Effects of prosodically modulated sub-phonetic variation on lexical competition

Eye movements were monitored as participants followed spoken instructions to manipulate one of four objects pictured on a computer screen. Target words occurred in utterance-medial (e.g., Put the cap next to the square) or utterance-final position (e.g., Now click on the cap). Displays consisted of the target picture (e.g., a cap), a monosyllabic competitor picture (e.g., a cat), a polysyllabic competitor picture (e.g., a captain) and a distractor (e.g., a beaker). The relative proportion of fixations to the two types of competitor pictures changed as a function of the position of the target word in the utterance, demonstrating that lexical competition is modulated by prosodically conditioned phonetic variation.     

情绪劳动：表层动作与深层动作，哪一种效果更好？

情绪劳动（表层动作和深层动作）,哪一种情绪劳动的效果更积极？该项研究结合“情绪调节”和“双任务”的实验范式,以指导语引起不同的情绪劳动,以电影片段诱发负情绪（以悲伤为主）,同时测量情绪劳动过程情绪的变化,并通过数学成绩和自我真实感检测情绪劳动对后续工作和心理上的作用。结果表明：（1）操作表层动作与深层动作都具有一定的难度,需要付出一定的努力;且深层动作引起更多的精力集中;（2）表层动作和深层动作都可以减弱已被诱发的悲伤情绪,深层动作引起了更大的生理激活（R-R间期增加较小）;（3）表层动作导致后续工作成绩降低,自我真实感减弱。结论：如果需要在负情绪（悲伤）状态下展现正情绪（微笑）,深层动作是更积极的情绪劳动方式     

Bion and the sublime: The origins of an aesthetic paradigm

In constructing his theory Bion drew on a number of symbolic matrices: psychoanalysis, philosophy, mathematics, literature, aesthetics. The least investigated of these is the last. True, we know that Bion cites many authors of the Romantic period, such as Coleridge, Keats, Blake and Wordsworth, as well as others who were held in high esteem in the Romantic period, such as Milton. However, less is known about the influence exerted on him by the aesthetics of the sublime, which while chronologically preceding Romanticism is in fact one of its components. My working hypothesis is that tracing a number of Bion's concepts back to this secret model can serve several purposes: firstly, it contributes to the study of the sources, and, secondly, it makes these concepts appear much less occasional and idiosyncratic than we might believe, being as they are mostly those less immediately understandable but not less important (O, negative capability, nameless dread, the infinite, the language of achievement, unison etc.). Finally, connecting these notions to a matrix, that is, disclosing the meaning of elements that are not simply juxtaposed but dynamically interrelated, in my view significantly increases not only their theoretical intelligibility but also their usefulness in clinical practice. In conclusion, one could legitimately argue that Bion gradually subsumed all the other paradigms he drew on within the aesthetic paradigm.     

Response-repetition effects depend on motor set: Evidence for anatomical coding in response selection

Successful motor performance requires a process of response selection that chooses the correct response out of a set of possible ones. Most theories of response selection assume that this selection process operates on spatial codes, which define the location of stimuli and responses in environmental coordinates, with little or no role for the anatomical codes of the effectors involved. In this study, we tested this assumption by investigating response-repetition effects in a response-cuing paradigm using two motor sets (fingers on one hand vs. fingers on two hands). Reaction time results demonstrated a robust response-repetition benefit that was greater for the one-hand set than for the two-hands set. Furthermore, with the one-hand set the repetition benefit was independent of cue type and cue-stimulus interval on the previous trial, whereas with the two-hands set it was strongly modulated by these two factors. These differential response-repetition effects for one- and two-hands motor sets demonstrate the important role of the neuro-anatomical hand distinction in response selection, thereby supporting multiple coding notions.     

语言线索下视觉空间知觉任务的性别差异

为了探索不同方位辨别方式的男女差异,采用自编的经过心理测量学检测符合指标的空间知觉量表和三个语言线索下方位辨别任务范式实验,在测验和实验3中设计两种空间知觉加工方式,即东西南北和前后左右;在实验1中设计东西南北;在实验2中设计前后左右。测验,实验1和实验3均发现,在东西南北方位辨别上存在显著的性别差异,且男生优于女生;测验,实验2和实验3均发现,在前后左右方位辨别上不存在显著的性别差异。这表明男生更擅长于使用东西南北的方位辨别方式。     

