Dr Mark Johansen
PhD Indiana
Senior Lecturer
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
Research summary
My primary research interests are in learning and reasoning about categories and caual mechanisms. Categories, e.g. cats, chairs, trees, games, etc., are a fundamental component of human cognition. Humans use categories constantly and mostly with little effort in their everyday lives, but this intuitive use gives little insight into where practical categories come from or how people learn them. I study category learning by have people learn new, unfamiliar categories and then evaluate what they have learned and how they have learned it by having them classify new cases in references to their newly learned categories. A key reason categories are useful is that they facilitate the prediction of hidden properties, for example, categorizing an animal as a cat means it's likely that the animal has a heart, will purr when petted and might help eliminate a mouse infestation. So evaluating feature inference by having participants predict properties of new instances in relation to newly acquired categories is especially important.
As a part of category learning, I'm interested in how people acquire/learn new causal knowledge from observed co-occurrences particularly from the perspective that these may or may not be coincidences. The ability to discriminate causation from coincidence is an essential part of the development of new causal knowledge especially early in the process when there is still relatively little evidence. I'm working on formalizing approaches to specifying the probability that particular co-occurrence events are a coincidence as this naturally translates into a probability that they are not and there is a causal mechanism relating them.
Finally, I enjoy embedding experiments from a fairly wide range of domains (developmental, social, cognitive, etc.) in video games. And I'm especially interested in the use of virtual video-game environments to study learning and causal detection. A problem with studying how people learn real-world categories and causal mechanisms is that it can be quite difficult to experimentally manipulate these in ways that allow precise hypothesis testing while persevering ecological validity. Video games represent a practical compromise in terms of providing a reasonably high level of realism while still maintaining reasonably precise experimental control.
Teaching summary
I teach on the Decision Making module in the final year (PS3312), particularly formal decision analysis as a normative approach to making real decisions. I also teach on the research design and statistics module in year 1 (PS1018). While guiding students through the details of various formal statistical techniques (analysis of variance, correlation, regression, etc.), I spend a great deal of time emphasizing the intuitive aspects of statistics in the interpretation of experimental results: Human behaviour tends to be noisy and highly variable. Statistical analysis is an organizing tool that enables researchers to distinguish real influences on behaviour from random variability.
Publication
2022
- Coelho, G. L. D. H., Hanel, P. H. P., Johansen, M. K. and Maio, G. R. 2022. Mental representations of values and behaviors. European Journal of Personality 36(6), pp. 926-941. (10.1177/08902070211034385)
- Zhang, Q. et al. 2022. Towards an integrated evaluation framework for xai: an experimental study. Procedia Computer Science 207, pp. 3884-3893. (10.1016/j.procs.2022.09.450)
- Grange, J. A., Princis, H., Kozlowski, T. R. W., Amadou-Dioffo, A., Wu, J., Hicks, Y. A. and Johansen, M. K. 2022. XAI & I: Self-explanatory AI facilitating mutual understanding between AI and human experts. Presented at: 26th International Conference on Knowledge-Based and Intelligent Information & Engineering Systems (KES 2022), 7-9 September 2022. Elsevier, (10.1016/j.procs.2022.09.419)
- Hashmi, S., Paine, A. L., Johansen, M. K., Robinson, C. and Hay, D. F. 2022. Engaged in play: Seven-year-olds’ engagement with the play frame when playing with toy figures and their engagement with the fictional world of a video game. Cognitive Development 63, article number: 101230. (10.1016/j.cogdev.2022.101230)
