Regularity of unit length boosts statistical learning in verbal and nonverbal artificial languages

Humans have remarkable statistical learning abilities for verbal speech-like materials and for nonverbal music-like materials. Statistical learning has been shown with artificial languages (AL) that consist of the concatenation of nonsense word-like units into a continuous stream. These ALs contain no cues to unit boundaries other than the transitional probabilities between events, which are high within a unit and low between units. Most AL studies have used units of regular lengths. In the present study, the ALs were based on the same statistical structures but differed in unit length regularity (i.e., whether they were made out of units of regular vs. irregular lengths) and in materials (i.e., syllables vs. musical timbres), to allow us to investigate the influence of unit length regularity on domain-general statistical learning. In addition to better performance for verbal than for nonverbal materials, the findings revealed an effect of unit length regularity, with better performance for languages with regular- (vs. irregular-) length units. This unit length regularity effect suggests the influence of dynamic attentional processes (as proposed by the dynamic attending theory; Large & Jones (Psychological Review 106: 119–159, 1999)) on domain-general statistical learning.     

The Army's New Unit Personnel Replacement and Its Relationship to Unit Cohesion and Social Support

A recent concern of the U.S. Army's top leadership has been the deterioration of morale and cohesion in combat arms units. High personnel turnover in U.S. Army units has been viewed as a primary factor contributing to decreased unit cohesiveness. The current and traditional U.S. Army Indi- vidual Replacement (IR) System trained, assigned, and deployed soldiers to units as individuals. As a result, IR units have had as much as 45% personnel turnover annually. The new Unit Replacement (UR) System trained, assigned, and deployed soldiers as intact groups for the entire first-term soldier's enlistment. The objective of the study was to examine the effects of unit replacement on cohesion and to elaborate on the function of cohesion by examining the relationship between cohesion and social support in a sample of 3,245 soldiers in 43 line companies matched by type of replacement, type of combat arms, and stateside/overseas deployment. Soldiers in UR units in which soldiers had previously undergone Basic and Advanced Individual Training together or had their personnel stabilized reported a significantly higher level of cohesion than did soldiers in IR units. This difference persisted even when personal and unit characteristics were held constant in compari- sons. In terms of social support, UR soldiers cited more support providers in their units than did IR soldiers. Perceived satisfaction with social support and perceived helpfulness of social support provided by unit members were significantly and positively correlated with the cohesion measures, irrespective of the type of replacement. Whereas reciprocity was significantly and positively related to cohesion in commonly trained UR and IR units, it was nonsignificantly related to cohesion in personnel-stabilized UR units. Impli- cations of results for the expected effects of cohesion on the quality of interpersonal relations among unit members are discussed.     

Plot units and narrative summarization

In order to summarize a story, it is necessary to access a high level analysis of the story that highlights its central concepts. A technique of memory representation based on plot units appears to provide a rich foundation for such an analysis. Plot units are conceptual structures that overlap with each other when a narrative is cohesive. When overlapping intersections between plot units are interpreted as arcs in a graph of plot units, the resulting graph encodes the plot of the story. Structural features of the graph then reveal which concepts are central to the story, and which concepts are peripheral. Plot unit analysis is currently being investigated as a processing strategy for narrative summarization by both computer simulation and psychological experiments.     

The Effects of Changes in Jail Population Densities on Crowding,Sick Call,and Spatial Behavior1

Perceived crowding, rate of sick calls, and use of space were studied among jail inmates. The inmates had been randomly assigned to one of two jail units that were identical in design and management, but varied in population density levels. Initially, population density was rated at capacity on one unit, and over capacity on the other. Data were collected before and after a court order that caused population levels to be decreased on the unit over capacity and increased on the other, so that after the change density on both units was the same. Comparison data were also collected on several other units. The results revealed both absolute and contrast effects for density on inmates. Perceived crowding and sick call rates varied directly with density levels, but also were affected by the direction of shift. That is, when population levels were equal after the change, perceived crowding and sick call rates were higher on the unit that had experienced an increase in density. Also, as population levels increased, there tended to bean increase in isolated passive behavior and a decrease in isolated active behavior in public areas. Implications for crowding research and for jail design and management are discussed.     

