scholarly journals Why are the batteries in the microwave?: Use of semantic information under uncertainty in a search task

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gwendolyn L. Rehrig ◽  
Michelle Cheng ◽  
Brian C. McMahan ◽  
Rahul Shome
Keyword(s):  
Search Task ◽  
Ideal Observer ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Recent Experience ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Ideal Observers ◽  
Semantic Guidance ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Target Locations ◽  
Do So

AbstractA major problem in human cognition is to understand how newly acquired information and long-standing beliefs about the environment combine to make decisions and plan behaviors. Over-dependence on long-standing beliefs may be a significant source of suboptimal decision-making in unusual circumstances. While the contribution of long-standing beliefs about the environment to search in real-world scenes is well-studied, less is known about how new evidence informs search decisions, and it is unclear whether the two sources of information are used together optimally to guide search. The present study expanded on the literature on semantic guidance in visual search by modeling a Bayesian ideal observer’s use of long-standing semantic beliefs and recent experience in an active search task. The ability to adjust expectations to the task environment was simulated using the Bayesian ideal observer, and subjects’ performance was compared to ideal observers that depended on prior knowledge and recent experience to varying degrees. Target locations were either congruent with scene semantics, incongruent with what would be expected from scene semantics, or random. Half of the subjects were able to learn to search for the target in incongruent locations over repeated experimental sessions when it was optimal to do so. These results suggest that searchers can learn to prioritize recent experience over knowledge of scenes in a near-optimal fashion when it is beneficial to do so, as long as the evidence from recent experience was learnable.

scholarly journals Why are the batteries in the microwave?: Use of semantic information under uncertainty in a search task

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gwendolyn L Rehrig ◽  
Michelle Cheng ◽  
Brian McMahan ◽  
Rahul Shome
Keyword(s):  
Structural Modification ◽  
Semantic Information ◽  
Search Task ◽  
Incongruent Condition ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Limited Success ◽  
Task Goals ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Target Locations

A major problem in human cognition is to understand how newly-acquired information combines with long-standing beliefs about the environment to make decisions and plan behaviors. While considerable attention has been given to studying how beliefs derived from past experience are updated with new evidence, less is known about how new evidence can modify expectations derived from long-standing beliefs about the environment. Resistance to modifying such beliefs may be a significant source of suboptimal decision-making. The present study examined the role of long-standing semantic beliefs during active search through visual scenes. Target locations were either congruent with scene semantics (semantic priors), incongruent with what would be expected from scene semantics (inverted priors), or random. The incongruent condition requires that semantic beliefs be preserved, but used in unconventional ways. The ability to adjust expectations to the task environment was evaluated by determining the likelihood of search decisions under three different Bayesian models, one based on semantic priors, another on inverted priors, and a third on a uniform prior. Half of the 10 subjects were able to invert semantic priors over repeated experimental sessions, with limited success, but the remaining subjects either failed to invert semantic priors, or searched at random. These results indicate that structural modification of semantic beliefs derived from knowledge of scenes is possible when the modification is systematic and beneficial, but that strong beliefs are resistant to structural modification, suggesting there are limits on our ability to modify the use of long-established knowledge structures to accomplish task goals.

scholarly journals Bayesian natural selection and the evolution of perceptual systems

2002 ◽  
Vol 357 (1420) ◽  
pp. 419-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilson S. Geisler ◽  
Randy L. Diehl
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Decision Theory ◽  
Ideal Observer ◽  
Statistical Decision Theory ◽  
Statistical Decision ◽  
Natural Stimuli ◽  
Ideal Observers ◽  
Formal Framework ◽  
Bayesian Statistical Decision Theory ◽  
Perceptual Systems

