Extended Visual Fixation in Young Infants: Look Distributions, Heart Rate Changes, and Attention

Visual fixation in in ants from 3 to 6 months of age was examined for its fit to the theory of "attentional inertia." This theory posits that during the progression of a look there is increasing attention toward the stimulus and an "inertia" to continue looking. An extended audiovisual stimulus was presented for 20 min to infants while fixation was videotaped and heart rate (HR) was recorded. Consistent with the attentional inertia theory, look duration toward the stimulus had a lognormal distribution. Hazard functions describing these distributions showed a decreasing conditional probability of looking away with increases in look duration. Look onset and stimulus changes that occurred within a look were accompanied by HR deceleration. The average HR level continued to decrease over the duration of a look and returned to prestimuls level immediately look and returned to prestimulus level immediately prior to the fixation offset. Infant fixation has characteristics similar to fixation in children and adults, and attention appears to increase over to the course of a look in young infants.     

Developmental Differences in Infant Attention to the Spectral Properties of Infant-directed Speech

Across several independent studies, infants from a few days to 9 months of age have shown preferences for infant-directed (ID) over adult-directed (AD) speech. Moreover, 4-month-olds have been shown to prefer sine-wave analogs of the fundamental frequency of ID speech, suggesting that exaggerated pitch contours are prepotent stimuli for infants. The possibility of similar preferences by 1-month-olds was examined in a series of experiments, using a fixation-based preference procedure. Results from the first 2 experiments showed that 1-month-olds did not prefer the lower-frequency pitch characteristics of ID speech, even though 1-month-olds were able to discriminate low-pass filtered ID and AD speech. Since low-pass filtering may have distorted the fundamental frequency characteristics of ID speech, 1-month-olds were also tested with sine-wave analogs of the fundamental frequencies of the ID utterances. Infants in this third experiment also showed no preference for ID pitch contours. In the fourth experiment, 1-month-olds preferred a natural recording of ID speech over a version which preserved only its lower frequency prosodic features. From these results, it is argued that, although young infants are similar to older infants in their attraction to ID speech, their preferences depend on a wider range of acoustic features (e.g., spectral structure). It is suggested that exaggerated pitch contours which characterize ID speech may become salient communicative signals for infants through language-rich, interactive experiences with caretakers and increased perceptual acuity over the first months after birth.     

Arousal,Attention, and Skilled Performance: Further Considerations

The literature on arousal, attention, and skilled performance is selectively reviewed in this paper in that it deals primarily with a wide range of concerns of interest to my students and me. The topics under review include peripheral narrowing under stress, the questionnaire measurement of attention-anxiety, psychophysiological correlates of attention-anxiety, and applied considerations in designing behavioral programs to control attentional focus and anxiety. The position advanced in this paper is that one of the most important routes to designing effective behavioral programs, such as relaxation and biofeedback, is through a better understanding of the complex relationships between one's arousal, attention, and performance levels.     

Associations Among Infant Iron Deficiency,Childhood Emotion and Attention Regulation,and Adolescent Problem Behaviors

This study examined whether iron deficiency (ID) in infancy contributes to problem behaviors in adolescence through its influence on poor regulatory abilities in childhood. Chilean infants (N = 1,116) were studied when there was no national program for iron fortification (1991–1996), resulting in high rates of ID (28%) and iron‐deficiency anemia (IDA, 17%). Infants (54% male) were studied at childhood (M_age = 10 years) and adolescence (M_age = 14 years). IDA in infancy was related to excessive alcohol use and risky sexual behavior in adolescence through its effect on poor emotion regulation in childhood. Attentional control deficits at age 10 were also related to both infant IDA and heightened risk taking in adolescence. Findings elucidate how poor childhood regulatory abilities associated with infant IDA compromise adjustment in adolescence.     

表现性评价及其在幼儿评价中的应用

表现性评价是指对学生在完成真实任务过程中所表现出来的智力和非智力因素进行评价的方法。它尊重学生发展的不平衡性和差异性，关注学生在评价中的体验，而不是给学生分等级。它作为笔试测验的补充，在对学生学科成就的评价中越来越受重视。同时，表现性评价由于其特点，在幼儿评价中也广泛应用。     

从回应民主诉求到提高绩效:西方大学治理范式的发展演变

20世纪60年代以来,西方大学经历了一场治理结构再造运动。在这场运动中,先后出现了两种大学治理范式:第一,回应民主诉求范式;第二,提高绩效范式。目前正处于从回应民主诉求范式向提高绩效范式转型期。     

Heart Rate and Behavioral measures of Attention in Six-, Nine-, and Twelve-Month-Old Infants during Object Exploration

