Implicit Transfer Research Articles

Asymmetrical effects of control on the expression of implicit sequence learning.

As an automatic process, implicit learning effects have been characterized as inflexible and largely tied to the reinstatement of the acquisition context. However, implicit learning transfer has been observed under certain conditions, depending on the changes introduced between training and transfer. Here, we assess the hypothesis that transfer is specifically hindered by those changes that increase the control demands required by the orienting task with respect to those faced over training. Following on previous results by Jiménez et al. (J Exp Psychol Learn Memory Cognit 32(3):475-490, 2006), which showed that the learning acquired over a standard serial reaction time task was not transferred to conditions requiring a more demanding search task, we explored the impact of symmetrical training and transfer conditions, and showed that sequence learning survived such transfer. Four additional experiments designed to assess transfer to either lower or higher control demands confirmed that the expression of learning was selectively hindered by those transfer conditions requiring higher levels of control demands. The results illustrate how implicit sequence learning can be indirectly subjected to cognitive control.

The Pseudo-McMillan Degree of Implicit Transfer Functions of RLC Networks

We study the structure of a given RLC network without sources. Since the McMillan degree of the implicit network transfer function is not a suitable measure for the complexity of the network, we introduce the pseudo-McMillan degree to overcome these shortcomings. Using modified nodal analysis models, which are linked directly to the natural network topology, we show that the pseudo-McMillan degree equals the sum of the number of capacitors and inductors minus the number of fundamental loops of capacitors and fundamental cutsets of inductors; this is the number of independent dynamic elements in the network. Exploiting this representation, we derive a minimal realization of the given RLC network, that is one where the number of involved (independent) differential equations equals the pseudo-McMillan degree.

Breaking the Curse of Cash

Can eliminating large denomination bills improve social welfare? We construct a dual currency model to study whether illegal activity can be reduced or eliminated by modifying the payment environment. In our model, there are two types of money, (small bills) and (large bills) and two types of goods, legal and illegal. Legal (goods) traders are ex ante indifferent between coins and paper money, but illegal (goods) traders face a lower transaction cost of using paper money in comparison to coins because illegal trade is easier to conceal. Eliminating paper money can reduce illegal trade and the social cost associated with illegal activity. However, this pooling equilibrium is suboptimal because the government can collect more seigniorage by allowing illegal traders to use paper money with a lower rate of return. When the transaction cost of using coins for illegal traders is sufficiently large, a separating equilibrium, where legal traders use coins and illegal traders use paper money, can maximize welfare by making an implicit transfer from the illegal traders to the legal traders. In short, an optimal monetary policy is a sort of Pigouvian policy in which the monetary authority engineers a transfer from illegal traders to legal traders.

Hyper-binding only apparent under fully implicit test conditions.

We have previously shown that older adults hyper-bind, or form more extraneous associations than younger adults. For instance, when asked to perform a 1-back task on pictures superimposed with distracting words, older adults inadvertently form associations between target-distractor pairs and implicitly transfer these associations to a later paired associate learning task (showing a boost in relearning of preserved over disrupted pairs). We have argued that younger adults are better at suppressing the distracting words and thus, do not form these extraneous associations in the first place. However, an alternative explanation is that younger adults simply fail to access these associations during relearning, possibly because of their superior ability to form boundaries between episodes or shift mental contexts between tasks. In this study, we aimed to both replicate this original implicit transfer effect in older adults and to test whether younger adults show evidence of hyper-binding when informed about the relevance of past information. Our results suggest that regardless of the test conditions, younger adults do not hyper-bind. In contrast, older adults showed hyper-binding under (standard) implicit instructions, but not when made aware of a connection between tasks. These results replicate the original hyper-binding effect and reiterate its implicit nature. (PsycINFO Database Record

Building a Set of Internationally Comparable Value of Statistical Life Studies: Estimates of Chinese Willingness to Pay to Reduce Mortality Risk

This study is the eighth in a series of stated-preference studies designed to enhance the basis for international benefits transfer of value of statistical life (VSL) estimates. The series has fielded essentially similar stated-preference surveys in Canada, China, France, Italy, Japan, Mongolia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This Chinese study estimates the willingness to pay for contemporaneous and future mortality risk reductions of residents of Shanghai, Jiujiang, and Nanning, China using a stated-preference payment-card survey. The pooled VSL for a contemporaneous reduction in annual mortality risk reduction of 5 in 10,000 is about 1.47 million 2009 yuan ($614,805 U.S. $2016), with income elasticities of 0.2 to 0.25. This VSL estimate is at the lower end of estimates from the eight countries, between those from Mongolia and Japan, and in the mid-range of estimates of willingness to pay (WTP) for mortality risk reductions as a percentage of household income. We find lower discount rates in the Mongolia, Japan, and China studies than in those fielded in North America or Europe. The study also explores the relative performance of dichotomous choice and stated-preference card elicitation methods in a middle income country setting and develops a computerized “payment card” that allows testing for anchoring. Implicit transfer elasticities across countries, calculated using the VSLs we estimate and each country’s income, relative to those of the United States, yields estimates of 0.88–0.95 for the lower income countries. These compare with the default assumption of 1.0 or assumed elasticities of 1.2 for developing countries.

