Developmental time course of the acquisition of sequential egocentric and allocentric navigation strategies

Navigation in a complex environment can rely on the use of different spatial strategies. We have focused on the employment of “allocentric” (i.e., encoding interrelationships among environmental cues, movements, and the location of the goal) and “sequential egocentric” (i.e., sequences of body turns associated with specific choice points) strategies during navigation. To investigate the developmental pattern of these two strategies in school-aged children, we used a virtual reality paradigm in which the spontaneous or imposed use of both strategies could be assessed. Our results showed an increase in spontaneous use of the allocentric strategy and also an increase in reliance on environmental landmarks with age. Although a majority of the children spontaneously used the sequential egocentric strategy, all age groups performed above chance when the allocentric strategy was imposed. Altogether, our findings suggest that young children are able to employ an allocentric strategy but that the nature of this allocentric strategy changes progressively in a complex cognitive representation between 5 and 10 years of age.     

Memory activation of multiple hypotheses in sequential diagnostic reasoning

In sequential diagnostic reasoning, observed evidence activates hypotheses about possible causes in memory. These memory activations have been previously examined with a probe reaction task for problems with a single correct diagnosis. We applied this process tracing method to ambiguous problems with multiple compatible hypotheses. When participants reasoned about the causes of ambiguous symptom sequences, they were prompted to respond to probes representing hypotheses. The response time to a probe was shorter if the current support for the respective hypothesis was stronger indicating that the processing of compatible hypotheses can be traced. For sequences with two equally supported hypotheses, the initial hypothesis was more often chosen as the final diagnosis (a primacy effect). Probe reaction times suggest that the initial hypothesis has been activated more strongly already early, when it was finally chosen as the diagnosis. Nevertheless, substantial variance in response times limits the task's applicability for process tracing.     

A Markov Chain Analysis of Emotional Exchange in Voice‐to‐Voice Communication: Testing for the Mimicry Hypothesis of Emotional Contagion

Mimicry is a central plank of the emotional contagion theory; however, it was only tested with facial and postural emotional stimuli. This study explores the existence of mimicry in voice‐to‐voice communication by analyzing 8,747 sequences of emotional displays between customers and employees in a call‐center context. We listened live to 967 telephone interactions, registered the sequences of emotional displays, and analyzed them with a Markov chain. We also explored other propositions of emotional contagion theory that were yet to be tested in vocal contexts. Results supported that mimicry is significantly present at all levels. Our findings fill an important gap in the emotional contagion theory; have practical implications regarding voice‐to‐voice interactions; and open doors for future vocal mimicry research.     

The role of desires in sequential impulsive choices

The present research provides evidence for a sequential mitigation effect, which is the phenomenon that participation in a prior impulsive choice task significantly reduces the decision maker’s likelihood of choosing impulsively in a subsequent task. The results of five experiments: (a) provide evidence for the Sequential Mitigation Effect using different study materials and contexts (Experiments 1–3), (b) show that prior impulsive (as opposed to non-impulsive) choice is required for the effect to occur (Experiment 4), and (c) find that the decision maker’s chronic sensitivity to positive and negative outcomes moderates the effect (Experiment 5). The results support the notion that desire for impulsive options functions as a limited motivational resource, and being consumed in the first task, is experienced to a lesser extent in the second task. The sequential mitigation effect may be characterized as a motivational contextual influence on decision making, complementing existing research showing that cognitive context effects influence sequential choices.     

Sample stimulus control shaping and restricted stimulus control in capuchin monkeys: a methodological note

This paper reports use of sample stimulus control shaping procedures to teach arbitrary matching-to-sample to 2 capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). The procedures started with identity matching-to-sample. During shaping, stimulus features of the sample were altered gradually, rendering samples and comparisons increasingly physically dissimilar. The objective was to transform identity matching into arbitrary matching (i.e., matching not based on common physical features of the sample and comparison stimuli). Experiment 1 used a two-comparison procedure. The shaping procedure was ultimately effective, but occasional high error rates at certain program steps inspired a follow-up study. Experiment 2 used the same basic approach, but with a three-comparison matching task. During shaping, the monkey performed accurately until the final steps of the program. Subsequent experimentation tested the hypothesis that the decrease in accuracy was due to restricted stimulus control by sample stimulus features that had not yet been changed in the shaping program. Results were consistent with this hypothesis, thus suggesting a new approach that may transform the sample stimulus control shaping procedure from a sometimes useful laboratory tool to a more general approach to teaching the first instance of arbitrary matching performances to participants who show protracted difficulties in learning such performances.     

