数学应用题中语言成分模型的构建—— 多元随机效应项目反应理论模型的运用

数学应用题中的语言成分可能对被试问题解决过程产生复杂影响。通常, 这种影响对所有被试并非完全一致, 而是具体数学题目特征与特定被试的认知特性之间交互作用的结果。本研究采用多元随机效应项目反应理论模型的建模方法, 分析了数学应用题中语言成分对问题解决过程的影响。该方法的优势在于它不仅分析了语言成分对数学问题解决过程的平均效应, 同时给出了相应的随机效应, 揭示了相应成分对不同个体问题解决过程的具体影响程度。结果表明, 较难的项目倾向于单词更多, 命题密度更高, 要求对图/表信息进行编码和转译, 或者根据问题表述生成数学公式。项目命题密度影响效应存在着显著的个别差异。项目命题密度对能力较低的被试的影响高于对能力较高的被试的影响。     

从中亚东干人语言的变迁看文化适应

文化适应是一个描述民族文化关系的重要概念,它指的是两个或两个以上不同文化体系间由于持续接触、相互影响而造成一方或双方发生的大规模文化变迁。本文透过中亚东干人在不同民族文化的接触中其语言变迁的过程,对人类文化适应这一重要的文化现象进行了考察。笔者认为,东干人学习使用范围较广的其他民族语言的事实,不仅表现出其自身较强的文化适应性,而且反映出一种对本民族成员所需社会文化资源和未来发展机会的积极争取。     

语言对知觉的影响—— 来自颜色范畴知觉研究的证据

介绍了近年来语言和颜色范畴知觉关系研究的新进展, 特别是颜色范畴知觉效应的偏侧化、婴幼儿颜色范畴知觉的特点等。同时指出了今后需要进一步研究的问题, 如颜色范畴知觉效应偏侧化与语言的关系、右脑语言优势者颜色范畴知觉的特点、颜色加工脑区和语言加工脑区之间的关系以及婴幼儿颜色范畴知觉特点的追踪研究等。     

Three ideal observer models for rule learning in simple languages

Children learning the inflections of their native language show the ability to generalize beyond the perceptual particulars of the examples they are exposed to. The phenomenon of “rule learning”—quick learning of abstract regularities from exposure to a limited set of stimuli—has become an important model system for understanding generalization in infancy. Experiments with adults and children have revealed differences in performance across domains and types of rules. To understand the representational and inferential assumptions necessary to capture this broad set of results, we introduce three ideal observer models for rule learning. Each model builds on the next, allowing us to test the consequences of individual assumptions. Model 1 learns a single rule, Model 2 learns a single rule from noisy input, and Model 3 learns multiple rules from noisy input. These models capture a wide range of experimental results—including several that have been used to argue for domain-specificity or limits on the kinds of generalizations learners can make—suggesting that these ideal observers may be a useful baseline for future work on rule learning.     

Investigating joint attention mechanisms through spoken human-robot interaction

Referential gaze during situated language production and comprehension is tightly coupled with the unfolding speech stream ( [Griffin, 2001] , [Meyer et al., 1998] and [Tanenhaus et al., 1995] ). In a shared environment, utterance comprehension may further be facilitated when the listener can exploit the speaker’s focus of (visual) attention to anticipate, ground, and disambiguate spoken references. To investigate the dynamics of such gaze-following and its influence on utterance comprehension in a controlled manner, we use a human–robot interaction setting. Specifically, we hypothesize that referential gaze is interpreted as a cue to the speaker’s referential intentions which facilitates or disrupts reference resolution. Moreover, the use of a dynamic and yet extremely controlled gaze cue enables us to shed light on the simultaneous and incremental integration of the unfolding speech and gaze movement.We report evidence from two eye-tracking experiments in which participants saw videos of a robot looking at and describing objects in a scene. The results reveal a quantified benefit-disruption spectrum of gaze on utterance comprehension and, further, show that gaze is used, even during the initial movement phase, to restrict the spatial domain of potential referents. These findings more broadly suggest that people treat artificial agents similar to human agents and, thus, validate such a setting for further explorations of joint attention mechanisms.     

A review of recommendations for sequencing receptive and expressive language instruction

We review recommendations for sequencing instruction in receptive and expressive language objectives in early and intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) programs. Several books recommend completing receptive protocols before introducing corresponding expressive protocols. However, this recommendation has little empirical support, and some evidence exists that the reverse sequence may be more efficient. Alternative recommendations include teaching receptive and expressive skills simultaneously (M. L. Sundberg & Partington, 1998) and building learning histories that lead to acquisition of receptive and expressive skills without direct instruction (Greer & Ross, 2008). Empirical support for these recommendations also is limited. Future research should assess the relative efficiency of receptive-before-expressive, expressive-before-receptive, and simultaneous training with children who have diagnoses of autism spectrum disorders. In addition, further evaluation is needed of the potential benefits of multiple-exemplar training and other variables that may influence the efficiency of receptive and expressive instruction.     

Parent-implemented mand training: acquisition of framed manding in a young boy with partial hemispherectomy

This study examined the effects of parent-implemented mand training on the acquisition of framed manding in a 4-year-old boy who had undergone partial hemispherectomy. Framed manding became the predominant mand form when and only when the intervention was implemented with each preferred toy, but minimal generalization to untrained toys nevertheless occurred. A pure mand test suggested that manding was controlled by the relevant motivating operation.     

What is the deficit in phonological processing deficits: auditory sensitivity, masking, or category formation?

Although children with language impairments, including those associated with reading, usually demonstrate deficits in phonological processing, there is minimal agreement as to the source of those deficits. This study examined two problems hypothesized to be possible sources: either poor auditory sensitivity to speech-relevant acoustic properties, mainly formant transitions, or enhanced masking of those properties. Adults and 8-year-olds with and without phonological processing deficits (PPD) participated. Children with PPD demonstrated weaker abilities than children with typical language development (TLD) in reading, sentence recall, and phonological awareness. Dependent measures were word recognition, discrimination of spectral glides, and phonetic judgments based on spectral and temporal cues. All tasks were conducted in quiet and in noise. Children with PPD showed neither poorer auditory sensitivity nor greater masking than adults and children with TLD, but they did demonstrate an unanticipated deficit in category formation for nonspeech sounds. These results suggest that these children may have an underlying deficit in perceptually organizing sensory information to form coherent categories.