A common representation for semantic and physical properties: a cognitive-anatomical approach

This is the first report of a mutual interference between luminance and numerical value in magnitude judgments. Instead of manipulating the physical size of compared numbers, which is the traditional approach in size congruity studies, luminance levels were manipulated. The results yielded the classical congruity effect. Participants took more time to process numerically larger numbers when they were brighter than when they were darker, and more time to process a darker number when its numerical value was smaller than when it was larger. On the basis of neurophysiological studies of magnitude comparison and interference between semantic and physical information, it is proposed that the processing of semantic and physical magnitude information is carried out by a shared brain structure. It is suggested that this brain area, the left intraparietal sulcus, subserves various comparison processes by representing various quantities on an amodal magnitude scale.     

儿童数量表征与数概念的发展特点及机制

对儿童数量表征和数概念的研究是当前数认知领域的两个重点研究方向。我们在这一领域通过理论及实证研究进行了广泛且深入的探索,系统分析了大小数量、符号与非符号数量表征的机制,深入考察了数量表征线索的发展、线性数量表征的发展特点及形成机制等问题;并对数概念的发展及其影响机制、数量表征与数概念的关系进行了理论梳理和实证研究。这些探索为进一步探明数量表征与数概念的发展特点及机制提供了基础。     

Intensity scales for pure tastes and for taste mixtures

In four series of studies, taste intensities of sour, bitter, sweet, and salt were measured by number matching (magnitude estimation), and by noise matching. The two procedures agreed in their estimates of the power-function exponent for each taste. Representative exponents obtained from the studies are 1.0 to 1.1 for sour and bitter and 1.3 to 1.5 for sweet and salt. In a second set of studies each taste was judged against three or more background levels of a second taste. The results suggest that the power-function exponent is unaffected when a second taste is present in the solution. Whether the intercept changes in taste mixtures was not determined in these experiments.     

Quantitative evidence for distinct cognitive impairment in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa

It is generally agreed that at least some aspects of abnormal eating behaviour is indeed due in part to disordered cognition. The accumulated literature illustrates cognitive impairment in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN). Yet beyond being inconsistent, these independent studies also do not reveal the magnitude of impairment within and across studies and fail to give due consideration to the magnitude of impairment so as to understand the severity and breadth of impairment and/or differences in cognitive profiles between patients with AN and BN. Hence, the present review on the subject sought to articulate the magnitude of cognitive impairment in patients with AN and BN by quantitatively synthesizing the existing literature using meta-analytic methodology. The results demonstrate modest evidence of cognitive impairment specific to AN and BN that is related to body mass index in AN in terms of its severity, and is differentially impaired between disorders. Together, these results suggest that disturbed cognition is figural in the presentation of eating disorders and may serve to play an integral role in its cause and maintenance. Implications of these findings with respects to future research are discussed.     

Genetic and environmental influences on antisocial behavior: a meta-analysis of twin and adoption studies

A meta-analysis of 51 twin and adoption studies was conducted to estimate the magnitude of genetic and environmental influences on antisocial behavior. The best fitting model included moderate proportions of variance due to additive genetic influences (.32), nonadditive genetic influences (.09), shared environmental influences (.16), and nonshared environmental influences (.43). The magnitude of familial influences (i.e., both genetic and shared environmental influences) was lower in parent-offspring adoption studies than in both twin studies and sibling adoption studies. Operationalization, assessment method, zygosity determination method, and age were significant moderators of the magnitude of genetic and environmental influences on antisocial behavior, but there were no significant differences in the magnitude of genetic and environmental influences for males and females.     

两位数的整体与局部加工

关于两位数的加工方式有整体加工说和局部加工说,实验证据主要来自数字数量控制/主动加工任务。本研究主要考察在数字数量自动加工任务中两位数的加工方式。实验一要求被试完成数量大小比较和物理大小比较两个任务,实验二只要求被试完成物理大小比较任务。结果是在数量比较任务和物理比较任务中都存在显著的个位十位一致性效应和数量物理一致性效应,这表明在两位数的数量主动和自动加工任务中均存在整体加工和局部加工两种方式。     

Preferences for emotional information in older and younger adults: a meta-analysis of memory and attention tasks

The authors conducted a meta-analysis to determine the magnitude of older and younger adults' preferences for emotional stimuli in studies of attention and memory. Analyses involved 1,085 older adults from 37 independent samples and 3,150 younger adults from 86 independent samples. Both age groups exhibited small to medium emotion salience effects (i.e., preference for emotionally valenced stimuli over neutral stimuli) as well as positivity preferences (i.e., preference for positively valenced stimuli over neutral stimuli) and negativity preferences (i.e., preference for negatively valenced stimuli to neutral stimuli). There were few age differences overall. Type of measurement appeared to influence the magnitude of effects; recognition studies indicated significant age effects, where older adults showed smaller effects for emotion salience and negativity preferences than younger adults.     

