A simple computational algorithm of model-based choice preference

A broadly used computational framework posits that two learning systems operate in parallel during the learning of choice preferences—namely, the model-free and model-based reinforcement-learning systems. In this study, we examined another possibility, through which model-free learning is the basic system and model-based information is its modulator. Accordingly, we proposed several modified versions of a temporal-difference learning model to explain the choice-learning process. Using the two-stage decision task developed by Daw, Gershman, Seymour, Dayan, and Dolan (2011), we compared their original computational model, which assumes a parallel learning process, and our proposed models, which assume a sequential learning process. Choice data from 23 participants showed a better fit with the proposed models. More specifically, the proposed eligibility adjustment model, which assumes that the environmental model can weight the degree of the eligibility trace, can explain choices better under both model-free and model-based controls and has a simpler computational algorithm than the original model. In addition, the forgetting learning model and its variation, which assume changes in the values of unchosen actions, substantially improved the fits to the data. Overall, we show that a hybrid computational model best fits the data. The parameters used in this model succeed in capturing individual tendencies with respect to both model use in learning and exploration behavior. This computational model provides novel insights into learning with interacting model-free and model-based components.     

Perceived Autonomy Support Moderates the Relations between Counseling Self-Efficacy and Flow among Filipino Counselors

Contemporary literature has emphasized the vital role of supervision in the professional growth of counselors and therapists. Even some counselor developmental models argued that improvement in counselor autonomy, motivation, and self-efficacy is highly contingent upon counseling supervision, especially in Western settings. Yet, there is marked scarcity of studies examining the antecedents of flow in non-Western contexts. As such, the central aim of the current study was to assess the moderating effects of perceived autonomy support from supervisors on the relations between counseling self-efficacy (CSE) and state flow among Filipino counselors. A sample of 131 Filipino counselors in Metro Manila participated in the research through answering questionnaires that measured the aforementioned constructs. The findings of correlational analyses have shown that counseling self-efficacy and perceived autonomy support are positively associated with state flow. The results of path analysis revealed a significant moderation effect. This suggests that for Filipino counselors who had greater perceptions that their supervisors provide autonomy in their counseling practice (perceived autonomy support), having lower perceived capabilities in performing counseling duties may lead to higher immersion and enjoyment in counseling activities, while for those who have low perceived autonomy support, having higher levels of counseling self-efficacy will lead to lower flow. Implications of these findings in theory and practice are elucidated.     

The curious case of spillover: Does it tell us much about saccade timing in reading?

In completing daily activities, the eyes make a series of saccades by gazing at stimuli in succession. The duration of gaze on each stimulus has been used to infer how the initiation of a saccade is timed relative to the underlying mental processing. In reading, gaze dwells longer on a word that occurs infrequently in English text (low frequency) than on a more frequent word (high frequency), but also on the following word, which is referred to as spillover. Accounts of spillover attribute it to mechanisms of lexical access. A low-frequency word n is assumed to delay the onset of cognitive processing of word n+1 more than it delays the saccade to n+1, leaving more processing to be done on n+1 once it is fixated. We tested this assumption by having participants perform a series of speeded lexical decisions on a linear array of letter strings spaced 5° apart, using low- and high-frequency words to vary the lexical difficulty. Lexical decision adds a response selection stage that is absent in reading, which should eliminate differential effects on saccades and cognitive processing. Nonetheless, we found the typical pattern of lengthened gaze duration and spillover for low-frequency words, with effects that were consistent in magnitude with those seen in studies of reading. These data challenge existing accounts of spillover and argue against the idea that reading has a unique interaction with oculomotor control. Instead, the similarity of our gaze patterns to those of reading suggests a common pattern of saccade initiation across tasks.     

