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Directed Forgetting and Metamemory in High Obsessive-Compulsive Symptom Individuals Tan Jieqing,Huang Rongliang,Hou Congjing,Wu Yanhong 2007, 39 (04):  571-578.  Abstract ( 3371 )   PDF (658KB) ( 3720 )   There are disagreements in the interpretation of memory deficits in obsessive-compulsive symptom individuals. Some researchers proposed general memory deficits in the obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) population, while others believe that these deficits are a result of the bias toward OC-provoking information. Apart from this, there also is a hypothesis concerning the lack of confidence or metamemory deficits in OCD. The purpose of the present study is to clarify the pathology of OCD, using the information processing approach. Directed forgetting and metamemory performance (feeling-of-knowing (FOK) judgments) for neutral and OC-provoking material was tested in high and low obsessive-compulsive symptom subjects. Method Sixteen high obsessive-compulsive symptom individuals (HOCs) and sixteen low obsessive-compulsive symptom individuals (LOCs) were required to study a list of neutral and OC-provoking word pairs according to the “F” or “R” instructions. After an initial cued-recall test, they provided their FOK judgments for the unrecalled word pairs, followed by a recognition test. Results The results indicated that for neutral words, HOCs exhibited reduced directed forgetting compared to LOCs; this suggests that they were unable to forget unnecessary information. Further, the HOCs were confused in metamemory on account of the different sources and types of words, as reflected in their FOK ratings. Moreover, FOK judgments of the HOCs for OC-provoking words were unreliable predictors of their recognition performance. Conclusions The study supported the idea of a general memory deficit in HOCs; further, it indicated that this may be due to the weak differentiation in HOCs. Further, HOCs exhibited worse metamemory for OC-provoking words and had no forecast for their future performance. In conclusion, HOCs exhibited both real memory and metamemory deficits Related Articles | Metrics

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The Asymmetric Effect of Interference at Encoding or Retrieval on Implicit and Explicit Memory Meng Yingfang,Guo Chunyan 2007, 39 (04):  579-588.  Abstract ( 2014 )   PDF (984KB) ( 2549 )   Introduction Implicit memory and explicit memory are two distinct memory systems underlying different neural substrates. Encoding and retrieval are two important phases of memory. For explicit memory, the relation of encoding and retrieval has been investigated by many researches with divided attention paradigm. These researchers have found that the performance of a secondary task during encoding reduces the later memory performance, but dividing attention in the same way during retrieval has virtually no effect on memory performance, which confirms asymmetry between encoding and retrieval processes. But with respect to implicit memory, we know little about these issues. It is well known that implicit and explicit memories are dissociated not only at encoding but also at retrieval. Concerning the relations between encoding and retrieval, we proposed that there might be asymmetry between encoding and retrieval processes in implicit memory, but the asymmetry might be different in explicit memory. Method Fifty undergraduate students (30 in experiment 1 and 20 in experiment 2) participated in the study. Two behavioral experiments were conducted with Chinese characters as stimuli. These experiments adopted a study-to-test paradigm, in which participants performed a “shallow” (color) study task or a “deep” (pleasant) study task, followed by either a lexical decision (implicit) test (experiment 1) or a recognition (explicit) test (experiment 2). An interference task was used to ask participants to account the total number of “+” in a regulated orientation which appeared with word, which was performed concurrently with either the encoding or the retrieval phase of the memory task for encoding interference condition or retrieval interference condition. The data analysis, ANOVA using Greenhouse-Geisser corrections, was performed by SPSS software with the reaction time and accuracy which was recorded at two tests. Results The experiments showed that the effects of interference at encoding on the performance in implicit memory test were different from that at retrieval. The performance of a concurrent task during encoding had little effects on later lexical decision performance, but interference during retrieval disrupted priming, and this was the same case for shallow or deep encoding items. The effects of interference at encoding on the performance in explicit memory test were different from those at retrieval. The performance of a concurrent task during encoding reduced later recognition accuracy. But dividing attention in the same way during retrieval had no or little effects on recognition performance. For shallow encoding items, the different effect of encoding or retrieval interference on recognition was more evident. Conclusions The results not only confirmed the asymmetry between encoding and retrieval processes in explicit memory, but also showed the asymmetry between encoding and retrieval processes in implicit memory. These two forms of asymmetry were dissimilar. In other words, interference during encoding had effects on explicit memory, but left implicit memory intact. Interference during retrieval affected implicit memory, but had little effects on explicit memory. So the relation between encoding and retrieval was different between implicit and explicit memory, thus providing further evidence on the dissociation between implicit and explicit memory Related Articles | Metrics

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The Course of Background Information Processing in Text Reading: Activation and Integration Wang Ruiming,Mo Lei,Wu Jun,Cui Lei 2007, 39 (04):  589-601.  Abstract ( 614 )   PDF (1286KB) ( 2045 )   Introduction Text reading is one of the most complex and unique cognitive activities of human beings and is also an important way for us to get information. The process of background information in text reading has been a hot point in experimental psychology for a long time. According to the memory-based text processing view, readers activate the background information and integrate it with the current information by resonance in text reading. However, what is the course of background information processing? In our view, the course of background information processing in text reading includes two phases - activation and integration. The main purpose of the present study was to investigate whether the two phases existed and how they were associated. Method A self-paced, line-by-line, reading paradigm was used in experiment 1. In experiment 1a, 32 university students were asked to read 12 narrative passages and judge whether a probe word appeared in the previous section of the text. The relation between the elaboration on a characteristic of the protagonist and subsequent target action carried out by the protagonist was the first independent variable, which had two levels: consistent version and qualified version. The position of the probe word was the second independent variable, which also had two levels: previous the target sentence and behind the target sentence. The reaction time and the accuracy of the probe word were the dependent variables. In experiment 1b, 30 university students were asked to read 12 narrative passages. The relation between the elaboration on a characteristic of the protagonist and subsequent target action carried out by the protagonist was the independent variable, which had three levels: consistent version, qualified version and control version. The reading time of target sentence which describing the actions of protagonist was the dependent variable. An eye-monitoring procedure was used in experiment 2. Thirty university students were asked to read 12 narrative passages in which, a second target sentence, which was summarily to the first target sentence - the target sentence in experiment 1. was added in the latter part of the passage. Each passage was presented on one screen. The relation between the elaboration on a characteristic of the protagonist and subsequent target action carried out by the protagonist was the independent variable, which had two levels: consistent version and qualified version. The dependent variable was the first-pass reading time, second-pass reading time, total-pass reading time, regressions out and regressions in on the three key regions including the section of the elaboration on a characteristic, the first target sentence and the second target sentence. Results In experiment 1a, the reaction time for the probe word behind target sentence was shorter than that for previous target sentence in both the consistent and qualified condition. There were no differences between the accuracy of the probe word behind target sentence and that for previous target sentence in both the consistent and qualified condition. In experiment 1b, there were no differences between reading time in the consistence condition and that in the control condition, but the reading time in both the consistence and the control condition were shorter than that in the qualified condition. In experiment 2, for the section of the elaboration on a characteristic, there were no differences between the consistence and qualified consistence conditions in the index of first-pass reading time, but the second-pass reading time, total-pass reading time and regressions-in in the qualified condition were longer than those in consistence condition. For the first target sentence, there were no differences between the consistence and qualified conditions in the index of first-pass reading time, but the second-pass reading time, total-pass reading time and regressions out in the qualified condition were longer than those in consistence condition. For the second target sentence, there were no differences between the consistence and qualified condition in all indexes. Conclusions The results showed that background information processing consisted of activation stage and integration stage. Activation occurs before integration. Though integration must take place based on activation, not all information activated leads to integration. Furthermore, the delay of reading time during text reading mainly happened in the integration stage Related Articles | Metrics

