Solving Syllogisms as Abstract Pattern Recognition and Completion, Based on Linguistic Cues for Logical Semantic Features

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucia Faiciuc
Keyword(s):  
Order Effects ◽  
Semantic Features ◽  
Verbal Expression ◽  
Frequent Contact ◽  
Linguistic Cues ◽  
Completion Process ◽  
Within Subjects ◽  
Format Effects ◽  
Logical Semantics ◽  
Logical Semantic

The presented empirical research is based on a new model for the categorical syllogisms, described and partially tested elsewhere. This model assumes that deriving a conclusion involves a pattern completion process, similar to the completion of perceptual patterns. Specifically, inferring a conclusion would require the generation of the missing part of an abstract pattern of logical semantic features. This pattern is named schema, because it is organized around a particular argumentative goal. Such a schema emerges through the frequent contact with a corresponding class of argumentative experiences. As, presumably, the usual pragmatic argumentative contexts imply predominantly valid syllogisms, pragmatic syllogistic schemas would emerge mainly for them. These pragmatic schemas for the valid syllogisms are supposed to be based on a particular mixed semantics of their syllogistic judgments, including both intensional (class-property) and extensional (subclass-class) relationships. The recognition of these schemas can be influenced by the linguistic cues of the verbal expression of the syllogisms. To test this particular prediction, the linguistic format of a set of 24 abstract categorical syllogisms (12 valid, 12 invalid) was varied. The linguistic cues of the L format task would favor the recognition of the logical features of the assumed syllogistic schemas with a mixed logical semantics of the valid syllogisms. The N format task, with no explicit linguistic cues for those logical features, would hinder the recognition of the above-mentioned schemas for the valid syllogisms. The administration order of the two tasks was also varied. The study included 192 university students. The data supported considerably the expected format effects on the correctness of the chosen answers for the valid syllogisms (with higher performances for the L format) in the relevant between-subjects and within-subjects comparisons, and some of the predicted order effects. Mental models theory cannot explain the obtained results.

Theoretical Approaches to the Functions of Indefinite Pronouns

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Haspelmath
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Features ◽  
Semantic Change ◽  
Intrinsic Properties ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Mental Spaces ◽  
Logical Semantics ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Indefinite Pronouns

This chapter focuses on various theoretical approaches to the semantic and syntactic functions of indefinite pronouns. It begins with a discussion of structuralist semantics, which suggests that language is a system whose parts must be defined and described on the basis of their place in the system and their relation to each other, rather than on the basis of their own intrinsic properties. It then considers some of the problems associated with structuralist semantics, including the unclear status of the semantic features; significant overlap of the functions of grammatical items in many areas, including indefinite pronouns; and structuralist semantics makes wrong predictions about semantic change. The chapter proceeds by analysing logical semantics and the issues raised by this approach, along with syntactic approaches, the theory of mental spaces, pragmatic scales and scale reversal. Finally, it explains the relationship between focusing and sentence accent.

scholarly journals Evaluating Information Quality of Revised Patient Education Information on Colonoscopy: It Is New But Is It Improved? (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Tyler Bernstein ◽  
James Kong ◽  
Vaelan Sriranjan ◽  
Sofia Reisdorf ◽  
Gayle Restall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Patient Education ◽  
Bowel Preparation ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Information Quality ◽  
Information Sources ◽  
Order Effects ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Current Form ◽  
Within Subjects ◽  
Available Information

BACKGROUND Previous research indicates that patients and their families have many questions about colonoscopy that are not fully answered by existing resources. We developed revised forms on colonoscopy bowel preparation and on the procedure itself. OBJECTIVE As the goal of the revised materials is to have improved information relative to currently available information, we were interested in how revised information compared with what is currently available in terms of information quality and patient preference. METHODS Participants were asked to review one at a time the Revised and Current versions of Colonoscopy bowel preparation instructions (study 1) and About Colonoscopy (study 2). The order of administration of the Revised and Current versions was randomly counterbalanced to assess order effects. Respondents rated each form along the following dimensions: amount, clarity, trustworthiness, readability and understandability, how new or familiar the information was, and reassurance. Participants were asked which form they preferred and 4 questions about why they preferred it. Open-ended questions asked participants to describe likes and dislikes of the forms and suggestions for improvement. RESULTS The study 1 and study 2 samples were similar. Overall, in study 1, 62.4% preferred the Revised form, 28.1% preferred the Current form, and 6.7% were not sure. Overall, in study 2, 50.5% preferred the Revised form, 31.1% preferred the Current form, and 18.4% were not sure. Almost 75% of those in study 1 who received the Revised form first, preferred it, compared with less than half of those who received it first in study 2. In study 1, 75% of those without previous colonoscopy experience preferred the Revised form, compared with more than half of those who had previously undergone a colonoscopy. The study 1 logistic regression analysis demonstrated that participants were more likely to prefer the Revised form if they had viewed it first and had no previous experience with colonoscopy. In study 2, none of the variables assessed were associated with a preference for the Revised form. In comparing the 2 forms head-to-head, participants who preferred the Revised form in study 1 rated it as clearer compared with those who preferred the Current form. Finally, many participants who preferred the Revised form indicated in the open-ended questions that they liked it because it had more information than the Current form and that it had good visual information. CONCLUSIONS This study is one of the first to evaluate 2 different patient education resources in a head-to-head comparison using the same participants in a within-subjects design. This approach was useful in comparing revised educational information with current resources. Moving forward, this knowledge translation approach of a head-to-head comparison of 2 different information sources could be taken to develop and refine information sources on other health issues.

