Usage-Based Individual Differences in the Probabilistic Processing of Multi-Word Sequences

While it is widely acknowledged that both predictive expectations and retrodictive integration influence language processing, the individual differences that affect these two processes and the best metrics for observing them have yet to be fully described. The present study aims to contribute to the debate by investigating the extent to which experienced-based variables modulate the processing of word pairs (bigrams). Specifically, we investigate how age and reading experience correlate with lexical anticipation and integration, and how this effect can be captured by the metrics of forward and backward transition probability (TP). Participants read more and less strongly associated bigrams, paired in sets of four to control for known lexical covariates such as bigram frequency and semantic meaning (i.e., absolute control, total control, absolute silence, total silence) in a self-paced reading (SPR) task. They additionally completed assessments of exposure to print text (Author Recognition Test, Shipley vocabulary assessment, Words that Go Together task) and provided their age. Results show that both older age and lesser reading experience individually correlate with stronger TP effects. Moreover, TP effects differ across the spillover region (the two words following the noun in the bigram).

Speech Recognition In Hearing Aids: Used For Assessing CI Candidacy In Tonal Language Population

Objective: CI (cochlear implantation) candidacy is somewhat controversial in severe hearing loss among tonal mandarin-speaking patients. To assess the relationship between pure tone audiometry (PTA) and speech recognition score (SRS), with and without hearing aid amplification, among patients who did not meet the NIH criteria of CI candidacy in tonal language mandarian-speaking countries, especially those with severe hearing loss (70 dB HL < 4FPTA(0.5, 1, 2, 4 KHz) ≤ 90 dB HL) Materials and Methods: A total of 414 patients with sensorineural hearing loss with 774 ears were reviewed retrospectively in a tertiary referral center. The Mandarin Monosyllable Recognition Test (MMRT) was used to evaluate the SRS of these ears. Results: 31% (10/32) of the 32 ears with severe hearing loss, 70-90 dB HL, still showed poor speech recognition (SRS<30%) after hearing aid amplification, while 71% (46/65) of the 65 ears with profound hearing loss, > 90 dB HL, showed poor speech recognition with hearing aid amplification. Conclusions: The speech audiometry with Mandarin Monosyllable Recognition Test (MMRT) helped identify those patients whose 4FPTA< 90 dB HL fell outside the CI candidacy criteria of NIH in tonal language mandarin-speaking countries but showed significantly poor (SRS< 30%) speech recognition performance.

The Effects of Retrieval Practice Across Levels of Thinking and Retention Interval on Reading Comprehension

The present study examined the effect of different types of retrieval practice on reading comprehension across levels of thinking and retention interval in a classroom setting. One hundred undergraduates divided into two retention interval groups (short- and long-retention interval) were asked to read a passage on a topic in Cognitive Psychology and were then required to engage in a retrieval practice learning strategy using the two types of question format (production test and recognition test) and different levels of thinking (lower-order thinking and higher-order thinking). A three-way mixed ANOVA statistical test was used to analyse the data and found no significant differences in reading comprehension across the different types of retrieval practice, suggesting that the performance when using the recognition test is equivalent to when using the production test. The difference in reading comprehension between the different types of retention interval also was not observed, indicating that students in the short-retention interval group retained just as much information as those in the long-retention interval group. Additionally, the present study observed a significant difference in students’ reading comprehension between different levels of thinking, signifying that the students’ performance for the lower-level thinking questions was better than that for the higher-level thinking questions. The present finding contributed to the existing body of knowledge in which it suggested that the performance in reading comprehension when using a recognition test, particularly a well-constructed one, with competitive alternatives was equivalent to when using a production test. Keywords: Levels of thinking, Question format, Reading comprehension, Retention interval, Retrieval practice

Misinformation effects in an online sample: results of an experimental study with a five day retention interval

Traditional face-to-face laboratory studies have contributed greatly to our understanding of how misinformation effects develop. However, an area of emerging concern that has been relatively under-researched is the impact of misinformation following exposure to traumatic events that are viewed online. Here we describe a novel method for investigating misinformation effects in an online context. Participants (N = 99) completed the study online. They first watched a 10-min video of a fictional school shooting. Between 5 and 10 days later, they were randomly assigned to receive misinformation or no misinformation about the video before completing a recognition test. Misinformed participants were less accurate at discriminating between misinformation and true statements than control participants. This effect was most strongly supported by ROC analyses (Cohen’s d = 0.59, BF10 = 8.34). Misinformation effects can be established in an online experiment using candid violent viral-style video stimuli.

