Integration of syntactic and semantic information in predictive processing: cross-linguistic evidence from German and English

Two visual-world eyetracking experiments were conducted to investigate whether, how, and when syntactic and semantic constraints are integrated and used to predict properties of subsequent input. Experiment 1 contrasted auditory German constructions such as, The hare-nominative eats ... (the cabbage-acc) versus The hare-accusative eats ... (the fox-nom), presented with a picture containing a hare, fox, cabbage, and distractor. We found that the probabilities of the eye movements to the cabbage and fox before the onset of NP2 were modulated by the case-marking of NP1, indicating that the case-marking (syntactic) information and verbs' semantic constraints are integrated rapidly enough to predict the most plausible NP2 in the scene. Using English versions of the same stimuli in active/passive voice (Experiment 2), we replicated the same effect, but at a slightly earlier position in the sentence. We discuss the discrepancies in the two Germanic languages in terms of the ease of integrating information across, or within, constituents.     

Generalized concepts of syntactically and semantically trivial differences and instant-based and period-based time ontologies

It is argued that there are interesting cases in which two axiomatic systems syntactically and semantically non-trivially different in the standard sense are rather to be classified as only trivially different. For a strict comparison of the systems of such a kind the generalized concepts of syntactically and semantically trivial differences are formally defined. As an example, it is shown that an instant-based time system and a period-based time system sketched in the paper are just trivially different in the defined sense in spite of the fact that, contrary to Quine's famous requirement, the variables of the two systems can never range over the elements of one and the same basic set. What is the same in relation to both systems is time topology.     

Metacognitive control and optimal learning

The notion of optimality is often invoked informally in the literature on metacognitive control. We provide a precise formulation of the optimization problem and show that optimal time allocation strategies depend critically on certain characteristics of the learning environment, such as the extent of time pressure, and the nature of the uptake function. When the learning curve is concave, optimality requires that items at lower levels of initial competence be allocated greater time. On the other hand, with logistic learning curves, optimal allocations vary with time availability in complex and surprising ways. Hence there are conditions under which optimal strategies will be relatively easy to uncover, and others in which suboptimal time allocation might be expected. The model can therefore be used to address the question of whether and when learners should be able to exercise good metacognitive control in practice.     

Flexible conceptual projection of time onto spatial frames of reference

Flexibility in conceptual projection constitutes one of the most challenging issues in the embodiment and conceptual metaphor literatures. We sketch a theoretical proposal that places the burden of the explanation on attentional dynamics in interaction with mental models in working memory that are constrained to be maximally coherent. A test of this theory is provided in the context of the conceptual projection of time onto the domain of space. Participants categorized words presented at different spatial locations (back–front, left–right) as referring to the past or to the future. Responses were faster when the irrelevant word location was congruent with the back–past, front–future metaphoric mapping. Moreover, when a new highly task-relevant spatial frame of reference was introduced, it changed the projection of past and future onto space in a way that was congruent with the new frame (past was now projected to left space and future to right space), as predicted by the theory. This study shows that there is substantial flexibility in conceptual projection and opens a venue to study metaphoric variation across tasks, individuals, and cultures as the result of attentional dynamics.     

