The mapping model: a cognitive theory of quantitative estimation

How do people make quantitative estimations, such as estimating a car's selling price? Traditionally, linear-regression-type models have been used to answer this question. These models assume that people weight and integrate all information available to estimate a criterion. The authors propose an alternative cognitive theory for quantitative estimation. The mapping model, inspired by the work of N. R. Brown and R. S. Siegler (1993) on metrics and mappings, offers a heuristic approach to decision making. The authors test this model against established alternative models of estimation, namely, linear regression, an exemplar model, and a simple estimation heuristic. With 4 experimental studies the authors compare the models under different environmental conditions. The mapping model proves to be a valid model to predict people's estimates.     

Myelin breakdown mediates age-related slowing in cognitive processing speed in healthy elderly men

Background

To assess the hypothesis that in a sample of very healthy elderly men selected to minimize risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and cerebrovascular disease, myelin breakdown in late-myelinating regions mediates age-related slowing in cognitive processing speed (CPS).

Materials and methods

The prefrontal lobe white matter and the genu of the corpus callosum myelinate later in brain development (late-myelinating white matter; LMWM) and are more vulnerable to breakdown due to the effects of normal aging. An in vivo MRI biomarker of myelin integrity (transverse relaxation rates; R₂) of LMWM was obtained for 38 very healthy elderly adult men (mean age = 66.3 years; SD = 6.0; range = 55–76). To evaluate regional specificity, we also assessed a contrasting early-myelinating region (splenium of the corpus callosum; SWM), which primarily contains axons involved in visual processing. CPS was assessed using the Trail Making Test.

Results

LMWM R₂ and CPS measures were significantly correlated (r = .515, p = .0009), but no significant association between R₂ and CPS was detected in the splenium (p = .409). LMWM R₂, but not SWM R₂, was a significant mediator of the relationship between age and CPS (p = .037).

Conclusions

In this very healthy elderly sample, age-related slowing in CPS is mediated by myelin breakdown in highly vulnerable late-myelinating regions but not in the splenium.     

Multiple combinations of co-factors produce variants of age-related cognitive decline: a theory.

A theory concerning the etiology of age-related cognitive decline, like Alzheimer's disease (AD), is presented. The view utilizes the idea that this form of dementia is a etiologically complex and heterogeneous brain disorder that is caused by various co-factors. A particular patient with AD would have some combination of these co-factors present but the exact type and combinations might be different from another patient. This theory could also be used to explain other forms of dementia and age-related cognitive decline and the differences in severity of memory impairments associated with each. The co-factors in the present model include genes, neurotransmitter changes, vascular abnormalities, stress hormones, circadian rhythms, head trauma, and seizures.     

Mental slowing in elderly persons: a cognitive psychophysiological analysis

In recent attempts to formulate an integrative model of mental slowing in elderly persons, regression analyses have been done in which reaction-time data from a large number of studies spanning a broad range of speeded decision-making tasks were combined. The results of these meta-analyses were then used to support the conclusion that there is a generalized, proportional decline in mental processing speed among elderly adults that affects all elements of mentation equally. We present a series of similar regression analyses in which both reaction time and the latency of the P300 component of the event-related brain potential are included. The results of these analyses indicate that there are elements of mental processing that may be slowed additively, not proportionately, in older persons. Furthermore, the results raise some questions about the logic underlying the interpretation of the meta-regression analysis.     

The theory of uncertainty orientation: a mathematical reformulation

In this paper, we present a mathematical formulation derived from the theory of uncertainty orientation (In R.M. Sorrehtino, & E.T. Higgins (Eds.), the handbook of motivation and cognition: Foundations of social behaviour, Vol. 1 (pp. 379-403). New York: The Guilford press; The uncertain mind: Individual differences in facing the unknown. London: Erlbaum (UK), Taylor & Francis). This formulation integrates affective and informational influences on thought and action. It is a model of self-regulation where the need to maintain clarity and the need to attain clarity are considered as two independent informational tendencies. These informational tendencies are influenced by the degree of self-relevance and the amount of perceived situational uncertainty. In addition, they are multiplicative with affective approach and avoidance tendencies, leading to accentuation or inhibition of behaviors expressed in action. It is further demonstrated that when the nondominant action tendency is instigated, secondary sources of motivation are expressed. This model not only accounts for past data, but also permits exploration using computer simulation. In addition, many new and testable hypotheses, including those related to affect and dynamical decision theory, are generated.     

