Young EFL learners' processing of multimodal input: Examining learners’ eye movements

Vision is arguably our premier navigational aid, allowing us to map out and actively explore our surroundings. However, we view the world from a constantly shifting platform and some visual mechanisms function optimally only if the images on the retina are reasonably steady. As we go about our everyday activities, visual and vestibular mechanisms help to stabilize our gaze on particular objects of interest by generating eye movements to offset our head movements. The general picture that has emerged of gaze stabilization in primates during motion is of two vestibulo-ocular reflexes, the RVOR and TVOR, that compensate selectively for rotational and translational disturbances of the head, respectively, each with its own independent visual backup mechanisms. A major objective of this chapter is to review recent work on low-level, pre-attentive mechanisms that operate with ultra-short latencies and are largely independent of conscious perception. Recent advances in the field of robotics and, particularly, in the domain of active vision, provide a complementary view of the uses and associated problems of visuo-inertial integration for the stabilization of gaze. Much like biological systems, robots have to comply with physical constraints imposed by the environment and/or by the need to coordinate their sensori-motor components in an efficient way. In contrast with biological systems, however, the experimental variation of implementation parameters and control strategies allows, among other things, a comparison of the different hypotheses and implementations. The goal of this chapter is to draw parallels between the results from biology and from a robot which uses inertial and visual information to stabilize its cameras/eyes. The Chapter is organized as follows. Section 2 describes the peculiarities of the patterns of retinal motion (optic flow) experienced by an observer moving through the environment. The appropriate compensatory eye movements required to stabilize gaze are described in Section 3, introducing the distinction between vergence and version eye movements. Section 4 describes the main characteristics of the vestibular system from a biological and artificial perspective and the distinction between “rotational” and “translational” components of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR). The magnitude of the eye movements required for complete compensation depends on various kinematic parameters such as the position of the eyes in the head, the inter-ocular distance, as well as the distance to the fixation point. Section 5 deals with the integration of visual and inertial information for gaze stabilization. This Section builds upon the concept of “translational” and “rotational” components of the VOR and highlights the differences between “version” and “vergence” control of compensatory eye movements. In particular the role of the radial component of optical flow in the feed-forward control of eye movements is compared with the feed-back loop mediated by binocular disparity. In Section 6, the contribution of inertial and visual information in gaze stabilization is discussed with reference to the different latencies and processing power required by the two modalities. The advantage of the integration of visual and inertial data is discussed from a biological and robotics perspective in the concluding Section.

Clinical reasoning assessment is an essential component of determining a health professional’s competence. Clinical reasoning cannot be assessed directly. It must be gleaned from a health professional’s choices and decisions. Clinical knowledge and knowledge organization, rather than a general problem solving process, serve as the substrate for clinical reasoning ability. Unfortunately, the lack of a gold standard for the clinical reasoning process and the observation of context specificity make it difficult to assess clinical reasoning. Information processing theory, which focuses on the way the brain processes and organizes knowledge, has provided valuable insights into the cognitive psychology of diagnostic and therapeutic reasoning but failed to explain the variance in health professional’s diagnostic performance. Situativity theory has emerged suggesting that this variance relates to context-specific factors that impact a health professional’s clinical reasoning performance. Both information processing and situativity theory inform the way in which we assess clinical reasoning. Current assessment methods focus on standardized testing of knowledge to maximize psychometric parameters and work-based assessments which evaluate clinical reasoning under authentic, uncertain conditions that can decrease the reliability of these measurements. Issues of inter-rater reliability and context specificity require that multiple raters assess multiple encounters in multiple contexts to optimize validity and reliability. No single assessment method can assess all aspects of clinical reasoning; therefore, in order to improve the quality of assessments of clinical reasoning ability, different combinations of methods that measure different components of the clinical reasoning process are needed.