Investigating Two Approaches to Fostering Children's Comprehension of Literature

This instructional study investigated the effects of two approaches to fostering elementary students' comprehension of literature. Participants were 54 third-grade students in 2 classrooms in a linguistic and culturally diverse, urban elementary school. Students read two folktales, receiving a Scaffolded Reading Experience (SRE) unit with one folktale and a unit we termed a Response-Oriented approach with the other folktale in a counterbalanced fashion. Classes were observed throughout both units and students completed multiple-choice and short-answer tests after reading each story and receiving the unit instruction. Teachers were interviewed after presenting both units. Results on the multiple-choice tests showed that students scored significantly higher when receiving the SRE units and that teachers preferred the SRE unit lessons. However, there were no differences between the two approaches on the short-answer tests, and teachers noted that some of the activities in the Response-Oriented units were very useful. Our conclusions are that both the Response-Oriented units and the SRE units provided strong scaffolding for students' reading, that the two approaches should be thought of as complementary rather than as competing, and that there is a place for both of them in classrooms that seek to build both comprehension and appreciation of literature.     

Engineering interaction: Structural change,locus of identification,and the formation and maintenance of cross-unit ties

Cross-unit ties–relationships that facilitate discretionary information sharing between individuals from different business units–offer a range of organizational benefits. Scholars argue that organizations can promote cross-unit ties by: (a) formally bringing together individuals from different business units into structural links (e.g., cross-unit strategic committees) to encourage the formation of new cross unit ties and, (b) transferring individuals across units, which can increase cross-unit interaction when ties to the prior unit are maintained. This study considers the notion that the success of these formal interventions in fostering cross-unit interaction is contingent on identification with the local unit relative to identification with the broader organization. Specifically, we propose that structural links are more likely to foster cross-unit ties when organizational identification is high and unit identification is low. In contrast, lateral transfers are more likely to result in cross-unit ties when both organizational identification and unit identification are high. We find general support for these propositions in data obtained from a sample of senior leaders of a Fortune 200 agribusiness company before and after a restructuring designed to stimulate cross-unit information sharing. Our model and results make important contributions to our understanding of the relationship between formal and informal structure and reconcile conflicting views regarding the moderating effect of unit identification on intergroup relations.     

The effect of eccentricity and the adapting level on the café wall illusion

The café wall pattern is composed of rows of alternating light and dark tiles, and alternate rows are shifted by one fourth of a cycle. The rows of tiles are separated by narrow horizontal mortar lines whose luminance is between those of the dark and the light tiles. Although the mortar lines are physically parallel, they are perceived to be tilted, which is known as the café wall illusion. In this study, an energy-based model for encoding orientation is implemented in order to estimate the strength of the café wall illusion, and it is shown that the estimated orientation depends on the spatial frequency to which each orientation-encoding unit is tuned. The estimation of mortar line orientation from an orientation-encoding unit tuned to a lower spatial frequency was greater than that from a unit tuned to a higher spatial frequency. It is assumed that the perceived mortar line orientation is the result of an integration of responses from the orientation-encoding units tuned to various spatial frequencies. This leads to the prediction that under viewing conditions in which responses from orientation-encoding units tuned to a higher spatial frequency are presumably weakened, the strength of the café wall illusion increases. In agreement with this prediction, it is shown that the café wall illusion is stronger when the café wall image is presented at the periphery or is observed under low luminance levels. On the other hand, the weighted averaging of the estimated mortar orientations across spatial frequencies overestimates the perceived orientation of the mortar lines. This suggests that the final percept of the café wall illusion could be determined by some kind of nonlinear interaction, such as an inhibitory interaction, between orientation-encoding units.     

ENCODING SENSITIVITIES TO PHONOLOGICAL MARKEDNESS AND TRANSITIONAL PROBABILITY: EVIDENCE FROM SPOONERISMS

This study examined laboratory-induced spoonerisms; the type of speech error in which a phoneme unit from one word switches position with a phoneme unit from another word. Three experiments test hypotheses which assume that spoonerism errors are facilitated by the presence of certain inherent differences between the switched phonological units. Experiment I tests for facilitation based upon differences in the phonological markedness of the switched units. Experiment II and Experiment III test for facilitation based upon differences in the second-order transitional probabilities and third order transitional probabilities (respectively) of the switched units. Evidence of transitional probability effects was found, with implications for the phonological encoding processing of both naturally occurring spoonerisms and normal speech.     

Programming of time-to-peak force for brief isometric force pulses: effects on reaction time

According to the parallel force unit model (PFUM) the programming of an isometric force pulse requires the specification of the number of force units and force unit duration. The programming of a force pulse with minimal time-to-peak force is an exception, however, as force unit duration is limited by the minimal possible value, which should be easier to adjust than larger force unit durations. Therefore, the duration of the programming process should be shorter for these force pulses and hence should result in shorter reaction time (RT). Four experiments assessed this prediction using a response precueing procedure. In each experiment the participants produced isometric flexions with their left or right index finger, and time-to-peak force was manipulated within a block. The results are consistent with the predictions of PFUM. The results, however, are at variance with alternative accounts which assume that RT depends primarily on response duration or rate of force production.     

