Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 19, 2026
09:13
Testing Sensory and Multisensory Function in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Published on: April 22, 2015
Combining symbolic cues with sensory input and prior experience in an iterative bayesian framework
Frederike H Petzschner1, Paul Maier, Stefan Glasauer
1Institute for Clinical Neurosciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich Munich, Germany.
Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience
|August 21, 2012
Summary
Humans can learn symbolic cues and integrate them with prior experience to estimate distances. Two models explain this behavior, suggesting flexible probabilistic approaches to combining diverse information for perception and action.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Computational Modeling
Background:
- Perception and action integrate sensory input, prior experience, and context.
- Interpreting complex stimuli often requires learning from co-occurring information.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate how humans combine symbolic cues, sensory input, and prior experience.
- Explore the influence of different information sources on distance estimation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a distance production-reproduction task.
- Implemented three experimental conditions varying information availability.
- Developed two generative Bayesian models (categorical and cue-combination) to explain behavior.
Main Results:
- Subjects successfully learned symbolic cue-stimulus mappings.
- Symbolic information and prior experience were integrated into displacement estimates.
- Both categorical and cue-combination models equally explained behavioral data.
Conclusions:
- Humans can interpret abstract symbolic information and integrate it with sensory data and prior experience.
- Categorization and cue-combination may be explained by alternative probabilistic approaches.
- Demonstrates flexible information integration in perception and action.
Related Concept Videos
01:28Perception
Perception is a fundamental psychological process that enables individuals to organize, interpret, and consciously experience sensory information. This process is crucial for understanding and interacting with the world around us. It includes both bottom-up and top-down processing, each playing a distinct role in how we perceive our environment.
Bottom-up processing begins at the sensory level, where receptors detect external environmental stimuli. These could include the tactile sensation of...
Bottom-up processing begins at the sensory level, where receptors detect external environmental stimuli. These could include the tactile sensation of...
01:27Associative Learning
Associative learning is a fundamental concept in behavioral psychology, wherein a connection is established between two stimuli or events, leading to a learned response. This process is critical in understanding how behaviors are acquired and modified. Conditioning, the mechanism through which associations are formed, can be divided into two main types: classical conditioning and operant conditioning, each elucidating different aspects of associative learning.
Classical conditioning, also known...
Classical conditioning, also known...
01:27Synesthesia
Synesthesia is a remarkable condition where stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People with synesthesia experience a blending or crossing of their senses, such as sight and sound, leading to cross-modal sensations. In this condition, the stimulation of one sense, such as hearing a number or musical note, triggers an experience of another sense, like sensing a specific color, taste, or smell. People...
01:12Observational Learning
Albert Bandura's observational learning, also known as imitation or modeling, occurs when a person observes and imitates another's behavior. It is a quicker process than operant conditioning. A well-known example is the Bobo doll study, where children who saw an adult acting aggressively towards the doll were more likely to act aggressively when left alone, compared to those who observed a nonaggressive adult. Many psychologists view observational learning as a form of latent learning because...
01:31What is a Sensory System?
Sensory systems detect stimuli—such as light and sound waves—and transduce them into neural signals that can be interpreted by the nervous system. In addition to external stimuli detected by the senses, some sensory systems detect internal stimuli—such as the proprioceptors in muscles and tendons that send feedback about limb position.
01:23Storage
A schema is a mental framework that helps individuals organize and interpret information. Schemata, formed from previous experiences, influence how we process new information: how we encode it, the inferences we make, and how we retrieve it. For instance, a schema for what a typical classroom looks like might include desks, a teacher's desk, a whiteboard, and students in such an environment. This expectation helps us quickly understand and navigate new classrooms without needing to analyze each...