Encoding-specificity instead of online integration of real-world spatial regularities for objects in working memory

In daily life scenarios, most objects are not independent of each other; rather, they show a high degree of spatial regularity (e.g., beach umbrellas appear above beach chairs, not under them). Previous studies have shown a benefit of spatial regularities in visual working memory (VWM) performance of real-world objects, termed the spatial regularity effect. However, the mechanisms underlying this effect remain unclear. The spatial regularity effect can be explained by an “encoding-specificity” hypothesis or a “perception-alike” hypothesis. The former suggests that spatial regularity will enhance the visual encoding process but will not operate in information integration during VWM maintenance, while the latter suggests that spatial regularity will play a role in both the visual encoding and VWM maintenance processes. We tested these two hypotheses by investigating whether VWM integrates sequentially presented real-world objects by focusing on the existence of the spatial regularity effect. In Experiment 1, we manipulated the presentation (simultaneous vs. sequential) and regularity (with vs. without regularity) of memory arrays among pairs of real-world objects. The spatial regularity of memory objects improved the VWM performance in simultaneous presentation trials, but not in sequential presentation trials. In Experiment 2, we examined whether overburdened memory load hindered the spatial regularity effect in sequential presentation trials. We again found an absence of the spatial regularity effect, regardless of the memory load. These results suggest that participants were unable to integrate real-world objects into pairs based on spatial regularity during the VWM maintenance process. Therefore, the present results support the “encoding-specificity” hypothesis, implying that although the spatial regularity of real-world objects can enhance the efficiency of the encoding process in VWM, VWM cannot exploit spatial regularity to help organize sampled sequential information into meaningful groups.

Ethnic minorities in the southern territories of the country: problems of the formation of Laz in the conditions of the Soviet period (1918–1950s)

The proposed article, based on new archival documents identified in the archives of the Russian Academy of Sciences, with the involvement of researchers in the history of ethnic minorities on the territory of the USSR, Russia, reveals the role and place of the Laz ethnic minority in the south within Abkhazia and Georgia. Laz, as an ethnic minority, have undergone all those difficulties of transformation, including negative ones. Destructive measures were taken against them by the Government of the USSR – forced resettlement, deportation. Mohamed Vanlishi, Laz by nationality, being a member of the government of the Adjarian ASSR, minister, writer, sent a letter to L. Be-ria, the content of which touched Beria's feelings. The Lazes were returned from the special resettlement to their own homes. This side of the life of the ethnic minority of Georgia – Laz was reflected in the documents of "Stalin's special folder" The publication mentions many of the current representatives of the Laz in different periods of the his-tory of Georgia and Abkhazia and ethnic minorities living on their territory. The life of the Laz was also influenced by the policy carried out in Georgia to implement the "crys-tallization of society", pursuing the formation of statehood with one ethnic community, one culture. Introduction. The development of the problem itself in the scientific works of the author and other researchers is briefly stated. This is also a kind of reaction to complaints from the Laz themselves that the history of the ethnic minority is not being paid enough attention to. Little is known in the historiography of the Laz and their leaders, who led various kinds of movements for freedom and justice, the solution of social problems in society, the involvement of the Laz in party and state building. The content of punitive measures taken against Laz is partially revealed, the reasons and possibilities to overcome the built system in relations between the state and society, ethnic minorities are shown. Methods. The content of the article is based on different research methods. First of all, the method of historicism, a sequential presentation of the series of events that charac-terize the content of historical events, their relationship with accompanying events. It is also important to use the prosopographic method of presenting material about the main political figure of the Laz, representatives of the highest authorities. By using the narrative method, the ethnic community of the Laz is more widely represented and its participation in solving many issues in national state policy, the interaction of the ethnic community itself in the system of interethnic ties. The use of the information method is of particular value for building up an event series. This method is also quite applicable to the analysis of national processes taking place in the region where the Laz live. In the presentation of the article, the method of comparative historical analysis was also ap-plied. Results. This article was based primarily on archival documents about the holes, identi-fied in the archives of the Russian Academy of Sciences. This allowed a broader charac-terization of the Laz as an ethnic minority. Along with the well-known materials, show the settlement of Laz in the territory of the regions of residence. The documents of the archive make it possible to reveal the role and place of the Section for the Study of the National Question created in the structure of the Communist Academy. The forms and methods of work in the Communist Academy in the study of the history of the national question and ethnic minorities have been clarified.

