数学学习困难儿童的认知加工机制研究

与数学学习优秀儿童相比,数学学习困难儿童的语音加工速度、短时记忆、中央执行功能以及整体工作记忆能力方面都存在明显不足,但只有工作记忆能力不足才能明确解释数学学习困难,即数学学习困难与工作记忆能力下降有密切关系.进一步分析发现,由工作记忆能力下降引起的数学学习困难与特定的工作记忆能力不足有关,即数学学习困难几乎完全是由于数字工作记忆能力下降引起,而与视空间工作记忆能力下降无关,这种由数字工作记忆下降而引起数学学习困难的更深层次原因可能在于较差的语音加工速度与中央执行功能二者的共同影响.     

加工速度和工作记忆在认知毕生发展过程中的作用

研究加工速度和工作记忆在认知毕生发展过程中的作用.10-90岁的健康被试1993名,完成加工速度、工作记忆和四项认知能力测验,应用多层次回归分析方法考查加工速度和工作记忆对认知加工的"与年龄相关"和"与年龄无关"的两部分作用,并且,对于"与年龄相关"的部分,比较在认知发展与老化过程中加工速度和工作记忆对各项认知变量的作用量.结果表明:1)在"与年龄相关"的部分,加工速度和工作记忆对认知发展的作用小于对认知老化的作用;2)在认知发展和老化过程,加工速度的作用大于工作记忆的作用;3)加工速度和工作记忆对认知加工的"与年龄无关"的作用部分是不可忽略的.     

假装游戏与儿童发展:观点、争论与展望

假装游戏是儿童成长过程中必然出现的一种特殊游戏类型,它与儿童发展之间存在着密切联系,但对于这种联系的方向和可能原因尚存在诸多争议。文章重点讨论了假装与非社会性认知发展、社会认知以及社交技能之间的关系,列举出已有研究所呈现的相关论据与学术争议,并针对当前研究存在的一些问题,提出了对今后的研究从理论、实验与实践应用等方面可能突破的方向,如能否以及如何建立统一的解释框架或理论的问题,如何在实验控制与真实情境间求得平衡的问题,以及如何更好地评估假装游戏的影响与作用等问题。     

流动儿童自尊、自我意识与社会支持的关系研究

在南京、南通、宿迁5所小学中采用随机分层抽样的方法选取449名流动儿童与普通儿童,了解流动儿童的自我意识、自尊与社会支持的情况,并比较流动儿童与普通儿童之间的差异以及此三种变量在各人口学变量上的差异。研究发现流动儿童与普通儿童的自我意识无显著差异,自尊方面不存在显著差异;女性流动儿童在幸福与满足方面与男性儿童有显著差异;不同年级的儿童自我意识以及分维度存在显著差异。流动儿童社会支持在性别与年级变量上存在显著差异。流动儿童的自尊、自我意识与社会支持存在显著相关。     

中国内地和香港特别行政区的法律解释体制——一个比较法的视角

发生在 1997年至 1999年之间的香港“无证儿童案”之所以具有重要意义 ,不仅在于它所包含的一系列重要法律问题本身 ,更在于人们希望藉此预测香港法制的未来发展趋势。“无证儿童案”中的核心问题是基本法的解释问题 ,法律解释将在中国内地法律和香港法律可能的融合中扮演重要角色 ;而另一方面 ,在现阶段 ,对《基本法》解释的一项重要任务却是要保持中国内地和香港经济、社会和政治制度之间的界限。通过对中国内地和香港法律解释体制的比较 ,分析如何从九七回归以前香港和内地不同的法律解释体制中协调产生出香港新的法律解释体制 ,并藉此说明对于回归以后香港法制的变化所应持有的态度。     

本质差异在笔迹鉴定结论推断中的应用

笔迹鉴定中有一条基本原则,即检材与样本之间如有一个本质差异存在,则其提供了排除两者同一的依据.但是,由于对本质差异存在不同理解,这一原则在实际检案中很难进行操作.文献资料表明目前尚无对于本质差异的统一标准.当鉴定人发现检材与样本之间存在差异时,他们面临着一个难题是排除嫌疑人?亦或仅为无法认定嫌疑人?笔迹鉴定中十分关键的是对笔迹特征的合理解释,可能导致对差异价值的不同解释的情形有以下几种1、检材与样本之间有单一特征或字母不同;2、书写模式上存在如草书与印刷体的不同;3、检材书写笔画质量差于样本笔画质量;4、样本不充分;5、书写有伪装,导致检材和样本之间存在明显差异.     

