Papers by Jurgis Skilters
Baltic Journal of Modern Computing, 2024
Although human perception is geometrically constrained, not all geometric relations are equally p... more Although human perception is geometrically constrained, not all geometric relations are equally prominent and not all geometric relations are used in everyday settings in human perception. Further, some geometric relations are systematically transformed. In this study we describe a robust geometric framework expressing spatial relations but including some strong and systematic non-geometric extensions that operate in human perception. We generally adopt the view that spatial cognition centers on qualitative spatial relations, including geometrical and topological but also functional ones (Coventry and Garrod, 2004, Gärdenfors, 2014, Mani and Pustejovsky, 2012). The topological and geometrical principles of qualitative spatial reasoning have been formalized using the framework of the Region Connection Calculus (RCC; Cohn et al., 1997), complemented with convexity and distance and orientation primitives. In work in progress, we extend this framework to include functional relations (Coventry and Garrod, 2004, Vandeloise, 1991). The central functional relations are identified as locational control and support, as they enable us to characterize a wide range of further relations, including interlocking, containment, functional enclosure and telicity.
Baltic Journal of Modern Computing, Dec 31, 2022
With some overlapping and contradicting results a number of studies have demonstrated that there ... more With some overlapping and contradicting results a number of studies have demonstrated that there is an interrelation between colors and emotions. Some studies conclude that colors and other aesthetic effects are strong emotion triggers inducing affective reaction when interacting with interfaces or webpages. Our study tests color-emotion mappings in interface environments within a modified framework of Ou et al. (2004a, b, c) applying a rating task in an in-group quasiexperimental setting for colors selected from a typical color scheme (MS Paint 7 Palette) used in digital environments. We have characterized and grouped the tested colors with respect to evaluation tendencies regarding emotion association pairs-polar adjectives used in the rating task. Correlations between colors that are evaluated similarly with respect to emotion association pairs as well as emotion association pairs evaluated similarly with respect to the tested colors have also been detected and discussed in the study. The study contributes to the interrelated areas of interface usability and design analysis, usability improvement, and interface color categorization. The results show that perception of color-emotion mappings is age and gender dependent.
Baltic Journal of Modern Computing, Dec 31, 2022
Spatial proximity is not just a geometric attribute but is co-determined by factors of scale (vis... more Spatial proximity is not just a geometric attribute but is co-determined by factors of scale (visual scope or navigational scale), object features, and specific interactional patterns between objects, to mention just a few. We conducted three experiments to test the use of natural language proximity descriptors in Latvian (words representing different proximity operators in natural language). In a repeated-measures quasi-experiment (Study 1, n=25, adults), we used a rating task to evaluate a set of functional stimuli (photographs of everyday scenes) with independent variables of (a) scale (large-and small-scale space), distance (far or close), (b) object interaction, and (c) human presence in the scene. Next, we compared the observed regularities with the results from two repeated-measures quasi-experiments with geometric stimuli (two circles in different spatial relations to each other)-production task (Study 2.1., n=105, adults) and rating task (Study 2.2., n=92, adults). The experiment with functional stimuli shows differences in the use of spatial descriptors depending on scale, distance, and other tested factors. Small-scale configurations with a larger distance between objects allow a more variable, interchangeable and less context-dependent set of descriptors. The comparison of results from experiments on geometric and functional stimuli shows similar patterns in the use of spatial descriptors depending on the distance and indicates that abstract geometric relations are represented according to smallscale context.
Formal semantics and pragmatics. Discourse, context and models: Proceedings of the Symposium for Cognition, Logic and Communication
Handbuch Kognitionswissenschaft
Philosophical Psychology, Jul 11, 2014
from social scientists and (at least historically) philosophers, the tendency is to view all nega... more from social scientists and (at least historically) philosophers, the tendency is to view all negative emotions with a mixture of skepticism and hostility. Rarely is the moral or prudential value of negative emotions like shame acknowledged within the literature, and the prevailing assumption seems to be that if it doesn’t feel good, it simply isn’t good. The woeful inadequacy of this view is exposed in this timely defense of shame, which rightly sets the record straight for one negative emotion, and suggests that further research ought to explore what other negative emotions might also be of value if we are to accurately characterize our moral psychology.