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The Representation of Spatial Distance in Text Reading Yan Xiumei,Mo Lei,Wu Limei 2007, 39 (04):  602-610.  Abstract ( 2484 )   PDF (836KB) ( 1600 )   Most researches agree that readers can build situation models of the information described by texts. The spatial dimension of situation model has been explored most often. Anaphora resolution is an important way to explore the representation of spatial distance in text reading. First, participants learn the layout of a building which contains several objects in different rooms, and then read narratives describing motions of the protagonist in this building. A motion sentence tells how the protagonist moves from one room to another. A target sentence including a definite noun phrase follows the motion sentence. The definite noun phrase refers to an object in the building, and this anaphor-like phrase will cause a memory search. Researchers have found that anaphora resolution depended on the spatial distance between the reader and the object. But there are two kinds of spatial distances: category distance and metric distance. The former is the number of rooms and the latter is the length of them. Most of the past studies used the number of rooms to represent distance, and did not take the length of them into consideration. Which distance caused the spatial gradient in reading times? Several studies had been conducted to explore this problem, but all of them could not give a satisfactory explanation. In this article, anaphora resolution was taken as a technique model to explore the representations of spatial distance in text reading. Moving window method was used in our study. We hypothesized that both the category distance and metric distance could be represented by readers during reading, and they might produce independent influences on anaphora resolution. Sixty-six university students took part in these two experiments. All of the participants learned the layout for about twenty minutes first, and then drew it by memory. If there were more than three mistakes, they had to learn the layout again. At last, we asked them three questions about the layout. If all of these questions were answered correctly, they read narratives that described how the protagonist moved through the layout sentence by sentence on a computer monitor. They could read at their own pace by pressing the key. Reading time of target sentences was recorded and then analyzed by the computer. Experiment 1 separated category distance from metric distance. The results showed that when the metric distance was the same, the category distance influenced the time of anaphora resolution. It took more time to find the referent when there were two rooms between source room and goal room. Experiment 2 further explored the effect of metric distance. It showed that when there was only one path room between source room and goal room, but the metric distance of the path room was different, readers established a representation of the metric distance. It influenced the time of anaphora resolution. The longer the metric distance of the path room, the more time it took to complete the anaphora resolution. These two experiments showed that both category distance and metric distance had independent influence on anaphora resolution. Researchers should pay attention not only to the number of rooms but also to the length of them when explore the spatial distance of situation models. How these two kinds of distances interact is another important question for further discussion Related Articles | Metrics

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Need for Cognitive Closure, Framing Effect and Decision Preference Liu Xuefeng,Zhang Zhixue,Liang Junping 2007, 39 (04):  611-618.  Abstract ( 3553 )   PDF (743KB) ( 2723 )   Individuals often use heuristics to make decisions. As heuristic-based judgments are likely to create bias, it is useful to investigate who tend to use more heuristics in their judgments. Lay epistemic theory in social cognitive psychology has asserted that, individuals with high dispositional need for cognitive closure (NFCC) prefer to make instant decisions under uncertain situations. Based on this theory and related research findings, we hypothesized that people with high dispositional NFCC would use more heuristics in making decisions and prefer an instant judgment. We also predicted that negative framing would make people process information in a more systematic way, leading individuals to defer their choices instead of making immediate judgments under ambiguous situations. To investigate the influence of need for cognitive closure and attribute framing on individuals’ decision preference, a 2 (high vs. low NFCC)* 2 (positive vs. negative attribute framing) between-subject design was adopted. Ninety three MBA students were asked to complete the NFCC scale. Four weeks later, they were asked to participate in a decision making experiment. Each participant was presented with two decision scenarios. After reading each scenario, each was required to indicate the extent of their decision preference—making an immediate decision or deferring the decision. The results showed that, individuals with high NFCC preferred to make decisions immediately whereas those with low NFCC preferred to postpone decisions. Moreover, individuals made immediate decisions when information was positively framed and deferred decisions when information was negatively framed. In addition, NFCC and attribute framing have an interactive effect on decision preference. This study is among the very few studies that investigate the impact of NFCC on decision preference and thus contributes to the framing effect literature by showing that people with high dispositional NFCC are not affected by the framing effect. These findings have significant managerial implications. First, individuals’ chronic NFCC can serve as a useful criterion in selecting decision makers in organizations. Second, negative framing of decision information can help individuals to search more information before they make a decision, which improve decision quality Related Articles | Metrics

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College Students’ Assessing Interactive Influences of Two Causes on Effects Wang Moyun 2007, 39 (04):  619-628.  Abstract ( 1663 )   PDF (872KB) ( 1632 )   Introduction There are three main theoretical criteria of assessing interactive influences of two causes on effects: the cross-product ratio, the interaction contrast of Cheng and Novick’s (1990, 1992) probabilistic contrast model, and Novick and Cheng’s (2004) causal power theory. As to how human assess interactive influences of two causes on effects, there is no definite convincing conclusion in a few relevant studies on the issue. Two experiments were conducted to examine how college students would qualitatively and quantitatively estimate interactive influences of two generative causes on effects, and which of the three criteria their estimates would conform to. Method Participants were first-grade college students without having learned statistics. Stimulus materials as problems of assessing interactive influences of two generative causes (Medicines A & B) on effects (headaches) were similar to Figure 10 in Novick and Cheng’s (2004), but with different parameter sets. Both experiments used within-subject design, and each experiment included three different conditions with different parameter sets. Each condition was a problem of assessing interactive influences of two generative causes on effects. In each condition, 80 patients were randomly assigned to one of four groups: one that received no medicines (the control group), one that received one of the medicines, one that received a different medicine, and the last one that received both medicines together. Parameter sets of the two experiments were shown in Table 1. Columns 3-6 in the table were event frequencies. Experiment 1 with 45 participants examined their qualitative estimates of directions (mutual enhancement, no interaction or mutual inhibition) of interactive influences of two generative causes on effects in three different conditions. In each condition, participants were required to estimate which kind of the above three directions the interactive influence of two generative causes on effects is. Experiment 2 with another 46 participants examined their quantitative estimates of interactive influences of two generative causes on effects in three different conditions. In each condition, participants were required to estimate, in the group that received both medicines together, the sum of corresponding simple influences of two generative causes on effects, and the magnitude of the mutual enhancement (namely interactive influence) of two generative causes on effects. The logic of the designs of the two experiments was to make the corresponding predictions for interactive influences of two generative causes on effects by the three criterions different from each other, so as to examine which of the three criterions participants’ estimates would conform to. Table 1 Parameter sets and results of ExperimentsⅠ&Ⅱ Condition A & B absent A only present B only present A & B present Cross-product ratio Interaction contrast Interactive causal power Results ExperimentⅠ 一 0/20 4/20 6/20 14/20 ∝ 0.2 0.46 41answers of mutual enhancement 二 0/20 8/20 10/20 18/20 ∝ 0 0.67 34 answers of no interaction 三 0/20 10/20 8/20 14/20 ∝ -0.2 0 36 answers of mutual inhibition ExperimentⅡ 一 0/20 5/20 5/20 15/20 ∝ 0.25 0.55 32.91±12.68 二 0/20 8/20 10/20 18/20 ∝ 0 0.67 8.26±14.92 三 0/20 5/20 0/20 10/20 ∝ 0.25 0.33 31.80±12.21 Results The results of the two experiments are shown as the last column in Table 1. The results from Experiment 1 showed that most participants’ qualitative estimates of directions of interactive influences conformed to the directions of interaction contrasts rather than the directions of causal powers. The results from Experiment 2 showed that participants’ mean estimates of mutual enhancement of two generative causes on effects increased with interaction contrasts regardless of causal powers, and conformed to the varying directions of interaction contrasts Related Articles | Metrics

