Cognitive Information Processing Research Articles

Modeling Driver Responses to Automation Failures With Active Inference

Automated vehicle (AV) technologies promise to improve traffic safety and reduce driver workload in the near future. However, most current implementations have limited capabilities and require transition of control between the vehicle and the human driver during automation failures. For this reason, models of driver behavior have been widely studied to assist the design and development of AV technologies. Recent works have shown that driver behavior models grounded in human cognitive information processing achieve better generalization than prior methods. In this work, we applied active inference, a framework of human perception, cognition, and behavior based on the predictive processing theory, to model driver emergency braking responses to automation failures. We estimated the model parameters from experimental data and examined the model parameters using a factor analysis. We verified the model’s braking response prediction capability in counterfactual scenarios. Our results show that the model effectively captured braking reaction times and provided insight on the correspondence between the variations in driver parameters and behavior.

Abnormal Cross Frequency Coupling of Brain Electroencephalographic Oscillations Related to Visual Oddball Task in Parkinson's Disease with Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a movement disorder caused by degeneration in dopaminergic neurons. During the disease course, most of PD patients develop mild cognitive impairment (PDMCI) and dementia, especially affecting frontal executive functions. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that PDMCI patients may be characterized by abnormal neurophysiological oscillatory mechanisms coupling frontal and posterior cortical areas during cognitive information processing. To test this hypothesis, event-related EEG oscillations (EROs) during counting visual target (rare) stimuli in an oddball task were recorded in healthy controls (HC; N = 51), cognitively unimpaired PD patients (N = 48), and PDMCI patients (N = 53). Hilbert transform served to estimate instantaneous phase and amplitude of EROs from delta to gamma frequency bands, while modulation index computed ERO phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) at electrode pairs. As compared to the HC and PD groups, the PDMCI group was characterized by (1) more posterior topography of the delta-theta PAC and (2) reversed delta-low frequency alpha PAC direction, ie, posterior-to-anterior rather than anterior-to-posterior. These results suggest that during cognitive demands, PDMCI patients are characterized by abnormal neurophysiological oscillatory mechanisms mainly led by delta frequencies underpinning functional connectivity from frontal to parietal cortical areas.

Reactivity of the Oxytocinergic and Neuroendocrine System Following the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System in Men of Recent Fatherhood: Results from an Exploratory Pilot Study with a Cross-Sectional Design.

The attachment representation (AR) of individuals affects emotional and cognitive information processes and is considered an important modulating factor of neuroendocrine stress responses. The neuropeptide oxytocin is studied as one biomolecular component underpinning this modulation. A validated procedure used in attachment-related research is the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System (AAP). To date, only a limited number of studies investigated oxytocin and neuroendocrine reactivity in the context of an attachment-related stimulus similar to the APP. In this pilot study, N = 26 men of recent fatherhood were exposed to the AAP to classify AR and to investigate salivary changes in oxytocin, cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) after AAP stimulation. We observed increased oxytocin levels in response to AAP exposure, and this increase was more pronounced in fathers with unresolved/disorganized AR. No significant changes in cortisol and DHEA concentrations were observed in response to AAP administration. Interestingly, differences in basal cortisol levels (before the AAP) also depended on AR classification. Here, the group of men with unresolved/disorganized AR showed higher levels of cortisol compared to fathers with organized AR. To conclude, the finding of increased salivary oxytocin levels in response to the AAP further indicates its validity as an instrument to stimulate the attachment system.

