Reliability of variable message signs information: A field experiment study in Chongqing

A variable message sign (VMS), which is a key component of intelligent transportation systems, has been frequently used in the management of urban roads and motorways to provide drivers with real-time traffic condition information about a road section or area. Nevertheless, there is a lack of unified regulations for VMS design, which makes it difficult to accurately determine the understandability and legibility of VMS information. In practice, inappropriate designs of VMSs are common, such as overload of VMS information and excessive number of phases, particularly on the urban roads of China. Building on our earlier findings obtained by surveys, in this study, field tests were conducted to assess the reliability of VMS information in terms of the visual perception characteristics of drivers. For a full visual perception, the information displayed on a VMS must be reliable, i.e., it should be easy for drivers to detect, obtain, and understand the messages they require. Two basic theories—information theory and visual perception theory—were introduced to build a quantification model of VMS information, select evaluation indices, and design the experimental process. A total of 24 drivers participated in the field experiments and questionnaires. Five indices—information obtainment rate, periodic validity, driver subjective scoring and the corresponding UI (represents information intelligibility), and CE (represents information legibility)—were analyzed to evaluate their relationships to VMS information reliability. The results confirmed that the amount of information, and the scrolling period considering redundant distance, significantly affect the reliability of VMSs information. For static VMSs, the information obtainment rate and the subjective scoring decrease with increasing amount of information. The recollection accuracy of the drivers significantly declines when the amount of information shown increases to 90 bits, corresponding to an information obtainment rate of less than 0.8 and UI equal to 0. For dynamic VMSs, the information reliability deteriorates as the scrolling period shortens and the number of phases increases. Unreasonable reliability is found when the periodic validity is less than 0.9, i.e., the actual scrolling period is more than 10% less than the calculated one, corresponding to CE equal to 0. The reliability of information was evaluated by combining the subjective scoring of the drivers and a data-based statistical analysis and considering driving safety. Accordingly, it was recommended that 90 bit is the maximum amount of information to be shown on a VMS and that the preferred scrolling period of each phase of a dynamic VMS is 5 s. The results of this study support the objective of providing reliable information to drivers by addressing the problems related to the amount of information and presentation time for VMSs. These findings provide a basis for determining the thresholds for VMS information to promote practical and user-friendly designs of VMSs on urban roads.     

发展性阅读障碍的听觉时间加工缺陷

发展性阅读障碍是指个体在智力正常并且不缺乏学校教育的情况下, 仍无法获得与年龄相匹配的阅读技能的一种学习障碍, 其缺陷的本质一直是研究者争论的焦点。大量研究显示, 阅读障碍者常表现出听觉时间加工损伤。在行为层面, 阅读障碍者难以辨别快速、连续呈现刺激的顺序以及刺激本身的动态时间特征。在神经层面, 阅读障碍者诱发的失匹配负波更弱且具有异常的神经同步加工。这些损伤同时存在于对言语和非言语刺激的加工中, 表明听觉时间加工缺陷非言语加工所特有。未来的研究还需阐明以下几个问题：1)阅读障碍的听觉时间加工缺陷发生在哪些时间窗口, 随年龄增长如何变化; 2)阅读障碍听觉时间加工缺陷在神经层面的时间进程是怎样的; 3)听觉时间加工缺陷是否为阅读障碍的核心缺陷。     

非符号数量表征和符号分数表征的关系

个体学习符号分数的一个关键是能对其数值形成准确表征。现有研究假设符号分数表征的认知基础是人类自婴幼儿期就具有的非符号数量表征(如表征两个集合各自的数量, 或两个数量的比例)。其证据包括表征非符号数量(尤其是非符号数量比例关系)和表征符号分数在行为和大脑神经活动层面上都表现出相关性。然而要说明非符号数量表征是符号分数表征的认知基础, 还需更多研究表明两者在数量概念上的独特相关和因果联系, 并阐明符号分数表征形成的认知机制。     

