Probing cross modal interactions in the perception of object motion and self-motion. How the brain integrates information from the different senses is not yet understood. This project aims first, to uncover how the brain integrates sound and visual information when perceiving moving objects and second, to probe more complex sensory interactions between sound, vision, and our vestibular senses when perceiving self-motion. This project will expand Australia's knowledge base, strengthen collabora ....Probing cross modal interactions in the perception of object motion and self-motion. How the brain integrates information from the different senses is not yet understood. This project aims first, to uncover how the brain integrates sound and visual information when perceiving moving objects and second, to probe more complex sensory interactions between sound, vision, and our vestibular senses when perceiving self-motion. This project will expand Australia's knowledge base, strengthen collaborative ties between Australia and Japan, and provide unique training opportunities for Australian and Japanese students. Publication of research in top-ranking journals will further promote Australian science abroad. Results will lead to improvements in the design of human-machine interfaces in both industry and entertainment.Read moreRead less
Negotiating the minefield: Social conventions surrounding group criticism and their role in explaining defensiveness. People often describe the delivery of group criticism as a 'minefield', because of the potential for mistrust, hostility and defensiveness. When it comes to group criticism, being right is not enough; one must also obey certain conventions that are designed to minimize hurt and denial. In this project we explore for the first time what these 'rules of engagement' are, and what t ....Negotiating the minefield: Social conventions surrounding group criticism and their role in explaining defensiveness. People often describe the delivery of group criticism as a 'minefield', because of the potential for mistrust, hostility and defensiveness. When it comes to group criticism, being right is not enough; one must also obey certain conventions that are designed to minimize hurt and denial. In this project we explore for the first time what these 'rules of engagement' are, and what this means for those who wish to promote positive change in groups. This will have applied implications in that it will help provide specific recommendations regarding how to negotiate sensitive issues within a range of cultural, national, and corporate groups.Read moreRead less
Integrating Models of Memory for Serial Order. This research aims to compare and integrate computational models of memory for serial order. The applicants have independently developed theoretically novel models, and this collaboration will enable them to combine and strengthen their complementary perspectives.
Much psychologically important processing, for example speech perception and spelling, requires the representation and reproduction of serial order information. Existing models account ....Integrating Models of Memory for Serial Order. This research aims to compare and integrate computational models of memory for serial order. The applicants have independently developed theoretically novel models, and this collaboration will enable them to combine and strengthen their complementary perspectives.
Much psychologically important processing, for example speech perception and spelling, requires the representation and reproduction of serial order information. Existing models account for a wide range of data and collectively represent exciting progress in the understanding of basic mechanisms of memory. Can these models be unified and reconciled? To date, detailed comparisons of models are lacking. This proposal is for the applicants to elaborate and unify their contrasting theoretical approaches.
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Music cognition in infants, children and adults. Music is an important tool for the expression of emotion and transmission of culture. One approach to understanding why music is a human universal is to examine how people process musical structure - the simultaneous and sequential pitch relations among tones of musical pieces. We investigate the way humans acquire implicit and explicit knowledge of such relations and the way exposure to music influences acquisition. Three experiments involving in ....Music cognition in infants, children and adults. Music is an important tool for the expression of emotion and transmission of culture. One approach to understanding why music is a human universal is to examine how people process musical structure - the simultaneous and sequential pitch relations among tones of musical pieces. We investigate the way humans acquire implicit and explicit knowledge of such relations and the way exposure to music influences acquisition. Three experiments involving infants, children and adults will compare formal musical training with incidental learning. Results will increase knowledge of the development of auditory perception and music cognition. Infant perceptual predispositions hold implications for music education.Read moreRead less
The role of time and similarity in short-term memory. The project examines the role of time and similarity in memory for serial order, with the long-term goal to construct a new computational model of short-term memory. The investigators are internationally known for their models, and the collaboration will enable them to combine their complementary perspectives into a unifying theory. Theory construction will be guided by two sets of studies: The first will delineate the circumstances, if any, ....The role of time and similarity in short-term memory. The project examines the role of time and similarity in memory for serial order, with the long-term goal to construct a new computational model of short-term memory. The investigators are internationally known for their models, and the collaboration will enable them to combine their complementary perspectives into a unifying theory. Theory construction will be guided by two sets of studies: The first will delineate the circumstances, if any, under which temporal separation at encoding affects memory. So far, we have shown that temporal distinctiveness has no effect on memory, unless people use temporal gaps to 'chunk' the list. The second set of studies will examine whether phonological similarity determines the strength of encoding.Read moreRead less