Reorganized Hubs of Brain Functional Networks after Acute Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI)-associated damage to hub regions can lead to disrupted modular structures of functional brain networks and may result in widespread cognitive and behavioral deficits. The spatial layout of brain connections and modules is essential for understanding the reorganization of brain networks to trauma. We investigated the roles of hubs in inter-subnetwork information coordination and integration using participation coefficients (PCs) in 74 patients with acute mTBI and 51 matched healthy controls. In some brain networks, such as default mode network (DMN) and frontoparietal network (FPN), mild TBI patients had decreased PC levels, while this measure was saliently increased in patients in other networks, such as the visual network. The hub disruption index was defined as the gradient of a straight line fitted to scatterplots of individual mTBI in participation coefficient versus mean participation coefficient of healthy groups. There was a trend of radical reorganization of some efficient "hub" nodes in patients (κ = -0.15), compared with controls (κ close to 0). The PC of brain hubs can also differentiate mTBI patients from controls with an 88% accuracy, and decreased PC levels in FPN can predict patient' s worse cognitive information processing speed (r = 0.36, p < 0.002) and working memory performance (r = 0.35, p < 0.002). Reduced PC within the DMN was associated with patients' complaints of post-concussion symptoms (r = -0.35, p < 0.002). This evidence suggests a trend of spatial transition of hub profiles in acute mTBI, and graph metrics of PC measures can be used as potential diagnostic biomarkers.

The effects of cognitive information processing and social cognitive career group counseling on high school students' career adaptability.

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of cognitive information processing (CIP) and social cognitive career theory (SCCT) group counseling on high school students’ career adaptability. The study involved 81 students from grade 10 and grade 11 in a Chinese public high school. Among the 81 participants, 27 were in the CIP group, 28 were in the SCCT group, while the rest were in the control group. All participants completed a pre-test, post-test, and tracking-test assessment of their career adaptability. Results indicated that the interventions were effective for the students with low career adaptability, the CIP group counseling improved the career concern after the intervention, whereas the SCCT group revealed a more robust effect on career adaptability after 3 months of the intervention. The practical implications of the study for career interventions are also discussed.

Cognitive Information Processing Approach To History Learning

The human thought process is a process carried out by an influencing condition. Utilization of capacity in the cognitive domain of humans has basically started to run since humans utilize motor and sensory capacities. In learning history for students using the cognitive domain becomes very difficult, because in this domain there needs to be processing of information that is absorbed in each lesson. Processing can be in the form of various learning models that can stimulate memory to process information. Because basically the view of cognitive information management pays attention to how sensory input is transformed, reduced, described, stored, retrieved, and used. Thus any learning strategy in history learning if using a cognitive information processing approach will very likely be more effective and efficient.

The impact of time pressure on impulsive buying: The moderating role of consumption type

The research examines the effect of time pressure on impulsive buying via the moderation of consumption type by identifying positive emotion as the underlying mechanism. Firstly, we verify that time pressure is positively correlated with affective aspects of impulsive buying but negatively associated with cognitive aspects of impulsive buying. Notably, affective (vs. cognitive) impulsive buying is dominated by affective (vs. cognitive) information processing. Research also has shown that hedonic (vs. utilitarian) consumption is dominated by affective (vs. cognitive) information processing. We thus further illustrate that high time pressure increases impulsive buying for hedonic products/services whereas low time pressure enhances impulsive buying for utilitarian products/services. These effects are mediated by positive emotion. This research reconciles the conflicting findings of time pressure effect on impulsive buying, advances the knowledge of how time pressure impacts impulsive buying, and provides practical implications for tourism practitioners and marketers about promoting strategies of impulsive buying.

The Impact of Specific versus General Art Expertise on Art Experiences – The Case of the Sistine Chapel

From the literature on art experience, we know that art experts and non-art experts have different cognitive information processes when encountering an artwork, but we don’t know how this difference might influence the art experience. The purpose of this article is to test how expertise affects art experiences. Expertise is measured on several dimensions, one of them being the level of knowledge on the specific artwork, which is a new contribution to the literature. Our case is the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican Museum in Italy where the investigations took place in a real museum context.

