Perceptual Processes Research Articles

Anthropogenic disturbance affects calling and collective behaviour in corvid roosts.

Acoustic communication plays an important role in coordinating group dynamics and collective movements across a range of taxa. However, anthropogenic disturbance can inhibit the production or reception of acoustic signals. Here, we investigate the effects of noise and light pollution on the calling and collective behaviour of wild jackdaws (Corvus monedula), a highly social corvid species that uses vocalizations to coordinate collective movements at winter roosting sites. Using audio and video monitoring of roosts in areas with differing degrees of urbanization, we evaluate the influence of anthropogenic disturbance on vocalizations and collective movements. We found that when levels of background noise were higher, jackdaws took longer to settle following arrival at the roost in the evening and also called more during the night, suggesting that human disturbance may cause sleep disruption. High levels of overnight calling were, in turn, linked to disruption of vocal consensus decision-making and less cohesive group departures in the morning. These results raise the possibility that, by affecting cognitive and perceptual processes, human activities may interfere with animals' ability to coordinate collective behaviour. Understanding links between anthropogenic disturbance, communication, cognition and collective behaviour must be an important research priority in our increasingly urbanized world. This article is part of the theme issue 'The power of sound: unravelling how acoustic communication shapes group dynamics'.

Temporomandibular Joint Disorder: An integrated study of the pathophysiology, neural mechanisms, and therapeutic strategies

ObjectiveThe study aims to investigate Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMJD) through a interdisciplinary lens, integrating insights from neuroscience, dentistry, and psychology to dissect its complex pathophysiology and neural mechanisms. It focuses on exploring the neurobiological underpinnings of TMJD, emphasizing the role of pain perception, modulation, and the impact of neurophysiological changes on the disorder. DesignThis is a comprehensive narrative review of the literature. ResultsResearch findings pinpoint altered pain perception and modulation processes as central neural mechanisms contributing to TMJD, highlighting the importance of personalized treatment approaches due to the disorder's complexity and patient variability. The study recognizes advances in neuroscience offering new treatment avenues, such as neuromodulation and biofeedback, which provide non-invasive and personalized options. However, it also addresses the challenges in TMJD research, such as the multifaceted nature of the disorder and the need for more comprehensive, interdisciplinary strategies in research and clinical practice. ConclusionsTMJD is a multifaceted disorder requiring an interdisciplinary approach for effective management. The study stresses the crucial role of neuroscience in understanding and treating TMJD, facilitating the development of innovative treatment strategies. It emphasizes the need for further research, advocating an integrated approach that combines neuroscience, dentistry, and psychology to address TMJD's complexities comprehensively and improve patient care, thereby enhancing the quality of life for affected individuals.

An attention mechanism module with spatial perception and channel information interaction

In the field of deep learning, the attention mechanism, as a technology that mimics human perception and attention processes, has made remarkable achievements. The current methods combine a channel attention mechanism and a spatial attention mechanism in a parallel or cascaded manner to enhance the model representational competence, but they do not fully consider the interaction between spatial and channel information. This paper proposes a method in which a space embedded channel module and a channel embedded space module are cascaded to enhance the model’s representational competence. First, in the space embedded channel module, to enhance the representational competence of the region of interest in different spatial dimensions, the input tensor is split into horizontal and vertical branches according to spatial dimensions to alleviate the loss of position information when performing 2D pooling. To smoothly process the features and highlight the local features, four branches are obtained through global maximum and average pooling, and the features are aggregated by different pooling methods to obtain two feature tensors with different pooling methods. To enable the output horizontal and vertical feature tensors to focus on different pooling features simultaneously, the two feature tensors are segmented and dimensionally transposed according to spatial dimensions, and the features are later aggregated along the spatial direction. Then, in the channel embedded space module, for the problem of no cross-channel connection between groups in grouped convolution and for which the parameters are large, this paper uses adaptive grouped banded matrices. Based on the banded matrices utilizing the mapping relationship that exists between the number of channels and the size of the convolution kernels, the convolution kernel size is adaptively computed to achieve adaptive cross-channel interaction, enhancing the correlation between the channel dimensions while ensuring that the spatial dimensions remain unchanged. Finally, the output horizontal and vertical weights are used as attention weights. In the experiment, the attention mechanism module proposed in this paper is embedded into the MobileNetV2 and ResNet networks at different depths, and extensive experiments are conducted on the CIFAR-10, CIFAR-100 and STL-10 datasets. The results show that the method in this paper captures and utilizes the features of the input data more effectively than the other methods, significantly improving the classification accuracy. Despite the introduction of an additional computational burden (0.5 M), however, the overall performance of the model still achieves the best results when the computational overhead is comprehensively considered.

