scholarly journals Surprisingly inflexible: Statistically learned suppression of distractors generalizes across contexts

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasper de Waard ◽  
Louisa Bogaerts ◽  
Dirk van Moorselaar ◽  
Jan Theeuwes
Keyword(s):  
High Probability ◽  
Distractor Location ◽  
Bayesian Analyses ◽  
Visual Cue ◽  
Unique Shape ◽  
Context Dependent ◽  
Suppression Effects

AbstractThe present study investigates the flexibility of statistically learned distractor suppression between different contexts. Participants performed the additional singleton task searching for a unique shape, while ignoring a uniquely colored distractor. Crucially, we created two contexts within the experiments, and each context was assigned its own high-probability distractor location, so that the location where the distractor was most likely to appear depended on the context. Experiment 1 signified context through the color of the background. In Experiment 2, we aimed to more strongly differentiate between the contexts using an auditory or visual cue to indicate the upcoming context. In Experiment 3, context determined the appropriate response ensuring that participants engaged the context in order to be able to perform the task. Across all experiments, participants learned to suppress both high-probability locations, even if they were not aware of these spatial regularities. However, these suppression effects occurred independent of context, as the pattern of suppression reflected a de-prioritization of both high-probability locations which did not change with the context. We employed Bayesian analyses to statistically quantify the absence of context-dependent suppression effects. We conclude that statistically learned distractor suppression is robust and generalizes across contexts.

Spatial suppression due to statistical regularities in a visual detection task

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk van Moorselaar ◽  
Jan Theeuwes
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Learning ◽  
Attentional Capture ◽  
High Probability ◽  
Visual Detection ◽  
Detection Task ◽  
Distractor Location ◽  
Specific Location ◽  
Statistical Regularities ◽  
Unique Shape ◽  
Singleton Target

AbstractIncreasing evidence demonstrates that observers can learn the likely location of salient singleton distractors during visual search. To date, the reduced attentional capture at high-probability distractor locations has typically been examined using so called compound search, in which by design a target is always present. Here, we explored whether statistical distractor learning can also be observed in a visual detection task, in which participants respond target present if the singleton target is present and respond target absent when the singleton target is absent. If so, this allows us to examine suppression of the location that is likely to contain a distractor both in the presence, but critically also in the absence, of a priority signal generated by the target singleton. In an online variant of the additional singleton paradigm, observers had to indicate whether a unique shape was present or absent, while ignoring a colored singleton, which appeared with a higher probability in one specific location. We show that attentional capture was reduced, but not absent, at high-probability distractor locations, irrespective of whether the display contained a target or not. By contrast, target processing at the high-probability distractor location was selectively impaired on distractor-present displays. Moreover, all suppressive effects were characterized by a gradient such that suppression scaled with the distance to the high-probability distractor location. We conclude that statistical distractor learning can be examined in visual detection tasks, and discuss the implications for attentional suppression due to statistical learning.

Spatial suppression due to statistical regularities is driven by distractor suppression not by target activation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Failing ◽  
Benchi Wang ◽  
Jan Theeuwes
Keyword(s):  
High Probability ◽  
Target Location ◽  
Target Selection ◽  
Visual Space ◽  
Alternative Interpretation ◽  
Distractor Location ◽  
Target Presentation ◽  
Statistical Regularities ◽  
Low Probability ◽  
Presentation Experiment

Where and what we attend to is not only determined by what we are currently looking for but also by what we have encountered in the past. Recent studies suggest that biasing the probability by which distractors appear at locations in visual space may lead to attentional suppression of high probability distractor locations which effectively reduces capture by a distractor but also impairs target selection at this location. However, in many of these studies introducing a high probability distractor location was tantamount to increasing the probability of the target appearing in any of the other locations (i.e. the low probability distractor locations). Here, we investigate an alternative interpretation of previous findings according to which attentional selection at high probability distractor locations is not suppressed. Instead, selection at low probability distractor locations is facilitated. In two visual search tasks, we found no evidence for this hypothesis: neither when there was only a bias in target presentation but no bias in distractor presentation (Experiment 1), nor when there was only a bias in distractor presentation but no bias in target presentation (Experiment 2). We conclude that recurrent presentation of a distractor in a specific location leads to attentional suppression of that location through a mechanism that is unaffected by any regularities regarding the target location.

scholarly journals User Equilibrium Analysis Considering Travelers’ Context-Dependent Route Choice Behavior on the Risky Traffic Network

