Divided stimulus control: a replication and a quantitative model

Four pigeons were trained on a conditional discrimination. The conditional stimuli were compounds of pairs of stimuli from two different dimensions, fast versus slow cycles of red or green stimuli, and short- versus long-duration presentations of these cycles. Across conditions, the probability of reinforcers for correctly responding to each dimension was varied from 0 to 1. Discriminability, measured by log d, for stimuli on a dimension increased as the relative frequency of reinforcers for that dimension increased, replicating the results of Shahan and Podlesnik (2006). Two further conditions showed that discriminability between stimuli on each dimension was unaffected by whether the stimuli on the other dimension varied or were constant. Finally, maximal discriminability was unchanged in a redundant-relevant cues condition in which either of the stimuli comprising a compound signaled the same correct response. Davison and Nevin's (1999) model provided an excellent quantitative account of the effect of relative reinforcer frequency on discriminability, and thus of the way in which divided stimulus control is itself controlled by relative reinforcement.     

Temporal binding during apparent movement of the human body

Alternating between static images of human bodies with an appropriate interstimulus interval (ISI) produces apparent biological motion. Here we investigate links between apparent biological motion and time perception. We presented two pictures of the initial and final positions of a human movement separated by six different ISIs. The shortest movement path between two positions was always biomechanically impossible. Participants performed two tasks: In an explicit task, participants judged whether they saw the longer, feasible movement path between the two postures, or the shorter, biomechanically impossible path. In an implicit task, participants judged the duration of a white square surrounding the picture sequence. At longer ISIs participants were more likely to see a longer, feasible movement path (explicit task) and underestimated the duration of body picture pairs, compared to trials displaying degraded body pictures (implicit task). We argue that perceiving apparent biological motion involves temporal binding of two static pictures into a continuous movement. Such temporal binding may be mediated by a top-down mechanism that produces a percept of biological motion in the absence of any retinal motion.     

The role of rigid motion in newborns' face recognition

The study investigated whether dynamic information promotes newborns' ability to recognize a face. After being habituated to a face undergoing an ordered sequential head rigid motion (Exp. 1), 1- to 3-day-old newborns fully recognized the familiar face shown in the profile pose, as documented by a preference for the profile pose of a novel face. When familiarized to an ordered sequence of different viewpoint static images of a face (Exp. 2), newborns failed to recognize the profile pose of the familiar face, their visual exploration of the familiar and novel faces being at chance. Habituation to a random head rigid motion (Exp. 3) allowed only a partial recognition of face identity, as newborns preferred the profile pose of the familiar, rather than the novel, face. Rigid head motion is an important source of information for newborns' face recognition, probably aiding the derivation of a three-dimensional face structure.     

Infants attribute goals even to biomechanically impossible actions

Human infants readily interpret the actions of others in terms of goals, but the origins of this important cognitive skill are keenly debated. We tested whether infants recognize others′ actions as goal-directed on the basis of their experience with carrying out and observing goal-directed actions, or whether their perception of a goal-directed action is based on the recognition of a specific event structure. Counterintuitively, but consistent with our prediction, we observed that infants appear to extend goal attribution even to biomechanically impossible actions so long as they are physically efficient, indicating that the notion of ‘goal′ is unlikely to be derived directly from infants′ experience.     

自身运动认知的神经机制

通过光流信息来指导个体在环境中有效移动是我们视觉神经系统的一项核心任务。在灵长类的大脑皮层, 视觉运动的信息加工是由位于背侧通路的一系列脑区来完成的, 这一信息通路主要参与运动和空间动作的分析。在高级视皮层, 视觉系统很可能利用非视觉信息来补偿因眼动造成的光流模式扭曲, 以重建对自身运动方向的正确表征。根据目前研究进展, MST和VIP这两个位于顶叶的脑区都参与了自身运动认知过程, 并且对精确的自身运动方向判断是不可或缺的。本文系统介绍了近些年来在自身运动认知神经机制研究领域的进展, 尤其是神经生理学家们利用非人灵长类动物模型在自身运动认知皮层处理机制方面的成果。同时也提出了一些深入研究急需解决的关键问题。     

