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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
161

Quantitative estimation from multiple cues

Helversen, Bettina von 06 February 2008 (has links)
Wie schätzen Menschen quantitative Größen wie zum Beispiel den Verkaufspreis eines Autos? Oft benutzen Menschen zur Lösung von Schätzproblemen sogenannte Cues, Informationen, die probabilistisch mit dem zu schätzenden Kriterium verknüpft sind. Um den Verkaufspreis eines Autos zu schätzen, könnte man zum Beispiel Informationen über das Baujahr, die Automarke, oder den Kilometerstand des Autos verwenden. Um menschliche Schätzprozesse zu beschreiben, werden häufig linear additive Modelle herangezogen. In meiner Dissertation schlage ich alternative ein heuristisches Modell zur Schätzung quantitativer Größen vor: das Mapping-Modell. Im ersten Kapitel meiner Dissertation teste ich das Mapping-Modell gegen weitere, in der Literatur etablierte, Schätzmodelle. Es zeigte sich, dass das Mapping-Modell unter unterschiedlichen Bedingungen in der Lage war, die Schätzungen der Untersuchungsteilnehmer akkurat vorherzusagen. Allerdings bestimmte die Struktur der Aufgabe - im Einklang mit dem Ansatz der „adaptiven Werkzeugkiste“ - im großen Maße, welches Modell am besten geeignet war, die Schätzungen zu erfassen. Im zweiten Kapitel meiner Dissertation greife ich diesen Ansatz auf und untersuche, in wie weit die Aufgabenstruktur bestimmt, welches Modell die Schätzprozesse am Besten beschreibt. Meine Ergebnisse zeigten, dass das Mapping-Modell am Besten dazu geeignet war die Schätzungen der Versuchsteilnehmer zu beschreiben, wenn explizites Wissen über die Aufgabe vorhanden war, während ein Exemplar-Modell den Schätzprozess erfasste, wenn die Abstraktion von Wissen schwierig war. Im dritten Kapitel meiner Dissertation, wende ich das Mapping-Modell auf juristische Entscheidungen an. Eine Analyse von Strafakten ergab, dass das Mapping-Modell Strafzumessungsvorschläge von Staatsanwälten besser vorhersagte als eine lineare Regression. Dies zeigt, dass das Mapping-Modell auch außerhalb von Forschungslaboratorien dazu geeignet ist menschliche Schätzprozesse zu beschreiben. / How do people make quantitative estimations, such as estimating a car’s selling price? Often people rely on cues, information that is probabilistically related to the quantity they are estimating. For instance, to estimate the selling price of a car they could use information, such as the car’s manufacturer, age, mileage, or general condition. Traditionally, linear regression type models have been employed to capture the estimation process. In my dissertation, I propose an alternative cognitive theory for quantitative estimation: The mapping model which offers a heuristic approach to quantitative estimations. In the first part of my dissertation l test the mapping model against established alternative models of estimation, namely, linear regression, an exemplar model, and a simple estimation heuristic. The mapping model provided a valid account of people’s estimates outperforming the other models in a variety of conditions. Consistent with the “adaptive toolbox” approach on decision, which model was best in predicting participants’ estimations was a function of the task environment. In the second part of my dissertation, I examined further how different task features affect the performance of the models make. My results indicate that explicit knowledge about the cues is decisive. When knowledge about the cues was available, the mapping model was the best model; however, if knowledge about the task was difficult to abstract, participants’ estimations were best described by the exemplar model. In the third part of my dissertation, I applied the mapping model in the field of legal decision making. In an analysis of fining and incarceration decisions, I showed that the prosecutions’ sentence recommendations were better captured by the mapping model than by legal policy modeled with a linear regression. These results indicated that the mapping model is a valid model which can be applied to model actual estimation processes outside of the laboratory.
162

EEG and fMRI studies of the effects of stimulus properties on the control of attention

