Department of Psychological Sciences Papers and Publications

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The Networked Classroom
(1996) Lane, David M.; Atlas, Robert S.
The neural correlates of verb and noun processing A PET study
(1999) Perani, Daniela; Cappa, Stefano F.; Schnur, Tatiana T.; Tettamanti, Marco; Collina, Simona; Rosa, Mario Miguel; Fazio, Ferruccio; CNR; Oxford University Press
The hypothesis that categorical information, distinguishing among word classes, such as nouns, verbs, etc., is an organizational principle of lexical knowledge in the brain, is supported by the observation of aphasic subjects who are selectively impaired in the processing of nouns and verbs. The study lesion location in these patients has suggested that the left temporal lobe plays a crucial role in processing nouns, while the left frontal lobe is necessary for verbs. To delineate the brain areas involved in the processing of different word classes, we used PET to measure regional cerebral activity during tasks requiring reading of concrete and abstract nouns and verbs for lexical decision. These tasks activated an extensive network of brain areas, mostly in the left frontal and temporal cortex, which represents the neural correlate of single word processing. Some left hemispheric areas, including the dorsolateral frontal and lateral temporal cortex, were activated only by verbs, while there were no brain areas more active in response to nouns. Furthermore, the comparison of abstract and concrete words indicated that abstract word processing was associated with selective activations (right temporal pole and amygdala, bilateral inferior frontal cortex), while no brain areas were more active in response to concrete words. There were no significant interaction effects between word class and concreteness. Taken together, these findings are compatible with the view that lexical-semantic processing of words is mediated by an extensive, predominantly left hemispheric network of brain structures. Additional brain activations appear to be related to specific semantic content, or, in the case of verbs, may be associated with the automatic access of syntactic information.
Effectiveness of Simulation Training on Transfer of Statistical Concepts
(2000) Lane, David M.; Tang, Zhihua; National Science Foundation, Division of Undergraduate Education; Baywood Publishing Co., Inc
The effectiveness of simulations for teaching statistical concepts was compared to the effectiveness of a textbook. The variable Medium (simulation versus textbook) and Question specificity (Specific versus Nonspecific), were manipulated factorially. Question specificity was defined as follows: Subjects were presented with a scenario in which gumballs were sampled from an urn. Subjects in the “Specific” condition were given a specific question about the outcome of the sampling procedure to consider; subjects in the “Non-specific” condition were asked generally to consider what would happen. A no-treatment control was included. The subjects consisted of 115 college students. The dependent variable was performance on problems requiring subjects to apply what they learned to ill defined everyday problems. Subjects trained by simulation performed significantly better than those trained with a textbook. Subjects in the “Specific” condition performed better than those in the “Non-specific” condition, although the difference did not reach conventional levels of significance. These results support the increasing use of simulation in education and training.
Verb Production and the Semantic Interference Effect
(2002) Schnur, Tatiana T.; Costa, Albert; Caramazza, Alfonso; Institute for Cognitive Science
In three experiments, we explored the semantic interference effect in verb production with the picture-word interference paradigm. Experiments 1 and 3 addressed whether there is an effect of semantically related distracters on gerundial verb production; In Experiment 2, we explored the effect in naming verbs in sentence production and the third person singular form. The semantic interference effect was found in two of the three experiments. However, the effect was inconsistent when transitive and intransitive verbs were analyzed separately. The results are discussed in the context of models of the semantic interference effect in lexical access.
An Online Multimedia Resource in Behavioral Neuroscience
(2003) Lane, David M.; Tang, Zhihua; National Science Foundation, Division of Undergraduate Education; Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience
The advance of web-based technology has stimulated innovation in education. This paper discusses the development and evaluation of an online multimedia resource for undergraduate-level behavioral neuroscience education. This resource surveys four major subject areas: language, attention and perception, thinking, and autism. It employs audio and video streaming, online demonstration experiments, computer simulation, and internet links. This online resource has two distinct advantages over a paper textbook. First, a considerable proportion of the content is conveyed using multimedia, thus making the learning experience more vivid and dynamic. Second, its interactive components provide opportunities for students to participate in the various experimental tasks introduced in the text and to compare their own performance with those of others. This hands-on experience not only enables students to gain in-depth procedural knowledge of the tasks but also has positive effects on their motivation. Feedback from three undergraduate classes that used this resource as supplementary material showed that students were highly positive about its pedagogical values. This free resource is available on the web at http://psych.rice.edu/mmtbn/.
