Processing symbolic magnitude information conveyed by number words and by scalar adjectives

Mapping Intimacies ◽

10.31234/osf.io/gwfrz ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Arnold Kochari

Keyword(s):

Potential Interaction ◽

Numerical Magnitude ◽

Font Size ◽

Total N ◽

Physical Size ◽

Number Words ◽

Scalar Adjective ◽

Reverse Situation ◽

The One ◽

Scalar Adjectives

Humans not only process and compare magnitude information such as size, duration, and number perceptually, but they also communicate about these properties using language. In this respect, a relevant class of lexical items are so-called scalar adjectives like ‘big’, ‘long’, ‘loud’, etc. which refer to magnitude information. It has been proposed that humans use an amodal and abstract representation format shared by different dimensions, called the generalized magnitude system (GMS). In this paper, we test the hypothesis that scalar adjectives are symbolic references to GMS representations, and, therefore, GMS gets involved in processing their meaning. Previously, a parallel hypothesis on the relation between number symbols and GMS representations has been tested with the size congruity paradigm. The results of these experiments showed interference between the processing of number symbols and the processing of physical (font-) size. In the first three experiments of the present study (total N=150), we used the size congruity paradigm and the same/different task to look at the potential interaction between physical size magnitude and numerical magnitude expressed by number words. In the subsequent three experiments (total N=149), we looked at a parallel potential interaction between physical size magnitude and scalar adjective meaning. In the size congruity paradigm we observed interference between the processing of the numerical value of number words and the meaning of scalar adjectives, on the one hand, and physical (font-) size, on the other had, when participants had to judge the number words or the adjectives (while ignoring physical size). No interference was obtained for the reverse situation, i.e. when participants judged the physical font size (while ignoring numerical value or meaning). The results of the same/different task for both number words and scalar adjectives strongly suggested that the interference that was observed in the size congruity paradigm was likely due to a response conflict at the decision stage of processing rather than due to the recruitment of GMS representations. Taken together, it can be concluded that the size congruity paradigm does not provide evidence in support the hypothesis that GMS representations are used in the processing of number words or scalar adjectives. Nonetheless, the hypothesis we put forward about scalar adjectives is still is a promising potential line of research. We make a number of suggestions for how this hypothesis can be explored in future studies.

Get full-text (via PubEx)

EXPRESS: Processing symbolic magnitude information conveyed by number words and by scalar adjectives

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology ◽

10.1177/17470218211031158 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 174702182110311

Author(s):

Arnold Kochari ◽

Herbert Schriefers

Keyword(s):

Potential Interaction ◽

Numerical Magnitude ◽

Font Size ◽

Abstract Representation ◽

Total N ◽

Physical Size ◽

Number Words ◽

Scalar Adjective ◽

Different Dimensions ◽

Scalar Adjectives

Get full-text (via PubEx)

The Flip Side of the Auditory Spatial Selection Benefit

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169/a000274 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 62 (1) ◽

pp. 66-74 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Iring Koch ◽

Vera Lawo

Keyword(s):

Task Switching ◽

Auditory Task ◽

Numerical Magnitude ◽

Attention Shifting ◽

Gender Selection ◽

Spatial Selection ◽

Number Words ◽

Switch Costs ◽

Mixing Costs ◽

Experimental Group

In cued auditory task switching, one of two dichotically presented number words, spoken by a female and a male, had to be judged according to its numerical magnitude. One experimental group selected targets by speaker gender and another group by ear of presentation. In mixed-task blocks, the target-defining feature (male/female vs. left/right) was cued prior to each trial, but in pure blocks it remained constant. Compared to selection by gender, selection by ear led to better performance in pure blocks than in mixed blocks, resulting in larger “global” mixing costs for ear-based selection. Selection by ear also led to larger “local” switch costs in mixed blocks, but this finding was partially mediated by differential cue-repetition benefits. Together, the data suggest that requirements of attention shifting diminish the auditory spatial selection benefit.