Cilvēka fizioloģijas un uztveres sekcijas referātu tēzes : Latvijas Universitātes 75. zinātniskā konference, 2017
Ievads Ikdienā aizejot uz veikalu, cenšamies atcerēties un priekšstatīt, kas iztrūkst, piemēram, ... more Ievads Ikdienā aizejot uz veikalu, cenšamies atcerēties un priekšstatīt, kas iztrūkst, piemēram, ledusskapī un kas būtu jānopērk. Pirms dodamies ceļojumā, prātā mēģinām salikt mantas automašīnas bagāžas nodalījumā. Aplūkojot kartes, cenšamies tajās orientēties iztēlojoties vidi, kuru mēs jau zinām, un mēģinām tajā atrast ielas, mājas. Skolēniem mentālā rotācijas spējas ir nepieciešamas telpiskās ģeometrijas apgūšanā, kad jāiztēlojas savā prātā telpiskās figūras veidols un jāveic aprēķini. Mentālā priekšstatīšana (mental imagery) un elementu mentālā rotācija (mental rotation) prātā ir ļoti svarīga gandrīz visu profesiju pārstāvjiem. Cilvēkam piemīt telpiskās spējas, kas palīdz viņam vizualizēt un telpiski priekšstatīt lietas un telpiski orientēties. Telpiskā vizualizācija savukārt ir cieši saistīta ar mentālo rotāciju un transformāciju (Sorby, 1999). Ja divdimensiju plaknē (uz papīra vai datora ekrāna) tiek atveidots telpisks objekts, tad gandrīz vienalga kurā leņķī tas tiktu atveidots, cilvēks to lielākoties spēs atpazīt. Šo spēju dēvē par mentālo priekšstatīšanu, kura-lielākā vai mazākā mērā-piemīt ikvienam cilvēkam. Tā ir spēja mentāli radīt, saglabāt un grozīt reāli esošu objektu, saglabājot tā nemainīgu fizikālo (ārpus vērotāja esošo) identitāti. Lai gan objektiem ir dažādas īpašības (piemēram, krāsa, tekstūra, forma), mentāli rotējot visnozīmīgākā ir objekta forma, savukārt pārējās īpašības ir mazāk būtiskas. Mentālai rotācijai ir sekojoši līmeņi (Johnson, 1990): (1) objekta mentālā izveidošana, (2) objekta mentālā rotēšana līdz var izdarīt salīdzinājumu, (3) salīdzināšana, (4) secinājuma izdarīšana, vai objekts ir tāds pats vai nav, (5) sava sprieduma paziņošana. Mūsu pētījuma mērķis ir novērtēt izmainītās instrukcijas ietekmi uz mentālās rotācijas uzdevumu rezultātiem. Lai sasniegtu mērķi, tika izvirzīti sekojoši uzdevumi: (1) pārbaudīt pētnieku (Shepard & Metzler, 1971; Cooper, 1975) atklāto paradigmu par trīsdimensionālo un divdimensionālo objektu mentālo rotāciju; (2) novērtēt spoguļfigūru mentālā rotācijas uzdevuma ietekmi uz atbildes sniegšanas laiku un precizitāti. Secinājumi Kopumā vērtējot iegūtos rezultātu vairākkārtīgi atkārtojot, var secināt, ka spoguļfigūru uztvere un atbildes sniegšana mentālās rotācijas uzdevumos notiek savādāk nekā standarta testos. Visvieglāk cilvēkam ir sniegt atbildi, ja ir precīzi abas figūras kā spoguļattēls viena otrai, līdz ar to arī ir izskaidrojams, kādēļ nav lineāras atkarības laikam no pagrieziena leņķa.
Proceedings of the Latvian Academy of Sciences. Section B. Natural, Exact, and Applied Sciences., 2017
Studies analysing biological motion perception based on reduced number of dots have demonstrated ... more Studies analysing biological motion perception based on reduced number of dots have demonstrated that biological motion can be perceived even when only the lower part of the body is visible or when the number of dots representing the object is reduced. What is the minimal amount of information that enables biological motion to be distinguished from its scrambled version? The results of the current experiment demonstrate that biological motion can be distinguished from its scrambled version when the object is formed of approximately 5 (4.7 ± 0.1) dots. Additionally, we also investigated whether the threshold value for biological motion perception differs in central and peripheral visual fields. By using stimulus magnification, we demonstrate that the number of dots sufficient for biological motion perception is similar in the central visual field and near periphery. Hence, stimulus magnification can compensate for reduced task performance in the peripheral visual field. The current r...