Efficacy of MedMyst: an Internet Teaching Tool for Middle School Microbiology
(2004-05) Miller, Leslie M.; Moreno, Janette; Estrera, Vicky; Lane, David; National Institutes of Health, National Center for Research Resources; Center for Technology in Teaching and Learning; American Society for Microbiology
Can web-based technology be used to effectively introduce or reinforce aspects of microbiology to middle school students? This central hypothesis examines whether brief exposure to a web adventure format containing virtual lab experiments and computer games within an engaging story line can impact student learning. An episodic adventure series, MedMyst (http://medmyst.rice.edu), focuses on infectious diseases and the microbes that cause them. The website is not intended to replace classroom instruction, but rather to engage students in problem-solving activities not likely to be encountered elsewhere. It also provides scientists with a resource to introduce microbiology to adolescent audiences through outreach activities. In the online adventure, the player (student) enters a futuristic world in which he or she becomes a “Reconstructor,” a member of an elite team charged with preventing the spread of infectious disease. The series consists of three “missions,” each lasting approximately 30 to 40 minutes and designed to address a limited set of learning objectives. Middle school students participated in the creation of the characters and the stylized design through focus groups. Classroom teachers oversaw the alignment of the web adventure objectives with the National Science Content Standards. Scientists and clinicians reviewed the web adventure for content and accuracy. A field test involving over 700 students from nine different schools assessed the knowledge gains attributable to playing MedMyst. Gain scores from pretest to posttest indicated that middle school students retained important information by interacting with the online material for as little as 30 minutes per adventure; however, gains for high school students were less persuasive, perhaps indicating a different learning tool or content is required for this age audience.
Localizing Interference during Naming: Convergent Neuroimaging and Neuropsychological Evidence for the Function of Broca's Area
(National Academy of Science, 2009) Schnur, Tatiana T.; Schwartz, Myrna F.; Kimberg, Daniel Y.; Hirshorn, Elizabeth; Coslett, H. Branch; Thompson-Schill, Sharon L.
In order to produce a word, the intended word must be selected from a competing set of other words. In other domains where competition affects the selection process, the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) responds to competition among incompatible representations. The aim of this study was to test whether the LIFG is necessary for resolution of competition in word production. Using a novel methodological approach applying the same rigorous analytic methods to neuropsychological data as is done with neuroimaging data, we compared brain activation patterns in normal speakers (using fMRI) with the results of lesion-deficit correlations in aphasic speakers who performed the same word production task designed to elicit competition during lexical selection. The degree of activation of the LIFG in normal speakers and damage to the LIFG in aphasic speakers was associated with performance on the production task. These convergent findings provide strong support for the hypothesis that the region of cortex commonly known as Broca's area (i.e., the posterior LIFG) serves to bias competitive interactions during language production.
Temporal characteristics of semantic perseverations induced by blocked-cyclic picture naming
(Elsevier, 2009-03) Hsiao, Esther Y; Schwartz, Myrna F.; Schnur, Tatiana T; Dell, Gary S
When unimpaired participants name pictures quickly, they produce many perseverations that bear a semantic relation to the target, especially when the pictures are blocked by category. Evidence suggests that the temporal properties of these "semantic perseverations" may differ from typical lexical perseverations in aphasia. To explore this, we studied semantic perseverations generated by participants with aphasia on a naming task with semantic blocking [Schnur, T. T., Schwartz, M. F., Brecher, A., & Hodgson, C. (2006). Semantic interference during blocked-cyclic naming: Evidence from aphasia. Journal of Memory and Language, 54, 199-227]. The properties of these perseverations were investigated by analyzing how often they occurred at each lag (distance from prior occurrence) and how time (response-stimulus interval) influenced the lag function. Chance data sets were created by reshuffling stimulus-response pairs in a manner that preserved unique features of the blocking design. We found that the semantic blocking manipulation did not eliminate the expected bias for short-lag perseverations (recency bias). However, immediate (lag 1) perseverations were not invariably the most frequent, which hints at a source of inconsistency within and across studies. Importantly, there was not a reliable difference between the lag functions for perseverations generated with a 5 s, compared to 1 s, responsestimulus interval. The combination of recency bias and insensitivity to elapsed time indicates that the perseveratory impetus in a named response does not passively decay with time but rather is diminished by interference from related trials. We offer an incremental learning account of these findings.
