Stopping rules for multi-category computerized classification testing

Computerized classification testing (CCT) aims to classify persons into one of two or more possible categories to make decisions such as mastery/non-mastery or meet most/meet all/exceed. A defining feature of CCT is its stopping criterion: the test terminates when there is enough confidence to make a decision. There is abundant research on CCT with a single cut-off, and two common stopping criteria are the sequential probability ratio test (SPRT) statistic and the generalized likelihood ratio statistic (GLR). However, there is a relative scarcity of research extending the SPRT to the multi-hypothesis case for when there is more than one cut-off. In this paper, we propose a new multi-category GLR (mGLR) statistic as well as a stochastically curtailed version of the CCT with three or more categories. A simulation study was conducted to show that the mGLR statistic outperformed the existing stopping rules by generating shorter average test length without sacrificing classification accuracy. Results also revealed that the stochastically curtailed mGLR successfully increased test efficiency in certain testing conditions.     

The effects of exposure to political and domestic violence on preschool children and their mothers

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of exposure to political violence on preschool children and their mothers. We explored whether these dyads are different from dyads with no known history of exposure to violence and from mother–child dyads with known exposure to domestic violence. Specifically, we explored differences in mothers' psychological status (depression and anxiety), dyadic emotional availability (EA), children's social information processing, and children's social behaviour, in a sample of 216 dyads divided into three groups (exposure to political violence, no exposure to violence, and exposure to domestic violence). We found evidence to support our hypotheses that children exposed to domestic violence exhibit the highest levels of social maladjustment with smaller but still significant differences between children exposed to political violence and children in the comparison group. As expected, the lowest EA scores were found in the exposure to domestic violence group, followed by dyads in the exposure to political violence group. Dyads belonging to the comparison group (no exposure) exhibited the highest levels of EA. These findings contribute to our understanding of the meaning of exposure to political violence, as well as sharpen the difference between exposure to political and domestic violence.     

概念内隐记忆中的注意促进效应

Swallow和Jiang (2010)最早发现, 编码时的目标探测会促进同时呈现的背景信息在随后记忆测验中的表现, 并将这一现象称为注意促进效应(Attentional Boost Effect, ABE)。随后研究发现这一现象并不会出现在概念内隐测验中, 由此提出目标探测主要促进的是背景信息的知觉加工, 而非语义加工。本研究通过3个实验, 操纵了对背景信息的编码加工类型(知觉加工或概念加工)。结果发现, 当与目标探测同时进行的是对背景信息的概念加工任务, 则ABE会出现在随后的概念内隐测验中。反之, 当对背景信息进行的是知觉加工任务时, 则ABE会出现在随后的知觉内隐测验而不是概念内隐测验中。这些结果表明, 目标探测既可能促进背景信息的知觉加工, 也可能促进背景信息的语义加工, 但只有在目标探测下背景信息的编码加工与随后内隐测验中所依赖的提取加工具有一致性, 才会产生ABE。     

汉语发展性阅读障碍儿童视觉同时性加工技能子成分的发展及其与阅读的关系

通过分别以高频汉字(实验1)和图形非言语材料(实验2)为刺激的两个联合视觉注意任务, 并采用基于Budensen视觉注意理论的参数估计方法, 系统地探查小学三~六年级汉语发展性阅读障碍儿童的视觉同时性加工技能缺陷的内在机制。以43名汉语发展性阅读障碍儿童和46名生理年龄匹配典型发展儿童为被试, 每类被试均被分为小学中年级组(三、四年级)和高年级组(五、六年级)。两个实验均发现不同年级组的阅读障碍儿童在知觉加工速度参数上显著小于控制组儿童。在空间注意分布权重参数上, 实验1的结果显示, 不同于控制组儿童向左侧化发展的注意分布模式, 两个年级组的阅读障碍儿童均表现为无偏的注意分布; 而实验2未发现显著组别差异。且这两种同时性加工子技能分别与不同水平的汉语阅读技能密切相关。结果表明, 汉语阅读障碍儿童在同时加工多个视觉刺激时存在持续的知觉加工速度缓慢的问题, 在同时加工言语类刺激时还表现出异常的空间注意分布模式。本研究有助于从基础认知层面揭示汉语发展性阅读障碍儿童的缺陷机理, 为进一步设计相关的提高阅读效率的干预方案提供理论依据。     

Parsing as a Cue-Based Retrieval Model

This paper develops a novel psycholinguistic parser and tests it against experimental and corpus reading data. The parser builds on the recent research into memory structures, which argues that memory retrieval is content-addressable and cue-based. It is shown that the theory of cue-based memory systems can be combined with transition-based parsing to produce a parser that, when combined with the cognitive architecture ACT-R, can model reading and predict online behavioral measures (reading times and regressions). The parser's modeling capacities are tested against self-paced reading experimental data (Grodner & Gibson, 2005), eye-tracking experimental data (Staub, 2011), and a self-paced reading corpus (Futrell et al., 2018).     

Computer‐based training to teach observers to accurately score problem behavior using fast forwarding at 5x normal speed

The current study evaluated whether a computer‐based training program could improve observers' accuracy in scoring discrete instances of problem behavior at 5x normal speed using a multiple‐baseline design across subjects. During pretraining and posttraining, observers attempted to score multiple examples of problem behavior at 5.0x without feedback. During training, participants scored multiple examples of problem behavior at 5.0x with automated feedback. Researchers measured omission (missing problem behavior) and commission (scoring other behavior as problem behavior) errors and the total duration of scoring time to determine the observers' accuracy and efficiency, respectively. After training, all participants scored instances of problem behavior with less than 11% error using 5.0x. The time required to score the videos across 90‐min observations was reduced by 66%. Results extend previous evaluations of fast forwarding by demonstrating that the training program could be used to teach observers to accurately score problem behavior using a speed faster than 3.5x.     

汉语阅读中词切分研究进展

词切分指读者在文本阅读过程中将词从句子或语篇中切分出来以促进文本阅读与加工的过程。本文对近20 年来汉语词切分研究成果总结发现:词间空格、词素特性、词意识、词汇预期均可作为词切分的依据; 汉语阅读存在词n和词n+1两种切分,两种切分过程中字词加工均遵循交互激活假设,切分词n过程中字词加工的交互激活特点表现为字词同等相互影响,切分词n+1过程中字词加工的交互激活特点更多表现为词汇加工影响字加工; 重叠歧义词切分遵循多重激活假设,其中被激活的单词之间的竞争机制符合竞争假设,左侧词汇在这一竞争中具有优势,此外,重叠歧义词的切分受到词频,语境的影响。     

Gradedness of visual awareness depends on attentional scope: Global perception is more graded than local perception

The gradedness or discreteness of our visual awareness has been debated. Here, we investigate the influence of spatial scope of attention on the gradedness of visual awareness. We manipulated scope of attention using hierarchical letter-based tasks (global: broad scope; local: narrow scope). Participants reported the identity of a masked hierarchical letter either at the global level or at the local level. We measured subjective awareness using the perceptual awareness scale ratings and objective performance. The results indicate more graded visual awareness (lesser slope for the awareness rating curve) at the global level compared to the local level. Graded perception was also observed in visibility ratings usage with global level task showing higher usage of the middle PAS ratings. Our results are in line with the prediction of level of processing hypothesis and show that global/local attentional scope and contextual endogenous factors influence the graded nature of our visual awareness.