In recent years, there has been much interest in characterizing statistical properties of natural stimuli in order to better understand the design of perceptual systems. A fruitful approach has been to compare the processing of natural stimuli in real perceptual systems with that of ideal observers derived within the framework of Bayesian statistical decision theory. While this form of optimization theory has provided a deeper understanding of the information contained in natural stimuli as well as of the computational principles employed in perceptual systems, it does not directly consider the process of natural selection, which is ultimately responsible for design. Here we propose a formal framework for analysing how the statistics of natural stimuli and the process of natural selection interact to determine the design of perceptual systems. The framework consists of two complementary components. The first is a maximum fitness ideal observer, a standard Bayesian ideal observer with a utility function appropriate for natural selection. The second component is a formal version of natural selection based upon Bayesian statistical decision theory. Maximum fitness ideal observers and Bayesian natural selection are demonstrated in several examples. We suggest that the Bayesian approach is appropriate not only for the study of perceptual systems but also for the study of many other systems in biology.

scholarly journals The Missionary as Cultural Mediator: Alexander Don and the Chinese and European Communities in New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Luke Stephen Tysoe
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Chinese Culture ◽  
Public Speaking ◽  
Final Analysis ◽  
Chinese People ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Cultural Mediator ◽  
Cultural Dialogue ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Do So

<p>Missionaries to China, by virtue of their positions and knowledge, frequently became important channels of information between cultures. They transmitted Christianity and Western learning to Chinese people while simultaneously describing China to home audiences through their writings and public speaking. This thesis examines how Alexander Don, Presbyterian missionary to the New Zealand Chinese in Otago from 1879 to 1913, performed similar functions as a "cultural mediator". For most of his career, Don was one of the most significant links between Chinese and European people in New Zealand. He developed a relationship with the Chinese community while simultaneously describing Chinese culture to Europeans in his published reports. While Don's missionary career has been extensively documented, there have been no studies of his significance from the perspective of cross-cultural dialogue and exchange. In this thesis I will discuss the ways that Don acted as a cultural mediator, as well as the factors that impelled him to do so. I will make an in-depth investigation of Don's presentation of Chinese culture to European readers through his mission reports, and how this image changed over the course of his career. The picture Don painted was both motivated and influenced by his mission aims, his growing understanding of Chinese culture, and his developing rapport with Chinese people. In order to demonstrate that Don was unique as a cultural mediator in New Zealand, I will compare him to other sources of information on Chinese culture. It will be shown that he provided very different data and opinions from those conveyed by secular writers and authors, and that his descriptions were generally more detailed than those of other missionaries to the New Zealand Chinese and New Zealand missionaries in China. Don will also be compared to more well-known China missionaries, in order to show that he was similar to them in terms of educating Westerners about the East. Finally, I will weigh the impact of Don's cultural mediation activities. Although he gained few converts, he played a crucial role in improving Sino-European understanding and relations. In the final analysis, Don had a greater impact in these areas than he did in the field of evangelism.</p>

The role of retrieval practice in memory and analogical problem-solving

2018 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 858-871 ◽  
Author(s):  
Autumn B Hostetter ◽  
Elizabeth A Penix ◽  
Mackenzie Z Norman ◽  
W Robert Batsell ◽  
Thomas H Carr
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Analogous Problem ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Term Retention ◽  
Analogical Problem ◽  
Long Term Retention ◽  
Do So

Retrieval practice (e.g., testing) has been shown to facilitate long-term retention of information. In two experiments, we examine whether retrieval practice also facilitates use of the practised information when it is needed to solve analogous problems. When retrieval practice was not limited to the information most relevant to the problems (Experiment 1), it improved memory for the information a week later compared with copying or rereading the information, although we found no evidence that it improved participants’ ability to apply the information to the problems. In contrast, when retrieval practice was limited to only the information most relevant to the problems (Experiment 2), we found that retrieval practice enhanced memory for the critical information, the ability to identify the schematic similarities between the two sources of information, and the ability to apply that information to solve an analogous problem after a hint was given to do so. These results suggest that retrieval practice, through its effect on memory, can facilitate application of information to solve novel problems but has minimal effects on spontaneous realisation that the information is relevant.

