Innate versus learned recognition of conspecifics in great spotted cuckoos Clamator glandarius

When birds raised by another species become adults, they (if they are non-brood-parasitic species) usually attempt to mate with birds of their foster species rather than with birds of their own species, a phenomenon called sexual imprinting. Avian brood parasites lay their eggs in nests of other species (the hosts) that rear the young, but the problem of sexual imprinting among brood parasites has generally been neglected, and brood parasites have been considered as an exception among birds. Here, we show, with data from field observations and field experiments, firstly, that adult great spotted cuckoos Clamator glandarius sometimes maintain contact with both older nestling and fledgling cuckoos. Adult cuckoos visited parasitized nests during the last days of the nestling period (5 observations) and, when parasitic chicks left the nest, adult cuckoos maintained contact with the young (14 observations). Adults and fledgling cuckoos communicated vocally (5 observations), and an adult great spotted cuckoo even fed a parasite fledgling in two cases. Secondly, when experimentally cross-fostered in nests of magpie Pica pica hosts outside the parasite breeding range (thus avoiding visual and acoustic communication with adult cuckoos), young cuckoos did not learn to recognize their own species when only one cuckoo chick was introduced per nest, but they learnt to recognize conspecifics when two cuckoos were reared together. This means that young great spotted cuckoos apparently must learn to recognize conspecifics, that is, recognition is not innate. Social interactions between adult brood parasites and young have also been reported in other brood parasites; thus, brood parasites are probably not an exception to the general phenomenon of imprinting, and young brood parasites may need to be imprinted on conspecifics, although more studies on other brood parasite species are needed to confirm this. Received: 7 January 1999 / Accepted after revision: 27 February 1999     

汉字词识别过程的形,音,义编码作用的研究

本文通过两个实验,采用汉字词形、音、义特征匹配任务,探讨了影响汉字词的形、音、义编码与提取方式的有关因素。实验一发现在速示条件下,对汉字词再认的成绩并不受字词的使用度的影响,反应时无明显变化,而主要受编码加工的深度影响。在形、音、义特征加工中,对音码的加工时间最长,再认的正确率最低;义码的加工时间较短,再认正确率最高;形码的反应时及再认成绩介于音码与义码之间。实验二在非速示条件下也获得了相同的结果。研究结果表明,在汉字词的形、音、义特征中,存在着编码加工深度的差异。     

Decision Strategies and the Confidence–Accuracy Relationship in Face Recognition

The decision strategy used to select a choice set from an array of alternative options is known to affect the composition of the final choice set. Specifically, individuals incorporate more answers into their choice set when it is created by eliminating implausible items than when the set is created through the inclusion of plausible options. This difference is accounted for in a decision framework that posits a general reluctance to change the status quo (i.e., actively include or exclude an item). We extended this work to investigate, not only the decisions themselves, but also metacognitive judgments (i.e., confidence in the accuracy of the choice set). In two face recognition experiments, we tested the impact of decision strategy (Experiment 1) and confidence judgment strategy (Experiment 2) on the confidence–accuracy relationship. In Experiment 1, participants completed two blocks of recognition trials, one under inclusion (marking previously seen faces) and one under elimination (marking previously unseen faces) instructions. We observed superior resolution (i.e., discrimination between correct and incorrect) for inclusion trials, but only when they were completed prior to use of the elimination strategy. In Experiment 2, all participants completed face recognition trials under inclusion instructions, but we manipulated the strategy used to assess confidence. Again, we observed a significant impact of strategy on confidence–accuracy resolution. Thus, we observed that both the strategy employed to reach a decision and that employed to assess confidence affected the confidence–accuracy relationship. We discuss theoretical and applied (particularly for eyewitness identification and multiple‐choice testing) implications. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

句子语境中汉语词汇识别的即时加工过程

视觉词汇的认知加工及语境对这一过程的影响是心理语言学和认知心理学研究的热点。本研究采用眼动方法与ERP技术相结合的手段,考察了句子语境中汉语词汇识别的加工过程。通过六个实验, 探讨了不同限制性语境中汉语词汇形、音的作用及作用的脑机制, 不同偏向性语境对词汇歧义消解的影响及词汇歧义消解的脑机制。该研究结果揭示了句子语境对汉语词汇识别的影响, 提供了眼动方法和ERP技术相结合考察语言认知的研究范例。     

汉字识别中的部件加工：错觉性结合实验的证据

本研究用“错觉性结合”的实验范式探讨汉字识别中的部件加工。被试对两个刺激字之后出现的目标字进行再认。结果发现在速示条件下,目标字部件与刺激字的部件相同时（如目标字为“她”,而刺激字为“姓”及“地”）,被试常把目标字误认为刺激字。这种错误再认率随字频及部件频率的升高而降低。此外,刺激字的排列方式不同于字的结构方式时,字频及部件频率的效应减弱。上述结果不但表明整字频率、字的空间组织因素影响汉字识别,更显示部件是汉字认知过程的一个重要加工层次。     

Is psychoanalysis a matter of subjectivation?

