scholarly journals Asymmetrical interference between number and item size perception provide evidence for a domain specific impairment in dyscalculia

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Castaldi ◽  
Anne Mirassou ◽  
Stanislas Dehaene ◽  
Manuela Piazza ◽  
Evelyn Eger
Keyword(s):  
Number Sense ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Size Perception ◽  
Alternative View ◽  
Numerosity Discrimination ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Control Subjects ◽  
Item Size ◽  
Orthogonal Dimension ◽  
Calculation Ability

AbstractDyscalculia, a specific learning disability that impacts arithmetical skills, has previously been associated to a deficit in the precision of the system that estimates the approximate number of objects in visual scenes (the so called ‘number sense’ system). However, because in tasks involving numerosity comparisons dyscalculics’ judgements appears disproportionally affected by continuous quantitative dimensions (such as the size of the items), an alternative view linked dyscalculia to a domain-general difficulty in inhibiting task-irrelevant responses.To arbitrate between these views, we evaluated the degree of reciprocal interference between numerical and non-numerical quantitative dimensions in adult dyscalculics and matched controls. We used a novel stimulus set orthogonally varying in mean item size and numerosity, putting particular attention into matching both features’ perceptual discriminability. Participants compared those stimuli based on each of the two dimensions. While control subjects showed no significant size interference when judging numerosity, dyscalculics’ numerosity judgments were strongly biased by the unattended size dimension. Importantly however, both groups showed the same degree of interference from number when judging mean size. Moreover, only the ability to discard the irrelevant size information when comparing numerosity (but not the reverse) significantly predicted calculation ability across subjects.Overall, our results show that numerosity discrimination is less prone to interference than discrimination of another quantitative feature (mean item size) when the perceptual discriminability of these features is matched, as here in control subjects. By quantifying, for the first time, dyscalculic subjects’ degree of interference on another orthogonal dimension of the same stimuli, we are able to exclude a domain-general inhibition deficit as explanation for their poor / biased numerical judgement. We suggest that enhanced reliance on non-numerical cues during numerosity discrimination can represent a strategy to cope with a less precise number sense.

scholarly journals An emergentist perspective on the origin of number sense

2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (1740) ◽  
pp. 20170043 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Zorzi ◽  
Alberto Testolin
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cues ◽  
Number Sense ◽  
Network Models ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Neural Network Models ◽  
Human Infants ◽  
Numerosity Discrimination ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Numerical Abilities ◽  
Dependent Learning

The finding that human infants and many other animal species are sensitive to numerical quantity has been widely interpreted as evidence for evolved, biologically determined numerical capacities across unrelated species, thereby supporting a ‘nativist’ stance on the origin of number sense. Here, we tackle this issue within the ‘emergentist’ perspective provided by artificial neural network models, and we build on computer simulations to discuss two different approaches to think about the innateness of number sense. The first, illustrated by artificial life simulations, shows that numerical abilities can be supported by domain-specific representations emerging from evolutionary pressure. The second assumes that numerical representations need not be genetically pre-determined but can emerge from the interplay between innate architectural constraints and domain-general learning mechanisms, instantiated in deep learning simulations. We show that deep neural networks endowed with basic visuospatial processing exhibit a remarkable performance in numerosity discrimination before any experience-dependent learning, whereas unsupervised sensory experience with visual sets leads to subsequent improvement of number acuity and reduces the influence of continuous visual cues. The emergent neuronal code for numbers in the model includes both numerosity-sensitive (summation coding) and numerosity-selective response profiles, closely mirroring those found in monkey intraparietal neurons. We conclude that a form of innatism based on architectural and learning biases is a fruitful approach to understanding the origin and development of number sense. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘The origins of numerical abilities'.

scholarly journals Asymmetrical interference between number and item size perception provides evidence for a domain specific impairment in dyscalculia

PLoS ONE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. e0209256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Castaldi ◽  
Anne Mirassou ◽  
Stanislas Dehaene ◽  
Manuela Piazza ◽  
Evelyn Eger
Keyword(s):  
Size Perception ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Item Size

Size Perception and the Foundation of Numerical Processing

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avishai Henik ◽  
Yarden Gliksman ◽  
Arava Kallai ◽  
Tali Leibovich
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Numerical Cognition ◽  
Number Sense ◽  
Size Perception ◽  
Intraparietal Sulcus ◽  
Numerical Processing ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Numerical Abilities ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Numerical Knowledge

