How Do Artificial Neural Networks Classify Musical Triads? A Case Study in Eluding Bonini's Paradox

How might artificial neural networks (ANNs) inform cognitive science? Often cognitive scientists use ANNs but do not examine their internal structures. In this paper, we use ANNs to explore how cognition might represent musical properties. We train ANNs to classify musical chords, and we interpret network structure to determine what representations ANNs discover and use. We find connection weights between input units and hidden units can be described using Fourier phase spaces, a representation studied in musical set theory. We find the total signal coming through these weighted connection weights is a measure of the similarity between two Fourier structures: the structure of the hidden unit's weights and the structure of the stimulus. This is surprising because neither of these Fourier structures is computed by the hidden unit. We then show how output units use such similarity measures to classify chords. However, we also find different types of units—units that use different activation functions—use this similarity measure very differently. This result, combined with other findings, indicates that while our networks are related to the Fourier analysis of musical sets, they do not perform Fourier analyses of the kind usually described in musical set theory. Our results show Fourier representations of music are not limited to musical set theory. Our results also suggest how cognitive psychologists might explore Fourier representations in musical cognition. Critically, such theoretical and empirical implications require researchers to understand how network structure converts stimuli into responses.     

When deciding to cooperate by direct reciprocity,Norway rats sometimes benefit from olfactory competence and seem not impaired by insufficient cognitive abilities

Animal Cognition - Direct reciprocity requires the ability to recognize and memorize social partners, and to remember their previous actions. ‘Insufficient cognitive abilities’ have...     

A test of Weiner's attribution theory inertial motivation hypothesis1

This study (N= 160 males) examined the cognitive and inertial motivation effects of overt success feedback on subjects high and low in resultant achievement motivation. The cognitive effects of overt success feedback were investigated by requesting attributions to effort, ability, luck, and task difficulty concerning performance on a digit symbol substitution task. The inertial motivation effects of overt success feedback were investigated through a transfer design. Results indicated overt success feedback to have an inertial motivation effect on performance efficiency at a subsequent verbal learning task. The results provided evidence against Weiner's (1972) attribution theory version of the inertial motivation hypothesis, and were interpreted within the general learning theory framework combined with the achievement and test anxiety models of Atkinson and Sarason. The interpretation offered considers the various experimental conditions as sources of motivation.     

Aging and mental health in the decade ahead: what psychologists need to know

Until relatively recently, most psychologists have had limited professional involvement with older adults. With the baby boomers starting to turn 65 years old in 2011, sheer numbers of older adults will continue to increase. About 1 in 5 older adults has a mental disorder, such as dementia. Their needs for mental and behavioral health services are not now adequately met, and the decade ahead will require an approximate doubling of the current level of psychologists' time with older adults. Public policy in the coming decade will face tensions between cost containment and facilitation of integrated models of care. Most older adults who access mental health services do so in primary care settings, where interdisciplinary, collaborative models of care have been found to be quite effective. To meet the needs of the aging population, psychologists need to increase awareness of competencies for geropsychology practice and knowledge regarding dementia diagnosis, screening, and services. Opportunities for psychological practice are anticipated to grow in primary care, dementia and family caregiving services, decision-making-capacity evaluation, and end-of-life care. Aging is an aspect of diversity that can be integrated into psychology education across levels of training. Policy advocacy for geropsychology clinical services, education, and research remains critical. Psychologists have much to offer an aging society.     

Outrage fatigue? Cognitive costs and decisions to blame

Motivation and Emotion - Across nine studies (N?=?1672), we assessed the link between cognitive costs and the choice to express outrage by blaming. We developed the Blame Selection...     

The Rugged Resilience Measure: Development and Preliminary Validation of a Brief Measure of Personal Resilience

Applied Research in Quality of Life - There is an increasing demand for brief measures of resilience that can distinguish different dimensions of successful adaptation and good quality of life...     

Comments by the Discussant

The Psychological Record -     

Effects of stimulus preexposure on omission responding and omission-produced dishabituation of the human electrodermal response

As a test of Wagner's (1981) theory of habituation, three experiments examined the effects of stimulus preexposure on electrodermal responding to the absence of a stimulus and on omission-produced dishabituation. The general procedure for all experiments consisted of a preexposure phase in which one stimulus (S1) was presented 20 times, followed by a pairing phase in which S1 was followed by a second event, S2. After a number of S1-S2 pairings, S2 was omitted for one trial and was then represented following S1 on the next trial. Electrodermal activity was measured in all experiments, and in Experiments 2 and 3, a measure of expectancy of S2 in the presence of S1 was also obtained to provide a putative index of S2 priming by S1. Experiments 1 (N=48) and 2 (N=72) employed 15 S1-S2 pairings prior to S2 omission. Significant omission responding and dishabituation to S2 were obtained in both experiments. However, omission effects were not influenced by preexposure presentations of S1. Experiment 3, on the other hand, demonstrated that omission responding and dishabituation were attenuated by 20 preexposures of S1 when only 4 S1-S2 pairings were employed. In addition, Experiments 2 and 3 revealed that although expectation of S2 developed as a function of S1-S2 pairings, it too was reduced by preexposure to S1. Only Experiment 3 provided preexposure effects that are consistent with Wagner's (1981) theory.