Implicit Association Test (IAT) Studies Investigating Pitch-Shape Audiovisual Cross-modal Associations Across Language Groups

Previous studies have shown that Chinese speakers and non-Chinese speakers exhibit different patterns of cross-modal congruence for the lexical tones of Mandarin Chinese, depending on which features of the pitch they attend to. But is this pattern of language-specific listening a conscious cultural strategy or an automatic processing effect? If automatic, does it also apply when the same pitch contours no longer sound like speech? Implicit Association Tests (IATs) provide an indirect measure of cross-modal association. In a series of IAT studies, conducted with participants with three kinds of language backgrounds (Chinese-dominant bilinguals, Chinese balanced bilinguals, and English speakers with no Chinese experience) we find language-specific congruence effects for Mandarin lexical tones but not for matched sine-wave stimuli. That is, for linguistic stimuli, non-Chinese speakers show advantages for pitch-height congruence (high-pointy, low-curvy); no congruence effects were found for Chinese speakers. For non-linguistic stimuli, all participant groups showed advantages for pitch-height congruence. The present findings suggest that non-lexical tone congruence (high-pointy, low-curvy) is a basic congruence pattern, and the acquisition of a language with lexical tone can alter this perception.     

Adaptation, teleology, and selection by consequences

This paper presents and defends the view that reinforcement and natural selection are selection processes, that selection processes are neither mechanistic nor teleological, and that mentalistic and vitalistic processes are teleological but not mechanistic. The differences between these types of processes are described and used in discussing the conceptual and methodological significance of “selection type theories” and B. F. Skinner's radical behaviorist view that “operant behavior is the field of intention, purpose, and expectation. It deals with that field precisely as the theory of evolution has dealt with another kind of purpose” (1986, p. 716). The antimentalism of radical behaviorism emerges as a post-Darwinian extension of Francis Bacon's (and Galileo's) influential view that “[the introduction of final causes] rather corrupts than advances the sciences” (Bacon, 1905, p. 302).     

时序信息提取机制的探索

对时序信息加工的经典研究是采用新近性判断范型,结果发现其提取机制是以新近性为基础的逆向串行搜索过程。本研究采用新近性判断范型和早远性判断范型对时序信息的提取机制进行了深入的考察,结果表明：（ｌ）提取时序信息既存在逆向串行搜索,又存在顺向串行搜索;（２）早远性判断和新近性判断任务对不同部分时序信息恢复的效应不同,其中早远性判断易化早远部分,新近性判断易化新近部分──表现为对相应部分辨别力的提高和正确反应潜伏期的缩短;（３）在不同的时序信息提取任务中,被试会根据具体条件进行反转反应。     

Improving Delivery Behaviors During Exposure for Pediatric OCD: A Multiple Baseline Training Trial With Community Therapists

This study tested whether a new training tool, the Exposure Guide (EG), improved in-session therapist behaviors (i.e., indicators of quality) that have been associated with youth outcomes in prior clinical trials of exposure therapy. Six therapists at a community mental health agency (CMHA) provided exposure therapy for 8 youth with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Using a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design with random assignment to baseline lengths of 6 to 16 weeks, therapists received gold-standard exposure therapy training with weekly consultation (baseline phase) followed by addition of EG training and feedback (intervention phase). The primary outcome was therapist behavior during in-session exposures, observed weekly using a validated coding system. Therapist behavior was evaluated in relation to a priori benchmarks derived from clinical trials. Additional outcomes included training feasibility/acceptability, therapist response to case vignettes and beliefs about exposure, and independent evaluator-rated clinical outcomes. Three therapists reached behavior benchmarks only during the EG (intervention) phase. Two therapists met benchmarks during the baseline phase; one of these subsequently moved away from benchmarks but met them again after starting the EG phase. Across all therapists, the percentage of weeks meeting benchmarks was significantly higher during the EG phase (86.4%) vs. the baseline phase (53.2%). Youth participants experienced significant improvement in OCD symptoms and global illness severity from pre- to posttreatment. Results provide initial evidence that adding the EG to gold-standard training can change in-session therapist behaviors in a CMHA setting.     

