npj Science of Learning最新文献

This study investigates crossmodal fear generalization, testing whether conditioned fear spreads between different sensory modalities. Participants in the unimodal group were presented with visual stimuli-images of a sparrow (CS+) and a laptop (CS-)-while the crossmodal group received auditory stimuli-sparrow calls (CS+) and keyboard typing sounds (CS-). During the generalization phase, both groups were presented with conceptually similar visual stimuli (GSs) with varying similarity to the CS+ (e.g. high: Pigeon, moderate: Duck, low: Goat). Measures included US expectancy ratings, skin conductance responses (SCR), and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Results showed successful fear acquisition in both groups, with significantly higher US expectancy ratings, SCR, and mPFC HbO activity for CS+ compared to CS-. Both groups exhibited a gradient effect during the generalization phase, with GSs that were more perceptually similar to the CS+ eliciting higher US expectancy ratings. These findings support crossmodal fear generalization and offer new insights into the overgeneralization of fear in anxiety disorders.

Early-life abilities involved in perceiving, producing and engaging with music (musicality) may shape later (social) communication and language abilities. Here, we investigate phenotypic and genetic relationships linking musicality and communication abilities by studying information from preschool and school-aged children of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (N = 4169-6737 per measure, age 0.5-17 years). Using structural models, we identified relationships between latent musicality and speech- and cognition-related variables (r > 0.30). Consistently, polygenic scores for rhythmicity in adulthood (PGS_rhythmicity) showed associations with preschool and school-age musicality (incremental-Nagelkerke-R² = 0.006-0.011, p < 0.0025), as well as school-age communication and cognition-related measures (incremental-R² = 0.04-1%, p < 0.0025). Studying the directionality of genetic effects using a mediation framework, we found evidence supporting a developmental pathway linking preschool musicality to school-age speech-/syntax-related abilities, as captured by PGS_rhythmicity (shared effect: β = 0.0051(SE = 0.0021), p = 0.015). Associations were found conditional on general cognition and genetically unrelated to educational attainment, suggesting robust developmental links between early musicality and later speech-related communication performance.

The current study examined how individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders navigate the complexities of learning within multidimensional environments marked by uncertain dimension values and without explicit guidance. Participants engaged in a game-like complex reinforcement learning task in which the stimuli dimension determining reward remained undisclosed, necessitating that participants discover which dimension should be prioritized for detecting the maximum reward. For comparison, a control condition featuring a simple reinforcement learning task was included in which the predictive dimension was explicitly revealed. The findings showed that individuals with ADHD and dyslexia exhibited reduced performance across both tasks compared to their controls. Computational modeling revealed that relative to controls, participants with ADHD exhibited a markedly decreased ability to utilize demanding yet more optimal Bayesian inference strategies, whereas participants with dyslexia demonstrated heightened decay rates, indicating quicker discounting of recently learned associations. These findings illuminate different computational markers of neurodevelopmental disorders in naturalistic learning contexts.

Goal-directed actions are sensitive to the causal association between actions and outcomes, as well as the value of those outcomes. Such sensitivity diminishes when actions become habitual. Based on recent findings in animals, we tested if delaying outcomes relative to actions would weaken sensitivity to outcome revaluation and reduce action rates. In three experiments (N = 290), participants made fictitious investments in companies within contexts that provided either immediate or delayed feedback. After training, participants were informed of a change in markets which affected both companies (one improved and the other worsened). Across all experiments, action rates were lower in the delayed-feedback condition, and outcome revaluation was stronger in the immediate-feedback condition. In addition, self-reported action-outcome knowledge was weaker in the delayed-feedback condition. These findings suggest that delays in reinforcement weaken the action-outcome association critical for goal-directed control. We discuss the potential mechanisms underlying this phenomenon in light of a contemporary theory of goal-directed behavior.

Spacing and retrieval practice enhance learning, but students often underuse these strategies. We tested a simple grading incentive, which we call Counting Days, in two RCTs: one randomizing 143 students within a course and another randomizing 71 instructors. The "counting questions" control condition awarded points for each practice question answered, while the "counting days" treatment assignment awarded points for each day that a student answered a set of questions. In the within-class experiment, the counting days group earned higher exam scores, mediated by spacing practice over more days. Spacing was especially beneficial for lower-GPA students: the correlation between course exam scores and GPA in prior courses was significantly lower for the counting days group. In the between-instructor experiment, there was no way to compare learning outcomes between instructors, but both the number of days and a number of questions practiced were significantly higher under the counting days condition.