Mugruza Vassallo, Carlos Andrés January 2015 (has links)
In this dissertation the effects of variations in stimulus properties and CTOA, in auditory attention tasks were explored using recently developed approaches to EEG analysis including LIMO. The last experiment was structured using information theory, designing an effective experiment. Four studies were carried out using a number parity decision task, that employed different combinations of cueing Tone (T), Novel (N) and the Goal (G) stimuli. In the first EEG study, contrary to previous findings (Polich 2002, 2007) in control participants, no correlation between the time of a novel condition to the next novel condition and P300 amplitude was found. Therefore single trial across-subject averaging of participants’ data revealed significant correlations (r > .3) of stimulus properties (such as probability, frequency, amplitude and duration) on P300, and even r > .5 was found when N was an environmental sound in schizophrenic patients. In the second EEG study, simultaneously with fMRI recordings, the participants that showed significant behavioural distraction evoked brain activations and differences in both hemispheres (similar to Corbetta, 2002, 2008) while the participants, as a whole, produced significant activations mainly in left cortical and subcortical regions. A context analysis was run in distracted participants contrasting the trials immediately prior to the G trials, resulting in different prefrontal activations, which was consistent with studies of prefrontal control of visual attention (Koechlin 2003, 2007). In the third EEG study, the distractor noise type was manipulated (white vs environmental sounds) as well as presence or absence of scanner background noise in a blocked design. Results showed consistent P300, MMN and RON due to environmental noise. In addition, using time constants found in MEG results (Lu, Williamson & Kaufman, 1992) and adding the CTOA to the analysis, an information theory framework was calculated. After the simulation of the information of the experiment, a saddle indentation in the curve of the information measure based on the states of the incoming signal at around 300 ms CTOA was found. This saddle indentation was evident in more than 60 novel trials. In the fourth study, the CTOA and stimulus properties were manipulated in a parametric experiment. Based on the three studies, reducing complexity if the task (first study), using more than 60 stimuli in the novel conditions (third study). The CTOA randomly varying between 250 ms or 500 ms. Thirty-eight ANCOVA with 2 categorical and 1 continuous regressors were conducted and determined which time and channels elicited reliably signatures (p <.05) in the whole participants at short CTOA. Results revealed differences for the waveforms of current condition by depending on which condition appeared previously as well in terms of frequency and duration in scalp frontal electrodes (such as the second study). These results were interpreted as a consequence of switching between modes of attention and alerting states which resulted in the activation of frontal areas. Moreover, contextual analyses showed that systematic manipulation of stimulus properties allowed the visualization of the relationships between CTOA, executive function and orienting of attention.
163

語意在句法處理中的角色:中文關係子句的眼動閱讀研究 / The role of semantics in syntactic processing: eye-tracking experiments of reading chinese relative clauses