Get full-text (via PubEx)

Intentional attention switching in dichotic listening: Exploring the efficiency of nonspatial and spatial selection

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology ◽

10.1080/17470218.2014.898079 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 67 (10) ◽

pp. 2010-2024 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Vera Lawo ◽

Janina Fels ◽

Josefa Oberem ◽

Iring Koch

Keyword(s):

Dichotic Listening ◽

Target Selection ◽

Stimulus Onset ◽

Numerical Magnitude ◽

Relevant Feature ◽

Attention Switching ◽

Number Words ◽

Switch Costs ◽

Feature Dimension ◽

Listening Task

Using an auditory variant of task switching, we examined the ability to intentionally switch attention in a dichotic-listening task. In our study, participants responded selectively to one of two simultaneously presented auditory number words (spoken by a female and a male, one for each ear) by categorizing its numerical magnitude. The mapping of gender (female vs. male) and ear (left vs. right) was unpredictable. The to-be-attended feature for gender or ear, respectively, was indicated by a visual selection cue prior to auditory stimulus onset. In Experiment 1, explicitly cued switches of the relevant feature dimension (e.g., from gender to ear) and switches of the relevant feature within a dimension (e.g., from male to female) occurred in an unpredictable manner. We found large performance costs when the relevant feature switched, but switches of the relevant feature dimension incurred only small additional costs. The feature-switch costs were larger in ear-relevant than in gender-relevant trials. In Experiment 2, we replicated these findings using a simplified design (i.e., only within-dimension switches with blocked dimensions). In Experiment 3, we examined preparation effects by manipulating the cueing interval and found a preparation benefit only when ear was cued. Together, our data suggest that the large part of attentional switch costs arises from reconfiguration at the level of relevant auditory features (e.g., left vs. right) rather than feature dimensions (ear vs. gender). Additionally, our findings suggest that ear-based target selection benefits more from preparation time (i.e., time to direct attention to one ear) than gender-based target selection.

Get full-text (via PubEx)

Tackling the triple threats of childhood malnutrition

BMC Medicine ◽

10.1186/s12916-019-1464-9 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Martha Mwangome ◽

Andrew M. Prentice

Keyword(s):

Micronutrient Deficiencies ◽

Obese Children ◽

Double Burden ◽

Physical Size ◽

Obesity Epidemic ◽

Nutritional Health ◽

Hidden Hunger ◽

The One ◽

The Impact ◽

Poor Nutrition

AbstractThe term ‘double burden of malnutrition’ is usually interpreted in terms of the physical status of children: stunted and wasted children on the one hand and overweight/obese children on the other. There is a third category of malnutrition that can occur at either end of the anthropometric spectrum or, indeed, in children whose physical size may be close to ideal. This third type is most commonly articulated with the phrase ‘hidden hunger’ and is often illustrated by micronutrient deficiencies; thus, we refer to it here as ‘undernutrition’. As understanding of such issues advances, we realise that there is a myriad of factors that may be influencing a child’s road to nutritional health. In this BMC Medicine article collection we consider these influences and the impact they have, such as: the state of the child’s environment; the effect this has on their risk of, and responses to, infection and on their gut; the consequences of poor nutrition on cognition and brain development; the key drivers of the obesity epidemic across the globe; and how undernourishment can affect a child’s body composition. This collection showcases recent advances in the field, but likewise highlights ongoing challenges in the battle to achieve adequate nutrition for children across the globe.

Get full-text (via PubEx)

Visual Number Beats Abstract Numerical Magnitude: Format-dependent Representation of Arabic Digits and Dot Patterns in Human Parietal Cortex

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn_a_00787 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 27 (7) ◽

pp. 1376-1387 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Jessica Bulthé ◽

Bert De Smedt ◽

Hans P. Op de Beeck

Keyword(s):

Activity Pattern ◽

Numerical Cognition ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Activity Patterns ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Numerical Magnitude ◽