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An Event-Related Potential Study of Neuroticism Influences on Emotional Processing Ding Ni,Ding Jinhong,Guo Dejun 2007, 39 (04):  629-637.  Abstract ( 2619 )   PDF (920KB) ( 2188 )   Introduction A number of studies have investigated how brain activity is modulated by emotion. These studies found some important general emotion effects in event-related potentials (ERPs), such as negativity bias, early posterior negativity and late positive potential (LPP). However, it is not clear how time processing of emotion is influenced by individual differences, especially in negative emotion. According to Eysenck’s theory, personality trait of neuroticism is strongly associated with negative emotion, which has been supported by many behavioral studies. The present study used ERP to explore how time processing of negative emotion is modulated by levels of neuroticism. Methods ERPs were recorded from 15 high and 15 low neurotic participants. These participants were selected from 292 college students based on their scores in neuroticism of Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised, Short Scale for Chinese (EPQ-RSC). These participants were presented slides of International Affective Picture System (IAPS) posing 50 positive, 50 neutral and 50 negative pictures, which were displayed for 1000 ms and presented serially in sequences of six pictures. To ensure that the subjects were attending to the pictures, a valence categorization task was introduced. The ITI (inter-trial interval) varied between 1000 ms and 2000 ms. Electrophysiological data were collected from the scalp using a 37-channel system. These data were submitted to repeated-measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) with factors of stimuli valence (3 levels: positive, neutral, negative), neuroticism (2 levels: high, low), electrode site (8 levels: F3, Fz, F4, Fc3, Fcz, Fc4, T5, T6), and hemisphere (2 levels: left, right). Results The results showed that the components of P120, N130, P230 and N250 exhibited a main effect of stimuli valence, reflecting greater ERP mean amplitudes for positive and negative as compared to neutral content. The difference begins with 120 ms after stimulus onset. Furthermore, the interaction of Neurotic level and Stimuli valence is significant for LPP mean amplitude over frontal and frontal-central leads (F(1, 28)= 6.52, p<0.1). This effect indicated that high neurotic subjects, compared with low neurotic ones, exhibited smaller LPP to negative pictures, while they did not display differences in the response to positive and neutral pictures. Conclusions The early emotion effect about 120 ms suggests that early cognitive processing can be influenced and modulated by emotion. The LPP effect supports the view that negative emotion processing of brain is modulated by levels of neuroticism, and the influence is mainly reflected on late processing of negative emotion at frontal and frontal-central sites. The decreased LPP amplitude in high neurotic subjects may be the result of greater habituation in sessions with a large number of trials Related Articles | Metrics

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Characteristics of EEG Power and Coherence in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment during Working Memory Processing Zheng Leilei,Jiang Zhengyan,Liu Ailun 2007, 39 (04):  638-647.  Abstract ( 1554 )   PDF (834KB) ( 1560 )   Introduction: The clinical condition characterized by objective memory disturbances in the absence of other cognitive deficits is called mild cognitive impairment (MCI). MCI is one of the risk factors of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The study of cognitive impairment in patients with MCI, particularly memory deficiency, may aid in obtaining clues of early stage of AD. Many studies have reported that working memory plays an important role in learning, calculating, reasoning, and verb comprehension in cognitive processing; hence, it is important to study working memory processing in MCI. The aim of the present study was to investigate the characteristics of EEG power and coherence in patients with MCI during working memory processing. Method: Subjects that included 35 MCI patients according to the DSM-IV criteria (mean age 61.6 years, SD 7.2) and 34 health controls (mean age 59.1 years, SD 5.4) were selected from the community. All subjects performed a simple calculation and recall task with 3 levels of working memory load, with a simultaneous recording of the EEG signal. The spectral EEG power was computed over delta (1.0–3.5 Hz), theta (4.0–7.5 Hz), alpha1 (8.0–8.5 Hz), alpha2 (9.0–13.0 Hz), beta1 (13.5–18.0 Hz), and beta2 (18.5–30.0 Hz) frequency bands and was compared between the rest stage and the working memory processing stage by a 2 × 3 MANOVA. Post hoc test analyzed the differences between each 2 levels of working memory load during the task processing. The EEG and the interhemisphere EEG coherence of frontal (F3-F4), central (C3-C4), parietal (P3-P4), temporal (T5-T6) and occipitals (O1-O2) were compared between MCI patients and health controls. Results: (1) Spectral EEG power analysis: The spectral EEG power over delta, theta, alpha1, alpha2, and beta1 bands was significantly higher in the working memory stage than that in the rest stage. The group (MCI and controls)-state (3 task levels) interaction was not significant. Post hoc analysis indicated that there was no significant difference between each 2 levels during the working memory stage. The spectral EEG power of MCI patients over delta, theta, alpha1, alpha2, and beta1 bands was significantly higher than that of the normal controls during the task processing. (2) Coherence analysis: The interhemisphere coherence in the rest state showed no significant difference between MCI patients and the normal controls. Theta (4.0–7.5 Hz), alpha1 (8.0–8.5 Hz), and alpha2 (9.0–13.0 Hz) frequency bands were selected to investigate the differences in interhemisphere coherence between MCI and controls during the working memory processing stage. There was significantly higher inter-hemisphere coherence in central (C3-C4), parietal (P3-P4), temporal (T5-T6) sites of MCI patients than that of the normal controls during working memory processing. Conclusion: Working memory processing was related to delta (1.0–3.5 Hz), theta (4.0–7.5 Hz), alpha1 (8.0–8.5Hz), alpha2 (9.0–13.0 Hz), and beta1 (13.5–18.0 Hz) frequency bands. MCI patients may have impairment in the central, parietal, and temporal cortex. During working memory processing, MCI patients may mobilize a compensatory mechanism that serve to maintain processing effectiveness while concealing underlying reduction in processing efficiency. Related Articles | Metrics

