The nanoeconomics of concurrent choice behavior

We introduce to behavior analysis a way of analyzing choice behavior that exploits recent developments in nanoeconomics, financial economics, and econometrics. A response return, modeled on an economic return, is the log differenced count of responses allocated to each of two alternatives during a short time window, compared with that in the immediately preceding window. The response return is a new dependent variable which offers a novel and useful way of looking at operant behavior, especially at the molecular level of analysis. The response–return series is a near‐instantaneous measure of an organism's dynamic preferences for each of two alternatives. Analyzing such a series requires time‐analytic techniques, including Auto‐Regressive Conditional Heteroskedastic (ARCH) models. We illustrate these techniques by analyzing choices between combinations of arithmetic and exponential variable‐interval schedules with pigeon subjects. All response–return series were well‐fitted by one of three ARCH‐family models. The fitted models were differentially sensitive to transition versus steady‐state data samples. The particular insights that the ARCH analyses offer are improved understanding of the effects of the instantaneous effects of reinforcers and their absence, of how the distribution of reinforcers in time affects choice, and of the differences between choice in transition and at steady state.     

Nonlinear Indicator-Level Moderation in Latent Variable Models

Linear, nonlinear, and nonparametric moderated latent variable models have been developed to investigate possible interaction effects between a latent variable and an external continuous moderator on the observed indicators in the latent variable model. Most moderation models have focused on moderators that vary across persons but not across the indicators (e.g., moderators like age and socioeconomic status). However, in many applications, the values of the moderator may vary both across persons and across indicators (e.g., moderators like response times and confidence ratings). Indicator-level moderation models are available for categorical moderators and linear interaction effects. However, these approaches require respectively categorization of the continuous moderator and the assumption of linearity of the interaction effect. In this article, parametric nonlinear and nonparametric indicator-level moderation methods are developed. In a simulation study, we demonstrate the viability of these methods. In addition, the methods are applied to a real data set pertaining to arithmetic ability.     

Trait rumination and response to negative evaluative lab-induced stress: neuroendocrine,affective, and cognitive outcomes

Theoretical models of depression posit that, under stress, elevated trait rumination predicts more pronounced or prolonged negative affective and neuroendocrine responses, and that trait rumination hampers removing irrelevant negative information from working memory. We examined several gaps regarding these models in the context of lab-induced stress. Non-depressed undergraduates completed a rumination questionnaire and either a negative-evaluative Trier Social Stress Test (n?=?55) or a non-evaluative control condition (n?=?69), followed by a modified Sternberg affective working memory task assessing the extent to which irrelevant negative information can be emptied from working memory. We measured shame, negative and positive affect, and salivary cortisol four times. Multilevel growth curve models showed rumination and stress interactively predicted cortisol reactivity; however, opposite predictions, greater rumination was associated with blunted cortisol reactivity to stress. Elevated trait rumination interacted with stress to predict augmented shame reactivity. Rumination and stress did not significantly interact to predict working memory performance, but under control conditions, rumination predicted greater difficulty updating working memory. Results support a vulnerability-stress model of trait rumination with heightened shame reactivity and cortisol dysregulation rather than hyper-reactivity in non-depressed emerging adults, but we cannot provide evidence that working memory processes are critical immediately following acute stress.     

Motion planning strategies in human control of non-rigid objects with internal degrees of freedom

The paper deals with modeling of human-like reaching movements in dynamic environments. A simple but not trivial example of reaching in a dynamic environment is the rest-to-rest manipulation of a multi-mass flexible object with the elimination of residual vibrations. Two approaches to the prediction of reaching movements are formulated in position and force actuation settings. In the first approach, either the position of the hand or the hand force is specified by the lowest order polynomial satisfying the boundary conditions of the reaching task. The second approach is based on the minimization of either the hand jerk or the hand force-change, with taking into account the dynamics of the flexible object. To verify the resulting four mathematical models, an experiment on the manipulation of a ten-masses flexible object of low stiffness is conducted. The experimental results show that the second approach gives a significantly better prediction of human movements, with the minimum hand force-change model having a slight but consistent edge over the minimum hand jerk one.     