Post-conflict slowing: cognitive adaptation after conflict processing

The aftereffects of error and conflict (i.e., stimulus or response incongruency) have been extensively studied in the cognitive control literature. Each has been characterized by its own behavioral signature on the following trial. Conflict leads to a reduced congruency effect (Gratton effect), whereas an error leads to increased response time (post-error slowing). The reason for this dissociation has remained unclear. Here, we show that post-conflict slowing is not typically observed because it is masked by the processing of the irrelevant stimulus dimension. We demonstrate that post-conflict slowing does occur when tested in pure trials where helpful or detrimental impacts from irrelevant stimulus dimensions are removed (i.e., univalent stimuli).     

Creative productivity and age: A mathematical model based on a two-step cognitive process

It is argued that several empirical aspects of the relation between age and productivity can be explained by hypothesizing a simple two-step model of the creative process. Such a hypothesis permits a delayed single-peak function to result from an underlying process of constantly decelerating decay. The derived equation describes creative productivity as a function of individual age. The equation is not only shown to be consistent with empirical data on the relation between age and achievement, but additionally several important empirical predictions and theoretical consequences are inferred from the model. For instance, the model (a) maintains that the age curves may be largely the intrinsic outcome of cognitive processes rather than the extrinsic effect of developmental changes or sociological influences; (b) predicts the explanatory superiority of professional over chronological age; (c) explains the observed positive intercorrelation among creative precociousness, productivity, and longevity in terms of their mutual dependence upon individual differences in creative potential; and (d) provides a substantive basis for interpreting the variation in age peaks across disciplines by introducing the concepts of ideation rate, elaboration rate, and creative half-life. Tests to confirm or disconfirm the theoretical model are also proposed.     

Weeping: Evidence for a cognitive theory

According to a two-factor cognitive theory of weeping, schema-incongruent information and efforts to assimilate it create arousal; resolution, giving up of the schema, and cessation of the assimilation efforts result in arousal reduction and may be associated with emotional tears. To assess these predictions, female subjects were shown an emotional film under one of two conditions. In one condition only schema-induction and incongruity phases were viewed, while the other condition viewed the complete film (i.e., schema-induction, incongruity, and resolution). Consistent with expectations, incongruity was associated with increased stress and depressed mood. Only subjects who viewed the complete film reported significant decreases in these states. The final scene, assumed to trigger schema change, produced the greatest amount of weeping.This paper is adapted from a portion of a doctoral dissertation conducted by the first author. We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Walter Katkovsky and Raymond Ditrichs. A version of this paper was presented at a meeting of the Western Psychological Association, May 1986.     

The development of reading impairment: a cognitive neuroscience model

This review discusses recent cognitive neuroscience investigations into the biological bases of developmental dyslexia, a common disorder impacting approximately 5 to 17 percent of the population. Our aim is to summarize central findings from several lines of evidence that converge on pivotal aspects of the brain bases of developmental dyslexia. We highlight ways in which the approaches and methodologies of developmental cognitive neuroscience that are addressed in this special issue-including neuroimaging, human genetics, refinement of cognitive and biological phenotypes, neural plasticity and computational model-can be employed in uncovering the biological bases of this disorder. Taking a developmental perspective on the biological bases of dyslexia, we propose a simple cascading model for the developmental progression of this disorder, in which individual differences in brain areas associated with phonological processing might influence the specialization of visual areas involved in the rapid processing of written words. We also discuss recent efforts to understand the impact of successful reading interventions in terms of changes within cortical circuits associated with reading ability.     

The nature of importance perceptions: a test of a cognitive model

This study empirically examines an alternative conceptual approach to the nature of importance perceptions. Current interpretations of importance evaluations--demand, need, and value-based approaches--have been primarily connotative and continue to remain bereft of convincing logical or empirical support. Borrowing from social-psychological theories of cognitive structure, the study tests the usefulness of a conceptualization of importance perceptions which presents the construct as a function of cognitive centrality, dependence, criticalness, and temporary salience of factors and outcomes in the individual cognitive space. The model is examined over a wide range of factors with findings indicating that significant proportions of variance in importance rating/rankings may be thus explained. Implications for management theory and practices are discussed.     

