Referenzsemantik in der Partnermodellierung

How can we explain that an assertion on something perceived can be understood in the same manner by somebody who cannot perceive that scene? This problem bases the interest in computational linguistics in how listener modeling could possibly be harmonized with reference semantics. Mental images substituting real perception appear as a way out. The architecture of the listener model has to be adapted to the creation and use of such pictorial data structures. Furthermore, the relation between the latter and a verbal (i. e., propositional) representation must be understood. The resulting architecture of a listener model with reference semantics can be employed to solve communicational problems from three general classes in a better way, as is demonstrated by an example implementation.     

A NOTE ON TRANSFER OF STIMULUS CONTROL IN THE DELAYED-CUE PROCEDURE: FACILITATION BY AN OVERT DIFFERENTIAL RESPONSE

This case study describes initially unsuccessful attempts to use the delayed-cue procedure to teach conditional discriminations to an individual with moderate mental retardation. The task was matching printed-word comparison stimuli to dictated-name sample stimuli. In three experiments, the subject typically waited for the delayed cue unless differential responses to the dictated samples (repeating the sample names) were required. Hence, the study provides an example of a way to make the delayed-cue method more effective. The stimulus control bases for the results are discussed.     

The role of attention in the shift from orientation-dependent to orientation-invariant identification of disoriented objects

In two experiments, the naming of rotated line drawings of natural objects was examined after a training phase in which the objects were either attended or ignored. In the training phase of Experiment 1, subjects were presented with objects in a number of orientations over five repeated blocks of trials. In the center of each object, seven letters (Xs and Ts, colored red or blue) were presented in rapid succession. Half the subjects named aloud the rotated object and ignored the changing letter display (object-attend). The other half ignored the object and counted the number of red Ts, and then used this number to perform a simple multiplication (object-ignore). In the test phase, all subjects named the rotated objects. The results showed that in the first block of trials in the training phase, mean naming time in the object-attend condition increased the further an object was rotated from the upright. This effect of orientation for attended objects was much reduced in the later presentations of the test phase. In contrast, there was no such benefit of prior presentation observed for the naming of objects that had previously been ignored. Instead, a substantial orientation effect was shown for the naming of previously ignored objects, which was similar to the orientation effect observed for attended objects named in the first block. Similar results were found in Experiment 2, in which object-attend subjects in training covertly named the objects and then performed a letter count and multiplication task. In both experiments, performance on the letter count and multiplication task varied with the angle of the ignored object. The results suggest that full attentional resources must be allocated in order for orientation-invariant representations to be formed and used in the identification of rotated objects.     

The numbers game: Gender and attention to numerical information

Research suggests that males outperform females on standardized tests of math ability from early adolescence onward. Several explanations for this difference focus on the different experiences of females and males with numerical information. We reasoned that males have more experience with numerical information than females because typical male interests (e.g., sports) are more likely to involve numerical information than typical female interests (e.g., physical appearance). Thus, we predicted that males would attend more to numerical information than would females, at least when the information was presented in a male-related or gender-neutral context. Females were expected to attend more than males when the context was female-related. Results using White/Caucasian subjects provided some support for these predictions. Implications for future research on the relationship between the gender-linkage of math materials and gender differences in math performance are discussed.     

A DEVELOPMENTAL DEFICIT IN LOCALIZING OBJECTS FROM VISION

Abstract— We describe a college student, A. H., with a developmental deficit in determining the location of objects from vision. The deficit is selective in that (a) localization from auditory or tactile information is intact, (b) A H reports the identity of mislocalized objects accurately, (c) visual localization errors preserve certain parameters of the target location, and (d) visual localization is severely impaired under certain stimulus conditions, but nearly intact under other conditions. These results bear on the representation and processing of location information in the visual system, and also have implications for understanding developmental dyslexia.     

Negative priming by rotated objects

Previous work has found that repeated exposure to ignored rotated objects is insufficient to allow the formation of orientation-invariant representations (Murray, 1995b). In this study, the negative priming paradigm was used to examine whether the identity of ignored rotated objects was encoded. Subjects were briefly presented with a prime followed by a probe display. One of the two overlapping drawings of objects in each display was selected for further processing, and the other was ignored. In one condition, the ignored objects were upright; in another, they were rotated 240°; and in a final condition, subjects repeatedly named the 240° objects prior to experiencing them as ignored objects in the priming task. Naming latency for the attended probe was slower when it was semantically related to the ignored prime in all conditions. The results suggest that unattended rotated objects are processed to a level of representation that is at least categorical.     

TEACHING MULTIPLICATION FACTS TO STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES

Multiple baseline designs were used to examine the effects of an instructional package on accuracy of performance in solving multiplication facts by 3 students with learning disabilities. The instructional package included the following components: (a) a modified instructional sequence in which multiplication facts were grouped into the zeros, ones, doubles, fives, and nines categories, and those remaining; (b) identification of the category in which each fact belonged; (c) mnemonic strategies associated with solving facts in each category; and (d) steps to be completed for solving facts in each category. Results indicated that the instructional package produced substantial and immediate effects. After receiving instruction, a participant's accuracy was often 100%, and this was maintained throughout the evaluation even as other strategies were introduced. Comparable results occurred across students, demonstrating replication of the effects of the instructional package.     

Verb Comprehension Deficits in Probable Alzheimer's Disease

Studies of lexical comprehension in probable Alzheimer's disease (pAD) have focused almost exclusively on nouns. In the following preliminary study, we examined whether lexical comprehension for verbs is also impaired in 25 pAD patients. The semantic meaning of motion verbs, cognition verbs, and perception verbs was assessed with a triadic comparison task. Structural meaning associated with these verbs was evaluated by asking the patients to judge the coherence of sentence frames that accept these verbs naturally or awkwardly. We found that pAD patients are significantly impaired at identifying semantic relations among verbs. pAD patients also encountered significantly more difficulty judging the coherence of sentences than control subjects. Correlation and regression analyses demonstrated that semantic characteristics of verbs are projected from the verbs' sentence frames in control subjects, but there was minimal evidence for such a structural–semantic relationship in pAD. We consider several possible explanations for our preliminary observations of an impairment that has consequences for processing both semantic and structural aspects of verb meaning.