Showing papers in "Cognitive Processing in 2013"
TL;DR: It is proposed that this Bayes optimal withdrawal of precise sensory evidence during movement is the cause of psychophysical sensory attenuation, which explains the force-matching illusion and reproduces empirical results almost exactly.
Abstract: Active inference provides a simple and neurobiologically plausible account of how action and perception are coupled in producing (Bayes) optimal behaviour. This can be seen most easily as minimising prediction error: we can either change our predictions to explain sensory input through perception. Alternatively, we can actively change sensory input to fulfil our predictions. In active inference, this action is mediated by classical reflex arcs that minimise proprioceptive prediction error created by descending proprioceptive predictions. However, this creates a conflict between action and perception; in that, self-generated movements require predictions to override the sensory evidence that one is not actually moving. However, ignoring sensory evidence means that externally generated sensations will not be perceived. Conversely, attending to (proprioceptive and somatosensory) sensations enables the detection of externally generated events but precludes generation of actions. This conflict can be resolved by attenuating the precision of sensory evidence during movement or, equivalently, attending away from the consequences of self-made acts. We propose that this Bayes optimal withdrawal of precise sensory evidence during movement is the cause of psychophysical sensory attenuation. Furthermore, it explains the force-matching illusion and reproduces empirical results almost exactly. Finally, if attenuation is removed, the force-matching illusion disappears and false (delusional) inferences about agency emerge. This is important, given the negative correlation between sensory attenuation and delusional beliefs in normal subjects--and the reduction in the magnitude of the illusion in schizophrenia. Active inference therefore links the neuromodulatory optimisation of precision to sensory attenuation and illusory phenomena during the attribution of agency in normal subjects. It also provides a functional account of deficits in syndromes characterised by false inference and impaired movement--like schizophrenia and Parkinsonism--syndromes that implicate abnormal modulatory neurotransmission.
477 citations
TL;DR: Results point to an emerging readiness to use mental rotation and profit from observational and manual experience at age 5, especially for children already performing well.
Abstract: Mental rotation is an important spatial skill. However, there is controversy concerning its early development and susceptibility to intervention. In the present study, we assessed individual differences in the mental rotation abilities of children between 3½ and 5½ years of age, using a touch screen paradigm to simplify task demands. A figure or its mirror image was presented in 8 different orientations, and children indicated in which of two holes the figure would fit by touching one of the holes on the screen. Task instructions were varied in three conditions, giving the children the opportunity to gather manual or observational experience with rotations of different stimuli, or giving no additional experience. Children’s error rates and response times increased linearly with increasing angular disparity between the figure and the hole by the age of 5 years, but 4-year-olds were found to respond at chance for all angular disparities, despite the use of a touch screen paradigm. Both manual and observational experience increased the response accuracy of 5-year-olds, especially for children already performing well. However, there was no effect on 4-year-olds. Results point to an emerging readiness to use mental rotation and profit from observational and manual experience at age 5.
96 citations
TL;DR: It is concluded that mental rotation and mental folding are similar in many respects, however, the tasks differ in whether they require rigid or non-rigid transformations of objects.
Abstract: Mental rotation and mental folding, two widely used measures of spatial ability, both require the dynamic spatial transformation of objects with respect to their internal spatial structure. Traditionally, however, these two skills have been considered quite distinct, based primarily on factor analyses of psychometric data. This paper reviews the similarities and differences between mental rotation and mental folding from a variety of perspectives, including their definitions, component cognitive processes, neurological bases, developmental trajectories, malleability, predictive validity, and psychometric properties. We conclude that mental rotation and mental folding are similar in many respects. However, the tasks differ in whether they require rigid or non-rigid transformations of objects. In addition, mental rotation shows robust sex-related differences whereas mental folding does not. We also identify specific questions for which research is lacking.
93 citations
TL;DR: It was found that children who turned out to be altruistic in the DG performed better on an inhibition task than non-altruists did, lending support to the hypothesis that altruistic sharing might be somewhat constrained by the child’s ability to inhibit a natural tendency to preserve his or her own resources.