An Update of the Benton Facial Recognition Test

The Benton Facial Recognition Test (BFRT) is a paper-and-pen task that is traditionally used to assess face perception skills in neurological, clinical and psychiatric conditions. Despite criticisms of its stimuli, the task enjoys a simple procedure and is rapid to administer. Further, it has recently been computerised (BFRT-c), allowing reliable measurement of completion times and the need for online testing. Here, in response to calls for repeat-screening for the accurate detection of face processing deficits, we present the BFRT-Revised (BFRT-r): a new version of the BFRT-c that maintains the task’s basic paradigm, but employs new, higher quality stimuli that reflect recent theoretical advances in the field. An initial validation study with typical participants indicated that the BFRT-r has good internal reliability and content validity. A second investigation indicated that while younger and older participants had comparable accuracy, completion times were longer in the latter, highlighting the need for age-matched norms. Administration of the BFRT-r and BFRT-c to 32 individuals with developmental prosopagnosia resulted in improved sensitivity in diagnostic screening for the BFRT-r compared to the BFRT-c. These findings are discussed in relation to current diagnostic screening protocols for face perception deficits. The BFRT-r is stored in an open repository and is freely available to other researchers.

Investigating Visual Recognition of Color and Safe Driving in Color-Weak Drivers

This study examined the visual characteristics of drivers with color weakness to improve their safety while driving. Significantly affected by the traffic environment, drivers with color weakness are not able to recognize traffic lights rapidly and accurately, which endangers traffic safety. In the first part of the research, through a static visual recognition test of color vision using the orthogonal method, the study explored the influence of light intensity, visual recognition distance, and color weakness type on the perception of traffic light colors by participants with color weakness. In the second part, a dynamic visual recognition test of color vision was conducted through simulating the driving environment of urban roads. Eye movement indexes between participants with color weakness and those with normal vision were analyzed by means of different vehicle speeds and time periods. The results indicated that the type of color weakness was the dominant factor affecting visual recognition of traffic lights. The eye movements of participants with deuteranomaly were close to those of people with normal vision, whereas the eye movement index of those with protanomaly and dyserythrochloropsia were significantly different. Distraction, slower responses, and higher color recognition error rates for the traffic lights were major characteristics—all representing risks that increase at night. To reduce the probability of road traffic injury, the driving safety of people with color weakness should be addressed.

Social Cognition in Patients With Cerebellar Neurodegenerative Disorders

ObjectiveCerebellar neurodegenerative disorders (CDs) are a heterogeneous group of disorders. It is known that the cerebellum plays a role not only in motor, but also in cognitive and social cognitive functions. The aim of this study was to investigate social cognition in patients with different CDs.Materials and MethodsSocial cognition was examined in 34 patients, 12 with spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1), 6 with spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2), and 16 with idiopathic late onset cerebellar ataxia (ILOCA). All patients were clinically evaluated using the Scale for the Rating and Assessment of Ataxia. In addition, 34 age, sex, and education-matched healthy control (HC) subjects were similarly analyzed. Social cognition was studied using two tests: the Faux Pas Recognition Test and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET). An appropriate array of neuropsychological tests was used to assess the global cognitive status as well as the frontal functions and mood.ResultsCD patients achieved significantly worse results on both tests of social cognition compared to the HCs. The SCA1 + 2 group achieved the poorest results on the Faux Pas Recognition Test and exhibited poor performance on all cognitive tests, but was only significantly worse compared to the ILOCA group on the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT) – recognition. The patients in the SCA1 + 2 and ILOCA groups obtained similar scores on RMET. In the SCA1 + 2 group the findings significantly correlated with clinical parameters of disease severity and duration and executive functions (EFs), and with mood and executive functions in the ILOCA group. In the SCA group EFs appeared as the only significant predictor of RMET achievement. The Boston Naming Test (BTN) was a significant predictor of the CD patients’ achievement on RMET, while the BTN, the Trail Making Test Part A and FCSRT – Delayed free recall predicted their performance on the Faux Pas Recognition Test.ConclusionPatients with CD have social cognitive impairments as demonstrated by the Faux Pas Test and the RMET test results. The SCA1 and 2 patients exhibited a more pronounced impairment compared with the ILOCA patients. The independent cognitive predictors of social cognition impairment were EFs and language.