This contribution presents an experimental approach to learner modeling of Historical Text Comprehension (HTC). The Learner Model of Historical Text Comprehension (LMHTC), infers the learner’s cognitive profile and profile descriptor of HTC from his observable behavior imitating the human expert. The experimental research, which resulted in the design of the learner model, is described in detai...

In this paper we discuss a computational cognitive model of children’s well-known difficulties with pronoun comprehension (the so-called Delay of Principle B Effect, or DPBE). In this DPBE/ACTR model, Hendriks and Spenader’s Optimality Theoretic account (2005/2006) is implemented in the cognitive architecture ACT-R (cf., Hendriks, Van Rijn, & Valkenier, 2007). Hendriks and Spenader’s OT account...

This study investigated the interrelationships among EFL learners’ self-efficacy, autonomy and listening comprehension ability. Ninety female learners of intermediate level participated in the study. They were between 16 and 24 years old. In order to obtain the required data on the three variables (i.e., self-efficacy, autonomy, and listening comprehension ability), the researchers, after admin...

Deficits in emotional processing have been widely described in schizophrenia. Associations of positive symptoms with poor emotional prosody comprehension (EPC) have been reported at the phenomenological, behavioral, and neural levels. This review focuses on the relation between emotional processing deficits and auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH). We explore the possibility that the relation b...

By virtue of its enabling rapid, nonlinear access to multiple forms of information, hypermedia technology is considered a major advance in the development of educational tools to enhance learning, and a massive literature on the use of hypermedia in education has emerged. The present review examines the published findings from experimental studies of hypermedia emphasizing quantitative, empiric...

Quantifiers, like "some" or "few," are frequent in daily language. Linguists posit at least three distinct classes of quantifiers: cardinal quantifiers that rely on numerosity, majority quantifiers that additionally depend on executive resources, and logical quantifiers that rely on perceptual attention. We used BOLD fMRI to investigate the roles of frontal and parietal regions in quantifier co...

In this study we examined asymmetric semantic activation patterns as people listened to conversations and narratives that promoted causal inferences. Based on the hypothesis that understanding the unique features of conversational input may benefit from or require a modified pattern of conceptual activation during conversation, we compared semantic priming in both hemispheres for inferences emb...

The current study was designed to investigate the role played by verbal memory in the advantage shown by individuals with Down syndrome in reading over listening text comprehension (Roch & Levorato, 2009). Two different aspects of verbal memory were analyzed: processing load and coding modality. Participants were 20 individuals with Down syndrome, aged between 11 and 26 years who were matched f...

This study aims at investigating the affective and cognitive components of empathy in relation to both emotion comprehension and prosocial/hostile behaviors in preschoolers. A total of 219 children (54% boys; aged between 3 and 6: mean age 4.10) and 20 teachers (two for each class: group A and group B) took part in this research. Pupils' empathy and hostile/prosocial roles were assessed by teac...

Older adults, whether or not they have clinically significant hearing loss, have more trouble than their younger counterparts understanding speech in everyday life. These age-related difficulties in speech understanding may be attributed to changes in higher-level cognitive processes such as language comprehension, memory, attention, and cognitive slowing, or to lower-level sensory and perceptu...