Visual Objects ◽

Arabic Digits ◽

The One ◽

Object Cognition

In numerical cognition, there is a well-known but contested hypothesis that proposes an abstract representation of numerical magnitude in human intraparietal sulcus (IPS). On the other hand, researchers of object cognition have suggested another hypothesis for brain activity in IPS during the processing of number, namely that this activity simply correlates with the number of visual objects or units that are perceived. We contrasted these two accounts by analyzing multivoxel activity patterns elicited by dot patterns and Arabic digits of different magnitudes while participants were explicitly processing the represented numerical magnitude. The activity pattern elicited by the digit “8” was more similar to the activity pattern elicited by one dot (with which the digit shares the number of visual units but not the magnitude) compared to the activity pattern elicited by eight dots, with which the digit shares the represented abstract numerical magnitude. A multivoxel pattern classifier trained to differentiate one dot from eight dots classified all Arabic digits in the one-dot pattern category, irrespective of the numerical magnitude symbolized by the digit. These results were consistently obtained for different digits in IPS, its subregions, and many other brain regions. As predicted from object cognition theories, the number of presented visual units forms the link between the parietal activation elicited by symbolic and nonsymbolic numbers. The current study is difficult to reconcile with the hypothesis that parietal activation elicited by numbers would reflect a format-independent representation of number.

Get full-text (via PubEx)

Coast Guard and Epa: One Area Contingency Plan

International Oil Spill Conference Proceedings ◽

10.7901/2169-3358-1999-1-967 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 1999 (1) ◽

pp. 967-969

Author(s):

David Westerholm ◽

David Anderson ◽

James Augustyn ◽

Thomas Rayburn

Keyword(s):

Environmental Protection Agency ◽

Oil Pollution ◽

Pilot Project ◽

Coast Guard ◽

Contingency Planning ◽

Physical Size ◽

Western Lake ◽

Federal Response ◽

The One ◽

Western Lake Erie

ABSTRACT The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have developed a pilot project to address federal Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) requirements for Area Contingency planning in the Captain of the Port (COTP) Zone and the corresponding U.S. EPA inland area in a portion of the Western Lake Erie Basin. The project, known as the “One County In” approach, encompasses contingency planning for the entire county, not just the COTP Zone. Local and state planners and responders as well as industry representatives fully support the effort. The one plan eliminates the multi-plan issues associated with divided federal response jurisdictions. While the geographic scope of the Plan expanded, the physical size of the document decreased significantly due to a detailed review by the Area Committee. Initiated in fall 1997, the combined Plan was completed in September 1998.

Get full-text (via PubEx)

6 Monopole Elements Array Intelligent Antennas for IoT Based Environmental Surveillance Network

EPI International Journal of Engineering ◽

10.25042/epi-ije.082020.06 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 126-131

Author(s):

Elyas Palantei ◽

Arif Hidayat ◽

Wardi Wardi ◽

Intan Sari Areni ◽

Sunarno Sunarno ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Frequency Band ◽

Switching Network ◽

Environmental Surveillance ◽

Network Configuration ◽

Surveillance Network ◽

Physical Size ◽

Electronic Part ◽

Actual Environment ◽

Ground Plate ◽

The One

Three types of 6 monopoles array intelligent antennas was numerically and practically examined. The main purposes of the investigation is to guarantee that those designed antennas are feasible to implement and to install in a particular IoT based environmental surveillance network configuration. The basic differences of the three intelligent antennas lied on the frequency operations (i.e. 433 MHz, 875-915 MHz and 2.5 GHz) and the actual environment operations (whether for indoor or outdoor). The extreme differences of such frequency operations, of course, affecting the differences on the whole antenna physical dimension. The higher the frequency operation determined then the smaller the physical size of the designed antennas produced. However, the deep intelligent antenna evaluations presented in the paper is the one that operated on frequency band of 875 -915 MHz. The intelligent electronic part of six monopole wire elements arrayed on a circular ground plate was composed of LoRa chip module, Android Uno microcontroller, and the switching network part. The three parts determined whole antenna operation throughout the IoT network. The results of whole antenna examinations are thoroughly discussed in the paper.

