Better explanations of lexical and semantic cognition using networks derived from continued rather than single-word associations

In this article, we describe the most extensive set of word associations collected to date. The database contains over 12,000 cue words for which more than 70,000 participants generated three responses in a multiple-response free association task. The goal of this study was (1) to create a semantic network that covers a large part of the human lexicon, (2) to investigate the implications of a multiple-response procedure by deriving a weighted directed network, and (3) to show how measures of centrality and relatedness derived from this network predict both lexical access in a lexical decision task and semantic relatedness in similarity judgment tasks. First, our results show that the multiple-response procedure results in a more heterogeneous set of responses, which lead to better predictions of lexical access and semantic relatedness than do single-response procedures. Second, the directed nature of the network leads to a decomposition of centrality that primarily depends on the number of incoming links or in-degree of each node, rather than its set size or number of outgoing links. Both studies indicate that adequate representation formats and sufficiently rich data derived from word associations represent a valuable type of information in both lexical and semantic processing.     

Attitudes and behaviors associated with young drivers’ texting and app use

IntroductionDistracted driving is a major risk factor for motor vehicle crashes, especially for young drivers. This study examines factors that contribute to the exposure of young drivers to distracted driving behaviors.MethodsData from the 2015 National Survey on Distracted Driving Attitudes and Behaviors was used to determine the influence that perceived safety, likelihood to do or say something, social norms, and demographic variables have on self-reported cell phone distracted driving. Our population included 16–24-year old drivers. Dependent variables were texting (reading and sending a text/email) and smartphone app use while driving. Rao-Scott chi-squared tests and multivariate logistic regression models were applied. Sampling weights were applied to create nationally representative estimates and all statistical tests accounted for complex survey design.ResultsAmong young drivers who report cell phone use while driving, 42% reported reading a text, 33% reported sending a text, and 23% reported smartphone app use. Multivariate regression results showed that perceived safety had the strongest association with reporting texting and smartphone app use while driving. In addition, social norms and age-education were significantly associated with reporting sending a text/email and reading a text/email while driving, respectively.ConclusionsThe current study found significant relationships between attitudes and behaviors about cell phone use while driving and self-reported engagement in distracted driving.Practical applicationsInterventions with an emphasis on changing perceived safety and social norms for young drivers could be beneficial for reducing engagement in cell phone use while driving.     

Choice between response units: The rate constancy model

In a conjoint schedule, reinforcement is available simultaneously on two or more schedules for the same response. The present experiments provided food for key pecking on both a random-interval and a differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate (DRL) schedule. Experiment 1 involved ordinary DRL schedules; Experiment 2 added an external stimulus to indicate when the required interresponse time had elapsed. In both experiments, the potential reinforcer frequency from each component was varied by means of a second-order fixed-ratio schedule, and the DRL time parameter was changed as well. Response rates were described by a model stating that time allocation to each component matches the relative frequency of reinforcement for that component. When spending time in a given component, the subject is assumed to respond at the rate characteristic of baseline performance. This model appeared preferable to the absolute-rate version of the matching law. The model was shown to be applicable to multiple-response concurrent schedules as well as to conjoint schedules, and it described some of the necessary conditions for response matching, undermatching, and bias. In addition, the pigeons did not optimize reinforcer frequency.     

Pavlovian second-order conditioned analgesia

Three experiments with rat subjects assessed conditioned analgesia in a Pavlovian second-order conditioning procedure by using inhibition of responding to thermal stimulation as an index of pain sensitivity. In Experiment 1, rats receiving second-order conditioning showed longer response latencies during a test of pain sensitivity in the presence of the second-order conditioned stimulus (CS) than rats receiving appropriate control procedures. Experiment 2 found that extinction of the first-order CS had no effect on established second-order conditioned analgesia. Experiment 3 evaluated the effects of post second-order conditioning pairings of morphine and the shock unconditioned stimulus (US). Rats receiving paired morphine-shock presentations showed significantly shorter response latencies during a hot-plate test of pain sensitivity in the presence of the second-order CS than did groups of rats receiving various control procedures; second-order analgesia was attenuated. These data extend the associative account of conditioned analgesia to second-order conditioning situations and are discussed in terms of the mediation of both first- and second-order analgesia by an association between the CS and a representation or expectancy of the US, which may directly activate endogenous pain inhibition systems.     

