A satellite system for controlling real-time experiments

In this paper, we describe a computer system for controlling real-time psychology experiments. We begin by considering the kinds of experiments that are performed in our laboratory and examining the hardware and software requirements of these experiments. We then review various systems along a continuum ranging from general-purpose timesharing systems to stand-alone dedicated processors. The capabilities of these systems are described in comparison with our requirements. The features of the PARASITE-FS system are then described. This host-satellite system includes a local file system and monitor program, real-time device drivers with flexible interrupt processing capabilities, user-level routines for controlling the real-time devices, and a package for controlling the timing of experimental events.     

Zoroaster: A multiprogramming system for psychological research

The development of a multiprogramming system for psychological research was undertaken on a PDP-9 computer with 8k memory. The needs of the users and the time demands on the computer raised several important questions: (1) Can a practical timesharing system be developed with only 8k memory? (2) Can critical timing functions be maintained? (3) Can easy access be provided (e.g., Fortran) to all experimental devices? (4) Can a system be designed which will take advantage of and be compatible with most of the standard DEC-provided software (e.g., Fortran compiler, loader)? The system was successfully developed by using a rapid within-core swapping technique, standard I/O routines, many general-purpose handlers and subroutines, and fully utilizing available core.     

A hybrid approach to experimental control

In the present article, I describe a new, hybrid approach to experimental control that combines the best features of general-purpose programs and specific-experiment programs. First, experimental control objects are developed in an object-oriented programming environment. Then, an XML file is used to select and arrange those control objects in order to carry out an experiment. A wide range of experiments can be implemented by specifying the arrangement of the control objects in the XML file, while, at the same time, the set of control objects can be easily extended for more demanding applications. An overview of a system using this approach is provided, along with some examples.     

Controlling experiments with a general-purpose time-sharing system

For many experiments in the behavioral and biomedical sciences, there is no substitute for an experimental-control computer with true real-time capabilities. However, if an experimenter can tolerate timing errors of several seconds, then he can reap the benefits of computer control by buying time on a general-purpose time-sharing system. There can be little doubt that a self-contained computer-controlled laboratory will be more economical if a fair number of experiments are contemplated. But when only a few experiments are planned, the researcher may find that he can run them with a general-purpose time-sharing system at only a fraction of the cost of establishing a     

Cognitive components of troubleshooting strategies

This study investigated the kinds of knowledge necessary to learn an important troubleshooting strategy, elimination. A total of 50 college-level students searched for the source of failures in simple digital networks. Production system modelling suggested that students using a common but simpler backtracking strategy would learn the more advanced elimination strategy if they applied certain domain-specific knowledge and the general-purpose problem-solving strategy of reductio ad absurdum. In an experiment, students solved network troubleshooting problems after being trained with either the domain-specific knowledge, the reductio ad absurdum strategy, both types of knowledge, or neither. Students needed both the domain-specific and general knowledge identified by the models in order to significantly increase their elimination use.     

An EEG alpha-detection,feedback stimulation,and data analysis system

A two-channel general-purpose EEG alpha-detection system is described, along with the associated computer hardware and software. A specific application for the study of the human orienting response using alpha-contingent visual stimulation is presented. Limitations are discussed.     

A microcomputer-controlled laboratory: Hardware

A microcomputer-controlled laboratory designed to incorporate the Motorola 6800 microprocessor unit is described. The microcomputer system is reliable, flexible, and expandable, as well as adaptable to the next generation of Motorola microprocessor components. A modular system design utilizes multiprocessing with separate microprocessor units dedicated to specific functions. This computer, when used with powerful, high-level software, provides a general-purpose psychology laboratory computer system that is easy to use.     

Time discrimination training of laboratory animals using a PDP-8 computer

The purpose of this paper Is to describe the use of a small, general-purpose digital computer system in the training of laboratory animals to discriminate stimuli on the basis of their duration. The computer hardware and software required for such training, together with some illustrative results from two recent studies, will be described.     