The Interplay of Cross‐Situational Word Learning and Sentence‐Level Constraints

A variety of mechanisms contribute to word learning. Learners can track co‐occurring words and referents across situations in a bottom‐up manner (cross‐situational word learning, CSWL). Equally, they can exploit sentential contexts, relying on top–down information such as verb–argument relations and world knowledge, offering immediate constraints on meaning (word learning based on sentence‐level constraints, SLCL). When combined, CSWL and SLCL potentially modulate each other's influence, revealing how word learners deal with multiple mechanisms simultaneously: Do they use all mechanisms? Prefer one? Is their strategy context dependent? Three experiments conducted with adult learners reveal that learners prioritize SLCL over CSWL. CSWL is applied in addition to SLCL only if SLCL is not perfectly disambiguating, thereby complementing or competing with it. These studies demonstrate the importance of investigating word‐learning mechanisms simultaneously, revealing important characteristics of their interaction in more naturalistic learning environments.     

Moderation of Stimulus Material on the Prediction of IQ with Infants' Performance in the Visual Expectation Paradigm: Do Greebles Make the Task More Challenging?

The objective of this study was to examine the role of the stimulus material for the prediction of later IQ by early learning measures in the Visual Expectation Paradigm (VExP). The VExP was assessed at 9 months using two types of stimuli, Greebles and human faces. Greebles were assumed to be associated with a higher load on working memory in comparison to human faces. IQ was assessed at 3 years and 4 months of age. Sixty‐four children participated at both assessments in this longitudinal study. The results show a moderation of the stimulus material on the prediction of IQ. With Greebles as stimulus material, a significant relationship between infants' learning and IQ was found. There was no relation when infants' learned in the VExP using human faces. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

ENCOUNTERS WITH PSYCHOSIS

This essay offers a personal account of one physician's attempt to engage with psychotic patients in an inner‐city hospital. It considers some of the obstacles to psychoanalytic work with psychotic patients, including anxiety in the psychotherapist, anxiety in the patient, institutional resistances, and paradigmatic errors. A discussion of paradigmatic errors in Western mental health care is expanded upon. Rorty's ( 1979 ) critique of objectivity and Kuhn's ( 1962 ) work on scientific paradigm shifts are discussed in an attempt to demonstrate how we might better understand psychosis as an illness and connect with patients across the entire diagnostic spectrum.     

状态焦虑对条件性恐惧泛化的影响

恐惧的过度泛化是焦虑障碍患者重要的潜在病因,探索焦虑对恐惧泛化的影响具有重要意义。本研究在恐惧习得后,通过恐惧创伤电影范式诱发状态焦虑组被试的焦虑水平,采用主观预期值和皮电反应值作为指标,考察状态焦虑对条件性恐惧泛化的影响。结果表明,恐惧创伤电影范式显著提高了状态焦虑组被试的焦虑水平。在泛化阶段,状态焦虑组被试表现出更强的恐惧泛化,对与条件刺激相似的泛化刺激表现出更强烈的恐惧以及更高的预期。状态焦虑使得被试恐惧泛化的消退更慢,持续时间更长。研究同时发现,在状态焦虑下,被试对条件刺激的辨识出现增强趋势。研究结果提示在对经历负性事件个体进行临床干预时,可通过降低其焦虑水平来减少过度泛化。     

The effects of acute resistance exercise on young and older males' working memory

ObjectivesThe aim of the current study was two-fold: to examine the effects of acute, moderate intensity resistance exercise (RE) on working memory in young and older males, respectively.DesignA two-study approach with a within-subjects design.MethodsStudy 1 recruited 20 young males aged 21–30 years. Participants underwent two experimental sessions, the exercise session and reading session, in a counterbalanced order. The RE protocol included two sets of 10 repetitions at 70% of 10-repetition maximum of eight muscle exercises. The Sternberg working memory paradigm with two probe types (in-set probes and out-of-set probes) was used as the cognitive task where reaction times (RT) and response accuracy were identified. Study 2 recruited 20 older male adults aged 65–72 years. The methods and experimental procedures were the same as Study 1.ResultsIn Study 1, young males demonstrated shorter RTs after the exercise treatment as compared with the reading treatment for both probe types. In Study 2, older males showed shorter RTs after the exercise treatment as compared with the reading treatment in the out-of-set probes only.ConclusionsWhile acute RE benefited working memory in both young and older males, rather than general facilitation, it was shown to have a disproportionately larger effect on older males for tasks involving higher working memory demands.