Longitudinal analysis of data with multiple binary category choices

In many experiments, subjects mark all categories that apply when responding to a cafeteria or multiple-response question. One exact and two approximate permutation methods are described to analyze binary answers to multiple-response questions in longitudinal experimental designs, wherein the same or matched subjects respond to the same multiple-response question over two or more trials. The described methods provide probabilities, under the null hypothesis, that the multiple binary responses do not differ over trials.     

Still no demonstration that g is not unitary: Further comment on Kranzler and Jensen

Because they employed a statistical procedure that was inappropriate for the purpose, Kranzler and Jensen (1991) have not demonstrated that a factor of general intelligence, g, depends on a number of independent processes. It is more parsimonious to interpret their results in terms of a g that is unitary. A factorial reanalysis of their data, including some that they did not present (cross-correlations between psychometric variables and variables from elementary cognitive tasks, or ECTs), shows that many ECT variables, especially those reflecting decision time rather than movement time, have substantial loadings on a second-order general factor. This factor is orthogonal to a second-order factor representing general speed of movement from a “home button” to the response button in ECTs. Possible implications for interpreting g in terms of information-processing efficiency are discussed.     

Detecting a lack of association: An equivalence testing approach

Researchers often test for a lack of association between variables. A lack of association is usually established by demonstrating a non‐significant relationship with a traditional test (e.g., Pearson's r). However, for logical as well as statistical reasons, such conclusions are problematic. In this paper, we discuss and compare the empirical Type I error and power rates of three lack of association tests. The results indicate that large, sometimes very large, sample sizes are required for the test statistics to be appropriate. What is especially problematic is that the required sample sizes may exceed what is practically feasible for the conditions that are expected to be common among researchers in psychology. This paper highlights the importance of using available lack of association tests, instead of traditional tests of association, for demonstrating the independence of variables, and qualifies the conditions under which these tests are appropriate.     

Analysis of response repetition as an error-correction strategy during sight-word reading

A great deal is known about the effects of positive reinforcement on response acquisition; by contrast, much less research has been conducted on contingencies applied to errors. We examined the effects of response repetition as an error-correction procedure on the sight-word reading performance of 11 adults with developmental disabilities. Study 1 compared single-response (SR) repetition and multiple-response (MR) repetition, and results showed that all 6 participants acquired more sight words with the MR procedure. Study 2 compared MR error correction following every incorrect response (continuous) and following one third of incorrect responses (intermittent), and results showed that all 6 participants acquired more sight words when error correction was continuous. Study 3 compared MR error correction in which errors required practice of the training word (relevant) versus a different word (irrelevant), and results showed that 3 of 9 participants showed better performance under the relevant condition; however, all participants showed improvement even under the irrelevant condition. Findings are discussed in terms of the behavioral processes by which error correction may enhance performance during acquisition.     

Permutation analysis of data with multiple binary category choices

In many studies, respondents may mark all answers that apply when responding to a multiple-choice question, i.e., a cafeteria or multiple-response question. One exact and two approximate permutation methods are described to analyze multiple-response questions. The methods provide the probability, under the null hypothesis, that the multiple binary responses do not differ among specified groups.     

Spatial contiguity facilitates Pavlovian second-order conditioning

Two experiments investigated the effects of spatial contiguity upon the formation of second-order conditioning in pigeon subjects. Experiment 1 used an autoshaping procedure to pair two visual stimuli, S2 and S1, after S1 had previously been paired with food. The resulting second-order conditioning of S2 was superior when both stimuli appeared on the same response key within a trial, compared with their appearing on different keys. Experiment 2 found a similar importance of spatial contiguity between S2 and S1 in a conditioned suppression paradigm. In addition, consistently presenting S2 and S1 in the same spatial location produced superior conditioning compared with varying their spatial relation from trial to trial. The design of these experiments was such as to imply that spatial contiguity facilitates performance by improving the formation of association rather than by promoting stimulus generalization or pseudoconditioning. Moreover, the observation of a facilitative effect of spatial contiguity between S1 and S2 in two different paradigms that use qualitatively different unconditioned stimuli and evoke different responses implies some generality for these findings. Consequently, these results suggest that spatially contiguous stimuli are especially associable in Pavlovian conditioning paradigms.     

