Coding categorical and coordinate spatial relations in visual–spatial short-term memory

Four experiments explored the coding of categorical and coordinate spatial relations in visual–spatial short-term memory (VSSTM). Participants judged whether two stimuli presented successively on a computer screen were the same or different. On positional change trials the two stimuli differed in the position of one element. Positional changes were of two types, coordinate and categorical. On coordinate trials the position of one element changed by a small amount, but retained the categorical relationships (above, below, left of, right of) to all other elements. On categorical trials one element moved by the same amount but additionally changed its categorical relationship to one of the other elements (e.g., changed from below to above). Participants detected categorical changes more accurately than coordinate changes when the elements were independent locations marked by squares, indicating that the categorical relationships amongst the squares were encoded in memory. Furthermore, this categorical advantage was unmodulated by either the suppression of articulation (Experiment 2) or by the requirement to retain either colour–position associations or positions only (Experiment 3). When the elements to be remembered were the vertices of simple outline polygons (Experiment 4) there was no categorical advantage, establishing the effect as spatial in nature. Contrary to predictions derived from Postma and De Haan (1996) Postma, A. and De Haan, E. H. 1996. What was where? Memory for object locations. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 49A: 178–199. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], the employment of categorical relations appears not to be specifically linked to either verbal coding or to the requirement to associate objects with positions. The results suggest that the categorical relations are an intrinsic property of the representation of spatial configurations.     

Internal number magnitude representation is not holistic,either

Over the last years, evidence has accumulated that the magnitude of two-digit numbers is not only represented as one holistic entity, but also decomposed for tens and units. Recently, Zhang and Wang (2005) suggested such separate processing may be due to the presence of external representations of numbers, whereas holistic processing became more likely when one of the to-be-compared numbers was already internalised. The latter conclusion essentially rested on unit-based null effects. However, Nuerk and Willmes (2005) argued that unfavourable stimulus selection may provoke such null effects and misleading conclusions. Therefore, we tested the conclusion of Zhang and Wang for internal standards with a modified stimulus set. We observed reliable unit-based effects in all conditions contradicting the holistic model. Thus, decomposed representations of tens and units can also be demonstrated for internal standards. We conclude that decomposed magnitude processing of multidigit numbers does not rely on external representations. Rather, even when two-digit numbers are internalised, the magnitudes of tens and units seem to be (also) represented separately.     

Effects of the degree of meaning similarity on cross-language semantic priming in highly proficient bilinguals

This study aimed to determine if access to meaning can be directly achieved from the words in the two languages, examining the influence of the degree of semantic overlap between related words across languages in the pattern of priming effects. Nonassociative semantically related words (members of the same category) were used, avoiding explicitly associative relationships. Using a priming paradigm, highly proficient Catalan–Spanish bilinguals were visually presented with pairs of words that either were translations of each other, had a very close semantic relationship (in terms of shared features), a close semantic relationship, or no semantic relationship at all. Participants performed either a lexical decision task (Experiment 1) or a semantic decision task (Experiment 2). The main results of the study were the same in both language directions (Spanish–Catalan and Catalan–Spanish), showing that the degree of semantic overlap (in terms of shared features) between words in different languages can modulate priming effects, regardless of the language of the prime and the task used. These results demonstrate that there is cross-language activation of shared semantic representations and, thus, that highly proficient bilinguals can have direct access to word meaning from the two languages.     

Culturally Competent Assessment: More Than Nonbiased Tests

The persistent and unresolved issue of minority disproportionality in special education provides a strong rationale for ensuring that assessment is culturally appropriate and sensitive. An extensive literature on test bias has failed to find evidence of bias sufficient to fully explain disproportional representation of minorities in special education. Yet minorities in this nation, most especially African Americans, have been exposed to a long history of unequal opportunity and oppression, and these inequities continue to be played out in educational settings. In the face of inadequate cultural and educational opportunity, unbiased tests provide an accurate estimate not only of individual capability, but also of the inhospitable conditions that depress that capability. A failure to take differential educational opportunity into account when considering minority test performance may lead to serious errors of test score interpretation. In the face of unequal educational opportunity, culturally competent assessment thus means more than manipulating the content of tests. Rather, it represents a comprehensive process that uses the results of assessment to identify and remedy educational conditions that systematically disadvantage students of color.     

Probability, logic and the cognitive foundations of rational belief

Since Pascal introduced the idea of mathematical probability in the 17th century discussions of uncertainty and “rational” belief have been dogged by philosophical and technical disputes. Furthermore, the last quarter century has seen an explosion of new questions and ideas, stimulated by developments in the computer and cognitive sciences. Competing ideas about probability are often driven by different intuitions about the nature of belief that arise from the needs of different domains (e.g., economics, management theory, engineering, medicine, the life sciences etc). Taking medicine as our focus we develop three lines of argument (historical, practical and cognitive) that suggest that traditional views of probability cannot accommodate all the competing demands and diverse constraints that arise in complex real-world domains. A model of uncertain reasoning based on a form of logical argumentation appears to unify many diverse ideas. The model has precursors in informal discussions of argumentation due to Toulmin, and the notion of logical probability advocated by Keynes, but recent developments in artificial intelligence and cognitive science suggest ways of resolving epistemological and technical issues that they could not address.     

小学生表征数学应用题策略的实验研究

通过一个2(成功与否)×2(提示与否)×2(题型)的混合实验设计,对小学五年级学生解决和差应用题的表征策略进行了研究.结果表明:(1)与比较应用题的表征相类似,小学生对和差应用题的表征也存在着直译策略和问题模型策略;(2)不成功组解题者在表征和差应用题时倾向于运用直译策略,而成功组的解题者更倾向于运用问题模型策略,这导致了成功者与不成功者在列式上的差异,特别是在不一致题型上表现得更明显;(3)在读题前给以“请注意理解这道题的意思”这样简单的提示,对不成功的解题者对和差问题的正确表征并不能起到作用;(4)成功的和差应用题解题者和不成功的解题者在列式正确性的自我评价上存在显著差异.     

词汇表征和加工理论及其认知神经心理学证据

认知神经心理学为探讨语言心理表征和加工理论提供了新途径 ,使得人们对心理词典结构的认识不断深入细化。研究表明词汇不同性质的信息在表征上相互独立 ,词典系统至少包括语义系统、语音输入词典与语音输出词典、字形输入词典与字形输出词典等模块。本文着重介绍了这一词典系统及其认知神经心理学证据     

Left caloric vestibular stimulation as a tool to reveal implicit and explicit parameters of body representation

Homeostatic parameters, such as temperature, are related to body representation. In this study, we measured whether caloric vestibular stimulation (CVS) alters body temperature and tactile processing, and if in the direction predicted by a holistic body matrix representation.Skin temperature and tactile two-point discrimination (TPD) acuity were measured for both arms before, immediately after and with a delay from CVS. Participants were also administered a personality questionnaire and an anxiety inventory to rule out confounding factors. Two control experiments were planned to exclude casual variations.Our results show that temperature drops significantly in both arms after CVS. CVS also induces a bilateral improvement in tactile acuity (even though not immediately after but in the delayed condition). Finally, these effects are not due to learning, as demonstrated by the control experiment.In summary, our results suggest that vestibular stimulation updates body representation, supporting the evidence in favor of a body matrix.