Equalitarianism: A source of liberal bias

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo M Winegard ◽  
Cory J Clark ◽  
Connor R Hasty ◽  
Roy Baumeister
Keyword(s):  
Order Effects ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Demographic Groups ◽  
Recent Scholarship ◽  
The Social ◽  
Liberal Ideology ◽  
Within Subjects ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Do So ◽  
Liberal Bias

Recent scholarship has challenged the long-held assumption in the social sciences that Conservatives are more biased than Liberals, contending that the predominance of Liberals in social science may have caused social scientists to ignore liberal bias. Here, we demonstrate that Liberals are particularly prone to bias about victims’ groups (e.g. Blacks, Muslims, women) andidentify a trait that consistently predicts this bias. This trait, termed Equalitarianism, stems from an aversion to inequality and is comprised of three interrelated assumptions: (1) demographic groups do not differ biologically; (2) prejudice is ubiquitous; (3) society can, and should, make all groups equal in society. This leads to bias against information that portrays a perceived privileged group more favorably than a perceived victims’ group. Eight studies (n=3,274) support this theory. Liberalism was associated with perceiving certain groups as victims (Studies 1a-1b). In Studies 2-7, Liberals evaluated the same study as less credible when the results concluded that a privileged group (men and Whites) had a superior quality relative to a victims’ group (women and Blacks) than vice versa. Ruling out alternative explanations of Bayesian (or other normative) reasoning, significant order effects in within-subjects designs in Studies 6 and 7 suggest that Liberals think that they should not evaluate identical information differently depending on which group is said to have a superior quality, yet do so. In all studies, higher equalitarianism mediated the relationship between more liberal ideology and lower credibility ratings when privileged groups were said to score higher on a socially valuable trait.

scholarly journals Assessing Information Integration Processes Using Between- or Within-Subjects Designs: Some More Evidence

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Gérard Chasseigne ◽  
Maria Teresa Muñoz Sastre ◽  
Paul CLay Sorum ◽  
Etienne Mullet
Keyword(s):  
Information Integration ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Limited Range ◽  
Integration Theory ◽  
Order Effects ◽  
Repeated Measures Design ◽  
Information Integration Theory ◽  
New Findings ◽  
Valuation Process ◽  
Within Subjects

Within-subject designs (WSDs) remain unappreciated in psychology although many experimental tactics can reduce or eliminate the demand and order effects that WSDs tend to create. Comparative studies conducted in the Information Integration Theory (IIT) framework have shown that patterns of results observed using WSDs can largely be replicated using between-subject designs (BSDs). In order to add evidence to these findings, three additional studies were conducted in order to complement data obtained in previous studies. One of these studies was about health risk perception and tested the possibility to find evidence for a disjunctive rule of information integration using a BSD. The other two studies focused on the valuation process of IIT. The new findings regarding the disjunctive rule added support to the view that equivalent results can be obtained either with a highly economical repeated-measures design or with a much costlier independent factorial group arrangement. However, when the focus was on the valuation process and not on the integration process, ratings obtained in the BSD condition seemed to be restricted to a limited range of values by comparison with ratings obtained in the WSD condition. An explanation in terms of context effect is offered.

scholarly journals NARRATIVES OF THE “OTHER” IN TIMES OF WORLDVIEW WARS: TRUE FACE, MASKED FACE

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Slukhaii
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Verbal Expression ◽  
Typical Function ◽  
Russian Media ◽  
Rhetorical Questions ◽  
Current Stage ◽  
Logical Semantic ◽  
Linguistic Means

Modern day worldview wars are distinguished by the extraordinary role that information and its suppliers play in building perceptions of war events, whether real, falsified or invented. The paper analyses the means by which modern pro-Russian media try to reach their targets in the hybrid/information war. The following narratives are specially noted as defining the current stage of the worldview war against Ukraine: narratives intending to humiliate the dignity of Ukrainian language speakers and the national idea, intending to raise malice and chagrin in speakers, intending to confuse and disorient, intending to involve into pre-meditated ideologems. As concerns linguistic means of recipient disorientation, the following are noted: simulacra, metonymies, resources of semantic-grammatical and semantic modality, logical, semantic and formal hybrids (chimeras), quotation marks and their verbal expression (the “so-called”), resources of sacral language, linguistic mind games, rhetorical questions. Receiver’s confusion is achieved by using linguistic means in a non-typical function, whereby the most common are simulacra, metonymies and the semantic-grammatical modality, and the most effective ones are hybrids of several kinds and mind games. The paper’s conclusion is that ideological tenets of old and new times presented in pro-Russian media in all their linguistic and semiotic variety are imprinted with means which are but missiles for a suggestive, non-rationally-controlled introduction and promotion of pro-Kremlin narratives.