EXPRESS: Instrumental learning in social interactions: trait learning from faces and voices

Recent research suggests that reinforcement learning may underlie trait formation in social interactions with faces (Hackel, Doll, & Amodio, 2015; Hackel, Mende-Siedlecki, & Amodio, 2020). The current study investigated whether the same learning mechanisms could be engaged for trait learning from voices. On each trial of a training phase, participants (N = 192) chose from pairs of human or slot machine targets that varied in the 1) reward value and 2) generosity of their payouts. Targets were either auditory (voices or tones; Experiment 1) or visual (faces or icons; Experiment 2), and were presented sequentially before payout feedback. A test phase measured participant choice behaviour, and a post-test recorded their target preference ratings. For auditory targets, we found no effect of reward or generosity on target choices, but saw higher preference ratings for generous humans and slot machines. For visual targets, participants learned about both generosity and reward, but generosity was prioritised in the human condition. These findings demonstrate that (1) reinforcement learning of trait information with visual stimuli remains intact even when sequential presentation introduces a delay in feedback and (2) learning about traits and reward in such paradigms is weakened when auditory stimuli are used.

Improving Soccer Knowledge From Computerized Game Diagrams: Benefits of Sequential Instructional Arrows

In this study, we used Cognitive Load Theory to examine the role of a sequential versus simultaneous presentation technique for learning tactical skills from computerized diagrams of soccer scenes with two levels of complexity. Young soccer players learned the evolution of soccer game systems from computer-based diagrams with three types of instructional arrows: simultaneous, sequential-without-tracing, and sequential-with-tracing. We randomly assigned participants to one of six experimental conditions (three arrow presentation methods by two levels of soccer scene complexity) and asked them to rate their invested mental efforts, complete a recall-reconstruction test, and indicate their attitudes, immediately after the learning phase. When diagram content complexity was low, the three types of arrow presentations had similar learning effects. However, when diagram content complexity was high, the two sequential means of presenting instructional arrows produced better learning outcomes (with a clear relative advantage for the sequential-with-tracing presentation). We also found that the sequential presentation of arrows elicited more positive player attitudes whatever the level of content complexity. Considering the better learning outcomes and improved player attitudes from sequential diagram presentations, soccer coaches should present computer-based instructional diagram arrows sequentially, rather than simultaneously. A sequential-with-tracing arrow presentation was particularly beneficial for learning complex team sport scenes.

Uncovering the Role of Different Instructional Designs When Learning Tactical Scenes of Play through Dynamic Visualizations: A Systematic Review

Dynamic visualizations such as videos or animations have been developed to exchange information that transforms over time across a broad range of professional/academic contexts. However, such visual tools may impose substantial demands on the learner’s cognitive resources that are very limited in current knowledge. Cognitive load theory has been used to improve learning from dynamic visualizations by providing different instructional designs to manage learner cognitive load. This paper reviews a series of experimental studies assessing the effects of certain instructional designs on learning of tactical scenes of play through dynamic visualizations. An electronic database search was performed on the Web of Science and PubMed/Medline databases from inception to July 2020 using a combination of relevant keywords. Manual searches were also made. The search was limited to English language. A total of 515 records were screened by two researchers using the Population/Intervention/Comparison/Outcome(s) (PICO) criteria. The quality and validity of the included studies were assessed using “QualSyst”. Learning indicators in students and/or players (male and female) at any age category and competitive level were considered. Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria for this review, which focused on the effects of four instructional designs (i.e., using static visualizations, employing sequential presentation, applying segmentation, and decreasing presentation speed) on learning various game systems through dynamic visualizations. These studies indicate that (i) the effectiveness of all instructional designs depend upon the level of learners’ expertise when learning soccer/Australian football scenes through animations/videos, (ii) the effectiveness of using static visualizations instead of animations/videos showing soccer/basketball scenes depend upon the type of the depicted knowledge (i.e., motor knowledge or descriptive knowledge) for novice learners, (iii) the effectiveness of employing static visualizations and decreasing presentation speed when learning soccer/basketball scenes from animations/videos depend upon the level of content complexity, for novice learners. The current review demonstrated important practical implications for both coaches and physical education teachers using either animations and/or videos to communicate game systems. Indeed, findings suggested that adapting instructional designs to the level of learners’ expertise, type of depicted knowledge, and level of content complexity is a crucial part of effective tactical learning from dynamic visualizations.

Assessing the Impact of Sequential Data Presentation on Specific Learning Disabilities Identification Decisions Using Patterns of Strengths and Weaknesses Methods

Patterns of strengths and weaknesses represent relatively novel methods for identifying specific learning disabilities (SLD) with proponents asserting that the incorporation of multiple sources of assessment data and professional judgment play a key role in their utility. In this study, we examined if the sequential presentation of assessment data impacted school psychologists’ ratings as to whether or not hypothetical students depicted in special education evaluation vignettes should be identified with SLD. Results showed that when participants viewed vignettes that were indicative of SLD (i.e., SLD positive), SLD likelihood ratings increased with the additional presentation of assessment data sources over time. However, when participants viewed vignettes that were indicative of a student not having SLD (i.e., SLD negative), SLD likelihood ratings were relatively consistent over time. Moreover, participants demonstrated relatively high levels of confidence in their SLD identification decisions, and in SLD negative vignettes, confidence increased after the fourth assessment data source was presented. Implications for SLD identification are discussed.

