Categorical judgments do not modify sensory representations in working memory

Categorical judgments can systematically bias the perceptual interpretation of stimulus features. However, it remained unclear whether categorical judgments directly modify working memory representations or, alternatively, generate these biases via an inference process down-stream from working memory. To address this question we ran two novel psychophysical experiments in which human subjects had to reverse their categorical judgments about a stimulus feature, if incorrect, before providing an estimate of the feature. If categorical judgments indeed directly altered sensory representations in working memory, subjects’ estimates should reflect some aspects of their initial (incorrect) categorical judgment in those trials. We found no traces of the initial categorical judgment. Rather, subjects seemed to be able to flexibly switch their categorical judgment if needed and use the correct corresponding categorical prior to properly perform feature inference. A cross-validated model comparison also revealed that feedback may lead to selective memory recall such that only memory samples that are consistent with the categorical judgment are accepted for the inference process. Our results suggest that categorical judgments do not modify sensory information in working memory but rather act as top-down expectations in the subsequent sensory recall and inference process.     

Do Simultaneously Viewed Objects Influence Scene Recognition Individually or as Groups? Two Perceptual Studies

The ability to quickly categorize visual scenes is critical to daily life, allowing us to identify our whereabouts and to navigate from one place to another. Rapid scene categorization relies heavily on the kinds of objects scenes contain; for instance, studies have shown that recognition is less accurate for scenes to which incongruent objects have been added, an effect usually interpreted as evidence of objects'' general capacity to activate semantic networks for scene categories they are statistically associated with. Essentially all real-world scenes contain multiple objects, however, and it is unclear whether scene recognition draws on the scene associations of individual objects or of object groups. To test the hypothesis that scene recognition is steered, at least in part, by associations between object groups and scene categories, we asked observers to categorize briefly-viewed scenes appearing with object pairs that were semantically consistent or inconsistent with the scenes. In line with previous results, scenes were less accurately recognized when viewed with inconsistent versus consistent pairs. To understand whether this reflected individual or group-level object associations, we compared the impact of pairs composed of mutually related versus unrelated objects; i.e., pairs, which, as groups, had clear associations to particular scene categories versus those that did not. Although related and unrelated object pairs equally reduced scene recognition accuracy, unrelated pairs were consistently less capable of drawing erroneous scene judgments towards scene categories associated with their individual objects. This suggests that scene judgments were influenced by the scene associations of object groups, beyond the influence of individual objects. More generally, the fact that unrelated objects were as capable of degrading categorization accuracy as related objects, while less capable of generating specific alternative judgments, indicates that the process by which objects interfere with scene recognition is separate from the one through which they inform it.     

Knowing Right From Wrong In Mental Arithmetic Judgments: Calibration Of Confidence Predicts The Development Of Accuracy

Does knowing when mental arithmetic judgments are right—and when they are wrong—lead to more accurate judgments over time? We hypothesize that the successful detection of errors (and avoidance of false alarms) may contribute to the development of mental arithmetic performance. Insight into error detection abilities can be gained by examining the “calibration” of mental arithmetic judgments—that is, the alignment between confidence in judgments and the accuracy of those judgments. Calibration may be viewed as a measure of metacognitive monitoring ability. We conducted a developmental longitudinal investigation of the relationship between the calibration of children''s mental arithmetic judgments and their performance on a mental arithmetic task. Annually between Grades 5 and 8, children completed a problem verification task in which they rapidly judged the accuracy of arithmetic expressions (e.g., 25+50 = 75) and rated their confidence in each judgment. Results showed that calibration was strongly related to concurrent mental arithmetic performance, that calibration continued to develop even as mental arithmetic accuracy approached ceiling, that poor calibration distinguished children with mathematics learning disability from both low and typically achieving children, and that better calibration in Grade 5 predicted larger gains in mental arithmetic accuracy between Grades 5 and 8. We propose that good calibration supports the implementation of cognitive control, leading to long-term improvement in mental arithmetic accuracy. Because mental arithmetic “fluency” is critical for higher-level mathematics competence, calibration of confidence in mental arithmetic judgments may represent a novel and important developmental predictor of future mathematics performance.     