Application of Yoga as a Spiritual Practice to Enhance Counselor Wellness and Effectiveness

In this article, we explore potential benefits of yoga, an ancient Indian tradition for spiritual growth and development, for counselors. Counselors use themselves as instruments to support clients and are constantly exposed to the traumatic experiences of clients, which may leave them susceptible to secondary traumatic stress or compassion fatigue (Shallcross, 2011). Yoga can help counselors not only in achieving holistic wellness but also in developing a way of being consistent with the characteristics of an effective counselor. Furthermore, yoga, as a spiritual practice, can empower counselors to embark on a spiritual journey driven by their own personal experiences.     

SC-IAT范式下中学生良心的内隐性

目的:研究探讨了单类内隐联想测验(Single Category Implicit Association Test,SC-IAT)测量中学生良心的可行性,并分析内隐良心和外显良心的关系。方法:采用E-prime3.0软件编制SC-IAT良心测量程序,测量了中学生内隐良心; 采用青少年良心问卷测量了中学生的外显良心,并运用相关技术分析两者之间的关系。结果:SC-IAT实验中,中学生良心的内隐效应显著,且不存在性别、独生与否、学段、家庭结构、家庭所在地等人口统计学指标上的显著差异; 内隐良心与外显良心之间的相关不显著。结论:(1)中学生良心存在积极内隐效应;(2)外显良心和内隐良心相互分离,是两个不同的建构。     

Autonomous vehicle safety: Understanding perceptions of pedestrians and bicyclists

Autonomous vehicle (AV) technologies have been rapidly advancing. One benefit of AVs is that the technology could eliminate many driver errors and also mitigate many pedestrian and bicyclist collisions. Real-world AVs have been tested in many cities. Five companies are running around 50 AVs in Pittsburgh, following the autonomous testing guidelines. BikePGH, a non-profit organization located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania conducted a follow-up survey in 2019 (the first survey was conducted in 2017) to understand non-motorists’ opinions of AVs. This study examined how pedestrians and bicyclists perceived AV safety based on their understanding and experiences. At first, this study performed a comparison group test to determine which questions vary by participants’ AV safety rating. The responses were later analyzed with a data mining method known as ‘association rules mining.’ A new performance measure, known as the rule power factor, was then used to identify the significant patterns in the form of rules. The participants also provided their thoughts in responses to the open-ended questions. Using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), a topic modeling algorithm, 40 topic models were developed based on five open-ended questions. The findings show that the non-motorists showed comparatively fewer negative opinions towards AVs than positive assessments. The results also show that perception patterns vary by the participant’s rating on AV safety. Findings of this study would be beneficial for the AV stakeholders in making AVs and roadways safer for non-motorists.     

人们何以能够“舍生取义”?基于保护性价值观认知神经机制的解释

保护性价值观是一种拒绝与其他任何价值相互交易, 尤其拒绝与经济价值进行交易的观念。近些年来的认知神经科学研究证据表明, 人们之所以可以为了坚守保护性价值观, 表现出“舍生取义”的行为(如对抗利益诱惑甚至放弃生命), 一方面在于保护性价值观是以一种道义主义的绝对规则方式进行表征和建构的, 这使得人们较少进行利弊权衡; 另一方面, 由于保护性价值观与自我和道德认同过程紧密相关, 使得其被主观赋予了最高价值。未来研究中, 可以在借鉴保护性价值观的研究范式基础上, 开展对中国人核心价值观的实证研究探讨, 关注其文化差异问题, 并进行正确价值观的干预和正确引导的应用实践研究。     

双眼视差的神经机制与知觉学习效应

双眼瞳距使得空间某物体在左右眼视网膜的成像存在微小位置差异, 这种差异被称为双眼视差(binocular disparity), 是立体视知觉的重要信息来源。对双眼视差的心理物理学研究始于18世纪初, 迄今已有接近两百年的历史。近年来, 双眼视差研究主要集中在两方面。其一是用电生理、脑成像技术考察双眼视差在视觉背、腹侧通路的模块化表征, 其脑区表征反映出视觉系统的层级式、平行式加工规律。其二是应用知觉学习范式研究双眼视差的可塑性。未来研究应综合脑成像和神经调控技术考察双眼视差的神经机制及其学习效应, 包括双眼视差与多种深度线索间的信息整合和交互作用。应用方向上, 可结合虚拟现实等技术优化训练范式, 实现立体视力的康复和增强。