Reasoning about Sensing Actions in Domains with Multi-Valued Fluents

In this paper, we discuss the weakness of current action languages for sensing actions with respect to modeling domains with multi-valued fluents. To address this problem, we propose a language with sensing actions and multi-valued fluents, called AM_K, provide a transition function based semantics for the language, and demonstrate its use through several examples from the literature. We then define the entailment relationship between action theories and queries in AM_K, denoted by ⊧AM_K, and discuss some properties about AM_K.     

Changes in the structure of children's isometric force variability with practice

This study examined the effect of age and practice on the structure of children's force variability to test the information processing hypothesis that a reduction of sensorimotor system noise accounts in large part for age-related reductions in perceptual-motor performance variability. In the study, 6-year-olds, 10-year-olds, and young adults practiced on 5 consecutive days (15 trials/day), maintaining for 15-s trials a constant level of force (5 or 25% of maximum voluntary contraction) against an object using a pinch grip (thumb and index finger). With increasing age, the amount of force error and variability decreased, but the sequential structure of variability increased in irregularity. With practice, children reduced the amount of variability by changing the structure of the force output so as to be more similar to that of their older counterparts. The findings provide further evidence that practice-driven changes in the structure of force output, rather than a decline in the amount of white noise, largely account for age-related reductions in the amount of force variability.     

Framing social information and generalized social phobia

Patients with generalized social phobia (GSP, N=33) and matched community controls (N=31) engaged in a social interaction that was constructed to go well, and then received feedback that framed social cues reflecting either the absence of negative outcomes or the presence of positive outcomes. Following feedback that framed positive social cues, the GSP group predicted they would experience more anxiety in a subsequent interaction than did non-phobic controls. In contrast, following feedback framing the absence of negative outcomes, the GSP group did not differ from controls in their anxiety predictions. The results demonstrated that framing paradigms and methods can be usefully applied to the study of cognitive processes in social phobia and indicated that research to examine how GSP patients process specific types of social information is needed.     

Anxiety and selective attention in obsessive-compulsive disorder

Recently, there has been increasing evidence for information-processing deficits in individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). While impairments in selective attention have been identified to be central to the symptomatology of OCD, the role that situational anxiety plays in attentional processes has not been fully explored. Previous research findings were limited to tasks containing anxiety-relevant materials, only permitting for the evaluation of the impact of anxiety on simultaneous cognitive processing. Furthermore, it has not yet been determined whether the impact of anxiety is limited to selective attention or is indicative of a more general cognitive impairment. This study was designed to examine the role that situational anxiety plays in selective attention impairments. OCD participants and controls were presented with an anxiety producing statement and a neutral statement, followed by the Stroop Task. Results indicated that situational anxiety plays a significant role in the performance of tasks that require selective attention in OCD. A significant deterioration was detected in performance on selective attention tasks for the OCD participants after confronting anxiety-provoking scenarios, as compared to neutral scenarios. Anxiety did not impair performance on simple reading tasks. Possible explanations are discussed.     

Rigidity in children's drawings and its relation with representational change

Four studies tested the application of to the drawing domain. In particular, we tested her claim that young children are inhibited in their attempts at changing their graphic representations (representational change) due to being constrained by the order in which the elements of the representation are drawn (procedural rigidity). The first study required 60 children (4- to 6-year-olds and an older comparison group of 8-year-olds) to make three drawings of a familiar and novel topic. From these drawings each child was measured for procedural rigidity. In a further drawing the child was asked to modify their usual representation of each topic. Regression analyses revealed procedural rigidity levels were not predictive of manipulation performance. A second study, testing 75 4- to 6-year-olds and a third study, testing 30 3- to 4-year-olds, revealed that when young children were specifically asked to manipulate rigid sub-procedures on a familiar topic they were indeed able to do so. Finally, a fourth study (testing 40 5-year-olds and 40 8-year-olds) removed the notational trace in drawing (a possible aid for procedural interruption) but this still produced no evidence of a relation between procedural rigidity and representational change. We suggest how the concept of procedural rigidity might be re-interpreted for the drawing domain so that the RR model can remain as a domain-general theory of cognitive development. We also suggest the development of information processing may be crucial for flexibility in drawing.     