Research in numerical cognition has led to a widely accepted view of the existence of innate, domain-specific, core numerical knowledge that involves the intraparietal sulcus in the brain. Much of this research has revolved around the ability to perceive and manipulate discrete quantities (e.g., enumeration of dots). We question several aspects of this accepted view and suggest that continuous noncountable dimensions might play an important role in the development of numerical cognition. Accordingly, we propose that a relatively neglected aspect of performance—the ability to perceive and evaluate sizes or amounts—might be an important foundation of numerical processing. This ability might even constitute a more primitive system that has been used throughout evolutionary history as the basis for the development of the number sense and numerical abilities.

scholarly journals A meaning-based framework for customer loyalty

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (8) ◽  
pp. 825-843 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elina Närvänen ◽  
Hannu Kuusela ◽  
Heli Paavola ◽  
Noora Sirola
Keyword(s):  
Customer Loyalty ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Alternative View ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Group Data ◽  
Focus Group Data ◽  
Retail Setting ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThis paper's purpose is to develop a meaning-based framework for customer loyalty by examining how consumers make sense of customer loyalty through meanings and metaphors.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative study based on in-depth interviews and focus group data in the retail context was conducted with Finnish customers. The data were analysed with qualitative data analysis techniques such as the constant comparative technique.FindingsThe empirical findings comprise eight loyalty meanings characterised by two dimensions. The first dimension is reflexive vs. routinised, and the second dimension is private vs. social. The loyalty types are dimensionalised through four metaphors: loyalty as freedom of choice; as being conventional and binding; and as belongingness.Practical implicationsThe findings improve the way customer loyalty currently is understood in the retail setting. The paper proposes that customer insight that utilises thick data can be used to grasp loyalty meanings. These data are rich in context and detail, and they take into account customers' everyday lives. Utilising thick data in the form of storytelling fuels customers' meaning-making related to customer loyalty, potentially enriching their relationship with the retailer.Originality/valueCustomer loyalty has been driven largely by a transactional and company-centric perspective. This article presents an alternative view of customer loyalty that accounts for the variety of meanings that customers may assign to their loyalty-related thoughts and behaviours.

scholarly journals Value-Centric Approaches to Design, Operations, and Maintenance of Wind Turbines

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madhur A. Khadabadi ◽  
Karen B. Marais
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Condition Monitoring ◽  
Wind Farm ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Operating Cost ◽  
Optimal Level ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Alternative View ◽  
Operations And Maintenance ◽  
Farm Operators

Wind turbine maintenance is emerging as an unexpectedly high component of turbine operating cost and there is an increasing interest in managing this cost. Here, we present an alternative view of maintenance as a value-driver, and develop an optimization algorithm to maximize the value delivered by maintenance. We model the stochastic deterioration of the turbine in two dimensions: the deterioration rate, and the extent of deterioration, and view maintenance as an operator that moves the turbine to an improved state in which it can generate more power and so earn more revenue. We then use a standard net present value (NPV) approach to calculate the value of the turbine by deducting the costs incurred in the installation, operations and maintenance from the revenue due to the power generation. The application of our model is demonstrated using several scenarios with a focus on blade deterioration. We evaluate the value delivered by implementing blade condition monitoring systems (CMS). A higher fidelity CMS allows the blade state to be determined with higher precision. With this improved state information, an optimal maintenance strategy can be derived. The difference between the value of the turbine with and without CMS can be interpreted as the value of the CMS. The results indicate that a higher fidelity (and more expensive) condition monitoring system (CMS) does not necessarily yield the highest value, and, that there is an optimal level of fidelity that results in maximum value. The contributions of this work are twofold. First, it is a practical approach to wind turbine valuation and operation that takes operating and market conditions into account. This work should therefore be useful to wind farm operators and investors. Second, it shows how the value of a CMS can be explicitly assessed. This work should therefore be useful to CMS manufacturers and wind farm operators.

scholarly journals Interest Groups in Multi-Level Contexts: European Integration as Cross-Cutting Issue in Party-Interest Group Contacts

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joost Berkhout ◽  
Marcel Hanegraaff ◽  
Patrick Statsch
Keyword(s):  
Interest Groups ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Interest Group ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
European Policy ◽  
Group Leaders ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
European Public ◽  
Multi Level