Phonological planning during sentence production: beyond the verb
(Frontiers Media S.A., 2011-11) Schnur, Tatiana T.
The current study addresses the extent of phonological planning during spontaneous sentence production. Previous work shows that at articulation, phonological encoding occurs for entire phrases, but encoding beyond the initial phrase may be due to the syntactic relevance of the verb in planning the utterance. I conducted three experiments to investigate whether phonological planning crosses multiple grammatical phrase boundaries (as defined by the number of lexical heads of phrase) within a single phonological phrase. Using the picture–word interference paradigm, I found in two separate experiments a significant phonological facilitation effect to both the verb and noun of sentences like “He opens the gate.” I also altered the frequency of the direct object and found longer utterance initiation times for sentences ending with a low-frequency vs. high-frequency object offering further support that the direct object was phonologically encoded at the time of utterance initiation. That phonological information for post-verbal elements was activated suggests that the grammatical importance of the verb does not restrict the extent of phonological planning. These results suggest that the phonological phrase is unit of planning, where all elements within a phonological phrase are encoded before articulation. Thus, consistent with other action sequencing behavior, there is significant phonological planning ahead in sentence production.
Phonological planning during sentence production: beyond the verb
(Frontiers in Psychology, 2011-11-04) Schnur, Tatiana T.
The current study addresses the extent of phonological planning during spontaneous sentence production. Previous work shows that at articulation, phonological encoding occurs for entire phrases, but encoding beyond the initial phrase may be due to the syntactic relevance of the verb in planning the utterance. I conducted three experiments to investigate whether phonological planning crosses multiple grammatical phrase boundaries (as defined by the number of lexical heads of phrase) within a single phonological phrase. Using the picture-word interference paradigm, I found in two separate experiments a significant phonological facilitation effect to both the verb and noun of sentences like “He opens the gate.” I also altered the frequency of the direct object and found longer utterance initiation times for sentences ending with a low-frequency vs. high-frequency object offering further support that the direct object was phonologically encoded at the time of utterance initiation. That phonological information for post-verbal elements was activated suggests that the grammatical importance of the verb does not restrict the extent of phonological planning. These results suggest that the phonological phrase is unit of planning, where all elements within a phonological phrase are encoded before articulation. Thus, consistent with other action sequencing behavior, there is significant phonological planning ahead in sentence production.
Binaral Rivalry in the Presence of Visual Perceptual and Semantic Influences
(Public Library of Science, 2012) Chen, Jennifer; Zhou, Wen; Chen, Denise
When two different odorants are presented simultaneously to the two nostrils, we experience alternations in olfactory percepts, a phenomenon called binaral rivalry. Little is known about the nature of such alternations. Here we investigate this issue by subjecting unstable and stable olfactory percepts to the influences of visual perceptual or semantic cues as participants engage in simultaneous samplings of either two different odorants (binaral) or a single odorant and water (mononaral), one to each nostril. We show that alternations of olfactory percepts in the binaral setting persist in the presence of visual perceptual and semantic modulations. We also show that perceptual cues have a stronger effect than semantic cues in the binaral case, whereas their effects are comparable in the mononaral setting. Our findings provide evidence that an inherent, stimulus-driven process underlies binaral rivalry despite its general susceptibility to top-down influences.
Teaching the Biological Consequences of Alcohol Abuse through an Online Game: Impacts among Secondary Students
(The American Society for Cell Biology, 2012) Klisch, Yvonne; Miller, Leslie M.; Beier, Margaret E.; Wang, Shu; Center for Technology in Teaching and Learning
A multimedia game was designed to serve as a dual-purpose intervention that aligned with National Science Content Standards, while also conveying knowledge about the consequences of alcohol consumption for a secondary school audience. A tertiary goal was to positively impact adolescents' attitudes toward science through career role-play experiences within the game. In a pretest/delayed post-test design, middle and high school students, both male and female, demonstrated significant gains on measures of content knowledge and attitudes toward science. The best predictors of these outcomes were the players' ratings of the game's usability and satisfaction with the game. The outcomes suggest that game interventions can successfully teach standards-based science content, target age-appropriate health messages, and impact students' attitudes toward science.