scholarly journals Ekspresi Verbal Masyarakat Bali terhadap Kelahiran Bayi: Kajian Linguistik Kebudayaan

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 395
Author(s):  
Ni Wayan Sartini
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Semantic Features ◽  
Verbal Expression ◽  
Household Chores ◽  
The Core

This article is aimed to describe the verbal expression given by the Balinese community to the birth of a baby by examining the core of verbal expression in the use of diction. In the context of discourse, the choices of words used are not only due to chances, but also ideologically showing how the meaning of community facts and reality. Data analysis indicated that these are the differences in the use of word choices between verbal expression for baby boys and girls. The verbal expression for baby boys contains exceptional semantic features focusing on happiness. Meanwhile, for baby girls, there are more prayers and hopes for their household chores. Besides, those verbal expressions given were found containing gender inequality. Concerning the discourse analysis, it can be disclosed that the microstructure of the verbal expression is a reflection of the macrostructure of Balinese community’s construction.

The Case for Repeated Measures in Ergonomic Experiments: Another Look

1977 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 339-343
Author(s):  
Robert J. Smillie ◽  
Tyler Blake
Keyword(s):  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Character Recognition ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Order Effects ◽  
Single Experiment ◽  
Main Effect ◽  
Within Subjects ◽  
Independent Variable ◽  
Repeated Measures Designs

Repeated measures designs have been suggested as being inappropriate in most ergonomic research because of the presence of unwanted order effects which bias the results. Poulton has discussed a number of studies in several areas in which such order effects have rendered the interpretation of the results unreliable. The present study investigated order effects by combining in a single experiment a between-subjects design and a within-subjects design. Eight subjects were exposed to four combinations of two stressors, noise and ice-pressor, in a character recognition task based on reaction time measures. The experimental layout included order as an independent variable and found a significant main effect for treatments (F = 10.89, p < .005). More importantly treatments were found to interact with order (F = 3.26, p < .05). Because of the economy of repeated measures designs in terms of subject number, it is suggested that rather than categorically abandoning their use, research should be undertaken to determine: (1) if order effects are always present; (2) with what variables and combinations of variables they occur; (3) the consistency of such effects in terms of magnitude and direction; and (4) the practical as well as the statistical significance of particular order effects. In addition, the issues of individual differences and intra-subject consistency are discussed in relation to repeated measures designs. Finally, it is suggested that the discrimination of those situations where repeated measures designs can be used effectively is a more practical and fruitful activity than the wholesale elimination of repeated measures from erogomics research.

Design-Effects in Prospective and Retrospective Memory for Actions

2003 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra Jahn ◽  
Johannes Engelkamp
Keyword(s):  
Prospective Memory ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Prospective Memory Task ◽  
Retrospective Memory ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
Relational Information ◽  
Design Effects ◽  
Verbal Tasks ◽  
Within Subjects

There is ample evidence that memory for action phrases such as “open the bottle” is better in subject-performed tasks (SPTs), i.e., if the participants perform the actions, than in verbal tasks (VTs), if they only read the phrases or listen to them. It is less clear whether also the sole intention to perform the actions later, i.e., a prospective memory task (PT), improves memory compared with VTs. Inconsistent findings have been reported for within-subjects and between-subjects designs. The present study attempts to clarify the situation. In three experiments, better recall for SPTs than for PTs and for PTs than for VTs were observed if mixed lists were used. If pure lists were used, there was a PT effect but no SPT over PT advantage. The findings were discussed from the perspective of item-specific and relational information.

The Limits of Ego Depletion

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 292-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Wenzel ◽  
Marina Lind ◽  
Zarah Rowland ◽  
Daniela Zahn ◽  
Thomas Kubiak
Keyword(s):  
Research Agenda ◽  
Statistical Power ◽  
Interindividual Variability ◽  
Ego Depletion ◽  
Crossover Design ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Future Research Agenda ◽  
Depletion Effect ◽  
Within Subjects

Abstract. Evidence on the existence of the ego depletion phenomena as well as the size of the effects and potential moderators and mediators are ambiguous. Building on a crossover design that enables superior statistical power within a single study, we investigated the robustness of the ego depletion effect between and within subjects and moderating and mediating influences of the ego depletion manipulation checks. Our results, based on a sample of 187 participants, demonstrated that (a) the between- and within-subject ego depletion effects only had negligible effect sizes and that there was (b) large interindividual variability that (c) could not be explained by differences in ego depletion manipulation checks. We discuss the implications of these results and outline a future research agenda.

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