Co-perceiving: Bringing the social into perception.

Humans and other animals possess the remarkable ability to effectively navigate a shared perceptual environment by discerning which objects and spaces are perceived by others and which remain private to themselves. Traditionally, this capacity has been encapsulated under the umbrella of joint attention or joint action. In this comprehensive review, we advocate for a broader and more mechanistic understanding of this phenomenon, termed co-perception. Co-perception encompasses the sensitivity to the perceptual engagement of others and the capability to differentiate between objects perceived privately and those perceived commonly with others. It represents a distinct concept from mere simultaneous individual perception. Moreover, discerning between private and common objects doesn't necessitate intricate mind-reading abilities or mutual coordination. The act of perceiving objects as either private or common provides a comprehensive account for social scenarios where individuals simply share the same context or may even engage in competition. This conceptual framework encourages a re-examination of classical paradigms that demonstrate social influences on perception. Furthermore, it suggests that the impacts of shared experiences extend beyond affective responses, also influencing perceptual processes. This article is categorized under: Psychology > Attention Philosophy > Foundations of Cognitive Science Philosophy > Psychological Capacities.

Visual Attention in Crisis.

Research on visual attention has uncovered significant anomalies, and some traditional methods may have inadvertently probed peripheral vision rather than attention. Vision science needs to rethink visual attention from the ground up. To facilitate this, for a year I banned the word "attention" in my lab. This constraint promoted a more precise discussion of attention-related phenomena, capacity limits, and mechanisms. The insights gained lead me to challenge attributing to "attention" those phenomena that can be better explained by perceptual processes, are predictable by an ideal observer model, or that otherwise may not require an additional mechanism. I enumerate a set of critical phenomena in need of explanation. Finally, I propose a unifying theory in which all perception results from performing a task, and tasks face a limit on complexity.

Sense and Symbolic Sensibility: The Rise of Amphibians and the Roots of Language in Whiteheadian Perspective

Abstract Perspectives on the difficult topic of the evolution of language can be differentiated to a large extent based on how much relevant continuity or discontinuity they see between humans and nonhuman animals. In general, biologists and psychologists tend to have a broad definition of “language” that highlights significant continuities, whereas linguists tend to define “language” more narrowly, in accord with their emphasis on the uniqueness of human capacities. This article examines the value of Whitehead's innovative theory of language, which is grounded in his account of the fundamental symbolic element in basic perceptual processes, mainly for understanding the continuities between animal and human perceptual and symbolic activity but also for accommodating the discontinuity, or at least the pivotal difference, evident in the full flowering of human language. It will focus particularly on applying Whitehead's approach to gain a new understanding of the emergence, with the rise of amphibians, of the first vocalization in the history of life.

Manager's Decision-Making Styles: A Case Study On Family Enterprises

The personality traits of the managers, their perception styles, management approaches and the way they evaluate the events can affect their decision-making styles. However, it is known that managers generally prefer one of the intuitive or rational decision forms in the management process. This study aimed to examine managers' decision-making behaviors within the rationality and heuristics framework. The research is designed as a case study, one of the qualitative research designs, as it aims to examine the decision-making styles of the managers in family businesses and which rational or intuitive decision-making style they prefer. The research sample was determined according to the purposive sampling technique and includes 19 family business managers. Research data were collected from 19 family business managers operating in different fields with the help of a semi-structured interview form. The collected data were analyzed according to qualitative content analysis. According to the research findings, managers use all rational, limited rational or intuitive decision-making types in their decision processes. Participants stated that the conjuncture and their way of evaluating events determine the decision-making process. The research results show that perceiving and evaluating the conditions in the decision-making process affects the decision-making process. This result shows that decisions are made depending on the perception of events and personality traits. This situation is critical because it shows that decisions are made according to factual/rational processes and subjective and perceptual processes