Effect of coordinate frame compatibility on the transfer of implicit and explicit learning across limbs.

Insights into the neural representation of motor learning can be obtained by investigating how learning transfers to novel task conditions. We recently demonstrated that visuomotor rotation learning transferred strongly between left and right limbs when the task was performed in a sagittal workspace, which afforded a consistent remapping for the two limbs in both extrinsic and joint-based coordinates. In contrast, transfer was absent when performed in horizontal workspace, where the extrinsically defined perturbation required conflicting joint-based remapping for the left and right limbs. Because visuomotor learning is thought to be supported by both implicit and explicit forms of learning, however, it is unclear to what extent these distinct forms of learning contribute to interlimb transfer. In this study, we assessed the degree to which interlimb transfer, following visuomotor rotation training, reflects explicit vs. implicit learning by obtaining verbal reports of participants' aiming direction before each movement. We also determined the extent to which these distinct components of learning are constrained by the compatibility of coordinate systems by comparing transfer between groups of participants who reached to targets arranged in the horizontal and sagittal planes. Both sagittal and horizontal conditions displayed complete transfer of explicit learning to the untrained limb. In contrast, transfer of implicit learning was incomplete, but the sagittal condition showed greater transfer than the horizontal condition. These findings suggest that explicit strategies developed with one limb can be fully implemented in the opposite limb, whereas implicit transfer depends on the degree to which new sensorimotor maps are spatially compatible for the two limbs.

Implicit Transfer of Life Skills Through Participation in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

The purpose of this study was to explore the transfer of life skills among adults who participated in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Sixteen adults (19–54 years of age) completed individual semistructured interviews. Interview transcripts were subjected to thematic analysis. Participants thought their involvement in Brazilian jiu-jitsu had changed their lives. These changes occurred via the acquisition of four life skills reflecting values and characteristics of the sport: respect for others, perseverance, self-confidence, and healthy habits. Head instructors and peer support facilitated the acquisition of life skills. Combined, the values of the sport, instructors, and peers created an atmosphere for learning life skills implicitly.

Effects of learning duration on implicit transfer

Implicit learning and transfer in sequence acquisition play important roles in daily life. Several previous studies have found that even when participants are not aware that a transfer sequence has been transformed from the learning sequence, they are able to perform the transfer sequence faster and more accurately; this suggests implicit transfer of visuomotor sequences. Here, we investigated whether implicit transfer could be modulated by the number of trials completed in a learning session. Participants learned a sequence through trial and error, known as the m × n task (Hikosaka et al. in J Neurophysiol 74:1652-1661, 1995). In the learning session, participants were required to successfully perform the same sequence 4, 12, 16, or 20 times. In the transfer session, participants then learned one of two other sequences: one where the button configuration Vertically Mirrored the learning sequence, or a randomly generated sequence. Our results show that even when participants did not notice the alternation rule (i.e., vertical mirroring), their total working time was less and their total number of errors was lower in the transfer session compared with those who performed a Random sequence, irrespective of the number of trials completed in the learning session. This result suggests that implicit transfer likely occurs even over a shorter learning duration.

Conceptual framework of market enforcement of environmental regulations: significance and obstacles to the role of markets in policy design

This article proposes a specific formulation of the concept of market enforcement. It argues that suffering heavy financial losses in the public markets alone does not constitute effective enforcement if such losses are less than the social costs of associated violations. If the social costs of violations are greater than the private losses to shareholders, then this constitutes an implicit transfer of wealth from the public to stakeholders of the polluting entity. The importance of this formulation is that many policy programs are in part predicated on the assumption of the existence of market enforcement. There are social costs if this premise is faulty. The approach to formulating market enforcement of environmental regulations in this article provides background to a possible development of the theory on optimal market penalties for violations of environmental regulations in the same vein as theories of optimal penalties in law.