We are not born subject but become one, in a two‐and‐fro process between what is played out on the intrapsychic stage and the field of intersubjectivation. The author proposes to examine two of the main movements of psychic life brought into play in this process. In the domain of the ‘subjectivating link’, becoming a subject depends on the relationship with another, authentically taken into account as a desiring subject and not simply as an object for oneself. In the course of history, this intersubjectivation is only internalized as a lasting preconscious predisposition if sufficient trust is established in the possibility of mutual recognition. When this perspective recedes, the subject tends to fall back on narcissistic positions, in search of an end to lack. Such a narcissistic tendency drives the subject to constitute himself by subjugating his objects, striving to rob them of their otherness. A plurality of subject positions will be recognized in every analytic encounter. Psychoanalytic work can allow for a lasting change insofar as it modifies the equilibrium between diverse psychic trends. The multiplicity of the issues at stake in subjectivation allows us to integrate theoretical pluralism while encouraging us to reflect on the diversification of our practices.     

A neurally plausible parallel distributed processing model of event-related potential word reading data

The Parallel Distributed Processing (PDP) framework has significant potential for producing models of cognitive tasks that approximate how the brain performs the same tasks. To date, however, there has been relatively little contact between PDP modeling and data from cognitive neuroscience. In an attempt to advance the relationship between explicit, computational models and physiological data collected during the performance of cognitive tasks, we developed a PDP model of visual word recognition which simulates key results from the ERP reading literature, while simultaneously being able to successfully perform lexical decision—a benchmark task for reading models. Simulations reveal that the model’s success depends on the implementation of several neurally plausible features in its architecture which are sufficiently domain-general to be relevant to cognitive modeling more generally.     

The cortical organization of lexical knowledge: a dual lexicon model of spoken language processing

Current accounts of spoken language assume the existence of a lexicon where wordforms are stored and interact during spoken language perception, understanding and production. Despite the theoretical importance of the wordform lexicon, the exact localization and function of the lexicon in the broader context of language use is not well understood. This review draws on evidence from aphasia, functional imaging, neuroanatomy, laboratory phonology and behavioral results to argue for the existence of parallel lexica that facilitate different processes in the dorsal and ventral speech pathways. The dorsal lexicon, localized in the inferior parietal region including the supramarginal gyrus, serves as an interface between phonetic and articulatory representations. The ventral lexicon, localized in the posterior superior temporal sulcus and middle temporal gyrus, serves as an interface between phonetic and semantic representations. In addition to their interface roles, the two lexica contribute to the robustness of speech processing.     

Is the go/no-go lexical decision task preferable to the yes/no task with developing readers?

The lexical decision task is probably the most common laboratory visual word identification task together with the naming task. In the usual setup, participants need to press the “yes” button when the stimulus is a word and the “no” button when the stimulus is not a word. A number of studies have employed this task with developing readers; however, error rates and/or response times tend to be quite high. One way to make the task easier for young readers is by employing a go/no-go procedure: “If word, press ‘yes’; if not, refrain from responding.” Here we conducted a lexical decision experiment that systematically compared the yes/no and go/no-go variants of the lexical decision task with developing readers (second- and fourth-grade children). Results showed that (a) error rates for words and nonwords were much lower in the go/no-go task than in the yes/no task, (b) lexical decision times were substantially faster in the go/no-go task, and (c) there was less variability in the latency data of the go/no-go task for high-frequency words. Thus, the go/no-go lexical decision task is preferable to the “standard” yes/no task when conducting experiments with developing readers.     

Hemispheric asymmetry in cross-race face recognition

This study examines two phenomena related to face perception, both of which depend on experience and holistic processing: perceivers process faces more efficiently in the right hemisphere of the brain (a hemispheric asymmetry), and they typically show greater recognition accuracy for members of their racial ingroup (a cross-race recognition deficit). The current study tests the possibility that these two effects are related. If asymmetry depends on experience, it should be particularly evident with (more familiar) ingroup faces; if cross-race recognition relies on holistic processing, it should be particularly evident for faces presented to the right hemisphere. Black and White participants viewed Black and White faces presented to either the left or right visual field. As predicted, participants showed a more pronounced asymmetry for ingroup (rather than outgroup) faces, and cross-race recognition deficits were more pronounced for stimuli presented to the left (rather than the right) visual field.