积极情绪促进对积极刺激注意偏向：投入与抽离

一系列研究结果被认为反映了积极情绪促进投入注意至积极刺激的偏向。然而,由于所使用的范式不能分离对积极刺激的注意投入偏向和抽离偏向,这些研究结果也可能反映了积极情绪促进从积极刺激抽离注意更少的偏向。本研究采用音乐聆听和事件回忆唤起被试的积极或中性情绪,随后要求被试完成点探测范式的变式任务,通过中性-中性条件与一致条件的反应时之差测量投入偏向,以及不一致条件与中性-中性条件的反应时之差测量抽离偏向,探讨积极情绪究竟促进投入偏向,还是促进抽离偏向。结果表明：（1）相比中性组,积极情绪组并没有表现出更大的中性-中性条件和一致条件的反应时之差。这说明,积极情绪没有促进投入注意至积极刺激的偏向;（2）相比中性情绪组,积极情绪组的不一致条件与中性-中性条件的反应时之差更大。这说明,积极情绪促进从积极刺激抽离注意更少的偏向。由此,积极情绪并不促进投入注意至积极刺激的偏向,而是促进对积极刺激的抽离偏向。     

信息加工阶段与情绪刺激加工

情绪刺激的特定加工路径使其能够有效捕获注意并获得加工资源,在一定程度上反映了其加工优势。然而,由于信息加工资源的有限性,由情绪信息引发的、不受自上而下认知因素影响的加工优势并非一直存在。本文根据情绪刺激在信息加工过程不同阶段的加工特点,阐述了情绪注意效应与自上而下注意效应在知觉阶段的注意选择过程中的交互影响,以及在执行控制阶段,情绪刺激加工与执行控制功能间的相互作用。     

A cross-cultural study of the representation of shape: Sensitivity to generalized cone dimensions

Many of the phenomena underlying shape recognition can be derived from an assumption that the representation of simple parts can be understood in terms of independent dimensions of generalized cones, e.g., whether the axis of a cylinder is straight or curved or whether the sides are parallel or nonparallel. What enables this sensitivity? One explanation is that the representations derive from our immersion in a manufactured world of simple objects, e.g., a cylinder and a funnel, where these dimensions can be readily discerned independent of other stimulus variations. An alternative explanation is that genetic coding and/or early experience with extended contours—a characteristic of all naturally varying visual worlds—would be sufficient to develop the appropriate representations. The Himba, a seminomadic people in a remote region of Northwestern Namibia with little exposure to regular, simple artifacts, were virtually identical to western observers in representing generalized-cone dimensions of simple shapes independently. Thus immersion in a world of simple, manufactured shapes is not required for the development of a representation that specifies these dimensions independently.     

Trauma and traumatic neurosis: Freud's concepts revisited

The authors examine Freud 's concepts of 'trauma', 'protective shield against stimuli ' and 'traumatic neurosis' in the light of recent findings. 'Protective shield against stimuli' is regarded as a biological concept which appears in mental life as the striving to avoid unpleasant affects. 'Trauma' is a twofold concept in that it relates to mental experience and links an external event with the specific after-effects on an individual 's psychic reality. A distinction needs to be made between mentally destructive trauma and affective trauma. A destructive trauma does not break through the protective shield but does breach the pleasure-unpleasure principle, so that in the course of its subsequent mastery it leads to a traumatic neurosis. An affective trauma can be warded off under the rule of the pleasure-unpleasure principle and leads to a psychoneurosis.     

积极效应研究的几个方法学问题

社会情绪选择理论从时间知觉和动机的角度推论老年人的情绪加工有积极效应; 即与年轻人相比, 老年人更偏向于加工积极刺激而回避消极刺激。但是, 关于积极效应的实证研究有诸多不一致之处。分析近年相关研究的设计细节, 验证积极效应的研究多采用年轻和老年两个年龄组的对照, 而采用3个以上年龄组被试的研究结果不一致; 积极效应在东方文化下的应用研究结论也不一致; 多样化的情绪刺激、情绪分类和刺激呈现方式是各研究结论差异的重要原因, 而且积极效应研究应区分“情绪偏向”和“情绪效应”两种年龄组评价方式。因此, 今后研究需要尽可能地扩大年龄范围以确认积极效应出现时间、加强跨文化、跨地区比较以验证积极效应的普适性, 并提高研究中所用刺激材料的生态效度, 深入探索积极效应的普遍性与神经机制。     