An attentional and working memory theory of hallucination vulnerability in frontotemporal dementia

Abstract The rate and prevalence of hallucinations in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia is well established. The mechanisms for underlying vulnerability however are the least well described in FTD compared with other neuropsychiatric conditions, despite the presence of these features significantly complicating the diagnostic process. As such, this present study aimed to provide a detailed characterization of the neural, cognitive and behavioural profile associated with a predisposition to hallucinatory experiences in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia. In total, 153 patients with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia were recruited sequentially for this study. A group of patients with well characterized hallucinations and good-quality volumetric MRI scans (n = 23) were genetically and demographically matched to a group without hallucinations (n = 23) and a healthy control cohort (n = 23). All patients were assessed at their initial visit by means of a detailed clinical interview, a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests and MRI. Data were analysed according to three levels: (i) the relationship between neural structures, cognition, behaviour and hallucinations in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia; (ii) the impact of the C9orf72 expansion; and (iii) hallucination subtype on expression of hallucinations. Basic and complex attentional (including divided attention and working memory) and visual function measures differed between groups (all P < 0.001) with hallucinators demonstrating poorer performance, along with evidence of structural changes centred on the prefrontal cortex, caudate and cerebellum (corrected for False Discovery Rate at P < 0.05 with a cluster threshold of 100 contiguous voxels). Attentional processes were also implicated in C9orf72 carriers with hallucinations with structural changes selectively involving the thalamus. Patients with visual hallucinations in isolation showed a similar pattern with emphasis on cerebellar atrophy. Our findings provided novel insights that attentional and visual function subsystems and related distributed brain structures are implicated in the generation of hallucinations in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia, that dissociate across C9orf72, sporadic behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia and for the visual subtype of hallucinations. This loading on attentional and working memory measures is in line with current mechanistic models of hallucinations that frequently suggest a failure of integration of cognitive and perceptual processes. We therefore propose a novel cognitive and neural model for hallucination predisposition in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia that aligns with a transdiagnostic model for hallucinations across neurodegeneration and psychiatry.

Auditory Event-related Potentials for Word Stimuli in Kannada Language Among Native Kannada Speakers with Dementia

Background: The P300 is a positive auditory event-related potential appearing around 300 msec post-oddball stimulus onset. Tone and monosyllabic stimuli have been widely used in P300 research, providing valuable insights into auditory perception, phoneme discrimination, language processing, and other cognitive processes. Bi-syllabic minimal pairs may be more challenging for some individuals because they require processing and discrimination of more complex phonemic structures. The aim of the study was to elicit and analyze the auditory event-related potentials for bi-syllabic word stimuli in the Kannada language among individuals with dementia. Method: The prospective study was conducted at the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology. Ten native Kannada language speakers (five male; and five female) diagnosed with dementia, aged 55–70 years, were the participants. The naturally produced and recorded CVCV (Consonant vowel consonant vowel) tokens (/ko:ti/ and /ko:thi/ pair; /a: me/ and /a:ne pair) in Kannada were used in the auditory oddball paradigm. Results: The waveforms with positive peak for word (PPW) with clear morphology were used to obtain the latency and amplitude. Mean and Standard deviation (SD) value for the latency of the PPW was 545 ± 38 msec and the amplitude value of PPW was 2.5 ± 1.5 µV. Conclusion: The present study showed that when lengthier speech stimulus duration was used, the latency value of auditory event-related potential was higher. The study also showed that PPW is a reliable peak that could be used in the clinical population.

Individual-specific postural discomfort prediction using decision tree models

The objective of the current study was to explore the utilization of the decision tree (DT) algorithm to model posture-discomfort relationships at the individual level. The DT algorithm has the advantage that it makes no assumptions about the distribution of data, is robust in representing non-linear data with noise, and produces white-box models that are interpretable. Individual-level modelling is essential for examining individual-specific postural discomfort perception processes and understanding the inter-individual variability. It also has practical applications, including the development of individual-specific digital human models and more precise and informative population accommodation analysis. Individual-specific DT models were generated using postural discomfort rating data for various seated upper body postures to predict discomfort based on postural and task variables. The individual-specific DT models accurately predicted postural discomfort and revealed large inter-individual variability in the modelling results. DT modelling is expected to greatly facilitate investigating the human discomfort perception process.