Event and Process: An Exercise in Analytical Ethnography

Analytical ethnography does not presume a principal analytical frame. It does not know (yet) where and when the field takes place. Rather, the ethnographer is in search for appropriate spatiotemporal frames in correspondence with the occurrences in the field. Accordingly, the author organizes a dialogue between conceptual frames and his various empirical accounts. He confronts snapshots of English Crown Court proceedings with models of event and process from micro-sociology and macro-sociology. A range of–more or less early or late, relevant or irrelevant, contingent or predetermined–processual events serves as the vantage point to access event and process relations. In this line, Crown Court proceedings serve as an introductory and exemplary field for analytical ethnography, because they involve both: (strong) events and their process and (strong) processes and their events.

Multi-attribute sequential search

This article describes empirical and theoretical results from two multi-attribute sequential search tasks. In both tasks, the DM sequentially encounters options described by two attributes and must pay to learn the values of the attributes. In the continuous version of the task the DM learns the precise numerical value of an attribute when she pays to view it. In the threshold version the DM learns only whether the value of an attribute is above or below a threshold that she sets herself. Results from the continuous condition reveal that DMs tended to terminate their searches too early relative to the optimal policy. The pattern reversed in the threshold condition: DMs searched for too long. Maximum likelihood comparisons of two different stochastic decision models showed that DMs under both information conditions performed in ways consistent with the optimal policies. Those offered continuous-valued attribute information did not, however, spontaneously degrade this information into binary (acceptable/unacceptable) form, despite the theoretical finding that satisficing can be a very effective and efficient search strategy.     

Decision-making processes: sensitivity to sequentially experienced outcome probabilities

A computerized sequential event sampling decision-making task was administered to 187 5- to 10-year-olds and adults Participants made a series of choices between alternatives that differed in win probability (Study 1) or win and loss probability (Study 2). Intuitive and more explicit measures were used. Study 1 revealed that, across ages, participants demonstrated intuitive sensitivity to probability; however, adult participants evidenced greater sensitivity than did children, and younger children failed to demonstrate more explicit understanding of probability. Study 2 also revealed that children were intuitively sensitive to probability; however, the inclusion of loss had limited impact on decision processes. These findings and their relevance to cognitive developmental theory are discussed.     

Empirical evaluation of a model of global psychophysical judgments: IV. Forms for the weighting function

Understanding the psychological interpretation of numerals is of both practical and theoretical interest. In classical magnitude estimation, respondents match numerals to sensations and in magnitude production they select sensations that stand in a prescribed numerical ratio to a given standard. The present work focusses on evaluating several possible, and related, forms for the function W formulating the distortion of numerals. The main form, of which a power function is a special case, is the Prelec exponential/power representation. Behavioral equivalents to power and to Prelec functions are formulated, tested, and rejected. It is argued that either the mathematical form or the assumption W(1)=1 is wrong. Whereas, the axiomatic literature has focussed exclusively on the former inference, we explore the alternate that W(1)≠1. Behavioral axioms are formulated in each case and experimentally tested. We conclude that most respondents satisfy a general power function and that those who do not, satisfy the general Prelec function.     

The Sequential Combination of Pharmacotherapy and Psychotherapy in Mood Disorders

The aim of this review was to consider the literature concerned with a sequential use of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy in mood disorders. Review of the clinical trials where treatment components were used in a sequential order were identified by using MEDLINE, a manual search of the literature and the Index Medicus. In unipolar recurrent depression, the sequential use of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy was found to improve relapse rate. In bipolar disorder, the use of psychotherapeutic strategies in patients who were already assuming mood stabilizers was also found to yield clinical benefits. The sequential model has the potential for improving the logic and timing of interventions. A conceptual shift in current assessment methods (staging) is needed.