scholarly journals Dyadic and triadic search: Benefits, costs, and predictors of group performance

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Basil Wahn ◽  
Artur Czeszumski ◽  
Melanie Labusch ◽  
Alan Kingstone ◽  
Peter König
Keyword(s):  
Search Task ◽  
Group Performance ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Search Space ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Visual Tasks ◽  
Visual Searches ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Speed Accuracy

In daily life, humans often perform visual tasks, such as solving puzzles or searching for a friend in a crowd. Performing these visual searches jointly with a partner can be beneficial: The two task partners can devise effective division of labour strategies and thereby outperform individuals who search alone. To date, it is unknown whether these group benefits scale up to triads or whether the cost of coordinating with others offsets any potential benefit for group sizes above two. To address this question, we compare participants' performance in a visual search task that they perform either alone, in dyads, or in triads. When the search task is performed jointly, co-actors receive information about each other's gaze location. After controlling for speed-accuracy trade-offs, we found that triads searched faster than dyads, suggesting that group benefits do scale up to triads. Moreover, we found that the triads' divided the search space in accordance with the co-actors' individual search performances but searched less efficiently than dyads. We also present a statistical model to predict group benefits, which accounts for 70% of the variance. The model includes our experimental factors and a set of non-redundant predictors, quantifying the similarities in the individual performances, the collaboration between co-actors, and the estimated benefits that co-actors would attain without collaborating. Overall, the present study demonstrates that group benefits scale up to larger group sizes, but the additional gains are attenuated by the increased costs associated with devising effective division of labour strategies.

scholarly journals Major Evolutionary Transitions in Social Insects, the Importance of Worker Sterility and Life History Trade-Offs

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abel Bernadou ◽  
Boris H. Kramer ◽  
Judith Korb
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Social Insects ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Evolutionary Transitions ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Individual Fitness ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Group Members ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Worker Sterility

The evolution of eusociality in social insects, such as termites, ants, and some bees and wasps, has been regarded as a major evolutionary transition (MET). Yet, there is some debate whether all species qualify. Here, we argue that worker sterility is a decisive criterion to determine whether species have passed a MET (= superorganisms), or not. When workers are sterile, reproductive interests align among group members as individual fitness is transferred to the colony level. Division of labour among cooperating units is a major driver that favours the evolution of METs across all biological scales. Many METs are characterised by a differentiation into reproductive versus maintenance functions. In social insects, the queen specialises on reproduction while workers take over maintenance functions such as food provisioning. Such division of labour allows specialisation and it reshapes life history trade-offs among cooperating units. For instance, individuals within colonies of social insects can overcome the omnipresent fecundity/longevity trade-off, which limits reproductive success in organisms, when increased fecundity shortens lifespan. Social insect queens (particularly in superorganismal species) can reach adult lifespans of several decades and are among the most fecund terrestrial animals. The resulting enormous reproductive output may contribute to explain why some genera of social insects became so successful. Indeed, superorganismal ant lineages have more species than those that have not passed a MET. We conclude that the release from life history constraints at the individual level is a important, yet understudied, factor across METs to explain their evolutionary success.

Dual Goals for Speed and Accuracy on the Same Performance Task

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 118-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olive Emil Wetter ◽  
Jürgen Wegge ◽  
Klaus Jonas ◽  
Klaus-Helmut Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Memory Scanning ◽  
Performance Task ◽  
Performance Tasks ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Test Experiment ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
New Finding ◽  
Sternberg Paradigm ◽  
Speed Accuracy ◽  
Speed And Accuracy

In most work contexts, several performance goals coexist, and conflicts between them and trade-offs can occur. Our paper is the first to contrast a dual goal for speed and accuracy with a single goal for speed on the same task. The Sternberg paradigm (Experiment 1, n = 57) and the d2 test (Experiment 2, n = 19) were used as performance tasks. Speed measures and errors revealed in both experiments that dual as well as single goals increase performance by enhancing memory scanning. However, the single speed goal triggered a speed-accuracy trade-off, favoring speed over accuracy, whereas this was not the case with the dual goal. In difficult trials, dual goals slowed down scanning processes again so that errors could be prevented. This new finding is particularly relevant for security domains, where both aspects have to be managed simultaneously.

