Cognition

The Influence of Ethical Decision-Making: Comparison of a Primary and Secondary Appraisal

by Jennifer Griffith

Thiel, C., Connelly, S., Griffith, J.A. (2011). The influence of ethical decision-making: comparison of a primary and secondary appraisal. Ethics and Behavior, 21(5), 380-403.

Higher order cognitive processes, including ethical decision making (EDM), are influenced by the experiencing of... more Higher order cognitive processes, including ethical decision making (EDM), are influenced by the experiencing of discrete emotions. Recent research highlights the negative influence one such emotion, anger, has on EDM and its underlying processes. The mechanism, however, by which anger disrupts the EDM has not been investigated. The current study sought to discover whether cognitive appraisals of an emotion-evoking event are the driving mechanisms behind the influence of anger on EDM. One primary (goal obstacle) and one secondary (certainty) appraisal of anger were examined. Study results suggest that appraisals of certainty are the driving mechanism behind the negative relationship between anger and EDM. Certainty appraisals led to less application of EDM-promoting strategies and more unethical social motives. Findings further highlight the value of investigating appraisals of emotional events, given their cognitive nature, for their potential effects on cognitive operations, such as EDM. Future directions and implications are discussed.

Gestural Abstraction and Restatement: From Iconicity to Metaphor

by Nicla Rossini

in Esposito, A., Vich, R. (Eds) Cross-Modal Analysis of Speech, Gestures, Gaze and Facial Expressions COST Action 2102 International Conference Prague, Czech Republic, October 15-18, 2008 Revised Selected and Invited Papers. Pp. 214-226. Springer: Berlin. 2009.

The question of abstraction and metaphor in gesture is particularly controversial. Some scholars such as David... more The question of abstraction and metaphor in gesture is particularly controversial. Some scholars such as David McNeill, who first introduced this concept for gestures in a systematic way, think that gesture can convey abstract meaning and metaphoric thought, while others believe that gestures can only be considered to be iconic representations. This question will be addressed here by means of an analysis of cases of “on-line” abstraction in the gestural production concurrent with restatements of path descriptions.

Habituacja, dyshabituacja i sensytyzacja jako narzedzia kognitywnej wersologii (rekonesans metodologiczny)

by Arkadiusz Sylwester Mastalski

Are Species Intelligent?

by Jon Schull

"Having Difficulty with Identity", Teoria. Revista filosofia (translated also in Italian)

by Colin SCHMIDT

SCHMIDT C.T.A. (2007), « Qualche problema con la nozione di identità », Teoria. Revista filosofia, vol. XXVII/2207/2,... more SCHMIDT C.T.A. (2007), « Qualche problema con la nozione di identità », Teoria. Revista filosofia, vol. XXVII/2207/2, Edizioni ETS, Pisa.

A Functional Role for Modality-Specific Perceptual Systems in Conceptual Representations

by Dermot Lynott

Krpič, T. 2006. Suburbs in Our Minds: Art and Critique of Cultures of Fear in the Light of Cognitive Sociology. Teorija in praksa 43 (3-4): 523-539.

by Tomaž Krpič

Abstract

Author’s intention is to illustrate E. Zerubavel’s typology of mind, used as an analytical tool... more Abstract

Author’s intention is to illustrate E. Zerubavel’s typology of mind, used as an analytical tool for critical interpretation of modern cultures of fear and terror as presented in the movie Predmestje (Suburbs) of one of currently most influential Slovene movie director V. Möderndorfer. Typology of mind consists of three elements: the rigid, the fuzzy and the flexible mind. Author states that the rigid mind, as an essential element of culture of fear, contributes to the construction of many social phenomena, such as homophobia, xenophobia and general intolerance towards others, by rising cognitive boundaries and establishing rigid social order. By application of the fuzzy mind, contained in the form of artistic cognitive promiscuity, transgression of cognitive boundaries is possible. Yet, art itself, without certain moral background, cannot provide adequate social critique. Moral standards allow constitution of the third type of mind, the flexible mind, which mediate between the art and the social context. Author believes that Möderndorfer’s movie Predmestje presents an excellent example of interwoveness of above-mentioned typology of mind by indicating the shift of Slovenian society towards modern culture of fear and terror along with longing for more humane moral order.

Literacy, Cognitive Function, and Health: Results of the LitCog Study

by Samuel Smith

Wolf MS, Curtis LM, Wilson EA, Revelle W, Waite KR, Smith SG, Weintraub S, Borosh B, Rapp DN, Park DC, Deary IC, Baker DW

Background:
Emerging evidence suggests the relationship between health literacy and health outcomes could be... more Background:
Emerging evidence suggests the relationship between health literacy and health outcomes could be explained by cognitive abilities.

