Canada

Many of the real world phenomena that cognizers must grapple with are continuous, not only in the values they can take, but also in how these values change over time. The mind must somehow abstract from these inputs to extract useful discrete concepts such as objects, events and causal relationships. We investigate several factors that affect basic inferences about causal relationships between continuous variables based on observations in continuous time. In a novel experiment, we explore the ways in which causal judgments are sensitive to factors that relate to causal inductive biases (e.g. causal lags, the direction of variation) and causal perception (e.g. the range and rapidity of variation). We argue standard statistical time-series models have limited utility in accounting for human sensitivity to these factors. We suggest further work is needed to fully understand the cognitive processes that underlie causal induction from time-series information.

CogSci 2022

Intuitions and Perceptual Constraints on Causal Learning from Dynamics

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Join us for CogSci2022! Our 44th Annual Conference will be centered around the theme of diversity, with an accompanying range of keynotes and invited speakers who themselves highlight the diversity of our field. Our three symposia are Cognition across Diverse Populations, Cognition within Diverse Societies, and Global Challenges for Cognitive Science. The conference is being offered in a fully hybrid environment for onsite and online attendees.
 
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The 44th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society highlighted research on the theme Cognitive Diversity in addition to the full breadth and diversity of research topics offered by the society’s membership. 





When assessing the quality of a machine, people might consider the machine’s outputs—how well it serves its function. Alternatively, people might also consider the efficiency of the machine. We investigated this possibility in two experiments (N = 392). In each experiment, participants saw pairs of machines, one with simple inside parts and one with more complex inside parts. Machines either had the same output or unknown outputs, and people judged which of the two machines was better. When the machines had the same output, participants in both experiments judged that machines with simpler inside parts were better than ones with more complex insides. However, when machines’ functions were unknown, people predominantly judged that machines with complex insides were better. Together, our work shows that people consider both parts and functions of machines when inferring quality.

Using efficiency to infer the quality of machines

Human learning and generalization benefit from bootstrapping: we arrive at complex concepts by starting small and building upon past successes. In this paper, we examine a computational account of causal conceptual bootstrapping, and describe a novel experiment in which the sequence of training data results in a dramatic order effect: participants succeed in identifying a compound concept only after experiencing training data in a “helpful” order. Our computational model represents causal relations as reusable, modular programs, which can themselves be “chunked” and flexibly reused to tackle more complex tasks. Our specific approach is based in combinatory logic and adaptor grammars, building on previous theories that posit a “language of thought” for concept representation, but making the learning process more sensitive to a learner’s experiences than any particular choice of conceptual primitives. Crucially, we demonstrate that a caching mechanism like that used in adaptor grammars is key to explain human-like bootstrapping patterns in causal generalization.

Powering up causal generalization: A model of human conceptual bootstrapping with adaptor grammars

How do people make causal judgments about other's decisions? Prior work has argued that judging causation requires going beyond what actually happened and simulating what would have happened in a relevant counterfactual situation. Here, we extend the counterfactual simulation model of causal judgments for physical events, to explain judgments about other agents' decisions. In our experiments, an agent chooses what path to take to reach a goal. In Experiment 1, participants either made hypothetical judgments about whether the agent would succeed were it to take a certain path, or counterfactual judgments about whether the agent would have succeeded had it taken a different path. In Experiment 2, participants made causal judgments about whether the agent succeeded or failed because of the path that it took. Our computational model accurately captured participants' judgments in both experiments and we find that causal judgments are better explained by counterfactuals rather than hypotheticals.

That was close! A counterfactual simulation model of causal judgments about decisions

One pedagogical technique that promotes conceptual understanding in mathematics learners is self-explanation integrated with worked examples (e.g., Rittle-Johnson et al., 2017). In this work, we implemented self-explanations with worked examples (correct and erroneous) in a software-based Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) for learning algebra. We developed an approach to eliciting self-explanations in which the ITS guided students to select explanations that were conceptually rich in nature. Students who used the ITS with self-explanations scored higher on a posttest that included items tapping both conceptual and procedural knowledge than did students who used a version of the ITS that included only traditional problem-solving practice. This study replicates previous findings that self-explanation and worked examples in an ITS can foster algebra learning (Booth et al., 2013). Further, this study extends prior work to show that guiding students towards conceptual explanations is beneficial.