scholarly journals Phenotypic plasticity of labile traits in the wild

2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 485-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon E. Brommer
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Statistical Approach ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Wild Populations ◽  
Quantitative Genetic ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Quantitative Genetic Parameters

Abstract Individual-based studies allow quantification of phenotypic plasticity in behavioural, life-history and other labile traits. The study of phenotypic plasticity in the wild can shed new light on the ultimate objectives (1) whether plasticity itself can evolve or is constrained by its genetic architecture, and (2) whether plasticity is associated to other traits, including fitness (selection). I describe the main statistical approach for how repeated records of individuals and a description of the environment (E) allow quantification of variation in plasticity across individuals (IxE) and genotypes (GxE) in wild populations. Based on a literature review of life-history and behavioural studies on plasticity in the wild, I discuss the present state of the two objectives listed above. Few studies have quantified GxE of labile traits in wild populations, and it is likely that power to detect statistically significant GxE is lacking. Apart from the issue of whether it is heritable, plasticity tends to correlate with average trait expression (not fully supported by the few genetic estimates available) and may thus be evolutionary constrained in this way. Individual-specific estimates of plasticity tend to be related to other traits of the individual (including fitness), but these analyses may be anti-conservative because they predominantly concern stats-on-stats. Despite the increased interest in plasticity in wild populations, the putative lack of power to detect GxE in such populations hinders achieving general insights. I discuss possible steps to invigorate the field by moving away from simply testing for presence of GxE to analyses that ‘scale up’ to population level processes and by the development of new behavioural theory to identify quantitative genetic parameters which can be estimated.

scholarly journals Evidence from cluster analysis for differentiation of antisaccade performance groups based on speed/accuracy trade-offs

2012 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 274-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingyang Li ◽  
Michael T. Amlung ◽  
Manouela Valtcheva ◽  
Jazmin Camchong ◽  
Benjamin P. Austin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Speed Accuracy

Playing With BEARS: Balancing Effort, Accuracy, and Response Speed in a Semantic Feature Verification Anomia Treatment Game

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
William S. Evans ◽  
Robert Cavanaugh ◽  
Yina Quique ◽  
Emily Boss ◽  
Jeffrey J. Starns ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Outcomes ◽  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Response Speed ◽  
Semantic Feature ◽  
System Calibration ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Practice Efficiency ◽  
Speed Accuracy

Purpose The purpose of this study was to develop and pilot a novel treatment framework called BEARS (Balancing Effort, Accuracy, and Response Speed). People with aphasia (PWA) have been shown to maladaptively balance speed and accuracy during language tasks. BEARS is designed to train PWA to balance speed–accuracy trade-offs and improve system calibration (i.e., to adaptively match system use with its current capability), which was hypothesized to improve treatment outcomes by maximizing retrieval practice and minimizing error learning. In this study, BEARS was applied in the context of a semantically oriented anomia treatment based on semantic feature verification (SFV). Method Nine PWA received 25 hr of treatment in a multiple-baseline single-case series design. BEARS + SFV combined computer-based SFV with clinician-provided BEARS metacognitive training. Naming probe accuracy, efficiency, and proportion of “pass” responses on inaccurate trials were analyzed using Bayesian generalized linear mixed-effects models. Generalization to discourse and correlations between practice efficiency and treatment outcomes were also assessed. Results Participants improved on naming probe accuracy and efficiency of treated and untreated items, although untreated item gains could not be distinguished from the effects of repeated exposure. There were no improvements on discourse performance, but participants demonstrated improved system calibration based on their performance on inaccurate treatment trials, with an increasing proportion of “pass” responses compared to paraphasia or timeout nonresponses. In addition, levels of practice efficiency during treatment were positively correlated with treatment outcomes, suggesting that improved practice efficiency promoted greater treatment generalization and improved naming efficiency. Conclusions BEARS is a promising, theoretically motivated treatment framework for addressing the interplay between effort, accuracy, and processing speed in aphasia. This study establishes the feasibility of BEARS + SFV and provides preliminary evidence for its efficacy. This study highlights the importance of considering processing efficiency in anomia treatment, in addition to performance accuracy. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.14935812

scholarly journals Combining speed and accuracy to control for speed-accuracy trade-offs(?)

