Learning to Reach by Constraining the Movement Search Space

Trial‐and‐error learning strategies play a central role in sensorimotor development during early infancy. However, learning to reach by trial‐and‐error normally requires a slow and laborious search through the space of possible movements. We propose a computational model of reaching based on the notion that early sensorimotor control is driven by the generation of exploratory movements, followed by the selection and maintenance of adaptive movement patterns. We find that, instead of exhaustively exploring the full search space of movement patterns, the model exploits several emergent constraints that limit the initial size of the movement search space. These constraints exploit both mechanical and kinematic properties of the reaching task. We relate these results to the development of reaching during infancy, and discuss recent findings that have identified similar constraints in young infants.     

Kaufmann on the Probabilities of Conditionals

Kaufmann has recently argued that the thesis according to which the probability of an indicative conditional equals the conditional probability of the consequent given the antecedent under certain specifiable circumstances deviates from intuition. He presents a method for calculating the probability of a conditional that does seem to give the intuitively correct result under those circumstances. However, the present paper shows that Kaufmann’s method is inconsistent in that it may lead one to assign different probabilities to a single conditional at the same time.     

Constraining the neural representation of the visual world

Understanding the perception of all but the most impoverished and artificial scenes presents a different and probably far greater challenge from understanding face recognition, reading, or identification (or even categorization) of single objects. Central issues in the interpretation of structured objects and scenes are reviewed, starting with fundamentals such as the meaning of seeing. A theoretical approach to this formidable task is outlined, motivated by some recent developments in neuroscience and neurophilosophy.     

智慧技能的一般教学模型与实验验证

该文给出了智慧技能的一般教学模型 ,将智慧技能的教学分为两个主要阶段 :陈述性编码阶段、程序性编码阶段。为验证此模型在教学实践中的可行性 ,在课堂教学情境中进行了模拟实验。选取同一所学校初二年级的四个班学生共 2 2 2人 ,随机安排四个班分别接受“欧姆定律”四种教案的教学 :发现式新教案、发现式旧教案、接受式新教案、接受式旧教案 ,随后进行迁移能力测验 ,结果表明采用新教案组织教学 ,即按上述模型控制好影响智慧技能的一些关键因素 ,将更利于学生获取智慧技能。     

Constraining the comprehension of pronominal expressions in Chinese

This paper reports a series of self-paced reading time experiments designed to probe how the reference of pronominal expressions is resolved on-line in (Mandarin) Chinese. It is assumed that pronoun resolution is achieved by narrowing the candidate set of potential antecedents for a pronoun. The experimental evidence reported here indicates that two factors--syntactic prominence and the matching of lexical features (e.g. gender)--play a significant role in filtering this candidate set. It is shown that syntactic prominence and feature matching work in conjunction with each other rather than in a competitive, winner-take-all manner. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that syntactic prominence is sensitive to structural relations rather than exclusively to grammatical functions (such as subject and direct object) or semantic roles (such as agent and patient) as has been assumed in the psycholinguistic literature.     

Intuitive Probabilities and the Limitation of Moral Imagination

There is a vast literature that seeks to uncover features underlying moral judgment by eliciting reactions to hypothetical scenarios such as trolley problems. These thought experiments assume that participants accept the outcomes stipulated in the scenarios. Across seven studies (N = 968), we demonstrate that intuition overrides stipulated outcomes even when participants are explicitly told that an action will result in a particular outcome. Participants instead substitute their own estimates of the probability of outcomes for stipulated outcomes, and these probability estimates in turn influence moral judgments. Our findings demonstrate that intuitive likelihoods are one critical factor in moral judgment, one that is not suspended even in moral dilemmas that explicitly stipulate outcomes. Features thought to underlie moral reasoning, such as intention, may operate, in part, by affecting the intuitive likelihood of outcomes, and, problematically, moral differences between scenarios may be confounded with non‐moral intuitive probabilities.     

《易传》心性论抉隐

在目前学界关于简、帛<易>出土文献研究基础上,本文讨论<易传>心性论思想,认为<易传>总体性质是仁德已尽之后的智德,思想实质合于孔子之道,以尽性至命的穷神知化为思想核心.<易传>心性论比较隐微,经常与本体论结合在一起论述,不主要从人性生成的角度论心性,更主要是以"神"概念表达心体觉性,其思想实质是基于心性之体同于大化之体的本体阖辟论,而不是生成论.<易传>以"寂感之体-神-几"模式表述心与意识的结构,"圆而神"与"方以智"在一定意义上可视为心的两种认知方式.<易传>心性论的重点在圣智觉性,于本体与现象之际抉择人之心性作为天地之中,又以圣智觉性作为心性之中,由此阐发"穷神知化,由通礼乐"的内外一贯之道,这是<易传>心性论思想的根本特征.又对<中庸>与<易传>作了许多义理比较.     