EPS mid-career prize 2018: Inference within episodic memory reflects pattern completion

Recollection of episodic memories is a process of reconstruction where coherent events are inferred from subsets of remembered associations. Here, we investigated the formation of multielement events from sequential presentation of overlapping pairs of elements (people, places, and objects/animals), interleaved with pairs from other events. Retrievals of paired associations from a fully observed event (e.g., AB, BC, AC) were statistically dependent, indicating a process of pattern completion, but retrievals from a partially observed event (e.g., AB, BC, CD) were not. However, inference for unseen “indirect” associations (i.e., AC, BD or AD) from a partially observed event showed strong dependency with each other and with linking direct associations from that event. In addition, inference of indirect associations correlated with the product of performance on the linking direct associations across events (e.g., AC with ABxBC) but not on the non-linking association (e.g., AC with CD). These results were seen across three experiments, with greater differences in dependency between indirect and direct associations when they were separately tested, but similar results following single and repeated presentations of the direct associations. The results could be accounted for by a simple auto-associative network model of hippocampal memory function. Our findings suggest that pattern completion supports recollection of fully observed multielement events and the inference of indirect associations in partly observed multielement events, mediated via the directly observed linking associations (although the direct associations themselves were retrieved independently). Together with previous work, our results suggest that associative inference plays a key role in reconstructive episodic memory and does so through hippocampal pattern completion.

Probability analysis of sequential SCFE (PASS score)

Purpose The study aimed to develop a scoring system based on clinical and radiological findings to predict the risk of a sequential slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE). Methods Paediatric patients with unilateral SCFE and at least two years of radiographic follow-up were screened for inclusion. Medical records were reviewed for multiple variables including age, gender, body mass index (BMI), stability of SCFE, and time to sequential presentation. Radiographic analysis included triradiate physeal status, Risser staging, superior epiphyseal extension ratio (EER), posterior epiphyseal angle (PEA), posterior sloping angle (PSA) and slip severity. Results In total, 163 patients (88 male, 54%, 75 female, 46%) met inclusion criteria. Of those, 65 (40%) with a mean age of 11.9 ± 1.3 years developed sequential SCFE at a mean of 9.8 ± 6.4 months after the initial slip. Eight independent variables were statistically different (p < 0.05) between unilateral and sequential groups. Following multivariate analysis, Risser stage and triradiate status were no longer significant and did not influence the strength of the final model (overall area under the curve (AUC) = 0.954) and were consequently excluded. We developed the PASS score using three radiographic parameters using chosen cut-off values that were close to their maximized value and weighted the point value assigned to each parameter based on the strength of predictor. Conclusion A PASS score of three or higher predicts a high probability of sequential SCFE with 95% confidence and may warrant prophylactic screw fixation. PASS score calculation can be used to predict a sequential SCFE and provide an objective method to determine the utility prophylactic screw fixation. Level of Evidence II

The Asymmetric Mixed-Category Advantage in Visual Working Memory: An Attentional, Not Perceptual (Face-Specific) Account

The mixed-category advantage in visual working memory refers to improved memory for an image in a display containing two different categories relative to a display containing only one category (Cohen et al., 2014). Jiang et al. (2016) found that this advantage characterizes mainly faces and suggested that face-only displays suffer from enhanced interference due to the unique configural nature of faces. Faces, however, possess social and emotional significance that may bias attention toward them in mixed-category displays at the expense of their counterpart category. Consequently, the counterpart category may suffer from little/no advantage, or even an inversed effect. Using a change-detection task, we showed that a category that demonstrated a mixed-category disadvantage when paired with faces, demonstrated a mixed-category advantage when paired with other non-facial categories. Furthermore, manipulating the likelihood of testing a specific category (i.e., changing its task-relevance) in mixed-category trials, altered its advantaged/disadvantaged status, suggesting that the effect may be mediated by attention. Finally, to control for perceptual exposure factors, a sequential presentation experimental version was conducted. Whereas faces showed a typical mixed-category advantage, this pattern was again modulated (yielding an advantage for a non-facial category) when inserting a task-relevance manipulation. Taken together, our findings support a central resource allocation account, according to which the asymmetric mixed-category effect likely stems from an attentional bias to one of the two categories. This attentional bias is not necessarily spatial in its nature, and it presumably affects processing stages subsequent to the initial perceptual encoding phase in working memory.