A pointer's hypothesis of general intelligence evolved from domain-specific demands

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. T. (Xiao-Tian) Wang
Keyword(s):  
Brain Function ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Verbal Communication ◽  
General Intelligence ◽  
Order Function ◽  
Task Specificity ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Multiple Domain ◽  
Adaptive Problem

AbstractA higher-order function may evolve phylogenetically if it is demanded by multiple domain-specific modules. Task-specificity to solve a unique adaptive problem (e.g., foraging or mating) should be distinguished from function-specificity to deal with a common computational demand (e.g., numeracy, verbal communication) required by many tasks. A localized brain function is likely a result of such common computational demand.

Structural Validity of the WISC-IV for Students With ADHD

2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 921-928 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kara M. Styck ◽  
Marley W. Watkins
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
General Intelligence ◽  
Structural Validity ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Students With Adhd

Objective: To evaluate the structural validity of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Fourth Edition (WISC-IV). Method: Confirmatory factor analyses were applied to a sample of 233 students diagnosed with ADHD by school multidisciplinary evaluation teams to evaluate the relative fit of the following competing models: (a) one factor, (b) two oblique verbal and nonverbal factors, (c) three oblique verbal, perceptual, and combined working memory/processing speed factors, (d) four oblique verbal, perceptual, working memory, and processing speed factors, (e) a higher-order model with four first-order factors, and (f) a bifactor model with four domain-specific factors. Results: A higher-order four-factor model fit the data best, which was composed of a general intelligence factor and four domain-specific factors that matched the four factors specified in the WISC-IV technical and interpretive manual. Moreover, the general intelligence factor explained more than two times the total variance contributed by all four domain-specific factors combined. Conclusions: Results substantiate previous research on the WISC-IV, indicating that the general intelligence factor contributes the most reliable information. Consequently, it is recommended that interpretation of the WISC-IV remain at the Full-Scale IQ score level.

scholarly journals A connectivity-constrained computational account of topographic organization in high-level visual cortex

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas M Blauch ◽  
Marlene Behrmann ◽  
David Plaut
Keyword(s):  
Visual Processing ◽  
Spatial Organization ◽  
Functional Organization ◽  
Spatial Clusters ◽  
Feature Extracting ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Visual Processes ◽  
Topographic Organization ◽  
High Level ◽  
Multiple Domain

Inferotemporal cortex (IT) in humans and other primates is topographically organized, with multiple domain-selective areas and other general patterns of functional organization. What factors underlie this organization, and what can this neural arrangement tell us about the mechanisms of high level vision? Here, we present an account of topographic organization involving a computational model with two components: 1) a feature-extracting encoder model of early visual processes, followed by 2) a model of high-level hierarchical visual processing in IT subject to specific biological constraints. In particular, minimizing the wiring cost on spatially organized feedforward and lateral connections within IT, combined with constraining the feedforward processing to be strictly excitatory, results in a hierarchical, topographic organization. This organization replicates a number of key properties of primate IT cortex, including the presence of domain-selective spatial clusters preferentially involved in the representation of faces, objects, and scenes, within-domain topographic organization such as animacy and indoor/outdoor distinctions, and generic spatial organization whereby the response correlation of pairs of units falls off with their distance. The model supports a view in which both domain-specific and domain-general topographic organization arise in the visual system from an optimization process that maximizes behavioral performance while minimizing wiring costs.

scholarly journals Ask and You Shall Receive: A closer look on unsolved consciousness issue

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Motavalli ◽  
◽  
Javad Mahmoudi ◽  
Alireza Majdi ◽  
Saeed Sadigh-Eteghad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Brain Function ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Narrative Review ◽  
Historical Aspects ◽  
Neural Correlates Of Consciousness ◽  
States Of Consciousness ◽  
Mind And Body ◽  
The Brain

Although there are numerous views about the concept of consciousness, no consensus exists regarding the meaning. However, with the aid of the latest neuroscientific developments, the misleading obstacles related to consciousness have been removed. Over the last few decades, neuroscientific efforts in determining the function of the brain and merging these findings with philosophical theories, have brought a more comprehensive perception of the notion of consciousness. In addition to metaphysical/ontological views of consciousness e.g., higher-order theories, reflexive theories, and representationalist theories, there are some brain directed topics in this matter which include but not are limited to neural correlates of consciousness (NCC), brain loop connectivity, and lateralization. This narrative review sheds light on cultural and historical aspects of consciousness in old and middle ages and introduces some of the prominent philosophical discussions related to mind and body. Also, it illustrates the correlation of brain function with states of consciousness with a focus on the roles of function and connectivity.

Universals, innateness and explanation in second language acquisition

2004 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 682-703 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred Eckman
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
The Other ◽  
Language Typology ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Typological Approach

This paper considers the question of explanation in second language acquisition within the context of two approaches to universals, Universal Grammar and language typology. After briefly discussing the logic of explaining facts by including them under general laws (Hempel & Oppenheim 1948), the paper makes a case for the typological approach to explanation being the more fruitful, in that it allows more readily for the possibility of ‘explanatory ascent’, the ability to propose more general, higher order explanations by having lower-level generalizations follow from more general principles. The UG approach, on the other hand is less capable of such explanatory ascent because of the postulation that the innate, domain-specific principles of UG are not reducible in any interesting way to higher order principles of cognition (Chomsky 1982).

scholarly journals Multitasking: multiple, domain-specific cognitive functions in a virtual environment

2011 ◽  
Vol 39 (8) ◽  
pp. 1561-1574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Logie ◽  
Steven Trawley ◽  
Anna Law
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Cognitive Functions ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Multiple Domain

Of mice and men, nature and nurture, and a few red herrings

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc D. Hauser
Keyword(s):  
General Intelligence ◽  
Animal Minds ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Of Mice And Men ◽  
Nature And Nurture ◽  
The Mind

AbstractBurkart et al.'s proposal is based on three false premises: (1) theories of the mind are either domain-specific/modular (DSM) or domain-general (DG); (2) DSM systems are considered inflexible, built by nature; and (3) animal minds are deemed as purely DSM. Clearing up these conceptual confusions is a necessary first step in understanding how general intelligence evolved.

scholarly journals Step by Step: Biology Undergraduates’ Problem-Solving Procedures during Multiple-Choice Assessment

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. ar71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luanna B. Prevost ◽  
Paula P. Lemons
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Specific Problem ◽  
General Procedure ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Hybrid Procedures ◽  
General Domain ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Written Descriptions ◽  
Categorization Scheme

This study uses the theoretical framework of domain-specific problem solving to explore the procedures students use to solve multiple-choice problems about biology concepts. We designed several multiple-choice problems and administered them on four exams. We trained students to produce written descriptions of how they solved the problem, and this allowed us to systematically investigate their problem-solving procedures. We identified a range of procedures and organized them as domain general, domain specific, or hybrid. We also identified domain-general and domain-specific errors made by students during problem solving. We found that students use domain-general and hybrid procedures more frequently when solving lower-order problems than higher-order problems, while they use domain-specific procedures more frequently when solving higher-order problems. Additionally, the more domain-specific procedures students used, the higher the likelihood that they would answer the problem correctly, up to five procedures. However, if students used just one domain-general procedure, they were as likely to answer the problem correctly as if they had used two to five domain-general procedures. Our findings provide a categorization scheme and framework for additional research on biology problem solving and suggest several important implications for researchers and instructors.

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