- Morgan, E. and Johansen, M. K. 2022. Premise typicality as feature inference decision-making in perceptual categories. Memory and Cognition 50, pp. 817-836. (10.3758/s13421-021-01240-8)
2020
- Johansen, M. K. and Osman, M. 2020. Coincidence judgment in causal reasoning: How coincidental is this?. Cognitive Psychology 120, article number: 101290. (10.1016/j.cogpsych.2020.101290)
- Morgan, E. and Johansen, M. K. 2020. Comparing methods of category learning: Classification versus feature inference. Memory and Cognition 48, pp. 710-730. (10.3758/s13421-020-01022-8)
- Greville, W. J., Buehner, M. J. and Johansen, M. K. 2020. Causing time: Evaluating causal changes to the 'when' rather than the 'whether' of an outcome. Memory and Cognition 48, pp. 200-211. (10.3758/s13421-019-01002-7)
2019
- Lins De Holanda Coelho, G., Hanel, P. H. P., Johansen, M. K. and Maio, G. R. 2019. Mapping the structure of human values through conceptual representations. European Journal of Personality 33(1), pp. 34-51. (10.1002/per.2170)
2018
- Hay, D. F., Johansen, M. K., Daly, P., Hashmi, S., Robinson, C., Collishaw, S. and van Goozen, S. 2018. Seven-year-olds' aggressive choices in a computer game can be predicted in infancy. Developmental Science 21(3), article number: e12576. (10.1111/desc.12576)
2015
- Johansen, M. K. and Osman, M. 2015. Coincidences: a fundamental consequence of rational cognition. New Ideas in Psychology 39, pp. 34-44. (10.1016/j.newideapsych.2015.07.001)
- Johansen, M. K., Savage, J., Fouquet, N. and Shanks, D. R. 2015. Salience not status: how category labels influence feature inference. Cognitive Science 39(7), pp. 1594-1621. (10.1111/cogs.12206)
2013
- Greville, W. J., Cassar, A. A., Johansen, M. K. and Buehner, M. J. 2013. Structural awareness mitigates the effect of delay in human causal learning. Memory & Cognition 41(6), pp. 904-916. (10.3758/s13421-013-0308-7)
- Johansen, M. K., Fouquet, N., Savage, J. C. D. and Shanks, D. R. 2013. Instance memorization and category influence: Challenging the evidence for multiple systems in category learning. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 66(6), pp. 1204-1226. (10.1080/17470218.2012.735679)
2012
- Thomas, A. G. and Johansen, M. K. 2012. Inside out: Avatars as an indirect measure of ideal body self-presentation in females. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace 6(3), article number: 1. (10.5817/CP2012-3-3)
2010
- Kozlov, M. D. and Johansen, M. K. 2010. Real Behavior in Virtual Environments: Psychology Experiments in a Simple Virtual-Reality Paradigm Using Video Games. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 13(6), pp. 711-714. (10.1089/cyber.2009.0310)
- Johansen, M. K., Fouquet, N. and Shanks, D. R. 2010. Featural selective attention, exemplar representation, and the inverse base-rate effect. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 17(5), pp. 637-643. (10.3758/PBR.17.5.637)
2007
- Johansen, M. K., Fouquet, N. and Shanks, D. R. 2007. Paradoxical effects of base rates and representation in category learning. Memory & Cognition 35(6), pp. 1365-1379. (10.3758/BF03193608)
2005
- Johansen, M. K. and Kruschke, J. K. 2005. Category representation for classification and feature inference. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 31(6), pp. 1433-1458. (10.1037/0278-7393.31.6.1433)
2003
- Goldstone, R. L. and Johansen, M. K. 2003. Conceptual development from origins to asymptotes. In: Rakison, D. H. and Oakes, L. M. eds. Early Category and Concept Development: Making Sense of the Blooming, Buzzing Confusion (Psychology). Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 403-418.
2002
- Johansen, M. K. and Palmeri, T. J. 2002. Are there representational shifts during category learning?. Cognitive Psychology 45(4), pp. 482-553. (10.1016/S0010-0285(02)00505-4)
2000
- Nosofsky, R. M. and Johansen, M. K. 2000. Exemplar-based accounts of "multiple-system" phenomena in perceptual categorization. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 7(3), pp. 375-402.