Without other mechanisms such as induction and parsers, UG-based approaches to linguistic cognition seem to fail to explain the logical problem of language acquisition. Hence, a property theory has to be adopted to combine UG views with other cognitive mechanisms like information processing and restructuring (Ellis, 2008). Pienemann (1998, 2003)'s Processibility Theory, and Levelt’s (1989) psycholinguistic theory of speech production, Jackendof's (1987, 1997, 2002) MOGUL, and Carroll’s (2001, 2002) Autonomous Induction Theory (AIT) are among the models which try to add new views to the UG-based approaches. Although suffering from a number of criticisms and having a high degree of abstractness, AIT with its major premises and conceptions related to the role of induction, attention, input, input processing, feedback, learning, and UG seems to be able to explain some of the UG enigma in second language acquisition.

Nonverbal supports for word learning: Prekindergarten teachers’ gesturing practices during shared book reading

1. Purkinje cell activity was recorded from lobules VI and VII of the cerebellar vermis during the performance of visuooculomotor tasks designed to dissociate the signals related to head, smooth-pursuit eye, and retinal image movements. Task-related modulations in the simple spike discharge rates of 157 cells were observed in three alert monkeys. 2. Of 65 Purkinje cells that were completely tested for all three signals, all exhibited smooth-pursuit eye movement-related activity. An additional vestibular or visual response was observed in 17 and 11% of the cells, respectively. Eye, head, and retinal image velocity signals were all recorded in the same unit in 52% of the Purkinje cells. The responses of 5% of the fully tested cells were associated with changes in the direction of eye, head, and retinal image movement. 3. The observed sensorioculomotor responses were direction selective in 98% of the Purkinje cells. For the Purkinje cells that were fully tested, 60% of the cells exhibited peak discharge rates for ipsilateral and 40% for contralateral eye velocity. Of these Purkinje cells, 45% exhibited eye, head, and retinal image velocity signals with equivalent direction preferences. 4. Of 42 Purkinje cells tested, 88% demonstrated some kinds of interactive responses during combined eye and sensory stimulation. The interaction of eye and head velocity signals has been discussed in a companion paper (38). The modulation in discharge rate observed during tracking in the presence of a random dot background pattern could be predicted from the dissociated responses to smooth pursuit in the dark and to movements of the background pattern during suppression of eye movements. 5. The sensitivity to smooth-pursuit eye velocity averaged 1.4 times the sensitivity to head velocity. In 80% of the Purkinje cells, however, the sensitivity to eye velocity exceeded the sensitivity to head velocity by an average of only 10%. The sensitivity to smooth-pursuit eye velocity averaged 1.6 times the sensitivity to retinal image velocity. 6. An increase in Purkinje cell discharge rate was observed during the open-loop period of the initiation of smooth-pursuit eye movements. This open-loop response was consistent with the presence of a visual signal during ocular pursuit, since these cells were also shown to be responsive to a dissociated retinal image velocity signal. Furthermore, the magnitude of the open-loop response indicated an enhancement of the sensitivity to retinal image velocity when visual information became behaviorally significant.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Previous studies suggested that eye movements might be one of the factors that static images evoke illusory motion perception. The influence that visual information gives to posture control is also...

In this article, we present the following: a background of visually induced motion sickness (VIMS), the goal of our study, and descriptions of three recent studies conducted by our group on the measurement and analysis of eye movement while viewing movies and the relationship of eye movement with VIMS. First, this study focuses on the relationship between eye movement and motion sickness susceptibility. We investigated the relationship between the motion sickness susceptibility and the frequency of optokinetic nystagmus (OKN) with peripheral viewing. It was revealed that susceptible participants showed a lower OKN frequency under conditions that strongly support the occurrence of OKN than insusceptible participants. Second, this study focuses on the relationship between visual information and postural variation such as visually evoked postural responses (VEPRs). In this study, both eye movement and the center of gravity while viewing a movie were measured. Additionally, we evaluated the difference in the transfer gain of the transfer function (vision as input and equilibrium function as output) due to the type of movie content or way of viewing. The gain for the three-dimensional movie with peripheral viewing exceeded that for the two-dimensional movie with central viewing. Third, this study focuses on eye movement and the application of deep-learning technology. In this study, we classified the eye movement as peripheral or central using a convolutional deep neural network with supervised learning. Then, cross validation was performed to test the classification accuracy. The use of >1-s eye movement data yielded an accuracy of >90%.