Quieting the Ego Through Group Activities: A Thematic Analysis of Romanian and Japanese Students’ Positive Group Experiences

Research suggests that quieting the ego (reducing excessive self-focus) can foster well-being. Two exploratory qualitative studies were carried out to investigate the features of ego-quieting group activities. Romanian (N = 140) and Japanese participants (N = 99) read a definition of “self-detachment” and answered several open-ended questions asking them to describe a group situation in which they had experienced a similar state. Thematic analysis showed numerous similarities between the responses of the two samples, as well as cultural-specific features. Participants recalled moments of enjoyment in the company of friends, or challenging group work. For the Romanian sample, the experience was characterized by present-oriented attention, valuing others, positivity, disinhibition and altered perceptions, while for the Japanese sample, valuing others, stress relief, matching challenge and skill and merging self with exterior world were its prevalent features. Both samples identified similar eliciting factors (individual receptiveness, acceptant group, captivating activity, appropriate environment) and similar consequences of the experience (increased closeness, relaxation and self-development). While supporting the existing literature on the importance of communal activities in reducing self-focus and promoting individual well-being, the paper provides new in-depth insights into participants’ subjective experiences and the cultural specifics of positive group activities.     

Home Sweet Home! Does Moving Have (Lasting) Effects on Housing Satisfaction?

Previous research has found that moving has lasting effects on housing satisfaction while adaptation to changing living environments is surprisingly absent from this research. This paper challenges and extends this current state of research. Using data from a large-scale German household panel we find that housing satisfaction (a) sharply declines before the move (self-selection into relocation), (b) substantially increases after moving (relocation effect), (c) declines in the following years (adaptation), (d) after about 2 years reaches satisfaction levels similar to the levels several years before the move (full adaptation), (e) but due to selection into moving stays above satisfaction levels in the years directly before the move (lasting gains due to self-selection). Further analyses indicate that moving due to house-related reasons leads to partly lasting gains, while moving due to significant life events only has temporary effects. Finally, we show that permanent changes in housing satisfaction due to house-related relocations can be fully explained using self-assessed comparisons between old and new living environment.     

Eight-Year Latent Class Trajectories of Academic and Social Functioning in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

We examined trajectories of academic and social functioning in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to identify those who might be at risk for especially severe levels of academic and social impairment over time. We estimated a series of growth mixture models using data from two subsamples of children participating in the NIMH Collaborative Multisite Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD (MTA) including those with at least baseline and 96-month data for reading and mathematics achievement (n = 392; 77.3% male; M age = 7.7; SD = 0.8) or social skills ratings from teachers (n = 259; 74.9% male; M age = 7.6; SD = 0.8). We compared latent trajectories for children with ADHD to mean observed trajectories obtained from a local normative (i.e., non-ADHD) comparison group (n = 289; 80.6% male; M age = 9.9; SD = 1.1). Results indicated six latent trajectory classes for reading and mathematics and four classes for teacher social skills ratings. There was not only a relationship between trajectories of inattention symptoms and academic impairment, but also a similarly strong association between trajectory classes of hyperactive-impulsive symptoms and achievement. Trajectory class membership correlated with socio-demographic and diagnostic characteristics, inattention and hyperactive-impulsive symptom trajectories, externalizing behavior in school, and treatment receipt and dosage. Although children with ADHD display substantial heterogeneity in their reading, math, and social skills growth trajectories, those with behavioral and socio-demographic disadvantages are especially likely to display severe levels of academic and social impairment over time. Evidence-based early screening and intervention that directly address academic and social impairments in elementary school-aged children with ADHD are warranted. The ClinicalTrials.gov identifier is NCT00000388.     

Distress Tolerance and Social Support in Adolescence: Predicting Risk for Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms Following a Natural Disaster

The purpose of the multi-measure, multi-wave, longitudinal study was to examine the interactive relation between behavioral distress tolerance (DT) and perceived social support (PSS) in 352 tornado-exposed adolescents aged 12–17 years (M = 14.44; SD = 1.74). At baseline, adolescents completed a computer-based task for DT, and self-report measures of PSS, depressed mood, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance use, and interpersonal conflict. Symptoms also were assessed 4 and 12 months after baseline. Findings showed that lower levels of DT together with lower levels of PSS conferred risk for elevated symptoms of prospective depression (t(262) = ?2.04, p = .04; r_{effect size} = 0.13) and PTSD (t(195) = ?2.08, p = .04; r_{effect size} = 0.15) following a tornado. However, only PSS was significant in substance use t(139) = 2.20, p = .03; r_{effect size=}0.18) and conflict (t(138) = ?4.05, p < .0001; r_{effect size=}0.33) in our sample. Implications regarding adolescent DT, the transdiagnostic nature of PSS, and the clinical applications of our findings in the aftermath of a natural disaster are discussed.     

