Evaluative conditioning as a symbolic phenomenon: on the relation between evaluative conditioning, evaluative conditioning via instructions, and persuasion

Evaluative conditioning (EC) is sometimes portrayed as a primitive way of changing attitudes that is fundamentally different from persuasion via arguments. We provide a new perspective on the nature of EC and its relation to persuasion by exploring the idea that stimulus pairings can function as a symbol that conveys the nature of the relation between stimuli. We put forward the concept of symbolic EC to refer to changes in liking that occur because stimulus pairings function as symbols. The idea of symbolic EC is consistent with at least some current theories of persuasion. It clarifies what EC research can add to the understanding of the origins of our preferences and has implications for how (symbolic and non-symbolic) EC can be established, the boundaries of EC research, and cognitive and functional models of EC

Learning to like or dislike : revealing similarities and differences between evaluative learning effects

Researchers study phenomena such as the mere-exposure effect, evaluative conditioning, and persuasion to learn more about the ways in which likes and dislikes can be formed and changed. Often, these phenomena are studied in isolation. Here, we review and integrate conceptual analyses that highlight ways to relate these different phenomena and that reveal new avenues for research on evaluative learning. At the core of these analyses lies the idea that evaluative learning can be defined as changes in liking that are due to regularities in the environment. We discuss how this definition allows one to distinguish different types of evaluative learning on the basis of the nature of regularities (e.g., in the presence of one stimulus vs. in the presence of two stimuli) and the function of regularities (i.e., symbolic vs. nonsymbolic)

Expanding the boundaries of evaluative learning research: how intersecting regularities shape our likes and dislikes

Over the last 30 years, researchers have identified several types of procedures through which novel preferences may be formed and existing ones altered. For instance, regularities in the presence of a single stimulus (as in the case of mere exposure) or 2 or more stimuli (as in the case of evaluative conditioning) have been shown to influence liking. We propose that intersections between regularities represent a previously unrecognized class of procedures for changing liking. Across 4 related studies, we found strong support for the hypothesis that when environmental regularities intersect with one another (i.e., share elements or have elements that share relations with other elements), the evaluative properties of the elements of those regularities can change. These changes in liking were observed across a range of stimuli and procedures and were evident when self-report measures, implicit measures, and behavioral choice measures of liking were employed. Functional and mental explanations of this phenomenon are offered followed by a discussion of how this new type of evaluative learning effect can accelerate theoretical, methodological, and empirical development in attitude research

Bosonization of the Schwinger Model by Noncommutative Chiral Bosons

Bosonization of the Schwinger model with noncommutative chiral bosons is considered on a spacetime of cylinder topology. Using point splitting regularization, manifest gauge invariance is maintained throughout. Physical consequences are discussed.Comment: To appear in the Proceedings of the Fourth International Workshop on Contemporary Problems in Mathematical Physics, November 5-11, 2005, Cotonou (Republic of Benin) (World Scientific, Singapore, 2006), 1+8 pages, no figure

Semileptonic decays of the Higgs boson at the Tevatron

We examine the prospects for extending the Tevatron reach for a Standard Model Higgs boson by including the semileptonic Higgs boson decays h --> WW --> l nu jj for M_h >~ 2 M_W, and h --> W jj --> l nu jj for M_h <~ 2 M_W, where j is a hadronic jet. We employ a realistic simulation of the signal and backgrounds using the Sherpa Monte Carlo event generator. We find kinematic selections that enhance the signal over the dominant W+jets background. The resulting sensitivity could be an important addition to ongoing searches, especially in the mass range 120 <~ M_h <~ 150 GeV. The techniques described can be extended to Higgs boson searches at the Large Hadron Collider.Comment: 68 pages, 19 figure

On the assumptions that we make about the world around us : a conceptual framework for feature transformation effects

Various phenomena such as halo effects, spontaneous trait inferences, and evaluative conditioning have in common that assumptions about object features (e.g., whether a person is intelligent or likeable) are influenced by other object features (e.g., whether that person is attractive or co-occurs with other liked persons). Surprisingly, these phenomena have rarely been related to each other, most likely because different phenomena are described using different terms. To overcome this barrier, we put forward a conceptual framework that can be used to describe a wide range of these phenomena. After introducing the four core concepts of the framework, we illustrate how it can be applied to various phenomena. Doing so helps to reveal similarities and differences between those phenomena, thus improving communication and promoting interactions between different areas of research. Finally, we illustrate the generative power of the framework by discussing some of the new research questions that it highlights

Toward identification of larval sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus), white marlin (Tetrapturus albidus), and blue marlin (Makaira nigricans) in the western North Atlantic Ocean*

The identification of larval istiophorid billfishes from the western North Atlantic Ocean has long been problematic. In the present study, a molecular technique was used to positively identify 27 larval white marlin (Tetrapturus albidus), 96 larval blue marlin (Makaira nigricans), and 591 larval sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) from the Straits of Florida and the Bahamas. Nine morphometric measurements were taken for a subset of larvae (species known), and lower jaw pigment patterns were recorded on a grid. Canonical variates analysis (CVA) was used to reveal the extent to which the combination of morphometric, pigment pattern, and month of capture information was diagnostic to species level. Linear regression revealed species-specific relationships between the ratio of snout length to eye orbit diameter and standard length (SL). Confidence limits about these relationships served as defining characters for sailfish >10 mm SL and for blue and white marlin >17 mm SL. Pigment pattern analysis indicated that 40% of the preflexion blue marlin examined possessed a characteristic lower jaw pigment pattern and that 62% of sailfish larvae were identifiable by lower jaw pigments alone. An identification key was constructed based on pigment patterns, month of capture, and relationships between SL and the ratio of snout length to eye orbit diameter. The key yielded identifications for 69.4% of 304 (blind sample) larvae used to test it; only one of these identifications was incorrect. Of the 93 larvae that could not be identified by the key, 71 (76.3%) were correctly identified with CVA. Although identif ication of certain larval specimens may always require molecular techniques, it is encouraging that the majority (92.4%) of istiophorid larvae examined were ultimately identifiable from external characteristics alone

Notes on Gabriel\u27s Horn

A smooth bounded solid of finite volume and infinite surface is constructed. It is a variant of the classical Gabriel’s horn that is often taught in Calculus classes