Vibrotactile timing: Are vibrotactile judgements of duration affected by repetitive stimulation?

Timing in the vibrotactile modality was explored. Previous research has shown that repetitive auditory stimulation (in the form of click-trains) and visual stimulation (in the form of flickers) can alter duration judgements in a manner consistent with a “speeding up” of an internal clock. In Experiments 1 and 2 we investigated whether repetitive vibrotactile stimulation in the form of vibration trains would also alter duration judgements of either vibrotactile stimuli or visual stimuli. Participants gave verbal estimates of the duration of vibrotactile and visual stimuli that were preceded either by five seconds of 5-Hz vibration trains, or, by a five-second period of no vibrotactile stimulation, the end of which was signalled by a single vibration pulse (control condition). The results showed that durations were overestimated in the vibrotactile train conditions relative to the control condition; however, the effects were not multiplicative (did not increase with increasing stimulus duration) and as such were not consistent with a speeding up of the internal clock, but rather with an additive attentional effect. An additional finding was that the slope of the vibrotactile psychometric (control condition) function was not significantly different from that of the visual (control condition) function, which replicates a finding from a previous cross-modal comparison of timing.     

Political support for self-determination,wealth, and national subjective well-being

The present paper explored the relation of wealth and support for self-determination to national subjective well-being (SWB). Support for self-determination was considered from both a political and cultural values standpoint. The results confirmed associations between wealth, support for self-determination, and well-being in a large sample of countries. Importantly, political and cultural value supports for self-determination remained significantly associated with national well-being (as measured by happiness reports and life expectancy) even after controlling for national differences in wealth.

The differentiation of response numerosities in the pigeon

Two experiments examined how pigeons differentiate response patterns along the dimension of number. In Experiment 1, 5 pigeons received food after pecking the left key at least N times and then switching to the right key (Mechner's Fixed Consecutive Number schedule). Parameter N varied across conditions from 4 to 32. Results showed that run length on the left key followed a normal distribution whose mean and standard deviation increased linearly with N; the coefficient of variation approached a constant value (the scalar property). In Experiment 2, 4 pigeons received food with probability p for pecking the left key exactly four times and then switching. If that did not happen, the pigeons still could receive food by returning to the left key and pecking it for a total of at least 16 times and then switching. Parameter p varied across conditions from 1.0 to .25. Results showed that when p= 1.0 or p=.5, pigeons learned two response numerosities within the same condition. When p=.25, each pigeon adapted to the schedule differently. Two of them emitted first runs well described by a mixture of two normal distributions, one with mean close to 4 and the other with mean close to 16 pecks. A mathematical model for the differentiation of response numerosity in Fixed Consecutive Number schedules is proposed.     

Drug effects: Agonistic and antagonistic processes

The research presented here has shown that tolerance to drugs can be accelerated by conditioning processes. Placebo effects may be considered the opposite of tolerance, and we have shown that placebo effects may be objectively recorded by physiological measures (electromyography, skin conductance responses, and event‐related potentials), as well as by behavioral and subjective methods. The placebo response, or more precisely, the expectation of drug effects, can add to the effect of the drug. Drug antagonistic expectations can also reverse the effect of the drug. There is some evidence that placebo effects are strongest when expectations are reinforced by administration of an active drug. Expectations have graded effects and may affect symptoms to a smaller or larger degree. Although drug effects can be considered stimuli, the investigation of the role of classical conditioning in drug use and drug effects involves special issues that must be carefully considered.     

音乐与情绪诱发的机制模型

音乐与情绪关系的讨论正处于行为层面描述向认知及神经机制研究的初探阶段.线索一致性模型、音乐期待模型、协同化理论和多重机制模型分别从音乐线索、听者认知、音乐与听者互动关系及多重整合角度对音乐诱发情绪的过程做出了解释.当前分歧集中于三方面:(1)音乐诱发情绪是否必须以认知为中介;(2)诱发过程是一般领域还是特殊领域;(3)诱发情绪的机制是多元还是单一.文章提出确定概念同质、借助多指标测量和思考机制关系等解决思路,并阐明了此领域的研究趋势.     

The Effect of Goal Difficulty on Escalation of Commitment

Escalation of commitment to a failing course of action is a problem in behavioral decision making that occurs across a wide range of social contexts. In this research, we show that examining escalation of commitment from a goal setting theory perspective provides fresh insights into how goal difficulty influences escalation of commitment. Specifically, through a series of two experiments, we found a curvilinear relationship between goal difficulty and post‐feedback goal commitment, which was mediated by valence and expectancy associated with goal attainment. In turn, it is commitment to goals that leads individuals to continue a previous course of action despite negative feedback. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Neural Bases of Placebo Effects in Pain

Abstract— Placebo effects are beneficial effects of treatment caused not by the biological action of the treatment but by one's response to the treatment process itself. One possible mechanism of placebo treatments is that they create positive expectations, which change one's appraisal of the situation and may thereby shape sensory and emotional processing. Recent brain-imaging evidence suggests that placebo-induced expectations of analgesia increase activity in the prefrontal cortex in anticipation of pain and decrease the brain's response to painful stimulation. These findings suggest that placebo treatments can alter experience, not just alter what participants are willing to report about pain. To the extent that they involve neural systems mediating expectancy and appraisal, placebo effects in pain may share common circuitry with placebo effects in depression, Parkinson's disease, and other disorders.     

Psychometric Assessment of the Comprehensive Effects of Alcohol Questionnaire: Comparing a Brief Version to the Original Full Scale

The current set of studies compared the psychometric properties of the original Comprehensive Effects of Alcohol Questionnaire (CEOA) to a 15-item version (B-CEOA) in a nonclinical undergraduate sample (N = 581), and attempted to replicate and extend the B-CEOA findings in an undergraduate sample referred to an alcohol intervention (N = 734). Psychometric assessment included construct validity, internal consistency, and concurrent validity, using both positive and negative expectancy items in all analyses. Results provided further support for the empirical validity of the original CEOA, and provided support for the use of the B-CEOA despite the reduction in the number of items. The B-CEOA factor structures obtained using exploratory and confirmatory techniques provided support for a 4-factor structure of expectancies and 3-factor structure of valuations. Findings reveal potential problems with positive and negative expectancy items. Trade-offs regarding factor structure, internal consistency, and administration time should be considered in using the B-CEOA vs. the CEOA.     

Evaluation of quantitative theories of timing

Scalar timing theory is a clear, complete, modular, and precise theory of timing that explains much of the data from many timing procedures, but not all of the data from all of the procedures. The multiple-time-scale theory of timing provides an alternative representation of time that has not yet been tested with respect to its fit to timing data.