Children prefer certain individuals over perfect duplicates

Adults value certain unique individuals--such as artwork, sentimental possessions, and memorabilia--more than perfect duplicates. Here we explore the origins of this bias in young children, by using a conjurer's illusion where we appear to produce identical copies of real-world objects. In Study 1, young children were less likely to accept an identical replacement for an attachment object than for a favorite toy. In Study 2, children often valued a personal possession of Queen Elizabeth II more than an identical copy, but showed no such bias for another sort of valuable object. These findings suggest that young children develop attachments to individuals that are independent of any perceptible properties that the individuals possess.     

Transitive and pseudo-transitive inferences

Given that A is longer than B, and that B is longer than C, even 5-year-old children can infer that A is longer than C. Theories of reasoning based on formal rules of inference invoke simple axioms ("meaning postulates") to capture such transitive inferences. An alternative theory proposes instead that reasoners construct mental models of the situation described by the premises in order to draw such inferences. An unexpected consequence of the model theory is that if adult reasoners construct simple models of typical situations, then they should infer transitive relations where, in certain cases, none exists. We report four studies corroborating the occurrence of these "pseudo-transitive" fallacies. Experiment 1 established that individuals' diagrams of certain non-transitive relations yield transitive conclusions. Experiment 2 showed that these premises also give rise to fallacious transitive inferences. Experiment 3 established that when the context suggested alternatives to the simple models, the participants made fewer errors. Experiment 4 showed that tense is an important aspect of meaning which affects whether individuals draw transitive conclusions. We discuss the implications of these results for various theories of reasoning.     

我国农村地区婴幼儿的喂养问题与对策

喂养不当是导致婴幼儿生长发育不良及营养障碍性疾病的主要原因。婴幼儿的喂养问题在我国农村地区尤为突出,主要表现在喂养方式、添加辅食和喂养行为等方面。文章重点围绕上述3个方面展开分析、提出对策,以期为政府决策、儿童保健人员及喂养者提供参考。     

高血压患者长期应用阿司匹林应注意的问题

我国高血压患者人数已高达1．6亿。高血压的严重后果是心脑血管血栓性事件（心绞痛、心肌梗死、脑梗死等）发生率的显著增高。大量的证据显示,每天100mg阿司匹林可以有效预防血栓性事件,使心肌梗死的发生率下降1／3,脑梗死发生率下降1／4,心血管疾病病死率下降1／6,国内外指南均明确规定有适应证的高血压患者需终身服用阿可匹林。本文就长期应用阿司匹林应注意的问题做一综述。     

To point a finger: attentional and motor consequences of observing pointing movements

Recent studies showed that action observation activates neural circuits used in performing the same action and facilitates execution of a similar motor program. This system for direct mapping of observed actions onto observer’s own motor representation is considered critical for human imitation capabilities. The present study shows that observing a pointing action activates a representation of that action in anatomical space, irrespectively of whether the action is shown in allocentric or egocentric perspective. This finding is at odds with the studies on imitation which showed that humans tend to imitate in a spatially compatible (specular) way, as if looking in a mirror. Our results suggest that shared representations for actions are organized in the same spatial coordinates; however, a transformation of this representation might be required for imitation tasks in order to accommodate the goals of imitative action.     

Some effects of noncontingent positive reinforcement on multiply controlled problem behavior and compliance in a demand context

Functional analysis suggested that the problem behavior of an 8-year-old girl with autism was maintained by escape from demands and access to edible items. Noncontingent delivery of an edible item was sufficient to increase compliance and reduce the rate of problem behavior without the use of escape extinction in a demand context. Leaner and richer schedules of noncontingent reinforcement were equally effective, and there were minimal differences between noncontingent reinforcement and differential reinforcement of compliance.     

Cognitive consequences of perceiving social exclusion

Although a great deal is now known about how people mentally represent individuals and groups, less attention has been paid to the question of how interpersonal relationships are represented in memory. Drawing on principles of categorization, this paper reports an investigation into how we mentally represent the relationships of others. In three experiments, evidence for assimilation effects following social exclusion (and subsequent categorization) is found. Experiment 1 uses a judgment paradigm to demonstrate that social exclusion influences the perception of interpersonal closeness. Experiments 2 and 3 employ a memory confusion paradigm to establish that representations of relationship partners are assimilated following the exclusion of a third party.     

Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI): Norwegian norms to identify conduct problems in children

This article presents the first Norwegian standardization of an assessment tool specifically designed to measure childhood conduct problems. Norwegian norms for the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI) based on data obtained from a random population sample (N= 4063) of children in the age range of 4 to 12 years are presented. The sample was drawn from rural and urban areas within three Norwegian town districts. Clinical and research advantages of having a properly standardized assessment tool for this specific subclass of childhood psychiatric problems in Norway are discussed.     

Is a sigh “just a sigh”? Sighs as emotional signals and responses to a difficult task

Sighing and the interpretation of sighs in everyday life seem never to have been the subject of psychological research. A questionnaire study of sighing showed that people associate sighing mainly with negative, low-intensity and deactivated emotional states. A second study investigated self/other differences in the interpretation of sighs in four hypothetical situations, revealing that sighs in other people are primarily perceived as signs of sadness, whereas own sighs are more often believed to express a state of "giving up" something or somebody. In a third experimental study participants worked on difficult (insoluble) puzzles, which generated many futile solution attempts, often accompanied by sighs. It is concluded that sighs are often unintentional expressions of an activity, plan or desire that has to be discarded, creating a pause before it can be replaced by a novel initiative.     

Why Theists Cannot Accept Skeptical Theism

In recent years skeptical theism has gained currency amongst theists as a way to escape the problem of evil by invoking putatively reasonable skepticism concerning our ability to know that instances of apparently gratuitous evil are unredeemed by morally sufficient reasons known to God alone. After explicating skeptical theism through the work of Stephen Wykstra and William Alston, I present a cumulative-case argument designed to show that skeptical theism cannot be accepted by theists insofar as it crucially undermines epistemic license to the very theism it is invoked to defend. I also argue that attempts to defend a theism-friendly moderate version of skeptical theism either fail to halt the spread of damaging skepticism, or lack philosophical validity.