Get full-text (via PubEx)

Online pragmatic interpretations of scalar adjectives are affected by perceived speaker reliability

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0245130 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. e0245130

Author(s):

Bethany Gardner ◽

Sadie Dix ◽

Rebecca Lawrence ◽

Cameron Morgan ◽

Anaclare Sullivan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Eye Tracking ◽

Real Time ◽

Language Comprehension ◽

Time Window ◽

Spoken Language ◽

Sentence Structure ◽

Linguistic Communication ◽

Expected Time ◽

Scalar Adjective ◽

Scalar Adjectives

Linguistic communication requires understanding of words in relation to their context. Among various aspects of context, one that has received relatively little attention until recently is the speakers themselves. We asked whether comprehenders’ online language comprehension is affected by the perceived reliability with which a speaker formulates pragmatically well-formed utterances. In two eye-tracking experiments, we conceptually replicated and extended a seminal work by Grodner and Sedivy (2011). A between-participant manipulation was used to control reliability with which a speaker follows implicit pragmatic conventions (e.g., using a scalar adjective in accordance with contextual contrast). Experiment 1 replicated Grodner and Sedivy’s finding that contrastive inference in response to scalar adjectives was suspended when both the spoken input and the instructions provided evidence of the speaker’s (un)reliability: For speech from the reliable speaker, comprehenders exhibited the early fixations attributable to a contextually-situated, contrastive interpretation of a scalar adjective. In contrast, for speech from the unreliable speaker, comprehenders did not exhibit such early fixations. Experiment 2 provided novel evidence of the reliability effect in the absence of explicit instructions. In both experiments, the effects emerged in the earliest expected time window given the stimuli sentence structure. The results suggest that real-time interpretations of spoken language are optimized in the context of a speaker identity, characteristics of which are extrapolated across utterances.

Get full-text (via PubEx)

Το Υπομνηστικόν του Μιχαήλ Χωνιάτη και οι καστρηνοί

BYZANTINA SYMMEIKTA ◽

10.12681/byzsym.351 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 18 ◽

pp. 159 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Αγγελική Π. ΠΑΠΑΓΕΩΡΓΙΟΥ

Keyword(s):

The Other ◽

Upper Class ◽

Font Size ◽

The Subject ◽

Military Unit ◽

The One ◽

The City

MICHAEL CHONIATES’ ΥΠΟΜΝΗΣΤΙΚΟΝ AND THE TERM KASTRENOI The aim of this paper is to prove that the term kastrenoi, used by Michael Choniates, metropolitan of Athens, in the letter he addressed to the emperor Alexios III Angelos in 1198, denotes the inhabitants within the castle, i.e. the city. There are two different views on the subject, the one expressed by Sp. Lambros in the commentary to his edition of Michael Choniates’ work and the other by Professor Aik. Christophilopoulou. Both believe that the term kastrenos means a member of a military unit. The paper examines Michael Choniates’ passage, as well as other contemporary sources, which prove that the term kastrenos has no military meaning whatsoever, but refers solely to a group of people, usually of the upper class, living inside the walls of a fortified city.

Get full-text (via PubEx)

Simulation of nitrogen removal by step feeding for Istanbul wastewaters

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1996.0345 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 33 (12) ◽

pp. 259-264 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

E. Görgün ◽

N. Artan ◽

D. Orhon ◽

S. Sözen

Keyword(s):

Model Simulation ◽

Management Policy ◽

The Black Sea ◽

Wastewater Management ◽

Marmara Sea ◽

Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽

Total N ◽

System A ◽

The One ◽

Biological Nitrogen

The Metropolitan Area of Istanbul is the major polluter in the Marmara Sea which shows all the indications of a sensitive zone. The adopted wastewater management policy involves biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal at all the discharge points in the area. The Riva plant at the Black Sea coast is designed as a two-stage step feeding system. A model simulation shows that the proposed design cannot meet the effluent standard of 10 mgl−1 total N for the sewage character assessed on the basis of an experimental study, totally different from the one adopted for design.

Get full-text (via PubEx)