Abstract: By behaving altruistically, individuals voluntarily reduce their benefits in order to increase their partners’. This deviation from a self-interest-maximizing function may be cognitively demanding, though. This study investigates whether altruistic sharing in 4- to 6-year-old children, assessed by a dictator game (DG), is related to three measures of executive functioning, that is, inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. We found that children who turned out to be altruistic in the DG performed better on an inhibition task than non-altruists did. This finding lends support to the hypothesis that altruistic sharing might be somewhat constrained by the child’s ability to inhibit a natural tendency to preserve his or her own resources. Much research is needed to understand the role of inhibitory control in the development of costly sharing and the consolidation of inequity aversion.
80 citations
TL;DR: Results are consistent with separable skills for rigid and non-rigid mental simulation and illustrate the value of an ecological approach to the analysis of the structure of spatial thinking.
Abstract: Cognitive science has primarily studied the mental simulation of spatial transformations with tests that focus on rigid transformations (e.g., mental rotation). However, the events of our world are not limited to rigid body movements. Objects can undergo complex non-rigid discontinuous and continuous changes, such as bending and breaking. We developed a new task to assess mental visualization of non-rigid transformations. The Non-rigid Bending test required participants to visualize a continuous non-rigid transformation applied to an array of objects by asking simple spatial questions about the position of two forms on a bent transparent sheet of plastic. Participants were to judge the relative position of the forms when the sheet was unbent. To study the cognitive skills needed to visualize rigid and non-rigid events, we employed four tests of mental transformations—the Non-rigid Bending test (a test of continuous non-rigid mental transformation), the Paper Folding test and the Mental Brittle Transformation test (two tests of non-rigid mental transformation with local rigid transformations), and the Vandenberg and Kuse (Percept Motor Skills 47:599–604, 1978) Mental Rotation test (a test of rigid mental transformation). Performance on the Mental Brittle Transformation test and the Paper Folding test independently predicted performance on the Non-rigid Bending test and performance on the Mental Rotation test; however, mental rotation performance was not a unique predictor of mental bending performance. Results are consistent with separable skills for rigid and non-rigid mental simulation and illustrate the value of an ecological approach to the analysis of the structure of spatial thinking.
70 citations
TL;DR: Closing the gap between males and females in spatial ability, a skill linked to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics success, may be accomplished in part by encouraging female youth to engage in more particular kinds of spatial activities.
Abstract: Males consistently outperform females on mental rotation tasks, such as the Vandenberg and Kuse (1978) Perceptual and Motor Skills, 47(2), 599-604, mental rotation test (MRT; e.g. Voyer et al. 1995) in Psychological Bulletin, 117, 250-265. The present study investigates whether these sex differences in MRT scores can be explained in part by early spatial activity experience, particularly those spatial activities that have been sex-typed as masculine/male-oriented. Utilizing an online survey, 571 ethnically diverse adult university students completed a brief demographic survey, an 81-item spatial activity survey, and the MRT. Results suggest that the significant relation between sex of the participant and MRT score is partially mediated by the number of masculine spatial activities participants had engaged in as youth. Closing the gap between males and females in spatial ability, a skill linked to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics success, may be accomplished in part by encouraging female youth to engage in more particular kinds of spatial activities.
69 citations
TL;DR: The differential pattern of skill on the two tests for the two groups of experts suggests that mental brittle transformation and mental rotation are different spatial skills.
Abstract: The current study examines the spatial skills employed in different spatial reasoning tasks, by asking how science experts who are practiced in different types of visualizations perform on different spatial tasks. Specifically, the current study examines the varieties of mental transformations. We hypothesize that there may be two broad classes of mental transformations: rigid body mental transformations and non-rigid mental transformations. We focus on the disciplines of geology and organic chemistry because different types of transformations are central to the two disciplines: While geologists and organic chemists may both confront rotation in the practice of their profession, only geologists confront brittle transformations. A new instrument was developed to measure mental brittle transformation (visualizing breaking). Geologists and organic chemists performed similarly on a measure of mental rotation, while geologists outperformed organic chemists on the mental brittle transformation test. The differential pattern of skill on the two tests for the two groups of experts suggests that mental brittle transformation and mental rotation are different spatial skills. The roles of domain general cognitive resources (attentional control, spatial working memory, and perceptual filling in) and strategy in completing mental brittle transformation are discussed. The current study illustrates how ecological and interdisciplinary approaches complement traditional cognitive science to offer a comprehensive approach to understanding the nature of spatial thinking.
