不同搜索情境下老化对自上而下注意加工的影响

在视觉搜索过程中,老年人是否可以在不同情境下调节自上而下和自下而上的加工水平尚不明确。为了探讨老化对认知灵活性的影响,研究采用空间线索范式,通过比较有效线索和无效线索来考察对线索的注意加工水平（注意捕获、注意抑制）,通过比较目标相关和目标无关线索的注意加工水平来考察自上而下和自下而上的作用,通过改变分心物一致性来调控不同的目标凸显情境。结果发现,年轻组在目标非凸显时的空间线索效应高于目标凸显时,表明年轻人会依据目标凸显性调整自上而下的加工水平;但老年组却没有产生这种差异,其更依赖自上而下的加工,注意系统会对目标相关的线索进行注意捕获,对目标无关的线索进行注意抑制。结果表明,随着年龄的增长,认知控制的灵活性下降,表现出对自上而下加工较多的依赖;此外,老年人依然保留着注意捕获和注意抑制的能力,这对认知老化中抑制能力受损的观点提出了挑战。     

汉语发展性阅读障碍儿童视觉同时性加工技能子成分的发展及其与阅读的关系

通过分别以高频汉字(实验1)和图形非言语材料(实验2)为刺激的两个联合视觉注意任务, 并采用基于Budensen视觉注意理论的参数估计方法, 系统地探查小学三~六年级汉语发展性阅读障碍儿童的视觉同时性加工技能缺陷的内在机制。以43名汉语发展性阅读障碍儿童和46名生理年龄匹配典型发展儿童为被试, 每类被试均被分为小学中年级组(三、四年级)和高年级组(五、六年级)。两个实验均发现不同年级组的阅读障碍儿童在知觉加工速度参数上显著小于控制组儿童。在空间注意分布权重参数上, 实验1的结果显示, 不同于控制组儿童向左侧化发展的注意分布模式, 两个年级组的阅读障碍儿童均表现为无偏的注意分布; 而实验2未发现显著组别差异。且这两种同时性加工子技能分别与不同水平的汉语阅读技能密切相关。结果表明, 汉语阅读障碍儿童在同时加工多个视觉刺激时存在持续的知觉加工速度缓慢的问题, 在同时加工言语类刺激时还表现出异常的空间注意分布模式。本研究有助于从基础认知层面揭示汉语发展性阅读障碍儿童的缺陷机理, 为进一步设计相关的提高阅读效率的干预方案提供理论依据。     

Active or Inert? An Experimental Comparison of Creative Ideation across Incubation Periods

The primary objective of this study was to contribute to the growing research discipline investigating the effects of physical exercise on divergent thinking creativity performance. Thirty‐two students participated in this two‐visit, within‐subject intervention. Individuals consented to participate in two randomized, and counterbalanced, experimental conditions, consisting of 15 min of active treadmill walking and an inert, seated control incubation period. Creativity was assessed at baseline and post‐exercise (and control) via the Instances Creativity Task (ICT). Creativity scores for changes in fluency (F(1, 31) = 2.90, p = .10) were not statistically significant across the experimental conditions. Originality scores were higher at baseline and follow‐up when compared to the exercise condition (F(1, 31) = 6.82, p = .01). However, there was no statistically significant condition × time interaction effect (F(1, 31) = 1.78, p = .19). Further analyses demonstrated that there was no statistically significant difference between the experimental conditions on recall score (F(1, 31) = 1.04, p = .32). All models indicated statistically significant main effects for time: fluency (F(1, 31) = 131.17, p < .001); originality (F(1, 31) = 36.54, p < .001); and recall (F(1, 31) = 51.75, p < .001). These findings suggest that both active and inert creative incubation periods may similarly enhance subsequent divergent thinking performance.     

越近越诱惑？感知食物空间距离对消费欲望的影响

探讨消费欲望的影响因素及影响机制对解决个体非健康饮食问题具有重要意义。采用2个实验考察感知食物空间距离是否及如何影响消费欲望,以及感知资源口腔占用是否会降低感知空间距离对消费欲望的影响。结果发现：（1）感知空间距离越近,消费欲望越强;（2）感知空间距离通过心理模拟影响消费欲望;（3）占用感知资源口腔会阻碍心理模拟从而降低感知食物空间距离对消费欲望的影响。因此,操纵食物的感知空间距离会通过心理模拟影响个体的消费欲望。     

A comparison of accumulated and distributed reinforcement periods with children exhibiting escape-maintained problem behavior