scholarly journals SPANISH HOUSING MARKETS, 1904-1934: NEW EVIDENCE

2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Carmona ◽  
Markus Lampe ◽  
Joan R. Rosés
Keyword(s):  
Housing Prices ◽  
Housing Markets ◽  
Housing Demand ◽  
Entire Period ◽  
Housing Supply ◽  
Using Data ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Hedonic Index ◽  
Demographic Growth ◽  
Do So

ABSTRACTThis article makes the first systematic attempt to analyse quantitatively the evolution of Spanish housing markets from 1904 to 1934, a period of dramatic changes in housing demand as a consequence of substantial income and demographic growth. In order to do so, we collect a new database on houses sold and their prices using data from the Registrar's Yearbooks. Furthermore, we construct a new hedonic index of real housing prices for Spain and its provinces. To our surprise, we found that real housing prices rose slightly over the entire period and, hence, that housing supply responded effectively to new demand for housing.

Does Binocular Disparity or Familiar Size Information Override Effects of Relative Size on Judgements of Time to Contact?

2005 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 865-886 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia R. DeLucia
Keyword(s):  
Binocular Disparity ◽  
Relative Size ◽  
Depth Information ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Familiar Size ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Time To Contact ◽  
Size Information ◽  
Source Of Information ◽  
Do So

Previous studies indicate that non-tau sources of depth information, such as pictorial depth cues, can influence judgements of time to contact (TTC). The effect of relative size on such judgements, the size-arrival effect, is particularly robust. However, earlier studies of the size-arrival effect did not include binocular disparity or familiar size information. The effects of these cues on relative TTC judgements were measured. Results suggested that disparity can eliminate the size-arrival effect but that the amount of disparity needed to do so is greater than typical stereoacuity thresholds. In contrast, familiar size eliminated the size-arrival effect even when disparity information was not available. Furthermore, disparity contributed more to performance when familiar size was present than when it was absent. Consistent with previous studies, TTC judgements were influenced by multiple sources of information. The present results suggested further that familiar size is one such source of information and that familiar size moderates the influence of binocular disparity information.

scholarly journals Investigating ASEAN’s Participation in Global Value Chains: Production Fragmentation and Regional Integration

2021 ◽  
Vol 38 (02) ◽  
pp. 159-188
Author(s):  
SHENG ZHONG ◽  
BIN SU
Keyword(s):  
Economic Integration ◽  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Regional Integration ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Global Value Chains ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Advanced Economies ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Do So

This paper focuses on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)—a major final assembler in production—where studies and evidence on the role of the region in global value chains are limited. We seek to provide new evidence regarding the extent and patterns of international fragmentation in ASEAN. To do so, we derive the foreign value-added shares of final products for all global value chains of ASEAN. Using the Asian Development Bank’s multiregional input–output tables for 2000–2017, we document a series of stylized facts. The results show declining foreign value-added shares in ASEAN. Regional economic integration within ASEAN has increased, while value-added contributions vary widely across its members. We find evidence of increasing value-added contributions from emerging economies to ASEAN, whereas the contributions from advanced economies have declined.

scholarly journals Marketing on the Exchange of Language Courses: A study on the Dimensions of the Image

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Paulo Victer ◽  
Gustavo Quiroga Souki ◽  
Rejane Santana Da Silva ◽  
Viviane Costa Reis
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Cognitive Dimension ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
Emotional Dimension ◽  
Thematic Units ◽  
Language Courses ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Potential Customers ◽  
Do So