54 citations
TL;DR: Comparison of visually similar contrasting cases helped distinguish category-relevant from category-irrelevant features for participants, and analogical comparison of images may provide one powerful way to enhance spatial learning in geoscience and other STEM disciplines.
Abstract: A central issue in education is how to support the spatial thinking involved in learning science, technol- ogy, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). We investi- gated whether and how the cognitive process of analogical comparison supports learning of a basic spatial concept in geoscience, fault. Because of the high variability in the appearance of faults, it may be difficult for students to learn the category-relevant spatial structure. There is abundant evidence that comparing analogous examples can help students gain insight into important category-defining fea- tures (Gentner in Cogn Sci 34(5):752-775, 2010). Further, comparing high-similarity pairs can be especially effective at revealing key differences (Sagi et al. 2012). Across three experiments, we tested whether comparison of visually similar contrasting examples would help students learn the fault concept. Our main findings were that participants performed better at identifying faults when they (1) com- pared contrasting (fault/no fault) cases versus viewing each case separately (Experiment 1), (2) compared similar as opposed to dissimilar contrasting cases early in learning (Experiment 2), and (3) viewed a contrasting pair of sche- matic block diagrams as opposed to a single block diagram of a fault as part of an instructional text (Experiment 3). These results suggest that comparison of visually similar contrasting cases helped distinguish category-relevant from category-irrelevant features for participants. When such comparisons occurred early in learning, participants were more likely to form an accurate conceptual representation. Thus, analogical comparison of images may provide one powerful way to enhance spatial learning in geoscience and other STEM disciplines.
45 citations
TL;DR: These interactions are illustrated by demonstrating situations in which greater spatial ability leads to problematic performance by eliminating the prediction task, which encouraged attempts to integrate the displays that related positively to performance.
Abstract: Spatial visualization abilities are positively related to performance on science, technology, engineering, and math tasks, but this relationship is influenced by task demands and learner strategies. In two studies, we illustrate these interactions by demonstrating situations in which greater spatial ability leads to problematic performance. In Study 1, chemistry students observed and explained sets of simultaneously presented displays depicting chemical phenomena at macroscopic and particulate levels of representation. Prior to viewing, the students were asked to make predictions at the macroscopic level. Eye movement analyses revealed that greater spatial ability was associated with greater focus on the prediction-relevant macroscopic level. Unfortunately, that restricted focus was also associated with lower-quality explanations of the phenomena. In Study 2, we presented the same displays but manipulated whether participants were asked to make predictions prior to viewing. Spatial ability was again associated with restricted focus, but only for students who completed the prediction task. Eliminating the prediction task encouraged attempts to integrate the displays that related positively to performance, especially for participants with high spatial ability. Spatial abilities can be recruited in effective or ineffective ways depending on alignments between the demands of a task and the approaches individuals adopt for completing that task.
44 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined whether different category structures may lead to greater or less similarity change, and found that the ease of learning a categorization affects change in similarity, with the most change following learning of difficult category structures.
Abstract: Learning a particular categorization leads to corresponding changes in the similarity structure of the categorized stimuli. The purpose of the current study was to examine whether different category structures may lead to greater or less similarity change. We created six category structures and examined changes in similarity as a result of categorization in between-participant conditions. The bestsupported hypothesis was that the ease of learning a categorization affects change in similarity, with the most change following learning of difficult category structures. There was also support for the hypothesis that similarity change is more likely to occur when the category boundary was not aligned with the physical dimension of variation. Finally, we discuss some methodological challenges in addressing this important research topic.
36 citations
TL;DR: Tests of mental rotation ability, spatial working memory, and verbal working memory suggest time-space synesthesia is associated only with enhanced visuo-spatial imagery, which is consistent with the time- space connectivity thesis that time- Space synesthesia results from enhanced connectivity in the parietal lobe between regions supporting the representation of temporal sequences.
