Large-Scale Modeling of Wordform Learning and Representation

The forms of words as they appear in text and speech are central to theories and models of lexical processing. Nonetheless, current methods for simulating their learning and representation fail to approach the scale and heterogeneity of real wordform lexicons. A connectionist architecture termed the sequence encoder is used to learn nearly 75,000 wordform representations through exposure to strings of stress-marked phonemes or letters. First, the mechanisms and efficacy of the sequence encoder are demonstrated and shown to overcome problems with traditional slot-based codes. Then, two large-scale simulations are reported that learned to represent lexicons of either phonological or orthographic wordforms. In doing so, the models learned the statistics of their lexicons as shown by better processing of well-formed pseudowords as opposed to ill-formed (scrambled) pseudowords, and by accounting for variance in well-formedness ratings. It is discussed how the sequence encoder may be integrated into broader models of lexical processing.     

Sensitivity to Syntactic Changes in Garden Path Sentences

The results of two text-change experiments are reported. The experiments were designed to investigate the syntactic representation of garden path sentences such as While the man hunted the deer that was brown and graceful ran into the woods, specifically the claim that a significant number of misinterpretations of such sentences are due to incomplete syntactic reanalysis (Christianson et al. Cogn Psychol 42:368–407, 2001). In the experiments reported here, the pronoun it was added (Expt. 1) or deleted (Expt. 2) from short texts containing such sentences. Participants were more or less likely to notice both deletions and additions of it in certain syntactic contexts, as predicted by the incomplete reanalysis account. Correlations with reading times support this interpretation of the results. Overall, the data are consistent with a “good enough” view of language processing (Ferreira et al. J Psycholinguist Res 30:3–20, 2001).     

Three kinds of rhymes: An ERP study

In a simple prime-target visual rhyming paradigm, pairs of words, nonwords, and single letters elicited similar event-related potential (ERP) rhyming effects in young adults. Within each condition, primes elicited contingent negative variation (CNV) while nonrhyming targets elicited more negative waveforms than rhyming targets within the 320-500ms (N400/N450) time window. The target rhyming effect, apparently primarily an index of phonological processing, was similar across conditions but tended to be smaller in mean amplitude for letters. One of the first reports of such a letter rhyming effect in the ERP literature, these findings could be important developmentally because letter rhyme tasks simultaneously index the two best predictors of ease of learning to read: letter name knowledge and phonological awareness.     

不同类型的知觉刺激对语言理解的影响

采用知觉负载范式探讨知觉刺激对语言理解的影响。实验1考察被试在加工听觉概念和视觉概念时的表征形式。实验2进一步探讨在同一通道内部,形状概念和视觉概念的表征形式。实验1发现,在进行语言理解时,如果存在听知觉负荷,加工语言中的听觉信息时会变慢。如果存在视知觉负荷,加工语言中的视觉信息时错误率会增加。实验2发现,在涉及视觉信息的语言理解中,颜色知觉负荷产生了广泛的影响,而形状知觉负荷没有表现出这种效应。总的实验结果表明,不同类型的知觉刺激对语言理解产生了不同的影响。语言理解中存在着模态化和非模态化两种不同的加工模式。     

汉语短时序列回忆中的语音相似性和视觉相似性效应

语音相似性效应和视觉相似性效应是短时序列回忆中的两个典型性效应, 但前人很少探讨这两种效应的交互作用。本研究利用汉语字形和语音的属性, 观察汉字短时序列回忆中语音相似性效应、视觉相似性效应及两者的交互作用。研究结果发现当回忆项目在语音或视觉上单纯相似或不相似时, 视觉相似性效应及其与语音相似性的交互作用与混合词表条件下所发现的结果有很大的不同。这个研究结果为丰富和补充相关理论模型提供了进一步实证依据。     