Time Perception and Depressive Realism: Judgment Type,Psychophysical Functions and Bias

The effect of mild depression on time estimation and production was investigated. Participants made both magnitude estimation and magnitude production judgments for five time intervals (specified in seconds) from 3 sec to 65 sec. The parameters of the best fitting psychophysical function (power law exponent, intercept, and threshold) were determined individually for each participant in every condition. There were no significant effects of mood (high BDI, low BDI) or judgment (estimation, production) on the mean exponent, n = .98, 95% confidence interval (.96–1.04) or on the threshold. However, the intercept showed a ‘depressive realism’ effect, where high BDI participants had a smaller deviation from accuracy and a smaller difference between estimation and judgment than low BDI participants. Accuracy bias was assessed using three measures of accuracy: difference, defined as psychological time minus physical time, ratio, defined as psychological time divided by physical time, and a new logarithmic accuracy measure defined as ln (ratio). The ln (ratio) measure was shown to have approximately normal residuals when subjected to a mixed ANOVA with mood as a between groups explanatory factor and judgment and time category as repeated measures explanatory factors. The residuals of the other two accuracy measures flagrantly violated normality. The mixed ANOVAs of accuracy also showed a strong depressive realism effect, just like the intercepts of the psychophysical functions. There was also a strong negative correlation between estimation and production judgments. Taken together these findings support a clock model of time estimation, combined with additional cognitive mechanisms to account for the depressive realism effect. The findings also suggest strong methodological recommendations.     

Instruments of Judgment: Inscribing Organic Processes in Late Eighteenth-Century Germany

The paper argues for the importance to Kant's critique of judgment of epistemological reflections upon the problematics of experimentation on organic processes. It examines the investigations of generation by Wolff and Blumenbach, demonstrating how their experimental practices mediated reflectively between organic phenomena and their conceptualisation, acting as instruments of their judgments of these processes. It then reads Kant's ‘Kritik der teleologischen Urteilskraft’ in light of these experimental investigations, arguing that Kant highlights how the problematic relation between organic phenomena and their conceptualisation manifested in such investigations is opened up as a space for reflection, thus making this act of judgment conscious. The relation between Kant's critiques of judgment in his first and third critiques are then discussed, and it is argued that the reflective character of judgment highlighted in the judgment of organic processes draws into focus the problematic aspects of all judgments of natural phenomena, by making conscious the synthetic process of judgment effected by unconscious acts of the imagination in the first critique. Finally, the paper examines Humboldt's galvanic experiments, showing how they were informed by Kant's critical philosophy, but also how they contributed to the blurring of the boundaries between the judgment of organic and inorganic processes. Thus it is claimed that the reflections upon judgment in the Kritik der Urteilskraft problematized rather than clarified Kant's treatment of judgment in the first critique.     

Association of the DYX1C1 Dyslexia Susceptibility Gene with Orthography in the Chinese Population

Several independent studies have supported the association of DYX1C1 with dyslexia, but its role in general reading development remains unclear. Here, we investigated the contribution of this gene to reading, with a focus on orthographic skills, in a sample of 284 unrelated Chinese children aged 5 to 11 years who were participating in the Chinese Longitudinal Study of Reading Development. We tested this association using a quantitative approach for Chinese character reading, Chinese character dictation, orthographic judgment, and visual skills. Significant or marginally significant associations were observed at the marker rs11629841 with children''s orthographic judgments at ages 7 and 8 years (all P values<0.020). Significant associations with Chinese character dictation (all P values<0.013) were also observed for this single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at ages 9, 10, and 11 years. Further analyses revealed that the association with orthographic skills was specific to the processing of specific components of characters (P values<0.046). No association was found at either SNP of rs3743205 or rs57809907. Our findings suggest that DYX1C1 influences reading development in the general Chinese population and supports a universal effect of this gene.     

