The middle of the road: perceiving intermediates.

This article aims to study the extension and immediacy of the perception of intermediates during the observation of images showing a variation in a spatial property from one extreme (e.g. at the top of a mountain) to the opposite extreme (e.g. at the bottom of a mountain). Three experiments were carried out: rating tasks were used in studies 1 and 3 and a classification task in study 2. Three main results emerged. The first result (concerning extension) is that people consistently recognize some instances of a dimension as intermediates (neither a... nor b) rather than as one or the other opposite pole (a, b). The number of these cases ranges from one to most of the experiences in between the two extremes, depending on the type of opposite considered. The second result (concerning immediacy) is that recognizing and rating intermediates did not take longer in most cases than recognizing and rating the two poles. The third result (concerning task influence) is that there were differences due to the type of task, i.e. rating and classification. The implications of these results are discussed within the framework of theories grounding cognition in perception

Doing the opposite to what another person is doing.

The three studies presented here aim to contribute to a better understanding of the role of the coordinate system of a person's body and of the environment in spatial organization underlying the recognition and production of gestures. The paper introduces a new approach by investigating what people consider to be opposite gestures in addition to identical gestures. It also suggests a new point of view setting the issue in the framework of egocentric versus allocentric spatial encoding as compared to the anatomical versus non-anatomical matching which is usually adopted in the literature. The results showed that the role of the allocentric system as a key player was much more evident when participants were asked to \u201cdo the opposite\u201d as compared to when they imitated which indicates that the two tasks really are different from each other. Response times were also quicker when people \u201cdid the opposite\u201d indicating that this is an immediate response and not the result of \u201creversing an imitation\u201d. These findings suggest that the issue of how the oppositional structure of space impacts on human perception and the performance of gestures has probably been underestimated in an area of research which traditionally focuses exclusively on imitation

The perceived severity of a disease and the impact of the vocabulary used to convey information: using Rasch scaling in a simulated oncological scenario.

Background: Healthcare staff should be aware of the importance that patients may attach to the words that are used to convey information. This is relevant in terms of the patients\u2019 understanding. Modeling how people understand the information conveyed in a medical context may help health practitioners to better appreciate the patients\u2019 approach. Purpose: 1) Analyze the participants\u2019 self-reported perception of the type of information provided in an oncological scenario in terms of three dimensions: impairment to their health, risks associated with the disease itself and commitment required to undergo the treatment; and 2) show the benefits of using Rasch scaling for the analysis of the data. Starting from a survey, Rasch scaling produces a unidimensional logit-interval scale relating to the extent to which each item conveys a latent dimension. These were related to structure, in particular concerning communication by means of opposite vs. unipolar language. Subjects and methods: The participants rated 82 items of information in a questionnaire regarding their perception of impairment to their health (H) and the risks (R) and commitment relating to the treatment prescribed (T). Results: The scaling produced an item bank for healthcare staff to consult in order to estimate the importance the recipient would be likely to attach to the vocabulary used and the likely impact of the information in terms of the patient\u2019s condition. Furthermore, the use of opposites was generally associated with a clearer impression of whether the information given was generally only very negative or slightly negative, whereas \u2018neutral\u2019 information was often perceived as being very negative. Actual findings: Is possible to estimate people\u2019s understanding more precisely (in terms of H, R and T) which can help healthcare practitioners to modulate the way they convey information. Limitations: The participants in the study were healthy volunteers and the context was simulated

Opposites in reasoning processes: do we use them more than we think, but less than we could?

Our aim in this paper is to contribute toward acknowledging the general role of opposites as an organizing principle in the human mind. We support this claim in relation to human reasoning by collecting evidence from various studies which shows that \u201cthinking in opposites\u201d is not only involved in formal logical thinking, but can also be applied in both deductive and inductive reasoning, as well as in problem solving. We also describe the results of a series of studies which, although they have been developed within a number of different theoretical frameworks based on various methodologies, all demonstrate that giving hints or training reasoners to think in terms of opposites improves their performance in tasks in which spontaneous thinking may lead to classic biases and impasses. Since we all possess an intuitive idea of what opposites are, prompting people to \u201cthink in opposites\u201d is something which is undoubtedly within everyone's reach and in the final section, we discuss the potential of this strategy and suggest possible future research directions of systematic testing the benefits that might arise from the use of this technique in contexts beyond those tested thus far. Ascertaining the conditions in which reasoners might benefit will also help in terms of clarifying the underlying mechanisms from the point of view, for instance, of analytical, conscious processing vs. automatic, unconscious processing

The role of training or hints relating to \u201cthinking in opposites\u201d in insight problem solving

