scholarly journals Feeling the Beat (and Seeing It, Too): Vibrotactile, Visual, and Bimodal Rate Discrimination

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-59
Author(s):  
Mercedes B. Villalonga ◽  
Rachel F. Sussman ◽  
Robert Sekuler
Keyword(s):  
Response Times ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Optimal Decision ◽  
Parameter Estimates ◽  
Temporal Domain ◽  
Random Samples ◽  
Rate Discrimination ◽  
Optimal Decision Making ◽  
Analysis Of Error

Abstract Beats are among the basic units of perceptual experience. Produced by regular, intermittent stimulation, beats are most commonly associated with audition, but the experience of a beat can result from stimulation in other modalities as well. We studied the robustness of visual, vibrotactile, and bimodal signals as sources of beat perception. Subjects attempted to discriminate between pulse trains delivered at 3 Hz or at 6 Hz. To investigate signal robustness, we intentionally degraded signals on two-thirds of the trials using temporal-domain noise. On these trials, inter-pulse intervals (IPIs) were stochastic, perturbed independently from the nominal IPI by random samples from zero-mean Gaussian distributions with different variances. These perturbations produced directional changes in the IPIs, which either increased or decreased the likelihood of confusing the two pulse rates. In addition to affording an assay of signal robustness, this paradigm made it possible to gauge how subjects’ judgments were influenced by successive IPIs. Logistic regression revealed a strong primacy effect: subjects’ decisions were disproportionately influenced by a trial’s initial IPIs. Response times and parameter estimates from drift-diffusion modeling showed that information accumulates more rapidly with bimodal stimulation than with either unimodal stimulus alone. Analysis of error rates within each condition suggested consistently optimal decision making, even with increased IPI variability. Finally, beat information delivered by vibrotactile signals proved just as robust as information conveyed by visual signals, confirming vibrotactile stimulation’s potential as a communication channel.

Perceptual robustness of stochastic visual, vibrotactile, and bimodal stimuli

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mercedes B. Villalonga ◽  
Rachel F. Sussman ◽  
Robert Sekuler
Keyword(s):  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Optimal Decision ◽  
Parameter Estimates ◽  
Drift Diffusion Model ◽  
Drift Diffusion ◽  
Bimodal Stimulation ◽  
Random Samples ◽  
Rate Information

In a study of perceptual robustness, 23 subjects discriminated between two rates (3 and 6 Hz) at which brief visual, vibrotactile, or concurrent visual and vibrotactile pulses were presented. On two-thirds of the trials, inter-pulse intervals (IPIs) were stochastic, perturbed by random samples from a zero-mean Gaussian distribution. Directional changes in IPIs increased or diminished the likelihood of confusing the pulse rates, making it possible to gauge the influence of successive IPIs on subjects’ judgments. Logistic regression revealed a strong primacy effect: subjects’ decisions were disproportionately influenced by a trial’s initial IPIs. Both response times and drift-diffusion model parameter estimates indicated that information accumulates more rapidly with bimodal stimulation than with either unimodal stimulus. Error analysis suggested consistent reliance on statistically optimal decision criteria. Finally, rate information delivered by vibrotactile signals proved just as robust as information conveyed by visual signals, confirming vibrotactile stimulation’s potential for timely communication.

The Latin Square Task as a Measure of Relational Reasoning

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 296-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke J. Hearne ◽  
Damian P. Birney ◽  
Luca Cocchi ◽  
Jason B. Mattingley
Keyword(s):  
Brain Imaging ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Latin Square ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Functional Brain Imaging ◽  
Inspection Time ◽  
Relational Reasoning ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Test Retest Reliability

Abstract. The Latin Square Task (LST) is a relational reasoning paradigm developed by Birney, Halford, and Andrews (2006) . Previous work has shown that the LST elicits typical reasoning complexity effects, such that increases in complexity are associated with decrements in task accuracy and increases in response times. Here we modified the LST for use in functional brain imaging experiments, in which presentation durations must be strictly controlled, and assessed its validity and reliability. Modifications included presenting the components within each trial serially, such that the reasoning and response periods were separated. In addition, the inspection time for each LST problem was constrained to five seconds. We replicated previous findings of higher error rates and slower response times with increasing relational complexity and observed relatively large effect sizes (η2p > 0.70, r > .50). Moreover, measures of internal consistency and test-retest reliability confirmed the stability of the LST within and across separate testing sessions. Interestingly, we found that limiting the inspection time for individual problems in the LST had little effect on accuracy relative to the unconstrained times used in previous work, a finding that is important for future brain imaging experiments aimed at investigating the neural correlates of relational reasoning.

scholarly journals GEAR: On Optimal Decision Making with Auxiliary Data

Stat ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hengrui Cai ◽  
Rui Song ◽  
Wenbin Lu
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Optimal Decision ◽  
Auxiliary Data ◽  
Optimal Decision Making

Current Task Activation Predicts General Effects of Advance Preparation in Task Switching

2006 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 260-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edita Poljac ◽  
Ab de Haan ◽  
Gerard P. van Galen
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Task Switching ◽  
Shape Matching ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Matching Task ◽  
Task Switch ◽  
Current Task ◽  
Within Subjects ◽  
And Task

Two experiments investigated the way that beforehand preparation influences general task execution in reaction-time matching tasks. Response times (RTs) and error rates were measured for switching and nonswitching conditions in a color- and shape-matching task. The task blocks could repeat (task repetition) or alternate (task switch), and the preparation interval (PI) was manipulated within-subjects (Experiment 1) and between-subjects (Experiment 2). The study illustrated a comparable general task performance after a long PI for both experiments, within and between PI manipulations. After a short PI, however, the general task performance increased significantly for the between-subjects manipulation of the PI. Furthermore, both experiments demonstrated an analogous preparation effect for both task switching and task repetitions. Next, a consistent switch cost throughout the whole run of trials and a within-run slowing effect were observed in both experiments. Altogether, the present study implies that the effects of the advance preparation go beyond the first trials and confirms different points of the activation approach ( Altmann, 2002) to task switching.

Syllable weight in monolingual and heritage Spanish

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 395-427
Author(s):  
Michael Shelton ◽  
Hannah Grant
Keyword(s):  
Reading Proficiency ◽  
Naming Task ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
General Effect ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Stress Assignment ◽  
Syllable Weight ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
Quantity Sensitivity ◽  
Analysis Of Error

AbstractThis study presents two experiments employing a naming task that test the modulation of stress assignment by syllable structure in Spanish. The first replicates the findings of a previous study in which words containing arguably heavy penultimate diphthongs provoke higher error rates than putatively light monophthong controls when marked for antepenultimate stress. This result is interpreted as support for quantity sensitivity in the language. This experiment also replicates a subtler finding of differential patterning between rising and falling diphthong in their interaction with Spanish stress, suggesting gradient sensitivity to patterns in the lexicon. The second experiment presents the results of an identical task with Spanish-English heritage speakers in which the general effect of syllable weight is replicated, while the effect of diphthong type does not emerge. An analysis of error types suggests that varying levels of reading proficiency among heritage speakers may have led to the lack of the latter result, while still revealing sensitivity to frequencies in the lexicon. The combined results are offered as further evidence of quantity sensitivity among both monolingual and bilingual speakers of Spanish and provide further data in the understudied subfield of heritage phonotactics.

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