呂翠屏, Lu, Tsui Ping Unknown Date (has links)
本文以兩個眼動閱讀實驗探討語意訊息 (semantic cues) 和句法訊息 (syntactic cues) 如何在中文關係子句的處理中運作及交互作用。實驗一旨在研究兩種動詞與論元之間的合理性關係 (plausibility) 是否會影響讀者理解不同結構的關係子句。結果顯示,當兩個論元都是合理施事者 (agent) 時,論旨角色的指派 (thematic roles) 有歧義,較難理解;而當只有一個論元是合理的施事者時,讀者趨向指派正確的論旨角色,且較快整合句法上的困難。此外,因中文句法結構特殊,讀者在關係詞之前就處理主語關係子句 (subject relative clauses) 的歧義,在主要動詞上則會遇到賓語關係子句 (object relative clauses) 的理解困難。此發現解決了Hsiao & Gibson (2003) 和 Lin (2006) 的歧見,證明中文讀者在不同位置會遇到不一樣的困難。實驗二所關注的語意訊息為論元的生命性 (animacy),關係子句中的兩個論元分屬有生命的 (animate) 及無生命的 (inanimate) 名詞。結果發現論旨角色的指派和生命性相互關聯,有生命性的論元較傾向當施事者,而無生命的論元傾向當受事者。讀者仍在關係詞之前遇到主語關係子句的理解困難,但在主要動詞,讀者主要依循生命性的引導來指派論旨角色,句法訊息的影響並不顯著。因此語意訊息在中文的語句處理扮演重要的角色,結果大致上與Traxler (2002)的研究相符。讀者同時受到當下的句法訊息以及語意訊息影響,在不同的位置會遇到不一樣的歧義性,而產生花園路徑效果 (garden-path effect)。 / Two eye movement experiments were conducted to investigate how semantic cues and syntactic structural cues function and interact in Mandarin Chinese relative clause (RC) processing. Mandarin Chinese is unique in combining head-final RCs with a VO basic order (Dryer, 1992, 2003) and also in relying solely on word order as structural cues, without case marking or agreement. However, Mandarin Chinese still preserves flexibility in word order that is motivated by pragmatics. Semantic cues, including the plausibility of the argument-verb relation and argument animacy within RCs, may be crucial to sentence processing in Mandarin Chinese. Experiment 1 aims to examine whether the meaning of the verb allowing only one of the two animate arguments to be a plausible agent may lead to reduction of ORC difficulty (cf. Traxler, 2002). The results showed that the plausibility effects were robust at the head noun and the main verb. A bias of thematic role assignment in the irreversible relation leads readers to correct interpretations, while the reversible relation does not elicit such a bias. The results also solved the discrepancy between the two previous studies (Hsiao and Gibson, 2003 & Lin, 2006) by unveiling a dynamic process in which readers encounter diverse ambiguities at different positions for different structures. Chinese readers disambiguate SRCs earlier due to their non-canonical word order and have trouble integrating the main verb in ORCs owing to perspective shifting. The interaction between plausibility and RC type on re-reading rate suggested that plausibility cues were used to solve syntactic ambiguity. Experiment 2 manipulated contrastive argument animacy in order to investigate whether thematic role assignment correlates with animacy. The results confirmed the hypothesis that while animate entities bias towards agent roles, inanimate ones incline towards patient roles (c.f., Valin & LaPolla, 1997). Besides, inanimate entities are conceptually less accessible than animate ones. Contrastive animacy shows its impact on syntactic processing with robust interactions at different positions. The findings of interactions between semantic cues and RC types in two experiments suggest that semantic cues play an important role in Chinese relative clause processing. Semantic plausibility and argument animacy can influence the process of thematic role assignment. The semantic cues that accord with the biases of thematic role assignment then would ease the syntactic ambiguities. Not only syntactic cues but also semantic cues are utilized by readers in sentence comprehension. In this thesis, the eye movement data provide clear evidence indicating that readers solve various temporary ambiguities syntactically and semantically at different positions of the sentence with relative clauses.
164

The Role of Chemical Senses in Predation, Risk Assessment, and Social Behavior of Spiny Lobsters

Shabani, Shkelzen 17 November 2008 (has links)
Chemical senses play a critical role in predator-prey and social interactions of many animals. Predators often evoke adaptive escape responses by prey, one of which is the release of chemicals that induce adaptive avoidance behaviors from both predators and conspecifics. I explore the use of chemicals in predator-prey and social interactions, using a crustacean model system, the spiny lobster. As predators, spiny lobsters are opportunistic, polyphagous feeders, and they rely heavily on their chemical senses during feeding. Some of their potential prey deter attacks through chemical defenses that act through the spiny lobsters’ chemical senses. An example of this is sea hares, Aplysia californica, which secrete an ink when vigorously attacked by sympatric spiny lobsters, Panulirus interruptus. I show that that this ink defends sea hares from spiny lobsters through several mechanisms that include phagomimicry, sensory disruption, and deterrence, and that the ink’s efficacy is enhanced by its naturally high acidity. As prey, spiny lobsters rely heavily on their chemical senses to assess risk from predators. One way to assess risk of predation is through ‘alarm cues’, which are injury-related chemicals. I show that injured Caribbean spiny lobsters, Panulirus argus, release alarm cues in their hemolymph, and that nearby conspecifics detect these cues using olfaction. Hemolymph from conspecifics induces primarily alarm behavior in the form of retreat, sheltering, and suppression of appetitive responses. In contrast, hemolymph from heterospecifics, depending on phylogenetic relatedness, induces either mixed alarm and appetitive behaviors or primarily appetitive behaviors. Spiny lobsters also use chemical cues to assess risk during social interactions with conspecific. I show that spiny lobsters use urine-borne chemical signals and agonistic behaviors to communicate social status and that these chemical signals are detected exclusively by the olfactory pathway. Dominant animals increase urine release during social interactions, whereas subordinates do not. Experimental prevention of urine release during interactions causes an increase in agonism, but this increase is abolished when urine of dominants is reintroduced. My findings lay the foundation for neuroethological studies of risk-assessment systems mediated by intraspecific chemical cues.
165

