Dyslexia and dyscalculia: Two learning disorders with different cognitive profiles

This study tests the hypothesis that dyslexia and dyscalculia are associated with two largely independent cognitive deficits, namely a phonological deficit in the case of dyslexia and a deficit in the number module in the case of dyscalculia. In four groups of 8- to 10-year-olds (42 control, 21 dyslexic, 20 dyscalculic, and 26 dyslexic/dyscalculic), phonological awareness, phonological and visual-spatial short-term and working memory, naming speed, and basic number processing skills were assessed. A phonological deficit was found for both dyslexic groups, irrespective of additional arithmetic deficits, but not for the dyscalculia-only group. In contrast, deficits in processing of symbolic and nonsymbolic magnitudes were observed in both groups of dyscalculic children, irrespective of additional reading difficulties, but not in the dyslexia-only group. Cognitive deficits in the comorbid dyslexia/dyscalculia group were additive; that is, they resulted from the combination of two learning disorders. These findings suggest that dyslexia and dyscalculia have separable cognitive profiles, namely a phonological deficit in the case of dyslexia and a deficient number module in the case of dyscalculia.     

Development of cultural strategies of attention in North American and Japanese children

Recent studies suggest that North American adults exhibit a focused strategy of attention that emphasizes focal information about objects, whereas Japanese adults exhibit a divided strategy of attention that emphasizes contextual information about objects. The current study investigated whether 4- and 5-, 6- to 8-, and 9- to 13-year-old North American and Japanese children exhibit these divergent attention strategies. Two experiments suggest that those older than 6 years of age exhibit measurable cultural differences in attention, whereas 4- to 6-year-olds do not. We suggest that sociocognitive development and socialization experiences that occur around 5 to 7 years of age may foster the development of cultural strategies of attention.     

Feel the difference! The influence of ease experiences on the direction of social comparisons

The present work investigates if ease/difficulty experiences associated with social comparison information shape the direction of the comparison. In particular, we test the hypothesis that standards of comparison associated with experiences of ease lead to assimilation whereas standards processed under experiences of difficulty result in comparative contrast. In line with this hypothesis, we found in Experiment 1 that the easy processing of a standard led to assimilation whereas difficult processing of the same standard led to contrast. This finding was replicated in Experiment 2, even though the ease/difficulty experiences were this time introduced independently of the standard. Finally, Experiment 3 tested the boundary conditions of the influence of experiences by showing their flexible use in judgmental processes.     

The symmetry of visual fields in chromatic discrimination

Both classical and recent reports suggest a right-hemisphere superiority for color discrimination. Testing highly-trained normal subjects and taking care to eliminate asymmetries from the testing situation, we found no significant differences between left and right hemifields or between upper and lower hemifields. This was the case for both of the cardinal axes of color space. In addition, there was no difference according to whether the discriminanda were delivered to the same or to different hemispheres, and we note that the same number of synapses may lie between the retina and the site of comparison whether or not the stimuli are delivered to the same hemisphere.     

Cognitive models of choice: comparing decision field theory to the proportional difference model

People often face preferential decisions under risk. To further our understanding of the cognitive processes underlying these preferential choices, two prominent cognitive models, decision field theory (DFT; Busemeyer & Townsend, 1993 ) and the proportional difference model (PD; González-Vallejo, 2002 ), were rigorously tested against each other. In two consecutive experiments, the participants repeatedly had to choose between monetary gambles. The first experiment provided the reference to estimate the models' free parameters. From these estimations, new gamble pairs were generated for the second experiment such that the two models made maximally divergent predictions. In the first experiment, both models explained the data equally well. However, in the second generalization experiment, the participants' choices were much closer to the predictions of DFT. The results indicate that the stochastic process assumed by DFT, in which evidence in favor of or against each option accumulates over time, described people's choice behavior better than the trade-offs between proportional differences assumed by PD.     

小学3~5年级学习不良儿童社会比较的特点

以小学三、四、五年级95名儿童为被试,采用访谈法探讨了小学学习不良儿童的社会比较特点。结果表明:70%学习不良儿童自发地进行上行比较,即群体外比较,其动机为自我提升;学习不良儿童的社会比较和时间比较的频率均低于一般儿童;学习不良儿童的社会比较目标水平显著低于一般儿童,随着年级的升高其目标水平呈不断下降的发展趋势。     

社会比较：对比效应还是同化效应

社会比较直接影响人类的自我评价,对其产生两种相反的效应,即对比效应和同化效应。本文系统地回顾了社会比较的对比效应和同化效应的相关研究;并从关注自我、关注比较目标和关注自我与比较目标之间的关系三个不同方面,阐述了对社会比较效应产生调节作用的各种不同因素;最后,从一种整合和信息的视角,阐述了产生对比效应和同化效应的心理机制——选择性通达（SA）模型     

基于比较视野下当代大学生性心理与教育的研究

在从比较的视野对国内学者针对不同性别、不同专业、不同学校类型等的大学生性心理特点以及中外高校大学生性教育的历史与现状、性教育的对象、性教育的内容与形式、性教育的队伍、性教育的成效等差异进行分析、对比研究的基础上,从中获得启示和借鉴,以推动我国高校对当代大学生性教育的有效开展。     

Body image and explicit and implicit anti-fat attitudes: the mediating role of physical appearance comparisons

Prejudice against overweight people is rife. However, there is a paucity of research on the underlying reasons for it. In two studies the relationship between body image, the tendency to make physical appearance-related comparisons (PACS), and both explicit and implicit anti-fat attitudes was examined. In Study 1 (n = 227) people with a high tendency to make physical appearance-related comparisons (high PACS scorers) reported lower self-appearance evaluation, but higher appearance orientation and explicit anti-fat attitudes. The PACS fully mediated the relationship between appearance orientation and explicit anti-fat attitudes. Study 2 (n = 134) found that the PACS also mediated the relationship between appearance orientation and implicit anti-fat attitudes. Thus, individual differences in factors such as body image and the tendency to make appearance-related comparisons, appear to play a central role in both explicit and implicit anti-fat attitudes.     

Body dissatisfaction and body comparison with media images in males and females

This study examined the role of media body comparison as a mediator of the relationships between psychological factors and sociocultural pressures to be thin and body dissatisfaction in both females and males. Participants were 1,386 females (mean age = 19.37 years) and 1,130 males (mean age = 19.46) from diverse backgrounds who completed a self-report questionnaire. Path analysis was used to test a cross-sectional model in which media body comparison mediated the impact of self-esteem, depressive mood, parent dieting environment, friend dieting, TV exposure, magazine message exposure, weight teasing and body mass index (BMI) on body dissatisfaction. In females, media body comparison partially or fully mediated relationships between self-esteem, depressive mood, friend dieting, magazine message exposure and BMI, and body dissatisfaction. In males, media body comparison was not a significant predictor of body dissatisfaction. This research particularly highlights the need to further examine processes that are involved in the development of body dissatisfaction in males.