Deep neural networks constrained by neural mass models improve electrophysiological source imaging of spatiotemporal brain dynamics

Many efforts have been made to image the spatiotemporal electrical activity of the brain with the purpose of mapping its function and dysfunction as well as aiding the management of brain disorders. Here, we propose a non-conventional deep learning-based source imaging framework (DeepSIF) that provides robust and precise spatiotemporal estimates of underlying brain dynamics from noninvasive high-density electroencephalography (EEG) recordings. DeepSIF employs synthetic training data generated by biophysical models capable of modeling mesoscale brain dynamics. The rich characteristics of underlying brain sources are embedded in the realistic training data and implicitly learned by DeepSIF networks, avoiding complications associated with explicitly formulating and tuning priors in an optimization problem, as often is the case in conventional source imaging approaches. The performance of DeepSIF is evaluated by 1) a series of numerical experiments, 2) imaging sensory and cognitive brain responses in a total of 20 healthy subjects from three public datasets, and 3) rigorously validating DeepSIF's capability in identifying epileptogenic regions in a cohort of 20 drug-resistant epilepsy patients by comparing DeepSIF results with invasive measurements and surgical resection outcomes. DeepSIF demonstrates robust and excellent performance, producing results that are concordant with common neuroscience knowledge about sensory and cognitive information processing as well as clinical findings about the location and extent of the epileptogenic tissue and outperforming conventional source imaging methods. The DeepSIF method, as a data-driven imaging framework, enables efficient and effective high-resolution functional imaging of spatiotemporal brain dynamics, suggesting its wide applicability and value to neuroscience research and clinical applications.

Comparison of Cognitive-Social, Cognitive Information Processing, Constructivism and Acceptance and Commitment Methods on Students' Affective Capital Dimensions

Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of three methods of career counseling (cognitive-social, cognitive information processing, constructivism) and acceptance and commitment counseling on students' affective capital on ninth grade students.&#x0D; Methods: The research method was quasi-experimental with pre-test and post-test design for five groups. The study population was all ninth-grade female students in one of the education districts of Isfahan in the 2020-2021 academic year. The sample consisted of 100 female students who were selected through available and multi-stage sampling based on entry and exit criteria. They were assigned to four experimental groups and one control group (20 people in each group). The research tool was the Emotional Capital Questionnaire (Golparvar, 2016). While the control group did not receive any training, and none of the eight experimental groups received any of the above trainings. All groups were evaluated by research tools before and after the trainings.&#x0D; Results: The collected data were analyzed at two levels of descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (multivariate analysis of covariance). The results showed that in comparison with control group, there were no effects on feeling of energy and positive affect. Constructivism and acceptance and commitment had significant effects on happiness (P&lt;0.01), but there was no significant difference between the two methods.&#x0D; Conclusion: According to the results, it can be said that the constructivism and acceptance and commitment are appropriate methods to increase the happiness of female students.

Comparison of Cognitive-Social, Cognitive Information Processing, Constructivism and Acceptance and Commitment Methods on Students' Affective Capital Dimensions

Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of three methods of career counseling (cognitive-social, cognitive information processing, constructivism) and acceptance and commitment counseling on students' affective capital on ninth grade students.&#x0D; Methods: The research method was quasi-experimental with pre-test and post-test design for five groups. The study population was all ninth-grade female students in one of the education districts of Isfahan in the 2020-2021 academic year. The sample consisted of 100 female students who were selected through available and multi-stage sampling based on entry and exit criteria. They were assigned to four experimental groups and one control group (20 people in each group). The research tool was the Emotional Capital Questionnaire (Golparvar, 2016). While the control group did not receive any training, and none of the eight experimental groups received any of the above trainings. All groups were evaluated by research tools before and after the trainings.&#x0D; Results: The collected data were analyzed at two levels of descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (multivariate analysis of covariance). The results showed that in comparison with control group, there were no effects on feeling of energy and positive affect. Constructivism and acceptance and commitment had significant effects on happiness (P&lt;0.01), but there was no significant difference between the two methods.&#x0D; Conclusion: According to the results, it can be said that the constructivism and acceptance and commitment are appropriate methods to increase the happiness of female students.

Reductionistic Explanations of Cognitive Information Processing: Bottoming Out in Neurochemistry.

