scholarly journals A cognitive load delays predictive eye movements similarly during L1 and L2 comprehension

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
AINE ITO ◽  
MARTIN CORLEY ◽  
MARTIN J. PICKERING
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Target Object ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Visual World ◽  
L1 And L2

We used the visual world eye-tracking paradigm to investigate the effects of cognitive load on predictive eye movements in L1 (Experiment 1) and L2 (Experiment 2) speakers. Participants listened to sentences whose verb was predictive or non-predictive towards one of four objects they were viewing. They then clicked on a mentioned object. Half the participants additionally performed a working memory task of remembering words. Both L1 and L2 speakers looked more at the target object predictively in predictable- than in non-predictable sentences when they performed the listen-and-click task only. However, this predictability effect was delayed in those who performed the concurrent memory task. This pattern of results was similar in L1 and L2 speakers. L1 and L2 speakers make predictions, but cognitive resources are required for making predictive eye movements. The findings are compatible with the claim that L2 speakers use the same mechanisms as L1 speakers to make predictions.

scholarly journals Notetaking and Writing from Hypertexts in L1 and L2

2008 ◽  
Vol 156 ◽  
pp. 31-50
Author(s):  
Marie-Laure Barbier ◽  
Annie Piolat ◽  
Jean-Yves Roussey ◽  
Françoise Raby
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Word Processor ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Main Task ◽  
Writing Processes ◽  
Random Intervals ◽  
Paper Condition ◽  
Copy And Paste ◽  
L1 And L2

This study analyzes the cognitive effort and linguistic procedures of sixty students using information taken from an experimental website in L1 (French) and in L2 (English). The students navigated on the website and took notes on paper or with a word processor. A triple-task paradigm was used to estimate the cognitive load of reading, notetaking, and writing processes in L2. The students had to perform two additional tasks while a main task (notetaking, for example) was being carried out. They had to react as fast as possible to sound signals sent out at random intervals. They also had to identify what they were doing at the time the sound signal was heard (reading, notetaking, or writing). The study focuses on the way the students managed their cognitive resources while exploring the website, selecting and writing down the ideas they considered useful, and reconstructing them later when producing their own text. Surprisingly, no difference in cognitive load was observed between L1 and L2. By relying almost exclusively on the copy and paste functions to retrieve information from the website, the participants using a word processor in L2 succeeded in making reading a less costly activity, and they performed similarly to the notetakers in L1. The students’ difficulties in L2 became apparent only in the paper condition. The strategies and linguistic procedures of the students are described and related to the ways teachers can approach the new dimensions of notetaking and writing with a computer.

Concurrent verbal working memory load constrains cross-linguistic translation activation: A visual world eye-tracking study on Hindi–English bilinguals

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-30
Author(s):  
Seema Prasad ◽  
Ramesh Kumar Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Spoken Word ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Visual World ◽  
Sequence Recognition ◽  
Word Onset ◽  
Study Participants

Abstract Does a concurrent verbal working memory (WM) load constrain cross-linguistic activation? In a visual world study, participants listened to Hindi (L1) or English (L2) spoken words and viewed a display containing the phonological cohort of the translation equivalent (TE cohort) of the spoken word and 3 distractors. Experiment 1 was administered without a load. Participants then maintained two or four letters (Experiment 2) or two, six or eight letters (Experiment 3) in WM and were tested on backward sequence recognition after the visual world display. Greater looks towards TE cohorts were observed in both the language directions in Experiment 1. With a load, TE cohort activation was inhibited in the L2 – L1 direction and observed only in the early stages after word onset in the L1 – L2 direction suggesting a critical role of language direction. These results indicate that cross-linguistic activation as seen through eye movements depends on cognitive resources such as WM.

scholarly journals Resources Underlying Visuo-Spatial Working Memory Enable Veridical Large Numerosity Perception

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Castaldi ◽  
Manuela Piazza ◽  
Evelyn Eger
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Visual Image ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Clinical Population ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Multiple Objects ◽  
Numerosity Discrimination ◽  
Numerosity Perception

