An Experimental Study of Cognitive Styles Incorporation in Teaching Russian as a Foreign Language Online

The problems of incorporating cognitive styles into teaching Russian as a foreign language have tended to draw the attention of the researchers recently. However, there are not any profound studies testifying the effectiveness of cognitive styles incorporation in teaching Russian as a foreign language online. The study presented here will focus specifically on this issue. We are addressing such cognitive styles as field independence, field dependence, analyticity, syntheticity and perceptual styles. Tests for cognitive styles diagnosis have been compiled, and the results were correlated with the academic performance of the students. We developed differential studying materials. The experimental group received the materials corresponding to their cognitive styles, and the control group received not corresponding materials. After that, we analyzed the results of the experiments. Conclusions. Field dependent and field independent foreign students are about the same successful in learning Russian, students with analytical style were slightly more successful than ones with synthetical style, and visual learners displayed higher academic achievements than audial learners. As one of the results of study, we established that kinesthetic style is preferred to consider apart from the visual and audial perceptual styles. The experimental group demonstrated better results than the control group (20% higher), which testifies to the effectiveness of cognitive styles incorporation in teaching Russian as a foreign language online. We have concluded that it is necessary not only to differentiate Russian as a foreign language teaching according to current cognitive styles, but also to develop these styles at the same time.

Objective pupillometry shows that perceptual styles covary with autistic-like personality traits

We measured the modulation of pupil size (in constant lighting) elicited by observing transparent surfaces of black and white moving dots, perceived as a cylinder rotating about its vertical axis. The direction of rotation was swapped periodically by flipping stereo-depth of the two surfaces. Pupil size modulated in synchrony with the changes in front-surface color (dilating when black). The magnitude of pupillary modulation was larger for human participants with higher Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), consistent with a local perceptual style, with attention focused on the front surface. The modulation with surface color, and its correlation with AQ, was equally strong when participants passively viewed the stimulus. No other indicator, including involuntary pursuit eye movements, covaried with AQ. These results reinforce our previous report with a similar bistable stimulus (Turi, Burr, & Binda, 2018), and go on to show that bistable illusory motion is not necessary for the effect, or its dependence on AQ.

Objective pupillometry shows that perceptual styles covary with autistic-like personality traits

We measured the modulation of pupil-size (in constant lighting) elicited by observing transparent surfaces of black and white moving dots, perceived as a cylinder rotating about its vertical axis. The direction of rotation was swapped periodically by flipping stereo-depth of the two surfaces. Pupil size modulated in synchrony with the changes in front-surface color (dilating when black). The magnitude of pupillary modulation was larger for participants with higher Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), consistent with a local style of perception, with attention focused on the front surface. The modulation with surface color, and its correlation with AQ, was equally strong when participants passively viewed the stimulus. No other indicator, including involuntary pursuit eye-movements, covaried with AQ. These results reinforce our previous report with a similar bistable stimulus (Turi, Burr, & Binda, 2018), and go on to show that bistable illusory motion is not necessary for the effect, or its dependence on AQ.

Perceptual Styles and Cannabis Consumption Prediction in Young People

Given that risk perception has been found to be both a vulnerability and a protective factor with respect to consumption, the objectives of this study were to find out whether there exist specific patterns of risk perception associated with cannabis use and, if so, how they relate to cannabis consumption and to the sources of information on drugs accessed by young people. An ex post facto study was carried out with 1851 young Andalusians aged 18 to 29, using an adaptation of the Andalusian Government “Andalusian Population versus Drugs” survey. For the first objective, a cluster analysis was carried out in which three perceptual style groups were formed: “Strict”, “Permissive-Awareness” and “Lax”. Cannabis use in the “lax” group was found to be 14.31 times more frequent than in the “strict” group and 2.75 times more frequent than in the “permissive-awareness” group. A logistic regression analysis was also performed, which correctly predicted 80.4% of users and non-consumers. Correlation was found between perceptual styles and the sources of information used about drugs. This study identified three different risk perception styles that heavily correlated to cannabis consumption and to the type of sources young Andalusians use to obtain information about drugs, suggesting the need for a change in preventive policy.

Do Horoscopes Influence the Process of Language Learning? A Model-Based Research Report Theme: Astronomy

As teachers of language it is our common experience that we have to incorporate a plethora of teaching methodologies in our classroom situations. One specific way of teaching may not be suitable for the learners with different learning preferences and it may not always be receiving bouquets but brickbats too. Sometimes we even go to such a stage of contemplation that whether it is destiny which decides upon their learning potentiality.The main aim of the current study is to explore the relevance between the learners’ horoscopes and learning abilities indicated in Reid’s Perceptual Styles Questionnaire. And, in doing so it studied the variation in learners’ preferences and their attitudes towards Language learning based upon the predictions made in their horoscopes.The parameters taken into consideration for testing their language abilities were Communication, Reading skills and Writing skills. Standardized Model Tests (GRE, TOEFL) were conducted to evaluate their performances andlater their performancescores were matched with the predictions made in their horoscopes. Interestingly 90% of the results indicated that the students’ performances matched with the learning styles and preferences predicted in their horoscopes.Though the study needs further implications, it is believed that it providesthe teachers with the ability of classifying a mixed-ability classroom and designing relevant tasks to suit the learners’ interests.