1999
- Kruschke, J. K. and Johansen, M. K. 1999. A model of probabilistic category learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 25(5), pp. 1083-1119. (10.1037/0278-7393.25.5.1083)
Articles
- Coelho, G. L. D. H., Hanel, P. H. P., Johansen, M. K. and Maio, G. R. 2022. Mental representations of values and behaviors. European Journal of Personality 36(6), pp. 926-941. (10.1177/08902070211034385)
- Zhang, Q. et al. 2022. Towards an integrated evaluation framework for xai: an experimental study. Procedia Computer Science 207, pp. 3884-3893. (10.1016/j.procs.2022.09.450)
- Hashmi, S., Paine, A. L., Johansen, M. K., Robinson, C. and Hay, D. F. 2022. Engaged in play: Seven-year-olds’ engagement with the play frame when playing with toy figures and their engagement with the fictional world of a video game. Cognitive Development 63, article number: 101230. (10.1016/j.cogdev.2022.101230)
- Morgan, E. and Johansen, M. K. 2022. Premise typicality as feature inference decision-making in perceptual categories. Memory and Cognition 50, pp. 817-836. (10.3758/s13421-021-01240-8)
- Johansen, M. K. and Osman, M. 2020. Coincidence judgment in causal reasoning: How coincidental is this?. Cognitive Psychology 120, article number: 101290. (10.1016/j.cogpsych.2020.101290)
- Morgan, E. and Johansen, M. K. 2020. Comparing methods of category learning: Classification versus feature inference. Memory and Cognition 48, pp. 710-730. (10.3758/s13421-020-01022-8)
- Greville, W. J., Buehner, M. J. and Johansen, M. K. 2020. Causing time: Evaluating causal changes to the 'when' rather than the 'whether' of an outcome. Memory and Cognition 48, pp. 200-211. (10.3758/s13421-019-01002-7)
- Lins De Holanda Coelho, G., Hanel, P. H. P., Johansen, M. K. and Maio, G. R. 2019. Mapping the structure of human values through conceptual representations. European Journal of Personality 33(1), pp. 34-51. (10.1002/per.2170)
- Hay, D. F., Johansen, M. K., Daly, P., Hashmi, S., Robinson, C., Collishaw, S. and van Goozen, S. 2018. Seven-year-olds' aggressive choices in a computer game can be predicted in infancy. Developmental Science 21(3), article number: e12576. (10.1111/desc.12576)
- Johansen, M. K. and Osman, M. 2015. Coincidences: a fundamental consequence of rational cognition. New Ideas in Psychology 39, pp. 34-44. (10.1016/j.newideapsych.2015.07.001)
- Johansen, M. K., Savage, J., Fouquet, N. and Shanks, D. R. 2015. Salience not status: how category labels influence feature inference. Cognitive Science 39(7), pp. 1594-1621. (10.1111/cogs.12206)
- Greville, W. J., Cassar, A. A., Johansen, M. K. and Buehner, M. J. 2013. Structural awareness mitigates the effect of delay in human causal learning. Memory & Cognition 41(6), pp. 904-916. (10.3758/s13421-013-0308-7)
- Johansen, M. K., Fouquet, N., Savage, J. C. D. and Shanks, D. R. 2013. Instance memorization and category influence: Challenging the evidence for multiple systems in category learning. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 66(6), pp. 1204-1226. (10.1080/17470218.2012.735679)
- Thomas, A. G. and Johansen, M. K. 2012. Inside out: Avatars as an indirect measure of ideal body self-presentation in females. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace 6(3), article number: 1. (10.5817/CP2012-3-3)
- Kozlov, M. D. and Johansen, M. K. 2010. Real Behavior in Virtual Environments: Psychology Experiments in a Simple Virtual-Reality Paradigm Using Video Games. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 13(6), pp. 711-714. (10.1089/cyber.2009.0310)
- Johansen, M. K., Fouquet, N. and Shanks, D. R. 2010. Featural selective attention, exemplar representation, and the inverse base-rate effect. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 17(5), pp. 637-643. (10.3758/PBR.17.5.637)
- Johansen, M. K., Fouquet, N. and Shanks, D. R. 2007. Paradoxical effects of base rates and representation in category learning. Memory & Cognition 35(6), pp. 1365-1379. (10.3758/BF03193608)
- Johansen, M. K. and Kruschke, J. K. 2005. Category representation for classification and feature inference. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 31(6), pp. 1433-1458. (10.1037/0278-7393.31.6.1433)
- Johansen, M. K. and Palmeri, T. J. 2002. Are there representational shifts during category learning?. Cognitive Psychology 45(4), pp. 482-553. (10.1016/S0010-0285(02)00505-4)
- Nosofsky, R. M. and Johansen, M. K. 2000. Exemplar-based accounts of "multiple-system" phenomena in perceptual categorization. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 7(3), pp. 375-402.