主、宾关系从句加工不对称性效应及其神经机制

句子加工领域内, 主、宾关系从句加工不对称性效应是诸多语种内普遍存在的一种语言现象。本文对主、宾关系从句加工不对称性效应从如下几个方面进行了分析和论述：①从成人语言、儿童语言和失语症患者三个领域并结合印欧语系和非印欧语系的语言特征, 详细分析了该效应及其普遍性和特殊性; ②主、宾关系从句加工不对称性效应的理论解释：句法角色理论、“填充语-空位”依附理论、积极填充策略、名词短语可及性层级理论和干扰相似性理论; ③与主、宾关系从句加工不对称性效应有关的脑电成分及相应的脑区激活模式的分析。最后, 在对已有理论评价分析的基础上, 提出“标记浮动”句子加工理论模型, 并指出该领域未来的研究方向。     

Moving Without Being Where You’re Not; A Non-Bivalent Way

The classical response to Zeno’s paradoxes goes like this: ‘Motion cannot properly be defined within an instant. Only over a period’ (Vlastos.) I show that this ob-jection is exactly what it takes for Zeno to be right. If motion cannot be defined at an instant, even though the object is always moving at that instant, motion cannot be defined at all, for any longer period of time identical in content to that instant. The nonclassical response introduces discontinuity, to evade the paradox of infinite proximity of any point of a distance with any ‘next’. But it introduces the wrong sort of discontinuity because, rather than assuming the discontinuity of motion, as Quantum Theory does, it assumes the discontinuity of space. Due then to the resulting spacetime disorder, though all else is certainly lost, the Tortoise now turns up at least as fast as Achilles and hence not even this much is rescued. Zeno rejects motion because he shows that a moving object must be where it is not. Hence motion, if to occur, must violate the Law of Contradiction (LNC). Applying the concept of quantum discontinuity, I produce an alternative. If an object is to move discontinuously between two boundary points, A and B, what actually obtains is, rather, that it is nowhere at all in-between A and B. And cannot therefore be at two places in-between A and B. And cannot therefore be where it is not. Thus, LNC is conserved. However, in these conditions, the Law of the Excluded Middle (LEM) fails. To mitigate the undesirability of this effect, I show that LEM fails because LNC holds. Thus, the resulting nonbivalent logic, which is also appropriate for quantized transitions of all kinds, will always turn up nonbivalent, because consistent. And this is not too bad, considering.     

克雷佩林连续加算法的初步研究

本研究遵循克雷佩林连续加算法的基本原则,参照内田-克雷佩林心理测验的基本形式和操作方法．并加以改进．编制了一套作业法测验,并建立了数量化评定指标——相对作业量。通过对近2500名学生被试进行初步研究,该测验具有较好的信度和效度,以相对作业量为标准可以较客观地判定作业曲线的凹陷和凸起等形态特征。这对于连续加法计算作业在中国的推广应用以及教育、科研、心理咨询、职业指导等工作具有重要的意义。     

关于气质类型与相对学业不良的相关研究

本研究考察了226名大、中学生的气质类型与学业成就的关系,结果发现：无论哪个学习年限段的学生的气质类型中,与胆汁质、抑郁质有关的气质类型与学业不良有关。并认为其主要以任务坚持性和社会灵活性缺乏为特征影响学业不良学生的学习成就。     

On the minimal relative motion principle—the oscillating tilted bar

Beghi, Xausa, Tomat, and Zanforlin (J. Math. Psychol. 41(1997) 11) present a visual stereokinetic illusion. In the image plane, one end of an oblique bar moves horizontally back and forth, while the other end is stationary. Perceptually, this becomes a bar of a constant length rotating in depth around a vertical axis that passes through the stationary end of the bar. Beghi et al. (1997) provide a mathematical model of minimal relative motion to account for this percept. Here we show that the minimal relative motion principle cannot explain the perceptual phenomenon. Specifically, we raise two objections. (1) It is necessary to consider not only the length, but also the direction, of a vector when comparing vector fields. In fact, when directions are taken into consideration, Beghi et al.'s mathematical result diverges from their perceptual experimental result. (2) There is a mathematical inconsistency in Beghi et al. (1997): mixing absolute and relative velocities in their minimization is unwarranted, and does not lead to correct minimization.