Gamma activity in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Enhanced response to visual input

IntroductionAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a childhood onset neurodevelopmental condition, that leads to permanent disability in a high proportion of cases. ASD is associated with a heterogeneous symptom presentation, which - besides social interaction and communication difficulties - encompasses altered sensory reactivity, including excessive hyper-sensitivity to stimuli, especially in the visual domain. Meta-analyses of fMRI studies revealed increased reactivity in visual task conditions in the temporal and occipital brain regions. Neural oscillations in the EEG gamma band are viewed as a candidate neurobiological marker for higher order sensory and perceptual processes, and social interactions.ObjectivesWe investigated changes in gamma activity in the EEG in the eyes open (EO) vs. eyes closed (EC) condition in order to identify the neurobiological underpinning of the enhanced sensitivity to visual input in ASD as compared to typically developing (TD) subjects.MethodsEEGs were obtained in EC and EO condition in ASD (N=23) and TD subjects (N=24) in an ongoing study. For EEG recording we used a high-density 128-channel BioSemi system, with 0.5 Hz frequency resolution. The spectral power in the gamma band (30-100Hz) was quantified by the power spectral density. To investigate whether changes in the gamma band were linked to changes in arousal instead of enhanced visual processing, we also examined alterations in the alpha band (8-13Hz) in the EO condition. Spectral power changes were determined for each EEG channel by computing the difference between the EC and EO conditions (EO-EC).ResultsSpectral power in the gamma band showed changes in the opposite direction in the two study groups: ASD subjects manifested significant (p<0.05) increase, while TD subjects had a decrease in the EO vs. EC condition in the temporal and occipital brain regions. By contrast, the changes in the alpha band were similar, with both groups exhibiting a spectral power decrease in the EO compared to the EC condition.ConclusionsIn ASD, an enhancement of gamma activity is present in the EO as compared to the EC condition in the posterior brain areas. These brain areas are involved in the processing of visual information, and gamma activity is considered as a measure of perceptual processes. Thus, the gamma alterations in the EO vs. EC condition may underlie the hyper-sensitivity symptoms to visual stimuli in ASD, and EEG can offer a simple to use tool to delineate the neurobiological foundation of the symptom presentation.Funding statement: Hungarian Brain Research program,#NAP2022-I-4/2022Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Reality as Persistence and Resistance

Abstract This paper proposes a way to understand the meaning of reality (in science) on the basis of the concepts of persistence and resistance. It first supports the ontological view that reality consists of persistent potentialities, which resist being excluded from existence. A study of the cases of the Higgs boson and the hypothetical Ϝ-particle helps to illustrate how real entities persist and resist. The paper then suggests that, perceptually speaking, the results of ordinary perception or observational processes persistently appear under appropriate conditions, and they resist disappearance even when the appropriate conditions are not completely prepared. Finally, it argues that, epistemologically speaking, a truthful theory resists being falsified and persists across replicable observations and experiments.

Early Infant Prefrontal Cortical Microstructure Predicts Present and Future Emotionality

BackgroundHigh levels of infant negative emotionality (NE) and low positive emotionality (PE) predict future emotional and behavioral problems. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) supports emotional regulation, with each PFC subregion specializing in specific emotional processes. Neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging estimates microstructural integrity and myelination via the neurite density index (NDI) and dispersion via the orientation dispersion index (ODI), with potential to more accurately evaluate microstructural alterations in the developing brain. Yet, no study has used these indices to examine associations between PFC microstructure and concurrent or developing infant emotionality. MethodsWe modeled PFC subregional NDI and ODI at 3 months with caregiver-reported infant NE and PE at 3 months (n = 61) and at 9 months (n = 50), using multivariable and subsequent bivariate regression models. ResultsThe most robust statistically significant findings were positive associations among 3-month rostral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) ODI and caudal ACC NDI and concurrent NE, a positive association between 3-month lateral orbitofrontal cortex ODI and prospective NE, and a negative association between 3-month dorsolateral PFC ODI and concurrent PE. Multivariate models also revealed that other PFC subregional microstructure measures, as well as infant and caregiver sociodemographic and clinical factors, predicted infant 3- and 9-month NE and PE. ConclusionsGreater NDI and ODI, reflecting greater microstructural complexity, in PFC regions supporting salience perception (rostral ACC), decision making (lateral orbitofrontal cortex), action selection (caudal ACC), and attentional processes (dorsolateral PFC) might result in greater integration of these subregions with other neural networks and greater attention to salient negative external cues, thus higher NE and/or lower PE. These findings provide potential infant cortical markers of future psychopathology risk.