Implementing communication between Windows PCs and test equipment using RS-232 and Borland C+ + Builder

Modern experiments in the behavioral sciences frequently employ several items of electronic equipment such as computers, monitoring devices, stimulus presentation equipment, and response collection systems. In many cases it would be advantageous for these items to communicate directly with each other. Such communication may facilitate greater automation of experiments (i.e., reduced experimenter influences during the experiment), more precise experiment control (i.e., superior timing and synchronization capabilities of electronic devices), and greater accuracy of data collection (i.e., reduced ambiguity of participant responses). Many electronic experiment devices already provide external interfacesthrough which communication with other devices can be implemented. The most common is based on the RS-232 protocol, which is also found in all standard PCs. Therefore, Microsoft Windows based computers can be programmed to control experiments by communicating directly with electronic experiment devices. We show how to implement this RS-232 interconnection between devices and a Windows PC using currently available software tools.     

Implementing communication between Windows PCs and test equipment using RS-232 and Borland C++ Builder.

Modern experiments in the behavioral sciences frequently employ several items of electronic equipment such as computers, monitoring devices, stimulus presentation equipment, and response collection systems. In many cases it would be advantageous for these items to communicate directly with each other. Such communication may facilitate greater automation of experiments (i.e., reduced experimenter influences during the experiment), more precise experiment control (i.e., superior timing and synchronization capabilities of electronic devices), and greater accuracy of data collection (i.e., reduced ambiguity of participant responses). Many electronic experiment devices already provide external interfaces through which communication with other devices can be implemented. The most common is based on the RS-232 protocol, which is also found in all standard PCs. Therefore, Microsoft Windows based computers can be programmed to control experiments by communicating directly with electronic experiment devices. We show how to implement this RS-232 interconnection between devices and a Windows PC using currently available software tools.     

Using PsyScope for demonstrations and student-designed experiments in cognitive psychology courses

We describe a plan for integrating an experimental control language, PsyScope, into under-graduate laboratory exercises of perceptual and cognitive experiments on Macintosh computers. PsyScope is a powerful and versatile system with which students can modify standard research paradigms and execute experiments of their own design, thus facilitating student-initiated independent research. Data are summarized with a general-purpose program, PsySquash, for import into Statview or SuperAnova for further analysis. This system provides an effective means of implementing student projects.     

A theory of eye movements during target acquisition

The gaze movements accompanying target localization were examined via human observers and a computational model (target acquisition model [TAM]). Search contexts ranged from fully realistic scenes to toys in a crib to Os and Qs, and manipulations included set size, target eccentricity, and target-distractor similarity. Observers and the model always previewed the same targets and searched identical displays. Behavioral and simulated eye movements were analyzed for acquisition accuracy, efficiency, and target guidance. TAM's behavior generally fell within the behavioral mean's 95% confidence interval for all measures in each experiment/condition. This agreement suggests that a fixed-parameter model using spatiochromatic filters and a simulated retina, when driven by the correct visual routines, can be a good general-purpose predictor of human target acquisition behavior.     

PSARP,a programmable signal and response processor

Experiments on perceptual-motor skills often ask for complex application of standard devices. Combinations of the usual electric or electronic instruments such as signal generators, simple time counters and response recorders cannot always be used to form a sufficiently flexible system for a particular set of experiments. In general, an apparatus specially built for a specific experiment does not satisfy the requirements of related investigations and the same device is seldom used again. This paper gives an outline of the principles of a flexible and programmable system which meets the requirements of a considerable number of variables. Some first applications of the system are described.     

General-purpose content

In this paper, I consider the objection, raised by Radu Bogdan, that a teleological theory of content is unable to ascribe content to a general-purpose, doxastic system. I begin by giving some attention to the notion of general-purpose representation, and suggest that this notion can best be understood as what I term "interest-independent" representation. I then outline Bogdan's objection in what I take to be its simplest form. I attempt to counter the objection by explaining how a teleologist might ascribe content in a particular case - the case of a perceptual judgement whose content is learned. I reject the idea that the teleologist can appeal to the way in which the subject has used the judgement, or its constituent concepts, in the past, on the grounds that it is possible for the subject to produce judgements and concepts that never help her to satisfy any of her interests. Instead, my account depends on the idea that the process of learning is regulated by a mechanism whose function is to produce a harmony between the information carried by perceptual judgements and the way in which they are used in inference.     