Evidence for a magnitude effect in temporal discounting with pigeons

A magnitude effect in human intertemporal choice is well established-larger rewards or outcomes are discounted over time at a lower rate than are smaller rewards. However, many recent studies have failed to find a corresponding effect in nonhuman animals. Here we report a magnitude effect in temporal discounting for pigeons' choices involving a tradeoff between reward delay and amount. Pigeons chose between a small reward (1-s access to food) after a 2-s delay, and a large reward (4.5-s access to food) after a 28-s delay. Across conditions, the delays to the small and large rewards were increased or decreased, respectively. Temporal discounting functions obtained through a value-estimation procedure showed clear evidence of a magnitude effect: The value of the large reward decreased more slowly with increasing delay than the value of the small reward. We linked this result to a nonlinear relationship between choice and the delays associated with the small and large rewards. The nonlinearity was contrary to the generalized matching law but was predicted by the contextual choice model. Our results confirm the existence of a magnitude effect in nonhuman temporal discounting, showing that this adaptation is not unique to humans.     

Planning to reach for an object changes how the reacher perceives it

Three experiments assessed the influence of the Ebbinghaus illusion on size judgments that preceded verbal, grasp, or touch responses. Prior studies have found reduced effects of the illusion for the grip-scaling component of grasping, and these findings are commonly interpreted as evidence that different visual systems are employed for perceptual judgment and visually guided action. In the current experiments, the magnitude of the illusion was reduced by comparable amounts for grasping and for judgments that preceded grasping (Experiment 1). A similar effect was obtained prior to reaching to touch the targets (Experiment 2). The effect on verbal responses was apparent even when participants were simply instructed that a target touch task would follow the verbal task. After participants had completed a grasping task, the reduction in the magnitude of the illusion remained for a subsequent verbal-response judgment task (Experiment 3). Overall, the studies demonstrate strong connections between action planning and perception.     

Semantic interference in picture naming during dual-task performance does not vary with reading ability

Previous dual-task studies examining the locus of semantic interference of distractor words in picture naming have obtained diverging results. In these studies, participants manually responded to tones and named pictures while ignoring distractor words (picture–word interference, PWI) with varying stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between tone and PWI stimulus. Whereas some studies observed no semantic interference at short SOAs, other studies observed effects of similar magnitude at short and long SOAs. The absence of semantic interference in some studies may perhaps be due to better reading skill of participants in these than in the other studies. According to such a reading-ability account, participants’ reading skill should be predictive of the magnitude of their interference effect at short SOAs. To test this account, we conducted a dual-task study with tone discrimination and PWI tasks and measured participants’ reading ability. The semantic interference effect was of similar magnitude at both short and long SOAs. Participants’ reading ability was predictive of their naming speed but not of their semantic interference effect, contrary to the reading ability account. We conclude that the magnitude of semantic interference in picture naming during dual-task performance does not depend on reading skill.     

Global precedence effects account for individual differences in both face and object recognition performance

There has been an increase in studies adopting an individual difference approach to examine visual cognition and in particular in studies trying to relate face recognition performance with measures of holistic processing (the face composite effect and the part-whole effect). In the present study we examine whether global precedence effects, measured by means of non-face stimuli in Navon’s paradigm, can also account for individual differences in face recognition and, if so, whether the effect is of similar magnitude for faces and objects. We find evidence that global precedence effects facilitate both face and object recognition, and to a similar extent. Our results suggest that both face and object recognition are characterized by a coarse-to-fine temporal dynamic, where global shape information is derived prior to local shape information, and that the efficiency of face and object recognition is related to the magnitude of the global precedence effect.     

Multilevel Models for Examining Individual Differences in Within-Person Variation and Covariation Over Time

Heterogeneity of variance may be more than a statistical nuisance—it may be of direct interest as a result of individual differences. In studies of short-term fluctuation, individual differences may relate to the magnitude of within-person variation as well as to level of an outcome or its covariation with other processes. Although models for heterogeneous variances have been utilized in group contexts (i.e., dispersion models), they are not usually applied in examinations of intraindividual variation. This work illustrates how an extension of the multilevel model for heterogeneous variances can be used to examine individual differences in level, between- and within-person covariation, and magnitude of within-person variation of daily positive and negative mood in persons with dementia.     

Magnitude effects for experienced rewards at short delays in the escalating interest task

A first-person shooter video game was adapted for the study of choice between smaller sooner and larger later rewards. Participants chose when to fire a weapon that increased in damage potential over a short interval. When the delay to maximum damage was shorter (5–8 s), people showed greater sensitivity to the consequences of their choices than when the delay was longer (17–20 s). Participants also evidenced a magnitude effect by waiting proportionally longer when the damage magnitudes were doubled for all rewards. The experiment replicated the standard magnitude effect with this new video game preparation over time scales similar to those typically used in nonhuman animal studies and without complications due to satiation or cost.     

Temporal brightness and darkness enhancement; further evidence for asymmetry

Abstract.— Previous studies by the authors on brightness and darkness enhancement during flicker indicate a sizeable and consistent difference in magnitude between the two effects, as defined in terms of log matching luminance. To explore whether this difference is an artifact of the logluminance representation of the perceptual effects, a psychophysical scaling experiment was performed and results from present and former flicker experiments were replotted in terms of subjective units. When the depth of luminance modulation of the flicker stimulus exceeded 50%, the difference in magnitude of temporal brightness and darkness enhancement was somewhat smaller expressed in subjective units compared to a log-luminance representation. On the whole, however, the two plots gave essentially similar results. The results are discussed with reference to the neurophysiological theory of the B- and D-systems.     