Predictive coding networks for temporal prediction.

One of the key problems the brain faces is inferring the state of the world from a sequence of dynamically changing stimuli, and it is not yet clear how the sensory system achieves this task. A well-established computational framework for describing perceptual processes in the brain is provided by the theory of predictive coding. Although the original proposals of predictive coding have discussed temporal prediction, later work developing this theory mostly focused on static stimuli, and key questions on neural implementation and computational properties of temporal predictive coding networks remain open. Here, we address these questions and present a formulation of the temporal predictive coding model that can be naturally implemented in recurrent networks, in which activity dynamics rely only on local inputs to the neurons, and learning only utilises local Hebbian plasticity. Additionally, we show that temporal predictive coding networks can approximate the performance of the Kalman filter in predicting behaviour of linear systems, and behave as a variant of a Kalman filter which does not track its own subjective posterior variance. Importantly, temporal predictive coding networks can achieve similar accuracy as the Kalman filter without performing complex mathematical operations, but just employing simple computations that can be implemented by biological networks. Moreover, when trained with natural dynamic inputs, we found that temporal predictive coding can produce Gabor-like, motion-sensitive receptive fields resembling those observed in real neurons in visual areas. In addition, we demonstrate how the model can be effectively generalized to nonlinear systems. Overall, models presented in this paper show how biologically plausible circuits can predict future stimuli and may guide research on understanding specific neural circuits in brain areas involved in temporal prediction.

Mental Imagery: Investigating the Limits of Mental Partitioning

IntroductionDo we form mental models which bear an analogical relation to the real world like those of a photograph? Has the language of thought an analogue nature (it makes use of mental imagery) or whether it is exclusively of digital nature like language? ObjectivesThe basic aim of the present study is to contribute to the ongoing work on mental imagery by extending the research to an unexplored area that of mental partitioning. MethodsThe present research sample consisted of 498 participants (234 males and 264 females). We used the SPSS software package in order to analyze our data. ResultsAccording to our results, we detected significant peculiarities in the cognitive performance of the participants in the tasks of mental partitioning of the Moebius strip, indicating certain limitations inherent in human thinking. ConclusionsThe position we are led to adopt is closer to that of Pylyshyn (2003), who maintained that visual mental imagery depends on abstract form of thought and on previous knowledge. Specifically, it rests on previous abstract propositional thought and knowledge rather than on concrete perceptual processes like the ones proposed by Kosslyn and Sheppard. The present work investigates a potentially valuable theoretical basis in imagery research for understanding maladaptive imagery across various related clinical disorders, while encouraging multidisciplinary approaches among cognitive psychological/neuroscientific and clinical domains.

The eyes have it! Functional field of view differences between visual search behavior and body-worn camera during a use of force response in active-duty police officers

ABSTRACT Although officer body-worn cameras (BWCs) have improved transparency of police interactions within the community, BWCs have a limited field of view, are subject to bias, and do not account for the factors that influence rapid decision-making by officers, including their visual attentional control and perceptual processes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the camera perspective of six critical incidents and position data from BWC compared to eye tracking and head movement data in a use-of-force scenario from 44 active-duty police officers. The analysis of gyroscope and accelerometer data demonstrated low correlations between eye cameras and BWC position data. Officers attended 80.5% of all critical incidents, whereas BWC view captured only 66.2%, especially missing key events (<48%). BWC footage did not account for the visual information and the behaviors of the suspect, potential threats, and bystanders who influence the officers' decision-making during the use of force encounters.

