WINNICOTT AND HELPLESSNESS: DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY,RELIGION, AND PERSONAL LIFE

The author examines Winnicott's theory of development from the perspective of existential helplessness, arguing that (a) his views illuminate healthy (and unhealthy) aspects of religion, and (b) express his stance toward the helplessness of dying and death. The author contends that Winnicott understood the infant's psychic growth in relation to the reality of existential helplessness and absolute dependency. Four interrelated, dynamic paradoxes embedded in Winnicott's developmental perspective are discussed, and these paradoxes are seen as frameworks to depict his notions of ego, transitional objects, and true/false selves. The author posits that religion, which Winnicott included under the rubric of transitional phenomena, can be understood in relation to existential helplessness and can be assessed in terms of the degree to which these paradoxes are dynamic.     

产品类型对购物冲量效应的调节作用分析

基于享乐品-实用品有关研究及购物冲量效应, 考察产品类型对购物冲量效应的调节作用及其内在机制。实验一通过现场研究验证购买实用品提高后续购买概率, 购买享乐品降低其概率; 实验二为实验室实验, 再次验证该调节作用, 并验证内在原因：购买享乐品更可能激发内疚感、花钱的痛苦甚至负面自我形象和高层次目标, 导致理由性思维占主导, 前次购买引发的应用思维定式受到削弱。相比于实用品, 购买享乐品引发购物冲量效应的可能性更低。     

Adaptive and Maladaptive Dependency in Bereavement: Distinguishing Prolonged and Resolved Grief Trajectories

Interpersonal dependency is typically viewed as a risk factor for prolonged grief among conjugally bereaved adults. However, emerging empirical evidence and theoretical advances suggest that one manifestation of interpersonal dependency – adaptive dependency – may serve as a protective factor in coping with loss. This study compared adaptive and maladaptive dependency across three matched groups: prolonged grievers, asymptomatically bereaved adults, and a married comparison group. Results suggest a link between adaptive dependency and asymptomatic bereavement, and between maladaptive dependency and prolonged grief.     

A RUNS‐TEST ALGORITHM: CONTINGENT REINFORCEMENT AND RESPONSE RUN STRUCTURES

Four rats' choices between two levers were differentially reinforced using a runs‐test algorithm. On each trial, a runs‐test score was calculated based on the last 20 choices. In Experiment 1, the onset of stimulus lights cued when the runs score was smaller than criterion. Following cuing, the correct choice was occasionally reinforced with food, and the incorrect choice resulted in a blackout. Results indicated that this contingency reduced sequential dependencies among successive choice responses. With one exception, subjects' choice rule was well described as biased coin flipping. In Experiment 2, cuing was removed and the reinforcement criterion was changed to a percentile score based on the last 20 reinforced responses. The results replicated those of Experiment 1 in successfully eliminating first‐order dependencies in all subjects. For 2 subjects, choice allocation was approximately consistent with nonbiased coin flipping. These results suggest that sequential dependencies may be a function of reinforcement contingency.     

The dynamics of choice among multiple alternatives

We consider neurally based models for decision-making in the presence of noisy incoming data. The two-alternative forced-choice task has been extensively studied, and in that case it is known that mutually inhibited leaky integrators in which leakage and inhibition balance can closely approximate a drift-diffusion process that is the continuum limit of the optimal sequential probability ratio test (SPRT). Here we study the performance of neural integrators in n?2 alternative choice tasks and relate them to a multihypothesis sequential probability ratio test (MSPRT) that is asymptotically optimal in the limit of vanishing error rates. While a simple race model can implement this ‘max-vs-next’ MSPRT, it requires an additional computational layer, while absolute threshold crossing tests do not require such a layer. Race models with absolute thresholds perform relatively poorly, but we show that a balanced leaky accumulator model with an absolute crossing criterion can approximate a ‘max-vs-ave’ test that is intermediate in performance between the absolute and max-vs-next tests. We consider free and fixed time response protocols, and show that the resulting mean reaction times under the former and decision times for fixed accuracy under the latter obey versions of Hick's law in the low error rate range, and we interpret this in terms of information gained. Specifically, we derive relationships of the forms log(n-1), log(n), or log(n+1) depending on error rates, signal-to-noise ratio, and the test itself. We focus on linearized models, but also consider nonlinear effects of neural activities (firing rates) that are bounded below and show how they modify Hick's law.     