The present study sought to describe the image that potential customers, current customers and former customers have regarding  the exchange of language courses, based on three (cognitive, symbolic and emotional) of the four dimensions of the classification proposed by De Toni, Milan and Schuler (2004, 2005). To do so, it was opted for using the qualitative method, by means of 45 in-depth interviews with such groups of customers. During the interviews, the technique of drawings construction was used, which had the purpose to illustrate the content of the interviews. Furthermore, the information obtained was analyzed through the technique of content analysis for thematic units. The results show that the cognitive dimension can be classified into three broad categories: (a) the reasons that lead people to make language courses exchanges; (b) Sources of information and groups of influence on the decision for language courses exchange; and (c) the criteria used for the choice of countries of destination for language courses exchange. Whereas in the symbolic dimension, the following categories were obtained: a) Growth and personal maturity; (b) social status; c) Adventure, fun and challenge; d) identity, freedom and independence; (e) new and different experiences. Finally, the emotional dimension can be divided into the following categories: a) Emotions and positive expectations; (b) negative emotions and frustration of expectations; (c) Resources for the management of emotions; d) emotions related to the mechanism of sacrifice-reward.

scholarly journals Why do i fall for the elf, when i am no orc myself? The ımplıcatıons of vırtual avatars ın dıgıtal communıcatıon

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 181-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sercan Sengün
Keyword(s):  
Video Game ◽  
Feedback Loop ◽  
Information Sources ◽  
The Self ◽  
Online Video ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Uncertainty Reduction Theory ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Do So

Various recent research on online avatars debated their authenticity in terms of representing the individuals that manage them. Seemingly users would construct an enhanced or idealized presence of themselves online, yet fail to realize that others also do so when seeking information of other users through their avatars. This phenomenon becomes even more curious inside online video game spaces, since video game avatars are already expected to be unrelated with their players but are still seen as sources of information about them. This study approaches the issue as a communication problem and tries to explain the process through Berger’s Uncertainty Reduction Theory (URT). Merging URT with various other nonverbal and visual communication approaches, it is debated how video game avatars – seemingly unrelated or arbitrarily related entitites with their users – become information sources about them. Additionally to elaborate further on the process, the relationship between self and avatars is also analyzed. To create this link, semiotic theories of Saussure and Lacan were expanded and a new approach was proposed. Saussure’s signification process and Lacan’s chains of signification were adapted into digital avatars to define an on-going feedback loop between the video game avatars and the self.

scholarly journals Robust Averaging Protects Decisions from Noise in Neural Computations

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vickie Li ◽  
Santiago Herce Castañón ◽  
Joshua A Solomon ◽  
Hildward Vandormael ◽  
Christopher Summerfield
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Ideal Observer ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Integration Policy ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Healthy Humans ◽  
Neural Computations ◽  
Improved Performance ◽  
Orientation Boundary

AbstractAn ideal observer will give equivalent weight to sources of information that are equally reliable. However, when averaging visual information, human observers tend to downweight or discount features that are relatively outlying or deviant (‘robust averaging’). Why humans adopt an integration policy that discards important decision information remains unknown. Here, observers were asked to judge the average tilt in a circular array of high-contrast gratings, relative to an orientation boundary defined by a central reference grating. Observers showed robust averaging of orientation, but the extent to which they did so was a positive predictor of their overall performance. Using computational simulations, we show that although robust averaging is suboptimal for a perfect integrator, it paradoxically enhances performance in the presence of “late” noise, i.e. which corrupts decisions during integration. In other words, robust decision strategies increase the brain’s resilience to noise arising in neural computations during decision-making.Author SummaryHumans often make decisions by averaging information from multiple sources. When all the sources are equally reliable, they should all have equivalent impact (or weight) on the decisions of an “ideal” observer, i.e. one with perfect memory. However, recent experiments have suggested that humans give unequal weight to sources that are deviant or unusual, a phenomenon called “robust averaging”. Here, we use computer simulations to try to understand why humans do this. Our simulations show that under the assumption that information processing is limited by a source of internal uncertainty that we call “late” noise, robust averaging actually leads to improved performance. Using behavioural testing, we replicate the finding of robust averaging in a cohort of healthy humans, and show that those participants that engage in robust averaging perform better on the task. This study thus provides new information about the limitations on human decision-making.

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