The influence of temporal regularities on the implicit learning of pitch structures

Implicit learning is the acquisition of complex information without the intention to learn. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of temporal regularities on the implicit learning of an artificial pitch grammar. According to the dynamic attending theory (DAT) external regularities can entrain internal oscillators that guide attention over time, inducing temporal expectations that influence perception of future events. In the present study, the presentation of the artificial pitch grammar in the exposure phase was temporally either regular or irregular for one of two participant groups. Based on the DAT, it was hypothesized that the regular temporal presentation would favour implicit learning of tone structures in comparison to the irregular temporal presentation. Results demonstrated learning of the artificial grammar for the group with the regular exposure phase and partial learning for the group with the irregular exposure phase. These findings suggest that the regular presentation helps listeners to develop perceptual expectations about the temporal occurrence of future tones and thus facilitates the learning of the artificial pitch grammar.     

Effects of changes in narrative time on eye movements and recognition responses

Abstract

Gibbs and O'Brien (1990) recently claimed that the images that people associate with everyday idioms reflect the deep conceptual metaphors that underlie the meanings of those idioms. However, because idiomatic strings can convey both a literal and an idiomatic meaning, people must be able to inhibit or ignore literal meanings if they are to produce mental images that uniquely reflect idiomatic meanings. We investigated the potential interference between literal and idiomatic meanings in three experiments. Experiment 1 used a mental-image production task similar to that used by Gibbs and O'Brien. Counter to Gibbs and O'Brien's claim, the images that we obtained referred overwhelmingly to the literal meanings of idiomatic strings rather than to their idiomatic meanings. Experiments 2 and 3 employed a paraphrase verification task to examine the effects of mental imagery on idiom comprehension. If the images associated with an idiom reflect that idiom's meaning, then imagery should facilitate comprehension. No evidence for facilitation was found in either experiment. Instead, imagery interfered with comprehension, as assessed by paraphrase verification time, both for idiomatic meanings and for literal, concrete meanings. We conclude that the images associated with idioms do not reflect idiom meanings.     

Context effects and selective response lengthening in a temporal serial reproduction task

Repeatedly performing a temporal reproduction task has been reported to increase reproduced durations. We report the novel finding that the second reproduction in a series is selectively enhanced relative to the first. This was true regardless of whether the responses were discrete (separate start and stop responses) or contiguous (stop response is the start of the next response). In a final experiment we test the hypothesis that the second reproduction is more influenced by the central tendency of previously experienced durations than is the first. These results are discussed in terms of two sources of performance uncertainty: temporal remoteness of the second and subsequent reproductions from the standard and trial-by-trial unpredictability of the standard in random but not blocked designs.     

Timing in cognition and EEG brain dynamics: discreteness versus continuity

This article provides an overview of recent developments in solving the timing problem (discreteness vs. continuity) in cognitive neuroscience. Both theoretical and empirical studies have been considered, with an emphasis on the framework of operational architectonics (OA) of brain functioning (Fingelkurts and Fingelkurts in Brain Mind 2:291-29, 2001; Neurosci Biobehav Rev 28:827-836, 2005). This framework explores the temporal structure of information flow and interarea interactions within the network of functional neuronal populations by examining topographic sharp transition processes in the scalp EEG, on the millisecond scale. We conclude, based on the OA framework, that brain functioning is best conceptualized in terms of continuity-discreteness unity which is also the characteristic property of cognition. At the end we emphasize where one might productively proceed for the future research.     

Time flies when you're having fun: temporal estimation and the experience of boredom

Boredom is a common experience in healthy individuals and may be elevated in various neurological or psychiatric conditions. As yet, very little is known about the cognitive or neural bases of the subjective experience of boredom. We examined temporal perception and the temporal allocation of attention in healthy individuals reporting high- or low-levels of boredom. We found no difference in high- or low-boredom-prone individuals in the temporal allocation of attention, while individuals who experienced low-levels of boredom tended to underestimate time more so than high-boredom-prone individuals. Furthermore, high-boredom-prone individuals demonstrated higher error values when estimating time indicating that the subjective perception of the passage of time may be a critical component to the experience of boredom.     

时间顺序信息加工的实验研究

该研究运用Ｇｌｕｃｋｓｂｅｒｇ和ＭｃＣｌｏｓｋｅｙ（１９８１）的问答模型,通过两个实验检查了项目的时序信息是通过项目学习时的时序编码获得的,还是在项目提取时建构的;时序加工是自动的,还是控制的两个问题。结果表明：项目的时序信息是通过项目学习时的时序编码获得的,而不是在项目提取时建构的;时序信息的编码是控制的。     

Anticipation of ball location in low and high-skill performers: a developmental perspective

Objectives: To study how visual anticipatory capabilities develop in high and low-skill tennis players and the role of years of practice (i.e. experience). It was expected that with accumulated experience differences will increase with skill-level, in particular under conditions of fast visual exposure which results in minimal environmental information exposure.Method: Eighty tennis players divided into 4 age categories and 2 skill levels (high and low) were selected according to 4 criterion which ensured appropriate representation of skill-level and experience in tennis. Age categories were 8–11, 11–14, 14–18, and >18. Years of experience in the game were 2.12, 4.17, 6.5, and 12.4 years respectively. Players observed filmed segments of tennis strokes on a monitor, which varied in temporal occlusion conditions from −480 ms prior to ball-racquet contact to 320 ms after contact. After each exposure they were asked to indicate the final ball location. The radial, lateral, and depth distances were averaged for age and skill level.Design: A temporal occlusion paradigm was used in this study. The film was prepared with a camera positioned in the receiver's court. Eight strokes which best represent the game of tennis were chosen. Forty-eight segments were viewed and errors were calculated for each exposure.Result: High-skill tennis players gained more from practice and experience in developing visual anticipatory skills, but their perceptual advantage was not consistent across all stroke conditions, being at its greatest number in conditions of maximal temporal constraints.Conclusions: Differences in visual anticipatory capabilities exist between different skill levels at the outset of their development. These differences increase with experience, mainly after 6–7 years. Greater knowledge base does not always guarantee a superior anticipation of upcoming events and choosing the best decision.     

Decision by sampling

We present a theory of decision by sampling (DbS) in which, in contrast with traditional models, there are no underlying psychoeconomic scales. Instead, we assume that an attribute's subjective value is constructed from a series of binary, ordinal comparisons to a sample of attribute values drawn from memory and is its rank within the sample. We assume that the sample reflects both the immediate distribution of attribute values from the current decision's context and also the background, real-world distribution of attribute values. DbS accounts for concave utility functions; losses looming larger than gains; hyperbolic temporal discounting; and the overestimation of small probabilities and the underestimation of large probabilities.