Abstract: Time-space synesthesia is a variant of sequence–space synesthesia and involves the involuntary association of months of the year with 2D and 3D spatial forms, such as arcs, circles, and ellipses. Previous studies have revealed conflicting results regarding the association between time-space synesthesia and enhanced spatial processing ability. Here, we tested 15 time-space synesthetes, and 15 non-synesthetic controls matched for age, education, and gender on standard tests of mental rotation ability, spatial working memory, and verbal working memory. Synesthetes performed better than controls on our test of mental rotation, but similarly to controls on tests of spatial and verbal working memory. Results support a dissociation between visuo-spatial imagery and spatial working memory capacity, and suggest time-space synesthesia is associated only with enhanced visuo-spatial imagery. These data are consistent with the time-space connectivity thesis that time-space synesthesia results from enhanced connectivity in the parietal lobe between regions supporting the representation of temporal sequences and those underlying visuo-spatial imagery.
TL;DR: The results suggest that spatial abilities have to be seriously considered to avoid any confusion with age, as age-related differences are attenuated when individuals are different in age but similar in spatial ability and confirm a specific difficulty of older participants to handle spatial information in a global configuration.
Abstract: The aim of this study is to broaden our understanding of the construction and early decline of spatial mental representations in route learning, considering the extent to which spatial ability and age-related differences in environment learning interact. The experiment examines spatial mental representation derived from taking a realistic route acquired using virtual environment and compares individuals different in age but with similar spatial ability. A sample of 34 young (20–30 years) and 30 middle-aged (50–60 years) females with good mental rotation ability were chosen. Participants learned a complex route through its presentation in a virtual environment and then performed a series of tasks (landmark recognition, location of landmarks and verification of spatial relations). Results show that the two participant age groups had similar performance in landmark recognition task and in verification of sentences describing direct spatial relations; instead, the middle-aged group showed a poorer performance than younger in their ability to locate landmarks and to judge the truth of indirect spatial sentences. These results first suggest that spatial abilities have to be seriously considered to avoid any confusion with age, as age-related differences are attenuated when individuals are different in age but similar in spatial ability. Second they confirm a specific difficulty of older participants to handle spatial information in a global configuration.
TL;DR: In this review, studies of multimodal verbal and nonverbal cognition and emotional interactions within neuronal, that is, natural environments in typically developing children are analyzed and related to the topic of creating artificial environments using mobile toy robots to neurorehabilitate severely autistic children.
Abstract: This review addresses the central role played by multimodal interactions in neurocognitive development. We first analyzed our studies of multimodal verbal and nonverbal cognition and emotional interactions within neuronal, that is, natural environments in typically developing children. We then tried to relate them to the topic of creating artificial environments using mobile toy robots to neurorehabilitate severely autistic children. By doing so, both neural/natural and artificial environments are considered as the basis of neuronal organization and reorganization. The common thread underlying the thinking behind this approach revolves around the brain's intrinsic properties: neuroplasticity and the fact that the brain is neurodynamic. In our approach, neural organization and reorganization using natural or artificial environments aspires to bring computational perspectives into cognitive developmental neuroscience.
TL;DR: The present research investigated the neural correlates (ERPs, event-related potentials) of attitudes to engage in prosocial-helping behaviors, and analyzed the relation between these brain-based potentials and personal profile (high vs. low empathic profile).
Abstract: The present research firstly investigated the neural correlates (ERPs, event-related potentials) of attitudes to engage in prosocial-helping behaviors, and secondly, it analyzed the relation between these brain-based potentials and personal profile (high vs low empathic profile) It was considered the subjects’ behavior in response to specific emotional situations (positive vs negative) in case it was required a possible prosocial intervention Thirty-one subjects were invited to empathize with the emotional contexts (videotapes that reproduced two person’s exchanges) and to decide whether to intervene or not to support these persons BEES questionnaire for empathic behavior was submitted to the subjects after the experimental session ERP acquisition and LORETA source analysis revealed a negative ongoing deflection (N200 effect) more prefrontally distributed (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) in response to prosocial intervention options mainly for negative and positive contexts Moreover, a significant positive correlation was found between high-empathic profiles, intervention behaviors (higher frequency of interventions) and N200 amplitude (higher peak) These results highlight the role of emotions in prosocial behavior, since the N200 effect was considered a marker of the emotional significance of the interpersonal situation Secondly, the empathic trait may explain the prosocial decisional processes: Higher empathic trait contributes to induce subject’s intervention behavior which in turn appears to be directly related to the cortical responsiveness within the prefrontal areas
TL;DR: The results clearly indicate that decomposed representations of tens and units seem to be a general characteristic of multi-digit number magnitude processing, rather than an exception occurring under very specific conditions only.