Decisional Procrastination: Assessing Characterological and Contextual Variables around Indecision

University students (n = 75; M age = 21.4 years old) and community adults (n = 55: M age = 36.6 years old) completed self-reported measures of decisional procrastination (indecision), character (life satisfaction, meaningful life, and need for cognition), context (place attachment, sense of community, and psychological home) and “cross-over” factors relating character and context (self-identity with possessions, people/thing orientation, and clutter), to provide an ecological understanding of persons who claim indecision. Controlling for social desirability tendencies, indecision was negatively related to all character but none of the context variables. Indecision also was related to both person and thing orientation and clutter. Multiple regression analysis indicated that only need for cognition significantly predicted (negatively) indecision among character, context, and cross-over variable sets. Subjective well-being also predicted indecision with low need for cognition among cross-over variables. Taken together, decisional procrastinators reported too much clutter (stuff), interfering with a positive quality of life and related to character over context and cross-over, ecological variables.     

Regulatory Fit in Self-Enhancement and Self-Protection: Implications for Life Satisfaction in the West and the East

This online study examined whether regulatory focus and culture moderate the links between self-enhancement/self-protection and life satisfaction. The study assessed promotion and prevention foci, manipulated self-enhancement or self-protection, and measured self-reported life satisfaction in both Western participants (127 English-speaking individuals; 73 female, 50 male, 4 unspecified; M _age = 29.01, SD _age = 10.26) and Chinese participants (141 Zhanjiang Normal University members; 88 females, 53 males; M _age = 22.18, SD _age = 3.14). Promotion-focused individuals experienced higher life satisfaction when engaging in self-enhancement strivings, whereas prevention-focused individuals experienced equal levels of life satisfaction when engaging in self-protection strivings, in both Western and Chinese participants. Furthermore, Western participants manifested higher levels of life satisfaction when employing self-enhancement strivings independently of regulatory focus. On the other hand, Chinese participants experienced equivalent levels of life satisfaction when engaging in self-enhancement and self-protection strivings. The findings establish regulatory focus and culture as independent moderators of the association between self-enhancement/self-protection and life satisfaction.     

Longitudinal Associations between Depression and Aggression in Children and Adolescents

Due to the longstanding and detrimental effects of engaging in aggressive behaviour and of experiencing symptoms of internalizing problems in children and adolescents, there is an increasing interest in identifying the temporal sequence between these 2 problems with previous research yielding inconsistent findings. Therefore, the longitudinal links between relational aggression, physical aggression, and depression were examined across 7 years in a sample of 643 children (54 % girls) aged 10 at Time 1. Three models were compared— (1) the failure model, in which aggression predicted depression, (2) the acting out model, in which depression predicted aggression, and (3) a reciprocal model, in which both aggression and depression shared a reciprocal relation over time. Cross-lagged path analyses using structural equation modeling supported the failure model (i.e., engaging in relational and physical aggression predicts subsequent depressive symptoms). Findings were similar for boys and girls. These findings add to the literature suggesting that externalizing problems precede internalizing problems.     

Resilience to Interpersonal Trauma and Decreased Risk for Psychopathology in an Epidemiologic Sample

Quantitative measures of psychological resilience related to discrete stressors, such as interpersonal (IP) trauma, are lacking. The current study examined whether a novel, quantitative measure of resilience was related to decreased risk for a broad range of lifetime DSM-IV axis I disorders in an epidemiologic sample. Resilience was defined as the residual resulting from the difference between the individual’s predicted and observed PTSD symptom count, based on their cumulative exposure to IP traumatic events. Participants were 6288 adults (59.5% women; M _age  = 46.9, SD = 14.5) from the National Epidemiologic Study on Alcohol and Related Conditions endorsing at least one lifetime IP traumatic event. Logistic regressions were conducted to examine the relationship between resilience and axis I diagnoses, covarying for age, sex, education level, social support, and recent stressful life events. Greater resilience scores were associated with decreased likelihood of major depression (OR = .64, p < .001), generalized anxiety disorder (OR = .65, p < .001), social anxiety disorder (OR = .74, p < .001), panic disorder (OR = .65, p <. 001), and alcohol dependence (OR = .85, p < .001). Discrepancy between expected and observed PTSD symptom severity based on IP trauma load may represent a useful, quantitative measure of resilience.     