A presentation of Attentional Semantics

The paper presents the two main assumptions of Attentional Semantics—(A) and (B), and its main aim (C). (A) Conscious experience is determined by attention: there cannot be consciousness without attention. Consciousness is explained as the product of attentional activity. Attentional activity can be performed thanks to a special kind of energy: nervous energy. This energy is supplied by the organ of attention. When we perform attentional activity, we use our nervous energy. This activity directly affects the organ of attention, causing a variation in the state of the nervous energy. This variation constitutes the phenomenal aspect of consciousness. (B) Words are tools to pilot attention. The meanings of words isolate, de-contextualize, “freeze” and classify in an articulated system the ever-changing and multiform stream of our conscious experiences. Each meaning is composed of the sequence of invariable elements that, independently of any individual occurrence of a given conscious experience, are responsible for the production of any instance of that conscious experience. The elements composing the meanings of words are attentional operations: each word conveys the condensed instructions on the attentional operations one has to perform if one wants to consciously experience what is expressed through and by it. (C) Attentional Semantics aims at finding the attentional instruction conveyed by the meanings of words. To achieve this goal, it tries: (1) to identify the sequence of the elementary conscious experiences that invariably accompany, and are prompted by, the use of the word being analyzed; (2) to describe these conscious experiences in terms of the attentional operations that are responsible for their production; and (3) to identify the unconscious and non-conscious operations that, directly or indirectly, serve either as the support that makes it possible for the attentional operations to take place, be completed, and occur in a certain way, or as the necessary complement that makes it possible to execute and implement the activities determined and triggered by the conscious experiences. The origins of Attentional Semantics are also presented, and the methodological problems researchers encounter when analyzing meanings in attentional terms are discussed. Finally, a brief comparison with the other kinds of semantics is made.     

Auditory attention to frequency and time: an analogy to visual local-global stimuli

Two priming experiments demonstrated exogenous attentional persistence to the fundamental auditory dimensions of frequency (Experiment 1) and time (Experiment 2). In a divided-attention task, participants responded to an independent dimension, the identification of three-tone sequence patterns, for both prime and probe stimuli. The stimuli were specifically designed to parallel the local-global hierarchical letter stimuli of [Navon D. (1977). Forest before trees: The precedence of global features in visual perception. Cognitive Psychology, 9, 353-383] and the task was designed to parallel subsequent work in visual attention using Navon stimuli [Robertson, L. C. (1996). Attentional persistence for features of hierarchical patterns. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 125, 227-249; Ward, L. M. (1982). Determinants of attention to local and global features of visual forms. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 8, 562-581]. The results are discussed in terms of previous work in auditory attention and previous approaches to auditory local-global processing.     

The Primary and Secondary Factors That Promote Destructive Personalities

The ability of behavioral scientists to assist society deal competently with destructive behavior relies upon a recognition of its causes. Despite the pervasiveness of violence in American society, the roots of destructiveness are still poorly understood. Five primary and five secondary factors found in the developmental histories of people who have become involved in serious destruction are identified and discussed. The confluence of these factors in the steps toward destructive acts are traced.     

The impact of physical load on duration estimation in sport

We investigated whether physical load has an influence on the accuracy of duration estimation of sporting activities presented in real time and slow motion. 86 participants were studied in two single sessions of 45 min each.Our results showed no general effects for physical load, when comparing physical load versus rest. However, we could replicate findings of past research (Schütz et al., 2021), showing that the duration of sports performance is estimated more accurately when presented in real time compared to slow motion. Further we found, that under physical load, participants perceiving the physical exercise as hard (RPE ≥15) estimated time significantly shorter and more accurately compared to participants perceiving the physical exercise as light or moderate (RPE <15).Thus, our results suggest that using slow motion may worsen the assessment of sports performance. Additionally, we could show that intense physical exertion contributes to reducing the overestimation of time.     

Get the Message: Targeting Beliefs to Develop Risk Reduction Intervention Messages for African American Adolescents

Risk reduction interventions that promote condom use, a vital component of most HIV prevention interventions, have been successful in increasing condom use among African American adolescents. Understanding theoretical components that lead to behavior change and selecting relevant risk reduction messages remain important considerations for targeting new interventions and tailoring existing interventions. The present study sought to (1) identify the most important theoretical determinants of condom use intention in African American adolescent males and females, separately, using the integrative model of behavior prediction, and (2) identify underlying beliefs within the determinants that were good candidates for message development in similar interventions. Using 446 African American adolescents, multi‐group SEM indicated that the gender‐specific IM exhibited a better fit than the overall model. Specifically, the IM had a stronger capacity for predicting condom use intention and condom use behavior for adolescent boys. Using a specific criteria for message selection, specific condom use beliefs were discussed as potential candidate messages for both African American males and females.