Learning how people read: Models, brains, big data and maths. Aims: This project aims to understand how people read. We will use novel mathematical methods, experimentation, brain imaging and computational modelling to adjudicate between model predictions.
Significance: This project expects to develop methods to understand and test important aspects of reading.
Expected outcomes: Expected outcomes are the development of novel methods for understanding complex models and the collection of data t ....Learning how people read: Models, brains, big data and maths. Aims: This project aims to understand how people read. We will use novel mathematical methods, experimentation, brain imaging and computational modelling to adjudicate between model predictions.
Significance: This project expects to develop methods to understand and test important aspects of reading.
Expected outcomes: Expected outcomes are the development of novel methods for understanding complex models and the collection of data that can extend and falsify current models of reading.
Benefits: These developments will significantly increase our understanding of how people read and what causes dyslexia. This work will also provide new ways to evaluate complex computational psychological models.Read moreRead less
How are beliefs altered by data? Robust Bayesian models for human inductive learning. This project applies state of the art mathematical models to study how people think and reason, and how we can make good guesses about the future. The goal is to understand how the human mind can operate so effectively in real environments, when even the most powerful computers struggle to handle the complexities of everyday learning problems.
Learning and choosing in a complex world. How do people make choices in a complex world? Making good choices requires expertise, but people must often forego rewards in order to acquire this knowledge. This is the essence of an "explore-exploit dilemma": to maximise rewards across a long time frame, people must take the time to explore and learn now. Empirically, this project aims to unify much of the existing psychological literature and extend it to cover richer, more complex problems. Theoret ....Learning and choosing in a complex world. How do people make choices in a complex world? Making good choices requires expertise, but people must often forego rewards in order to acquire this knowledge. This is the essence of an "explore-exploit dilemma": to maximise rewards across a long time frame, people must take the time to explore and learn now. Empirically, this project aims to unify much of the existing psychological literature and extend it to cover richer, more complex problems. Theoretically, the project aims to use tools from machine learning to compare human decision making to optimal planning models.Read moreRead less
Using large scale modelling to understand reading development and dyslexia. This project aims to construct a computational model of reading that makes quantitative predictions about reading behaviour and dyslexia. It will test theories of reading development and dyslexia based on what they predict in terms of reading performance, predictions which many theories of dyslexia do not make. The model will be in English, French and Italian, which offer rich and constraining data to test the model. The ....Using large scale modelling to understand reading development and dyslexia. This project aims to construct a computational model of reading that makes quantitative predictions about reading behaviour and dyslexia. It will test theories of reading development and dyslexia based on what they predict in terms of reading performance, predictions which many theories of dyslexia do not make. The model will be in English, French and Italian, which offer rich and constraining data to test the model. The project is expected to explain the link between reading performance and underlying influences and why dyslexia manifests differently in different languages.Read moreRead less
Human Decision-Making Processes and Outcomes in the Oil and Gas Industry. A new theoretical framework, including a new Decision Taxonomy and the development of a new measure of decision quality, will be used to underpin a study of decision processes and outcomes in the oil & gas industry, and to explore the relationship between them. Processes and outcomes will be evaluated in both a controlled laboratory setting that replicates the characteristics of real decision environments, and by analysing ....Human Decision-Making Processes and Outcomes in the Oil and Gas Industry. A new theoretical framework, including a new Decision Taxonomy and the development of a new measure of decision quality, will be used to underpin a study of decision processes and outcomes in the oil & gas industry, and to explore the relationship between them. Processes and outcomes will be evaluated in both a controlled laboratory setting that replicates the characteristics of real decision environments, and by analysing actual historical decisions made in oil & gas and other industrial settings. If successful the results will ultimately lead to the safe, responsible and optimal performance of the oil & gas industry in particular, and for other industries with similar characteristics.