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (17) ◽  
pp. 6706
Author(s):  
Qinghui Xu ◽  
Xiangfeng Ji
Keyword(s):  
High Probability ◽  
Choice Behavior ◽  
Route Choice ◽  
User Equilibrium ◽  
Equilibrium Analysis ◽  
Risk Averse ◽  
Risk Seeking ◽  
Route Choice Behavior ◽  
Risk Neutral ◽  
Context Dependent

This paper studies travelers’ context-dependent route choice behavior in a risky trafficnetwork from a long-term perspective, focusing on the effect of travelers’ salience characteristics. In particular, a flow-dependent salience theory is proposed for this analysis, where the flow denotes the traffic flow on the risky route. In the proposed model, travelers’ attention is drawn to the salient travel utility, and the objective probabilities of the state of the world are replaced by the decision weights distorted in favor of this salient travel utility. A long-run user equilibrium will be achieved when no traveler can improve his or her salient travel utility by unilaterally changing routes, termed salient user equilibrium, which extends the scope of the Wardropian user equilibrium. Furthermore, we prove the existence and uniqueness of this salient user equilibrium. Finally, numerical studies demonstrate our theoretical findings. The equilibrium results show non-intuitive insights into travelers’ route choice behavior. (1) Travelers can be risk-seeking (the travel utility of a risky route is small with a relatively high probability), risk-neutral (in special situations), or risk-averse (the travel utility of a risky route is large with a relatively high probability), which depends on the salient state. (2) The extent of travelers’ risk-seeking or risk-averse behavior depends on their extent of salience bias, while the risk-neutral behavior is irrelative to this salience bias.

Grammatical relation probability: How usage patterns shape analogy

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther L. Brown ◽  
Javier Rivas
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rican ◽  
Language Production ◽  
High Probability ◽  
Verb Morphology ◽  
Puerto Rican Spanish ◽  
Syntactic Structures ◽  
Grammatical Relation ◽  
Usage Patterns ◽  
Context Dependent

AbstractIt has been argued speakers' knowledge of the probabilities of certain phones, words, and syntactic structures affects language production (Bell, Brenier, Gregory, Girand, & Jurafsky, 2009; Tily, Gahl, Arnon, Snider, Kothari, & Bresnan, 2009). This study provides evidence for effects of grammatical relation probabilities by identifying significant effects on verb morphology in the Spanish presentative [haber ‘there (be)’+ NP] construction stemming from nouns with varying proportion of use in subject function. In addition to this novel type of probability (grammatical relation), we present calculations that are not context-dependent but cumulative, reflecting speakers' overall experience with these nouns in the grammar. We conduct variationist analyses on corpora of spoken Puerto Rican Spanish. Our results reveal that nouns with a high probability of subject function promote the analogical leveling of haber by increasing the likelihood of reanalysis of the object as subject of the construction. We interpret these results as suggesting speakers possess lexicalized knowledge of grammatical relation usage patterns.

scholarly journals Context-dependent cross-modal interaction in the medial prefrontal cortex of rats

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mengyao Zheng ◽  
Jinghong Xu ◽  
Les Keniston ◽  
Jing Wu ◽  
Song Chang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Medial Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Simultaneous Presentation ◽  
Enhancement Effect ◽  
Modal Interaction ◽  
Visual Cue ◽  
Neural Activities ◽  
Context Dependent ◽  
Forced Choice Tasks ◽  
Choice Tasks

Abstract Cross-modal interaction (CMI) could significantly influence the perceptional or decision-making process in many circumstances. However, it remains poorly understood what integrative strategies are employed by the brain to deal with different task contexts. To explore it, we examined neural activities of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of rats performing cue-guided two-alternative forced-choice tasks. In a task requiring rats to discriminate stimuli based on auditory cue, the simultaneous presentation of an uninformative visual cue substantially strengthened mPFC neurons' capability of auditory discrimination mainly through enhancing the response to the preferred cue. Doing this also increased the number of neurons revealing a cue preference. If the task was changed slightly and a visual cue, like the auditory, denoted a specific behavioral direction, mPFC neurons frequently showed a different CMI pattern with an effect of cross-modal enhancement best evoked in information-congruent multisensory trials. In a choice free task, however, the majority of neurons failed to show a cross-modal enhancement effect and cue preference. These results indicate that CMI at the neuronal level is context-dependent in a way that differs from what has been shown in previous studies.