- Kruschke, J. K. and Johansen, M. K. 1999. A model of probabilistic category learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 25(5), pp. 1083-1119. (10.1037/0278-7393.25.5.1083)
Book sections
- Goldstone, R. L. and Johansen, M. K. 2003. Conceptual development from origins to asymptotes. In: Rakison, D. H. and Oakes, L. M. eds. Early Category and Concept Development: Making Sense of the Blooming, Buzzing Confusion (Psychology). Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 403-418.
Conferences
- Grange, J. A., Princis, H., Kozlowski, T. R. W., Amadou-Dioffo, A., Wu, J., Hicks, Y. A. and Johansen, M. K. 2022. XAI & I: Self-explanatory AI facilitating mutual understanding between AI and human experts. Presented at: 26th International Conference on Knowledge-Based and Intelligent Information & Engineering Systems (KES 2022), 7-9 September 2022. Elsevier, (10.1016/j.procs.2022.09.419)
Research
Research collaborators
I am collaborating with Marc Buehner (Psychology, Cardiff) on evaluating the influence of time in causal learning.
I am also working with Magda Osman (Psychology, Queen Mary University of London) on evaluating what the perception of coincidences indicates about mental learning mechanisms.
Biography
Undergraduate education
B.S.C. in Biology with a Computing Emphasis (major and minor) and a major in Psychology at Andrews University (Berrien Springs, MI, USA), Summa Laude. 1994. Research Supervisor: James L. Hayward.
Postgraduate education
Ph.D. Joint Degree in Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Science with a Certificate in Mathematical Modeling at Indiana University, Bloomington, USA. 2002. Dissertation Advisor: John K. Kruschke.
Employment
2004-present: Lecturer, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, United Kingdom
2002-2003: Postdoctoral research fellow at the Center for Economic Learning and Social Evolution (ELSE), University College London, United Kingdom.
Supervisions
Postgraduate research interests
In broad overview, I am interested in doing further empirical work which will help to demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of the present mathematical models of human categorization and learning and will help guide the creation of better mathematical models. Further, I believe that additional information can be gained from the modelling process if models are evaluated for their complexity and emphasis is placed on their parameter-free predictions. The inherent difficulty of this is heavily emphasized by the rarity in the literature of mathematical models that make accurate fixed-parameter predictions about psychological processes, but this is a goal worth pursuing. In more detail, I am interested in how category representations differ depending on how the categories are learned. I am currently comparing the category representation resulting from a standard classification learning task--here is an instance, what category is it in?--with the representation resulting from a feature inference learning task--here is an instance of this category with these features, what is the feature that is missing? I am exploring differences in representation by using mathematical models that embody these various kinds of representation.
In the long term, I want my research to be guided by a big-picture view of intelligent behaviour. There is an infinite number of ways that a person or any other intelligent system could generate abstract categories from the information received by their senses. Most of these arbitrary categories would be completely unadaptive because they would not mediate functional prediction/generalization or accurate control. A fundamental question then: How do humans select/learn adaptive categories?
If you are interested in applying for a PhD, or for further information regarding my postgraduate research, please contact me directly (contact details available on the 'Overview' page), or submit a formal application.