A common motivation for engaging in reductionistic research is to ground explanations in the most basic processes operative in the mechanism responsible for the phenomenon to be explained. I argue for a different motivation—directing inquiry to the level of organization at which the components of a mechanism enable the work that results in the phenomenon. In the context of reductionistic accounts of cognitive information processing I argue that this requires going down to a level that is largely overlooked in these discussions, that of chemistry. In discussions of cognitive information processing, the brain is often viewed as essentially an electrical switching system and many theorists treat electrical switching as the level at which mechanistic explanations should bottom out. I argue, drawing on examples of peptidergic and monoaminergic neurons, that how information is processed is determined by the specific chemical reactions occurring in individual neurons. Accordingly, mechanistic explanations of cognitive information processing need to take into account the chemical reactions involved.

Reduction of Interhemispheric Homotopic Connectivity in Cognitive and Visual Information Processing Pathways in Patients With Thyroid-Associated Ophthalmopathy.

PurposeThyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) is a vision threatening autoimmune and inflammatory orbital disease, and has been reported to be associated with a wide range of structural and functional abnormalities of bilateral hemispheres. However, whether the interhemisphere functional connectivity (FC) of TAO patients is altered still remain unclear. A new technique called voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) combined with support vector machine (SVM) method was used in the present study to explore interhemispheric homotopic functional connectivity alterations in patients with TAO.MethodsA total of 21 TAO patients (14 males and 7 females) and 21 wellmatched healthy controls (HCs, 14 males and 7 females), respectively, underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning in the resting state. We evaluated alterations in the resting state functional connectivity between hemispheres by applying VMHC method and then selected these abnormal brain regions as seed areas for subsequent study using FC method. Furthermore, the observed changes of regions in the VMHC analysis were chosen as classification features to differentiate patients with TAO from HCs through support vector machine (SVM) method.ResultsThe results showed that compared with HCs, TAO patients showed significantly lower VMHC values in the bilateral postcentral gyrus, lingual gyrus, calcarine, middle temporal gyrus, middle occipital gyrus and angular. Moreover, significantly decreased FC values were found between the right postcentral gyrus/lingual gyrus/calcarine and left lingual gyrus/cuneus/superior occipital gyrus, left postcentral gyrus/lingual gyrus/calcarine and right lingual gyrus/ middle temporal gyrus, right middle temporal gyrus and left cerebellum-8/lingual gyrus/middle occipital gyrus/supplementary motor area, left middle temporal gyrus and right middle occipital gyrus, right middle occipital gyrus/angular and left middle temporal pole (voxel-level p < 0.01, Gaussian random field correction, cluster-level p < 0.05). The SVM classification model achieved good performance in differentiating TAO patients from HCs (total accuracy: 73.81%; area under the curve: 0.79).ConclusionThe present study revealed that the altered interhemisphere interaction and integration of information involved in cognitive and visual information processing pathways including the postcentral gyrus, cuneus, cerebellum, angular, widespread visual cortex and temporal cortex in patients with TAO relative to HC group. VMHC variability had potential value for accurately and specifically distinguishing patients with TAO from HCs. The new findings may provide novel insights into the neurological mechanisms underlying visual and cognitive disorders in patients with TAO.

Extralinguistic Consultation in English-Chinese Translation: A Study Drawing on Eye-Tracking and Screen-Recording Data.

Both linguistic and extralinguistic consultations are essential in translation practice and have been commonly investigated as an integral topic in previous studies. However, since extralinguistic information is usually longer in extent and not specifically designed for a linguistic purpose, extralinguistic consultations involve different search strategies compared with linguistic consultations. Drawing on eye-tracking and screen-recording data, this study compares linguistic and extralinguistic consultations in terms of cognitive resources allocation and information processing patterns in English–Chinese translation. It also explores the differences among 17 language learners, 20 student translators, and 21 professional translators, and the effect of extralinguistic consultation on their translation quality. The findings are as follows: (1) all participants allocate more attention and lower cognitive load to extralinguistic consultations than to linguistic consultations; (2) participants’ translation experience levels and their attention allocated to extralinguistic consultation show an inverted U-shaped relationship; and (3) participants who consult extralinguistic information before drafting or devote more attention to extralinguistic consultation produce target texts with significantly higher scores.

