Toward this end, I have developed several mathematical frameworks for characterizing and measuring the
structural properties inherent to concepts. Historical and new empirical evidence suggests that these
structural models -- algebraic, analytic, and deterministic in nature (and hence, much like the models
encountered in classical physics) -- are more robust and cognitively plausible predictors of the degree of
concept learning difficulty experienced by humans than the well-known alternatives. Notably, all of this is
accomplished with few or no parameters. This research has been articulated in several papers and in a
book entitled "Mathematical Principles of Human Conceptual Behavior" (Vigo, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011,
2013, 2014).
The SCOPE LAB (Structure, Concepts, and Perception Laboratory) at Ohio University seeks to extend the
above research empirically and theoretically. For example, in the SCOPE Lab we conduct empirical and
theoretical research on human concept learning and categorization behavior using eye tracking technology.
More specifically, we use eye tracking techniques to explore correlations between saccades and the
concept learning behavior predicted by a variety of models, including my concept invariance models (Vigo,
2009, 2011, 2013). Other research activities in the SCOPE Lab include empirical and theoretical research
on decision making behavior as a function of similarity assessment, dissimilarity assessment, and
categorization. Also, we are interested in researching how humans judge similarity and dissimilarity
between structural or configural stimuli such as human faces. In related work, I introduced a mathematical
model of similarity that predicts the empirical similarity ordering of a key class of configural stimuli
associated with deductive inference (Vigo, 2009a, 2009b). Last, but not least, the SCOPE Lab conducts
empirical and theoretical research on problem solving behavior in mathematical domains such as geometry,
algebra, and physics, and on the nature of aesthetic judgments.
Research Interests:
Although I am interested in many areas of cognitive research, the core of my
work focuses on the development of mathematical and computational models of
concept learning and categorization behavior. For example, I have investigated
the degree of difficulty that humans experience when learning different types of
concepts. Two key questions drive this research. First, why are some types of
concepts more difficult to learn than others? Secondly, can the subjective
degree of learning difficulty of these concepts be reliably predicted? In my work,
I argue that the key to answering these questions lies on the structural properties
of the categorical stimulus from which a concept is learned and on specific mental
operations that facilitate their detection.
Director
Dr. Ronaldo Vigo
Contact: vigo@ohio.edu
Mathematical Principles of Human Conceptual Behavior,
Scientific Psychology Series; Routledge, Taylor and Francis.
RECENT BOOK BY RONALDO VIGO:
Selected Publications
Zhao, J., Kirwen, N., Johnson, J. & Vigo, R. (2017). Anger and intertemporal choice: the behavioral approach
……..system and the interactive effects of trait and state anger. Personality and Individual Differences, 110,
……..60-64. PDF
Zhao, J., Harris, M. & Vigo, R. (2016). Anxiety and moral judgment: The shared deontological tendency of the
……..behavioral inhibition system and the unique utilitarian tendency of trait anxiety. Personality and
……..Individual Differences, 95, 29-33. PDF
Zhao, J., Cheng, J., Harris, M., & Vigo, R. (2015). Anxiety and intertemporal decision making: The effect of the
……..behavioral inhibition system and the moderation effects of trait anxiety on both state anxiety and
……..socioeconomic status. Personality and Individual Differences, 87, 236-241. PDF
Vigo, R. (2013). The General Invariance Structure Theory (GIST) of Concepts, Cognition, 129 (1),
138-162. PDF
(Supplementary Materials to “The GIST of Concepts” are here: supplementary materials)
Vigo, R., Zeigler, D., Halsey, P. (2013). Gaze and Informativeness During Category Learning:
Evidence for an Inverse Relation. Visual Cognition, Volume 21, Issue 4, 2013. PDF
Vigo, R., Basawaraj (2013). Will the most informative object stand? Determining the impact of structural
context on informativeness judgments. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 25:3, 248-266. PDF
(Supplementary Materials to “
Will the most informative object stand?
” are here)
Vigo, R. (2012). Complexity over Uncertainty in Generalized Representational Information
Theory (GRIT): A Structure-Sensitive General Theory of Information. Information, 4, 1-30.
PDF
Vigo, R. (2011). Representational information: a new general notion and measure of information.
Information Sciences, 181, 4847-4859. PDF
Vigo, R. (2011). Towards a Law of Invariance in Human Concept Learning, L. Carlson, C. Hölscher,
T. Shipley (Eds.), Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science
Society, Austin, TX: Cognitive Science Society, 2580-2585. PDF
Vigo, R., (2009c). A Dialogue on Concepts. Think, Volume 9, Issue 24, March 2010, pp 109-120. PDF
Vigo, R. (2009b). Categorical Invariance and Structural Complexity in Human Concept Learning.
Journal of Mathematical Psychology, 53, 203-221. PDF
Vigo, R. (2009a). Modal Similarity. Journal of Experimental and Theoretical
Artificial Intelligence, 21(3),181-196. PDF
Vigo, R., Allen, C., (2009). How to reason without words: inference as categorization.
Cognitive Processing, 10(1), 51-88. PDF
Vigo, R. (2006). A Note on the Complexity of Boolean Concepts. Journal of Mathematical
Psychology, 50, 501-510. PDF
Vigo, R., Doan, C. (2015). The Structure of Choice. Cognitive Systems Research, in press. PDF
Vigo, R., Evans, S., & Owens, J. S. (2015). Categorization behavior in adults, adolescents, and ADHD
……..adolescents: A comparative investigation. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 68(6), 1058-
……..72. PDF
Vigo, R., Doan, C. A., Pinegar, S. (2017) On the learning difficulty of visual and auditory modal
…….concepts: evidence for a single processing system. Cognitive Processing. PDF
Emotions Research
Updated November 2017
Vigo, R. (2014). Mathematical Principles of Human Conceptual Behavior (October, 2014),
Scientific Psychology Series; Routledge, Taylor and Francis. (Book’s Website Here )
Vancouver, J. B., Weinhardt, J.M., & Vigo, R. (2014). Change one can believe in: Adding learning to a
……..computational model of self-regulation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 124
……..(1), 56-74. PDF
Vigo, R., Basawaraj, B., (2016). Structural Manifold Analysis: A New Method for Dimensionality
Reduction Based on a Computational Theory of Human Concept Learning. IEEE Proceedings of
the 2016 International Joint Conference on Neural Networks. PDF
Vigo, R., Zeigler, D. (2016). On the Relationship between Perceived Structural Complexity and
Temporal Judgments, Mathematical Models of Perception and Cognition Volume II, edited by
J. Houpt, L. Blaha, Scientific Psychology Series, Routledge. (PDF)
Doan, C. & Vigo, R. (2016). Constructing and Deconstructing Concepts: On the Nature of Category
…….Modificiation and Unsupervised Sorting Behavior. Experimental Pyschology, 63, 249-262.
…….PDF
Mourning, C., Chelberg, D., Vigo, R., & Zeigler, D. (2016). Disocclusion mitigation for point cloud
…….imposters. Proceedings of the 20th ACM SIGGRAPH Symposium on Interactive 3D
Graphics. PDF