scholarly journals The effect of prominence and cue association on retrieval processes: A computational account

Author(s):  
Felix Engelmann ◽  
Lena A. Jäger ◽  
Shravan Vasishth

We present a comprehensive empirical evaluation of the ACT-R-based model of sentence processing developed by Lewis & Vasishth (2005) (LV05). The predictions of the model are compared with the results of a recent meta-analysis of published reading studies on retrieval interference in reflexive-/reciprocal-antecedent and subject-verb dependencies (Jäger, Engelmann, & Vasishth, 2017). The comparison shows that the model has only partial success in explaining the data; and we propose that its prediction space is restricted by oversimplifying assumptions. We then implement a revised model that takes into account differences between individual experimental designs in terms of the prominence of the target and the distractor in memory and context-dependent cue-feature associations. The predictions of the original and the revised model are quantitatively compared with the results of the meta-analysis. Our simulations show that, compared to the original LV05 model, the revised model accounts for the data better. The results suggest that effects of prominence and variable cue-feature associations need to be considered in the interpretation of existing empirical results and in the design and planning of future experiments. With regard to retrieval interference in sentence processing and to the broader field of psycholinguistic studies, we conclude that well-specified models in tandem with high-powered experiments are needed in order to uncover the underlying cognitive processes.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shravan Vasishth ◽  
Felix Engelmann

Sentence comprehension - the way we process and understand spoken and written language - is a central and important area of research within psycholinguistics. This book explores the contribution of computational linguistics to the field, showing how computational models of sentence processing can help scientists in their investigation of human cognitive processes. It presents the leading computational model of retrieval processes in sentence processing, the Lewis and Vasishth cue-based retrieval mode, and develops a principled methodology for parameter estimation and model comparison/evaluation using benchmark data, to enable researchers to test their own models of retrieval against the present model. It also provides readers with an overview of the last 20 years of research on the topic of retrieval processes in sentence comprehension, along with source code that allows researchers to extend the model and carry out new research. Comprehensive in its scope, this book is essential reading for researchers in cognitive science.


Author(s):  
Shravan Vasishth ◽  
Bruno Nicenboim ◽  
Felix Engelmann ◽  
Frank Burchert

PLoS ONE ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. e93507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Meli ◽  
José María Rey Benayas ◽  
Patricia Balvanera ◽  
Miguel Martínez Ramos

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan Arnett ◽  
Matthew Wagers

Interference has been identified as a cause of processing difficulty in linguistic dependencies, such as the subject-verb relation (Van Dyke and Lewis, 2003). However, while mounting evidence implicates retrieval interference in sentence processing, the nature of the retrieval cues involved - and thus the source of difficulty - remains largely unexplored. Three experiments used self-paced reading and eye-tracking to examine the ways in which the retrieval cues provided at a verb characterize subjects. Syntactic theory has identified a number of properties correlated with subjecthood, both phrase-structural and thematic. Findings replicate and extend previous findings of interference at a verb from additional subjects, but indicate that retrieval outcomes are relativized to the syntactic domain in which the retrieval occurs. One, the cues distinguish between thematic subjects in verbal and nominal domains. Two, within the verbal domain, retrieval is sensitive to abstract syntactic properties associated with subjects and their clauses. We argue that the processing at a verb requires cue-driven retrieval, and that the retrieval cues utilize abstract grammatical properties which may reflect parser expectations.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milou Sep ◽  
Marijn Vellinga ◽  
R. Angela Sarabdjitsingh ◽  
Marian Joëls

Environmental information plays an important role in remembering events. Information about stable aspects of the environment (here referred to as ‘context’) and the event are combined by the hippocampal system and stored as context-dependent memory. In rodents (such as rats and mice), context-dependent memory is often investigated with the object-in-context task. However, the implementation and interpretation of this task varies considerably across studies. This variation hampers the comparison between studies and - for those who design a new experiment or carry out pilot experiments – the estimation of whether observed behavior is within the expected range. Also, it is currently unclear which of the variables critically influence the outcome of the task. To address these issues, we carried out a preregistered systematic review (PROSPERO CRD42020191340) and provide an up-to-date overview of the animal-, task-, and protocol-related variations in the object-in-context task for rodents. Using a data-driven explorative meta-analysis we next identified critical factors influencing the outcome of this task, such as sex, testbox size and the delay between the learning trials. Based on these observations we provide recommendations to create more consensus in the set-up, procedure and interpretation of the object-in-context task for rodents. This could contribute to a more robust and evidence-based design in future animal experiments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anke Haberkamp ◽  
Thomas Schmidt

Abstract The hypothesis of grounded procedures of separation predicts accentuated effects in individuals with psychiatric disorders, for example, obsessive-compulsive disorders with washing compulsion. This could provide a vantage point for understanding cognitive processes related to specific disorders. However, fully exploring it requires updated experimental designs, including extensive control conditions, exclusion of alternative explanations, internal replications, and parametric variation to strengthen internal validity.


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