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Expecting the unexpected: how people prioritise predictability. This project aims to investigate how people represent and use information about unpredictability in their environment. Seeing too much predictability is problematic, but seeing too little can also be a problem, for example inappropriate "learned helplessness" can occur, whereby people feel disempowered because the world is seen as random. Recent findings demonstrated a bias in fundamental learning that may maintain these inappropria ....Expecting the unexpected: how people prioritise predictability. This project aims to investigate how people represent and use information about unpredictability in their environment. Seeing too much predictability is problematic, but seeing too little can also be a problem, for example inappropriate "learned helplessness" can occur, whereby people feel disempowered because the world is seen as random. Recent findings demonstrated a bias in fundamental learning that may maintain these inappropriate beliefs about unpredictability. This bias is not anticipated by formal theories of learning. The project will investigate how this bias is brought about by first formalising a novel theory of fundamental learning and then systematically testing its assumptions.Read moreRead less
A process model of visual working memory. This project aims to develop a process model of encoding of items into memory. Working memory is central to almost all cognitive functions, but little is known about short-term memory for visual information. Progress in this area is slow because of a focus on models that do not specify the processes underlying memory, and no model explains the processes that would limit the number of items the memory can hold to four. A process model is expected to addre ....A process model of visual working memory. This project aims to develop a process model of encoding of items into memory. Working memory is central to almost all cognitive functions, but little is known about short-term memory for visual information. Progress in this area is slow because of a focus on models that do not specify the processes underlying memory, and no model explains the processes that would limit the number of items the memory can hold to four. A process model is expected to address fundamental issues in visual working memory.Read moreRead less
Investigation of the component distributions of pause duration in spontaneous speech: Constraints for models of language production. We have discovered that the distribution of pause durations in spontaneous speech of individual speakers can be decomposed into at least two log-normal distributions. Our project will investigate this finding and provide a foundation for new research relevant to language production models. This will be achieved by determining the semantic, lexical, psycholinguistic ....Investigation of the component distributions of pause duration in spontaneous speech: Constraints for models of language production. We have discovered that the distribution of pause durations in spontaneous speech of individual speakers can be decomposed into at least two log-normal distributions. Our project will investigate this finding and provide a foundation for new research relevant to language production models. This will be achieved by determining the semantic, lexical, psycholinguistic, physiological, and acoustic concomitants of each component distribution and by investigating the impact of selected variables on the shape and location of each. The project has important implications for models of language production and applied problems involving automatic speech recognition, forensic speaker identification, and human communication disorders.Read moreRead less
Uncovering the processes underlying human reasoning: A state-trace approach. This project aims to answer the most important unresolved question in the psychology of reasoning; how many distinct cognitive processes underlie human reasoning? To answer this question, this project aims to conduct an extensive experimental investigation of the factors that selectively impact inductive and deductive inferences and the application of high-dimensional state-trace analysis; a powerful new method for diag ....Uncovering the processes underlying human reasoning: A state-trace approach. This project aims to answer the most important unresolved question in the psychology of reasoning; how many distinct cognitive processes underlie human reasoning? To answer this question, this project aims to conduct an extensive experimental investigation of the factors that selectively impact inductive and deductive inferences and the application of high-dimensional state-trace analysis; a powerful new method for diagnosing underlying processes from behavioural data. The project is expected also to develop a new computational model that accounts for both inductive and deductive forms of reasoning.Read moreRead less
Heterodensity neuroimaging techniques for spatiotemporal identification and localization. Australia is at the forefront of research that is taking brain imaging and interfacing out of the lab and into the field. The technology being developed is spawning applications in areas as diverse as health, education, defense and national security, and will lead to resolution of longstanding theoretical debates as well as enabling new breakthroughs in understanding the biological concomitants of psycholo ....Heterodensity neuroimaging techniques for spatiotemporal identification and localization. Australia is at the forefront of research that is taking brain imaging and interfacing out of the lab and into the field. The technology being developed is spawning applications in areas as diverse as health, education, defense and national security, and will lead to resolution of longstanding theoretical debates as well as enabling new breakthroughs in understanding the biological concomitants of psychological function. This is significant given the push to develop biometrics of psychological function with enhanced sensitivity and specificity in clinical diagnosis, along with defense applications in evaluation of critical personnel and training. It also opens up a range of applications for mental control of remote or prosthetic devices.Read moreRead less