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The Effects of An Acute Physiological Stressor on Behaviors, Protein Levels and Phosphorylation of Neurogranin in Rats Li Huanhuan,Lin Wenjuan,Li Junfa 2007, 39 (04):  648-655.  Abstract ( 989 )   PDF (711KB) ( 1447 )   The possible role of brain-specific protein in mediating stress-induced behavioral disorder has gained more and more attention. Neurogranin is a brain-specific protein newly found，which is Ca2＋sensitive/calmodulin-binding protein kinase C substrate, and is involved in the process of signaling conduction and long-term potentiation. It is mainly distributed in the frontal cortex, hippocampus and amygdala of rodents that are considered essential components of neural circuitry mediating stress responses. NG knockout animals exhibited deficits in learning and memory. These results implied that NG might be a mediator between stress and behavior. Studies concerning the relations between neurogranin, stress and behavior can provide further information about the mechanisms underlying the effects of stress on behavior. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of acute physiological stress on behavior and protein levels of neurogranin in brain, and the correlation between protein levels of neurogranin and stress-induced behavioral changes. Forty rats were randomly divided into swimming stressed group 1 (SS1), swimming stressed group 2 (SS2), handled-control 1 (C1) and handled-control 2(C2), with ten in each. The forced cold-water swimming was used as a physiological stressor. Behavioral changes in rats after stress were observed by open-field test and elevated plus maze task, and protein levels and phosphorylation of neurogranin of hippocampus and forebrain were determined by Western blotting. The results showed that freezing in open-field test in SS1 was more increased than that in C1 group (p<0.01). Protein levels and phosphorylation of neurogranin of hippocampus in SS1 were significantly higher than that in C1 (p<0.05, p<0.05) and C2 (p<0.05, p<0.05). Protein levels of neurogranin of forebrain in SS1 were significantly higher than that in C1 (p<0.01) and C2 (p<0.01). Phosphorylation of neurogranin of forebrain in SS1 was significantly higher than that in C1 (p<0.01). Correlation is significant at p<0.05 level between freezing and phosphorylation of neurogranin in forebrain. These results suggest that acute swimming stress can induce anxiety. Freezing may be a sensitive behavioral index, and phosphorylation of neurogranin in forebrain may be an effective biological predictor for anxiety and/or depression induced by acute physiological stress Related Articles | Metrics

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Activation of Akt/FKHRL1 Signaling Pathway after Chronic Stress in the Rat Hippocampus Zhu-Waner,-Hu-Changchun,Xie-Wenting,-Wu-Lixia,Chen-Zhiyun,-Hiroyuki-Umegaki 2007, 39 (04):  656-661.  Abstract ( 1996 )   PDF (499KB) ( 1303 )   Introduction There is now a substantial body of evidence which suggests that chronic stress can increase susceptibility to disease such as depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. Chronic stress induces neuronal atrophy and death in the cortex as well as in the hippocampus. The proto-oncogene protein kinase B (PKB), also known as Akt, is a central player in a signaling pathway of which many components have been linked to cellular survival. Akt as well as of its downstream targets Forkhead transcription factors (forkhead homologue in rhabdomyosarcoma, FKHR) have emerged in recent years as cardinal pathway underlying cellular survival and opposing apoptosis in neurons. But the activation of Akt/FKHRL signaling pathway after chronic stress in the brain remains poorly defined. We hypothesized that repeated immobilization stress exposure may change the levels of phosphorylation of Akt (pAkt) and FKHRL1 (pFKHRL1) in the rat hippocampus. The study was designed to analyze the effect of chronic stress on activation of Akt/FKHRL1 signaling pathway in the rat hippocampus. Methods Twenty four male Sprague Downey rats (280 ± 20g) were purchased from Shanghai Laboratory Animal Center, Chinese Academy Sciences and were used for all experiments. Rats were randomly divided into three groups: psychologically stressed group, immobilization stressed group, and controls. Each group contained eight rats. Animals were housed in groups of 4 under standard laboratory conditions in temperature-controlled rooms (24℃), and maintained on a 12 h light/dark cycle (lights on at 08.00) with food pellets and water available ad libitum. Rats of the two stressed groups were subjected to immobilization stress or psychological stress one hour per day for 28 consecutive days, respectively. At the end of the experimental period, the animals were decapitated and their hippocampi were rapidly removed and kept at −80℃ until analysis. The protein level of Akt, FKHRL1 and phosphorylation of Akt, FKHRL1 were determined by Western-blotting. The intensities of the bands corresponding to the protein of interest were quantified using scanning densitometry and compared using t tests or one-way ANOVA as appropriate. The adrenal gland and thymus gland index were also calculated at the day after 28-day-stress modeling. Organ index = wet weight/weight of rat×100. The statistical significance was determined at p < 0.05. Results Totally 24 rats were involved in the analysis. The avoirdupois and the organ index of the stressed groups were significantly changed comparing to the controls. There was no significant difference in Akt and FKHRL1 levels of hippocampus among three groups. The phosphorylation of Akt and FKHRL1 had significant difference among the three groups (F=13.75, p < 0.01; F=28.60, p < 0.001, respectively). The phosphorylation of Akt and FKHRL1 in immobilization stressed group was decreased than that in control group (p< 0.01). In contrast, the levels of the phosphorylation of Akt and FKHRL1 show no significant deference between the psychological stressed group and controls. Conclusions These results suggest that chronic immobilization stress can induce more significant decrease of phospho-Akt and phospho-FKHRL1 level in the rat hippocampus. Activation of Akt/FKHRL1 signaling pathway may be an effective biological predictor for change of structure or function of hippocampus induced by chronic stress Related Articles | Metrics

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Development of Preschoolers’ Emotion Cognition Concerning Belief-Based Surprise Liu Guoxiong,Fang Fuxi 2007, 39 (04):  662-667.  Abstract ( 2552 )   PDF (508KB) ( 2081 )   Introduction Typically, a false belief paradigm has been used to explore children’s understanding of the relationship between emotion and belief, which is part of the children’s naive theory of mind. Abundant results have indicated that children are able to understand belief-based emotions only after the age of 4 to 5. This study clarified the following two variables that perhaps influenced preschoolers’ belief and belief-based emotion cognition: (1) desire status of the story’s protagonist who is typically and inevitably involved in many belief tasks and (2) distinction between the beliefs of different protagonists. Using the belief-based emotion of surprise, the classic “content false belief” task was simplified to explore the possibility that younger preschoolers might show the rudimentary understanding of belief-based emotions. The role of mental representation in their understanding of belief-based surprise was then examined further using a backward emotion task. Method The participants comprised 90 children, aged 3, 4, and 5, who were randomly selected from one of Beijing’s regular kindergarten schools. The children were divided into 3 age groups depending on their ages: 3.5 ± 0.3, 4.5 ± 0.3, and 5.5 ± 0.3. Each group comprised 30 children of which 15 were male. Each child was tested individually with regard to his or her own surprise status or that of the protagonist and false belief, when corresponding belief was proved false by looking into a specific package by oneself. Results Significant developmental trends were observed in the preschoolers’ understanding of the belief-based emotion of surprise; moreover, most of them justified their judgment with situational reasons and only a few referred to the corresponding belief state. The children’s understanding of their own false belief was basically consistent with that of the others, with the passing ration of half or so, 76.7%, and 93.3%. Further, their backward reasoning with regard to the causes of the belief-based emotion of surprise also showed significant development among the children; this was marginally worse than their surprise prediction and significantly worse than their understanding of false beliefs. Conclusions The abovementioned results indicated that preschoolers developed an understanding of belief-based emotions at an early age and suggested their early developed theory of mind and the role of mental representation in their understanding of surprise Related Articles | Metrics

