Explorations of anticipatory behavioral control (ABC): a report from the cognitive psychology unit of the University of Würzburg

The report comprises recent theoretical considerations, experimental research, and simulations which all aim at a clarification of anticipatory mechanisms of behavioral control.     

Individual differences in components of reaction time distributions and their relations to working memory and intelligence

The authors bring together approaches from cognitive and individual differences psychology to model characteristics of reaction time distributions beyond measures of central tendency. Ex-Gaussian distributions and a diffusion model approach are used to describe individuals' reaction time data. The authors identified common latent factors for each of the 3 ex-Gaussian parameters and for 3 parameters central to the diffusion model using structural equation modeling for a battery of choice reaction tasks. These factors had differential relations to criterion constructs. Parameters reflecting the tail of the distribution (i.e., tau in the ex-Gaussian and drift rate in the diffusion model) were the strongest unique predictors of working memory, reasoning, and psychometric speed. Theories of controlled attention and binding are discussed as potential theoretical explanations.     

Getting a grip on numbers: numerical magnitude priming in object grasping

To investigate the functional connection between numerical cognition and action planning, the authors required participants to perform different grasping responses depending on the parity status of Arabic digits. The results show that precision grip actions were initiated faster in response to small numbers, whereas power grips were initiated faster in response to large numbers. Moreover, analyses of the grasping kinematics reveal an enlarged maximum grip aperture in the presence of large numbers. Reaction time effects remained present when controlling for the number of fingers used while grasping but disappeared when participants pointed to the object. The data indicate a priming of size-related motor features by numerals and support the idea that representations of numbers and actions share common cognitive codes within a generalized magnitude system.     

Abductive reasoning in neural-symbolic systems

Abduction is or subsumes a process of inference. It entertains possible hypotheses and it chooses hypotheses for further scrutiny. There is a large literature on various aspects of non-symbolic, subconscious abduction. There is also a very active research community working on the symbolic (logical) characterisation of abduction, which typically treats it as a form of hypothetico-deductive reasoning. In this paper we start to bridge the gap between the symbolic and sub-symbolic approaches to abduction. We are interested in benefiting from developments made by each community. In particular, we are interested in the ability of non-symbolic systems (neural networks) to learn from experience using efficient algorithms and to perform massively parallel computations of alternative abductive explanations. At the same time, we would like to benefit from the rigour and semantic clarity of symbolic logic. We present two approaches to dealing with abduction in neural networks. One of them uses Connectionist Modal Logic and a translation of Horn clauses into modal clauses to come up with a neural network ensemble that computes abductive explanations in a top-down fashion. The other combines neural-symbolic systems and abductive logic programming and proposes a neural architecture which performs a more systematic, bottom-up computation of alternative abductive explanations. Both approaches employ standard neural network architectures which are already known to be highly effective in practical learning applications. Differently from previous work in the area, our aim is to promote the integration of reasoning and learning in a way that the neural network provides the machinery for cognitive computation, inductive learning and hypothetical reasoning, while logic provides the rigour and explanation capability to the systems, facilitating the interaction with the outside world. Although it is left as future work to determine whether the structure of one of the proposed approaches is more amenable to learning than the other, we hope to have contributed to the development of the area by approaching it from the perspective of symbolic and sub-symbolic integration.

The Institute for Music Physiology and Musicians’ Medicine

The Institute of Music Physiology and Musicians' Medicine of the University of Music and Drama in Hannover, Germany, is a unique Institution in Europe whose scope includes teaching the basics of music physiology and musicians' medicine and research into the physiological and neurobiological principles of professional music performance and music perception. Furthermore, the institute conducts research into the causes of occupational injuries in musicians and provides means for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of such injuries.     

Effects of reducing attentional demands on performance of reading comprehension tests by third graders

The researchers examined the effects of reducing attentional demands on reading comprehension test scores. Third grade students (N=939) completed two forms (T & S) of the Stanford 9 Reading Comprehension Test (54 items, 50 min.) in the spring of 1999. Form T (state-mandated) was administered following standardized procedures in one session. Form S (alternate) was administered in multiple, divided-time sessions, that is, the total test time and items were divided in halves and thirds per session to lessen attentional demands. A repeated-measure analysis of variance yielded significant effects for average and low readers. A resource match explanation and a metacognitive explanation are offered for the results, and educational implications are discussed.     

Role of perceived importance in intergroup contact

Furthering G. W. Allport's contentions for optimal contact, the authors introduce a new construct: the perceived importance of contact. They propose that perceived importance is the best proximal predictor of contact's reduction of prejudice. If individuals have opportunities for contact at work or in the neighborhood, their chances to have intergroup acquaintances and friends increase. Intergroup contact among acquaintances and friends can be perceived as more or less important, which in turn determines intergroup evaluations. A 1st study shows that the new measure of perceived importance is indeed distinct from established quantity and quality indicators. The results are cross-validated in a 2nd study that also sheds light on the meaning of importance. In 3rd and 4th studies, structural equation analyses and a meta-analysis support the hypotheses.     

A depressive symptom scale for the California Psychological Inventory: construct validation of the CPI-D

To facilitate life span research on depressive symptomatology, a depressive symptom scale for the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) is needed. The authors constructed such a scale (the CPI-D) and compared its psychometric properties with 2 widely used self-report depression scales: the Beck Depression Inventory and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Construct validity of the CPI-D was examined in 3 studies. Study 1 established content validity, classifying CPI-D items into Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition depressive symptoms. Study 2 used 3 large samples to gather evidence for reliability and validity: correlational analyses demonstrated alpha reliability and convergent and discriminant validity; factor analysis provided evidence for discriminant validity with anxiety; and regression analyses demonstrated comparative validity with existing standard PI scales. Study 3 used clinician ratings of depression and anxiety as criteria for external validity.