Abstract: There is accumulating evidence suggesting that two-digit number magnitude is represented in a decomposed fashion into tens and units rather than holistically as one integrated entity. However, recently, it has been claimed that this property does not hold for the case when two to-be-compared numbers are presented sequentially. In the present study, we pursued this issue in two experiments by evaluating perceptual as well as strategic aspects arising for sequential stimulus presentation in a magnitude comparison task. We observed reliable unit-decade compatibility effects indicating decomposed processing of tens and units in a magnitude comparison task with sequential presentation of the to-be-compared numbers. In particular, we found that both confounding low-level perceptual features and stimulus set characteristics determining cue validity of the units influenced the compatibility effect. Taken together, our results clearly indicate that decomposed representations of tens and units seem to be a general characteristic of multi-digit number magnitude processing, rather than an exception occurring under very specific conditions only. Implications of these results for the understanding of number magnitude representations are discussed.
TL;DR: The findings support that internalized attention manifested as theta activity continuingly enhances significantly in sequential phases of meditation, while relaxation manifested as alpha activity is significant only after the advanced meditative phase is reached.
Abstract: Increased alpha and theta activities in electroencephalography (EEG) have been found during various forms of meditation. However, advanced stage of meditation drew less attention to date. We aimed at exploring EEG characteristics during advanced meditation. Bilateral absolute alpha and theta EEG powers were recorded when a single meditator at rest, exercising breath meditation, and reaching the advanced meditative stage in 10 sessions of meditation. Averaged time-series data were analyzed using simulation modeling analysis to compare the powers during different meditative phases. During breath meditation, significantly higher activities compared with baseline were found only in bilateral theta (P = 0.0406, 0.0158 for left and right sides, respectively), but not in alpha (P = 0.1412, 0.0978 for left and right sides, respectively) bands. When meditation advanced, significantly increased activities were found both in bilateral alpha (P = 0.0218, 0.0258 for left and right sides, respectively) and theta (P = 0.0308, 0.0260 for left and right sides, respectively) bands compared against breath meditation. When advanced meditation compared against baseline, bilateral alpha (P = 0.0001, 0.0001 for left and right sides, respectively) and theta (P = 0.0001, 0.0001 for left and right sides, respectively) bands revealed significantly increased activities. Our findings support that internalized attention manifested as theta activity continuingly enhances significantly in sequential phases of meditation, while relaxation manifested as alpha activity is significant only after the advanced meditative phase is reached.
TL;DR: The influence of intro-/extraversion on gaze-cueing was not mediated by trait anxiety, and demonstrated that personality differences can shape processing of interactions between relevant social signals.
Abstract: We investigated whether the extra-/introversion personality dimension can influence processing of others’ eye gaze direction and emotional facial expression during a target detection task. On the basis of previous evidence showing that self-reported trait anxiety can affect gaze-cueing with emotional faces, we also verified whether trait anxiety can modulate the influence of intro-/extraversion on behavioral performance. Fearful, happy, angry or neutral faces, with either direct or averted gaze, were presented before the target appeared in spatial locations congruent or incongruent with stimuli’s eye gaze direction. Results showed a significant influence of intra-/extraversion dimension on gaze-cueing effect for angry, happy, and neutral faces with averted gaze. Introverts did not show the gaze congruency effect when viewing angry expressions, but did so with happy and neutral faces; extraverts showed the opposite pattern. Importantly, the influence of intro-/extraversion on gaze-cueing was not mediated by trait anxiety. These findings demonstrated that personality differences can shape processing of interactions between relevant social signals.