What Are the Functional Orthographic Units in Chinese Word Recognition: The Stroke or the Stroke Pattern?

We present evidence that the visual analysis of Chinese characters by skilled readers is based upon well-defined orthographic constituents. These functional units are the recurrent, integral stroke-patterns, not the individual strokes as previously thought. The speed of simultaneous 'same-different' comparisons of Chinese characters is affected by the number of these orthographic units and, for 'different' judgements, by the proportion of mismatching units, but not by the number of individual strokes. We further define a category of orthographic unit, referred to here as the 'lexical radical', which requires strict positional regularity within each composite character. Violation of positional regularity results in illegal non-characters. In contrast, recombination of orthographic units (stroke patterns) with the lexical radical in its regular position forms a regular pseudocharacter. We show that real characters are matched faster than pseudocharacters and non-characters-a word superiority effect in Chinese. Pseudocharacters are matched faster than non-characters, a pseudoword advantage in Chinese. We also present evidence suggesting that individual stroke patterns may be better recognized in real characters than in pseudocharacters and non-characters-a word superiority effect in terms of unit recognition. These results support the hypothesis that the functional orthographic unit in the recognition of Chinese characters, comparable to the letter in alphabetic word recognition, is the recurring integral stroke pattern.     

Programming of time-to-peak force for brief isometric force pulses: Effects on reaction time

According to the parallel force unit model (PFUM) the programming of an isometric force pulse requires the specification of the number of force units and force unit duration. The programming of a force pulse with minimal time-to-peak force is an exception, however, as force unit duration is limited by the minimal possible value, which should be easier to adjust than larger force unit durations. Therefore, the duration of the programming process should be shorter for these force pulses and hence should result in shorter reaction time (RT). Four experiments assessed this prediction using a response precueing procedure. In each experiment the participants produced isometric flexions with their left or right index finger, and time-to-peak force was manipulated within a block. The results are consistent with the predictions of PFUM. The results, however, are at variance with alternative accounts which assume that RT depends primarily on response duration or rate of force production.     

A recruitment theory of force-time relations in the production of brief force pulses: the parallel force unit model

A theory, the parallel force unit model, is advanced in which the buildup and decline of force in rapid responses of short duration are assumed to reflect variability in timing of several parallel force units. Response force is conceived of as being a summation of a large number of force units, each acting independently of one another. Force is controlled by either the number of recruited force units or the duration each unit contributes its force. Several predictions are derived on the basis of this theory and are shown to be in qualitative agreement with empirical findings about both the mean and variability of brief force impulses. The model also has consequences for the temporal properties of a response. For example, under certain circumstances, it predicts a reciprocal relation between reaction time and response force. Although the theory is proposed as a psychological account, relations between the assumptions and basic principles in neurophysiology are considered. Possible future applications and generalizations of the theory are discussed.     

Distortions in judged spatial relations

In three experiments, we explore distortions in subjects' judgments of relative geographical relations. People make large systematic errors in judging the geographical relations between two locations that are in different geographical or political units. There is a strong tendency to distort the judged relation to conform with the relation of the superordinate political unit. To account for this result, we present a model in which spatial information is stored hierarchically. Spatial relations between any two locations are stored explicitly only if those locations are within the same superordinate unit. Spatial relations not stored are inferred by combining the relations from between and within superordinate units.     

汉语口语词汇产生的音韵编码单元：内隐启动范式的ERP研究

本研究中选择英语水平低的汉语母语者, 排除作为二语的英语音韵编码单元(音素)可能对汉语口语词汇产生过程的影响后, 运用事件相关电位技术, 考察了汉语口语产生过程中音节和音素效应的时间进程。实验采用内隐启动范式, 要求被试看到提示词之后说出对应的目标词。事件相关电位分析结果发现, 音节效应出现在线索词呈现后的100~400 ms之间, 音素效应出现在500~600 ms之间, 波形表现为相关条件比无关条件的波形更正。这表明在词汇选择之后的音韵编码阶段讲话者首先提取的单元是音节, 而音素效应出现的时间窗口可能是音韵编码阶段后期或者是语音编码阶段, 结果验证了合适编码单元假说的观点。     