Förpackning av kommunikation. / Packaging of communication.

Löfqvist, Thobias, Edengréen, Oskar January 2011 (has links)
Ämne/Kurs: Kandidatuppsats, Medie- och Kommunikationsvetenskap, 15 hp Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka en specifik förpackning, i det här fallet produkten “Jabu’she”, om den förpackningen uppfyller vad som krävs för att kommuni cera sitt varumärke genom marknadskommunikativa uppgifter.  Detta för att se om varumärket är den viktigaste grafiska nyckelkomponenten på den förpackningen.  Metod: Detta är en kvantitativ undersökning, utförd med en datorstödd enkät.  Studien har arbetat med en metod framtagen av DeukSoo Kim. Teoretiska perspektiv: I teorikapitlet behandlas de teoretiska utgångspunkter som ligger till grund för det valda problemområdet; Marknadskommunikation med vikt på Point of Purchase och Visuell kommunikation med vikt på Visuell Hierarki Slutsats: Studien visar hur Jabushés förpackning uppfyller de visuellt hierarkiska och marknadskommunikativa uppgifter som ställs på en förpackning vid Point of Purchase. / Course: Bachelor thesis in Media and Communication Science Purpose: The purpose with this bachelor essay is to examine a specific package, in this case the product Jabu’she, if the package fulfil what is needed to communi cate its brand thrue marketing communication.  This, to see if the brand is the most important graphic cue element on the package. Methodology: This is a quantitative survey, executade with an computerbased questionaire. The study used a method developed by DeukSoo Kim. Theoretic  framework: This study use theories from Marketing Communication with emphasis on Point od Purchase and Visual Communication with the emphasis on hierarchy. Conclusion: The Study shows how Jabushés package answer to the visual and marketing communication requirements that is set upon a package at Point of Purchase.
166

Biogeographic Patterns, Predator Identity, and Chemical Signals Influence the Occurrence and Magnitude of Non-lethal Predator Effects

Large, Scott Isaac 2011 August 1900 (has links)
Predators can have large effects on prey populations and on the structure and function of communities. In addition to direct consumption of prey, predators often cause prey to alter their foraging behavior, habitat selection, and morphology. These non-lethal effects of predators can propagate to multiple trophic levels and often exert equal or larger effects upon communities than those of direct consumption. For non-lethal predatory effects to occur, prey must detect and respond to predation risk. While the importance of information transfer in this process has been realized, few studies explore how prey responses are influenced by predator characteristics and environmental conditions that influence the transmission of cues indicative of predation risk. In this dissertation I investigate factors that influence how a single prey species evaluates and responds to predation risk. Here, I examined: 1) the type and nature of cues prey use to evaluate predator risk; 2) how predator identity, predator diet, and the relative risk of predators influence prey response to predation risk; 3) how hydrodynamic conditions influence the delivery of predator cues; 4) how biogeographic trends in predator distribution influence prey response to predation risk; and 5) how genetic structure might vary according to prey geographic location and habitat. To address these questions, I used a common intertidal model system consisting of the rocky intertidal whelk Nucella lapillus (Linnaeus, 1758) and a suite of its predators, the native rock crab Cancer irroratus (Say, 1817), Jonah crab Cancer borealis (Stimpson, 1859), and the invasive green crab Carcinus maenas (Linnaeus, 1758). Nucella use chemical cues emanating from their most common predator (Carcinus maenas) and crushed conspecifics to evaluate predation risk. Nucella from different habitats experience different levels of predation risk, and Nucella from habitats with high levels of predation had larger antipredatory responses to predator risk cues than Nucella that experienced less predation. These chemical cues indicative of predation risk are influenced by hydrodynamic conditions, and Nucella have the strongest anti-predatory response in flow velocities of u= ~4- 8 cm s^-1. Furthermore, Nucella from geographic regions where green crabs are historically absent did not elicit anti-predatory responses, while Nucella from regions where green crabs are common frequently responded. Findings from my dissertation research demonstrate that prey detection and response to predation risk is highly dependent upon predator identity, predator diet, environmental forces, and biogeographic patterns in predator and prey distributions.
167