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A Follow-up Study of Self-imposed Delay of Gratification at Age 4 as a Predictor of Children’s School-based Social Competences at Age 9 Yang Lizhu,Wang Jiangyang 2007, 39 (04):  668-678.  Abstract ( 2560 )   PDF (1013KB) ( 2724 )   Introduction Self-imposed delay of gratification refers to a type of choice orientation to forego immediate gratification for the sake of more valuable delayed outcomes, and to the ability of self-control shown during the waiting process. Previous follow-up studies on the long-term effects of self-imposed delay of gratification indicate that children who have longer delay at age of 4 or 5 years are more academically and socially competent and can cope with frustration and stress better than those who have shorter delay 10 or 20 years later. All these studies focused on the influences of early self-imposed delay of gratification on social coping ability or some problem behaviors in adolescence and adulthood. However，only a few studies have examined the impact of early self-imposed delay of gratification on school adjustment or school-based social competences in primary school children. Children’s cognitive ability and autonomy develop quickly from the middle period of primary school, especially from the age of 9 years, due to school environment. Their habits of self-control begin to form during this period. Self-imposed delay of gratification is the core component of self-control personality. Children’s self-imposed delay of gratification begins to show obvious individual difference from the age of 4 years. If the personality difference in self-control development remains stable from age 4 to age 9, self-imposed delay gratification at age 4 can theoretically continuously affect children’s development. The present follow-up study was designed to investigate whether the ability of self-imposed delay of gratification at age 4 can predict the school-based social competences at age 9 in the context of Chinese culture. Method Fifty-four children of age 4 years were examined using the self-imposed delay of gratification task developed by Mischel in 1974. Five years later, school-based social competences of these 9-year-old children were measured by combining the following methods: structure interview and assessment conducted by teachers, peer feedback, and children’s self-report on social anxiety and loneliness. School-based social competences were determined by 4 components: the ability to obey rules and fulfill tasks, ability to socially function with teachers, ability to socially function with peers and social emotional competence. These children were classified into high-, medium- and low-level group based on their self-imposed delay of gratification at age 4 and the groups were tested by F tests for variance. Results (1) An obvious difference was observed between high- and low-level groups. Furthermore, this difference between the 2 groups remained constant at age 9. (2) The higher the self-imposed delay of gratification at age 4, the better the children could obey rules and fulfill tasks in school at age 9. (3) The lower the self-imposed delay of gratification at age 4, the less capable was the children to socially function with teachers in school at age 9. (4) The lower the self-imposed delay of gratification at age 4, the less capable was the children to socially function with peers in school at age 9. (5) Children with low level of self-imposed delay of gratification at age 4 reported more social anxiety and loneliness in school at age 9. Conclusions The results suggest that early self-imposed delay of gratification in children can predict future school adjustment. Children with high self-imposed delay of gratification at age 4 will show good development in the 4 different school-based social competences at age 9. In contrast，these competences may be poorly developed in children with low self-imposed delay of gratification at age 4 Related Articles | Metrics

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The Effect of Emotions on Selective and Sustained Attention in Adolescents with Yu-Guoliang,Dong Yan 2007, 39 (04):  679-687.  Abstract ( 2474 )   PDF (829KB) ( 3775 )   Introduction Attention is the central factor in the cognition of humans; further, it plays a vital role in learning and cognitive performances. However, people with learning disabilities (LDs) often experience difficulties with many aspects of attention and emotions. Moreover, researchers have provided evidence that emotions play an important role in cognitive processing and learning. Based on these results, the present study addresses the issue of whether emotional problems affect the attention of people with LDs. This study examined the effect of emotions on selective and sustained attention performances in adolescents with LDs. We hypothesized that attention performances could be improved by positive emotions. Method We conducted two experiments using the feedback of the performance resulting from induced emotions. Experiment 1 examined the effect of emotions on the selective attention of adolescents with LDs using a visual search task. The participants in experiment 1 comprised 70 adolescents with LDs, including 36 males and 34 females, aged between 15 and 17. Experiment 2 examined the effect of emotions on the sustained attention of adolescents with LDs using a CPT-AX task. The participants in this experiment included 69 adolescents with LDs, of which 33 were male and 36 were female, aged between 16 and 18. All participants were separated into four groups according to the results obtained from the induced emotions. Both experimental tasks were completed using VC++. Further, all stimuli were presented using a PC. The display was a 17 inch Lenovo LX-GJ556D with a refresh frequency of 85Hz. The stimuli presented were black; the background was white. A training trial was conducted to ensure that the participants understood the task instructions. Following this training, all participants were required to estimate their emotional statement based on arousal (1 = not at all excited; 9 = extremely excited) and the Hedonic value dimension (1 = not at all happy; 9 = extremely happy). Thereafter, the participants were required to complete the baseline trial tasks. On completion of the baseline trial tasks and after viewing the given suppositional evaluation, they were then required to reestimate their emotional statement. Immediately after, the experimental tasks were conducted. Finally, the participants were fully debriefed and were informed that the feedback was bogus and that their performances were in the normal range. The following day, an emotional regulation intervention was carried out for all participants. Results The results indicated the following: (1) Adolescents with LDs had better selective attention performance with positive low-arousal emotions than with negative emotions. (2) Adolescents with LDs made more errors of commission and less inhibit ability with negative high-arousal emotions than with other emotions. The positive high-arousal emotions upgraded the β value and consumed more cognitive resources. Conclusions This study demonstrated that positive emotions improve attention performances while negative emotions may impair them. Further, it provided a new perspective on the improvement of attention in adolescents with LDs. By instilling positive emotions in such adolescents, we will be able to promote their cognitive abilities as well as correct and improve the individual differences between them and other normal adolescents Related Articles | Metrics