Stereoscopic Vision at Large Distances. This project measures the benefits of stereopsis, which is a perception of depth obtained from binocular vision, at distances of tens to hundreds of meters. Almost nothing is known of our stereoscopic abilities over this range and thus this is new and fundamental data about human vision. We will investigate how monocular and binocular information is combined at large distances; an issue relevant to sensor fusion, a central problem in neuroscience. The rese ....Stereoscopic Vision at Large Distances. This project measures the benefits of stereopsis, which is a perception of depth obtained from binocular vision, at distances of tens to hundreds of meters. Almost nothing is known of our stereoscopic abilities over this range and thus this is new and fundamental data about human vision. We will investigate how monocular and binocular information is combined at large distances; an issue relevant to sensor fusion, a central problem in neuroscience. The research is also critical for any tasks involving judgments over long distances including the recognition of distant targets and their relationships as well as the visual guidance of vehicles such as helicopters. It will also provide critical information to designers of binocular instruments.Read moreRead less
Time and Updating of Memory. What could be simpler than reading a few items, such as the digits in a phone number, and recalling them in the right order a short while later? Notwithstanding its apparent simplicity, this short-term serial recall task underlies sophisticated language abilities such as vocabulary acquisition and utterance production. Similarly, serial retention can be a critical element in mental arithmetic. A better understanding of short-term memory for serial order therefore has ....Time and Updating of Memory. What could be simpler than reading a few items, such as the digits in a phone number, and recalling them in the right order a short while later? Notwithstanding its apparent simplicity, this short-term serial recall task underlies sophisticated language abilities such as vocabulary acquisition and utterance production. Similarly, serial retention can be a critical element in mental arithmetic. A better understanding of short-term memory for serial order therefore has wide implications across many areas of education, in particular in primary school settings. The community benefit of this project arises from the improved teaching methods that can be developed on the basis of these results.Read moreRead less
A cross-linguistic investigation of lexical stress using corpus analyses, behavioural testing and computational modelling. Some languages exhibit variable patterns of emphasis or 'lexical stress' across words ('ZEbra' v 'girAFFE'). This research will provide a more precise understanding of the role of lexical stress in language processing. This will assist educators/clinicians working with normally developing children and those with developmental delays as well as educators/students in second-l ....A cross-linguistic investigation of lexical stress using corpus analyses, behavioural testing and computational modelling. Some languages exhibit variable patterns of emphasis or 'lexical stress' across words ('ZEbra' v 'girAFFE'). This research will provide a more precise understanding of the role of lexical stress in language processing. This will assist educators/clinicians working with normally developing children and those with developmental delays as well as educators/students in second-language learning. It will also lead to improved automatic speech recognition/synthesis - used in commercial applications such as phone banking, edutainment/epistemic computer games and communication devices (speech-to-text dictation systems for those with limited mobility and text-to-speech systems for those unable to speak). Undertaken in collaboration with a high-profile research lab in the UK this project will maintain Australia's competitive edge in cognitive science.Read moreRead less
Race and gender stereotypes on the brain: The case of emotion expression. Australia is a multicultural, multiethnic society in which people from different backgrounds interact every day. Successful interaction among persons from different backgrounds requires a mutual understanding of the manner in which emotions are expressed and perceived as emotions are a central part of any interaction. The current project will investigate whether there are systematic biases in the manner in which emotions ....Race and gender stereotypes on the brain: The case of emotion expression. Australia is a multicultural, multiethnic society in which people from different backgrounds interact every day. Successful interaction among persons from different backgrounds requires a mutual understanding of the manner in which emotions are expressed and perceived as emotions are a central part of any interaction. The current project will investigate whether there are systematic biases in the manner in which emotions are expressed and perceived within and across ethnic groups. It will rely on objective indices to achieve this aim, measures of the electrical activity of the brain. Read moreRead less
A philosophical and empirical approach to the nature of perception and belief. This project offers substantial benefits - intellectual, practical, and ultimately economic - to the nation. On the intellectual side, the project will contribute to research output and will further enhance the national research strength in the study of delusions, rationality, and agency, within both philosophy of mind and inter-disciplinary cognitive science. On the practical side, the project offers the prospect of ....A philosophical and empirical approach to the nature of perception and belief. This project offers substantial benefits - intellectual, practical, and ultimately economic - to the nation. On the intellectual side, the project will contribute to research output and will further enhance the national research strength in the study of delusions, rationality, and agency, within both philosophy of mind and inter-disciplinary cognitive science. On the practical side, the project offers the prospect of considerable benefits for the community as improved theories of the nature and causes of delusions generate strategies for earlier detection or even prevention of the development of delusions, new methods of therapy for patients, and better understanding for families.Read moreRead less