Differential reinforcement is a common treatment for escape-maintained problem behavior in which compliance is reinforced on a fixed-ratio (FR) 1 schedule with brief access to positive and/or negative reinforcement. Recent research suggests some individuals prefer to complete longer work requirements culminating in prolonged (i.e. accumulated) reinforcement periods relative to brief (i.e. distributed) periods, but prolonged work exposure may evoke problem behavior and prevent compliance from contacting reinforcement when treating escape-maintained problem behavior. We exposed 3 children with escape-maintained problem behavior to both distributed (FR 1 resulting in 30 s of reinforcement) and accumulated (FR 15 resulting in 7.5 min of reinforcement) arrangements to compare their efficacy in maintaining low levels of problem behavior. We then assessed participants' preferences for these conditions in a concurrent-chains arrangement. Accumulated-reinforcement arrangements did not occasion additional problem behavior, but rather resulted in consistently lower levels of problem behavior for 2 of 3 participants. Participants demonstrated idiosyncratic preferences.     

分散空间注意条件下客体特征一致性对视觉特征错觉性结合的影响

本研究通过设置对空间注意资源的分配实施强行操作的情形下,探讨了主、次作业客体形状一致性和次作业客体间距对乏空间注意区次作业客体颜色、形状特征的检测及对特征错觉性结合的影响。实验结果表明：（１）分散空间注意使次作业区域注意减弱,对客体及其颜色和形状特征的识别均产生明显影响．而且对形状的影响又大于颜色;（２）特征错觉性结合率,主、次作业客体形状一致时比客体形状不一致时明显增大;（３）次作业客体间距对特征错觉性结合率无明显影响,但客体形状一致性和客体间距之间存在明显交互作用．     

Individual Differences in Spatial Memory and Striatal ChAT Activity among Young and Aged Rats

Individual differences in spatial memory among young and aged rats were assessed using memory tasks related to integrity of the hippocampus and the neostriatum. Relationships were then examined between measures of spatial memory and regional choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity, a marker for cholinergic integrity. Twenty-four-month-old Long-Evans rats were impaired in comparisons with 6-month-old rats on measures of place learning, working memory, reference memory, and perseveration in water-maze tasks. Aged rats that were impaired on one measure of memory, however, were not necessarily impaired on other measures. ChAT activity in the ventromedial and dorsolateral neostriatum of aged rats was significantly reduced in comparisons with young rats whereas no difference was found in the hippocampus. Aged rats with the most ChAT activity in the anterior ventromedial neostriatum performed best on the place-learning and reference memory tasks but also made the most perseverative errors on the working memory task. In addition, young and aged rats with the most ChAT activity in the anterior dorsolateral neostriatum were those with the least accurate working memory. No relationships were found between ChAT activity in the hippocampus and spatial memory. Thus age-related memory impairment has components that can be segregated by measuring relationships between cholinergic integrity in subregions of the anterior neostriatum and memory tasks with different strategic requirements.     

THOG问题促进效应研究

通过选取经典的THOG问题作为实验材料,探讨了大学生解决具体以及抽象选言推理问题的认知机制,结果发现:(1)具体内容的选言推理问题对抽象内容的选言推理问题有明显的促进效应,表现为先解决逃犯问题后解决THOG问题组的正确率显著高于先解决THOG问题后解决逃犯问题组;(2)提供笼统的解题策略对大学生解决THOG问题几乎没有促进作用。     

A Bayesian Semiparametric Latent Variable Model for Mixed Responses

In this paper we introduce a latent variable model (LVM) for mixed ordinal and continuous responses, where covariate effects on the continuous latent variables are modelled through a flexible semiparametric Gaussian regression model. We extend existing LVMs with the usual linear covariate effects by including nonparametric components for nonlinear effects of continuous covariates and interactions with other covariates as well as spatial effects. Full Bayesian modelling is based on penalized spline and Markov random field priors and is performed by computationally efficient Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods. We apply our approach to a German social science survey which motivated our methodological development. We thank the editor and the referees for their constructive and helpful comments, leading to substantial improvements of a first version, and Sven Steinert for computational assistance. Partial financial support from the SFB 386 “Statistical Analysis of Discrete Structures” is also acknowledged.     

Comparing functional analysis and paired-choice assessment results in classroom settings

The results of a functional analysis of problem behavior and a paired-choice assessment were compared to determine whether the same social reinforcers were identified for problem behavior and an appropriate response (time allocation). The two assessments were conducted in classroom settings with 4 adolescents with mental retardation who engaged in severe problem behavior. Each student's classroom teacher served as the therapist for all phases of assessment. The two assessment procedures identified the same social reinforcers for problem and appropriate behavior for 3 of 4 participants.