Learned Associations Among Objects Bias Attention

AbstractSocial learning—learning from others—is the basis for behavioural traditions. Different social learning strategies (SLS), where individuals biasedly learn behaviours based on their content or who demonstrates them, may increase an individual’s fitness and generate behavioural traditions. While SLS have been mostly studied in isolation, their interaction and the interplay between individual and social learning is less understood. We performed a field-based open diffusion experiment in a wild primate. We provided two groups of vervet monkeys with a novel food, unshelled peanuts, and documented how three different peanut opening techniques spread within the groups. We analysed data using hierarchical Bayesian dynamic learning models that explore the integration of multiple SLS with individual learning. We (1) report evidence of social learning compared to strictly individual learning, (2) show that vervets preferentially socially learn the technique that yields the highest observed payoff and (3) also bias attention toward individuals of higher rank. This shows that behavioural preferences can arise when individuals integrate social information about the efficiency of a behaviour alongside cues related to the rank of a demonstrator. When these preferences converge to the same behaviour in a group, they may result in stable behavioural traditions.

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Working Memory-Driven Attention in Real-World Search

Perception ◽

10.1177/0301006618791688 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 47 (9) ◽

pp. 966-975 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Shinyoung Jung ◽

Yosun Yoon ◽

Suk Won Han

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Attentional Capture ◽

Real World ◽

Target Object ◽

Visual Object ◽

Indoor Scenes ◽

Bias Attention ◽

Memory Contents ◽

Online Catalogue ◽

World Environment

People’s attention is well attracted to stimuli matching their working memory. This memory-driven attentional capture has been demonstrated in simplified and controlled laboratory settings. The present study investigated whether working memory contents capture attention in a setting that closely resembles real-world environment. In the experiment, participants performed a task of searching for a target object in real-world indoor scenes, while maintaining a visual object in working memory. To create a setting similar to real-world environment, images taken from IKEA®’s online catalogue were used. The results showed that participants’ attention was biased toward a working memory-matching object, interfering with the target search. This was so even when participants did not expect that a memory-matching stimulus would appear in the search array. These results suggest that working memory can bias attention in complex, natural environment and this memory-driven attentional capture in real-world setting takes place in an automatic manner.

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Processing of novel food reveal payoff and rank-biased social learning in a wild primate

10.1101/2020.09.25.313437 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

C. Canteloup ◽

M.B. Cera ◽

B.J. Barrett ◽

E. van de Waal

Keyword(s):

Social Learning ◽

Learning Strategies ◽

Diffusion Experiment ◽

Vervet Monkeys ◽

Cultural Complexity ◽

Dynamic Learning ◽

Novel Food ◽

Bias Attention ◽

Higher Rank ◽

Social Learning Strategies

AbstractCultural complexity is strongly shaped by the efficiency by which new knowledge is propagated. Different social learning strategies (SLS), where individuals biasedly learn particular behaviors or from specific demonstrators, can contribute to an individual’s success. While SLS have been mostly studied in isolation, their interaction and the interplay between individual and social learning is less understood. We performed a field-based open diffusion experiment in a wild primate. We provided two groups of vervet monkeys with a novel food, unshelled peanuts, and documented how three different peanut opening techniques spread within the groups. We analyzed data using hierarchical Bayesian dynamic learning models that explore the integration of multiple SLS with individual learning. We show that vervets preferentially use the technique yielding the highest observed payoff, and also bias attention toward individuals of higher rank. This shows that traditions may arise when individuals integrate information about the efficiency of a behavior alongside cues related to the rank of a demonstrator.

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Levels of early-childhood behavioral inhibition predict distinct neurodevelopmental pathways to pediatric anxiety

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291718003999 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 50 (1) ◽

pp. 96-106 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Rany Abend ◽

Caroline Swetlitz ◽

Lauren K. White ◽

Tomer Shechner ◽

Yair Bar-Haim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Behavioral Inhibition ◽

Attention Bias ◽

Anxiety Symptoms ◽

Childhood And Adolescence ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Linear Mixed Effects ◽