The development of numerosity estimation: Evidence for a linear number representation early in life

Several studies investigating the development of approximate number representations used the number-to-position task and reported evidence for a shift from a logarithmic to a linear representation of numerical magnitude with increasing age. However, this interpretation as well as the number-to-position method itself has been questioned recently. The current study tested 5- and 8-year-old children on a newly established numerosity production task to examine developmental changes in number representations and to test the idea of a representational shift. Modelling of the children's numerical estimations revealed that responses of the 8-year-old children approximate a simple positive linear relation between estimated and actual numbers. Interestingly, however, the estimations of the 5-year-old children were best described by a bilinear model reflecting a relatively accurate linear representation of small numbers and no apparent magnitude knowledge for large numbers. Taken together, our findings provide no support for a shift of mental representations from a logarithmic to a linear metric but rather suggest that the range of number words which are appropriately conceptualised and represented by linear analogue magnitude codes expands during development.     

Unidirectional Mazes for use with Animals

One hundred twenty goldfish were differentially trained with large and small reward in a shuttle swimway. The end compartments and the swimming directions for a given S were consistently identifiable over all trials with either a large or small magnitude of reward. Negative contrast effects were obtained in the start measure for Ss with short intervals between trials. The results suggest similar mechanisms for rat and goldfish performance in differential conditioning studies.     

A linked muscular activation model for movement generation and control

A new model for movement control is presented which incorporates characteristics of impulse-variability and mass-spring models. Movements in the model were controlled with phasic torque impulses in agonist and antagonist muscles and a tonic agonist torque. Characteristics of the phasic agonist and antagonist torque profiles were based on observed properties of movement-related EMGs and muscle isometric torques. Variability of the phasic impulses depended on impulse magnitude as in impulse-variability models. The model therefore predicted a speed-accuracy tradeoff for limb movement. The time of onset and magnitude of the antagonist torque depended on the magnitude of the preceding agonist torque as indicated in studies of movement-related EMGs. This led to the new concept of linkage between the agonist and antagonist muscle forces which was shown to be important for reducing variability of fast movements. Progressive development of linkage during practice could explain the previous findings of decreased movement variability with practice coupled with increased variability of movement-related EMGs. It was concluded that an inherently variable motor system deals with the variability associated with generation of large muscle forces by linking the forces produced by opposing muscles. In this way, variability in net joint torques and in movements can be decreased without the need for the nervous system to closely regulate the individual torques.     

A Linked Muscular Activation Model for Movement Generation and Control

A new model for movement control is presented which incorporates characteristics of impulse-variability and mass-spring models. Movements in the model were controlled with phasic torque impulses in agonist and antagonist muscles and a tonic agonist torque.

Characteristics of the phasic agonist and antagonist torque profiles were based on observed properties of movement-related EMGs and muscle isometric torques. Variability of the phasic impulses depended on impulse magnitude as in impulse-variability models. The model therefore predicted a speed-accuracy tradeoff for limb movement. The time of onset and magnitude of the antagonist torque depended on the magnitude of the preceding agonist torque as indicated in studies of movement-related EMGs. This led to the new concept of linkage between the agonist and antagonist muscle forces which was shown to be important for reducing variability of fast movements. Progressive development of linkage during practice could explain the previous findings of decreased movement variability with practice coupled with increased variability of movement-related EMGs.

It was concluded that an inherently variable motor system deals with the variability associated with generation of large muscle forces by linking the forces produced by opposing muscles. In this way, variability in net joint torques and in movements can be decreased without the need for the nervous system to closely regulate the individual torques.     

On bias in magnitude scaling and some conjectures of Stevens

Bias in magnitude scaling can be viewed as involving deviations of judgments from proportionality. A model of bias is shown to provide a theoretical basis for Stevens's conjecture about geometrically averaging magnitude estimation and magnitude production exponents in order to obtain an estimate of the psychophysical exponent. An overlooked result is that one can also obtain an estimate of the magnitude of the bias. Examples from several well-known studies are presented. The bias is also shown to vary in response to experimental manipulation of the stimulus range. Aspects of predicting exponents across experiments are clarified, and a new prediction is examined. The model of bias fills some theoretical gaps in magnitude scaling and clarifies underlying assumptions and predictions.     

分数的数量表征

分数数量表征已成为当前数学认知研究的重要主题之一。基于该领域近10年来的研究发现, 总结了分数数量表征研究的新进展。首先概述分数数量表征的发展, 然后着重介绍分数数量的不同表征方式并系统分析制约数量表征的任务及背景因素。此外, 还深入探究了分数数量表征与整数、小数数量表征的区别与联系。未来研究者应注意在分数数量表征的个体差异、跨文化以及干预等方面加强考察。