Instance‐based Learning: A General Model of Repeated Binary Choice

A common practice in cognitive modeling is to develop new models specific to each particular task. We question this approach and draw on an existing theory, instance‐based learning theory (IBLT), to explain learning behavior in three different choice tasks. The same instance‐based learning model generalizes accurately to choices in a repeated binary choice task, in a probability learning task, and in a repeated binary choice task within a changing environment. We assert that, although the three tasks are different, the source of learning is equivalent and therefore, the cognitive process elicited should be captured by one single model. This evidence supports previous findings that instance‐based learning is a robust learning process that is triggered in a wide range of tasks from the simple repeated choice tasks to the most dynamic decision making tasks. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Measuring self-serving cognitive distortions: A meta-analysis of the psychometric properties of the How I Think Questionnaire (HIT)

The How I Think Questionnaire (HIT; Barriga et al., 2001) is a self-report measure of self-serving cognitive distortions. This study used meta-analytic methods to analyse: (i) the reliability of the HIT scores across samples; (ii) the variability in reliability estimates; and (iii) the convergent and criterion-group validity of the HIT scores. Results showed an excellent reliability of the total HIT scores: mean alpha = .93, 95% CI [.92, .94]; k = 29, N = 8,186. Heterogeneity of total HIT was mainly explained by type of population. The reliabilities of the four subscale scores were also adequate. Moreover, the HIT has strong convergent validity and is able to discriminate between offenders and control participants. Limitations of the current literature are discussed.     

Lesions in the anterior thalamic nuclei of rats do not disrupt acquisition of stimulus sequence learning

Four experiments examined the effects of encoding multiple standards in a temporal generalization task in the visual and auditory modalities both singly and cross-modally, using stimulus durations ranging, across different experiments, from 100 to 1,400 ms. Previous work has shown that encoding and storing multiple auditory standards of different durations resulted in systematic interference with the memory of the standard, characterized by a shift in the location of peak responding, and this result, from Ogden, Wearden, and Jones (2008), was replicated in the present Experiment 1. Experiment 2 employed the basic procedure of Ogden et al. using visual stimuli and found that encoding multiple visual standards did not lead to performance deterioration or any evidence of systematic interference between the standards. Experiments 3 and 4 examined potential cross-modal interference. When two standards of different modalities and durations were encoded and stored together there was also no evidence of interference between the two. Taken together, these results, and those of Ogden et al., suggest that, in humans, visual temporal reference memory may be more permanent than auditory reference memory and that auditory temporal information and visual temporal information do not mutually interfere in reference memory.     

Sensory generalization and learning about novel colours by poultry chicks

Previous research has shown semantic influence from irrelevant peripheral cues on the spatial allocation of covert visual attention. The present study explored whether the task set determines the extent of such semantic influence. A spatial cueing paradigm with strict eye movement control was used, where cues were either first names (male or female) or emotionally charged words (positive or negative) followed by a face target. Participants discriminated either the gender (male or female) or the emotion (positive or negative) of the face. When there was high information overlap between cue and task set, responses were faster when the cue and target value were semantically congruent than when they were incongruent. It was concluded that the semantically related cues primed a task-influencing response independently of spatial attention allocation processes, showing that semantic influences from brief peripheral cues depend on the degree of information overlap between cue and task set.     

Using the stimulus equivalence paradigm to teach course material in an undergraduate rehabilitation course

In 2 experiments, we examined whether the stimulus equivalence instructional paradigm could be used to teach relations among names, definitions, causes, and common treatments for disabilities using a selection-based intraverbal training format. Participants were pre- and posttested on vocal intraverbal relations and were trained using multiple-choice worksheets in which selection-based intraverbal relations were taught and feedback was delivered until mastery. Most participants in Experiment 1 showed the emergence of vocal intraverbal relations, but responding did not generalize to final written intraverbal tests. Participants in Experiment 2 showed the emergence of not only vocal intraverbal relations but also written intraverbal relations on final tests. Results suggest that the stimulus equivalence paradigm can be effectively implemented using a selection-based intraverbal training format, the protocol may be an effective means of emphasizing important concepts in a college course, and emergent skills may generalize to novel response topographies.     

Feature selection for inductive generalization

Judging similarities among objects, events, and experiences is one of the most basic cognitive abilities, allowing us to make predictions and generalizations. The main assumption in similarity judgment is that people selectively attend to salient features of stimuli and judge their similarities on the basis of the common and distinct features of the stimuli. However, it is unclear how people select features from stimuli and how they weigh features. Here, we present a computational method that helps address these questions. Our procedure combines image-processing techniques with a machine-learning algorithm and assesses feature weights that can account for both similarity and categorization judgment data. Our analysis suggests that a small number of local features are particularly important to explain our behavioral data.     

Good Workers and Crooked Bosses: The Effect of Voice Suppression by Supervisors on Employees’ Populist Attitudes and Voting

This study is the first to explore the effect of political socialization in the workplace on populist attitudes. We investigate the effect of workplace voice suppression on employees' populist attitudes and voting. We expect employees who were suppressed by supervisors to hold more populist attitudes and to be more likely to vote for a populist party than employees who were not. We argue that some employees experience voice suppression by supervisors as stressful, so splitting is likely to be employed as a defense mechanism. Splitting is achieved through cognitive distinction and antagonism between “the good workers” and “the crooked bosses.” Such a split mental framework can generalize into a worldview that contrasts “the pure people” and “the corrupt elite,” a core characteristic of populism. We predict that the extent to which suppression triggers splitting and consequentially incites populist attitudes and voting depends on employees' acceptance of power distance. We test our hypotheses using SEM on survey data from 2990 members of the Dutch labor force. Our results show that experiences of voice suppression are positively related to populist attitudes and populist voting. As expected, this effect is stronger for employees who are less accepting of power distance.