Improved Yet Unsafe: At the Light of NFHS-V

Following UNICEF’s analysis of National Family Health Survey-III Data (NFHS-III), it was opined that households with access to better sanitation and better access to improved water sources have much better infant survival rates than the others. Sahu et al. (2015 , The Indian journal of medical research, 141(5), 709), Arun et al. (2017 , International Conference on Cognitive Computing and Information Processing (pp. 81–92), Springer) and Tripathy and Mishra (2017 , Journal of Tropical Pediatrics, 63(6), 431–439) supported these findings. However, Banerjee (2020a , Journal of Health Management, 22(1), 57–66), analysing NFHS-IV data, has vehemently criticised such findings and showed using regression with robust standard errors that improved access to better water sources leads to higher infant mortality. In another article published in the same year, Banerjee (2020b , Journal of Health Management, 22(3), 466–471) explained this paradox. Now with NFHS-V data coming out, time is apt to test the robustness of Banerjee’s findings (2002a). However, owing to the incomplete NFHS-V data published so far, unlike Banerjee (2002a) that has used data of 29 states, the present analysis is based on only 17 states. The findings support that the findings of Banerjee (2002a) were robust.

PRESCHOOLER'S EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE DEVELOPMENT

The article considers the development of emotional intelligence in preschool children. The aim of the study is a theoretical analysis of the formation of emotional intelligence in preschool children, the development of emotional intelligence under the guidance of adults. Today, kindergartens provide education on the intellectual development of the child. And this leads to deformation of the emotional sphere of preschool children. Today, the relationship between children and parents is characterized by a lack of emotional communication. This causes emotional deafness in children. That is, the inability to feel, lack of reaction to the emotional state of another person. It is also a suppression of emotions that develops in a child due to the indifference of loved ones. Due to such changes in the education of preschool children, the problem of developing the emotional intelligence of preschool children is especially significant and relevant. The following methods were used in the research process: general scientific (systematization and generalization), comparative, prognostic method and prognostic method. The article presents an analytical review of theoretical approaches to the definition of "emotional intelligence". It is generalized that the emotional intelligence of a preschooler is an integral property of the individual, which reflects the child's cognitive ability to understand emotions and manage them through cognitive processing of emotional information. Emotional intelligence ensures the psychological well-being of the individual and the success of social interaction. In preschool, the child's emotional experience expands and enriches. An emotional attitude to oneself, other people and the surrounding reality in general is formed. This is reflected in the characteristics of the child's emotional behavior in the process of social interaction and communication with other children and adults. Researchers are also attracted by the question of the preconditions for the formation of emotional intelligence of preschool children. The structure of emotional intelligence is revealed. It is noted that emotional intelligence develops in the process of life and experience of the child – in the family, through play, painting, art, literature, self-observation and reflection. Each preschooler should have his own way. It is important to choose the method that is most effective for a particular individual. The authors identify effective methods and techniques for the development of emotional intelligence of preschool children.

Basic studying directions of conceptualization process

The article discusses the actuality of researching the process of linguistic conceptualization, the nature of conceptualization as a linguistic concept and the main problems that are of particular interest to scholars. The existence of a conceptual level in modern linguistics is widely acknowledged, although there are different opinions relate to the issue of determining its status. The paper shows different views on the status of the conceptual level. It talks about its content and levels; The fundamental concepts are highlighted and their usage in the conceptual system is emphasized. Conceptualization is viewed as a two-way event: as a dynamic process of human cognitive processing of information that connects(combines) the external world, the human inner world, and the linguistic picture; And as a result - a picture of a world structured in the form of concepts. The paper describes the main features of the conceptualization process: its inherent, i.e. essentially dynamic [Langaker] and ontological [Ruzin] nature. Exactly these characteristics define the unstable, flexible nature of concepts, the existence of verbal and nonverbal conceptual content. The paper also discusses the heterogeneity of the conceptual system, which is reflected in the fact that its individual sections have different meanings in the overall structure.