The aesthetic connection between chorus voice and "form"

Music is the art of sound, while chorus is the art of group vocal music. Choral art takes human voice as the carrier to express thoughts, emotions and artistic images through sound. Harmonious, unified, balanced sound gives people the enjoyment of beauty, and brings people related pictorial association. As a unique form of vocal music art, chorus is also a comprehensive stage art belonging to the category of performance, which is a sister art belonging to the same and different families, such as dance and drama. In the visual arts such as dance and drama, the melody, timbre and harmony of music match the figures appearing on the stage or screen. So much so that when we hear some kind of music we have feelings and associations of being beautiful, strong, magnificent, lively and leaping, dark and melancholy. From ancient to modern times, in daily life, people sang and danced scenes were also their immediate reflection of music aesthetic feelings. Some of these aesthetic experiences are vague and some are specific. For example: we will think some music is witty or sad, when people heard the music, such as "the devil into the village", is associated with the world war ii German offensive of Leningrad, the Anti-Japanese War of the Chinese people will be associated with the scenario, inner emotional ups and downs also involuntarily immersed in that special period and in the scene. In chorus, "form" performance influence on good auditory perceptual styles, or, in turn, is a good style of auditory perceptual experience of "form" synesthesia reaction performance, relationship to the singing breath, resonance, position and the effect of auditory perceptual style performance status and change, through sound "form" to build a good performance of auditory perceptual styles, so that the sound stimulus directly cause synesthesia activity, directly or indirectly affect the chorus sound auditory aesthetic feeling, at the same time, it can enhance the tension of the chorus performance, shape the artistic image that is consistent with the expression of the work, and properly express the music artistic conception. The audience can feel the chorus's expression of aesthetic emotion directly from their hearing, and then have a significant influence on the music sound and singing effect. This article through the "form" to the good style of auditory perceptual and aesthetic relation, the effect of using some tightening inward intuitive posture, dance to the chorus of constructing "the vertical and the inner" auditory perceptual inspired style, from the identity of the visual sense and sound, from the aesthetic perspective of reverse thinking, deeper understanding and grasp of our chorus.To maintain the breath required by the extremely aesthetic chorus sound, control the state, establish the harmonious, unified and balanced sound perceptual style, as well as the overall sound effect aesthetic expression, has made a different Angle of interpretation.

Pupillometry reveals perceptual differences that are tightly linked to autistic traits in typical adults

The pupil is primarily regulated by prevailing light levels but is also modulated by perceptual and attentional factors. We measured pupil-size in typical adult humans viewing a bistable-rotating cylinder, constructed so the luminance of the front surface changes with perceived direction of rotation. In some participants, pupil diameter oscillated in phase with the ambiguous perception, more dilated when the black surface was in front. Importantly, the magnitude of oscillation predicts autistic traits of participants, assessed by the Autism-Spectrum Quotient AQ. Further experiments suggest that these results are driven by differences in perceptual styles: high AQ participants focus on the front surface of the rotating cylinder, while those with low AQ distribute attention to both surfaces in a more global, holistic style. This is the first evidence that pupillometry reliably tracks inter-individual differences in perceptual styles; it does so quickly and objectively, without interfering with spontaneous perceptual strategies.

Systematic Review of Cognitive Style, Its Approaches and Cultural Research

The present paper attempts to go through a systematic review on nature of cognitive styles and approaches. When it comes to studying psychological process cognitive style appear as most prominent concept linked with many other psychological processes like problem solving, decision-making, socialization and spatial ability etc. Cognitive style is generally known as way of processing and analyzing information from the environment. The term cognitive styles have been studied since 1960 it was assumed as part of psychological differentiation. But nowadays it is also known as perceptual styles. Often times these terms have been used interchangeably but there is slight difference between these concepts. In the present paper we will analyze the concept of cognitive style, approaches to study cognitive style, new emerging fields in cognitive styles and researches in cognitive styles in Indian perspective. Analysis of review showed that there is abundance of research in cognitive style and its relationship to ecological perspective, and teaching but there is still need for the research in using socio-cultural variable in Indian context.

Rorschach Nomological Network and Resting-State Large Scale Brain Networks

Despite advances in neuroscience, the field of personality assessment has not yet taken full advantage of the progress in neuroimaging techniques. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is one of the most widely used neuroimaging techniques and allows the detection of brain processes and their anatomically detailed correspondences. In the last fifteen years, few studies have developed research designs using the Rorschach test in fMRI settings, analyzing the relationship between Rorschach variables and brain neural circuits. Although their findings were promising, some methodological issues related to fMRI research design have been outlined. Recently, personality neuroscience is emerging as a new field of research that attempts to deepen and refine neurobiological and psychological theories of personality using fMRI in resting state conditions. Recent studies report that resting state networks show a direct relationship with psychological traits. The aim of the present article is to propose a new research design that employs resting-state functional connectivity analyses to explore the brain’s functional architecture in relation to psychological constructs of Rorschach variables related to perceptual styles and personality traits.