Comparing variances of correlated variables

A test is proposed for the equality of the variances ofk 2 correlated variables. Pitman's test fork = 2 reduces the null hypothesis to zero correlation between their sum and their difference. Its extension, eliminating nuisance parameters by a bootstrap procedure, is valid for any correlation structure between thek normally distributed variables. A Monte Carlo study for several combinations of sample sizes and number of variables is presented, comparing the level and power of the new method with previously published tests. Some nonnormal data are included, for which the empirical level tends to be slightly higher than the nominal one. The results show that our method is close in power to the asymptotic tests which are extremely sensitive to nonnormality, yet it is robust and much more powerful than other robust tests.This research was supported by the fund for the promotion of research at the Technion.     

A factorial study of the reasoning and closure factors

A battery of 46 tests was given to 237 college men. A factor analysis using the Thurstone technique revealed eight clearly interpretable first-order factors, one dubious factor, and a residual factor. The factors were interpreted as induction, deduction, flexibility of closure, speed of closure, space, verbal comprehension, word fluency, and number. Four second-order factors were abstracted from the matrix of first-order correlations. The presence of induction, deduction, and flexibility of closure on the first second-order factor, interpreted as an analytic factor, confirmed previous indications of relationships between the reasoning and closure factors. A second bipolar factor is interpreted as a speed of association factor. The third factor is interpreted as facility in handling meaningful verbal materials—perhaps an ability to do abstract thinking. The fourth factor is possibly a second-order closure factor—perhaps an ability to do concrete thinking.The author is grateful to Professor L. L. Thurstone for his encouragement and invaluable advice and for permission to use many tests originally prepared in the Psychometric Laboratory of the University of Chicago, to Mr. James Degan for assistance in rotations, and to the Social Science Research Committee of the University of Chicago for a grant to this study.     

Aspects of the reinforcer learned in second-order Pavlovian conditioning

Four experiments used an autoshaping procedure in pigeons to explore learning about the reinforcer in a second-order conditioning paradigm. Experiment 1 conditioned two visual second-order stimuli (S2), using as reinforcers two visual first-order stimuli (S1), each of which had previously been paired with food. Animals for which the S2 stimuli were each consistently paired with one particular S1 developed second-order responding more rapidly than did animals for which the identity of S1 varied from trial to trial. Moreover, following consistent pairings, extinction of an S1 had a depressive effect upon second-order responding which was peculiar to the S2 with which it had been paired. Both results suggest that in this preparation the organism identifies a particular S1 as the reinforcer for each S2. The remaining experiments examined the details of that identification. A compound S1, itself composed of two separable elements, was used to reinforce an S2. Subsequent extinction of either element of S1 led to a depression in the responding to S2, which indicates that both elements were involved in the second-order conditioning. Moreover, the use of several complex discriminations, which produced different behavior to S1 and to its elements, suggested that the organism had associated the S2 with the compound S1 rather than with its separate elements. However, even complete extinction of the response to S1 left some residual behavior to S2, which indicates that a portion of the second-order conditioning is independent of the current state of the reinforcer. These results demonstrate that in some situations the organism associates a conditioned stimulus with a rich representation of the reinforcer.     

An analysis of second-order autoshaping

Three mechanisms can explain second-order conditioning: (1) The second-order conditioned stimulus (CS2) could activate a representation of the first-order conditioned stimulus (CS1), thereby provoking the conditioned response (CR); The CS2 could enter into an excitatory association with either (2) the representation governing the CR, or (3) with a representation of the reinforcer evoked by the CS1. A series of experiments using second-order autoshaping with birds was performed to examine these possibilities. Following second-order autoshaping, birds’ responding to the CS2 was found to be unaffected by extinction of the CS1, a result interpreted as showing mechanism (1) to be unimportant and implicating either one or both of the other mechanisms. The CS2 was also shown to provide the birds with specific sensory information about the reinforcer, a pattern of results uniquely predicted by mechanism (3). Implications for the understanding of second-order conditioning and for the SOP model (Wagner, 1981) of associative learning are discussed.     

Neurocognitive influences on health behavior in a community sample.

CONTEXT: Dominant models of individual health behavior omit biological variables entirely and are composed almost exclusively of social-cognitive and conative variables. Research from the neurosciences suggests a role for brain function in explaining behaviors that require active self-regulation for consistent performance. However, the association between brain function and health behavior is underexplored. OBJECTIVE: To examine the predictive power of executive function for 2 health risk behaviors and 2 health protective behaviors in healthy adults. DESIGN: A cross-sectional community sample (N = 216) of adults 20-100 years of age were administered a battery of neuropsychological tests and completed self-report questionnaires regarding their health practices. It was hypothesized that poor performance on neuropsychological tests tapping executive function would be associated with poor health behavior tendencies. RESULTS: Errors on the Stroop task were positively associated with health risk behavior and negatively associated with health protective behavior after controlling for demographics, education, and IQ. CONCLUSION: Executive function is associated with health behavior tendencies. If the association is causal, explanatory models of individual health behavior should be revised to account for individual differences in biologically imbued self-regulatory abilities.     

