P scorers performed better in random alternation condition – high P scorers also showed performance superiority in the dual task condition unless stimuli presentation was speeded up. Thus, P does not necessarily impair attentional performance; indeed, our data point to performance advantages of high P, especially attentional efficiency in tasks requiring small demands of attentional control.