Pediatric Anxiety ◽

History Of ◽

Bias Attention

AbstractBackgroundAnxiety symptoms gradually emerge during childhood and adolescence. Individual differences in behavioral inhibition (BI), an early-childhood temperament, may shape developmental paths through which these symptoms arise. Cross-sectional research suggests that level of early-childhood BI moderates associations between later anxiety symptoms and threat-related amygdala–prefrontal cortex (PFC) circuitry function. However, no study has characterized these associations longitudinally. Here, we tested whether level of early-childhood BI predicts distinct evolving associations between amygdala–PFC function and anxiety symptoms across development.MethodsEighty-seven children previously assessed for BI level in early childhood provided data at ages 10 and/or 13 years, consisting of assessments of anxiety and an fMRI-based dot-probe task (including threat, happy, and neutral stimuli). Using linear-mixed-effects models, we investigated longitudinal changes in associations between anxiety symptoms and threat-related amygdala–PFC connectivity, as a function of early-childhood BI.ResultsIn children with a history of high early-childhood BI, anxiety symptoms became, with age, morenegativelyassociated with right amygdala–left dorsolateral-PFC connectivity when attention was to be maintained on threat. In contrast, with age, low-BI children showed an increasinglypositiveanxiety–connectivity association during the same task condition. Behaviorally, at age 10, anxiety symptoms did not relate to fluctuations in attention bias (attention bias variability, ABV) in either group; by age 13, low-BI children showed a negative anxiety–ABV association, whereas high-BI children showed a positive anxiety–ABV association.ConclusionsEarly-childhood BI levels predict distinct neurodevelopmental pathways to pediatric anxiety symptoms. These pathways involve distinct relations among brain function, behavior, and anxiety symptoms, which may inform diagnosis and treatment.

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The Effect of Conceptual Representations on Attentional Bias

Inquiry@Queen's Undergraduate Research Conference Proceedings ◽

10.24908/iqurcp.8313 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Nietzsche Lam

Keyword(s):

Attentional Bias ◽

Response Times ◽

Drug Addict ◽

The Other ◽

Conceptual Representations ◽

Other Hand ◽

Bias Attention ◽

Pictures And Words ◽

Unknown Words ◽

The Right

Many cultures have long been instilled with positive and negative concepts, which are associated with spatial metaphors, for instance,“I am feeling down” implies that I feel upset. Recent research (Chasteen, Burdzy & Pratt, 2009; Meier & Robinson, 2005) has suggested that some concepts are strongly ingrained such that they influence how we attend to the environment. In particular, certain positive concepts such as ‘almighty’ and ‘happiness’ bias attention upward and to the right, respectively and negative words‘lucifer’ and ‘mournful’ to the downward and to the left, respectively. Using a larger variety of positive and negative concepts than in previous studies, the current study seeks to determine whether concepts derived from pictures as well as words will produce a shift in attention. We present participants with words or pictures depicting either positive (e.g., smiling baby) or negative concepts (e.g., drug addict). We expect that a target displayed at the top or right‐side of the screen will be detected more quickly for positive concepts and targets displayed at the bottom or left‐side of the screen will be faster for negative. However, whether the response times to targets in the valid conditions will be quicker for words than pictures is unknown. Words could be faster than pictures because previous research has demonstrated that pictures can access concepts in our minds directly, whereas words access indirectly. On the other hand, another theory suggests that both words and pictures access concepts directly; therefore, there may be no difference between pictures and words.

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Neuropsychological rehabilitation of higher cortical functions after brain damage

Oxford Textbook of Neurorehabilitation ◽

10.1093/med/9780198824954.003.0022 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 291-304

Author(s):

Radek Ptak ◽

Armin Schnider

Keyword(s):

Emotional Regulation ◽

Magnetic Stimulation ◽

Complex Problem ◽

Problem Solving Skills ◽

Neuropsychological Rehabilitation ◽

Cognitive Domains ◽

Systematic Training ◽

Bias Attention ◽

Higher Cognitive Functions ◽

Specific Learning

Neuropsychological interventions for impairments of higher cognitive functions can be divided into four different approaches: restoration of function, compensation, physiological stimulations, and metacognitive strategies. Training that aims to restore an impaired function or to increase processing speed or capacity is repetitive and often stereotyped. Such training may lead to task-specific learning with little generalization, as may be observed in particular in the domain of attention rehabilitation. However, it remains a matter of debate whether such practice effects really reflect the restoration of function or improved processing due to preserved procedural learning skills. For some cognitive domains (such as memory), restoration of function is mostly impossible; consequently, training mainly relies on compensatory strategies. For example, enhancement of learning may be achieved by improving memory encoding with mental imagery, while everyday memory is supported with systematic training of external aids, such as, memory notebooks. A third approach is applied in neglect rehabilitation and uses physiological stimulations to bias attention and sensory representations (e.g. optokinetic stimulation) or decrease interhemispheric inhibition (transcranial magnetic stimulation). Finally, the fourth approach is to structure behaviour and to enhance metacognitive abilities; this strategy is applied in the rehabilitation of complex problem-solving skills and impaired emotional regulation. Although it is difficult to control experimental biases in intervention studies targeting cognitive and behavioural disturbances, an increasing number of controlled clinical trials provide evidence for the efficacy of each of the four therapeutic approaches.