類別相似性線索對於社會排斥後續反應之影響 / Categorical Similarity Cues from the Possible Future Affiliated People Elicit Different Reactions after Social Exclusion.

洪嘉欣, Hong, Jia Sin Unknown Date (has links)
過往研究指出當個體受到社會排斥威脅後,可能產生兩種相反的行為,一者是具攻擊性的行為,而另一者則是希冀與其他人連結之親和傾向。本研究提出社會排斥之兩階段模式,認為當個體受到排斥威脅時,會同時有兩種不同的行為反應,一個是『避免傷害』,當此反應被激發時,被排斥個體會展現出『戰或逃』的行為傾向;而另一個反應則為『尋求歸屬』,在此反應被激發時,被排斥個體則會展現出『親近與示好』的行為傾向。而個體會出現何種反應,端視其之後互動的對象本身的屬性而定。若後續互動對象與先前排斥者間具有高相似性,此拒絕相似線索會引發個體展現出較高的戰或逃行為。相對的,若是後續互動對象所具有的特性與其自身之特性具有高相似性,亦即具有接納相似線索時,個體則會出現較多的示好行為。而這種隨著後續屬性,個體會出現不同反應歷程的假設在已完成的四個實驗中獲得初步的驗證。 實驗一(83名實驗參與者)採取2 (社會排斥:有、無) × 5 (類別相似線索:高拒絕線索vs.中拒絕線索 vs.高接納線索 vs.中接納線索 vs. 中性線索)之混合設計,結果發現受社會排斥威脅者會有較高意願加入帶有高可能接受線索之團體、較不願意加入帶有高拒絕線索之團體。實驗二(47名實驗參與者)採取閾下觸發來操弄社會排斥威脅,顯示社會排斥的確會讓人加速處理那些與拒絕者與可能接受者相關之訊息。而實驗三(74名實驗參與者)重複驗證了實驗一之發現,並且發現受社會排斥威脅之參與者在反應時間上會較快決定拒絕帶有高拒絕線索之團體,也會較快決定加入帶有高接納線索的團體(兩者皆對比於對中性線索團體之決策反應時間)。 實驗四(75名實驗參與者)則採取2 (社會排斥:有、無) × 2 (認知負荷:高、低) × 3 (類別相似線索:高拒絕線索vs.高接納線索vs. 中性線索)之混合設計,並發現當被社會排斥者處於高認知負荷狀態時,他們雖然還是能使用拒絕線索來選擇團體,但卻不會使用接受線索,顯示拒絕相似性線索為較為優先之線索。 實驗五A(67名實驗參與者)則採取2 (社會排斥:有、無) × 2 (性格回饋:有、無) × 4 (類別相似線索:拒絕線索對象vs.接納線索對象vs. 中性線索對象vs.原拒絕者)之混合設計,並發現當被給予性格回饋之後,受社會排斥威脅者會對於帶有接納線索的對象有較高的評價。而實驗五B(31名實驗參與者)採取2 (社會排斥:有、無) × 4 (類別相似線索:拒絕線索對象vs.接納線索對象vs. 中性線索對象vs.原拒絕者)之混合設計,發現受到社會排斥威脅者會對於帶有拒絕線索的對象及原拒絕者都會有較低的評價。 而實驗六與七則認為當個體對於相似性線索的認知被去、再類別化作業改變時,個體的反應也應隨之改變。實驗六採取(51名實驗參與者)則採取3 (社會排斥組別:社會排斥一般作業組、社會排斥再類別化組、控制組) × 4 (類別相似線索:拒絕線索對象vs.接納線索對象vs. 中性線索對象vs.原拒絕者)之混合設計,並發現當受到社會排斥者完成再類別化作業後,比起完成一般作業的參與者,他們對於原先帶有拒絕線索對象的評價會提升,而他們亦會提升對於原拒絕者的評價,顯示再類別化作業可以讓受威脅者感知到互動對象跟自己可以共屬另一個有意義之團體、自己與互動對象是相連結的,因而提升對這些對象之評價。 實驗七採取(46名實驗參與者)則採取3 (社會排斥組別:社會排斥一般作業組、社會排斥去類別化組、控制組) × 4 (類別相似線索:拒絕線索對象vs.接納線索對象vs. 中性線索對象vs.原拒絕者)之混合設計,並發現去類別化作業可以削弱類別相似性線索,因此使得受排斥者降低對原先帶有接納線索之對象的評價,亦會提升原先帶有拒絕線索對象之評價。換言之,由於去類別化作用會降低被威脅個體與互動對象的連結感,亦即他們對於互動對象與自己的相似性知覺會降低,個體因而降低對此類對象之評價;另一方面,去類別化作用也會降低帶有拒絕線索對象以及原拒絕者的相似性知覺,因而提升對於此類對象之評價。 綜合以上所述,本研究以一系列之研究來檢驗:個體受到社會排斥後,後續互動對象身上之類別相似性線索如何影響受威脅者之反應傾向。實驗一至五發現,當個體被社會排斥之後,他們對於那些帶有拒絕線索的個體會展現出戰或逃的行為傾向,並對帶有接納線索的個體展現親近與示好之行為,而拒絕相似性線索較為優先。而實驗六及七分別使用『再類別化』及『去類別化』兩種作業來改變類別相似性線索,來改變受社會排斥威脅者對於接納線索的知覺使其後續行為隨之改變。 / Previous research shows that social exclusion may cause either fight-or-flight behavior toward innocent people or a substantial increase in affiliation behavior. A two-stage model is proposed to explain people’s reactions after experiencing social exclusion. For these threatened individuals, groups that resemble their rejecter would provoke a defensive attitude and hostile behaviors. These individuals also show hospitality to those groups that resemble themselves to gain inclusion. The former process is more primary than the other. Experiment 1 (83 participants) and 3 (74 participants) used a scenario story to manipulate social exclusion. Groups with