The Impact of Phonological Variation on Speech Perception and

Purpose: The general aim of the study was to examine the impact of phonological variation on speech perception and production.&#x0D; Methodology: The study adopted a desktop research methodology. Desk research refers to secondary data or that which can be collected without fieldwork. Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. Thus, the study relied on already published studies, reports and statistics. This secondary data was easily accessed through the online journals and library.&#x0D; Findings: The findings reveal that there exists a contextual and methodological gap relating to phonological variation on speech perception and production. Preliminary empirical review revealed that that phonological variation significantly influences both speech perception and production processes. It highlighted the complex interplay between phonological variation, social factors, cultural context, and cognitive mechanisms. Moreover, the study emphasized the importance of addressing phonological variation in language education, clinical practice, and intercultural communication to promote inclusive communication practices in diverse settings. Overall, the findings contribute to a deeper understanding of language diversity and its implications for communication.&#x0D; Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Labov's theory of Variationist Sociolinguistics, Optimality theory and Speech Accommodation theory may be used to anchor future studies on phonological variation on speech perception and production. The study provided valuable recommendations that contributed to theoretical understanding, practical communication outcomes, and language policy decisions. It integrated insights from phonological variation research into linguistic theories, recommended the integration of phonological training into language instruction programs, and emphasized the importance of inclusive language policies. Additionally, the study suggested interventions to improve communication effectiveness, bridge communication gaps, address language disorders, and promote linguistic diversity. By incorporating these recommendations, stakeholders worked towards enhancing communication and fostering linguistic inclusivity across diverse linguistic contexts.

Revealing brain's cognitive process deeply: a study of the consistent EEG patterns of audio-visual perceptual holistic.

To investigate the brain's cognitive process and perceptual holistic, we have developed a novel method that focuses on the informational attributes of stimuli. We recorded EEG signals during visual and auditory perceptual cognition experiments and conducted ERP analyses to observe specific positive and negative components occurring after 400ms during both visual and auditory perceptual processes. These ERP components represent the brain's perceptual holistic processing activities, which we have named Information-Related Potentials (IRPs). We combined IRPs with machine learning methods to decode cognitive processes in the brain. Our experimental results indicate that IRPs can better characterize information processing, particularly perceptual holism. Additionally, we conducted a brain network analysis and found that visual and auditory perceptual holistic processing share consistent neural pathways. Our efforts not only demonstrate the specificity, significance, and reliability of IRPs but also reveal their great potential for future brain mechanism research and BCI applications.

The mechanisms underlying conditioning of phantom percepts differ between those with hallucinations and synesthesia

There are many different kinds of ‘phantom’ percepts but it is unknown whether they are united by common mechanisms. For example, synaesthesia (e.g., numbers evoking colour) and hallucinations appear conceptually and phenomenologically similar: both result in a percept that does not have an environmental correlate. Here, people with synaesthesia (n = 66) performed a conditioned hallucinations paradigm known to be sensitive to hallucination susceptibility, and we asked whether synaesthetes would show the same behavioural profile as hallucinators in this task. Repeated pairing of checkerboards with tones, and gratings with colours encourages the participant to draw on prior knowledge when asked to report on the presence of the difficult-to-detect target stimulus. Synaesthetes show increased modelled expectancies for the stimulus association across the board, resulting in a higher number of detections at all stimulus intensities. This is in contrast to the pattern observed in hallucinators, who weigh their prior beliefs more strongly than controls, giving rise to more conditioned hallucinations. Results indicate that fundamentally different perceptual processes may be at the core of these seemingly similar experiences.

A problem case set for teaching psychophysics and psychophysical modelling

ABSTRACT Psychophysics can be considered a methodological core for quantitative studies of perception, as well as attention, memory, decision-making, etc. In typical introductory “Sensation and Perception” courses, students usually get a very basic idea of psychophysics and its main concepts. Here, I present an educational problem set for advanced practice in psychophysical data analysis and modelling. It is designed for students interested in a deeper understanding of perception and other cognitive processes and can be used as part of advanced undergraduate and master courses. Each problem case from the set includes a pregenerated data set and a research question that the student should answer by creating a psychophysical model (or several alternative models) and testing it against the data. Importantly, a successful model requires not only basic modelling and coding skills but also encourages deeper understanding of the logic of the method and basic concepts used to interpret behaviour in a psychophysical experiment. The article also presents a demonstration case with a detailed tutorial on its solution that can be useful for both students and instructors.