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The Development and Validation of Adolescent Pathological Internet Use Scale Lei Li,Yang Yang 2007, 39 (04):  688-696.  Abstract ( 3206 )   PDF (717KB) ( 3604 )   As Internet users grow in number, behavioral disorders related to Internet use have become increasingly prevalent. The term “Pathological Internet Use (PIU)” has been used to describe problematic, excessive, or maladaptive use of the Internet. Despite mounting interest in how to measure PIU, these assessment instruments focus mostly on adults, especially college students. There have few proper instruments for adolescents in China. It has been argued that the current assessment instruments of PIU are based on different theoretical underpinnings and do not agree on the underlying dimensions of PIU. Thus, we developed the Adolescent Pathological Internet Use Scale (APIUS) based on the behavioral, emotional and maladaptive cognition symptoms proposed by Davis and the realistic situation in China. The APIUS, background questionnaire eliciting data on basic demographics, weekly on-line hours were administered in a paper and pencil manner to a random sample of ordinary middle school students (N = 1331) and adolescent who have been diagnosed to be pathological internet users (N=30). Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, Cronbach α, Test-retest reliability, content validity, convergent validity, discriminant validity and t-test were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that APIUS is consisted of six dimensions, including salience, mood alteration, social comfort, tolerance, compulsive internet use/withdrawal symptoms, and negative outcomes. APIUS had a clear structure, good reliability and validity with satisfactory Cronbach α, Test-retest reliability, content validity, convergent validity, discriminant validity. T-test also showed pathological internet users had significant higher scores than ordinary middle school students. Based on the Sensitivity, Specificity and Diagnostic Accuracy, this paper suggests the cutoff point of APIUS. The limitations of APIUS have also been discussed Related Articles | Metrics

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The Relationship Between the Abilities of Interdisciplinary Concept Mapping and Scientific Creativity Hu Weiping,Zhang Zhunjun 2007, 39 (04):  697-705.  Abstract ( 2090 )   PDF (793KB) ( 1906 )   Introduction As a mental tool used to help learners’ knowledge construction and representation, Concept Map is a graphical representation of knowledge that is comprised of concepts and the relationships between them. Concept mapping not only displays learners’ organized knowledge, but also represents their creativity. lnterdisciplinary concept mapping encourages learners to integrate knowledge from a wider range of disciplines, making meaningful learning more possible. The aims of present study were to further identify the relationship between interdisciplinary concept mapping abilities and creativity. In addition, this study attempted to clarify whether students who perform differently in constructing an interdisciplinary concept map possessed differing capacities for creative thinking. Method The participants were 108 eleventh grades from two scientific classes at a senior high school in Shanxi, China, including 60(56%) boys and 48(44%) girls. The average age of the participants was 17.64 years (SD=0.33years). Using the three tasks of interdisciplinary concept mapping designed in the field of science (Task one, Solution Electrical Conductivity; Task two, Properties and Uses of CO2 and Carbon Circulation; Task three, Energy Transformation and Chemical Change) and Scientific Creativity Test (SCT) by Hu and Adey (2002), the study examined students’ interdisciplinary concept mapping abilities and their creative thinking skills, respectively. Participants received about 60-minute instruction session by the second researcher before the experiments. The instruction sessions were designed to help the participants understand the meaning of creativity and interdisciplinary concept mapping and the way in which an interdisciplinary concept map is made. The procedure and time distribution were as follow: (a) Introduction to the concepts of creativity: 10 minutes; (b) Employment of the SCT: 60 minutes; (c) Hand out advance organizer materials of interdisciplinary concept mapping; (d) Introduction to what a interdisciplinary concept map is and how it is constructed: 20 minutes; (e) Practices and discussion of a task involving interdisciplinary concept mapping in small groups of 4 or 5 students: 30 minutes; (f) Three tasks for individual concept mapping: 30 minutes/task. Canonical correlation analysis and discriminate analysis were employed in data analyses. Results The results indicated that: (a) the abilities of interdisciplinary concept mapping and scientific creativity had a strong positive correlation; (b) there is a strong positive correlation between propositions generation and cross-links identification, on the one hand, and fluency, flexibility and originality of scientific creativity, on the other; cross-links identification had a strong positive correlation with originality; (c) individual differences in the ability to construct interdisciplinary concept map reflected on all indices of scientific creativity. Conclusions The findings suggested that interdisciplinary concept mapping and scientific creative thinking shared similar mental capacities; interdisciplinary concept mapping, which fostered interdisciplinary information integration and knowledge construction, could be an efficient mental tool in understanding a learner’s creative thinking. Therefore, the study contributed not only to promoting the related studies of interdisciplinary knowledge integration teaching in the field of science, but also to enhancing theoretical construction for scientific creativity cultivation Related Articles | Metrics

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The Implicit Structure of Mental Accounting among Chinese People Li Aimei,Ling Wenquan,Fang Liluo,Xiao Sheng 2007, 39 (04):  706-714.  Abstract ( 2785 )   PDF (743KB) ( 4363 )   Mental accounting is a psychological process for individuals, households or corporations to code, organize, evaluate, and keep track of economic activities. It reveals the internal cognitive coding process related to people’s economic decision-making. Kahneman, Tversky, and Thaler found that mental accounting affected the rational economic decision-making because of the non-fungibility characterization. Great progress has been made in the application of mental accounting in the past 20 years. However, the theoretical structure of mental accounting has not been fully elucidated. The purpose of this study was to reveal the theoretical structure of mental accounting in Chinese people. We developed a Chinese Implicit Structure of Mental Accounting Questionnaire Then we test it among 1268 individuals in nine cities of different provinces in China. We did exploratory factor analyses, certificated factor analyses, and second order analyses on the data. The results demonstrated that the mental accounting of Chinese showed a “3-4-2” implicit structure, with “3” representing three income accounts: regular income, management income, and windfall income, “4” representing four expense accounts: commodity expense, developmental expense, hedonic expense, and relationship expense, and “2” representing two saving accounts: security save account, and risk invest account. The present study examined further the implicit structure of mental accounting. We first found that Chinese showed a “3-4-2” implicit structure of mental accounting. This mental accounting structure model could be applied to explore individual economic decision-making, consumption behavior, saving behavior, risk investment, credit card using, human resource management, and reward motivation Related Articles | Metrics