This study investigated outcome-selective Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) in fight-or-flight decision making. Participants learned to attack or retreat from monsters (instrumental phase) and to associate environments with specific monsters without responding (Pavlovian phase). In the transfer phase, they chose responses to unseen monsters while exposed to conditioned stimuli (CSs). Study 1 (n = 86) found that CSs influenced fight-or-flight decisions, demonstrating both outcome-selective and outcome-general PIT effects. Study 2 (n = 76) tested the operation of cognitive beliefs with post-training instructions that reversed the CS-outcome relations, revealing a reversed PIT effect. Study 3 (n = 83) manipulated threat levels by featuring highly dangerous monsters. Results showed a larger specific PIT under low versus high threat with standard instructions but not with reversal instructions. Findings suggest that associative knowledge about upcoming threats is integrated with knowledge of defensive actions into cognitive beliefs about which response is most effective for coping with danger.

Arousing and sustaining young students' curiosity within school environments is an important concern in contemporary education. Our study investigated the triggers of curiosity in elementary classrooms centered around social constructivist discourse, specifically knowledge-building. To this end, we performed longitudinal network analysis on 4166 utterances over 28 lessons to extract directional relationships that best predicted expressions of curiosity in second and third grade students. For both grade levels, we found that a student's curiosity further stimulated curiosity of the same student or other students, indicating a social chain of curiosity. We further identified three types of teacher utterances-conveying information, giving positive responses, and reiterating students' opinions with uncertainty-as effective in stimulating student curiosity. The study expands our understanding of student curiosity in social constructivist classroom while offering preliminary insights into the broader question of how to design a classroom environment to promote the pursuit of knowledge.

This study used fNIRS (functional near-infrared spectroscopy) to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying the processing of supernatural fiction, featuring either fictional or realistic characters, compared to real-world stories. Participants' brain activations were recorded while they read supernatural/realistic scenarios. Results showed that reading supernatural scenarios activated sensorimotor and the related frontal regions, compared to reading realistic scenarios. Furthermore, reading supernatural texts with unexpected realistic characters resulted in additional brain activity in the left IFG, compared to reading supernatural texts with expected fictional characters. Mediation analyses indicated that the activation of the left sensorimotor cortex during the reading of supernatural scenarios is mediated by readers' social cognition. Moreover, there was increased functional connectivity among different brain regions within the simulation network, and between the simulation network and the social cognition network, during the understanding of supernatural narratives. These findings suggest that simulation is crucial for readers to comprehend and interpret supernatural stories.

Emerging technologies are transforming education, necessitating research on their optimal integration. This article introduces an Intelligent Virtual Reality (IVR) approach that incorporates Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) through two GAI-powered pedagogical characters, aiming to address educational needs. This qualitative descriptive research had two phases: Needs Analysis and Pedagogical Design. The needs and ideas, collected from 66 educators, were classified into three categories: AI acting as a character, emerging technologies to assist student learning, and emerging technologies to help teachers. The Pedagogical Design involved integrating GAI and VR in a sustainability education setting, and developing two virtual characters, Tero and Madida, as an information source and a learning companion, respectively. Evaluation through iterative testing with domain experts and interviews suggested that these characters met 9 out of 12 identified needs, highlighting their potential to enhance higher education learning experiences. Future research could explore further refinements to address the remaining needs.

The current study addressed the often-overlooked role of epistemic emotions in refuting misinformation by replicating and expanding on the work of Trevors and Kendeou (2020). It broadened the participant pool beyond well-educated college students and introduced a novel dynamic measure, "DynamicEmo", to capture epistemic emotions experienced while reading refutation texts in a more fine-grained way. Results reaffirmed that positive, negative, and standard refutation texts (vs. non-refutation texts) effectively enhanced knowledge revision. Analysis using DynamicEmo revealed that paragraphs presenting inconsistent information (misinformation+correction) in refutation texts elicited activating (curiosity and confusion) or suppressed deactivating epistemic emotions (boredom). Notably, in-the-moment negative epistemic emotions, triggered by critical correct-outcome sentences, were negatively predictive of knowledge revision, highlighting the significance of emotions experienced during critical parts of refutation text reading. This study demonstrated the key role of epistemic emotions in knowledge revision, while offering more granular insights through dynamic emotion measurement compared to traditional post-hoc self-reports.