工作记忆对知觉类别学习的影响:问题与构想

人们学习将感知到的客体按照不同的标准或规则分类存储,即类别学习。而工作记忆作为多种认知加工的基础,对类别学习具有重要作用。基于已有研究,分别梳理了言语工作记忆和视空工作记忆对基于规则和信息整合类别结构的影响。目前,执行功能是否影响内隐类别学习系统、工作记忆负荷对内隐外显类别学习系统的影响是否一致还存在争议。此外,工作记忆影响知觉类别学习的认知加工阶段尚不清晰。未来的研究还需明确工作记忆负荷对内隐和外显类别学习的影响,进一步验证工作记忆影响类别学习的认知加工阶段假设的合理性。     

视觉注意离散性的实验范式

注意离散性是注意间歇性地采集外界信息的特性。文章综述了视觉注意离散性的4种实验范式:(1)车轮错觉范式,刺激强度大、实验条件少、被试任务量小,较早地证实了视觉注意的离散性;(2)视觉探测范式,同时观察了被试的行为表现与电生理信号,确定了视觉注意离散性与神经振荡的关联;(3)线索靶子范式和视觉搜索范式,通过系统地变化SOA大幅提高了行为数据的时间分辨率,直观地探测到注意离散性调制的行为振荡。     

学习方法对陌生语言字形学习的影响

采用学习——测查的范式,以陌生视觉单词(韩字)为材料,考察了学习方法对陌生语言字形学习效果的影响。在学习阶段,材料分别以连续重复(集中学习)和间隔重复(分散学习)方式呈现6遍,在学习之后半小时、1天以及1个星期之后,分别进行再认记忆测查。结果发现,虽然随着测查间隔时间的增长,两种学习条件的成绩都显著降低,但是在三次测查中,分散学习的成绩都明显好于集中学习。这一结果说明在排除语音、语义等其他言语元素的干扰之后,以分散学习的方式学习新字形的效果好于集中学习。     

Attentional capture in driving displays

Drivers face frequent distraction on the roadways, but little is known about situations placing them at risk of misallocating visual attention. To investigate this issue, we asked participants to search for a red target embedded within simulated driving scenes (photographs taken from inside a car) in three experiments. Distraction was induced by presenting, via a GPS unit, red or green distractors positioned in an irrelevant location at which the target never appeared. If the salient distractor captures attention, visual search should be slower on distractor‐present trials than distractor‐absent trials. In Experiment 1, salient distractors yielded no such capture effect. In Experiment 2, we decreased the frequency of the salient distractor from 50% of trials to only 10% or 20% of trials. Capture effects were almost five times larger for the 10% occurrence group than for the 20% occurrence group. In Experiment 3, the amount of available central resources was manipulated by asking participants to either simultaneously monitor or ignore a stream of spoken digits. Capture effects were much larger for the dual‐task group than for the single‐task group. In summary, these findings identify risk factors for attentional capture in real‐world driving scenes: distractor rarity and diversion of attention.     

A Monte Carlo evaluation of masked visual analysis in response‐guided versus fixed‐criteria multiple‐baseline designs

We developed masked visual analysis (MVA) as a structured complement to traditional visual analysis. The purpose of the present investigation was to compare the effects of computer‐simulated MVA of a four‐case multiple‐baseline (MB) design in which the phase lengths are determined by an ongoing visual analysis (i.e., response‐guided) versus those in which the phase lengths are established a priori (i.e., fixed criteria). We observed an acceptably low probability (less than .05) of false detection of treatment effects. The probability of correctly detecting a true effect frequently exceeded .80 and was higher when: (a) the masked visual analyst extended phases based on an ongoing visual analysis, (b) the effects were larger, (c) the effects were more immediate and abrupt, and (d) the effects of random and extraneous error factors were simpler. Our findings indicate that MVA is a valuable combined methodological and data‐analysis tool for single‐case intervention researchers.     

Protocols for the Investigation of Information Processing in Human Assessment of Fundamental Movement Skills

Fundamental movement skill (FMS) assessment remains an important tool in classifying individuals’ level of FMS proficiency. The collection of FMS performances for assessment and monitoring has remained unchanged over the last few decades, but new motion capture technologies offer opportunities to automate this process. To achieve this, a greater understanding of the human process of movement skill assessment is required. The authors present the rationale and protocols of a project in which they aim to investigate the visual search patterns and information extraction employed by human assessors during FMS assessment, as well as the implementation of the Kinect system for FMS capture.     