神经美学视角的审美愉悦加工机制

审美对象特有的刺激属性会唤起观赏者特定的情绪或情感反应。个体在欣赏自然、艺术品和其他人类作品时会产生审美愉悦体验。审美愉悦-兴趣模型(PIA)认为, 审美愉悦体验包含审美过程中自动化加工阶段的审美愉悦和控制加工阶段的审美兴趣。近年来, 神经美学研究表明, 负责愉悦和奖赏的眶额叶皮层在审美过程中广泛激活, 是自动化加工阶段初级审美愉悦奖赏的神经基础, 而审美过程中纹状体亚回路中不同的连接和功能作用与两个阶段中审美愉悦的产生都有关联; 上述结果支持了审美愉悦-兴趣模型。但审美高峰体验时默认模式网络(DMN)相关脑区的激活和负责控制与理性思维的外侧前额叶皮层等脑区的失活, 提示在PIA模型强调的自动化加工阶段审美愉悦和控制加工阶段审美兴趣之上, 还有整合升华阶段的审美沉浸愉悦, PIA模型需得到进一步的扩展。未来研究应进一步检验审美愉悦认知加工模型及神经机制, 探索审美对创造力的影响机制和神经基础, 探讨不同审美经验愉悦机制的异同。     

Understanding the role of configural processing in face emotion recognition in Parkinson’s disease

This investigation examined whether impairment in configural processing could explain deficits in face emotion recognition in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Stimuli from the Radboud Faces Database were used to compare recognition of four negative emotion expressions by older adults with PD (n = 16) and matched controls (n = 17). Participants were tasked with categorizing emotional expressions from upright and inverted whole faces and facial composites; it is difficult to derive configural information from these two types of stimuli so featural processing should play a larger than usual role in accurate recognition of emotional expressions. We found that the PD group were impaired relative to controls in recognizing anger, disgust and fearful expressions in upright faces. Then, consistent with a configural processing deficit, participants with PD showed no composite effect when attempting to identify facial expressions of anger, disgust and fear. A face inversion effect, however, was observed in the performance of all participants in both the whole faces and facial composites tasks. These findings can be explained in terms of a configural processing deficit if it is assumed that the disruption caused by facial composites was specific to configural processing, whereas inversion reduced performance by making it difficult to derive both featural and configural information from faces.     

On the evaluation of one-sided evidence

We examine predictions and judgments of confidence based on one-sided evidence. Some subjects saw arguments for only one side of a legal dispute while other subjects (called ‘jurors’) saw arguments for both sides. Subjects predicted the number of jurors who favored the plaintiff in each case. Subjects who saw only one side made predictions that were biased in favor of that side. Furthermore, they were more confident but generally less accurate than subjects who saw both sides. The results indicate that people do not compensate sufficiently for missing information even when it is painfully obvious that the information available to them is incomplete. A simple manipulation that required subjects to evaluate the relative strength of the opponent's side greatly reduced the tendency to underweigh missing evidence.     

The effects of statistical training on choice heuristics in choice under uncertainty

Kahneman and Tversky (1984) proposed that decision makers perceive choice uncertainty in two ways: (1) as a distribution of possible outcomes or (2) as a single uncertain outcome. Using statistical training as a factor that influences these perceptions, and thus the type of decision approach individuals use, we found that individuals with different levels of experience displayed differences in the decisions they made and in the choice heuristics used to make those decisions. Statistically naive individuals were more likely to prefer loss-minimizing alternatives, use a more non-compensatory heuristic, and spend more time on loss-related information than their statistically experienced counterparts. When a distributional cue, indicating the distributional nature of choice outcomes, was presented to both experience groups, the naive group was found to use a decision approach similar to the experienced group and to make similar decisions. The results are discussed in terms of the need to include factors that alter individuals' approaches to uncertainty in future behavioral models of uncertain choice.     

Explanations and Evaluations by Turks and Dutchmen of Norm Violating Ingroup and Outgroup Behaviour

Group-serving biases in the explanation and evaluation of norm violating ingroup and outgroup behaviour are investigated. The intergroup relationship concerns autochthonous Dutchmen and allochthonous Turks living in The Netherlands. It was hypothesized that Dutch observers exhibit group-serving biases. No hypothesis was formulated for the Turks. A 2×2 design was employed with actor's group membership (ingroup or outgroup), and observer's group membership (Dutch or Turkish) as factors. 50 Dutch and 50 Turkish pupils responded to a hypothetical norm violating situation. The Dutch displayed a group-serving bias on some variables, but ingroup derogation on others. The Turks engaged in a consistent group-serving bias. These outcomes are discussed in terms of the groups need to strive for a positive social identity vis-a)-vis one another and the role explaining away negative ingroup behaviour in fulfilling this need.