Implicit and Explicit Representations of Hand Position in Tool Use

Understanding the interactions of visual and proprioceptive information in tool use is important as it is the basis for learning of the tool''s kinematic transformation and thus skilled performance. This study investigated how the CNS combines seen cursor positions and felt hand positions under a visuo-motor rotation paradigm. Young and older adult participants performed aiming movements on a digitizer while looking at rotated visual feedback on a monitor. After each movement, they judged either the proprioceptively sensed hand direction or the visually sensed cursor direction. We identified asymmetric mutual biases with a strong visual dominance. Furthermore, we found a number of differences between explicit and implicit judgments of hand directions. The explicit judgments had considerably larger variability than the implicit judgments. The bias toward the cursor direction for the explicit judgments was about twice as strong as for the implicit judgments. The individual biases of explicit and implicit judgments were uncorrelated. Biases of these judgments exhibited opposite sequential effects. Moreover, age-related changes were also different between these judgments. The judgment variability was decreased and the bias toward the cursor direction was increased with increasing age only for the explicit judgments. These results indicate distinct explicit and implicit neural representations of hand direction, similar to the notion of distinct visual systems.     

The Influence of Contextual Cues in Judgment Formation: An Ecologically Valid Test

An ecologically valid experiment investigated the propositions that (a) people’s judgments are influenced by contextual cues, (b) that they are often unaware that those cues influenced them, and (c) that even when they know the cues should influence them, they do not readily incorporate those cues into their judgment formation. After participating in a realistic simulation of a shopping experience, 405 consumers made judgments about whether the product they examined contained fresh or preserved grapefruit sections. Our findings show that despite being aware that contextual cues (such as the location within a store where the product is sold, the type of container it is sold in, and whether the container is chilled or not) generally influence the judgment at hand, people generally fail to realize that their specific judgments were influenced at all. These findings replicate prior studies, thereby extending the generalizability and robustness of prior research.     

Predictive Models to Determine Imagery Strategies Employed by Children to Judge Hand Laterality

A commonly used paradigm to study motor imagery is the hand laterality judgment task. The present study aimed to determine which strategies young children employ to successfully perform this task. Children of 5 to 8 years old (N = 92) judged laterality of back and palm view hand pictures in different rotation angles. Response accuracy and response duration were registered. Response durations of the trials with a correct judgment were fitted to a-priori defined predictive sinusoid models, representing different strategies to successfully perform the hand laterality judgment task. The first model predicted systematic changes in response duration as a function of rotation angle of the displayed hand. The second model predicted that response durations are affected by biomechanical constraints of hand rotation. If observed data could be best described by the first model, this would argue for a mental imagery strategy that does not involve motor processes to solve the task. The second model reflects a motor imagery strategy to solve the task. In line with previous research, we showed an age-related increase in response accuracy and decrease in response duration in children. Observed data for both back and palm view showed that motor imagery strategies were used to perform hand laterality judgments, but that not all the children use these strategies (appropriately) at all times. A direct comparison of response duration patterns across age sheds new light on age-related differences in the strategies employed to solve the task. Importantly, the employment of the motor imagery strategy for successful task performance did not change with age.     

Neural correlates of visual aesthetics--beauty as the coalescence of stimulus and internal state

How do external stimuli and our internal state coalesce to create the distinctive aesthetic pleasures that give vibrance to human experience? Neuroaesthetics has so far focused on the neural correlates of observing beautiful stimuli compared to neutral or ugly stimuli, or on neural correlates of judging for beauty as opposed to other judgments. Our group questioned whether this approach is sufficient. In our view, a brain region that assesses beauty should show beauty-level-dependent activation during the beauty judgment task, but not during other, unrelated tasks. We therefore performed an fMRI experiment in which subjects judged visual textures for beauty, naturalness and roughness. Our focus was on finding brain activation related to the rated beauty level of the stimuli, which would take place exclusively during the beauty judgment. An initial whole-brain analysis did not reveal such interactions, yet a number of the regions showing main effects of the judgment task or the beauty level of stimuli were selectively sensitive to beauty level during the beauty task. Of the regions that were more active during beauty judgments than roughness judgments, the frontomedian cortex and the amygdala demonstrated the hypothesized interaction effect, while the posterior cingulate cortex did not. The latter region, which only showed a task effect, may play a supporting role in beauty assessments, such as attending to one''s internal state rather than the external world. Most of the regions showing interaction effects of judgment and beauty level correspond to regions that have previously been implicated in aesthetics using different stimulus classes, but based on either task or beauty effects alone. The fact that we have now shown that task-stimulus interactions are also present during the aesthetic judgment of visual textures implies that these areas form a network that is specifically devoted to aesthetic assessment, irrespective of the stimulus type.     

