集体问题解决中的认知表征、行为惯例和动态能力

以王建安和张钢(2008)开发的三人TTT纸牌游戏(原游戏)及其变式(变式游戏)为实验任务, 研究了集体问解决中认知表征和行为惯例对提高动态能力的作用。共有240名被试, 分成80个三人小组, 参加了前后两场各20盘游戏。80个小组按照是否被告知游戏的问题表征(即有无认知表征), 以及是玩原游戏还是玩变式游戏, 均分成4个区组来玩第一场游戏。在第二场游戏中, 4个区组都玩变式游戏。以玩每盘游戏的平均步时和在问题表征中走过的路径为指标测量惯例, 以玩第一场原游戏习得的能力向玩第二场变式游戏的迁移率来衡量动态能力。结果发现：一方面, 适当的认知表征有助于提高集体问题解决的动态能力; 另一方面, 没有适当认知表征支持的行为惯例反而会阻碍动态能力的发展。概括地说, 动态能力的决定因素是认知表征而不是行为惯例。     

The development of attention to simple and complex visual stimuli in infants: Behavioral and psychophysiological measures

The study of visual attention in infants has used presentation of single simple stimuli, multi-dimensional stimuli, and complex dynamic video presentations. There are both continuities and discontinuities in the findings on attention and attentiveness to stimulus complexity. A continuity is a pattern of looking that is found in the early part of infancy that remains throughout adulthood. A discontinuity is an emerging sensitivity to the content of the information in the stimulus presentations and alterations in patterns of attention based upon stimulus comprehensibility. The current paper reviews some of these findings with particular application to complex video presentations.     

The Behavioral Logic of Collective Action: Partisans Cooperate and Punish More Than Nonpartisans

Laboratory experiments indicate that many people willingly contribute to public goods and punish free riders at a personal cost. We hypothesize that these individuals, called strong reciprocators, allow political parties to overcome collective action problems, thereby allowing those organizations to compete for scarce resources and to produce public goods for like‐minded individuals. Using a series of laboratory games, we examine whether partisans contribute to public goods and punish free riders at a greater rate than nonpartisans. The results show that partisans are more likely than nonpartisans to contribute to public goods and to engage in costly punishment. Given the broad theoretical literature on altruistic punishment and group selection as well as our own formal evolutionary model, we hypothesize that it is being a partisan that makes an individual more likely to be a strong reciprocator and not vice versa.     

An evaluation of preference for video and in vivo modeling

We assessed preference for video or in vivo modeling using a concurrent-chains arrangement with 3 children with autism. The two modeling conditions produced similar acquisition rates and no differential selection (i.e., preference) for all 3 participants.     

Coordination after gains and losses: Is prospect theory’s value function predictive for games?

We analyze the effects of prior gain and loss experiences on individuals’ behavior in two coordination games: battle of the sexes and simultaneous market entry. We propose subjectively transformed games that integrate elements of prospect theory, aggregation of prior and subsequent payoffs, and social projection. Mathematical predictions of behavior are derived based on equilibrium selection concepts. Males’ behavior in our experimental studies is largely consistent with our predictions. However, the behavior of many female respondents appears to be rather consistent with interpreting the initial random lottery outcomes used to manipulate prior experiences as a signal for the players’ abilities to compete. This could be related to females’ known uneasiness of competing against counterparts that might be male and thus, a generally higher salience of rivalry in our incentivized experiments. Females also chose to play far more mixed strategies than males indicating some uncertainty about what type of behavior is appropriate.     

Music interferes with learning from television during infancy

Infants are frequently exposed to music during daily activities, including free play, and while viewing infant‐directed videotapes that contain instrumental music soundtracks. In Experiment 1, an instrumental music soundtrack was played during a live or televised demonstration to examine its effects on deferred imitation by 6‐, 12‐, and 18‐month‐old infants. Transfer of information was indexed via deferred imitation of the target actions following a 24‐h delay. For half the infants, the music context was also reinstated at the time of test. Performance by experimental groups was compared to that of a baseline control group that participated in the test session without prior exposure to the demonstration. Imitation performance was above baseline for the live groups but not for the video groups regardless of age or the music context at test. In Experiment 2, we added matched sound effects to the video demonstration and infants performed above baseline. We conclude that the music track creates additional cognitive load, disrupts selective attention to the target actions and inhibits transfer of learning from television of the imitation task. Music may impair an infant's ability to translate information from a two‐dimensional to three‐dimensional world even if the auditory context remains the same. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Representation of Game Algebras

We prove that every abstractly defined game algebra can be represented as an algebra of consistent pairs of monotone outcome relations over a game board. As a corollary we obtain Goranko's result that van Benthem's conjectured axiomatization for equivalent game terms is indeed complete.     

Trust and trustworthiness in a sequential bargaining game

We use a two‐person extensive form bargaining game to explore individuals' trusting and reciprocal behavior and how those relate to their scores on a trust survey. In keeping with prior research, we find that the ‘self‐interested’ outcome is rejected by a majority of individuals. People who score high on the trust survey are both trusting and are also trustworthy, in that they reciprocate others' trust. But people with low‐trust scores often exhibit trust but are not trustworthy. These ‘inconsistent trusters’ seem to be interested in exploiting the trust and trustworthiness of others in increasing their own payoff. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.