Driving in dangerous territory: Complexity and road-characteristics influence attentional demand

Car driving related attentional demands fluctuate according to route complexity and are found to be highly associated with motor-vehicle collisions (MVCs). The purpose of the current study was to explore the inherent attentional demands of scenarios that approximate common crash configurations. Sixty drivers completed a series of 20 simulated driving scenarios incorporating either rear-end or crossing path situations. For each scenario, the complexity of the driving environment was systematically manipulated in terms of vehicle handling and information processing elements. The attentional demands of each scenario were assessed by means of a peripheral detection task (PDT) as well as through a subjective measure of overall difficulty. Our results showed a reduction in PDT performance at intersections where information processing is increased as well as when handling maneuvers behind a lead vehicle were required. The results point to the appropriateness of the PDT as a sensitive measure of cognitive workload. The implications of these findings for future research and safety initiatives are discussed.     

Effect of imagined movement speed on subsequent motor performance

Researchers realize that motor imagery (MI) duration is closely linked to actual motor action duration. In 2 experiments, the authors investigated the effect of changing MI speed on actual movement duration over a 3-week training period. Experiment 1 involved 2 series of body movements that 24 participants mentally performed faster or slower than their actual execution speeds. The fast MI group's actual times decreased on subsequent performance. Participants in Experiment 2 were 21 skilled athletes who increased (decreased) their well-rehearsed actual movement times after MI training at a slow (fast) speed. The effect was task-related, however: MI affected only self-initiated movement. The effect of MI on actual speed execution supports the ideomotor theory because anticipation of sensory consequences of actions is mentally represented.     

Are unsupervised neural networks ignorant? Sizing the effect of environmental distributions on unsupervised learning

Learning environmental biases is a rational behavior: by using prior odds, Bayesian networks rapidly became a benchmark in machine learning. Moreover, a growing body of evidence now suggests that humans are using base rate information. Unsupervised connectionist networks are used in computer science for machine learning and in psychology to model human cognition, but it is unclear whether they are sensitive to prior odds. In this paper, we show that hard competitive learners are unable to use environmental biases while recurrent associative memories use frequency of exemplars and categories independently. Hence, it is concluded that recurrent associative memories are more useful than hard competitive networks to model human cognition and have a higher potential in machine learning.     

Learning to perceive with a visuo-auditory substitution system: localisation and object recognition with 'the vOICe'

We investigated to what extent participants can acquire the mastery of an auditory-substitution-of-vision device ('The vOICe') using dynamic tasks in a three-dimensional environment. After extensive training, participants took part in four experiments. In the first experiment we explored locomotion and localisation abilities. Participants, blindfolded and equipped with the device, had to localise a target by moving a hand-held camera, walk towards the target, and point at it. In the second experiment, we studied the localisation ability in a constrained pointing task. In the third experiment we explored participants' ability to recognise natural objects via their auditory rendering. In the fourth experiment we tested the ability of participants to discriminate objects belonging to the same category. We analysed participants' performance from both an objective and a subjective point of view. The results showed that participants, through sensorimotor interactions with the perceptual scene while using the hand-held camera, were able to make use of the auditory stimulation to obtain the information necessary for locomotor guidance, localisation, and pointing, as well as for object recognition. Furthermore, analysis from a subjective perspective yielded insights into participants' qualitative experience and into the strategies they used to master the device, and thus to pass from a kind of deductive reasoning to a form of immediate apprehension of what is being perceived.     

CORRECTION DES VERBALISATIONS IRRATIONNELLES CHEZ DES JOUEURS DE POKER-VIDEO*

Earlier studies have shown that irrational thinking dominates rational thinking during gambling. The present study evaluated the effects of cognitive restructuring on gambling behaviors among video poker players. Within a single case experimental design across subjects, the results showed that irrational verbalizations decreased during treatment while rational verbalizations increased. Three out of four players reduced their frequency of gambling following treatment. The theoretical and clinical implications of these results are discussed.     

A Dynamic Version of Hylomorphism

This paper presents a version of hylomorphism that intends to solve problems faced by contemporary hylomorphism. After showing that attempts to understand form as sets or relation of essential properties fail at taking into account the dynamic development of substances, the paper suggests another version of hylomorphism able to solve these difficulties. A functionalist version of hylomorphism is then defended: the best way to understand how form can be present throughout all the developmental stages of a substance is to understand it as a certain kind of function.     

Syllogistic reasoning and belief-bias inhibition in school children: evidence from a negative priming paradigm

Research on deductive reasoning in adolescents and adults has shown that errors in deductive logic are not necessarily due to a lack of logical ability but can stem from an executive failure to inhibit biases. Few studies have examined this dissociation in children. Here, we used a negative priming paradigm with 64 children (8-10 years old) to test the role of cognitive inhibition in syllogisms with belief-bias effects. On trials where negative priming was predicted, results were as follows: For the first syllogism (A), the strategy 'unbelievable-equals-invalid' had to be inhibited. The logic of the syllogism led to affirming a conclusion inconsistent with one's knowledge of the world, such as 'All elephants are light.' For the second syllogism (B), one's real-world knowledge and the syllogism's logic were congruent but the latter required affirming exactly what had been inhibited for A (i.e. that elephants are heavy). A negative priming effect on the A-B sequence was reflected in a significant drop in reasoning performance on B. This supports the idea that during cognitive development, inhibitory control is required for success on syllogisms where beliefs and logic interfere.     

Autoassociator networks: insights into infant cognition

This paper presents autoassociator neural networks. A first section reviews the architecture of these models, common learning rules, and presents sample simulations to illustrate their abilities. In a second section, the ability of these models to account for learning phenomena such as habituation is reviewed. The contribution of these networks to discussions about infant cognition is highlighted. A new, modular approach is presented in a third section. In the discussion, a role for these learning models in a broader developmental framework is proposed.