Quick Consult: Quick Consult: Acromioplasty

2002 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 4-5
Keyword(s):  
Glasgow Coma Scale ◽  
Outcome Assessment ◽  
High Probability ◽  
Vegetative State ◽  
Behavioral Impairment ◽  
Whole Person ◽  
Ordinal Scales ◽  
Probability Of Death ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Assessment Scales

Abstract Different jurisdictions use the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides) for different purposes, and this article reviews a specific jurisdictional definition in the Province of Ontario of catastrophic impairment that incorporates the AMA Guides. In Ontario, a whole person impairment (WPI) exceeding 54% or a mental or behavioral impairment of Class 4 or 5 qualifies the individual for catastrophic benefits, and individuals who do not meet the test receive a lesser benefit. By inference, this establishes a parity threshold among dissimilar injuries and dissimilar outcome assessment scales for benefits. In Ontario, the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) identifies patients who have a high probability of death or of severely disabled survival. The GCS recognizes gradations of vegetative state and disability, but translating the gradations for rating individual impairment on ordinal scales into a method of assessing percentage impairments cannot be done reliably, as explained in the AMA Guides, Fifth Edition. The AMA Guides also notes that mental and behavioral impairment in Class 4 (marked impairment) or 5 (extreme impairment) indicates “catastrophic impairment” by significantly impeding useful functioning (Class 4) or significantly impeding useful functioning and implying complete dependency on another person for care (Class 5). Translating the AMA Guides guidelines into ordinal scales cannot be done reliably.

Forming Impressions of Personality

2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 153-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanne Nauts ◽  
Oliver Langner ◽  
Inge Huijsmans ◽  
Roos Vonk ◽  
Daniël H. J. Wigboldus
Keyword(s):  
Impression Formation ◽  
Context Dependent

Asch’s seminal research on “Forming Impressions of Personality” (1946) has widely been cited as providing evidence for a primacy-of-warmth effect, suggesting that warmth-related judgments have a stronger influence on impressions of personality than competence-related judgments (e.g., Fiske, Cuddy, & Glick, 2007 ; Wojciszke, 2005 ). Because this effect does not fit with Asch’s Gestalt-view on impression formation and does not readily follow from the data presented in his original paper, the goal of the present study was to critically examine and replicate the studies of Asch’s paper that are most relevant to the primacy-of-warmth effect. We found no evidence for a primacy-of-warmth effect. Instead, the role of warmth was highly context-dependent, and competence was at least as important in shaping impressions as warmth.

The Effect of Outcome Probability on Generalization in Predictive Learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hadar Ram ◽  
Dieter Struyf ◽  
Bram Vervliet ◽  
Gal Menahem ◽  
Nira Liberman
Keyword(s):  
High Probability ◽  
Lower Probability ◽  
Perceptual Similarity ◽  
Learning Paradigm ◽  
Predictive Learning ◽  
Lightning Bolt ◽  
Outcome Probability

Abstract. People apply what they learn from experience not only to the experienced stimuli, but also to novel stimuli. But what determines how widely people generalize what they have learned? Using a predictive learning paradigm, we examined the hypothesis that a low (vs. high) probability of an outcome following a predicting stimulus would widen generalization. In three experiments, participants learned which stimulus predicted an outcome (S+) and which stimulus did not (S−) and then indicated how much they expected the outcome after each of eight novel stimuli ranging in perceptual similarity to S+ and S−. The stimuli were rings of different sizes and the outcome was a picture of a lightning bolt. As hypothesized, a lower probability of the outcome widened generalization. That is, novel stimuli that were similar to S+ (but not to S−) produced expectations for the outcome that were as high as those associated with S+.

Memorial Consequences of Environmental Context Change in Children and Adults

2010 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 455-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alp Aslan ◽  
Anuscheh Samenieh ◽  
Tobias Staudigl ◽  
Karl-Heinz T. Bäuml
Keyword(s):  
Elementary School ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Middle Childhood ◽  
First Graders ◽  
Fourth Graders ◽  
Environmental Context ◽  
Context Change ◽  
Context Dependent

Changing environmental context during encoding can influence episodic memory. This study examined the memorial consequences of environmental context change in children. Kindergartners, first and fourth graders, and young adults studied two lists of items, either in the same room (no context change) or in two different rooms (context change), and subsequently were tested on the two lists in the room in which the second list was encoded. As expected, in adults, the context change impaired recall of the first list and improved recall of the second. Whereas fourth graders showed the same pattern of results as adults, in both kindergartners and first graders no memorial effects of the context change arose. The results indicate that the two effects of environmental context change develop contemporaneously over middle childhood and reach maturity at the end of the elementary school days. The findings are discussed in light of both retrieval-based and encoding-based accounts of context-dependent memory.

Contextual Forgetting and Context Dependent Memory

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Herbert ◽  
Sharon Bertsch
Keyword(s):  
Context Dependent
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