Assessing Distinct Cognitive Workload Levels Associated with Unambiguous and Ambiguous Pronoun Resolutions in Human–Machine Interactions

Brain Sciences

卷:12

Mengyuan Zhao¹  Yiwen Zhu²  Chunhua Ye²  Zhangyifan Ji²  Zhong Yin²  Guangying Wang²  Jing Zhang² 

[1] College of Foreign Languages, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China;

[2] Shanghai Key Laboratory of Modern Optical System, Engineering Research Center of Optical Instrument and System, Ministry of Education, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China;

关键词: electroencephalograph;    pronoun resolution;    cognitive workload;    machine learning;    principal component analysis;   

DOI  :  10.3390/brainsci12030369

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Pronoun resolution plays an important role in language comprehension. However, little is known about its recruited cognitive mechanisms. Our investigation aims to explore the cognitive mechanisms underlying various types of pronoun resolution in Chinese using an electroencephalograph (EEG). We used three convolutional neural networks (CNNs)—LeNeT-5, GoogleNet, and EffifcientNet—to discover high-level feature abstractions of the EEG spatial topologies. The output of the three models was then fused using different scales by principal component analysis (PCA) to achieve cognitive workload classification. Overall, the workload classification rate by fusing three deep networks can be achieved at 55–63% in a participant-specific manner. We provide evidence that both the behavioral indicator of reaction time and the neural indicator of cognitive workload collected during pronoun resolution vary depending on the type of the pronoun. We observed an increase in reaction time accompanied by a decrease of the theta power while participants were processing ambiguous pronoun resolution compared to unambiguous controls. We propose that ambiguous pronoun resolution involves a more time-consuming yet more flexible cognitive mechanism, consistent with the predictions of the decision-making framework from an influential pragmatic tradition. Our results extend previous research that the cognitive states of resolving ambiguous and unambiguous pronouns are differentiated, indicating that cognitive workload evaluated using the method of machine learning for analysis of EEG signals acts as a complementary indicator for studying pronoun resolution and serves as an important inspiration for human–machine interaction.

【 授权许可】

Unknown