Trying But Failing: Implicit Attitude Transfer Is Not Eliminated by Overt or Subtle Objectivity Manipulations

Attitude transfer is the phenomenon whereby attitudes toward group members generalize automatically to new individuals in the same group. Although robust at the implicit level, people consciously adjust this guilt-by-association thinking when reporting explicit attitudes (Ranganath & Nosek, 2008). We tested whether people could control implicit attitude transfer if given proper motivation and instruction. We attempted to induce intentional control over attitude transfer using a variety of established methods, but in 8 studies, implicit attitudes formed and transferred to new group members. We conclude that implicit attitude transfer is a robust automatic phenomenon that is not disrupted by intentional control.

Successful experiences lead to more implicit transfer

Successful experiences lead to more implicit transfer

Implicit transfer of spatial structure in visuomotor sequence learning

Implicit learning and transfer in sequence learning are essential in daily life. Here, we investigated the implicit transfer of visuomotor sequences following a spatial transformation. In the two experiments, participants used trial and error to learn a sequence consisting of several button presses, known as the m×n task (Hikosaka et al., 1995). After this learning session, participants learned another sequence in which the button configuration was spatially transformed in one of the following ways: mirrored, rotated, and random arrangement. Our results showed that even when participants were unaware of the transformation rules, accuracy of transfer session in the mirrored and rotated groups was higher than that in the random group (i.e., implicit transfer occurred). Both those who noticed the transformation rules and those who did not (i.e., explicit and implicit transfer instances, respectively) showed faster performance in the mirrored sequences than in the rotated sequences. Taken together, the present results suggest that people can use their implicit visuomotor knowledge to spatially transform sequences and that implicit transfers are modulated by a transformation cost, similar to that in explicit transfer.

Implicit Transfer of Spatial Structure in Visuomotor Sequential Learning

Implicit Transfer of Spatial Structure in Visuomotor Sequential Learning

H2-norm of fractional transfer functions of implicit type of the first kind

This paper studies the H2-norm, or impulse response energy, of fractional transfer functions of implicit type. The analytical expression of the H2-norm is first derived for an elementary fractional transfer function of the first kind with a single real pole. Series connection of such a transfer function with a pure fractional integrator and with another implicit transfer function of the first kind are then studied. Results developed in the paper are finally used to derive a criterion to evaluate the quality of an integer order approximation for an implicit type fractional order model of the first kind.

Implicit Transfer of Reversed Temporal Structure in Visuomotor Sequence Learning

Some spatio-temporal structures are easier to transfer implicitly in sequential learning. In this study, we investigated whether the consistent reversal of triads of learned components would support the implicit transfer of their temporal structure in visuomotor sequence learning. A triad comprised three sequential button presses ([1][2][3]) and seven consecutive triads comprised a sequence. Participants learned sequences by trial and error, until they could complete it 20 times without error. Then, they learned another sequence, in which each triad was reversed ([3][2][1]), partially reversed ([2][1][3]), or switched so as not to overlap with the other conditions ([2][3][1] or [3][1][2]). Even when the participants did not notice the alternation rule, the consistent reversal of the temporal structure of each triad led to better implicit transfer; this was confirmed in a subsequent experiment. These results suggest that the implicit transfer of the temporal structure of a learned sequence can be influenced by both the structure and consistency of the change.

Analysis of smart beams with piezoelectric elements using impedance matrix and inverse Laplace transform

A comprehensive study on smart beams with piezoelectric elements using an impedance matrix and the inverse Laplace transform is presented. Based on the authors’ previous work, the dynamics of some elements in beam-like smart structures are represented by impedance matrix equations, including a piezoelectric stack, a piezoelectric bimorph, an elastic straight beam or a circular curved beam. A further transform is applied to the impedance matrix to obtain a set of implicit transfer function matrices. Apart from the analytical solutions to the matrices of smart beams, one computation procedure is proposed to obtained the impedance matrices and transfer function matrices using FEA. By these means the dynamic solution of the elements in the frequency domain is transformed to that in Laplacian s-domain and then inversely transformed to time domain. The connections between the elements and boundary conditions of the smart structures are investigated in detail, and one integrated system equation is finally obtained using the symbolic operation of TF matrices. A procedure is proposed for dynamic analysis and control analysis of the smart beam system using mode superposition and a numerical inverse Laplace transform. The first example is given to demonstrate building transfer function associated impedance matrices using both FEA and analytical solutions. The second example is to verify the ability of control analysis using a suspended beam with PZT patches under close-loop control. The third example is designed for dynamic analysis of beams with a piezoelectric stack and a piezoelectric bimorph under various excitations. The last example of one smart beam with a PPF controller shows the applicability to the control analysis of complex systems using the proposed method. All results show good agreement with the other results in the previous literature. The advantages of the proposed methods are also discussed at the end of this paper.