EEG time–frequency analysis reveals blunted tendency to approach and increased processing of unpleasant stimuli in dysphoria

To date, affective and cognitive processing of emotional information in individuals with depressive symptoms have been examined through peripheral psychophysiological measures, event-related potentials, and time–frequency analysis of oscillatory activity. However, electrocortical correlates of emotional and cognitive processing of affective content in depression have not been fully understood. Time–frequency analysis of electroencephalographic activity allows disentangling the brain's parallel processing of information. The present study employed a time–frequency approach to simultaneously examine affective disposition and cognitive processing during the viewing of emotional stimuli in dysphoria. Time–frequency event-related changes were examined during the viewing of pleasant, neutral and unpleasant pictures in 24 individuals with dysphoria and 24 controls. Affective disposition was indexed by delta and alpha power, while theta power was employed as a correlate of cognitive elaboration of the stimuli. Cluster-based statistics revealed a centro-parietal reduction in delta power for pleasant stimuli in individuals with dysphoria relative to controls. Also, dysphoria was characterized by an early fronto-central increase in theta power for unpleasant stimuli relative to neutral and pleasant ones. Comparatively, controls were characterized by a late fronto-central and occipital reduction in theta power for unpleasant stimuli relative to neutral and pleasant. The present study granted novel insights on the interrelated facets of affective elaboration in dysphoria, mainly characterized by a hypoactivation of the approach-related motivational system and a sustained facilitated cognitive processing of unpleasant stimuli.

Can Gamification Assist Learning? A Study to Design and Explore the Uses of Educational Music Games for Adults and Young Learners

The study aimed to examine the learning effects of integrating various game elements into game-based learning materials to enhance learning for learners of different age groups. Two sets of game-based music learning materials were designed. The version with full game characteristics was developed with a narrative story, diverse game behaviors, and game mechanisms, while the simple design version kept basic game behaviors only for game interaction, and removed other game-based elements. A total of 50 young students and 41 adults were invited to participate in the experiment and separately use the two versions of the game-based materials. In order to understand how their performance changed and their reflections on the use of the game-based learning materials, a pre- and post-test, questionnaire and interview were conducted, and the data were analyzed. Despite learners in various age groups having different preferences regarding the game design, the statistical analysis revealed that the simple version helped the learners of both age groups to achieve better learning performance than the full version. The game-based environments proved to be helpful for promoting students’ learning motivation and performance, but the results suggest that instead of designing educational games with as many gamification elements as possible, game developers should take learners’ cognitive learning load and information processing ability into consideration when developing games. The game elements could be refined through reducing overly complicated game mechanisms and keeping the basic game-like interaction so as to achieve both the instruction purpose and gameplay engagement.

Cognitive processing of emotional information during menstrual phases in women with and without postpartum depression: differential sensitivity to changes in gonadal steroids.

Gonadal steroids (GSs) have been repeatedly shown to play a central role in the onset of postpartum depression (PPD). The underlying mechanisms, however, are only partially understood. We investigated the relationship between cognitive processing of emotional information and naturally occurring hormonal fluctuations in women with and without previous PPD. Euthymic, parous women, with a history (hPPD, n=32) and without a history (nhPPD, n=43) of PPD, were assessed during late-follicular and late-luteal phases. Participants were administered cognitive tasks assessing attention (dot-probe; emotional Stroop), evaluation (self-referential encoding) and incidental recall, and self-report measures. Menstrual-phase-specific differences were found between late-follicular vs. late-luteal phases among hPPD only, with depression-associated patterns observed in the late-luteal phase on the self-referential encoding and incidental recall task and emotional Stroop task, but not on the dot-probe task. No main effect for menstrual phase was found on any of the tasks or questionnaires, apart from the brooding component of rumination. Women with hPPD demonstrate a differential bias in cognitive processing of emotional information that is menstrual phase dependent, and did not correspond to similar difference in mood symptoms. These biases may reflect sensitivity to gonadal steroid fluctuations that are associated with PPD.