Science games and the development of scientific possible selves
(Springer, 2012) Beier, Margaret; Miller, Leslie; Wang, Shu
Serious scientific games, especially those that include a virtual apprenticeship component, provide players with realistic experiences in science. This article discusses how science games can influence learning about science and the development of science-oriented possible selves through repeated practice in professional play and through social influences (e.g., peer groups). We first review the theory of possible selves (Markus and Nurius 1986) and discuss the potential of serious scientific games for influencing the development of scientific possible selves. As part of our review, we present a forensic game that inspired our work. Next we present a measure of scientific possible selves and assess its reliability and validity with a sample of middle-school students (N=374). We conclude by discussing the promise of science games and the development of scientific possible selves on both the individual and group levels as a means of inspiring STEM careers among adolescents.
Getting Real: A Naturalistic Methodology for Using Smartphones to Collect Mediated Communications
(Hindawi Publishing Corporation, 2012) Tossell, Chad C.; Kortum, Philip; Shepard, Clayton W.; Rahmati, Ahmad; Zhong, Lin
This paper contributes an intentionally naturalistic methodology using smartphone logging technology to study communications in the wild. Smartphone logging can provide tremendous access to communications data from real environments. However, researchers must consider how it is employed to preserve naturalistic behaviors. Nine considerations are presented to this end. We also provide a description of a naturalistic logging approach that has been applied successfully to collecting mediated communications from iPhones. The methodology was designed to intentionally decrease reactivity and resulted in data that were more accurate than self-reports. Example analyses are also provided to show how data collected can be analyzed to establish empirical patterns and identify user differences. Smartphone logging technologies offer flexible capabilities to enhance access to real communications data, but methodologies employing these techniques must be designed appropriately to avoid provoking naturally occurring behaviors. Functionally, this methodology can be applied to establish empirical patterns and test specific hypotheses within the field of HCI research. Topically, this methodology can be applied to domains interested in understanding mediated communications such as mobile content and systems design, teamwork, and social networks.
Nostril-Specific Olfactory Modulation of Visual Perception in Binocular Rivalry
(The Society for Neuroscience, 2012) Zhou, Wen; Zhang, Xiaomeng; Chen, Jennifer; Wang, Li; Chen, Denise
It is known that olfaction and vision can work in tandem to represent object identities. What is yet unclear is the stage of the sensory processing hierarchy at which the two types of inputs converge. Here we study this issue through a well established visual phenomenon termed binocular rivalry. We show that smelling an odor from one nostril significantly enhances the dominance time of the congruent visual image in the contralateral visual field, relative to that in the ipsilateral visual field. Moreover, such lateralization-based enhancement extends to category selective regions so that when two images of words and human body, respectively, are engaged in rivalry in the central visual field, smelling natural human body odor from the right nostril increases the dominance time of the body image compared with smelling it from the left nostril. Semantic congruency alone failed to produce this effect in a similar setting. These results, taking advantage of the anatomical and functional lateralizations in the olfactory and visual systems, highlight the functional dissociation of the two nostrils and provide strong evidence for an object-based early convergence of olfactory and visual inputs in sensory representations.
