Checking ID‐cards for the sale of restricted goods: Age decisions bias face decisions

Matching unfamiliar faces is highly error‐prone, and most studies highlight the implications for real‐world ID‐checking. Here we study a particular instance of ID‐checking: proof of age for buying restricted goods such as alcohol. In this case, checkers must establish that an identity document is carried by its legitimate owner (i.e., that the ID photo matches the face of the bearer) and that the ID proves the bearer to be old enough to make the purchase. Across three experiments, using two common forms of photo‐ID (i.e., driving licenses, PASS+ cards) we show that observers produce very high error rates when age requirements are met, but faces mismatch. This bias away from detecting a face mismatch remained evident in experienced cashiers—though to a somewhat attenuated level. We discuss interactions between face matching and other tasks, and the practical consequences of a bias which favours those using photo‐ID with fraudulent intent.     

Unfamiliar face matching: Pairs out‐perform individuals and provide a route to training

Matching unfamiliar faces is known to be difficult. Here, we ask whether performance can be improved by asking viewers to work in pairs, a manipulation known to increase accuracy for low‐level visual discrimination tasks. Across four experiments we consistently find that face matching accuracy is higher for pairs of viewers than for individuals. This ‘pairs advantage’ is generally driven by adopting the response of the higher scoring partner. However, when the task becomes difficult, both partners' performance is improved by working in a pair. In two experiments, we find evidence that working in a pair can lead to subsequent improvements in individual performance, specifically for viewers whose accuracy is initially low. The pairs' technique therefore offers the opportunity for substantial improvements in face matching performance, along with an added training benefit.     

Searching through the hierarchy: How level of target categorization affects visual search

Does the same basic-level advantage commonly observed in the categorization literature also hold for targets in a search task? We answered this question by first conducting a category verification task to define a set of categories showing a standard basic-level advantage, which we then used as stimuli in a search experiment. Participants were cued with a picture preview of the target or its category name at either superordinate, basic, or subordinate levels, then shown a target-present/absent search display. Although search guidance and target verification was best using pictorial cues, the effectiveness of the categorical cues depended on the hierarchical level. Search guidance was best for the specific subordinate-level cues, whereas target verification showed a standard basic-level advantage. These findings demonstrate different hierarchical advantages for guidance and verification in categorical search. We interpret these results as evidence for a common target representation underlying categorical search guidance and verification.     

A validation of the five-factor model of personality in academically talented youth across observers and instruments

Four instruments—the NEO-Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), the Adjective Check List (ACL), the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the California Child Q-Set (CCQ)—and two data sources—self reports and parental ratings—were used to assess personality dimensions according to the five-factor model of personality in 870 academically talented youth (mean age = 13.77) from the U.S.A. Data from the parents of 565 of these children were also analysed. The factor structure of the self and parent reports, the convergence between the two sources of reports and the correlations of the adjectives in the ACL with the scores on the NEO-FFI were all consistent with previous results obtained from adults. The findings largely support the notion that the five-factor model as derived from data from adults is applicable to academically talented youth.     

Exploring the Relationship Between Deaf Identity Verification Processes and Self-Esteem

Past research has found that self-esteem in deaf individuals is predicted by variables such as the age they become deaf, the type of school they attend, whether they use sign language or another mode of communication, their parents’ hearing status, and their family’s socioeconomic status. This study applies identity control theory and examines the relationship between Deaf identity verification processes and self-esteem. The results show that, when controlling for variables known to relate to self-esteem, deaf individuals’ education and the degree of difficulty they have in verifying self-meanings in social situations are the only significant predictors of variance in self-esteem. The article discusses the study findings and considers the implications for identity control theorists and Deaf studies scholars.     

汉语无关联词因果复句的命题表征项目互换效应

采用句子—图画验证任务探讨了汉语无关联词因果复句的命题表征项目互换效应。结果表明 ,汉语无关联词因果复句的项目表达顺序为“结果→原因”时 ,所形成的命题表征中项目发生互换 ,其结果为“原因→结果”。本研究结果初步表明 ,在没有关联词的语法提示条件下 ,读者在理解汉语无关联词的因果复句的过程中能够根据其语义内容按照“原因→结果”固定方向进行系列的认知加工     

The cognitive dynamics of negated sentence verification

We explored the influence of negation on cognitive dynamics, measured using mouse-movement trajectories, to test the classic notion that negation acts as an operator on linguistic processing. In three experiments, participants verified the truth or falsity of simple statements, and we tracked the computer-mouse trajectories of their responses. Sentences expressing these facts sometimes contained a negation. Such negated statements could be true (e.g., "elephants are not small") or false (e.g., "elephants are not large"). In the first experiment, as predicted by the classic notion of negation, we found that negation caused more discreteness in the mouse trajectory of a response. The second experiment induced a simple context for these statements, yet negation still increased discreteness in trajectories. A third experiment enhanced the pragmatic context of sentences, and the discreteness was substantially diminished, with one primary measure no longer significantly showing increased discreteness at all. Traditional linguistic theories predict rapid shifts in cognitive dynamics occur due to the nature of negation: It is an operator that reverses the truth or falsity of an interpretation. We argue that these results support both propositional and contextual accounts of negation present in the literature, suggesting that contextual factors are crucial for determining the kind of cognitive dynamics displayed. We conclude by drawing broader lessons about theories of cognition from the case of negation.     

Modeling the role of emotions in viewing oneself maturely

Adolescents develop a mature view on themselves: they view positive as well as negative self-attributes, but they hold a positive stance toward themselves. The literatures on identity, the self, parent-offspring relationships, and friendships provide hints on how such a view may develop. This article integrates this literature into an emotion-based dynamic systems mathematical model built to explain the development of maturity of such views. An innovative methodological design was used to collect empirical data: four students daily reported their experiences and emotions for a period of 5 months, while they temporarily studied abroad. At the beginning and end of this period, they were interviewed on their views on themselves. These mostly qualitative data were used to provide support to the suggested mathematical model. The usefulness, weaknesses, and strengths of such a methodological design and mathematical modeling are discussed.     

A clausal resolution method for extended computation tree logic ECTL

A temporal clausal resolution method was originally developed for linear time temporal logic and further extended to the branching-time framework of Computation Tree Logic (CTL). In this paper, following our general idea to expand the applicability of this efficient method to more expressive formalisms useful in a variety of applications in computer science and AI requiring branching time logics, we define a clausal resolution technique for Extended Computation Tree Logic (ECTL). The branching-time temporal logic ECTL is strictly more expressive than CTL in allowing fairness operators. The key elements of the resolution method for ECTL, namely the clausal normal form, the concepts of step resolution and a temporal resolution, are introduced and justified with respect to this new framework. Although in developing these components we incorporate many of the techniques defined for CTL, we need novel mechanisms in order to capture fairness together with the limit closure property of the underlying tree models. We accompany our presentation of the relevant techniques by examples of the application of the temporal resolution method. Finally, we provide a correctness argument and consider future work discussing an extension of the method yet further, to the logic CTL^*, the most powerful logic of this class.