More Like this

1. Feedback-Related ERPs Predict Learning Speed

   Moore, I; Larson, C; Fox, A.; Arbel, Y. (March 2019, Cognitive Neuroscience Society ... Annual Meeting abstract program)

   The efficiency with which a learner processes external feedback has implications for both learning speed and performance. A growing body of literature suggests that the feedback-related negativity (FRN) event-related potential (ERP) and the fronto-central positivity (FCP) ERP reflect the extent to which feedback is used by a learner to improve performance. To determine whether the FRN and FCP predict learning speed, 82 participants aged 7:6 - 11:0 learned the non-word names of 20 novel objects in a two-choice feedback-based declarative learning task. Participants continued the task until reaching the learning criterion of 2 consecutive training blocks with accuracy greater than 90%, or until 10 blocks were completed. Learning speed was determined by the total number of incorrect responses before reaching the learning criterion. Using linear regression models, the FRN amplitude in response to positive feedback was found to be a significant predictor of learning speed when controlling for age. The FCP amplitude in response to negative feedback was significantly negatively associated with learning speed, meaning that large FCP amplitudes in response to negative feedback predicted faster learning. An interaction between FCP and age suggested that for older children in this sample, smaller FCP amplitude in response to positive feedback was associated with increased speed, while for younger children, larger FCP amplitude predicted faster learning. These results suggest that the feedback related ERP components are associated with learning speed, and can reflect developmental changes in feedback-based learning. 

   more » « less
2. Electrophysiological Examination of Feedback-Based Learning in 8–11-Year-Old Children

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.640270  

   Arbel, Yael; Fox, Annie B. (February 2021, Frontiers in Psychology)

   null (Ed.)

   The study aimed at evaluating the extent to which the feedback related negativity (FRN), an ERP component associated with feedback processing, is related to learning in school-age children. Eighty typically developing children between the ages of 8 and 11 years completed a declarative learning task while their EEG was recorded. The study evaluated the predictive value of the FRN on learning retention as measured by accuracy on a follow-up test a day after the session. The FRN elicited by positive feedback was found to be predictive of learning retention in children. The relationship between the FRN and learning was moderated by age. The P3a was also found to be associated with learning, such that larger P3a to negative feedback was associated with better learning retention in children. 

   more » « less
3. Not in my house!: Children Playing an Online Game with Robots Show Low Trust and Closeness with Ingroup Robots

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3434074.3447204  

   Rheman, Jennifer; Fraune, Marlena R. (March 2021, Not in my house!: Children Playing an Online Game with Robots Show Low Trust and Closeness with Ingroup Robots.)

   null (Ed.)

   This paper presents preliminary research on whether children will accept a robot as part of their ingroup, and on how a robot's group membership affects trust, closeness, and social support. Trust is important in human-robot interactions because it affects if people will follow robots' advice. In this study, we randomly assigned 11- and 12-year-old participants to a condition such that participants were either on a team with the robot (ingroup) or were opponents of the robot (outgroup) for an online game. Thus far, we have eight participants in the ingroup condition. Our preliminary results showed that children had a low level of trust, closeness, and social support with the robot. Participants had a much more negative response than we anticipated. We speculate that there will be a more positive response with an in-person setting rather than a remote one. 

   more » « less
4. A protracted developmental trajectory for English-learning children’s detection of consonant mispronunciations in newly learned words

   https://doi.org/10.1080/10489223.2022.2069026  

   Quam, Carolyn; Swingley, Daniel (September 2022, Language Acquisition)

   Children are adept at learning their language’s speech-sound categories, but just how these categories function in their developing lexicon has not been mapped out in detail. Here, we addressed whether, in a language-guided looking procedure, 2-year-olds would respond to a mispronunciation of the voicing of the initial consonant of a newly learned word. First, to provide a baseline of mature native-speaker performance, adults were taught a new word under training conditions of low prosodic variability. In a second experiment, 24- and 30-month-olds were taught a new word under training conditions of high or low prosodic variability. Children and adults showed evidence of learning the taught word. Adults’ target looking was reduced when the novel word was realized at test with a change in the voicing of the initial consonant, but children did not show any such decrement in target fixation. For both children and adults, most learners did not treat the pho- nologically distinct variant as a different word. Acoustic-phonetic variability during teaching did not have consistent effects. Thus, under conditions of intensive short-term training, 24- and 30-month-olds did not differentiate a newly learned word from a variant differing only in consonant voicing. High task complexity during training could explain why mispronunciation detec- tion was weaker here than in some prior studies. 

   more » « less
5. Generational Differences in Understandings of Privacy Terminology

   Moremen, Charlotte; Hoogsteden, Jordan; Birrell, Eleanor (April 2024, Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies)

   Sherr, Micah; Shafiq, Zubair (Ed.)

   Prior work has consistently found that people have miscomprehensions and misunderstandings about technical terms. However, that work has exclusively studied general populations, usually recruited online. This work investigates the relationship between generational cohorts and their understandings of privacy terms, specifically cohorts of elementary school children (aged 10-11), young adults (aged 18-23), and retired adults (aged 73-92), all recruited offline. We surveyed participants about their understanding of and confidence with technical terms that commonly appear in privacy policies. We then moderated a post-survey focus group with each generational cohort in which participants discussed their reactions to the actual definitions along with their experience with technical privacy terms. We found that young adults had better understandings of technical terms than the other generations, despite all generations reporting being regular Internet users. Participants across all generational cohorts discussed themes of confusion and frustration with technical terms, and older adults particularly reported a sense of being left behind. Our results reinforce the need for improvement in the presentation of information about data use practices. Our results also demonstrate the need for more focused research and attention on the youngest and oldest members of society and their use of the Internet and technology. 

   more » « less