Too hot to help! Exploring the impact of ambient temperature on helping

Building on the conservation of resources model, we conducted three studies to explore the link between ambient temperature and individual prosocial behavior. In study 1, analyzing the two‐wave field data from a chain of retail stores in Eastern Europe, we find that, in hot, as opposed to normal temperatures, employees are less likely to act in a prosocial manner. In study 2, we replicate and extend these findings in a randomized controlled experiment by identifying mechanisms underlying the relationship between hot ambient temperature and helping behavior. Specifically, we find that heat increases fatigue that leads to reduction in positive affect and subsequently reduces individual helping. Finally, in study 3, we replicate these findings in a field experiment. Taken together, our study helps to explain how and through what mechanisms ambient temperature influences individual helping. The theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed.     

Differences in alexithymia and emotional awareness in exhaustion syndrome and chronic fatigue syndrome

Symptoms of Exhaustion Syndrome (ES) and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) are overlapping and create difficulties of differential diagnosis. Empirical studies comparing ES and CFS are scarce. This study aims to investigate if there are any emotional differences between ES and CFS. This cross‐sectional study compared self‐reported alexithymia and observer‐rated emotional awareness in patients with ES (n = 31), CFS (n = 38) and healthy controls (HC) (n = 30). Self‐reported alexithymia was measured with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale‐20 (TAS‐20) and emotional awareness with an observer‐rated performance test, the Level of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS). Additionally, depression and anxiety were scored by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results show that patients with ES expressed higher self‐reported alexithymia in the TAS‐20 compared to HC, but had similar emotional awareness capacity in the observer‐rated performance test, the LEAS. Patients with CFS expressed more difficulties in identifying emotions compared to HCs, and performed significantly worse in the LEAS‐total and spent more time completing the LEAS as compared to HC. Correlation and multiple regressions analyses revealed that depression and anxiety positively correlated with and explained part of the variances in alexithymia scores, while age and group explained the major part of the variance in LEAS. Findings of this study indicate that emotional status is different in patients with ES and CFS with respect to both self‐reported alexithymia and observer‐rated emotional awareness. Emotional parameters should be approached both in clinical investigation and psychotherapy for patients with ES and CFS.     

知觉表征精度对工作记忆中抑制干扰能力的影响

工作记忆的容量十分有限,需要选择性地抑制与目标无关信息的干扰,工作记忆容量高的个体,其抑制干扰的能力也更强。本研究采用带有不同形状干扰刺激的色块颜色回忆任务考察干扰对工作记忆容量和表征精度的影响,结果发现,当负荷超出工作记忆容量范围时,干扰减少了记忆所能表征客体的个数;当负荷在工作记忆容量范围内时,干扰降低了记忆中表征客体的精度。更进一步,研究采用独立的知觉任务来测量知觉表征的精度,并探讨作为信息加工的初始阶段的知觉表征如何影响工作记忆加工过程中抑制干扰的能力。将实验中收集的48名有效被试按照知觉表征精度的高低平均分为两组,结果发现上述干扰效应主要表现在知觉表征精度较低的组中,并且该组中知觉表征精度越高的个体,其工作记忆抑制干扰的能力也越强。本研究为实践中通过知觉训练来提升工作记忆的抑制干扰能力提供了理论指导。     

三维空间中不同视野深度位置上的返回抑制

通过虚拟现实构建虚拟三维场景,将二维平面视觉空间返回抑制范式应用到三维空间,通过两个实验操纵了目标深度、线索有效性以及视野位置三个变量,考察注意在三维空间不同视野深度位置上进行定向/重定向产生的返回抑制效应。结果发现,(1)二次线索化位于固定的中央视野时,不论目标出现在近处空间还是出现在远处空间,外周视野条件下的返回抑制大于中央视野条件下的返回抑制;(2)二次线索化位于非固定的中央视野时,近处空间和远处空间的返回抑制存在分离,表现为当目标出现在远处空间时,外周视野条件下的返回抑制效应减小。研究表明,三维空间中外周视野深度位置上的返回抑制与中央视野深度位置上的返回抑制存在差异。