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The Influence of Organizational Career Management on Occupational Promise and Job Satisfaction：Vocational Delay of Gratification As a Mediator Liu Xiaoyan,Hao Chundong,Chen Jianzhi, Cui Hongdi 2007, 39 (04):  715-722.  Abstract ( 1535 )   PDF (672KB) ( 2898 )   Introduction Walter Mischel’s work on the patterns of “Delay of Gratification” (DOG) and theories of individual willingness to “delay gratification” at the personal level has led researchers to examine the phenomenon of DOG in multiple fields and across cultures. Some research has been conducted on employee DOG as it related to work ethic, organizational satisfaction and length of tenure. However, there is little research on “Vocational Delay of Gratification” (VDOG). To conduct this research, we developed a questionnaire to assess and evaluate an individual’s VDOG. This questionnaire focused on individual ability to make adjustments and delay gratification on a vocational level, when he/she focused on a long-term career goal or objective. We sought to determine if a mediating effect existed in choices made by the individual, with respect to whether they were willing to give up rest, leisure, or other impulsive actions that had no benefits for their current job. Another goal of the study was to study the structure of VDOG and determine if it had a mediating effect on the relations between organizational career management and job satisfaction and occupation promise. Method The study was conducted in two samples. The first sample consisted of 115 individuals from corporations in Harbin. The second sample consisted of 321 individuals from 6 corporations in Harbin and Beijing. We gathered and analyzed the data through using the questionnaire of VDOG, questionnaire of DOG, organizational career management questionnaire, occupational promise questionnaire, and job satisfaction questionnaire. We used SPSS13.0 and AMOS4.0 to analyze the data. Results When applying Exploring Factor Analysis, we found the VDOG questionnaire had a two- dimension structure, namely the Work Delay of Gratification and the Career Delay of Gratification. There was a significant correlation（r=0.144**，p<0.01）between the VDOG and the DOG questionnaires. The correlations between VDOG and Equitable Promotion, Information Providing, Good Training, Occupational Development, Occupational Promise and Job Satisfaction ranged between 0.268 to 0.499 （p<0.01）. When using Layer Regression Analysis, we found the participants’ age, education, length of tenure and job category all had no significant effects on VDOG. In the second step, Equitable Promotion and Good Training significantly predicted VDOG. In addition, VDOG had a partial mediating effect on the relations between equitable promotion and occupation promise, and between equitable promotion and job satisfaction. VDOG had a partial mediating effect on the relation between good training and job satisfaction, and a complete mediating effect on the relation between good training and occupational promise. VDOG has no mediating effect on relations among occupational development, occupational promise and job satisfaction. Conclusion The study indicates that VDOG exists within members of the workforce. VDOG may be used to analyze the career goal efficiently. We can use this measure to predict occupational promise and job satisfaction. By providing good training and equitable promotion, organizations can improve staffs’ VDOG level efficiently. This study has a potentially important value for potential employers in understanding and maximizing employee contribution, as well as effective motivating employees for mutually beneficial long-term goals Related Articles | Metrics

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The Sampling Error of Item Response Theory Equating With Item Characteristic Curve Methods Luo Zhaosheng,Xiongjianhua,Qi Shuqing,DaiHaiqi,Ding Shuliang 2007, 39 (04):  723-729.  Abstract ( 852 )   PDF (555KB) ( 1344 )   Equating is a necessary procedure to the item bank construction and also to the longitudinal test results reporting. Equating based on item response theory (IRT) has gained much attention in recent decades according to its advantages over classical test theory (CTT) based strategy. Many nationwide tests had implemented IRT equating. But there are still many problems in the applications of IRT-based equating. First of all, researchers and practitioners must be aware of the factors that will affect the equating results. Many and many factors will cause errors of various equating methods. The available studies are mainly concerned about the standard errors of equating methods, but rarely about the bias that will occur when we use differently distributed ability sampling to equating parameters under IRT-based item characteristic curve (ICC) equating methods and under anchor-item data collection design. Bias from sampling will lead to misunderstood results. In this paper, sampling error to the IRT-based ICC equating will be addressed. Under two-parameter logistic item response model, three pair-wise sets of item parameter data were simulated to be equated. Each data set includes 100 items. The distributions of item difficulty parameter are set to be normal distributed. The slope of the equating function were set to be 0.85, 1.00, 1.27 respectively, the intercept were 0.75, 0.60,-0.36 accordingly. Then 930 sets of ability parameter data were simulated to be differently distributed. That is, they had different skewness and kurtosis coefficients. With these simulated item and ability parameters, equating were conducted under item characteristic curve method for each data set. The results show that equating coefficients are much different with differently distributed ability parameters. The slope coefficients of equating are much stable, while the intercept coefficients are much variable. Also, the relations between intercept coefficients with the ability distribution parameters are systematically proved. With the results, it indicates that, firstly, the distribution of ability parameter will significantly affects the equating results under item characteristic curve method. Secondly and specifically, the differently distributed ability parameters will significantly and systematically affects the intercept coefficient of equating, but has much less effects on slope coefficient Related Articles | Metrics

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The Development of Multiple-Attempt, Multiple-Item Test Models and Their Applications Ding Shuliang,Luo Fen,Dai Haiqi,Zhu Wei 2007, 39 (04):  730-736.  Abstract ( 870 )   PDF (572KB) ( 1388 )   Three one-parameter item response theory (IRT) models were proposed by Spray to describe score probabilities of an examinee who takes a multiple attempts, single-item (MASI) test of a psychomotor skill. However, if students are encouraged to check and modify their answers in a test, the phenomenon could be regarded as multiple-attempt, multiple-item (MAMI) test. To describe the MAMI test, a two-parameter IRT MAMI model (Binomial trails model) was proposed and an item parameter estimation procedure was formulated in this paper. Three assumptions about the model were made. The first two were the same as in the ordinary IRT, the unidimesionality and the local independence. The third assumption was another kind of local independence, which required that the individual trails or attempts be independent for a given examinee. The model and the estimation procedure developed in this article were evaluated using simulated data. Test consisted 60 items and sample size was 1000 in this simulation. The simulated data were generated 50 times. The ability parameters, difficulty parameters, the logarithm of the discrimination parameters were drawn from the standard normal distribution N(0,1). Three different methods estimated procedure (MMLE/EM for MAMI model, MMLE/EM for BILOG, MMLE/EM for ordinary IRT) were used to analyze this simulation data. MMLE/EM for MAMI model means that the elements in the score matrix were the sum of the original score and the modified score (cumulating score scheme) when the examinees modified their answers. MMLE/EM for ordinary IRT means that the score matrix was the original score matrix and the modified score matrix obtained form (from?) repeated response were lengthened in row (as if the number of the examinees were double, in brief, lengthened score matrix) and were widened in column (as if the length of the test were double, in brief, widened score matrix) separately when the examinees modified their answers. The mean of the absolute difference between the estimated and the correspondent simulated value of the parameters (ABS), the bias and root mean square error (SD) of the estimated values of the parameters were computed for each item parameter across 50 replications. The results of simulations showed that: 1. The accuracy in terms of ABS and SD of estimating the ability parameters in MAMI model was higher than that obtained by MMLE/EM used in ordinary IRT for the score matrix being lengthened. 2. The accuracy of estimating the item parameters in MAMI model was higher than that obtained by MMLE/EM used in ordinary IRT for the score matrix being widened. These findings indicate that when MAMI appears, the cumulating score scheme is more reasonable than the traditional scoring scheme, in which only the last response is collected. This finding may motivate researchers to consider how to score when the skill test allows reviewing and changing answers Related Articles | Metrics