汉语颠倒词加工中重复知盲发生的水平

以汉语中的颠倒词为材料, 探讨汉语重复知盲的发生水平。采用RSVP方式呈现包含颠倒词对(C1和C2)的句子列表或词语列表, 让被试对列表中的词进行全部报告或报告是否存在重复词, 记录报告C2的正确率。三个实验采用3 (词语的重复性: 颠倒重复、完全重复、不重复) × 2 (颠倒词对的意义相似性: 意义不同、意义相似)两因素被试内设计, 结果在全部报告和报告是否存在重复词的实验中都出现重复性和意义相似性的交互效应, 但不同实验任务, 数据模式不同。该结果表明, 在RSVP任务中, 汉语颠倒词加工存在RB效应, 该效应产生的水平受制于不同的实验任务, 在部分报告任务中, 颠倒词的RB效应发生在知觉水平, 在全部报告任务中, 颠倒词的RB效应发生在语义水平。     

内源性注意和外源性注意对中小学生SNARC效应的影响

采用内源性注意和外源性注意实验范式,以判断数字奇偶为任务,材料为1～9的阿拉伯数字,考察内源性和外源性线索不同注意条件下中小学生的数字加工SNARC效应。结果发现:(1)内源性线索和外源性线索条件下,中小学生在数字加工任务中所表现出来的SNARC效应随着年龄增长逐渐增大;(2)内源性线索和外源性线索注意条件下,各年级学生均表现出显著的SNARC效应;(3)内源性线索非注意条件下,中学生能够表现出显著的SNARC效应,但小学生的SNARC效应不明显;外源性线索非注意条件下,高中生能够表现出显著的SNARC效应,但小学生和初中生的SNARC效应不明显,说明外源性注意对中小学生数字加工SNARC效应的影响比内源性注意大,且对SNARC效应的影响主要表现在较大的数字8和9上。     

动机性信息加工理论及其在工业与组织心理学中的应用

“团队作为信息加工者的观点”认为, 团队执行复杂任务需要经过一系列认知决策, 哪些信息被共享, 以及信息共享和整合的质量, 共同决定团队效能的高低。动机性信息加工理论则进一步提出, 认知动机和社会动机共同决定了哪些信息被共享, 以及信息共享和整合的质量。认知动机决定信息加工的深度, 社会动机决定信息加工的方向, 两种动机共同决定决策质量。这一理论可以很好地整合谈判和创造力领域的研究结果, 并在团队效能领域得到很好的应用。动机性信息加工理论是对双过程模型和“团队作为信息加工者观点”的发展和整合, 并为决策质量的影响因素提供新的分类框架和研究思路。     

音乐情境中自我参照加工的时间特征：来自ERPs的证据

采用事件相关电位技术, 考察在有情境条件下不同层面的自我参照加工的特性及其神经机制。实验发现,在两种音乐情境条件下个体自我参展刺激所激发的P300波幅比集体自我参照刺激和非自我刺激更大,而集体自我参照刺激所激发的P300波幅比非自我刺激更大;两种音乐情境条件下个体自我参照刺激所激发的P300波幅差异显著,而集体自我参照刺激所激发的P300波幅差异不显著。研究结果表明了在不同的情境中,个体自我参照加工的差异较大,表现出不稳定的特征;个体自我参照加工与集体自我参照加工的神经机制是不同的。这些结果还可能表明了相对于集体自我来讲,个体自我是自我的核心层面。     

Auditory processing deficits in children with reading and language impairments: can they (and should they) be treated?

Sixty-five children with specific reading disability (SRD), 25 children with specific language impairment (SLI), and 37 age-matched controls were tested for their frequency discrimination, rapid auditory processing, vowel discrimination, and consonant–vowel discrimination. Subgroups of children with SRD or SLI produced abnormal frequency discrimination (42%), rapid auditory processing (12%), vowel discrimination (23%), or consonant–vowel discrimination (18%) thresholds for their age. Twenty-eight of these children trained on a programme that targeted their specific auditory processing deficit for 6 weeks. Twenty-five of these 28 trainees produced normal thresholds for their targeted processing skill after training. These gains were not explained by gains in auditory attention, in the ability to do psychophysical tasks in general, or by test–retest effects. The 25 successful trainees also produced significantly higher scores on spoken language and spelling tests after training. However, an untrained control group showed test–retest effects on the same tests. These results suggest that auditory processing deficits can be treated successfully in children with SRD and SLI but that this does not help them acquire new reading, spelling, or spoken language skills.