TL;DR: The results suggest that task demands differentially modulate the activation of the mental time-line within the visual and auditory modality and support a flexible association between conceptual codes.
Abstract: The notion of a mental time-line (i.e., past corresponds to left and future corresponds to right) supports the conceptual metaphor view assuming that abstract concepts like “time” are grounded in cognitively more accessible concepts like “space.” In five experiments, we further investigated the relationship between temporal and spatial representations and examined whether or not the spatial correspondents of time are unintentionally activated. We employed a priming paradigm, in which visual or auditory prime words (i.e., temporal adverbs such as yesterday, tomorrow) preceded a colored square. In all experiments, participants discriminated the color of this square by responding with the left or the right hand. Although the temporal reference of the priming adverb was task irrelevant in Experiment 1, visually presented primes facilitated responses to the square in correspondence with the direction of the mental time-line. This priming effect was absent in Experiments 2, 3, and 5, in which the primes were presented auditorily and the temporal reference of the words could be ignored. The effect, however, emerged when attention was oriented to the temporal content of the auditory prime words in Experiment 4. The results suggest that task demands differentially modulate the activation of the mental time-line within the visual and auditory modality and support a flexible association between conceptual codes.
TL;DR: The permanence of designs on the page guided but also constrained generation of alternative designs Cognitive tools both reflect and affect thought as discussed by the authors, and the effects of these properties were evident in designs of information systems created by students.
Abstract: Thinking often entails interacting with cognitive tools In many cases, notably design, the predominant tool is the page The page allows externalizing, organizing, and reorganizing thought Yet, the page has its own properties that by expressing thought affect it: path, proximity, place, and permanence The effects of these properties were evident in designs of information systems created by students Paths were interpreted as routes through components Proximity was used to group subsystems Horizontal position on the page was used to express temporal sequence and vertical position to reflect real-world spatial position The permanence of designs on the page guided but also constrained generation of alternative designs Cognitive tools both reflect and affect thought
TL;DR: If structure-mapping inferences implemented by the pre-motor action planning system can be expected to be involved in solving any mathematics problems not solvable by table lookups and number line manipulations alone, then functional imaging studies of multi-digit arithmetic, algebra, geometry and calculus problem solving are consistent with this expectation.
Abstract: The theory of computation and category theory both employ arrow-based notations that suggest that the basic metaphor "state changes are like motions" plays a fundamental role in all mathematical reasoning involving formal manipulations. If this is correct, structure-mapping inferences implemented by the pre-motor action planning system can be expected to be involved in solving any mathematics problems not solvable by table lookups and number line manipulations alone. Available functional imaging studies of multi-digit arithmetic, algebra, geometry and calculus problem solving are consistent with this expectation.
TL;DR: Children who practice with a virtual Chinese abacus are significantly worse at building on their knowledge to figure out how to use the abacus for more advanced computation than those who had practiced with the wooden abacus.
Abstract: Online learning tools and course materials have not only taken root: they are fully established and thriving. However, some wonder whether the missing interaction with physical, rather than virtual, tools may be undermining the foundation of more abstract spatial and cognitive skills. Sixty third-grade (28 male and 32 female) children with a mean age of 8.95 years (SD = .56 years) were randomly assigned to practice new math skills on a physical wooden Chinese abacus or a virtual Chinese abacus, programmed using Hypercard. Later; the children did equally well on a paper and pencil recognition test, but the children who had practiced with the virtual Chinese abacus were significantly worse at building on their knowledge to figure out how to use the abacus for more advanced computation than those who had practiced with the wooden Chinese abacus. This could have important implications for the early development of the foundation of mathematical, spatial, and cognitive skills.
TL;DR: Investigation of the phonological processes with bilingual readers of Korean and Chinese showed that the latency of the conditions was significantly different; latencies in the S−P+ condition where there is no semantic but with phonological relations were slower than in theS−P− condition wherethere is neither semantic nor phonological relation.
Abstract: This study investigated the phonological processes with bilingual readers of Korean and Chinese. Three types of same-different matching between the prime and target were compared. The critical point was on whether the phonological information of English was activated automatically in a semantic judgment task involving only Korean and Chinese. The results showed that the latency of the conditions (S+P-, S-P- and S-P+) was significantly different; latencies in the S-P+ condition where there is no semantic but with phonological relations were slower than in the S-P- condition where there are neither semantic nor phonological relations. The implication for phonological recoding was discussed.