Social Science Information, 2017
The article investigates the relations, in the light of new paradigms of economic development, be... more The article investigates the relations, in the light of new paradigms of economic development, between trust and economic wealth at the micro level in the Republic of Latvia, by means of a structural equation modelling-based approach and a framework combining social capital and social identity theory, in a rationale of cross-fertilization between social and cognitive science. Results are also tested against control dimensions reflecting relevant divides in Latvian society (residence place dimensions; ethno-linguistic belongings; educational differences). General results support the hypothesis of the existence of a causal path connecting personal wealth, institutional trust, social engagement and trust towards people. Results are found to be highly sensitive to the geographical and educational divide (but not to the ethno-linguistic one).
Assessing effects of reduced vision on spatial orientation ability using virtual reality This pap... more Assessing effects of reduced vision on spatial orientation ability using virtual reality This paper investigates the computational basis of the temporal and spatial cognition that underlies certain animal behaviours. For example, ants, when they find food, are able to encode the compass direction which takes them back to their nest. In their (2009) book, Memory and the Computational Brain (MCB), Gallistel and King articulate a classicist view: animals must do this using a symbolic, addressable, read-write memory. Here we challenge this view, arguing that complex behaviour can be explained by computational mechanisms which do not need to look like addressable random-access memory.
International Journal of Food Design, 2021
How a food, or a dish, is named and how its components and attributes are described can all influ... more How a food, or a dish, is named and how its components and attributes are described can all influence the perception and the enjoyment of the food. Therefore, tracing patterns in food descriptions and determining their role can be of value. The aims of this study were the following: (1) to describe the multisensory food experience as represented in microblog entries concerning food and drink on Twitter, (2) to provide an overview of the changes in the above-mentioned food representations during the period 2011–20, and (3) to contribute to a broader understanding of the human–food relationship as reflected on social media – in this case Twitter – and outline its potential utility for the research field of gastrophysics. The combinations of various multisensory attributes co-occurring in a tweet (which we term ‘collocations’) found in the Twitter corpus were examined through the categories of texture, colour, taste, smell/odour, shape and sound. We mapped the collocations of the 20–25...
Brain Sciences
Biological motion perception is a specific type of perceptual organization, during which a clear ... more Biological motion perception is a specific type of perceptual organization, during which a clear image of a moving human body is perceptually generated in virtue of certain core light dots representing the major joint movements. While the processes of biological motion perception have been studied extensively for almost a century, there is still a debate on whether biological motion task performance can be equally precise across all visual field or is central visual field specified for biological motion perception. The current study explores the processes of biological motion perception and figure–ground segmentation in the central and peripheral visual field, expanding the understanding of perceptual organization across different eccentricities. The method involved three different tasks of visual grouping: (1) a static visual grouping task, (2) a dynamic visual grouping task, and (3) a biological motion detection task. The stimuli in (1) and (2) were generated from 12–13 dots group...
Knowledge exchange and growth in a hybrid community – a social-capital-based approach: Evidence from Latvia
IFLA Journal
This article investigates patterns of knowledge exchange in hybrid communities where virtual and ... more This article investigates patterns of knowledge exchange in hybrid communities where virtual and face-to-face links of communication are complementary. The study framework is based on social capital theory. The role of social capital dimensions and motivational factors in fostering the exchange of different forms of knowledge is investigated at an individual level. The proposed theoretical model is tested through structural equation modelling, and the analysis is carried out on a sample of over 250 individuals belonging to the community of users of the National Library of Latvia. The results confirm most of the theoretical hypotheses, but with some unexpected results– such as the relevant role of motivational factors in fostering the exchange of complex forms of knowledge– highlighting the specific nature of hybrid communities.