论儿童证人

儿童作为证人出庭作证 ,与成人证人存在一定的区别 ,在法理上需要明确的是儿童作为证人的适格性 ,即不因年龄问题而失去作证的资格 ,而是与其知情、心理发展情况及案件的具体情况相关 ;儿童出庭作证的能力与成人存在一定的区别 ,本文试图从在儿童出庭作证的相关制度建设方面思考解决这一问题 :视情况决定儿童证人是否必须出庭 ;建立适合儿童证人的质证方式 ,减轻儿童作证的压力及儿童证人的保护等     

条件推理能力的发展轨迹：“单向”还是“双向”？

条件推理能力的传统认知发展观认为认知发展的轨迹是单向的,并只存在于一个加工系统中,认知发展存在着几个不同质的阶段,按由低到高的顺序发展,在个体发展的早期,其认知特点主要是以直觉加工为主,而后逐渐转换为以分析式加工为主,但这些理论无法很好地解释为什么年龄和智力的增长并不必然导致推理中符合传统逻辑规范的回答率的提高.双重加工理论对此提出异议,认为条件推理能力的发展沿着两条轨迹进行,一条径直指向计算加工和对问题内容的去情境化推理能力的增长;第二条是启发式的、高度情境化加工的发展路线,对那种认为认知是从直觉加工到逻辑数学加工的单向发展的观点提出了挑战.     

立场选择与方法运用:刑法解释的“道”和“器”——以刑法修正案相关罪名为例展开

在法律解释的问题上,立场选择与方法运用是“道”和“器”、“体”和“用”的关系,解释立场决定着刑法解释的方向和角度,而解释方法则只是刑法解释的技术和工具.站在不同的解释立场上运用相同的解释方法可能得出不同的结论,相反,站在同样的立场上运用不同的方法也可能得出相同的结论.在刑法解释立场上,存在着主观解释论与客观解释论、形式解释论与实质解释论之争,这些争论不仅仅是方法论上的论争,更是刑法价值观上的论争.立场之争对刑法的解释、适用以及司法审判有着巨大的影响.文章从刑法解释基本立场的抉择问题出发,进而对刑法解释的限度问题做了探讨,并以刑法修正案相关罪名的解释问题为样本,阐述了刑法解释方法的具体运用.     

工作记忆容量、产品卷入度、广告复杂度对消费者态度改变的影响

消费者态度改变是衡量广告有效性的重要标准之一。已有最新研究发现,个体工作记忆容量与广告态度改变密切相关,表现为高工作记忆者在面对广告时有更强的抗干扰力,抵抗说服性信息,态度改变程度较少。本研究从产品卷入度、广告复杂度两个角度出发,进一步考查工作记忆容量对于消费者态度改变的影响机制。实验一发现,在观看低产品卷入度广告后,低工作记忆容量个体的态度改变量显著大于高工作记忆容量者;在高产品卷入度条件下,高低工作记忆容量者的态度改变量没有显著差异。控制产品卷入度后,实验二数据显示,观看简单广告后,低工作记忆容量个体的态度改变量显著大于高工作记忆容量个体;在复杂广告条件下,两者态度改变量差异不显著。两个实验结果表明,工作记忆容量对消费者态度的改变显著受到卷入度和广告复杂度影响。     

Can you keep a secret? Introducing the RT-based Concealed Information Test to children

The present study validates a novel version of the Reaction time-based Concealed Information Test (RT-CIT) adapted for young children (7–10 years). Their ability to deny the possession of relevant information was related to individual differences in intelligence, processing speed, executive functioning and affective problems. The comparison between the knowledgeable group of children (N = 84) who took part in a mock surprise scenario and the unknowledgeable group (N = 78) indicated that by early school-age the RT-CIT can be considered a relatively reliable diagnostic tool for detecting concealed information. We found evidence indicating that executive functions are predictors of children's proficiency in concealing information; however, the specific interrelations were complex (children with lower inhibition and spatial working memory, but with better shifting performance were easier to detect as possessing concealed information). Finally, we found limited evidence for a substantial association between parent-reported emotional problems and children's proficiency in concealing information. This investigation has practical implications for the development of rigorous protocols to detect children's concealed knowledge within legal environments.     

The enhanced cognitive interview: could individual differences in visuo-spatial working memory explain differences in recalling an event?

The Enhanced Cognitive Interview (ECI) is one of the most useful witness interviews, consisting of 5 techniques (context reinstatement: CR; report everything: RE, mental imagery: MI, change order: CO and change of perspectives: CP) aimed at increasing both the quantity and the quality of elements recalled. All the techniques require mental imagery skills. The present study investigates the relationship between forward and backward visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM) and correct elements recalled through the ECI with respect to its techniques. 99 college students (48 males) watched a color videotape of a fictional crime and performed a visuo-spatial working memory task. The following day they were interviewed about what they had seen. Results showed that high forward VSWM capacity has a role in favoring the total amount of correct information recalled, specifically in the MI technique. This suggests that maintaining and processing mood-related contents in VSWM is easier for individuals with high working memory skills.     