TL;DR: A new model of color perception is developed assuming that color perception involves access to semantic representations and then access to lexical representations, and a priming effect is found, suggesting that interaction with perception occurs at a lexical level and the additional step occurring at a color perception level.
Abstract: Studies and models have suggested that color perception first involves access to semantic representations of color. This result leads to two questions: (1) is knowledge able to influence the perception of color when associated with a color? and (2) can the perception of color really involve only semantic representations? We developed an experiment where participants have to discriminate the color of a patch (yellow vs. green). The target patch is preceded either by a black-and-white line drawing or by a word representing a natural object associated with the same or a different color (banana vs. frog). We expected a priming effect for pictures because, with a 350-ms SOA, they only involve access to semantic representations of color, whereas words seem only elicit an access to lexical representations. As expected, we found a priming effect for pictures, but also for words. Moreover, we found a general slowdown of response times in the word-prime-condition suggesting the need of an additional processing step to produce priming. In a second experiment, we manipulated the SOA in order to preclude a semantic access in the word-prime-condition that could explain the additional step of processing. We also found a priming effect, suggesting that interaction with perception occurs at a lexical level and the additional step occurs at a color perception level. In the discussion, we develop a new model of color perception assuming that color perception involves access to semantic representations and then access to lexical representations.
TL;DR: Women’s attachment-related anxiety was associated with better mind reading concerning stimuli that were emotionally neutral or difficult to recognize, and this relationship is moderated by variables concerning the ‘theory of mind’ stimuli.
Abstract: This research was aimed at providing first evidence concerning the relationship between adults' self-reported attachment style and their performance on a standard 'theory of mind' task. Based on adult attachment theory, we hypothesized that the two dimensions of self-reported adult attachment, anxiety and avoidance, are differently related to 'theory of mind,' and that this relationship is moderated by variables concerning the 'theory of mind' stimuli. The 'Experiences in Close Relationships' questionnaire and the 'Reading the Mind in the Eyes' test were administered to 132 young women. In line with our expectations, women's attachment-related anxiety was associated with better mind reading concerning stimuli that were emotionally neutral or difficult to recognize.
TL;DR: Results suggest that language may encourage a general mode of schematic construal in representations underlying spatial language, and that effects of simulated motion would be stronger following language use than not, and specifically following the use of spatial, relative to non-spatial, language.
Abstract: Although the representations underlying spatial language are often assumed to be schematic in nature, empirical evidence for a schematic format of representation is lacking. In this research, we investigate the psycholog- ical reality of such a format, using simulated motion during scene processing—previously linked to schematization—as a diagnostic. One group of participants wrote a verbal description of a scene and then completed a change detection task assessing simulated motion, while another group completed only the latter task. We expected that effects of simulated motion would be stronger following language use than not, and specifically following the use of spatial, relative to non-spatial, language. Both predictions were supported. Further, the effect of language was scene independent, suggesting that language may encourage a general mode of schematic construal. The study and its findings illustrate a novel approach to examining the per- ceptual properties of mental representations.
TL;DR: High functional impulsivity in non-blinkers compared to blinkers but no differences between the two groups in dysfunctional impulsivity are indicated and impulsivity and speed of information processing appear to represent two rather independent sources for non- Blinkers’ absent AB.
Abstract: The attentional blink (AB) represents a fundamental limit of information processing About 5–10 % of all subjects, however, do not show the AB Because of the low base rate of these so-called non-blinkers, studies on mechanisms underlying non-blinkers’ absent AB are extremely scant The few existent studies found non-blinkers to be faster and more efficient in information processing compared to blinkers A personality trait that has been linked previously to speed and efficiency of information processing as well as to the magnitude of the AB is impulsivity Therefore, the present study investigated whether 15 non-blinkers and 15 blinkers differed from each other in functional and/or dysfunctional impulsivity To obtain a better understanding of the underlying processing mechanisms, the P300 component in the event-related potential was recorded during performance on the AB task Our results indicated higher functional impulsivity in non-blinkers compared to blinkers but no differences between the two groups in dysfunctional impulsivity As indicated by shorter P300 latency, non-blinkers processed information faster than blinkers after the AB period but slower during the AB period These speed effects, however, were not associated with functional impulsivity Thus, impulsivity and speed of information processing appear to represent two rather independent sources for non-blinkers’ absent AB
TL;DR: There is a direct connection between perceiving banknotes and accessing their names, and the absence of semantic interference effect was observed when participants named euro banknotes that did not have imprinted monetary value.