Children Use Statistics and Semantics in the Retreat from Overgeneralization

How do children learn to restrict their productivity and avoid ungrammatical utterances? The present study addresses this question by examining why some verbs are used with un- prefixation (e.g., unwrap) and others are not (e.g., *unsqueeze). Experiment 1 used a priming methodology to examine children''s (3–4; 5–6) grammatical restrictions on verbal un- prefixation. To elicit production of un-prefixed verbs, test trials were preceded by a prime sentence, which described reversal actions with grammatical un- prefixed verbs (e.g., Marge folded her arms and then she unfolded them). Children then completed target sentences by describing cartoon reversal actions corresponding to (potentially) un- prefixed verbs. The younger age-group''s production probability of verbs in un- form was negatively related to the frequency of the target verb in bare form (e.g., squeez/e/ed/es/ing), while the production probability of verbs in un- form for both age groups was negatively predicted by the frequency of synonyms to a verb''s un- form (e.g., release/*unsqueeze). In Experiment 2, the same children rated the grammaticality of all verbs in un- form. The older age-group''s grammaticality judgments were (a) positively predicted by the extent to which each verb was semantically consistent with a semantic “cryptotype” of meanings - where “cryptotype” refers to a covert category of overlapping, probabilistic meanings that are difficult to access - hypothesised to be shared by verbs which take un-, and (b) negatively predicted by the frequency of synonyms to a verb''s un- form. Taken together, these experiments demonstrate that children as young as 4;0 employ pre-emption and entrenchment to restrict generalizations, and that use of a semantic cryptotype to guide judgments of overgeneralizations is also evident by age 6;0. Thus, even early developmental accounts of children''s restriction of productivity must encompass a mechanism in which a verb''s semantic and statistical properties interact.     

Sample Optimization for Five Plant-Parasitic Nematodes in an Alfalfa Field

A data base representing nematode counts and soil weight from 1,936 individual soil cores taken from a 7-ha alfalfa field was used to investigate sample optimization for five plant-parasitic nematodes: Meloidogyne arenaria, Pratylenchus minyus, Merlinius brevidens, Helicotylenchus digonicus, and Paratrichodorus minor. Sample plans were evaluated by the accuracy and reliability of their estimation of the population and by the cost of collecting, processing, and counting the samples. Interactive FORTRAN programs were constructed to simulate four collecting patterns: random; division of the field into square sub-units (cells); and division of the field into rectangular sub-traits (strips) running in two directions. Depending on the pattern, sample numbers varied from 1 to 25 with each sample representing from 1 to 50 cores. Each pattern, sample, and core combination was replicated 50 times. Strip stratification north/south was the most optimal sampling pattern in this field because it isolated a streak of fine-textured soil. The mathematical optimmn was not found because of data range limitations. When practical economic time constraints (5 hr to collect, process, and count nematode samples) are placed on the optimization process, all species estimates deviate no more than 25 % from the true mean. If accuracy constraints are placed on the process (no more than 15% deviation from true field mean), all species except Merlinius required less than 5 hr to complete the sample process.     

Action Possibility Judgments of People with Varying Motor Abilities Due to Spinal Cord Injury

Predictions about one''s own action capabilities as well as the action capabilities of others are thought to be based on a simulation process involving linked perceptual and motor networks. Given the central role of motor experience in the formation of these networks, one''s present motor capabilities are thought to be the basis of their perceptual judgments about actions. However, it remains unknown whether the ability to form these action possibility judgments is affected by performance related changes in the motor system. To determine if judgments of action capabilities are affected by long-term changes in one''s own motor capabilities, participants with different degrees of upper-limb function due to their level (cervical vs. below cervical) of spinal cord injury (SCI) were tested on a perceptual-motor judgment task. Participants observed apparent motion videos of reciprocal aiming movements with varying levels of difficulty. For each movement, participants determined the shortest movement time (MT) at which they themselves and a young adult could perform the task while maintaining accuracy. Participants also performed the task. Analyses of MTs revealed that perceptual judgments for participant''s own movement capabilities were consistent with their actual performance- people with cervical SCI had longer judged and actual MTs than people with below cervical SCI. However, there were no between-group differences in judged MTs for the young adult. Although it is unclear how the judgments were adjusted (altered simulation vs. threshold modification), the data reveal that people with different motor capabilities due to SCI are not completely biased by their present capabilities and can effectively adjust their judgments to estimate the actions of others.     