Biased belief in the Bayesian brain: A deeper look at the evidence

A recent critique of hierarchical Bayesian models of delusion argues that, contrary to a key assumption of these models, belief formation in the healthy (i.e., neurotypical) mind is manifestly non-Bayesian. Here we provide a deeper examination of the empirical evidence underlying this critique. We argue that this evidence does not convincingly refute the assumption that belief formation in the neurotypical mind approximates Bayesian inference. Our argument rests on two key points. First, evidence that purports to reveal the most damning violation of Bayesian updating in human belief formation is counterweighted by substantial evidence that indicates such violations are the rare exception—not a common occurrence. Second, the remaining evidence does not demonstrate convincing violations of Bayesian inference in human belief updating; primarily because this evidence derives from study designs that produce results that are not obviously inconsistent with Bayesian principles.     

习得无助理论模型的演变与争议

习得无助理论是由美国心理学家马丁．塞里格曼于上世纪60年代提出、而后在美国以至全世界引起广泛研究热潮的一种心理学理论,围绕着习得无助产生的机制及实验操作中的关键变量,形成了许多有价值的理论模型。该研究介绍了这些理论模型的起源、发展与演变．以及无助现象对人们的认知、情绪和动机造成的损害,为我们在临床上诊断和治疗抑郁提供了一个新的视角,同时为预测和矫治学生的习得无肋感提供了方法上的借鉴。     

A cognitive model in which representations are images

Interpretations of images of the brain are starting to reveal the conceptual tasks in which the person was engaged at the time of imaging. Existing mathematical models can explain the patterns of activity observed in such images in terms of the coherent activity of large populations of neurons, but not in terms of cognition. This paper is an early investigation into how such patterns might provide the internal representations for a cognitive system. Probes, working memories and memories are all represented as images. The accompanying process model describes how attention is set according to the contents of working memory, how attention determines what parts of the probe are memorised, how memories are activated according to similarity to the probe in areas in attention, and how working memory is managed. The model is demonstrated on re-creations of classic simulations of recognition memory and categorisation.     

A classification of computer security incidents based on reported attack data

Previous studies of computer criminals have attempted to differentiate between offenders, but have not used data from the actual attacks. Drawing on theories from investigative psychology as well as information security, the current study differentiates 2755 computer security incidents using information about Method of Operation (MO), Impact, and Source Sector from reported attacks. Multivariate statistical analyses were applied on the data‐matrix of 22 variables and showed the co‐occurrences of various aspects of computer security incidents. A radex structure emerged where the high frequency variables were positioned in the centre of the data‐plot. Based on a previously developed taxonomy of cyber intrusions, the results of the analysis showed that it was possible to draw inferences about the less informative category of Objective, from information about Attacker, Tools, Access, and Results. By applying the division‐lines indicating the Objectives of Challenge/Status, Destruction, Political Gain and Financial Gain on the SSA‐plot, it was shown how the taxonomies could be further developed by taking into account the relationships between the categories. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Models for a paraconsistent set theory

In this paper the existence of natural models for a paraconsistent version of naive set theory is discussed. These stand apart from the previous attempts due to the presence of some non-monotonic ingredients in the comprehension scheme they fulfill. Particularly, it is proved here that allowing the equality relation in formulae defining sets, within an extensional universe, compels the use of non-monotonic operators. By reviewing the preceding attempts, we show how our models can naturally be obtained as fixed points of some functor acting on a suitable category (stressing the use of fixed-point arguments in obtaining such alternative semantics).     

An open measurement problem of interest

This open problem urges a seach for a nice “union” of algbraic measurement models having two or more operations and probabilistic choice models. The difficulty lies in arriving at probabilistic formulations of linking properties, such as distribution properties, between the two operations. The goal is a formulation that leads to a representation theorem in terms of a random variable representation and that reduces to a known algebraic representation when there is no noise.