2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heinrich René Liesefeld ◽  
Markus Janczyk
Keyword(s):  
Trade Offs ◽  
Speed Accuracy ◽  
Speed And Accuracy

scholarly journals COMBINING DATA-DRIVEN AND NUMERICAL MODELLING APPROACHES TO STORM EROSION PREDICTION

2020 ◽  
pp. 38
Author(s):  
Joshua Simmons ◽  
Kristen Splinter
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Models ◽  
Individual Performance ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Erosion Prediction ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Combining Data ◽  
Erosion Models ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Individual

Physics-based numerical models play an important role in the estimation of storm erosion, particularly at beaches for which there is little historical data. However, the increasing availability of pre-and post-storm data for multiple events and at a number of beaches around the world has opened the possibility of using data-driven approaches for erosion prediction. Both physics-based and purely data-driven approaches have inherent strengths and weaknesses in their ability to predict storm-induced erosion. It is vital that coastal managers and modelers are aware of these trade-offs as well as methods to maximise the value from each modelling approach in an increasingly data-rich environment. In this study, data from approximately 40 years of coastal monitoring at Narrabeen-Collaroy Beach (SE Australia)has been used to evaluate the individual performance of the numerical erosion models SBEACH and XBeach, and a data-driven modelling technique. The models are then combined using a simple weighting technique to provide a hybrid estimate of erosion.Recorded Presentation from the vICCE (YouTube Link): https://youtu.be/v53dZiO8Y60

scholarly journals Avoidance of Contaminated Food Correlates With Low Protozoan Infection in Bonobos

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cécile Sarabian ◽  
Raphaël Belais ◽  
Andrew J. J. MacIntosh
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Agent ◽  
Oral Route ◽  
Behavioral Experiments ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Individual Fitness ◽  
Behavioral Adaptations ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Protozoan Infection ◽  
Contaminated Food ◽  
The Individual

Intense selection pressure from parasites on free-living animals has resulted in behavioral adaptations that help potential hosts avoid sources of infection. In primates, such “behavioral immunity” is expressed in different contexts and may vary according to the ecology of the host, the nature of the infectious agent, and the individual itself. In this study, we investigated whether avoidance of contaminated food was associated with reduced parasite infection in sanctuary-housed bonobos. To do this, we used bonobos’ responses to soil- and fecally-contaminated food in behavioral experiments, and then compared the results with an estimate of protozoan infection across individuals. We found that avoidance of contaminated food correlated negatively with Balantioides coli infection, a potentially pathogenic protozoan transmitted through the fecal-oral route. The association between avoidance responses and parasitism were most evident in experiments in which subjects were offered a choice of food items falling along a gradient of fecal contamination. In the case of experiments with more limited options and a high degree of contamination, most subjects were averse to the presented food item and this may have mitigated any relationship between feeding decisions and infection. In experiments with low perceived levels of contamination, most subjects consumed previously contaminated food items, which may also have obscured such a relationship. The behavioral immunity observed may be a consequence of the direct effects of parasites (infection), reflecting the first scale of a landscape of disgust: individual responses. Indirect effects of parasites, such as modulation of feeding decisions and reduced social interactions—and their potential trade-offs with physiological immunity—are also discussed in light of individual fitness and primate evolution. This study builds on previous work by showing that avoidance behaviors may be effective in limiting exposure to a wide diversity of oro-fecally transmitted parasites.

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