Activities, self-referent memory beliefs, and cognitive performance: evidence for direct and mediated relations

In this study, the authors investigated the role of activities and self-referent memory beliefs for cognitive performance in a life-span sample. A factor analysis identified 8 activity factors, including Developmental Activities, Experiential Activities, Social Activities, Physical Activities, Technology Use, Watching Television, Games, and Crafts. A second-order general activity factor was significantly related to a general factor of cognitive function as defined by ability tests. Structural regression models suggested that prediction of cognition by activity level was partially mediated by memory beliefs, controlling for age, education, health, and depressive affect. Models adding paths from general and specific activities to aspects of crystallized intelligence suggested additional unique predictive effects for some activities. In alternative models, nonsignificant effects of beliefs on activities were detected when cognition predicted both variables, consistent with the hypothesis that beliefs derive from monitoring cognition and have no influence on activity patterns.     

Windowed cross-correlation and peak picking for the analysis of variability in the association between behavioral time series

Cross-correlation and most other longitudinal analyses assume that the association between 2 variables is stationary. Thus, a sample of occasions of measurement is expected to be representative of the association between variables regardless of the time of onset or number of occasions in the sample. The authors propose a method to analyze the association between 2 variables when the assumption of stationarity may not be warranted. The method results in estimates of both the strength of peak association and the time lag when the peak association occurred for a range of starting values of elapsed time from the beginning of an experiment.     

The Effect of Language Exposure and Word Characteristics on the Arab EFL Learners’ Word Associations

The present study investigates the patterns of word associations among Arab EFL learners and compares these patterns with those of native speakers of English. The study also examines the influence of increased language exposure and word characteristics on the learners’ association patterns. To this end, 45 native speakers of English and 421 Arab learners of English at a Saudi university with two distinct levels of English language exposure completed a multiple-response word association test and their responses were analyzed, examined and compared. The results revealed strong influence for language exposure and word characteristics on the learners’ associations and support a developmental approach to the second language lexicon where an increase in language exposure and word knowledge enhances mental word connectivity and increases its native-like similarity.     

Second-order conditioning of the rabbit's nictitating membrane response. Interstimulus interval and frequency of CS-CS pairings.

Second-order conditioning of the rabbit's nictitating membrane response (NMR) was investigated when second-order trials (CS1-CS2) were intermixed with first-order trials (CS2-US) from the outset of training. Experiment 1 showed that CR acquisition to CS1 was inversely related to the CS1-CS2 interval but nevertheless extended to an interval of 8,400 ms. Experiment 2 revealed that CR acquisition of CS1 was an inverted-U function of the number of CS1-CS2 trials relative to a fixed number of CS2-US trials. Experiment 3 directly contrasted second-order conditioning with a reinforced serial compound procedure (CS1-CS2-US) and a mixed procedure in which second-order trials were intermixed with the reinforced serial compound. Second-order conditioning was about half the strength of either the reinforced serial compound or the mixed procedure, which were similar. The present results are discussed with respect to the relative strength of excitatory and inhibitory processes in second-order conditioning.     

Second-order conditioning of the rabbit’s nictitating membrane response

Second-order conditioning of the rabbit’s nictitating membrane response (NMR) was investigated when second-order trials (CS1-CS2) were intermixed with first-order trials (CS2-US) from the outset of training. Experiment 1 showed that CR acquisition to CS1 was inversely related to the CS1-CS2 interval but nevertheless extended to an interval of 8,400 ms. Experiment 2 revealed that CR acquisition of CS1 was an inverted-U function of the number of CS1-CS2 trials relative to a fixed number of CS2-US trials. Experiment 3 directly contrasted second-order conditioning with a reinforced serial compound procedure (CS1-CS2-US) and a mixed procedure in which second-order trials were intermixed with the reinforced serial compound. Second-order conditioning was about half the strength of either the reinforced serial compound or the mixed procedure, which were similar. The present results are discussed with respect to the relative strength of excitatory and inhibitory processes in second-order conditioning.