Background luminance and input devices on clicking performance with a tablet PC

This study investigated the effects of input devices and background luminance on clicking performance with a Tablet PC. The experiment was designed in complete block design within subjects. Participants were 19 men and 11 women, college students whose ages were 19 to 22 years (M=20.1 yr.). All had 0.8 corrected visual acuity or better and normal color vision. Three kinds of input devices, mouse, light pen, and touchpad, were used in this experiment. An analysis of variance showed that input devices significantly affected clicking performance as did background luminance (contrast ratio) on visual recognition (a higher contrast ratio gave better visual recognition).     

SDIS: A sequential data interchange standard

Few general-purpose computer programs are available that analyze sequential categorical data. If there were a sequential data interchange standard—a standard way of representing sequential data—then it would be more attractive to write general-purpose computer programs for such data Moreover, interlaboratory sharing would be facilitated. The present paper defines such a standard, called the sequential data interchange standard, or SDIS. Both the SDIS data language and a parsing program for data that follow SDIS conventions are described. The parsing program will be made available to researchers who wish to develop analysis programs for sequential data     

Student statistics programs for the Macintosh

This paper reviews 15 statistics programs for the Macintosh. All are intended for student use, often in conjunction with a statistics course, and are available for under $100. Of the general-purpose programs, Data Desk and StatView offer the most appealing combination of features, Macintosh interface, and student-accessible manual. Minitab is also recommended, especially in situations where some students will be using Macs and others using PCs. In addition to the analysis-only programs, two other applications present interesting combinations of statistics and other features. DataSim offers outstanding data generation and experiment simulation along with very complete, and psychology-oriented, statistical analysis. HyperStat combines an entire statistics textbook in hypertext format with a complete data analysis package. Finally, for special situations where simple statistics are all that are required, InStat is recommended because of its tutorial features and very simple interface.     

COMPUTERS

Abstract: I offer an explication of the notion of computer, grounded in the practices of computability theorists and computer scientists. I begin by explaining what distinguishes computers from calculators. Then, I offer a systematic taxonomy of kinds of computer, including hard-wired versus programmable, general-purpose versus special-purpose, analog versus digital, and serial versus parallel, giving explicit criteria for each kind. My account is mechanistic: which class a system belongs in, and which functions are computable by which system, depends on the system's mechanistic properties. Finally, I briefly illustrate how my account sheds light on some issues in the history and philosophy of computing as well as the philosophy of mind.     

Analogy in a general-purpose reasoning system

This paper introduces the various forms of analogy in NARS, a general-purpose reasoning system. NARS is an AI system designed to be adaptive and to work with insufficient knowledge and resources. In the system, multiple types of inference, including analogy, deduction, induction, abduction, comparison, and revision, are unified both in syntax and in semantics. The system can also carry out relational and structural analogy, in ways comparable to (though different from) that in some other models of analogy, such as Copycat and SME. The paper addresses several theoretical issues in the study of analogy, including the specification and justification of analogy, the context sensitivity of analogy, as well as the role analogy plays in intelligence and cognition.     

Argument structure and the child's contribution to language learning

One of the oldest questions in cognitive science asks whether children are able to learn language (or anything) because they are equipped with a very powerful general-purpose learning mechanism or because they are equipped with a domain-specific constrained language acquisition device. Recent advances in statistical approaches to language learning seem to boost the plausibility of general-purpose learning. However, in this article we propose that in the domain of verb learning, children rely more on their internally generated preconceptions about linguistic structure than on robust cues in the input, suggesting that at least in this aspect of language learning, domain-specific grammatical knowledge guides linguistic development.