different categorical cues categorical similarity cues were provided. The results suggested that people after experiencing social exclusion tended to reject groups that resemble to previous rejecter. By contrast, groups that fit the characteristics of the target person were much preferred and received more resources. The second experiment (47 participants) used subliming priming to manipulate social exclusion. Main dependent measure was the decision time of lexical decision task. As predicted, compared to participants in control condition (all priming words in random order), those in social exclusion condition (being primed with rejection-softball and inclusion-enjoy-learning) processed rejection associated words (related to the reject group) and acceptance associated words (related to the perspective group) significantly faster than no association words. Experiment 4 (75 participants) used a 2 (social exclusion vs. control condition) x 2 (cognitive load: heavy vs. light) x 3 (categorical similarity cues: high rejective cue, high perspective cue, irrelevant cue) mixed-design. The results indicated that the excluded participants who had a heavy cognitive load could only avoid groups that resemble the previous rejecter and showed no preference for groups that might be suitable for them. To defend is the primary process. From experiment 5A to experiment 7, cyberostracism was employed to manipulate social exclusion. Experiment 5A (67 participants) used a 2 (social exclusion: social exclusion condition vs. control condition) x 2 (personality feedback: feedback vs. no feedback) x 4 (categorical similarity cues: rejective cue, perspective cue, irrelevant cue, rejecter) mixed-design. It was found that only those who with perspective cue could receive better evaluation from excluded participants. Experiment 5B suggested that excluded participants would evaluate people with rejective cues worse than those who in control group. The experiment 6 and 7 used decategorization and recategorization task to change the perceptions of categorical similarity cues. Experiment 6 (51 participants) showed that recategorization task could weaken the effect of the rejective cue and thus excluded participants would give better evaluation to people with rejective cue than participants in social exclusion only condition. Experiment 7 (46 participants) suggested that decategorization task might weaken the effect of perspective cue and therefore the evaluation tended to decrease for people with perspective cue. Eight experiments provided convergent evidence to this study to suggest that categorical similarity cues of possible affiliated people could elicit different reactions from excluded people.
168