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C and γ Parameters in Logistic Model Improve the Ability of Estimation within IRT Jian Xiaozhu,Dai Haiqi,Peng Chunmei 2007, 39 (04):  737-746.  Abstract ( 1544 )   PDF (1601KB) ( 1388 )   In the past years, c parameter was viewed as guessing parameter, and what it means remains unclear for the IRT researchers. The four-parameter logistic model was given little attention, and not applied in the practice. In this thesis the authors examined the meaning of c and γ parameters in logistic model by proposing that c and γ parameters would improve the ability of estimation when the subjects make responses on items of different b value. After designing an ideal test and responses from subjects that can give either right or wrong responses to one extra item with varying degrees of difficulty, we compile a program for estimating the abilities of subjects with method of Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE). It analyzes the influences of c parameter and γ parameter on agreement of the abilities and various responses drawn from the subjects. (1) When estimating the abilities of the subjects within one-parameter or two-parameter logistic model, two kinds of disagreement existed. (2) Estimating the abilities of the subjects after introducing c parameter on the basis of a two-parameter model, the first disagreement could be rectified. However, the second disagreement remained and a third disagreement appeared. (3) Estimating the abilities of the subjects again after introducing γ parameter, it was discovered that the second disagreement was rectified, but the first disagreement still existed and a fourth disagreement appeared. (4) Forming four-parameter Logistic model by introducing c parameter and γ parameter simultaneously and estimating the abilities one more time, the model rectified all four disagreements,. In future research, the present findings need to be replicated in other conditions: (1) when the subjects make responses to two or more items of different b value; (2) on the assumption that the subject’s ability distribution has been known, estimating the abilities of the subjects with the other two methods--Maximum A Posterior Estimation (MAPE) and Expected A Posterior Estimation (EAPE). To summarize, C parameter is the probability of guessing that all the subjects make right response to the item that item difficulty is larger than the ability of subjects, and adding c parameter can improve the ability estimation in such case. γ parameter is the probability of mistakes that all subjects make wrong response to the item which difficulty is less than the ability of subjects, and adding γ parameter can improve the ability estimation in that case. And so, the four-parameter logistic model is advocated Related Articles | Metrics

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An Exploration and Realization of Computerized Adaptive Testing with Cognitive Diagnosis Lin Haijing,Ding-Shuliang 2007, 39 (04):  747-753.  Abstract ( 1697 )   PDF (1601KB) ( 1450 )   An increased attention paid to “cognitive bugs behavior,” appears to lead to an increased research interests in diagnostic testing based on Item Response Theory（IRT）that combines cognitive psychology and psychometrics. The study of cognitive diagnosis were applied mainly to Paper-and-Pencil (P&P) testing. Rarely has it been applied to computerized adaptive testing CAT）, To our knowledge, no research on CAT with cognitive diagnosis has been conducted in China. Since CAT is more efficient and accurate than P&P testing, there is important to develop an application technique for cognitive diagnosis suitable for CAT. This study attempts to construct a preliminary CAT system for cognitive diagnosis. With the help of the methods for “ Diagnosis first, Ability estimation second ”, the knowledge state conversion diagram was used to describe all the possible knowledge states in a domain of interest and the relation among the knowledge states at the diagnosis stage, where a new strategy of item selection based-on the algorithm of Depth First Search was proposed. On the other hand, those items that contain attributes which the examinee has not mastered were removed in ability estimation. At the stage of accurate ability estimation, all the items answered by each examinee not only matched his/her ability estimated value, but also were limited to those items whose attributes have been mastered by the examinee. We used Monte Carlo Simulation to simulate all the data of the three different structures of cognitive attributes in this study. These structures were tree-shaped, forest-shaped, and some isolated vertices (that are related to simple Q-matrix). Both tree-shaped and isolated vertices structure were derived from actual cases, while forest-shaped structure was a generalized simulation. 3000 examinees and 3000 items were simulated in the experiment of tree-shaped, 2550 examinees and 3100 items in forest-shaped, and 2000 examinees and 2500 items in isolated vertices. The maximum test length was all assumed as 30 items for all those experiments. The difficulty parameters and the logarithm of the discrimination were drawn from the standard normal distribution N(0,1). There were 100 examinees of each attribute pattern in the experiment of tree-shaped and 50 examinees of each attribute pattern in forest-shaped. In isolated vertices, 2000 examinees are students come from actual case. To assess the behaviors of the proposed diagnostic approach, three assessment indices were used. They are attribute pattern classification agreement rate (abr.APCAR), the Recovery (the average of the absolute deviation between the estimated value and the true value) and the average test length (abr. Length).Parts of results of Monte Carlo study were as follows. For the attribute structure of tree-shaped, APCAR is 84.27%,Recovery is 0.17,Length is 24.80.For the attribute structure of forest-shaped, APCAR is 84.02%,Recovery is 0.172,Length is 23.47.For the attribute structure of isolated vertices, APCAR is 99.16%,Recorvery is 0.256,Length is 27.32. As show the above, we can conclude that the results are favorable. The rate of cognitive diagnosis accuracy has exceeded 80% in each experiment, and the Recovery is also good. Therefore, it should be an acceptable idea to construct an initiatory CAT system for cognitive diagnosis, if we use the methods for “Diagnosis first, Ability estimation second ” with the help of both knowledge state conversion diagram and the new strategy of item selection based-on the algorithm of Depth First Search Related Articles | Metrics

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Another Voice: The Modern Neo-Confucianism and Chinese Humanistic Psychology Peng-Yanqin 2007, 39 (04):  754-760.  Abstract ( 2463 )   PDF (675KB) ( 2115 )   Different from the western psychology’s “bottom-up” processing which takes scientism as the principle, Chinese traditional psychology keeps “top-down” processing, which emphasizes morality and rational in terms of the mental and the highest level of spirit. Therefore, humanism is the essence. As the typical object of humanistic psychology, Neo-Confucianism has special value and significance for psychology. The unique character and confidence of modern psychology in China based on Chinese traditional psychological thoughts are attributed to the Neo-Confucianism. It is necessary to make Chinese traditional psychology research systematic and theoretical by using modern psychological methods. At the same time, traditional psychological thoughts do not fade out because of no fruit coming out, because they continuously develop in their own ways. Such a conclusion will benefit us as we can keep confidence in contemporary Chinese psychology. It is possible to achieve the humanistic understanding together with Western psychology discovery. Due to special history condition, Chinese humanistic psychology developed in two paths: one is scientific psychology which is external, and the other is humanistic psychology which is self-generating. Differentiating between “two principle” of Chinese psychology and “two principle” of western psychology, the former is the exhibition of psychological double attribution, the latter is the offspring of the western’s intrusion. So the understanding of history background and the thinking of the Neo-Confucianism will make us better understand that there is indeed a set of theory system based on scientism, but different from that of the West, which is called Chinese Humanism Psychology. The modern times witnessed the establishment and formation of Chinese psychology, but also it is the first self-consciousness and self-reflection of Chinese humanism psychology. There is no doubt about the modern Neo-Confucianism acting as the protagonist. The modern Neo-Confucianism which is opposite to scientism and positivism, on the one hand, affirms scientism’s function of improving living condition, and on the other hand, criticizes that scientism leads to exhaustion of mental life and the degradation of humanistic world. Moreover the nature of three-in-one combination with Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, and the evolution of Confucian thoughts, all confirms unique station in the history of Chinese thoughts. The representative study of Chinese humanism psychology concentrates on the modern Neo-Confucianism, with pioneers such as Liang Shuming, Xiong Shili, Feng Youlan and so on, that their study objects include two fields: one is original value’s psychological basic theory, another is psychological answer to life problem Related Articles | Metrics