Conditional discrimination in young children: the roles of associative and relational processing

Two experiments examined conditional discrimination in 4- to 6-year-olds. Children learned to choose one of two objects (e.g., circle) when the background was, say, red and to choose the other object (e.g., triangle) when the background was, say, blue. Awareness was assessed and interpreted as a marker of relational processing. In Experiment 1, most 4- and 5-year-olds did not reach the learning criterion. Children in Experiment 2 solved simpler reversal learning problems before the conditional discrimination problems. Most 4- to 6-year-olds reached criterion, but they did not necessarily demonstrate awareness, suggesting that reversal learning and conditional discrimination can be acquired through associative or relational processing. Relational processing increased with age and was used more on simpler problems. Fluid intelligence predicted Problem 2 performance in children who used relational (not associative) processing on Problem 1. Prior experience with simpler problems and awareness of relational structure are influential in children's conditional discrimination.     

The Concept of Rationality for a City

Topoi - The central aim of this paper is to argue that there is a meaningful sense in which a concept of rationality can apply to a city. The idea will be that a city is rational to the extent that...     

The Effects of Textured Insoles on Cortical Activity and Quiet Bipedal Standing With and Without Vision: An EEG Study

Abstract

Wearing textured insoles (TIs) can reduce static postural sway, but the neurophysiological mechanisms by which these changes occur are not well understood. To address this issue, cortical activity was investigated in this study using electroencephalography (EEG) recordings from 19 scalp locations, in 15 healthy young adults (5 females; mean age = 27?±?4.09 years) during quiet bipedal standing, under different insole conditions (textured versus smooth), with and without vision. Compared to smooth insoles (SIs), TIs significantly reduced postural sway in two measures; anterior–posterior range and standard deviation. In the EEG data, whole-head analyses showed cortical activity in the upper alpha power band was significantly reduced for textured compared to SIs. Exploratory analyses revealed this effect was significant both with and without vision, and was more pronounced over the parietal, compared to central regions, and over central compared to frontal regions. This trend was observed in low alpha and theta bands, but the effect of insole type was not significant. Textured insoles thus appear to affect not only balance outcomes but also cortical activity. The cortical activity adaptation may represent greater information becoming readily available at the cortical level, enhancing the representation of the body in space.     

SEVEN CONCEPTS OF CREATION

Professor Broadie identifies for us a number of features of the account of creation in the Timaeus:
(1) The cosmos-the ordered universe in which we live is to be accounted for as a whole.
(2) The cosmos is supremely beautiful and good.
(3) The cause of the cosmos is non-physical, intelligent, good, and divine, i.e. God.
(4) God worked on pre-existent matter.
(5) God was copying an eternal paradigm.
It would, I think, be very widely agreed that these five theses are true of Plato's account and pick out its significant points.