Differential effects of age-of-acquisition for concrete nouns and action verbs: evidence for partly distinct representations?

There is growing evidence that words that are acquired early in life are processed faster and more accurately than words acquired later, even by adults. As neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies have implicated different brain networks in the processing of action verbs and concrete nouns, the present study was aimed at contrasting reaction times to early and later-acquired action verbs and concrete nouns, in order to determine whether effects of word learning age express differently for the two types of words. Our results show that while word frequency affected both types of words in the same way, distinct learning age effects were observed for action verbs and concrete nouns. A further experiment specified that this difference was observed for verbs describing actions belonging to the human motor repertoire, but not for verbs denoting actions past this repertoire (e.g., to neigh). We interpret these data within a recently emerging framework according to which language processing is associated with sensory motor programs.     

Recognizing the infant as subject in infant-parent psychotherapy

Drawing on Winnicott's view of infants as subjects entitled to an intervention in their own right, infants as the referred patient have been seen in infant-parent psychotherapy for 20 years at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. This is a radically different view of infant symptomatology than viewing it as only expressing an aspect of the mother's unconscious. The clinical pathway differentiates the therapy from much parent-infant psychotherapy. The author describes the theoretical model of a twofold approach to understanding the infant's experience through interactive dialogue between therapist and infant, and sharing this understanding with the parents, and illustrates it with cases of failure-to-thrive infants. She discusses two criticisms: first, that infant-parent psychotherapy may undermine the parents and, second, that brief parent-infant psychotherapy does not alter parents' insecure attachment status. Videotaped sessions often show rapid improvement; parents generally feel relieved. This approach potentially shapes not only parents' and infants' representations, but also their implicit knowledge of relationships-partly, it is suggested, through activating the mirror neuron system to bring about implicit memory change. Change may therefore be longer lasting than psychoanalytic theory presently conceives. The approach is relevant in an outpatient setting: gains were maintained long term in 90% of out-patient cases.     

4~7岁儿童对生物目的指向性的认知发展模式

采用结构式访谈法,通过计算机模拟真实情景的动画方式,系统探查4~7岁儿童在目的指向性维度上的本体区分、因果认知发展模式以及在此维度上的朴素生物学“理论”的形成。结果表明：（1）4~7岁儿童在目的指向性维度上进行本体区分的认知发展模式,经历了从低到高的4个发展水平,即目的论模式——基于动物模式——基于生物模式——基于本体区分模式;（2）4~7岁儿童对目的指向性的因果认知与本体区分表现出一致性发展模式,表明学前儿童在目的指向性维度上逐渐形成了朴素生物学“理论”;（3）5~6岁是儿童对目的指向性认知的快速发展期,领域知识对儿童的认知发展具有明显的促进作用,但是受年龄和领域任务的影响     

心理表征哲学及其联结主义诠释

对心理表征问题进行自然的解释是至关重要的,但这方面的研究都是建立在有关概念和命题表征的预设的基础之上的,所以有必要弄清概念表征和命题表征的哲学解释;联结主义也对心理表征问题作了解释,根据被表征的是什么以及通过什么来表征的原则,联结主义网络主要通过四种方式对概念和命题进行表征。总的来说,联结主义对概念和命题的表征与它们的哲学解释并不是一一对应的,其方法论基础是费耶阿本德的多元方法论,即"怎么都行"。     

知道一个行动的逻辑(英文)

以活动为认知对象的逻辑还没有系统地建立。本文我们采用半无穷方法、自代入方法、固定点方法和拟赋值方法全面建立这样的逻辑,从而研究知道一个活动的各种逻辑特性。根据这些方法,我们分别提出四类刻画知道一个活动的逻辑系统和相应的语义,然后证明这些系统相对各自的语义是可靠和完全的。     

汉语双字词的心理词典存储—来自发展性阅读障碍个案的证据

研究探讨了发展性阅读障碍个案S汉字命名过程选择性错误的产生机制。汉字命名、词汇判断和组词实验有三个主要发现,个案S在汉字命名过程中产生大量的选择性错误,选择性错误在复合词中发生的前后位置没有显著差异;S在词汇判断过程中,混淆词汇中两个词素的先后顺序;S对产生选择性错误的汉字组词的数量显著少于控制组,且其产生选择性错误的复合词的频率显著高于他组出的其他词汇频率。研究以Zhou&Marslen-Wilson(2000)的复合词的多水平平行结构心理词典模型为基础讨论了这些发现的理论意义,并着重分析了汉字命名过程中词素频率和词汇意义结构之间的交互作用。     

认知评价与心理控制感在中年人对社会政策变化感受与心理健康之间的作用

采用自编问卷以714名城镇中年人为被试,考察了认知评价与心理控制感在中年人对社会政策变化感受与心理健康之间的作用。结果发现:(1)总体上,社会政策变化对中年人造成的心理感受以及对心理健康的影响都是积极的。(2)认知评价、心理控制感在中年人对社会政策变化感受与心理健康之间起中介作用。     

Hand function,not proximity,biases visuotactile integration later in object processing: An ERP study

Behavioral studies document a functional hand proximity effect: objects near the palm, but not the back of the hand, affect visual processing. Although visuotactile bimodal neurons integrate visual and haptic inputs, their receptive fields in monkey cortex encompass the whole hand, not just the palm. Using ERPs, we investigated whether hand function influenced the topology of integrated space around the hand. In a visual detection paradigm, target and non-target stimuli appeared equidistantly in front or in back of the hand. Equivalent N1 amplitudes were found for both conditions. P3 target versus non-target amplitude differences were greater for palm conditions. Hand proximity biased processing of visual targets equidistant from the hand early in processing. However, hand function biases emerged later when targets were selected for potential action. Thus, early hand proximity effects on object processing depend on sensory-reliant neural responses, whereas later multisensory integration depend more on the hand’s functional expertise.     

A Qualitative Systematic Review of Youth Participatory Action Research Implementation in U.S. High Schools

This qualitative systematic review examined the context-specific factors that influence the implementation of youth participatory action research (YPAR) projects in high schools within the United States. Thematic synthesis was conducted to identify and analyze the YPAR implementation factors that were present in 38 peer-reviewed studies. Results indicate the following two analytic themes concerning YPAR implementation in high schools: (a) pedagogical strategies and (b) stakeholder dynamics and needs. The themes provide support for existing ecological frameworks of implementation factors and demonstrate that adult researchers’ project-specific decisions are nested within educational power structures. This paper will discuss the implications of these YPAR implementation themes in executing YPAR projects in high schools.