The unit size effect of indulgent food: How eating smaller sized items signals impulsivity and makes consumers eat less

In deciding how much to eat, people are influenced by environmental cues. The unit size of food (i.e. the number of units in which a given amount of food is divided) provides such a cue. Previous research showed that given equal caloric and volumetric content, smaller units of food tend to reduce food consumption. We propose that the unit size of food impacts intake as it influences perceptions of impulsiveness and appropriateness. Our analysis is based on three experimental studies, all employing between subject designs. When consuming similar amounts of chocolates in studies 1 (n?=?118) and 2 (n?=?124), both studies show that consumption of five small units of chocolates is considered to be more impulsive, excessive and less appropriate than consuming one large unit of chocolate. Results of a third study (n?=?165) indicate that about 23% less chocolate is eaten when it is presented in small unit size vs. a large unit size and this effect is mediated by perceptions of impulsivity. All three studies suggest that perceptions of impulsivity and excess eating while eating several smaller units of food compared to one large unit might be a key factor explaining consumption effects in earlier studies on this bias.     

Not all nonwords are alike: Implications for reading development and theory

Three experiments were designed to examine children's and adults' ability to pronounce consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) nonsense words. Some of the nonwords, like tain and goach, shared their VC unit with a number of real words. Other nonwords, like goan and taich, shared their VC unit with few or no real words. Pooling across items, the very same grapheme-phoneme correspondences occurred in the two types of nonwords. First graders, good and poor third grade readers, and adults all performed better on the nonwords with the more common VC units than on the nonwords with the less common VC units. Although readers appeared to use VC units in the pronunciation of nonwords, we did not find evidence for use of initial CV units. Implications of the results for reading development, dyslexia, and models of nonword pronunciation are discussed.     

Predicting unit performance by assessing transformational and transactional leadership

How do leadership ratings collected from units operating under stable conditions predict subsequent performance of those units operating under high stress and uncertainty? To examine this question, the authors calculated the predictive relationships for the transformational and transactional leadership of 72 light infantry rifle platoon leaders for ratings of unit potency, cohesion, and performance for U.S. Army platoons participating in combat simulation exercises. Both transformational and transactional contingent reward leadership ratings of platoon leaders and sergeants positively predicted unit performance. The relationship of platoon leadership to performance was partially mediated through the unit's level of potency and cohesion. Implications, limitations, and future directions for leadership research are discussed.     

An Evaluation of Unit Replacement on Unit Cohesion and Individual Morale in the U. S. Army All-Volunteer Force

In 1981, the U.S. Army initiated a new personnel replacement system, called the Unit Replacement System, in selected units. The new training and assignment policy was aimed at improving the perceived lack of group cohesion and low level of morale in U.S. Army units. Survey data were collected from junior-ranking enlisted soldiers in both Individual Replace- ment (IR) and Unit Replacement (UR) units to assess the effects of UR on soldiers' perceptions about interpersonal relations and combat readiness. Surveys were administered during a Zyear period (1986-1988) in three waves 6 to 8 months apart. The purpose of this article is to report the initial findings of this evaluation based on the first three waves of survey data. Company mean scores on measures of cohesion and morale were significantly higher for UR units than for IR units at Time 1, even when controlling for individual soldier and unit characteristics. However, the higher UR-unit scores decreased over time. The only remaining statistical difference between IR and UR units at Time 3 was observed on the measure of Off-Duty Social Associations. The difference on this scale (an important predictor of willingness to go to war with other unit members) was even greater in UR units in which noncommis- sioned officers (NCOs) and officers were perceived as having higher concern for junior-ranking enlisted soliders (Concerned Leadership). Moreover, UR units having higher levels of Concerned Leadership had less of a decrease on the other cohesion and morale measures between Time 1 and Time 2, especially on perceptions of the closeness and tightness of affective ties among the junior-ranking enlisted soldiers (Horizontal Bonding).     

From a Static to a Dynamic Approach to the Study of Partner Violence

Feminist and family violence scholars disagree over how partner violence should be studied and understood. One may expect that the use of different observation units would serve as a backdrop to the controversy, yet most studies in the field are based on single individual behavioral units of observation that are context-free. The present article attempts to propose a complementary or alternative observational unit. This unit of observation focuses on the aggressive interactions between the intimate partners, and enables researchers not only to explore the causes and consequences of the aggressive behavior but also to capture and analyze the dynamics of the partners’ conflicts that escalate to violence. The interactional observation unit can serve to advance the accumulating knowledge in the field as well as the discussion on the role of gender in partner violence.