Perspectives on Spatial Cognition: Proceedings of the Symposium for Cognition, Logic and Communication
Humour as a Communication Tool: the Case of New Year’s Eve Television in Russia
Defence Strategic Communications, 2018
Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2015
The paper reports two studies which were both aimed at exploring differences in the judgement of ... more The paper reports two studies which were both aimed at exploring differences in the judgement of traffic safety and risks by experts and ordinary drivers. In both studies the group of experts was comprised of driving school instructors. The first study focused on the risk judgements that drivers and experts make on the basis of traffic rule violations in order to predict road accidents. The second study explored driver and expert assessments regarding unwritten driving rules that are related to safe vs. risky driving. The studies demonstrated that experts are only slightly better than ordinary drivers in judging the degree to which traffic accidents are related to violations of certain traffic rules. There were only very slight differences in rating the degree to which an average Latvian driver follows unwritten driving rules. Experts and ordinary drivers did not differ in their assessments on the extent to which particular unwritten traffic rules facilitate traffic safety.
From perceptual organization to visual illusions and back
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
In modern vision science, illusions are compelling phenomena useful as tools to explore vision un... more In modern vision science, illusions are compelling phenomena useful as tools to explore vision under limiting psychophysical conditions. Illusions manifest at least two issues that challenge scientists. The first issue is related to the definition of illusion and to the complexity of the mismatch between the geometrical/physical and the phenomenal domains. The second issue concerns two different meanings of the term “illusion,” respectively related to the demonstration of the illusion through the mismatch between domains and to the phenomenal illusoriness, i.e., the perception of something having the nature of an illusion, unreal, ambiguous, fallacious, and deceptive. In this work, we explored the notion of illusion starting from the principles of perceptual organization as described by Gestalt psychologists. On the basis of several phenomenal conditions, step by step, we suggested some new hypotheses, whose purpose was to answer the following questions: what is physical and what is...
Perceptions of institutions and social capital accumulation: A social categorization and shared agency‐based approach. Evidence from the Russian Federation
Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 2021
LU FMOF optometrijas un redzes zinātnes nodaļas un Latvijas optometristu un optiķu asociācijas konferenču referātu tēzes, 2016
Ievads Uztveres grupēšanas process nosaka, ka, balstoties uz dažādām līdzīgām īpašībām, vizuālā i... more Ievads Uztveres grupēšanas process nosaka, ka, balstoties uz dažādām līdzīgām īpašībām, vizuālā informācija tiek apvienota grupās, tādējādi veidojot priekšstatu par vienotu objektu vai tekstūru. Uztveres grupēšana (kopā ar kustības uztveri) ir būtiska arī bioloģiskās kustības objektu izšķiršanā un uztverē. Pētījums izvērtē bioloģiskās kustības uztveri redzes lauka centrā un perifērijā, kā arī nosaka, kādi procesi ir saistīti ar iespējami pasliktināto bioloģiskās kustības uztveri redzes lauka perifērijā Uztveres grupēšana centrālajā redzes laukā un redzes lauka tuvajā perifērijā Nav izveidojies vienots viedoklis, vai bioloģiskās kustības uztvere redzes lauka perifērijā ir pielīdzināma uztverei redzes lauka centrālajā daļā. Izmantojot nedaudz atšķirīgu eksperimenta uzbūvi, Ikeda ar kolēģiem (Ikeda et al., 2005) un Gansejs ar kolēģiem (Gurnsey et al., 2010) nonāca pie diametrāli pretējiem secinājumiem. Iespējamais skaidrojums atšķirīgajiem rezultātiem ir meklējams tieši eksperimenta uzbūvē: bioloģiskās kustības uztvere redzes lauka perifērijā ir pielīdzināma centrālajai redzei, taču eksperimenta dalībniekiem grūtības sagādāja stimula izšķiršana no trokšņa, kas arī bija galvenās Ikeda (2005) un Gansejs ar kolēģiem 2010) eksperimenta uzbūves atšķirības (Thompson et al, 2007). Lai