Humans can quickly approximate how many objects are in a visual image, but no clear consensus has been achieved on the cognitive resources underlying this ability. Previous work has lent support to the notion that mechanisms which explicitly represent the locations of multiple objects in the visual scene within a mental map are critical for both visuo-spatial working memory and enumeration (at least for relatively small numbers of items). Regarding the cognitive underpinnings of large numerosity perception, an issue currently subject to much controversy is why numerosity estimates are often non-veridical (i.e., susceptible to biases from non-numerical quantities). Such biases have been found to be particularly pronounced in individuals with developmental dyscalculia (DD), a learning disability affecting the acquisition of arithmetic skills. Motivated by findings showing that DD individuals are also often impaired in visuo-spatial working memory, we hypothesized that resources supporting this type of working memory, which allow for the simultaneous identification of multiple objects, might also be critical for precise and unbiased perception of larger numerosities. We therefore tested whether loading working memory of healthy adult participants during discrimination of large numerosities would lead to increased interference from non-numerical quantities. Participants performed a numerosity discrimination task on multi-item arrays in which numerical and non-numerical stimulus dimensions varied congruently or incongruently relative to each other, either in isolation or in the context of a concurrent visuo-spatial or verbal working memory task. During performance of the visuo-spatial, but not verbal, working memory task, precision in numerosity discrimination decreased, participants’ choices became strongly biased by item size, and the strength of this bias correlated with measures of arithmetical skills. Moreover, the interference between numerosity and working memory tasks was bidirectional, with number discrimination impacting visuo-spatial (but not verbal) performance. Overall, these results suggest that representing visual numerosity in a way that is unbiased by non-numerical quantities relies on processes which explicitly segregate/identify the locations of multiple objects that are shared with visuo-spatial (but not verbal) working memory. This shared resource may potentially be impaired in DD, explaining the observed co-occurrence of working memory and numerosity discrimination deficits in this clinical population.

scholarly journals The Role of Cognitive Load in Intentional Forgetting Using the Think/No-Think Task

2017 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saima Noreen ◽  
Jan W. de Fockert
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Load Condition ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Working Memory Load ◽  
Intentional Forgetting ◽  
Probe Test ◽  
Target Words

Abstract. We investigated the role of cognitive control in intentional forgetting by manipulating working memory load during the think/no-think task. In two experiments, participants learned a series of cue-target word pairs and were asked to recall the target words associated with some cues or to avoid thinking about the target associated with other cues. In addition to this, participants also performed a modified version of the n-back task which required them to respond to the identity of a single target letter present in the currently presented cue word (n = 0 condition, low working memory load), and in either the previous cue word (n = 1 condition, high working memory load, Experiment 1) or the cue word presented two trials previously (n = 2 condition, high working memory load, Experiment 2). Participants’ memory for the target words was subsequently tested using same and novel independent probes. In both experiments it was found that although participants were successful at forgetting on both the same and independent-probe tests in the low working memory load condition, they were only successful at forgetting on the same-probe test in the high working memory load condition. We argue that our findings suggest that the high load working memory task diverted attention from direct suppression and acted as an interference-based strategy. Thus, when cognitive resources are limited participants can switch between the strategies they use to prevent unwanted memories from coming to mind.

scholarly journals Maintaining fixation does not increase demands on working memory relative to free viewing

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e6839 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Armson ◽  
Jennifer D. Ryan ◽  
Brian Levine
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Oculomotor System ◽  
Finger Tapping ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Free Viewing

The comparison of memory performance during free and fixed viewing conditions has been used to demonstrate the involvement of eye movements in memory encoding and retrieval, with stronger effects at encoding than retrieval. Relative to conditions of free viewing, participants generally show reduced memory performance following sustained fixation, suggesting that unrestricted eye movements benefit memory. However, the cognitive basis of the memory reduction during fixed viewing is uncertain, with possible mechanisms including disruption of visual-mnemonic and/or imagery processes with sustained fixation, or greater working memory demands required for fixed relative to free viewing. To investigate one possible mechanism for this reduction, we had participants perform a working memory task—an auditory n-back task—during free and fixed viewing, as well as a repetitive finger tapping condition, included to isolate the effects of motor interference independent of the oculomotor system. As expected, finger tapping significantly interfered with n-back performance relative to free viewing, as indexed by a decrease in accuracy and increase in response times. By contrast, there was no evidence that fixed viewing interfered with n-back performance relative to free viewing. Our findings failed to support a hypothesis of increased working memory load during fixation. They are consistent with the notion that fixation disrupts long-term memory performance through interference with visual processes.