Just one look: Direct gaze briefly disrupts visual working memory

Direct gaze is a salient social cue that affords rapid detection. A body of research suggests that direct gaze enhances performance on memory tasks (e.g., Hood, Macrae, Cole-Davies, & Dias, Developmental Science, 1, 67–71, 2003). Nonetheless, other studies highlight the disruptive effect direct gaze has on concurrent cognitive processes (e.g., Conty, Gimmig, Belletier, George, & Huguet, Cognition, 115(1), 133–139, 2010). This discrepancy raises questions about the effects direct gaze may have on concurrent memory tasks. We addressed this topic by employing a change detection paradigm, where participants retained information about the color of small sets of agents. Experiment 1 revealed that, despite the irrelevance of the agents’ eye gaze to the memory task at hand, participants were worse at detecting changes when the agents looked directly at them compared to when the agents looked away. Experiment 2 showed that the disruptive effect was relatively short-lived. Prolonged presentation of direct gaze led to recovery from the initial disruption, rather than a sustained disruption on change detection performance. The present study provides the first evidence that direct gaze impairs visual working memory with a rapidly-developing yet short-lived effect even when there is no need to attend to agents’ gaze.     

Do Children’s Attributions Mediate the Link Between Parental Conditional Regard and Child Depression and Emotion?

Both parental conditional regard for academics and depressogenic attributions are related to detrimental psychological outcomes for children. Here we examine associations among parental conditional negative regard, child depressogenic attributions, child depressive symptoms, and emotion reactivity in children between the ages of 8 and 12, as well as whether children’s self-reported and behavioral attributions for negative events mediate associations between parental conditional negative regard for academics with children’s depressive symptoms and emotion reactivity. In Study 1 (N?=?108, M _age ?=?9.73, 50 male), children’s self-reported attributions for hypothetical events mediated the link between parental conditional negative regard and child depressive symptoms. In Study 2 (N?=?104, M _age ?=?10.28, 54 male), children attempted an impossible puzzle task while their skin conductance level was monitored, after which they completed an interview that was coded for spontaneous attributions for failure. Children’s spontaneous attributions mediated the link between parental conditional negative regard and child emotion reactivity, but not depressive symptoms. Findings suggest that children’s attributions may be a mechanism through which parental conditional negative regard is related to children’s depressive symptoms and emotion reactivity during a performance challenge. These results have implications for developmental models of depression risk and potential areas for clinical interventions with both children and their parents.     

Reasoning defeasibly about probabilities

In concrete applications of probability, statistical investigation gives us knowledge of some probabilities, but we generally want to know many others that are not directly revealed by our data. For instance, we may know prob(P/Q) (the probability of P given Q) and prob(P/R), but what we really want is prob(P/Q&;R), and we may not have the data required to assess that directly. The probability calculus is of no help here. Given prob(P/Q) and prob(P/R), it is consistent with the probability calculus for prob(P/Q&;R) to have any value between 0 and 1. Is there any way to make a reasonable estimate of the value of prob(P/Q&;R)? A related problem occurs when probability practitioners adopt undefended assumptions of statistical independence simply on the basis of not seeing any connection between two propositions. This is common practice, but its justification has eluded probability theorists, and researchers are typically apologetic about making such assumptions. Is there any way to defend the practice? This paper shows that on a certain conception of probability—nomic probability—there are principles of “probable probabilities” that license inferences of the above sort. These are principles telling us that although certain inferences from probabilities to probabilities are not deductively valid, nevertheless the second-order probability of their yielding correct results is 1. This makes it defeasibly reasonable to make the inferences. Thus I argue that it is defeasibly reasonable to assume statistical independence when we have no information to the contrary. And I show that there is a function Y(r, s, a) such that if prob(P/Q) = r, prob(P/R) = s, and prob(P/U) = a (where U is our background knowledge) then it is defeasibly reasonable to expect that prob(P/Q&;R) = Y(r, s, a). Numerous other defeasible inferences are licensed by similar principles of probable probabilities. This has the potential to greatly enhance the usefulness of probabilities in practical application.     

