语音的自动激活及其在汉字语义通达中的作用

采用Stroop实验范式及其变式研究了语音的自动激活及其在汉字语义通达中的作用。在实验一中,要求被试大声读出汉字的颜色,除了获得经典的Stroop促进效应之外,结果还发现：当汉字颜色对应的读音与汉字读音一致(如红色的“洪”字)时,被试的反应会显著加快。在实验二中,要求被试判断汉字的颜色并按下相应的键,得到了与实验一相似的结果模式。这些结果表明,语音在汉字的识别过程中是自动激活的,并且有助于语义通达。     

刻板印象的自动激活实验研究

本研究应用模糊主次评判方法配合语义启动技术进行实验。结果表明;在年龄刻板印象上存在自动激活,而且没有性别差异;用不同性质的启动词来激活与年龄有关的刻板印象,激活后的刻板印象对年龄的判断有不同的影响,而且被试没有一个人意识到这点,表明内隐刻板印象的存在;人的判断具有模糊性,模糊主次评判方法有助于社会认知领域的量化研究,这是一个全新的尝试。     

汉字词形、音、义信息在色词干扰中的自动激活

采用色词于扰的研究范式,考察了汉字词形、音、义信息的自动激活对色词颜色命名的影响。结果表明,颜色词的同形假字、同音词和语义上有联系的词都对色词的颜色命名产生了影响。这种影响来自无意识的平行加工的过程,说明汉字词的形、音、义信息都存在自动激活的现象。     

汉语同音歧义词歧义消解的过程及其抑制机制

两个实验分别采用词语境或句子语境探讨汉语同音歧义词(homophones)歧义消解的过程。被试为112名大学生。实验通过有计划地比较不同语境偏向条件下有关探测词和无关探测词之间反应时的差异,从而揭示汉语同音歧义词消解过程中,对其适当意义激活以及对其不适当意义抑制的时间进程。两个实验的结果都表明：在同音歧义词加工的早期,语境的作用主要表现为抑制歧义词不适当意义,阻止其激活;随后,语境促进了歧义词适当意义的激活。另外,相对意义频率在同音歧义词歧义消解过程中有其影响。     

态度的自动激活效应的初步研究

本研究探讨了态度的自动激活效应,通过考察先期呈现的图片对后续词汇分类判断的影响,以判断阈下呈现图片是否自动激活其在记忆中储存的评价,结果发现积极图片促进了个体对后续积极词汇的反应．消极图片促进了对后续消极词汇的反应,对象一评价联结强度不是影响态度自动激活效应的因素之一。从而支持Bargh提出的态度自动激活效应是自动化和无条件的这一结论。     

The cognitive processing of Japanese loanwords in katakana

Abstract: The present study examined two questions concerning the cognitive processing of Japanese loanwords borrowed from English and written in katakana. The first question was whether "interlexical activation" occurs between Japanese and English. Results from a lexical decision task showed that loanwords phonetically similar to the original English words were judged with the same speed and accuracy as those being phonetically dissimilar to their original English words. The study further examined the cognitive processing of unadopted loanwords (i.e., words unlisted in a Japanese loanword dictionary). Reaction times displayed the shortest mean for non-words, followed by pseudo-loanwords, and finally unadopted loanwords. Thus, the only time the lexical representation of an original English word was possibly activated was when native Japanese speakers had seldom seen the word in katakana. The second question was what creates the "lexical mental boundary" between adopted and unadopted loanwords. A questionnaire showed that native Japanese speakers are likely to use decision-making strategies for determining lexicality of loanwords in Japanese based on their daily experience of exposure to katakana words in print.     

Memory by association: Integrating memories prolongs retention by two-year-olds

Recalling one memory often leads to the recollection of other memories that share overlapping features. This phenomenon, spreading activation, was originally documented in studies conducted with verbal adults, and more recently, it has been demonstrated with preverbal infants. Here, we examine the effect of spreading activation on long-term retention by 2-year-olds. Participants were tested in the Visual Recognition Memory (VRM) paradigm and the deferred imitation paradigm. Typically, infants of this age exhibit retention in the VRM paradigm for 24 h, while they exhibit retention in the deferred imitation paradigm for at least 8 weeks. In the present experiment, we paired these tasks together during original encoding and tested infants after an 8-week delay. Two-year-olds exhibited retention in both tasks. That is, when these two tasks initially occurred together – one task that is extremely memorable and one that is not – retrieving the memory of the more memorable task cued retrieval of the less memorable task, extending its longevity.     

Reduced cortical voluntary activation during bilateral knee extension

IntroductionReduced neural drive is mainly thought to explain the bilateral deficit phenomenon, i.e. the difference in maximal isometric voluntary contraction (MVC) between unilateral and bilateral contractions. The aim of the present study was to further document if bilateral knee extension is associated with changes in voluntary activation level assessed by both peripheral nerve electrical stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation.MethodsFourteen subjects performed unilateral and bilateral knee extensions with both superimposed femoral electrical nerve stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation in order to assess voluntary activation (VA_FNES) and cortical voluntary activation (VA_TMS), respectively.ResultsThere was no difference in MVC force of the tested leg when involved in unilateral and bilateral knee extensions (p = 0.87). However, a significantly reduced VA_FNES (−2.1 ± 2.4%; p = 0.01) and VA_TMS (−1.6 ± 2.7%; p = 0.04) have been evidenced during bilateral knee extension.DiscussionIt is hypothesized that counterbalances could have masked the decrease of voluntary activation during bilateral contraction.     

Do Bilinguals Automatically Activate Their Native Language When They Are Not Using It?

Most models of lexical access assume that bilingual speakers activate their two languages even when they are in a context in which only one language is used. A critical piece of evidence used to support this notion is the observation that a given word automatically activates its translation equivalent in the other language. Here, we argue that these findings are compatible with a different account, in which bilinguals “carry over” the structure of their native language to the non‐native language during learning, and where there is no activation of translation equivalents. To demonstrate this, we describe a model in which language learning involves mapping native language phonological relationships to the non‐native language, and we show how it can explain the results attributed to automatic activation of translation equivalents.     

Explaining the persistence of false memories: a proposal based on associative activation and thematic extraction

This study aimed to analyse the effect of retention intervals on associative and thematic false memories. Two experiments, using two types of critical items that were either associatively or thematically related to studied material, were conducted. In both experiments, one group of participants performed a recognition test immediately after the presentation of lists, and another group performed the task one week later. In Experiment 1, the recognition test consisted of pairs of items with four response alternatives (both items had been presented, only the left item had been presented, only the right item had been presented or none of the items had been presented). Critical items were also manipulated so that they were either presented in or absent from the list. In Experiment 2, a standard recognition test that differed in the mode of presentation was used: self-paced or speeded response. Both experiments showed that associative critical items were more recognised than thematic critical items in the immediate condition. However, whereas associative critical items decayed after a one-week delay, thematic critical items were similarly recognised at both retention intervals. The findings of the present study suggest that each type of process – associative and thematic – behave differently over time.