izvērtētu bioloģiskās kustības uztveri redzes lauka centrā un perifērijā, pētījuma ietvaros tika izveidota datorprogramma, kur bioloģiskās kustības objekts tika demonstrēts, izmantojot samazinātu punktu skaitu. ika noteikts, kāds ir pietiekamais punktu skaits, lai bioloģiskā kustība tiktu nojausta no jauktās (scrambled) versijas, kurā saglabājās lokālo punktu pārvietošanās trajektorija, taču ir mainīts punktu novietojums. tādējādi neradot sajūtu par vienotas dzīvas būtnes pārvietošanos. Uztveres slieksnis tika noteikts, izmantojot BUDTIF metodi (Campbell & Lasky, 1968). Bioloģiskās kustības uztvere redzes lauka perifērijā tika novērtēta 8 pētījuma dalībniekiem, analizējot punktu skaitu, kas pietiekams bioloģiskās kustības uztverei. Stimuls tika demonstrēts četrās redzes lauka ekscentricitātēs (0, 4, 8 un 15 grādi), stimula izmēri bija 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 un 20 grādi. Rezultāti parāda, ka bioloģiskās kustības uztveres slieksnis ir 3-7 (vidēji 4) punkti, un tikai 5 no 8 dalībniekiem (623%) spēja sasniegt vienlīdz labu rezultātu, stimulu demonstrējot centrāli un redzes lauka perifērijā (skat.1.att). Diskusija Iegūtie pētījuma rezultāti nesniedz viennozīmīgu atbildi par to, vai bioloģiskās kustības uztvere redzes lauka un centā ir vienlīdz efektīva. Lai gūtu precīzāku atbildi, pētījumu nepieciešams paplašināt, uzdevumu veicot lielākam dalībnieku skaitam, kā arī nosakot to tālākā redzes lauka ekscentrciitātē. Papildu tam, līdzīgi kā Ikeda un kolēģu (2005) pētījumā, mūsu pētījuma turpinājumā paredzēts izvērtēt, vai bioloģiskās kustības uztvere redzes lauka centrā un perifērijā atšķiras vizuālā trokšņa apstākļos. Ja bioloģiskās kustības uztvere redzes lauka perifērijā tomēr it mazāk efektīva, nekā centrālajā redzes laukā, rodas jautājums, ar kādiem uztveres procesiem ir saistāma bioloģiskās kustības uztveres pasliktināšanās. Turpmākajā pētījumā paredzēts izvērtēt, vai pasliktinātā uztvere ir saistāma ar traucētu kustības uztveri, uztveres grupēšanu pēc objektu novietojuma un kopīga virziena (common fate) vai pasliktinājums ir saistāms ar Vaita un kolēģu (White et al,1999) aprakstīto kustības ierosināšanu (perceptual causality).
Baltistica
This article aims to clarify the difference in usage of the Latvian proximity lexemes blakus and ... more This article aims to clarify the difference in usage of the Latvian proximity lexemes blakus and līdzās and to identify their translation equivalents in Lithuanian. The data have been collected from the Lithuanian-Latvian and Latvian-Lithuanian parallel corpus, manually annotated for various syntactic and semantic variables, and analyzed quantitatively. Although Latvian relational adverbs blakus and līdzās are defined very similarly in Latvian dictionaries, our results reveal their syntactic and semantic peculiarities in more detail and outline the criteria that sanction the choice of these relational adverbs. Finally, the translation of Latvian proximity terms into Lithuanian is described emphasizing the main differences of proximal terms in both languages.
Impacts of colors and container types on predicted and perceived flavor of non-alcoholic beverages
Although it is documented that vision can impact flavor perception, less known are the interrelat... more Although it is documented that vision can impact flavor perception, less known are the interrelations between subsets of cross-modal factors. Within the framework of cross-modal perception three between-group experiments were conducted to determine the impact of color and container type on the flavor perception. Two different containers and 10 colors were tested in two online experiments (n1 = 67, n2 = 63); in the third experiment two non-sweetened colored drinks were tested (n = 32). Hedonic, associative, and emotional measurements were applied. Our results indicate that color can increase the expected sense of flavor. For instance, red, pink, orange (average values 3.7, 3.7, 3.6 on a 5 pt scale) are the strongest examples of sweetness. For some colors (e.g., red and brown) predicted sweetness is also determined by the type of container (bottle vs. glass). Additionally, the sense of freshness as a cross-modal factor increases the likeability of the drink.
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Papers by Jurgis Skilters