Mental architectures with selectively influenced but stochastically interdependent components

The way external factors influence distribution functions for the overall time required to perform a mental task (such as responding to a stimulus, or solving a problem) may be informative as to the underlying mental architecture, the hypothetical network of interconnected processes some of which are selectively influenced by some of the external factors. Under the assumption that all processes contributing to the overall performance time are stochastically independent, several basic results have been previously established. These results relate patterns of response time distribution functions produced by manipulating external factors to such questions as whether the hypothetical constituent processes in the mental architecture enter AND gates or OR gates, and whether pairs of processes are sequential or concurrent. The present study shows that all these results are also valid for stochastically interdependent component times, provided the selective dependence of these components upon external factors is understood within the framework of a recently proposed theory of selective influence. According to this theory each component is representable as a function of three arguments: the factor set selectively influencing it, a component-specific source of randomness, and a source of randomness shared by all the components.     

Static and dynamic seductive illustration effects on text‐and‐graphic learning processes,perceptions, and outcomes: Evidence from eye tracking

This study aimed to examine how different forms (still pictures vs. animations) of seductive illustrations impact text‐and‐graphic learning processes, perceptions, and outcomes. An eye‐tracking experiment of three groups (static, dynamic, and control) was conducted with 60 college and graduate students while learning with PowerPoint slides about infant motor development milestones. Prior knowledge, learning performance, learning perception, and visual attention were assessed by achievement tests, self‐rated scales, and eye‐tracking measures. Analysis of variance and t test results showed that, under a low task‐load condition, no seductive details effect was found for learning achievement but was found for learning process and perception. Decreased attention was found in the relevant pictures in both experimental groups. With more deeply and intensively processing on the seductive animations, the dynamic group perceived more distractions than the static group. Lag sequential analysis results revealed different visual transitional patterns for the groups, providing deep understandings about the process of seductive details effects.     

不同ISI下异同判断的同反应启动效应

通过改变刺激对中的第一个刺激消失到第二个刺激出现之间的间隔 (interstimulusinterval,简称ISI) ,并控制呈现的刺激前后试验不重复 ,分别进行不同形状白色图形的异同判断实验和不同颜色圆形的异同判断实验 ,系统地考察不同ISI下异同判断的同反应启动效应 ,研究异同判断的加工机制。两个实验均采用 2 (前次试验类型 :异、同 )× 2 (当前试验类型 :异、同 )× 6(ISI :1 0 0ms、2 0 0ms、30 0ms、40 0ms、50 0ms、60 0ms)重复测量设计。被试为2 1名大学本科生 ,其中男生 1 0名 ,女生 1 1名。结果发现 ,在两实验中的每一种ISI条件下 ,同反应后的试验的反应时均显著短于异反应后的试验的反应时 ,即表现出显著的同反应启动效应。实验的结果支持异同判断的双过程模型 ,并表明双加工机制可能是序列工作的     

The Dependency–Counterdependency Dynamic: Interactive Effects of System Justification and Power-Distance Orientation on Radicalization against the Political System

System Justification Theory posits that individuals are less prone to engage in radical action against a system on which they depend. In the present research, we investigated how the association between system-justifying tendencies and radical intentions is moderated by individuals' orientation towards power differentials, namely their “power distance.” A stronger power distance orientation implies that individuals perceive power differentials as a fixed feature of society, curtailing prospects for change. We hypothesized that, at lower levels of power distance orientation, system-justification tendencies would be associated with reduced radical intentions. We contend this will occur because individuals feel dependent on a system perceived as malleable (dependency hypothesis). Conversely, at higher levels of power distance orientation, we expected system-justification tendencies to be associated with stronger radical intentions. We argue that this effect reflects the rejection of dependency on a system perceived as fixed (counterdependency hypothesis). This dependency-counterdependency dynamic was tested using a multigroup latent structural equation model and samples from four countries (N_Total = 2,502), South Korea, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Results were consistent with the hypothesized dynamic across all countries. Theoretical implications of the findings, limitations, and future research directions are discussed.