P300 responses to emotive words of different hedonic tones were assessed in depressed patients (unipolar major), patients recovered from the same type of depression and normal controls. Depressed patients showed a smaller amplitude of P300 in response to negatively toned words than to positive words; normal controls showed the opposite pattern and recovered patients showed a pattern of response which resembled that of depressed patients. The experimental trials comparing responses to negative and positive stimuli in relation to neutral words showed significant differences for negative as compared with neutral stimuli, but not for positive as compared with neutral stimuli. Latencies of P300 did not differentiate depressed patients from normal controls. The results are discussed within the context of the 'expectancy' theory of information processing.

Investigation of cue-based vertical and horizontal eye movements with electroencephalographic and eye-tracking data

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to classify female softball players into two groups (high batting average and low batting average) and to identify characteristics of gaze behavior patterns and predict the pitch of the ball.<BR> Method: For the study, a total of 16 softball players (8 high, 8 low average) participated in the experiment. The experiment challenged the actual pitcher throwing the ball at a distance of 11.44m, with 15 hits per player. After hitting each ball, the task was to verbally express what pitcher threw. Players’ eye movement behavior patterns were measured using Tobii’s wireless eye movement tracking equipment.<BR> Results: In order to examine the difference in the actual blow performance of the athletes, the analysis was conducted by dividing into preparation action-stretch action (1 section), power position-release (2 sections), and pitching-batter swing (3 sections). In the two groups, the number of fixations was statistically different in all three sections, and the gaze fixation duration was found in the first and second sections. In the task of identifying the pitch of the ball, there was a difference between high and low batting averages groups.<BR> Conclusion: According to the skill of softball players, the results will be meaningful in providing basic information on how gaze behavior patterns appear and how visual information is used.

The patterns of optic flow seen during self-motion can be used to determine the direction of one's own heading. Tracking eye movements which typically occur during everyday life alter this task since they add further retinal image motion and (predictably) distort the retinal flow pattern. Humans employ both visual and nonvisual (extraretinal) information to solve a heading task in such case. Likewise, it has been shown that neurons in the monkey medial superior temporal area (area MST) use both signals during the processing of self-motion information. In this article we report that neurons in the macaque ventral intraparietal area (area VIP) use visual information derived from the distorted flow patterns to encode heading during (simulated) eye movements. We recorded responses of VIP neurons to simple radial flow fields and to distorted flow fields that simulated self-motion plus eye movements. In 59% of the cases, cell responses compensated for the distortion and kept the same heading selectivity irrespective of different simulated eye movements. In addition, response modulations during real compared with simulated eye movements were smaller, being consistent with reafferent signaling involved in the processing of the visual consequences of eye movements in area VIP. We conclude that the motion selectivities found in area VIP, like those in area MST, provide a way to successfully analyze and use flow fields during self-motion and simultaneous tracking movements.

Psychological literature reflects little information about neurolinguistic programming. There are even fewer reports of research o n basic tenets. This research investigated one facet, namely, the eye-movement hypothesis of Bandler and Grinder (1975, 1979) who posited that eye movements should indicate the representational system in use by an individual, e.g., visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. Eye movements have been descr~bed elsewhere (Thomason, Arbuckle, & Cady, 1980; Dorn, Atwater, Jereb, & Russell, 1983) . In t h ~ s research 22 undergraduates, whose mean age was 21.6 yr., were asked to respond to a 30-item questionnaire of 1 0 each, visual, auditory, and kinesthetic questions. Subjects' eye movements were videotaped through a one-way mirror and later rated by five naive undergraduates. Values of chi squared, computed individually for each subject, were not significant for eye movements. One analysis indicated that 50% of the rime no movements were discernable and rhat frequencies of eye movements to questions in other modalities were 2 2 % visual, 2 2 9 6 auditory, and 696 kinesthetic. Visual responses were as frequent as auditory responses which is conrrary to the current thinking that visual responses predominate. These results are not consistent with previous research (Thomason, et al., 1980) , except rhat neither project supported the eye-movement hypothesis of neurolinguistic programming. It is questionable whether the chi squared, reported by Thomason, et al. ( 1980) , is appropriate given the assumption of independence of data. Although the developers of neurolinguistic programming reject empirical research (Brady & Biedermann, 1985) , it appears that other controlled studies are warranted.