Behavioural ecology of foraging and predator avoidance trade-offs in Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens)

2014 April 1900 (has links)
I investigated Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) foraging and anti-predator behaviour. My goals were to understand: (1) The role of environmental change on foraging and anti-predator behaviour trade-offs. (2) The relative cost/benefit trade-off between escape behaviour and cover-seeking behaviour. (3) How development of several independent morphological traits affects anti-predator behaviours. I used simulated river mesocosms to study Lake Sturgeon behavioural ecology under controlled conditions. I found: (1) Foraging intensity was significantly higher during the night than the day as well as in turbid environments versus clear environments, indicating that decreased turbidity alone, may in part drive anti-predator behaviour and constrain foraging activity. (2) In high-risk clear-water environments, Lake Sturgeon responded to danger by evoking an escape response and seeking cover in rocky microhabitats. However, in low-risk turbid environments, Lake Sturgeon responded to danger by seeking cover in rocky microhabitats, but not fleeing to a significant degree. Cover-seeking behaviour may therefore be a relatively low-cost/high-benefit anti-predator strategy. (3) Strong evidence for trait co-dependence between escape responses and body size, where larger fish were able to elicit stronger escape responses. I also found that cover-seeking behaviour exhibited a complex multi-tiered relationship, representing a mixture of trait compensation and trait co-specialization that is dependent on specific combinations of morphological traits. These findings are important because they help us understand: (1) The degree to which anti-predator behaviour can be influenced by changing environmental conditions. (2) The relative cost/benefit trade-off between two common anti-predator behaviours. (3) How behaviour and morphology interact in species with a complex anti-predator phenotype.
169