Neuroanatomical substrates of age-related cognitive decline

There are many reports of relations between age and cognitive variables and of relations between age and variables representing different aspects of brain structure and a few reports of relations between brain structure variables and cognitive variables. These findings have sometimes led to inferences that the age-related brain changes cause the age-related cognitive changes. Although this conclusion may well be true, it is widely recognized that simple correlations are not sufficient to warrant causal conclusions, and other types of correlational information, such as mediation and correlations between longitudinal brain changes and longitudinal cognitive changes, also have limitations with respect to causal inferences. These issues are discussed, and the existing results on relations of regional volume, white matter hyperintensities, and diffusion tensor imaging measures of white matter integrity to age and to measures of cognitive functioning are reviewed. It is concluded that at the current time the evidence that these aspects of brain structure are neuroanatomical substrates of age-related cognitive decline is weak. The final section contains several suggestions concerning measurement and methodology that may lead to stronger conclusions in the future.     

Resolution of dilemmas: A mathematical theory

A mathematical formulation for a dilemma (i.e. a situation in which a very difficult choice between two alternatives must be made) is given. Multiple-objective programming is assumed as the model for a single decision maker. It is shown that, in principle, any dilemma is resolvable. Furthermore, there is always more than one way in which to resolve a dilemma. Illustrative examples from non-convex optimization are presented.     

General cognitive slowing in the nonlexical domain: an experimental validation.

Older and younger adults were tested on 4 nonlexical tasks: choice reaction time, letter classification, mental rotation, and abstract matching. A positively accelerated relation was observed between older and younger adults' latencies. Consistent with general slowing, the relation observed with the same subjects in each condition was more than 3 times as precise as in a comparable meta-analysis. Further analyses compared the ability of various models to describe the present data and also to predict the data on the basis of parameters estimated from a previous meta-analysis. Compared with linear models, the information-loss and overhead models provided more accurate accounts of general cognitive slowing in the nonlexical domain.     

General slowing alone cannot explain age-related search effects: reply to Cerella (1991)

Cerella (1991) has argued that the performance of older adults in the Fisk and Rogers (1991) study is a linear function of the performance of younger adults that is independent of task-specific cognitive requirements. We demonstrate that this is not the case. First, we show that the scatter plot analyses used by Cerella can hide the very task-specific age-related slowing they were designed to reveal. Second, we demonstrate that the percentage of variance explained by such analyses can be misleading. Third, we show that there are reliable differences across tasks in the parameters relating younger and older adults' performance. Finally, we argue that the general, task-independent proportionate slowing that Cerella suggested explains so much of the variance in age-related performance is actually an average slowing that is a function of a relatively small task-independent and a relatively large task-dependent factor.     

The mathematical theory of factorial invariance under selection

It is first demonstrated that Aitken's selection formulas are equivalent to a linear transformation in the factor space. On this basis the Thomson-Ledermann theorem concerning the invariance of the number of common factors under selection, and a theorem concerning the invariance of factor loadings under selection are derived. A mathematical proof of the results of Thurstone, which are concerned with the invariance of simple structure under selection, is given. The paper provides a conclusive answer to the question, considered by Thurstone and Thomson, whether a multivariate selection is always reducible to successive univariate selections.     

Rock's cognitive theory of illusory figures: a commentary.

Contrary to a previously published opinion, the 'cognitive' theory of illusory contours is rich in detail and empirical support.     

Towards a cognitive theory of existential meaning

The capacity to attribute meaning to personal experiences may rest on a specialized cognitive system enabling this form of causal reasoning. Close examination of these attributional tendencies suggests that this system may be distinct from those underlying other forms of causal reasoning such as a “theory of mind” system in the behavioral domain, a folk physics system in the physical domain, and a folk biology system in the biological domain. A fourth, existential domain, an abstract ontological frame within which the subjective, narrative self is envisioned to be contained, may have driven the construction of an intuitive capacity in humans that encourages them to search for the underlying purpose or reason for having had certain life experiences. This system likely has specific, definable operational rules that are responsible for activating such explanatory searches. In addition, it appears anchored to a general intentionality system that promotes the attribution of teleological purpose and higher-order mental states to an abstract agency that is envisioned to cause events and personal experiences. Identifying the component parts of this specialized cognitive system through empirical investigations can help researchers to reconstruct both its evolutionary phylogeny and to track its developmental emergence.