In recent years, there has been a growing desire to remove the mystery from insight, the underlying processes of which are not fully understood (Gilhooly et al., 2015). The present research focuses on the hypothesis that \u201cthinking in opposites\u201d might facilitate the process of representational change required for solving visuo-spatial insight problems (Bianchi et al., 2019; Branchini et al., 2015, 2016). There is evidence in Cognitive Science that opposites (or contrasts) are a central cognitive structure in space perception (e.g. Bianchi et al., 2017) and language (e.g. Jones et al., 2012) and they are fundamental to inductive (Gale and Ball, 2012) and deductive reasoning (Augustinova, 2008). They are also involved in creative thinking (Rothenberg, 2001). In particular, the study reports the results of research carried out with the aim of investigating whether prompting problem solvers to use a strategy based on the manipulation of opposites (i.e. inside-outside, large-small) would improve their performance (Bianchi et al., 2019). Two hundred and forty undergraduate students were asked to analyze the spatial features inherent to six problems in terms of opposites before embarking on their search for a solution. Two hint and two training conditions were studied. The results show that success rates increased when the participants were explicitly trained to use opposites. In relation to the current debate on the factors which facilitate insight problem solving (e.g. Ahmed and Patrick, 2006; Cunningham and MacGregor, 2008; Patrick et al., 2015), our results add evidence that a prompt \u201cto think in opposites\u201d is a facilitating factor when it is given explicitly (i.e. as part of training). The findings are also discussed in relation to a debate on the same subject regarding the differences between the role of Type 1 processes (which are automatic, unconscious and associative) and that of Type 2 processes (which are controlled, conscious and analytical) (e. g. Weisberg, 2015, 2018). In particular, we provide suggestions concerning the nature of the role of opposites in the generation of potential solutions (Type 1 processes) and in the evaluation of these various potential alternatives with a view to homing in on a single solution (Type 2 processes)

Il posto dei fatti nel senso comune e nella fisica ingenua

L'ARTICOLO MOSTRA IL CONTRIBUTO OFFERTO DAGLI STUDI DELLA PSICOLOGIA DELLA PERCEZIONE ALL'ANALISI DELLA FISICA INGENUA. IN PARTICOLARE SI MOSTRA IL MODIO IN CUI LA SCUOLA DI TRIESTE E DI PADOVA HA CONTRIBUITO ALLA DEFINIZIONE DEL SOGGETTO SPERIMENTALE DI OGNI INDAGINE NELLA PSICOLOGIA DELLA PERCEZION

Preface

The inspiration for this book originated from an intention to show that in the architecture of human cognition the experience of contrariety is widespread and common to many areas of theoretical and experimental research in the Cognitive Sciences. Since the subject is approached with different operational mind-sets, the variety of meanings, applicative contexts and fields of research referring to the word "contrary" raises the issue of what is invariant in all these areas and what is the ultimate nature of contrariety. Beyond the many questions which this book raises, we might consider how many more questions we might need to ask in order to fully understand how contrariety works in our cognitive system. This is something that cannot be resolved with things as they are now, but the aim of this book is also to stimulate people into asking further questions

Aporie del realista ingenuo o critico che sia. Fenomenologia Sperimentale della Percezione nell\u2019esperienza del mondo

Da quando la psicologia alla fine dell\u2019Ottocento si \ue8 dotata di un metodo sperimentale gli spazi per argomentazioni senza riferimento a sottostanti prove provate in laboratorio o sul campo si sono fatti sempre pi\uf9 ristretti. Le teorie o le speculazioni sui risultati raccolti sono spesso promosse con maggior entusiasmo dalle zone para-psicologiche che non dagli stessi ricercatori che i fatti li hanno procurati (vedi in questi ultimi anni i dibattiti attorno al costrutto di coscienza che hanno visto un gran fiorire di neuro/ aree generalmente promosse da chi di neuro poco o nulla se ne \ue8 occupato in sede sperimentale). L\u2019intenzione di questo contributo \ue8 quella di mostrare un percorso nato dentro la Fenomenologia Sperimentale della Percezione (Bozzi, 2002) che connetta in maniera coerente il soggetto (realista ingenuo o meno che sia) e l\u2019oggetto reale dell\u2019esperienza in un\u2019accurata e coerente architettura metodologica in grado di dare ragione di alcune fallacie altrimenti in grado di vanificare il significato dei risultati della ricerca. Verr\ue0 quindi formulata una proposta per la presa in carico del carattere aporetico di questi fatti prodotti dalla ricerca. La proposta fonda la sua convinzione che la storia delle riflessioni sull\u2019errore prodotte dal pensiero dei classici fino ai giorni nostri possa trovare nuova fondazione nel quadro della Fenomenologia Sperimentale della Percezione (FSP)

Geometries to See

Spatial perception and spatial representation are not less central to experimental psychology than to visual art. Geometry allows their description and formalization. Therefore, geometrical language can be considered as a kind of generative grammar, which is embedded in the human perceptual experience of space. The paper outlines the suggestion that Euclidean geometry, along with most perspective geometries, even when applied to geometrical problem solving, have phenomenal bases, since they emerge from direct experience of the world, and not necessarily from higher order cognitive processes

Naive Physics

L'ARTICOLO MOSTRA IL CONTRIBUTO DI PAOLO BOZZI ALLO STURIO DELLA FENOMENOLOGIA SPERIMENTALE DELLA PERCEZIONE NEL SUO LIBRO "FISICA INGENUA"