Children's development of analogical reasoning: insights from scene analogy problems

We explored how relational complexity and featural distraction, as varied in scene analogy problems, affect children's analogical reasoning performance. Results with 3- and 4-year-olds, 6- and 7-year-olds, 9- to 11-year-olds, and 13- and 14-year-olds indicate that when children can identify the critical structural relations in a scene analogy problem, development of their ability to reason analogically interacts with both relational complexity and featural distraction. Error patterns suggest that children are more likely to select a distracting object than to make a relational error for problems that present both possibilities. This tendency decreases with age, and older children make fewer errors overall. The results suggest that changes in analogical reasoning with age depend on the interplay among increases in relational knowledge, the capacity to integrate multiple relations, and inhibitory control over featural distraction.     

All Finitely Axiomatizable Tense Logics of Linear Time Flows Are CoNP-complete

We prove that all finitely axiomatizable tense logics with temporal operators for ‘always in the future’ and ‘always in the past’ and determined by linear fows time are coNP-complete. It follows, for example, that all tense logics containing a density axiom of the form ■ⁿ⁺¹_F p → ⁿ_F p, for some n ≥ 0, are coNP-complete. Additionally, we prove coNP-completeness of all ∩-irreducible tense logics. As these classes of tense logics contain many Kripke incomplete bimodal logics, we obtain many natural examples of Kripke incomplete normal bimodal logics which are nevertheless coNP-complete.     

Lateralized effects of target location on reaction times when preparing for manual aiming at a visual target

To elucidate the temporal characteristics of information processing for motor action differing in complexity in relation to both perceptual and cognitive information processing, we investigated whether the reaction times (RTs) to a visual target would be affected by task complexity (finger lifting or manual aiming), pre-cueing (with a pre-cue or without a pre-cue), or target location (five horizontal positions). Using the right hand, seven right-handed subjects performed two tasks, finger lifting and manual aiming at a target, with or without a pre-cue. The pre-cue announced the location of the target to be presented. An ANOVA showed significant interactions between task and location and between pre-cue and location with no significant interaction between task and pre-cue, indicating that the task-location interaction does not depend on whether or not a pre-cue is given. The manual-aiming RTs were longer than the finger-lifting RTs, and the effects of the target location on the RTs differed for finger lifting and manual aiming. It can be assumed that the longer RTs of manual aiming reflect the time for information processing that is needed when preparing for the aiming action per se, which is an extra movement performed in addition to the simple initiation of finger lifting. Differential RTs (DRTs) calculated by subtracting the finger-lifting RTs from the aiming RTs were therefore examined. The DRTs significantly differed for target locations (i.e., a lateralized effect), with the DRTs for an ipsilateral target appearing to be significantly shorter than those for contralateral and central targets. The lateralized effect appearing on the DRTs may be mediated by the processing of visual-spatial information about visual targets as motor preparations are made for manual aiming.     

Young children's performance on the balance scale: the influence of relational complexity

Three experiments investigated the effect of complexity on children's understanding of a beam balance. In nonconflict problems, weights or distances varied, while the other was held constant. In conflict items, both weight and distance varied, and items were of three kinds: weight dominant, distance dominant, or balance (in which neither was dominant). In Experiment 1, 2-year-old children succeeded on nonconflict-weight and nonconflict-distance problems. This result was replicated in Experiment 2, but performance on conflict items did not exceed chance. In Experiment 3, 3- and 4-year-olds succeeded on all except conflict balance problems, while 5- and 6-year-olds succeeded on all problem types. The results were interpreted in terms of relational complexity theory. Children aged 2 to 4 years succeeded on problems that entailed binary relations, but 5- and 6-year-olds also succeeded on problems that entailed ternary relations. Ternary relations tasks from other domains--transitivity and class inclusion--accounted for 93% of the age-related variance in balance scale scores.     

关系复杂性对关系类别间接性学习的影响

以216名大学生为被试,使用关系复杂性变化的三种虚拟外星生物实验材料,创设个人功能预测的关系类别的间接性学习条件和参照性交流功能预测的关系类别的间接性学习条件,探讨关系复杂性对关系类别间接性学习的影响。结果发现:关系类别的功能预测间接性学习过程中,关系复杂性和学习条件的交互作用极其显著,具体来讲,关系复杂性对关系类别间接性学习的影响仅显著地表现在参照性交流关系类别间接性学习过程中;当学习材料为4特征复杂关系时,参照条件下被试功能预测成绩极其显著高于个人条件,当学习材料为6特征复杂关系加二阶同功能简单关系时,两种学习条件间不存在显著差异,当学习材料为6特征复杂关系加二阶异功能简单关系时,个人条件极其显著高于参照条件。     

任务难度、决策培训诸因素对群体决策的影响

通过3人群体的人员选拔模拟实验。考察了任务难度、群体结构和决策培训三个变量对群体决策信息取样的影响。结果显示：(1)部分证明了Stasser的信息取样模型,分享信息具有讨论的优势,同时偏好是影响群体决策的中介因素,但是,该模型只适合于任务难度较大的情况;(2)设立具有信息管理作用的领导者这种群体结构在信息取样中没有表现出主效应,它只是通过与决策培训和任务难度一起对信息取样产生影响;(3)策略计划和信息警戒性的决策培训对信息取样有影响,一定程度上提高了非分享信息的讨论比例,然而这种影响仅发生在任务难度小或适中的情况下。决策培训对信息取样的影响发生在讨论的开始部分,并影响了讨论前的个体偏好;(4)群体结构和决策培训具有交互作用,从而影响了群体讨论的信息取样,群体结构和决策培训都受到任务难度的影响。     

生物学和生物医学科学中的复杂性

自牛顿时代以来,经典力学和还原论一直是科学研究的基石。然而,还原论和决定论无法分析和恰当地解释复杂系统特征性的突现性质。以认识论的观点看,还原论和整体论结合起来才能综合评估复杂生物系统。突现,非线性和自组织等复杂性理论的概念正改变和塑造着生物医学研究范式。还阐述了理解生物系统复杂性的重要价值。     

个体认知方式与材料复杂性对视空间工作记忆的影响

采用计算机呈现的Corsi积木点击任务,探讨了不同认知方式个体对材料的路径、结构和数量复杂性不同的视空间工作记忆的广度。研究结果表明：（1）场独立性认知方式是影响视空间工作记忆广度的一个重要的个别差异变量,在路径复杂或呈现的材料结构随机的条件下,场独立者的视空间工作记忆广度明显高于场依存者;（2）材料呈现的路径、数量是影响视空间记忆广度的重要因素,在路径简单或数量少的情况下被试的视空间记忆广度要明显得高