RSVP任务下双刺激重复的优势与劣势

本研究探讨重复知盲发生在知觉阶段还是在记忆阶段。采用快速视觉系列呈现(rapid serial visual representation, 简称RSVP)任务, 让被试即时回忆80个词表中呈现的词。操作了词表中目标词的重复数, 分为无重复、单刺激重复(重复一对)和双刺激重复(重复两对)三种, 和目标词的情绪效价, 分为中性词和情绪词两种。结果发现, 对目标词回忆的正确率是：当目标词和非目标词都是中性词汇, 即二者的情绪效价强度相当时(实验1), 在无重复条件与双刺激重复条件下无差异, 二者均大于单刺激重复条件; 当目标词是消极词汇, 非目标词是中性词汇, 即目标刺激的情绪效价强度大于非目标刺激时(实验2), 无重复条件与单刺激重复条件无差异, 二者均大于双刺激重复条件。结果表明：(1)RSVP 任务下词表中有双刺激重复时, 如果刺激的效价强度相当, 出现重复优势; 如果目标刺激的效价强度高于非目标刺激, 出现重复劣势; (2)人们会主动分配更多的注意资源给效价高的刺激, 重复知盲产生在记忆阶段, 支持注意资源分配最优化假设。     

视觉表象个体差异及其神经基础

视觉表象涉及人类一种重要信息表征方式, 与工作记忆和注意相比, 视觉表象研究更为关注其所产生的主观内容, 而这一主观内容的产生存在明显的个体差异。本文从个体差异的角度, 系统介绍了视觉表象个体差异的表现与内在的神经基础及其可能的应用, 并展望了未来的研究方向。本研究将有助于对视觉表象个体差异的认识, 促进视觉表象功能与实质问题研究的进一步开展。     

Attentional Resources Measured by Reaction Times Highlight Differences Within Pleasant and Unpleasant,High Arousing Stimuli

Simple reaction times (RTs) to acoustic tones were recorded during picture viewing in order to investigate attentional resource allocation to threat stimuli compared with pleasant (sport/adventure) and neutral (household objects) contents. Stimuli were selected as equally arousing according to standardized subjective ratings. In the late stage of picture processing threat pictures showed shorter RTs compared with neutral and pleasant ones. In a second study, a choice-RT task was employed, and a wider range of both pleasant and unpleasant contents was shown. Results indicated slower RTs when blood/injury and erotic couples were presented, compared with other threat, and with other positive (sport/adventure) scenes. Specifically, erotic couples require a greater amount of attentional resources compared with sport/adventure; the same is true for blood/injury stimuli as compared with threat. Remarkable differences were thus shown in attentional deployment to specific stimulus contents within the same valence category. These differences should be taken into account when using such stimuli to investigate emotional processing.     

Instructions as discriminative stimuli (2): A within‐subject examination of the effect of differential reinforcement on establishing novel instructional control1

Abstract: Six undergraduates were exposed to a fixed‐ratio schedule with an instruction to respond slowly and to a differential‐reinforcement‐of‐low‐rate schedule with an instruction to respond rapidly when a white circle was presented on a display monitor. When a yellow circle was presented, however, the subjects were exposed to the fixed‐ratio schedule with the instruction to respond rapidly and to the differential‐reinforcement‐of‐low‐rate schedule with the instruction to respond slowly. Following this, a fixed‐interval schedule was in effect during those stimuli and instructions. Under the white circle, response rates were higher with the instruction to respond slowly than with the instruction to respond rapidly during the fixed‐interval schedule. Such control by instructions was not observed under the yellow circle. A previous study examined establishment of novel instructional control by between‐subject comparisons and found that for three of four subjects ( Okouchi, 1999 ). In contrast, the present results demonstrate the instructional control through within‐subject comparisons for all six subjects.