Uncovering hate in The Taming of the Shrew

Many in today’s theater audiences feel uncomfortable with The Taming of the Shrew because of its representation of a cruel man subduing an unruly woman. Although this can be understood as Shakespeare’s phallocentric culture reflected in his writing, I argue that the Bard represents an even more viscous and intractable problem than gender discrimination: humankind’s proclivity for cruelty and violence. In this essay, I show how Shakespeare represents this dangerous tendency evenly on both sides of the gender divide and that whatever amusement we may derive from the farce reflects this same tendency within ourselves.     

A Working Memory Model of a Common Procedural Error

Systematic errors In performance are an important aspect of human behavior that have not received adequate explanation. One such systematic error is termed postcompletion error; a typical example is leaving one's card In the automatic teller after withdrawing cash. This type of error seems to occur when people have an extra step to perform in a procedure after the main goal has been satisfied. The fact that people frequently make this type of error, but do not make this error every time, may best be explained by considering the working memory load at the time the step is to be performed: The error is made when the load on working memory is high, but will not be made when the load is low. A model of performance In the task was constructed using Just and Carpenter's (1992) CAPS that predicted that high working memory load should be associated with postcompletion errors. Two experiments confirmed that such errors can be produced in a laboratory as well as a naturalistic setting, and that the conditions under which the CAPS model makes the error are consistent with the conditions under which the errors occur in the laboratory.     

CLARION模型：内隐与外显技能学习的整合

CLARION是一个与其它认知理论明显不同的计算认知模型,它可用来研究内隐和外显学习交互作用的各种定量数据。通过对经典内隐学习任务（如系列反应时任务、加工控制任务及其他高级认知加工任务）的模拟实验,在与人类实验数据的拟合上,CLARION展示出比以往认知模型更好的性能。它主要有两个特征：一是对内隐学习和外显学习的整合,二是对自下而上加工的强调。近几年,CLARION模型在理论和实践上都有较大进展。文章简要评述了CLARION模型,并围绕此模型介绍了学界有关内隐和外显加工交互作用的探索     

Evidence of validity for the Skill Scale scores of the Campbell Interest and Skill Survey

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the evidence of validity of the Skill Scale scores on the Campbell Interest and Skill Survey (CISS). In a sample of 221 college students, analyses between the CISS Skill Scale scores and the CISS Interest Scale, the Strong Interest Inventory, and selfreported MAEQ abilities scores were conducted. Results provided evidence of convergent and discriminate validity of the Skill Scale scores. Furthermore, Skill Scale scores were found to be predictive of declared college major above chance levels. Conclusions from the results support the use of the CISS Skill Scales in counseling settings. Further investigation of the content being measured by the Skill Scales and their use in career interventions is recommended.     

Uncovering the mystery: factors of African American suicide

Traditionally, African Americans have registered lower rates of suicide than other ethnic groups. In the last 20 years this pattern has changed, particularly among young African Americans. To date, the research conducted regarding this phenomenon has been limited for a variety of reasons and previous research has been inconclusive in determining risk factors of African American suicide. The purpose of this paper is to identify risk and protective factors specific to African American suicide. To determine the factors, the 1993 National Mortality Follow-back Survey was analyzed. The risk factors identified include being under age 35, southern and northeastern residence, cocaine use, firearm presence in home, and threatening others with violence. Some of the protective factors associated with African American suicide include rural residence and educational attainment. These results provide valuable information about completed African American suicides in relation to Whites. Several of these factors are unique to African Americans.     

Uncovering the Effects of Awe on Meaning in Life

Journal of Happiness Studies - Research on awe and meaning in life (MIL) is rare. In the current research, we conducted a pre-registered study to examine how awe influences MIL from the perspective...     

Uncovering Visitor Conceptions of Fossils and the Fossil Record

ABSTRACT

One of the common features of any natural history museum is its fossil collection. A visitor's prior knowledge of and experience with these prehistoric objects is expected to greatly influence how visitors make sense of these iconic displays. For this study, over 150 visitors to two natural history museums in Southern California were interviewed to find out what they knew about fossils and the fossil record. Findings showed that visitors referenced a wide range or breadth of salient characteristics when defining fossils and that almost two-thirds mentioned some sort of process for the formation of fossils. When asked to interpret a diagram of geological strata and fossil placement within the strata, most visitors recognized that older fossils were found in lower layers (suggesting an understanding of the principle of superposition), although this was age-dependent. Also, many visitors explained fossil distribution in terms of some sort of change process—either related to the organism or the environment. In addition, several potential misconceptions related to fossils and superposition also emerged from the analysis. Implications for supporting visitor understanding are discussed.