Abstract: Do people access the monetary value of banknotes when they say them aloud? In this study, we evaluated this question by asking people to name sequences of euro banknotes blocked by category or mixed with exemplars of other categories. The participants did not show an interference effect in the blocked context. The absence of semantic interference effect was also observed when participants named euro banknotes that did not have imprinted monetary value. These results suggest a direct connection between perceiving banknotes and accessing their names.
TL;DR: Interference in the present experiments showed that participants took longer and were less accurate at verifying conceptual properties when the channel used to present the CONCEPT-property pair and the type of property matched in sensory modality.
Abstract: In the present experiments, participants had to verify properties of concepts but, depending on the trial condition, concept-property pairs were presented via headphones or on the screen. The results showed that participants took longer and were less accurate at verifying conceptual properties when the channel used to present the CONCEPT-property pair and the type of property matched in sensory modality (e.g., LEMON-yellow on screen; BLENDER-loud in headphones) compared to when properties and channel did not match (e.g., LEMON-yellow in headphones; BLENDER-loud on screen). Such interference is consistent with theories of embodied cognition holding that knowledge is grounded in modality-specific systems (Barsalou in Behav Brain Sci 22:577-660, 1999). When the resources of one modality are burdened during the task, processing costs are incurred in a conceptual task (Vermeulen et al. in Cognition 109:287-294, 2008).
TL;DR: This article examined the representational shift hypothesis, which argues that categorizing an object impairs recognition memory by altering the trace of the encoded memory to be more similar to the category prototype.
Abstract: What effect does labeling an object as a member of a familiar category have on memory for that object? Recent studies suggest that recognition memory can be negatively impacted by categorizing objects during encoding. This paper examines the “representational shift hypothesis” which argues that categorizing an object impairs recognition memory by altering the trace of the encoded memory to be more similar to the category prototype. Previous evidence for this idea comes from experiments in which a basic-level category labeling task was compared to a non-category labeling incidental encoding task, usually a preference judgment (e.g., “Do you like this item?”). In two experiments, we examine alternative tasks that attempt to control for processing demands and the degree to which category information is explicitly recruited at the time of study. Contrary to the predictions of the representational shift hypothesis, we find no evidence that memory is selectively impaired by category labeling. Overall, the pattern of results across both studies appears consistent with well-established variables known to influence memory such as encoding specificity and distinctiveness effects.
TL;DR: This work proposes an artificial model where attention is deployed at the level of objects (visual landmarks) and where new processes for estimating bottom-up and top-down (target-based) saliency maps are employed.
Abstract: In biological vision systems, attention mechanisms are responsible for selecting the relevant information from the sensed field of view, so that the complete scene can be analyzed using a sequence of rapid eye saccades. In recent years, efforts have been made to imitate such attention behavior in artificial vision systems, because it allows optimizing the computational resources as they can be focused on the processing of a set of selected regions. In the framework of mobile robotics navigation, this work proposes an artificial model where attention is deployed at the level of objects (visual landmarks) and where new processes for estimating bottom-up and top-down (target-based) saliency maps are employed. Bottom-up attention is implemented through a hierarchical process, whose final result is the perceptual grouping of the image content. The hierarchical grouping is applied using a Combinatorial Pyramid that represents each level of the hierarchy by a combinatorial map. The process takes into account both image regions (faces in the map) and edges (arcs in the map). Top-down attention searches for previously detected landmarks, enabling their re-detection when the robot presumes that it is revisiting a known location. Landmarks are described by a combinatorial submap; thus, this search is conducted through an error-tolerant submap isomorphism procedure.