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Neuropsychological rehabilitation of higher cortical functions after brain damage

Oxford Textbook of Neurorehabilitation ◽

10.1093/med/9780199673711.003.0022 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 262-271

Author(s):

Radek Ptak ◽

Armin Schnider

Keyword(s):

Clinical Trials ◽

Emotional Regulation ◽

Complex Problem ◽

Therapeutic Approaches ◽

Compensatory Strategies ◽

Problem Solving Skills ◽

Neuropsychological Rehabilitation ◽

Cognitive Domains ◽

Bias Attention ◽

Higher Cognitive Functions

Neuropsychological interventions for impairments of higher cognitive functions can be divided into four approaches:�restoration of function, compensation, physiological stimulations, and metacognitive strategies. Training that aims to restore an impaired function or to increase processing speed or capacity is repetitive and highly stereotyped. For some cognitive domains (such as memory), restoration of function is mostly impossible; consequently, training mainly relies on compensatory strategies. A�third type of approach is applied in neglect rehabilitation and uses physiological stimulations to bias attention and sensory representations or decrease interhemispheric inhibition. Finally, the fourth approach is to structure behaviour and to enhance metacognitive abilities, and is applied in the rehabilitation of complex problem-solving skills and impaired emotional regulation. Although it is difficult to control experimental biases in intervention studies targeting cognitive and behavioural disturbances, an increasing number of controlled clinical trials provide evidence for the efficacy of each of the four therapeutic approaches.

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Attitudes of Obstetricians and Gynecologists toward Hormone Replacement Therapy

Medical Decision Making ◽

10.1177/0272989x9801800408 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 406-411 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Jonathan Baron ◽

Gerald B. Holzman ◽

Jay Schulkin

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Replacement Therapy ◽

Hormone Replacement ◽

The United States ◽

Missing Information ◽

Decision Biases ◽

Bias Attention ◽

Omission Bias ◽

Decision Making Biases

Objective. To determine the attitudes of obstetricians and gynecologists toward hor mone replacement therapy (HRT), and the beliefs and intuitions that affected those attitudes. Design. A questionnaire was sent to 1,000 gynecologists in the United States; 328 replies were received. The questionnaire asked about effects of HRT, practices concerning HRT, and decisions in hypothetical scenarios. Results. The re spondents strongly favored HRT, and they were well informed about its effects on osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and breast cancer. They were aware of conflict ing findings concerning breast cancer. The strength of their recommendation of HRT was sensitive to patient differences in risk factors. The respondents also showed four biases hypothesized to cause resistance to HRT: omission bias (more concern about harmful acts than harmful omissions); proportionality bias (attention to relative risk rather than risk differences); naturalness bias (preference for the natural); and ambi guity (avoiding options with missing information). Proportion bias, naturalness bias, and (weakly) omission bias were related to less favorable attitudes toward HRT. Con clusion. Although specialists are highly favorable toward HRT in general, some neg ativity toward HRT may result from decision biases. Key words: hormone replacement; estrogen; decision making; biases. (Med Decis Making 1998;18:406-411)

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Can you have multiple attentional templates? Large-scale replications of Van Moorselaar, Theeuwes and Olivers (2014) and Hollingworth and Beck (2016)

10.1101/474932 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Marcella Frătescu ◽

Dirk Van Moorselaar ◽

Sebastiaan Mathôt

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Visual Search ◽

Boundary Conditions ◽

Visual Working Memory ◽

Large Scale ◽

Search Task ◽

Visual Search Task ◽

Multiple State ◽

Bias Attention ◽

Larger Sample

AbstractStimuli that resemble the content of visual working memory (VWM) capture attention. However, theories disagree on how many VWM items can bias attention simultaneously. The multiple-state account posits a distinction between template and accessory VWM items, such that only a single template item biases attention. In contrast, homogenous-state accounts posit that all VWM items bias attention. Recently, Van Moorselaar et al. (2014) and Hollingworth and Beck (2016) tested these accounts, but obtained seemingly contradictory results. Van Moorselaar et al. (2014) found that a distractor in a visual-search task captured attention more when it matched the content of VWM (memory-driven capture). Crucially, memory-driven capture disappeared when more than one item was held in VWM, in line with the multiple-state account. In contrast, Hollingworth and Beck (2016) found memory-driven capture even when multiple items were kept in VWM, in line with a homogenous-state account. Considering these mixed results, we replicated both studies with a larger sample, and found that all key results are reliable. It is unclear to what extent these divergent results are due to paradigm differences between the studies. We conclude that is crucial to our understanding of VWM to determine the boundary conditions under which memory-driven capture occurs.

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Does Reward Modulate Actions or Bias Attention?

Journal of Neuroscience ◽

10.1523/jneurosci.2957-07.2007 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 27 (41) ◽

pp. 10919-10921 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

R. J. Adam ◽

S. G. Manohar

Keyword(s):

Bias Attention

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