Policy-specific actor-constellations consisting of party- and group-representatives commonly drive the effective establishment of new policy programmes or changes in existing policies. In the EU multi-level system, the creation of such constellations is complicated because it practically requires consensus on two dimensions: the European public policy at stake and the issue of European integration. This means that, for interest groups with interests in particular policy domains, and with limited interest in the actual issue of European integration, non-Eurosceptic parties must be their main ally in their policy battles. We hypothesise that interest groups with relevant European domain-specific interests will ally with non-Eurosceptic parties, whereas interest groups whose interests are hardly affected by the European policy process will have party-political allies across the full range of positions on European integration. We assess this argument on the basis of an elite-survey of interest group leaders and study group-party dyads in several European countries (i.e., Belgium, Lithuania, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, and Slovenia) in a large number of policy domains. Our dependent variable is the group-party dyad and the main independent variables are the European policy interests of the group and the level of Euroscepticism of the party. We broadly find support for our hypotheses. The findings of our study speak to the debate concerning the implications of the politicisation of European integration and, more specifically, the way in which party-political polarisation of Europe may divide domestic interest group systems and potentially drive group and party systems apart.

scholarly journals Domain-specific cognitive impairment in patients with COPD and control subjects

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Cleutjens ◽  
Frits Franssen ◽  
Martijn Spruit ◽  
Lowie Vanfleteren ◽  
Candy Gijsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Control Subjects ◽  
And Control

Developmental Dyscalculia as a Heterogeneous Disability

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avishai Henik ◽  
Orly Rubinsten ◽  
Sarit Ashkenazi
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Number Sense ◽  
Intraparietal Sulcus ◽  
Comprehensive Understanding ◽  
Developmental Dyscalculia ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Cognitive Operations

This chapter discusses heterogeneous aspects of developmental dyscalculia (DD) in terms of behaviour, cognitive operations, and neural structures. It has been suggested that DD is an isolated learning deficiency, involves a domain-specific deficit (in the capacity to enumerate), and a specific neural deficiency (in the intraparietal sulcus). We present findings that (1) DD involves both domain-specific and domain-general abilities; (2) in many cases behaviours, as well as cognition in those with DD are characterized by deficits in other areas, such as attention or memory and not only as a number sense deficiency; and (3) studies of the neural structures involved in DD reveal areas and mechanisms that hint toward heterogeneous damage. We suggest that similar to other learning disabilities, heterogeneity is the rule, rather than an exception. Accordingly, in order to reach a comprehensive understanding of DD, studies should aim at unravelling the basis for this heterogeneity.

Spontaneous Focusing on Numerosity Is Linked to Numerosity Discrimination in Children and Adults

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mattan S. Ben-Shachar ◽  
Svetlana Lisson ◽  
Dalit Shotts-Peretz ◽  
Minna Hannula-Sormunen ◽  
Andrea Berger
Keyword(s):  
Number System ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Developmental Pathways ◽  
Approximate Number System ◽  
Numerosity Discrimination ◽  
Stable Domain ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Mathematical Abilities ◽  
Academic Achievements ◽  
The Relationship

Spontaneous focusing on numerosity (SFON) is the tendency to spontaneously address exact numerosity in the environment without prompting. While previous studies have found children’s SFON to be a stable, domain-specific predictor of mathematical abilities throughout development, it is unclear whether SFON reflects individual differences in quantitative processing. This study examined the relationship between SFON and the acuity of the Approximate Number System (ANS) in children and adults. To measure adults’ SFON, we developed a numerosity bias task (NBT). In children and adults, better ANS acuity was related to higher tendency to spontaneously focus on numerosity. Additionally, in adults, SFON was related to higher mathematical academic achievements. These findings suggest an interplay between SFON and ANS acuity, indicating a mechanism where increased ANS acuity makes numerosity elements in the environment more salient, while early self-initiated numerical practice promotes fine-tuning of the ANS. Possible implications of these reciprocal developmental pathways are discussed.

High Achieving Students and Moral Judgment

1993 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 268-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darcia Narváez
Keyword(s):  
Moral Judgment ◽  
High Achievers ◽  
Alternative View ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
High Achieving Students ◽  
High Achieving ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Reporting Data

Research exploring the relationship of intellectual aptitude to moral judgment has indicated that, as a group, those with a high intellectual aptitude score significantly above their age peers on measures of moral judgment. These data support the contention that intelligence is a “general factor” that cuts across domains. Some theorists have advocated an alternative view, that intelligence is domain specific. In looking at high achievers, the current study offers support for both views by reporting data that indicate a dependence of moral judgment precocity upon high intellectual achievement. As a group, the high achieving students scored higher on the Defining Issues Test's Principled score. However, there was a wide variation in scores among the high achievers, indicating that apparent intellectual aptitude was not enough for high scores in moral judgment. This variance, along with the fact that no low achiever received an unusually high score, supports the “independent domains” hypothesis of intelligence.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document