Ant Colony Optimization: A Swarm Intelligence based Technique

The growing complexity of real-world problems has motivated computer scientists to search for efficient problemsolving methods. Divide and conquer techniques are one way to solve large and difficult problems. Division of large work into smaller parts and combining the solution of small problems to get the solution of large one has been a practice in computer research since long time. Swarm also exhibits the behavior of division of work and cooperation to achieve difficult tasks. Evolutionary computation and swarm intelligence meta-heuristics are outstanding examples which show that nature has been an unending source of inspiration. Artificial Swarm/Ant foraging utilizes various forms of indirect communication, involving the implicit transfer of information from agent to agent through modification of the environment. Using this approach, one can design efficient searching methods that can find solution to complex optimization problems. Over times, several algorithms have been designed and used that are inspired by the foraging behavior of real ants colonies to find solutions to difficult problems. In this paper the idea of Ant Colonies is presented with brief introduction to its applications in different areas of problem solving in computer science.

Effects of learning with explicit elaboration on implicit transfer of visuomotor sequence learning

Intervals between stimuli and/or responses have significant influences on sequential learning. In the present study, we investigated whether transfer would occur even when the intervals and the visual configurations in a sequence were drastically changed so that participants did not notice that the required sequences of responses were identical. In the experiment, two (or three) sequential button presses comprised a "set," and nine (or six) consecutive sets comprised a "hyperset." In the first session, participants learned either a 2 × 9 or 3 × 6 hyperset by trial and error until they completed it 20 times without error. In the second block, the 2 × 9 (3 × 6) hyperset was changed into the 3 × 6 (2 × 9) hyperset, resulting in different visual configurations and intervals between stimuli and responses. Participants were assigned into two groups: the Identical and Random groups. In the Identical group, the sequence (i.e., the buttons to be pressed) in the second block was identical to that in the first block. In the Random group, a new hyperset was learned. Even in the Identical group, no participants noticed that the sequences were identical. Nevertheless, a significant transfer of performance occurred. However, in the subsequent experiment that did not require explicit trial-and-error learning in the first session, implicit transfer in the second session did not occur. These results indicate that learning with explicit elaboration strengthens the implicit representation of the sequence order as a whole; this might occur independently of the intervals between elements and enable implicit transfer.

THE EVENT OF SEPTEMBER 11TH IN AMERICAN AND SYRIAN WRITTEN MEDIA DISCOURSE

Abstract : Aiming at highlighting the important role of written media discourse in implicit transfer of the dominant ideology of discourse context, the present data-driven paper demonstrates how the lexical features of repetition and synonymy as well as the structural and thematic features of passivisation, nominalization and predicated theme were utilized by the discourse producers of the data to mediate between their own underlying ideology and the target readers' understanding of the event of September 11 th 2001. Through a comparative statistical analysis of the written media discourse of the data for the study written in two ideologically opposing contexts of Syria and America, we have tried to explicate how the discourse producers utilized various lexical and thematic strategies to produce different impressions of the event and implicitly force the underlying ideology on the readers. Keywords : September 11 th 2001, thematization, passivisation, nominalization, synonymy, CDA

Improving insight and non‐insight problem solving with brief interventions

Developing brief training interventions that benefit different forms of problem solving is challenging. In earlier research, Chrysikou (2006) showed that engaging in a task requiring generation of alternative uses of common objects improved subsequent insight problem solving. These benefits were attributed to a form of implicit transfer of processing involving enhanced construction of impromptu, on-the-spot or 'ad hoc' goal-directed categorizations of the problem elements. Following this, it is predicted that the alternative uses exercise should benefit abilities that govern goal-directed behaviour, such as fluid intelligence and executive functions. Similarly, an indirect intervention - self-affirmation (SA) - that has been shown to enhance cognitive and executive performance after self-regulation challenge and when under stereotype threat, may also increase adaptive goal-directed thinking and likewise should bolster problem-solving performance. In Experiment 1, brief single-session interventions, involving either alternative uses generation or SA, significantly enhanced both subsequent insight and visual-spatial fluid reasoning problem solving. In Experiment 2, we replicated the finding of benefits of both alternative uses generation and SA on subsequent insight problem-solving performance, and demonstrated that the underlying mechanism likely involves improved executive functioning. Even brief cognitive- and social-psychological interventions may substantially bolster different types of problem solving and may exert largely similar facilitatory effects on goal-directed behaviours.