A sharp eye for her SOI: perception and misperception of female sociosexuality at zero acquaintance

Two studies supported the hypothesis that female sociosexuality can be accurately detected by strangers based on thin slices of observable behavior. Twenty-four female participants, whose sexual strategies ranged from highly restricted to highly unrestricted, were video taped while interacting with a male confederate. In Study 1, raters' judgments of the women's sociosexuality were highly correlated with the women's self-reported sociosexuality. Study 2 replicated this finding and identified specific cues perceivers used to make their judgments. We identified (1) Valid cues (e.g., eyebrow flashes, glances at the confederate), which were associated with both targets' actual sociosexuality and raters' perceptions of sociosexuality; (2) Poor cues (e.g., hand gestures, posture), which were not correlated with actual or perceived sociosexuality; and (3) Misleading cues (e.g., provocativeness of dress, physical attractiveness), which were not associated with actual sociosexuality, but were correlated with perceptions of sociosexuality. Statistically controlling for valid cues (but not poor cues or misleading cues) reduced the relationship between perceived and actual sociosexuality, suggesting that perceiving these traits may partially account for perceiver accuracy. The accurate detection of traits in others may play an important role in helping people respond adaptively to important social threats and opportunities.     

Lack of Evidence for Energetic Costs of Mate-Guarding in Wild Male Assamese Macaques (Macaca assamensis)

Mate-guarding is a widespread and efficient male strategy for increasing paternity success. The inability to guard entire female receptive phases or complete lack of mate-guarding has been explained by energetic constraints posed on males. The energetic costs per unit time a male can afford to suffer are thought to be lowest in year-round breeding species in marginal habitats and highest in seasonally breeding species in rich habitats. Here we test the prediction that mate-guarding is energetically costly in seasonal breeders in marginal habitats. We observed all males in one group of wild Assamese macaques (Macaca assamensis) for two 4-mo mating seasons and recorded activity and travel paths via focal animal sampling, physical condition via visual inspection, and collected feces for analysis of glucocorticoid levels. Generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) analyses did not reveal an effect of mate-guarding on time spent feeding or moving or on distance traveled, travel speed, directedness of travel, or glucocorticoid levels. This lack of mate-guarding costs was consistent with the lack of a relationship between individual time spent mate-guarding and change in physical condition over the mating season. Within the limitations of our study the results do not support the idea that seasonally breeding males in marginal habitats face energetic costs of mate-guarding. With others we suggest instead that though these costs may be found in species where strength, size, and mass predict rank, mating, and reproductive success, males may not engage in costly mate-guarding in species such as Assamese macaques where also smaller, weaker males may attain high social status via political coalitions or other routes alternative to direct contest over guarded females.     

Coevolution of visual signals and eye morphology in Polistes paper wasps

To be effective, signals must propagate through the environment and be detected by receivers. As a result, signal form evolves in response to both the constraints imposed by the transmission environment and receiver perceptual abilities. Little work has examined the extent to which signals may act as selective forces on receiver sensory systems to improve the efficacy of communication. If receivers benefit from accurate signal assessment, selection could favour sensory organs that improve discrimination of established signals. Here, we provide evidence that visual resolution coevolves with visual signals in Polistes wasps. Multiple Polistes species have variable facial patterns that function as social signals, whereas other species lack visual signals. Analysis of 19 Polistes species shows that maximum eye facet size is positively associated with both eye size and presence of visual signals. Relatively larger facets within the eye''s acute zone improve resolution of small images, such as wasp facial signals. Therefore, sensory systems may evolve to optimize signal assessment. Sensory adaptations to facilitate signal detection may represent an overlooked area of the evolution of animal communication.     