Learning from screencast videos for software training : a comparison of dual and single-monitor learning environments

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Douglas Paul Kueker
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Worked Examples ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Instructional Efficiency ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Split Attention ◽  
Set Up

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Learning to use software programs using worked examples in screencast videos presents a classic split-attention problem that requires learners to mentally integrate information from the video with a target application. While much is known about sound screencast tutorial design, little is known about the features of the learning environment, such as monitor configuration, that may influence learning from this form of instruction. An experiment was conducted with 42 novice learners to fill this gap by comparing the effects of two common monitor configurations which split attention in different ways. In one condition, subjects split attention temporally by toggling back and forth between the video and target application on one monitor, while the other condition required subjects to split attention spatially by shifting their gaze between the video and target application displayed on two side-by-side monitors. Effects due to the monitor set-up were assessed for measures of cognitive load, instructional efficiency, and motivation using a 2x2 study design that controlled for task order. Results indicated that cognitive load as measured through task evoked pupil response was significantly higher, pless than .05, for groups with two monitors during both instruction and testing, even after controlling for working memory capacity. Analyses of three gaze-related eye-tracking metrics and NASA-TLX ratings did not indicate any differences in workload due to the experimental treatment; however, attentional patterns indicated by the eye-tracking data were shaped by two- and three-way interactions between working memory capacity and the experimental conditions. Measures of instructional efficiency indicated that the single monitor set-up was most efficient as learners attempted to transfer learning. While task efficacy and relevance ratings increased after training, monitor set-up did not affect post-training motivation.

scholarly journals Aberrant modulation of brain activity underlies impaired working memory following traumatic brain injury

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abbie S. Taing ◽  
Matthew E. Mundy ◽  
Jennie L. Ponsford ◽  
Gershon Spitz
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Neural Processing ◽  
Specific Working

AbstractImpaired working memory capacity is a common and disabling consequence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) that is caused by aberrant neural processing. However, due to high heterogeneity in results across studies, it is challenging to conclude whether impaired working memory in this population is driven by neural hypo- or hyper-activation, and the extent to which deficits are perpetuated by specific working memory subprocesses. Using a combined functional magnetic resonance imaging and working memory paradigm, we tested the hypothesis that the pattern of neural activation subserving working memory following TBI would interact with both task demands and specific working memory subcomponents: encoding, maintenance, and retrieval. Behaviourally, we found that working memory deficits were confined to the high cognitive load trials. Our results confirmed our key prediction. Overall, TBI participants showed reduced brain activity while performing the working memory task. However, interrogation of the subcomponents of working memory revealed a more nuanced pattern of activation. When we simply averaged across all task trials, regardless of cognitive load or subcomponent, TBI participants showed reduced neural activation. When examined more closely, patterns of brain activity following TBI were found to interact with both task demands and working memory subcomponent. Participants with TBI demonstrated an inability to appropriately modulate brain activity between low and high demand conditions necessary during encoding and maintenance stages. Therefore, we demonstrate that conclusions about aberrant neural processing are dependent upon the level of analysis and the extent to which general cognitive domains can be parcellated into its constituent parts.

scholarly journals Translators’ Use of Digital Resources During Translation

2017 ◽  
pp. 71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristian Tangsgaard Hvelplund
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Tracking Data ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Digital Resources ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Digital Resource

This paper presents the findings from a study on translators’ use of digital resources during the translation process. Eye tracking data and screen recording data from 18 professional translators are analysed in order to 1) examine how much time translators spend on digital resource consultation compared with translation drafting and translation revision, 2) examine how eye movements differ between translation drafting, revision and digital resource consultation and 3) investigate what types of digital resources are used by translators. The findings demonstrate that digital resource consultation constitutes a considerable amount of the translation process. The findings also show longer fixations and larger pupils during resource consultation, indicating heavier cognitive load, and finally the study identifies considerable variation in the use of resources between translators.

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