Dynamical Models of Sentence Processing

We suggest that the theory of dynamical systems provides a revealing general framework for modeling the representations and mechanism underlying syntactic processing. We show how a particular dynamical model, the Visitation Set Gravitation model of Tabor, Juliano, and Tanenhaus (1997), develops syntactic representations and models a set of contingent frequency effects in parsing that are problematic for other models. We also present new simulations showing how the model accounts for semantic effects in parsing, and propose a new account of the distinction between syntactic and semantic incongruity. The results show how symbolic structures useful in parsing arise as emergent properties of connectionist dynamical systems.     

Borderline Personality Disorder in 3-D: Dimensions,Symptoms, and Measurement Challenges

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a pervasive pattern of psychopathology characterized by unstable affect, suicidal behaviors, and identity problems (Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Washington, DC: Author; 2000). BPD is heterogeneous in nature, highly prevalent in clinical settings, and increasingly studied by clinical and social psychologists. This review highlights affective instability, impulsivity, and interpersonal hypersensitivity, the interaction of which we believe accounts for the symptoms of BPD, the BPD criteria most associated with these features, and the interrelationships among these underlying dimensions. We also discuss difficulties in measurement of these dimensions. Real-world assessment methods will assist in the measurement of time-dependent processes and identify causes, covariates, or consequences of these processes to determine how these features manifest themselves in real life.     

Psychological Model for Presymptomatic Test Interviews: Lessons Learned from Huntington Disease

This paper reflects on experience gained from presymptomatic testing for Huntington disease. An approach is presented which considers the role of the clinician and aims of the interview. Irrespective of the disease being tested for, it is suggested that the psychological aim of presymptomatic testing is to foster emotional insight and understanding that will help clients in their decision-making process about testing and their subsequent adjustment to the result. Based on these aims the process of presymptomatic testing, counseling is considered in terms of clarification, consideration, education, and reflection, followed by decision making. Practical approaches are discussed and illustrated with clinical examples.     

Photo-Elicitation Interviews with Vulnerable Populations: Practical and Ethical Considerations

Photo-elicitation is a qualitative interview technique where researchers solicit responses, reactions, and insights from participants by using photographs or other images as stimuli. Images can be researcher-generated or participant-generated and each has particular benefits and challenges. Though not new, the use of images within criminology is an underused technique. In this paper we advocate the use of photo-elicitation techniques suggesting that they offer a powerful addition to standard data collection and presentation techniques. In making our case, we draw on our experiences from an 18-month long photo-ethnography of people living in rural Alabama who use methamphetamine. The ethnography consisted of formal interviews and informal observations with 52 participants and photography of 29 of them. While we draw on our overall experiences from the project we focus specifically on the photographs generated by, and taken of, one key participant—Alice. We demonstrate the benefits and challenges of using photo elicitation interviews with vulnerable individuals such as Alice, by considering themes such as representation, empowerment and emotionality. Additionally, we highlight the practical and ethical issues that confront researchers who incorporate the visual into their research.     

Attentional priming releases crowding

Views of natural scenes unfold over time, and objects of interest that were present a moment ago tend to remain present. While visual crowding places a fundamental limit on object recognition in cluttered scenes, most studies of crowding have suffered from the limitation that they typically involved static scenes. The role of temporal continuity in crowding has therefore been unaddressed. We investigated intertrial effects upon crowding in visual scenes, showing that crowding is considerably diminished when objects remain constant on consecutive visual search trials. Repetition of both the target and distractors decreases the critical distance for crowding from flankers. More generally, our results show how object continuity through between-trial priming releases objects that would otherwise be unidentifiable due to crowding. Crowding, although it is a significant bottleneck on object recognition, can be mitigated by statistically likely temporal continuity of the objects. Crowding therefore depends not only on what is momentarily present, but also on what was previously attended.     

The Effect of Delayed Responding on Stroop-Like Task Performance Among Preschoolers

Forty-four preschoolers completed 2 conditions of a Stroop-like procedure (e.g., saying “boat” for car and “car” for boat) that differed in whether a 3-s delay was imposed before responding. The test card was visible during the delay period for half of the children and occluded for the other children. Preschoolers’ interference control was significantly improved in the delay condition. There was no difference between the two delay variants (test card visible or occluded). Children were more prone to interference as testing progressed regardless of whether the delay was present. These results suggest that delays effectively reduce interference by reducing the potency of the competing response during test trials, although memory demands may moderate the effectiveness of delays.