In this study we examined the effect of heart rate and behavioral measures of attention on distractibility of 6-, 9-, and 12-month-old infants. The infants were presented with a toy, and a distractor was presented while they attended to the toy. The distractor was presented during heart rate changes indicating sustained attention or attention termination, or during periods of time when behavioral ratings indicated the infant was in focused or casual attention. There were longer distraction latencies during attentional engagement as defined by heart rate changes or behavioral ratings than for periods of inattention. Infants had the longest distraction latencies when heart rate and behavior measures were congruent with respect to attention engagement (heart rate deceleration and focused attention). Conversely, latencies were shortes for congruent values of inattention (heart rate acceleration and casual attention). Infant information processing may be greatest when a heart rate deceleration occurs simultaneously with an episode of focused attention.     

Mother–Infant Vagal Regulation in the Face-To-Face Still-Face Paradigm Is Moderated by Maternal Sensitivity

Parents' physiological regulation may support infants' regulation. Mothers ( N = 152) and 6-month-old male and female infants were observed in normal and disrupted social interaction. Affect was coded at 1-s intervals and vagal tone measured as respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). Maternal sensitivity was assessed in free play. Mothers and infants showed opposite patterns of RSA change. During disrupted interaction, mothers' RSA increased and infants' decreased, suggesting self-regulation of distress. During reunion, although the typical pattern was for infants to return to baseline levels, infants of sensitive mothers and sensitive mothers both showed a significant decrease in RSA from baseline. Mothers' and infants' physiological responses may be a function of mutual responsiveness.     

浅谈音乐注意在钢琴演奏中的作用

钢琴的演奏和教学与教育学、心理学有着千丝万缕的联系。钢琴练习者除了需要掌握动作技能,还需要具有相应的心智技能。早期的钢琴教学和理论多以技术和音乐表现为主,较少研究起重要作用的心理因素,从某种程度上阻碍了钢琴系统化、科学化的发展。本文在前人研究的基础上,试图运用心理学的原理,从音乐注意的心理方面进行分析和探讨,研究学生遇到不同于自己水平的作品时所产生的各种心理状态,来解决练习和演奏中的具体问题。     

Maternal Depressive Symptoms During the Pre- and Postnatal Periods and Infant Attention to Emotional Faces

We examined how infants’ attentional disengagement from happy, fearful, neutral, and phase-scrambled faces at 8 months, as assessed by eye tracking, is associated with trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms from early pregnancy to 6 months postpartum (decreasing n = 48, increasing n = 34, and consistently low symptom levels n = 280). The sample (mother–infant dyads belonging to a larger FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study) was collected between 5/2013–6/2016. The overall disengagement probability from faces to distractors was not related to maternal depressive symptoms, but fear bias was heightened in infants whose mothers reported decreasing or increasing depressive symptoms. Exacerbated attention to fearful faces in infants of mothers with depressive symptoms may be independent of the timing of the symptoms in the pre- and postnatal stages.     

Individual Differences in Infant Visual Attention: Recognition of Degraded Visual Forms by Four-Month-Olds

In 5 experiments, 4-month-old infants were tested for their ability to recognize degraded visual targets as a function of individual differences in fixation duration. Targets were degraded by removing 10% of the total contour either from vertices (vertex-absent) or from midsegments (vertex-present). Both qualitative and quantitative differences were found in long and short lookers' ability to recognize the degraded forms. Short-looking infants were able to recognize degraded forms in both vertex-absent and vertex-present conditions, but the vertex-absent discrimination was more difficult. Long-looking infants required longer familiarization times before showing evidence of recognition in the vertex-present condition, and were unable to recognize targets in which contour was removed at vertices. The findings are discussed within the framework of the persistence of early visual processing strategies, and reliance of long-looking infants on particular local elements in visual analysis.     

Individual Differences in Infant Visual Attention: Four-Month-Olds' Discrimination and Generalization of Global and Local Stimulus Properties

Cognitive performance and development is negatively correlated with fixation duration patterns during infancy, and evidence suggests that long-looking infants may process visual information more slowly than short-looking infants. 3 experiments described here tested the possibility that these differences may be due to differential sensitivity to global and local visual information. Infants were administered discrimination and generalization tasks involving global and local information at varying levels of familiarization time. Results indicated that 4-month-olds process visual information in a global-to-local sequence. Both long- and short-looking infants were sensitive to both types of information, although long lookers required additional familiarization time to match the performance of short lookers. Finally, apparent "generalization" of global information at brief familiarization levels was traced to insensitivity to local stimulus properties. The results do not support the hypothesis that long- and short-looking infants are differentially sensitive to global versus local visual information at 4 months of age.     