The pursuit of missing information in negotiation

A large body of research has focused on how people exchange and use information during the negotiation process. This work tends to treat information as if it all were readily available upon request. The current research investigated how delays in the pursuit of missing information can influence people’s ex-ante priorities and the final settlements they reach. Study 1 found that negotiators achieved more value on an issue after seeking missing information about that issue compared to when the same information was readily accessible. Study 2 found that the effect of searching for information on outcomes was mediated by changes in how important negotiators perceived the issue to be. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Differential recruitment of executive resources during mind wandering

Recent research has shown that mind wandering recruits executive resources away from the external task towards inner thoughts. No studies however have determined whether executive functions are drawn away in a unitary manner during mind wandering episodes, or whether there is variation in specific functions impacted. Accordingly, we examined whether mind wandering differentially modulates three core executive functions—response inhibition, updating of working memory, and mental set shifting. In three experiments, participants performed one of these three executive function tasks and reported their attentional state as either on-task or mind wandering at random intervals. We found that mind wandering led to poorer performance in the response inhibition and working memory tasks, but not the set-shifting task. These findings suggest that mind wandering does not recruit executive functions in a monolithic manner. Rather, it appears to selectively engage certain executive functions, which may reflect the adaptive maintenance of ongoing task performance.     

Cognitive technology to capture deep computational concepts with combinators

Computational activity is now recognized as a natural science, and computational and information processes have been discovered in the deep structures of many areas. Computations in the natural world were present long before the invention of computers, but a remarkable shift in understanding its fundamental nature occurs, in fact, before our eyes. The present moment, in fact, is a transition from the concept of computer science as an artificial science to the understanding that information processes are abundant in nature. Computing is recognized as a natural science that studies natural and artificial information processes.In everyday computing, operations are performed on the individual generators, with little attention paid to their internal structure. However, many common operations consist of more primitive constructions connected by a combination mode. The interaction of information processes and corresponding structures is carried out in an environment of “applicative interaction”, their applications to each other, and the study of the properties of this environment allows us to understand the nature of the computations.In the present work, the main attention is paid to elucidating the technological features of computations with individual generators, or objects. Their interaction is considered in an applicative environment, which allows us to elucidate the internal structure of ordinary operations, the knowledge of which allows us to understand their properties. The choice of initial constant generators, considered as generic ones and expressed by combinators, is discussed. These initial generators are used as the main “building blocks” that occur within the larger blocks of the applicative environment in interaction with each other. As a result of the interaction, constructions arise that give representative sets of ordinary operators and embedded computing systems.     

Who’s bringing the donuts: The role of affective patterns in group decision making

Two studies examined how intragroup affective patterns influence groups’ pervasive tendency to ignore the unique expertise of their members. Using a hidden profile task, Study 1 provided evidence that groups with at least one member experiencing positive affect shared more unique information than groups composed entirely of members experiencing neutral affect. This occurred because group members experiencing positive affect were more likely to initiate unique information sharing, as well as information seeking. Study 2 built upon this base by showing that confidence mediates the relationship between positive affect and the initiation of unique information sharing. Additionally, Study 2 investigated the role of negative affect in group decision making and how negative and positive affect concurrently influence decision making when groups are composed of members experiencing each. The results are discussed in terms of the role affect plays in influencing group behavior and the resultant importance of investigating specific affective patterns.     

Using Geospatial Research Methods to Examine Resource Accessibility and Availability as it Relates to Community Participation of Individuals with Serious Mental Illnesses

Greater community participation among individuals with serious mental illnesses is associated with better psychosocial and health outcomes. Typically, studies examining community participation have utilized self‐report measures and been conducted in limited settings. The introduction of methodological advances to examining community participation of individuals with serious mental illnesses has the potential to advance the science of community mental health research and invigorate the work of community psychologists in this area. This study employed an innovative geospatial approach to examine the relationship between community participation and resource accessibility (i.e., proximity) and availability (i.e., concentration) among 294 individuals utilizing community mental health services throughout the United States. Findings suggest small but significant associations between community participation and the accessibility and availability of resources needed for participation. Furthermore, findings demonstrate the importance of car access for individuals residing in both urban and non‐urban settings. The methods and results presented in this study have implications for community mental health research and services and provide an illustration of ways that geospatial methodologies can be used to investigate environmental factors that impact community inclusion and participation of individuals with serious mental illnesses.