A century of Gestalt psychology in visual perception: II. Conceptual and theoretical foundations
(American Psychological Association, 2012) Wagemans, Johan; Feldman, Jacob; Gepshtein, Sergei; Kimchi, Ruth; Pomerantz, James R.; van der Helm, Peter A.; van Leeuwen, Cees
Our first review article (Wagemans et al., 2012) on the occasion of the centennial anniversary of Gestalt psychology focused on perceptual grouping and figure-ground organization. It concluded that further progress requires a reconsideration of the conceptual and theoretical foundations of the Gestalt approach, which is provided here. In particular, we review contemporary formulations of holism within an information-processing framework, allowing for operational definitions (e.g., integral dimensions, emergent features, configural superiority, global precedence, primacy of holistic/configural properties) and a refined understanding of its psychological implications (e.g., at the level of attention, perception, and decision). We also review 4 lines of theoretical progress regarding the law of Prägnanz-the brain's tendency of being attracted towards states corresponding to the simplest possible organization, given the available stimulation. The first considers the brain as a complex adaptive system and explains how self-organization solves the conundrum of trading between robustness and flexibility of perceptual states. The second specifies the economy principle in terms of optimization of neural resources, showing that elementary sensors working independently to minimize uncertainty can respond optimally at the system level. The third considers how Gestalt percepts (e.g., groups, objects) are optimal given the available stimulation, with optimality specified in Bayesian terms. Fourth, structural information theory explains how a Gestaltist visual system that focuses on internal coding efficiency yields external veridicality as a side effect. To answer the fundamental question of why things look as they do, a further synthesis of these complementary perspectives is required.
Is Cognitive Ability a Liability?: A Critique and Future Research Agenda on Skilled Performance
(American Psychological Association, 2012) Beier, Margaret E.; Oswald, Frederick L.
Over a century of psychological research provides strong and consistent support for the idea that cognitive ability correlates positively with success in tasks that people face in employment, education, and everyday life. Recent experimental research, however, has converged on a different and provocative conclusion, namely that lower-ability people can actually be more effective performers within special environments characterized by features such as time pressure, social evaluation and unpredictable task change. If this conclusion is true, it has extensive implications for practices such as personnel selection, training design, and teaching at all levels. The current paper re-examines and reinterprets this research within the context of well-established resource theories of cognitive processing and skill acquisition leading to a less provocative conclusion that serves to reiterate the benefits of cognitive ability for task performance. Following this re-examination, we conclude by providing a research agenda for examining the determinants of skilled performance in dynamic task environments, including: (a) broadening the range of abilities and task difficulties examined, (b) considering the role of non-ability traits and goals in skilled performance (e.g., personality, learning and performance goals), (c) investigating the processes (e.g., problem solving strategies) that people use in complex environments, (d) developing research designs and analytic strategies for examining adaptive performance, and (e) investigating how best to train for adaptive performance.
Bringing Social Identity to Work: The Influence of Manifestation and Suppression on Perceived Discrimination, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover Intentions
(American Psychological Association, 2012) Madera, Juan M.; King, Eden B.; Hebl, Michelle R.
In the current article, we explored whether manifesting or suppressing an identity (race/ethnicity, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, or disability) at work is related to perceived discrimination, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions. Participants included 211 working adults who completed an online survey. The results showed that efforts to suppress a group identity were positively (and behavioral manifestations of group identity negatively) related to perceived discrimination, which predicted job satisfaction and turnover intentions. These results suggest that diverse employees actively manage their nonwork identities while at work and that these identity management strategies have important consequences.
Statistically Adrift: Why A Central Conclusion in Academically Adrift is Faulty
(2012) Lane, David; Oswald, Fred; Department of Psychology
One of the most cited findings reported in the book Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses by Arum and Roska is that 45 percent of the students did not show a statistically significant gain in critical thinking. In this paper we show that the significance tests were conducted incorrectly and that it would be very unlikely for any single student to show a statistically significant gain.
Interpreting Multiple Linear Regression: A Guidebook of Variable Importance
(Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 2012-04) Nathans, Laura L.; Oswald, Frederick L.; Nimon, Kim
Multiple regression (MR) analyses are commonly employed in social science fields. It is also common for interpretation of results to typically reflect overreliance on beta weights (cf. Courville & Thompson, 2001; Nimon, Roberts, & Gavrilova, 2010; Zientek, Capraro, & Capraro, 2008), often resulting in very limited interpretations of variable importance. It appears that few researchers employ other methods to obtain a fuller understanding of what and how independent variables contribute to a regression equation. Thus, this paper presents a guidebook of variable importance measures that inform MR results, linking measures to a theoretical framework that demonstrates the complementary roles they play when interpreting regression findings. We also provide a data-driven example of how to publish MR results that demonstrates how to present a more complete picture of the contributions variables make to a regression equation. We end with several recommendations for practice regarding how to integrate multiple variable importance measures into MR analyses.

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