PROGRAMS FOR PROMOTING PARENTING OF RESIDENTIAL PARENTS: Moving From Efficacy to Effectiveness

This article reviews prevention programs that target primary residential parents as change agents for improving children's postdivorce adjustment. First, we review parental risk and protective factors for children from divorced families, including parenting quality, parental mental health problems, interparental conflict, and contact with the nonresidential parent. Following a discussion of brief informational interventions, we describe the findings of evaluations of three multisession, skill-building interventions for divorced parents. Impressive evidence is presented that parenting is a modifiable protective factor and that improving parenting leads to improvements in children's postdivorce adjustment. We then discuss, in greater detail, the New Beginnings Program, which we highlight because it has shown repeated, immediate effects on children's mental health outcomes as well as long-term effects on a wide array of other meaningful outcomes, such as diagnosis of mental disorder in the past year, externalizing problems, alcohol and drug use, and academic performance. Also, mediational analyses have shown that program-induced changes in parenting accounted for changes in mental health outcomes. The remainder of the article describes a research and action agenda that is needed to successfully implement the New Beginnings Program in domestic relations courts.     

History of spouse violence against mother: Correlated risks and unique effects in child mental health

The present study examined mental health risk associated with lifetime occurrence of spouse violence against mother among 303 10 to 12 year-old inner-city children. Maternal report data showed a 30% prevalence rate for lifetime occurrence of spouse violence in this sample. Results of correlational analyses indicated that violence against mother was associated with several other historical risk factors including divorce, parental drinking problems, and incarceration of father. Multiple regression analyses controlling for the effects of demographic and historical risk factors that correlated with violence against mother revealed that violence accounted for significant unique variance in girls' self-reports of conduct problems, but did not account for unique variance in boys' symptomatology. Implications of these results for understanding the effects of violence against mother on children and for the development of empirically based interventions for children in those families are discussed.     

Eyewitness Memory,Suggestibility, and Repeated Recall Sessions in Children with Mild and Moderate Intellectual Disabilities

This study of eyewitness memory questioned children with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities (ID) about a live staged event 1 day later and, again, 2 weeks later. Children with mild ID performed as well as typically-developing children of the same age in response to free recall instructions, and they were just as able as same age peers to resist misleading questions. However, they performed more poorly on general questions, probing for further information after free recall. The children with mild ID also changed their responses to specific questions more often in the repeated interview. The group of children with moderate ID showed markedly lower performance than peers of the same age on nearly every type of eyewitness memory question. Comparisons of the children with ID to mental age-matched peers indicated that performance was similar, although children with ID gave more information in response to free recall instructions and changed their answers in the repeated interview more often. Standardized measures of verbal memory (TOMAL) and suggestibility (Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale) were modest to moderate predictors of eyewitness memory performance.     

Parent–child contact problems and family intensive interventions: The crisis of adolescent suicidality and the role of social media

Although clinicians, educators and parents have been alarmed by the decline in the mental health of children and adolescents commensurate with the Covid-19 pandemic, statistics indicate there has been a downward spiral over the last decade. This has been evident in the overall increase in suicide rates for young people. For legal and mental health professionals working in the Family Court system, this has provided unique challenges. Most vulnerable has been those children and adolescents embroiled in high conflict divorces, especially those exhibiting parent child contact problems. This article focuses upon that population exhibiting parent child contact problems, and their treatment, specifically Family Intensive Intervention. Building Family Resilience is an Intensive family treatment program that has had to address this deterioration in child and adolescent mental health and increase in suicidality. The role of social media in both exacerbating and/or ameliorating mental health issues is explored.     

Consequences and dilemmas in therapeutic relationships with families resulting from mandatory reporting legislation

Mandatory reporting legislation has been adopted in every state to insure the protection of children from maltreatment. These statutes have become a significant factor in the lives of mental health professionals who work with children and families. Thirty psychotherapists who had made a recent report of child maltreatment on a client in treatment were interviewed about their experiences with reporting and the consequences of reporting for therapeutic relationships. Several potentially problematic consequences and dilemmas were identified by the therapists, including immediate and long-term effects on the therapeutic alliance and course of therapy, and conflicts of interest in working with children and families.     

Are Children with Disabilities and Long-term Illnesses at Increased Risk of Disciplinary Violence?

This study examined the association between disability status and the risk of disciplinary violence at the hands of parents. The data consist of a nationally representative sample of 12–13 and 15–16-year-old Finnish school children (n = 13,459). These representative data were collected by the Police College of Finland. The results show that having a visual impairment, mental health problems, learning and/or memory difficulties, or another chronic illness, such as asthma, is associated with an increased risk of disciplinary violence. Children with multiple disabilities were significantly more likely to be targets of disciplinary violence. These findings suggest that children with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to maltreatment.