Relaxation and subjective estimates of muscle tension: Implications for a central efferent theory of muscle control

The relationship of “awareness of muscle tension” to depth of relaxation was explored. In one experiment, accuracy of forearm flexor control was assessed using the psychophysical method of magnitude production, and depth of flexor relaxation was measured using the integrated EMG before and after EMG biofeedback training. No consistent relationship between motor-control accuracy and depth of relaxation was found. A second, similar experiment with frontalis showed increased accuracy of frontalis control with deeper relaxation. Accuracy of passive, verbal judgments of spontaneous frontalis tension fluctuation exhibited no clear relationship with depth of relaxation. It was concluded that forearm flexor and frontalis may be under the control of distinct mechanisms, and that afferent information probably contributes to the control of neither muscle. Three structural theories of the control mechanisms were considered, and one depending on the central monitoring of efferent outflow(rather than afferent inflow) seemed most compatible with the frontalis data. Both flexor and frontalis data could be accounted for by a two-phase scheme combining central outflow monitoring with the monitoring of mental contents for arousal value at very low muscle tension levels.     

Cross-modal interaction between visual and olfactory learning in Apis cerana

The power of the small honeybee brain carrying out behavioral and cognitive tasks has been shown repeatedly to be highly impressive. The present study investigates, for the first time, the cross-modal interaction between visual and olfactory learning in Apis cerana. To explore the role and molecular mechanisms of cross-modal learning in A. cerana, the honeybees were trained and tested in a modified Y-maze with seven visual and five olfactory stimulus, where a robust visual threshold for black/white grating (period of 2.8°–3.8°) and relatively olfactory threshold (concentration of 50–25 %) was obtained. Meanwhile, the expression levels of five genes (AcCREB, Acdop1, Acdop2, Acdop3, Actyr1) related to learning and memory were analyzed under different training conditions by real-time RT-PCR. The experimental results indicate that A. cerana could exhibit cross-modal interactions between visual and olfactory learning by reducing the threshold level of the conditioning stimuli, and that these genes may play important roles in the learning process of honeybees.     

Serotonin transporter genotype (5-HTTLPR) predicts utilitarian moral judgments

Background

The psychological and neurobiological processes underlying moral judgment have been the focus of extensive recent research. Here we show that serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR) genotype predicts responses to moral dilemmas featuring foreseen harm to an innocent.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Participants in this study judged the acceptability of actions that would unintentionally or intentionally harm an innocent victim in order to save others'' lives. An analysis of variance revealed a genotype × scenario interaction, F(2, 63) = 4.52, p = .02. Results showed that, relative to long allele homozygotes (LL), carriers of the short (S) allele showed particular reluctance to endorse utilitarian actions resulting in foreseen harm to an innocent individual. LL genotype participants rated perpetrating unintentional harm as more acceptable (M = 4.98, SEM = 0.20) than did SL genotype participants (M = 4.65, SEM = 0.20) or SS genotype participants (M = 4.29, SEM = 0.30). No group differences in moral judgments were observed in response to scenarios featuring intentional harm.

Conclusions/Significance

The results indicate that inherited variants in a genetic polymorphism that influences serotonin neurotransmission influence utilitarian moral judgments as well. This finding is interpreted in light of evidence that the S allele is associated with elevated emotional responsiveness.     

THE VISUAL ACUITY OF THE FIDDLER-CRAB,UCA PUGNAX

The visual acuity of the fiddler-crab can be measured at various illuminations by means of its response to a moving visual pattern. The method, although similar to that used by Hecht and Wolf for the bee and Hecht and Wald for Drosophila, must be modified to give consistent results. An explanation of the response to a visual pattern is given in terms of the structure of the eye. Visual acuity of the crab varies with log I as in man, the bee, and Drosophila. Hecht and Wolf''s explanation of the varying visual acuity with illumination in terms of the distribution of functional ommatidia in the eye is supported to that extent. In the fiddler-crab as in man, monocular and binocular visual acuity is similar with a maximum of 0.0042 for the fiddler-crab. This agrees fairly well with visual acuities of 0.0041, 0.0038, and 0.0032 as found in the field. In man and the bee, the minimum visual angle corresponds to the minimum angle of two adjacent receptors; in Drosophila and the fiddler-crab the minimum visual angle corresponds to approximately twice the minimum angle between two adjacent receptors.