This article seeks to integrate two concepts, motor heuristics (Raab, 2017. Motor heuristics and embodied choices: How to choose and act. Current Opinion in Psychology, 16, 34–37) and movement analogies (Masters, 2000. Theoretical aspects of implicit learning in sport. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 31(4), 530–541), into a new theory: the Theory of Simplified Information Processing during Actions. Following the two-step theory integration programme proposed by Gigerenzer (2017. A theory integration program. Decision, 4(3), 133–145), we first describe the commonalities and differences between empirical phenomena associated with motor heuristics and movement analogies, and then analyse how the two concepts produce functionally equivalent outcomes. Both motor heuristics and movement analogies try to explain how actions can be performed with minimal cognitive effort, especially in circumstances where information overload may occur. They emphasise the power of simplicity, postulating that “less-is-more” when it comes to the information that needs to be processed to enable successful sports performance. The functionally equivalent outcome of simplified information processing is achieved by different cognitive means: Motor heuristics simplify movement selection by rank ordering information, whereas movement analogies are thought to simplify movement execution by chunking information. Empirically testing the predictions and assumed mechanisms of the Theory of Simplified Information Processing during Actions will improve our understanding of how humans effectively select and execute movements in situations in which information processing demands are high. Understanding how information is efficiently processed to guide actions will allow practitioners to develop effective evidence-based interventions that help to stabilise and improve performance in demanding sports settings.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate visual comprehension in memory for 360-degree video advertisements amongst adolescents under single and repeated viewing conditions.Design/methodology/approachThis study explored visual comprehension in memory for 360-degree video advertisements using the theoretical assumptions of the social psychology theory of social information processing by Wyer (2003). The authors conducted two experiments over a timeline of three months. In the first experiment, participants watched the 360-degree video advertisement once, and after one week, the same set of participants watched the same advertisement again. The theoretical assumptions in the comprehension unit were used to design the experiments and to explore visual comprehension in memory for 360-degree video advertisements. The data were collected using surveys and interviews through an experimental research design approach. NVivo software was used to analyse the data.FindingsThis study found that while female participants were able to comprehend colours in the visuals better, male participants were better able to comprehend facial expressions presented in the visuals. Further, both female and male participants were able to comprehend locations within the advertisement visuals. It was found that participants understood the plot or the story of the advertisement better after the second viewing than after the first viewing.Practical implicationsThe two main contributions from this study are as follows: from a theoretical perspective, the application of a social psychology theory for the advertising sector enables us to gather more insights about the social cognition stages of a human mindset such as information retrieval, judgement, decision making, goal stimulation and short- and long-term memory. In doing so, this study not only explored adolescents' visual comprehension memory of 360-degree video advertisements, but it also contributed to the theory of social information processing by Wyer (2003) by exploring consumer visual comprehension memory. From a practical perspective, the findings of this study provide a solid foundation for future advertising firms or agencies, marketers, and salespeople on how to design effective advertisements using 360-degree video versions in a way that appeals to consumer visual memory.Originality/valueThis paper can be considered as amongst the first studies which combine social psychology with advertising to investigate visual comprehension memory for 360-degree video advertisements amongst adolescents.

‘Random’ saccadic eye movements during verbal-linguistic and visual-imaginal tasks