Self-generated and Cue-induced Expectations: Differences and Interactions

Kemper, Maike 10 March 2020 (has links)
Erwartungen spielen eine zentrale Rolle in der menschlichen Handlungssteuerung. Trotz ihrer Rolle in verschiedenen psychologischen Theorien, werden Erwartungen unterschiedlich operationalisiert (was zu teilweise widersprüchlichen Ergebnissen führt) und dabei oft nur indirekt über Hinweisreize(Cues) gemessen bzw. induziert. Diese Dissertation beschäftigt sich mit der Frage, wie sich selbst-generierte und cue-induzierte Erwartungen qualitativ unterscheiden, wie die beiden Erwartungsformen interagieren und welche Art der Operationalisierung zur Messung von Erwartungen zielführender ist. In den beschriebenen Experimenten hatten Proband_innen die Aufgabe, eine Erwartung zu verbalisieren und so schnell und akkurat wie möglich auf einen Stimulus zu reagieren, der diese Erwartung entweder erfüllt(match) oder davon abweicht(mismatch). Die Erwartung konnte dabei durch Vorlesen eines Cues oder die Benennung einer selbst-generierten Erwartung verbalisiert werden. Dabei wurden das Abstraktionslevel der Erwartung, die Art der Reaktion und der Vergleich der beiden Erwartungsformen (innerhalb vs. zwischen verschiedenen Trials) variiert. Bei einem Experiment, das einen genaueren Vergleich von cue-induzierten zu selbst-generierten Erwartungen erlaubt, konnte der größere Effekt von selbst-generierten Erwartungen bestätigt werden. Es wird gezeigt und diskutiert, dass und wie sich selbst-generierte Erwartungseffekte qualitativ von cue-induzierten Effekten unterscheiden. Am konkreten Beispiel von Konflikterwartungen können verbalisierte selbst-generierte Erwartungen eine zuvor widersprüchliche Forschungslage zum Einfluss von Erwartungen auf sequentielle Konflikteffekte konsolidieren. Die Effekte von selbst-generierten und cue-induzierten Erwartungen sind nicht additiv und der Effekt eines Cues wird nicht durch eine abweichende selbst-generierte Erwartung zunichte gemacht. In Anbetracht dieser Ergebnisse diskutiere ich kritisch die Operationalisierung von Erwartungen als Cues. / Expectations help to guide human behavior. For example, responses to expected events/stimuli are faster and less error prone than to unexpected events. In spite of their role in different psychological theories and corresponding experiments the operationalization of expectations is heterogeneous (which can lead to contradictory results) and very often conducted indirectly via cues. The research summarized in this dissertation dealt with the question how cue-induced and self-generated expectations differ qualitatively, how both types of expectations interact and which operationalization of measuring expectations is more adequate. In the summarized experiments participants had the task to verbalize an expectation and then respond accurately as fast as possible to a presented stimulus which could match or mismatch the expectation. The verbalization could either consist of reading aloud a cue or verbalize a self-generated expectation. In the different studies the features/abstraction of the expectations (and stimuli), the type of response, and the way how the effects of the two types of expectation were measured (within or between trials) were varied. In a setting that allows a stricter comparison of cue-induced and self-generated expectations than in previous studies the larger effect of self-generated expectations could be replicated. I confirm and discuss that and how verbalized self-generated expectation effects differ qualitatively from cue-induced effects. On the specific example of conflict expectations, the use of verbalized self-generated expectations can consolidate previous contradictory findings, e.g. about the influence of expectations on the sequential congruency effect. The effects of self-generated and cue-induced expectations are not additive and the effect of a cue is not cancelled if a diverging self-generated expectation is verbalized. In view of these results I critically discuss the operationalization of expectations as cues.
170

The Metabolic Physiology of Planarian Flatworms

Lewallen, Melissa A 08 1900 (has links)
Using a high throughput closed respirometry method to measure oxygen consumption, I determined metabolic rates in asexual and sexual Schmidtea mediterranea and Girardia dorotocephala, as a function of temperature, taxon, stressors, reproductive mode, age, regeneration, and specific dynamic action. This study has shown that oxygen consumption can reliably be measured in planaria using optode closed respirometry, and also provided a reliable method for measuring wet mass in planaria, which has been a challenge to researchers in the past. This research revealed that oxygen consumption in S. mediterranea is 1.5-2.1X greater in the sexual strain over the asexual strain at 13-18°C. Within the sexual strain, oxygen consumption is 1.5 -2.2X greater in sexually mature adults over the sexually immature groups (hatchlings, juveniles, and regenerating sexuals). Furthermore, I was able to quantify differences in sexual morphology between these groups exhibiting significant differences in oxygen consumption. The results of this research supports a theory of higher metabolic costs with sexual maturity in S. mediterranea. Therefore, this study has established sexual and asexual S. mediterranea as simple, yet attractive models for investigating energetic costs between sexual and asexual phenotypes. This research also provided quantitative values for specific dynamic action in planaria, with a maximum increase in oxygen consumption of 160% induced by feeding, as well as metabolic relationships in planaria involving temperature, age, and regeneration. These values establish planaria as one of the simplest animal models in which common metabolic patterns, such as SDA and poikilothermic temperature sensitivity, have been demonstrated. Therefore, this research has contributed to the overall knowledge of the basic physiology in this animal, providing the framework for future metabolic studies in planaria involving environmental factors, reproduction, regeneration, development, and aging. Information from this study may supplement interpretation and understanding of modern cellular, molecular, and genomic studies in planaria.

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