Using a cognitive architecture to examine what develops

Different theories of development propose alternative mechanisms by which development occurs. Cognitive architectures can be used to examine the influence of each proposed mechanism of development while keeping all other mechanisms constant. An ACT-R computational model that matched adult behavior in solving a 21-block pyramid puzzle was created. The model was modified in three ways that corresponded to mechanisms of development proposed by developmental theories. The results showed that all the modifications (two of capacity and one of strategy choice) could approximate the behavior of 7-year-old children on the task. The strategy-choice modification provided the closest match on the two central measures of task behavior (time taken per layer, r = .99, and construction attempts per layer, r = .73). Modifying cognitive architectures is a fruitful way to compare and test potential developmental mechanisms, and can therefore help in specifying “what develops.

Existence of superposition solutions for pulse propagation in nonlinear resonant media

Existence of self-similar, superposed pulse-train solutions of the nonlinear, coupled Maxwell-Schr\"odinger equations, with the frequencies controlled by the oscillator strengths of the transitions, is established. Some of these excitations are specific to the resonant media, with energy levels in the configurations of $\Lambda$ and $N$ and arise because of the interference effects of cnoidal waves, as evidenced from some recently discovered identities involving the Jacobian elliptic functions. Interestingly, these excitations also admit a dual interpretation as single pulse-trains, with widely different amplitudes, which can lead to substantially different field intensities and population densities in different atomic levels.Comment: 11 Pages, 6 Figures, presentation changed and 3 figures adde