Metaphilosophy of Mind: how Do Minds Investigate Minds? Refutation of the Theocentric View

I shall propose metaphilosophy of mind as the philosophy of mind investigating mind. That is to say, I pose the question of how knowledge of mind provided by cognitive science, broadly construed, is constrained by the epistemic position of the knower, i.e. by the very fact that it is undertaken by a mind. Here I would like to propose a minimal framework, based on two distinctions: (i) the standard one between empirical and conceptual analysis; (ii) a new one, between the internal questions of mind and the boundary questions of mind. I shall then combine these distinctions to arrive at several ways of investigating the mind, the brain and cognition. On this ground, I will discuss the notion of epistemological theocentrism as outlined by Henry Allison and argue against the perspective I call theocentric philosophy of mind. From this angle I will be able to address skepticism which cannot be defeated but actually can be, as I put it, disarmed. Finally, metaphilosophy of mind based on the abovementioned distinctions elicits a perspective that is not sufficiently delineated by cognitive scientists and philosophers: empirical way of addressing the boundary questions of mind.     

Understanding Mind/Body Medicine from Muslim Religious Practices of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Salat</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dhikr</Emphasis>

There has been an increasing medical interest in Muslim religious practices in promoting well-being. Central to Muslim religious practices are salat (prayer) and dhikr (chanting). These two religious forms may be argued as comprising elements of mind/body medicine due to their positive effect on the psychoneuroimmunological response. The aim of this article was to further understand the mind/body aspects of Muslim salat and dhikr.     

Analysis of the Talmudic Argumentum A Fortiori Inference Rule (Kal Vachomer) using Matrix Abduction

We motivate and introduce a new method of abduction, Matrix Abduction, and apply it to modelling the use of non-deductive inferences in the Talmud such as Analogy and the rule of Argumentum A Fortiori. Given a matrix \({\mathbb {A}}\) with entries in {0, 1}, we allow for one or more blank squares in the matrix, say a _i,j =?. The method allows us to decide whether to declare a _i,j = 0 or a _i,j = 1 or a _i,j =? undecided. This algorithmic method is then applied to modelling several legal and practical reasoning situations including the Talmudic rule of Kal-Vachomer. We add an Appendix showing that this new rule of Matrix Abduction, arising from the Talmud, can also be applied to the analysis of paradoxes in voting and judgement aggregation. In fact we have here a general method for executing non-deductive inferences.     

An examination of social and psychological influences on academic learning: a focus on self-esteem,social relationships,and personal interest

The present study focused on an examination of both global and domain-specific self-esteems in secondary mathematics learning. The extent to which self-esteem, in general, would account and explain educational success through social relationships with teachers and peers, and personal interest in learning tasks is the main inquiry of this correlational investigation. Two hundred and eighty-three year 10 students (128 girls, 155 boys) were asked to respond to a number of Likert-scale inventories. Causal modeling procedures, aided by the statistical software MPlus 7.3, were used to analyze the data and to test the hypothesized model. A series of a posteriori analyses yielded a modified model for discussion, producing a number of key findings, namely: (a) the differential influences of both global (e.g., →relationship with teachers) and domain-specific (e.g., →relationship with peers) self-esteems, (b) the positive influences of social relation with teachers (e.g., →exam result) and interest in learning tasks (e.g., →end-of-school term grade), and (c) the mediating functioning of relationship with peers and interest in learning tasks. This evidence, overall, provides additional theoretical insights into the operational nature and trajectories of effective learning.     

Statistical properties of four effect-size measures for mediation models

This project examined the performance of classical and Bayesian estimators of four effect size measures for the indirect effect in a single-mediator model and a two-mediator model. Compared to the proportion and ratio mediation effect sizes, standardized mediation effect-size measures were relatively unbiased and efficient in the single-mediator model and the two-mediator model. Percentile and bias-corrected bootstrap interval estimates of ab/s _Y , and ab(s _X )/s _Y in the single-mediator model outperformed interval estimates of the proportion and ratio effect sizes in terms of power, Type I error rate, coverage, imbalance, and interval width. For the two-mediator model, standardized effect-size measures were superior to the proportion and ratio effect-size measures. Furthermore, it was found that Bayesian point and interval summaries of posterior distributions of standardized effect-size measures reduced excessive relative bias for certain parameter combinations. The standardized effect-size measures are the best effect-size measures for quantifying mediated effects.