新古典范式、比较制度范式与契约结构范式——交易费用内生化的三种思路

基于新古典范式的交易费用模型化无法触及制度;基于比较制度范式的交易费用模型化对交易的组织细节虽有深刻的洞见,但无法求解均衡交易费用。鉴于此,提出一种创新的交易费用模型化范式——契约结构范式。从契约结构的角度发现:交易参与人的行为品行和信息结构以及标的专用性会导致交易冲突;改善信息结构、提升治理水平是化解交易冲突的必由之路;均衡交易费用出现在信息费用和治理费用的边际效应相等时;制度环境的介入会节约交易费用但会耗费制度费用,二者的权衡导出均衡的制度边界。     

论产学研范式到学科-专业-产业链范式的转变

在知识经济时代,产学研合作范式已经不能适应时代发展的需要。学科-专业-产业链范式作为新的范式适应时代的需求,其在制度、组织、载体等三个方面体现了新范式的优越性。这一新范式的出现丰富了地方高等教育发展模式,有效地解决了利益偏差问题,大大提升了产学研合作的实践效果。     

The Zika Virus: A Look at the Societal Impact of Performance Improvement

According to the World Health Organization, as of March 2016 there have been over 16,000 reported cases of individuals infected with the Zika virus. The estimates are even greater for unreported cases. This article applies the principles of human performance technology (HPT) to the current ZIka virus epidemic, highlighting the utility and potential impact of HPT theory when applied to real‐world situations in real time.     

音乐表演中的内心听觉

内心音乐听觉是音乐活动中的一种心理现象。内心音乐听觉与人的音乐知识经验的积累、对音乐感性体验的质量以及人的音乐审美情感都有着直接、内在的联系,是人在音乐表演活动中逐步培养建立起来的,是音乐表演活动中必须具备的心理基础和能力。内心音乐听觉发展水平的高低,直接影响着音乐表演等音乐表演活动的质量以及表演灵感的产生。内心音乐听觉在音乐表演中起着至关重要的作用。本文拟对内心音乐听觉这一心理学现象进行剖析,在此基础上提高内心音乐听觉能力。     

Towards Artistry: A Critique of the HRD Performance Paradigm and a Suggested New Model

ABSTRACT This article critiques the performance approach to HRD and proposes a new model that takes into account the deep complexities inherent in the human transaction of work. In critically examining the dominant performance paradigm, meanings of work are examined, illustrating that the desire to work extends beyond extrinsic considerations. That work and working need to be problematized and made the basis of inquiry within HRD is explored. Social exchange theory is drawn upon to explain how employees can become impelled to exercise the discretion to engage in creative behaviors that can redound to the benefit of their organizations. The proposed model is premised upon two variables, namely impetus for training and purpose of training. Impetus for training is on a continuum from individual to organization. Purpose of training is on a continuum from intrinsic to instrumental. Of the four approaches to HRD suggested by the model, the type that is bounded by intrinsically driven purpose and focused upon the developmental needs of the individual is suggested as being most likely to prompt worker artistry.     

Teachers' Questions in the Infant,Junior and Secondary School

Ten teachers in infant schools, 10 in junior schools and 10 in secondary schools had their teaching recorded. Subsequent analysis was made of the teachers' use of questions categorised as of fact, closed solution, open solution, task supervision and routine. When the first two categories were combined, the results for the junior schools were very similar to those reported by Galton and his colleagues in 1980 and 1999. Moreover, the results for both the infant and secondary schools differed very little from those of the junior schools. Some implications of these results are discussed.     

Idiocy,Attention, and the Normal Scholastic Prototype

Throughout the 19th century, the discourse on idiocy was among the most substantial and celebrated fields of knowledge about human nature; yet it is mostly forgotten or ignored by scholars today. Once science could identify the truly retarded individual from within the confused concept of idiocy, it is thought, these subjects could finally be treated separately and more humanely. But looking back at the early discourse on idiocy reveals a rational knowledge of the subject built on a very different intelligibility from our own. Indeed, until modern times, idiocy was actually considered a form of madness, and it was only through the emergence of a new intelligibility of the body—based on the idea of development—that the concept of retardation could emerge. Rather than through medical or humanistic advance, it was first through the emergence of the normalizing technologies of the hospitals and schools that society would find new reasons and means for dealing with these ‘recalcitrant’ figures who were unwilling or unable to conform to the requirements and goals of the institutional disciplines. A new intelligibility of the idiot based on new disciplinary technologies would provide the basis not only for the mentally retarded subject, but eventually for all of the behavioral disorders of childhood. This article will be of interest to scholars and educators interested in the history of the modern developmental subject, pedagogy, and the appearance of the norm in constructing knowledge of the subject and the ordering of behaviors.