Cognitive Process Information Research Articles

Ambiguity Processing Bias Induced by Depressed Mood Is Associated with Diminished Pleasantness

Depressed individuals are biased to perceive, interpret, and judge ambiguous cues in a negative/pessimistic manner. Depressed mood can induce and exacerbate these biases, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. We theorize that depressed mood can bias ambiguity processing by altering one’s subjective emotional feelings (e.g. pleasantness/unpleasantness) of the cues. This is because when there is limited objective information, individuals often rely on subjective feelings as a source of information for cognitive processing. To test this theory, three groups (induced depression vs. spontaneous depression vs. neutral) were tested in the Judgement Bias Task (JBT), a behavioral assay of ambiguity processing bias. Subjective pleasantness/unpleasantness of cues was measured by facial electromyography (EMG) from the zygomaticus major (ZM, “smiling”) and from the corrugator supercilii (CS, “frowning”) muscles. As predicted, induced sad mood (vs. neutral mood) yielded a negative bias with a magnitude comparable to that in a spontaneous depressed mood. The facial EMG data indicates that the negative judgement bias induced by depressed mood was associated with a decrease in ZM reactivity (i.e., diminished perceived pleasantness of cues). Our results suggest that depressed mood may bias ambiguity processing by affecting the reward system.

Adapt retrieval rules and inhibit already-existing world knowledge: adjustment of world knowledge’s activation level in auditory sentence comprehension

abstractWe tested whether the proportion of typical sentences in a series of auditory sentences would lead people to adjust the strength of activation of world knowledge (i.e., retrieval rules adaptation) during comprehension. This issue is important because it could help clarify how people efficiently integrate different memory information in cognitive processes. In two experiments, all task materials were presented to participants as a whole package, in which proportions of typical sentences, with typical final locations, varied under different conditions. In Experiment 1, the proportion of typical sentences was equal to the atypical ones (i.e., 50% typical vs. 50% atypical), whereas in Experiment 2, the proportion of typical sentences was not equal to the atypical ones (i.e., 75% typical vs. 25% atypical, and 25% typical vs. 75% atypical). Visual fixation on the critical area in a visual display before/while hearing the critical words was compared across conditions, and across-condition differences were used as an index of the adaptation of the retrieval rule in the activation of world knowledge. The findings indicated that the adaptation of retrieval rules occurs throughout the whole test package of sentence comprehension, and the strength of activation of world knowledge in sentence comprehension can be adjusted.

Estudio del Proceso de Fidelización del Consumidor Final

Para cada negcio importante para manter uma clientela fiel a ele para ajud-lo a sobreviver no tempo. Esta situao ainda acentuada na medida em que aumenta a concorrncia e aumenta incerteza. No momento estas so duas caractersticas que so realmente desenvolvidos. Por causa da profunda crise em que estamos, e outros elementos, tais como a globalizao eo desenvolvimento de novas tecnologias e sistemas de comunicao que enfrentamos um cenrio manifesta enorme concorrncia e incerteza encontrar. , portanto, mais do que nunca necessrio conhecer em profundidade como conseguir clientes para ser leal, e desenvolver verdadeiras estratgias de fidelizao. Neste artigo, apresentamos seqencial de formao abordagem lealdade do consumidor a fim de aprofundar a compreenso do conceito. Alm disso, podemos concluir estudar o efeito combinado dos custos de comutao como um elemento que promove a continuidade com a relao. Isso d ao consumidor faz um processamento cognitivo mais informaes em suas primeiras avaliaes do servio recebido e, portanto, em seus estgios iniciais de lealdade. medida que o processo avana o comportamento do consumidor torna-se mais direta e mecnica, de modo que o vnculo cliente-empresa pode dizer que mais forte.DOI: 10.5585/remark.v12i4.2500

Nonconscious processing and a novel target for schizophrenia research

Analysis of the pattern of altered cognition observed in schizophrenia provides better insight into neurocognitive deficits. It reveals a potential novel target for schizophrenia research. To understand this target we reviewed the findings of neuroimaging studies on implicit [nonconscious] memory. These studies have consistently reported attenuated activity in the area V3A of the extrastriate cortex during retrieval of studied items. It was suggested that the attenuation limits the pool of information available for further cognitive processing. Therefore, if V3A is functionally damaged, individuals will have access to a larger pool of information for cognitive processing. Since cognitive tasks that are not dependent on attention [attention independent] process a larger pool of information more efficiently, performance in these tasks is likely to improve after V3A is damaged. Conversely, tasks that are dependent on attentional resources are more efficient in processing smaller pool of information. Performance in these tasks therefore is expected to deteriorate if a large pool of information is made available following V3A damage. A review of cognitive performance in schizophrenia suggests that patients perform at above normal level in attention independent priming tasks and perform at subnormal level in attention dependent episodic and working memory tasks. These findings indicate possible impairment of V3A activity. It could therefore be a potentially important unstudied target for schizophrenia research, particularly because a number of investigators have reported that the activity in this area is altered in schizophrenia.

Dynamics of symbol systems

To implement diverse and partial flow of information in cognitive processes, we need a design method without explicit stipulation of domain/task-dependent information flow, together with a control scheme for guiding information processing to concern only important information depending on contexts.