Self-Explanation of Worked Examples Integrated in an Intelligent Tutoring System Enhances Problem Solving and Efficiency in Algebra

Research about explanation processes is gaining relevance because of the increased popularity of artificial systems required to explain their function or outcome. Following an interactive approach, not only explainers but also explainees contribute to successful interactions. However, little is known about how explainees actively guide explanation processes and how their involvement relates to learning. We explored the occurrence and type of explainees’ questions in 20 adult–adult explanation dialogues about unknown present and absent objects. Crucially, we related the question types to the explainees’ subsequent recall of the unknown object labels. We found that explainees asked different types of questions, especially about the object’s label and facts. Questions about the object’s function were asked more when objects were present. In addition, requests for labeling were linked to better recall. The results contribute to designing explainable AI that aim to provide relevant explanations and to further experimental approaches to study explanations.

Explain with, rather than explain to: How explainees shape their learning

Recent work suggests that perceptual decoupling (i.e., eye behavior becoming less determined by the sensory environment) is responsible for eye behaviour changes between externally and internally directed cognition. In the current study we investigated perceptual decoupling effects on smooth pursuit eye movements elicited by simultaneous engagement in internal visual and arithmetic task under two workload conditions. The results of multilevel modelling showed that effects of perceptual decoupling were moderated by task type (higher for visual internal activity), workload (higher for high internal demands) and follow a characteristic time course relative to internal operations. The findings indicate that perceptual decoupling is a central mechanism underlying differences in eye behaviour between internally and externally directed cognition and shed light on relevant conditions of this effect.

Exploring perceptual decoupling in the context of smooth pursuit eye movement

We introduce a new benchmark dataset based on classic methods of studying 3D shape perception from texture and motion, inspired by earlier work on Gestalt principles of perceptual organization and the ecological (Gibsonian) approach to perception of structure in moving displays. The dataset consists of parametric 3D shapes (superquadrics) with procedurally generated textures rotating and translating against a similarly textured backdrop. We expect these stimuli to be challenging for current computer vision models, as they depart from the statistics of real-world or realistically rendered stimuli. We test a variety of models’ ability to segment textured stimuli across three training conditions: pre-trained on naturalistic stimuli, pre-trained+fine-tuned on textured stimuli, trained on textured stimuli. While no models generalize to segment textured stimuli without fine-tuning, performance improves with fine-tuning and training on textured stimuli. We will discuss how this benchmark can guide models of scene perception towards more human-like robustness and generality.

Benchmarking mid-level vision with texture-defined 3D objects

A set of fundamental principles governs our reasoning about objects since infancy. Studies have shown that adults are surprised when they observe apparent violations of these principles, which might prime them to learn from the violations and update their beliefs. However, little is known about whether these principles can be revised given counterevidence. In the present experiments, we demonstrate that although adults have strong prior beliefs about these principles, they can revise these beliefs in a specific, virtual world, when they observe multiple pieces of counterevidence.

Can Adults Revise Their Core Beliefs about Objects?

The study aimed to examine the relationship between mindfulness and affective thought dynamics. We hypothesized two principle components that are associated with trait mindfulness. Twenty-three participants wrote ten successive words from six seed words, rated affective dimensions on these words, and completed the five-facet mindfulness questionnaire (FFMQ; act-aware, describing, non-judgment, non-reactivity, and observing). Principle Components Analysis (PCA) was used reduce the affective dimensions and Markov-Chain to analyze state changes. Linear regressions were then used to examine the relationships between the PCs and FFMQ. Our results revealed one PC (valence, arousal, and importance). Linear regressions revealed that observing, act-aware, and describing predicted the probability of transitioning from negative to positive [P(N->P)] (B = 1.77, p = 0.040), P(PP) (B = 1.77, p = 0.040), and P(PP) (B = 1.77, p = 0.040), respectively. These state shifts may explain improvements in emotion regulation through mindfulness, which directs these affective shifts.

Trait mindfulness is associated with dynamic transitions in a combination of affective qualities

Epistemic emotions affect learning and exploration. Specifically, beliefs held with high confidence elicit high levels of surprise and curiosity when proven wrong. In turn, these emotions lead to searching for more elaborative details about the belief topic. Do epistemic emotions also motivate exploration of how widely a belief is held? After answering a trivia question and indicating how confident they were, participants were shown an answer submitted by another participant, reported their surprise and curiosity, and then given the option of seeing up to three responses from different participants. The results supported serial mediation, with certainty predicting surprise, surprise predicting curiosity, and curiosity predicting the number of additional sources explored. However, unlike prior findings, high-certainty errors did not result in stronger emotions or more exploration than low-certainty errors. Thus, epistemic emotions motivate not just elaborative exploration but also exploration of opinion convergence - two complementary ways to justify beliefs.

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