Objective:
To investigate to what degree cognitive skills explain associations between health literacy, performance on common health tasks, and functional health status.

Design:
Two face-to-face, structured interviews spaced a week apart with three health literacy assessments and a comprehensive cognitive battery measuring 'fluid' abilities necessary to learn and apply new information, and 'crystallized' abilities such as background knowledge.

Setting:
An academic general internal medicine practice and three federally qualified health centers in Chicago, Illinois.

Patients:
Eight hundred and eighty-two English-speaking adults ages 55 to 74.

Measurements:
Health literacy was measured using the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM), Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA), and Newest Vital Sign (NVS). Performance on common health tasks were globally assessed and categorized as 1) comprehending print information, 2) recalling spoken information, 3) recalling multimedia information, 4) dosing and organizing medication, and 5) healthcare problem-solving.

Results:
Health literacy measures were strongly correlated with fluid and crystallized cognitive abilities (range: r = 0.57 to 0.77, all p < 0.001). Lower health literacy and weaker fluid and crystallized abilities were associated with poorer performance on healthcare tasks. In multivariable analyses, the association between health literacy and task performance was substantially reduced once fluid and crystallized cognitive abilities were entered into models (without cognitive abilities: β = -28.9, 95 % Confidence Interval (CI) -31.4 to -26.4, p; with cognitive abilities: β = -8.5, 95 % CI -10.9 to -6.0).

Limitations:
Cross-sectional analyses, English-speaking, older adults only.

Conclusions:
The most common measures used in health literacy studies are detecting individual differences in cognitive abilities, which may predict one's capacity to engage in self-care and achieve desirable health outcomes. Future interventions should respond to all of the cognitive demands patients face in managing health, beyond reading and numeracy.

Scotus' Platonic Account of the Intellect in the Collationes by Francisco Macedo (1671-1673)

by Anna Tropia

In this paper, I present the late scholastic interpretation of Scotus given by the Portuguese Francisco Macedo of... more In this paper, I present the late scholastic interpretation of Scotus given by the Portuguese Francisco Macedo of Saint Augustine (Coimbra, 1596 - Padua, 1681). This theologian, nowadays forgotten, knew a certain fame during life and claimed to be a Scotist: nevertheless, his interpretation differs from the one of the Scotists of his day. In particular, I concentrate on the way Macedo presents Scotus' account of the intellect: far from proposing a faithful exegesis of his master, the theologian actually accentuates the Platonic aspects of his doctrine,thereby reconnecting himself to Descartes' and his contemporaries' theory of ideas.

Suárez as a Scotist: the Portrait of the Doctor Eximius in Losada’s Commentary on the Soul”, in M. Sgarbi (ed.), Francisco Suárez and his Legacy. Milano, Vita e Pensiero, 2010, pp. 89-101.

by Anna Tropia

Krpic, T. 2007. Cognitive Body Agency. International Journal of the Humanities 5 (10): 141-148.

by Tomaž Krpič

The author’s prime aim is to introduce the concept of cognitive body agency into cognitive sociology. This is going to... more The author’s prime aim is to introduce the concept of cognitive body agency into cognitive sociology. This is going to be obtained in three steps. First, a brief review of cognitive sociology will be given with regards to the absence of the concept of carnal body, due to a complete preoccupation of the discipline with ‘the body from the neck up’. Secondly, several reasons will be given for the absence of the concept of the carnal body in sociology in general. Thirdly, the author will give the arguments for the concept of cognitive body agency by referring to communication theory and by accepting the body as a material force in its own right.

Stones of Contention: The Acheulean Handaxe Lethal Projectile Controversy

by David Samson

Published in 'Lithic Technology"
2006

2009, « Habitus, Freedom and Reflexivity », in Theory and Psychology Volume 19, no. 6, pp. 728-755.

by Mathieu Hilgers

The question of freedom is recurrent in the theory of habitus. In this paper I propose that the notion of freedom is... more The question of freedom is recurrent in the theory of habitus. In this paper I propose that the notion of freedom is an essential and necessary component for the coherence of the analyses which mobilize habitus both in terms of their theoretical articulation and in terms of their grounding in empirical reality. This argument can seem surprising considering that the theory of habitus has often been accused of being deterministic. Yet I show that, from an epistemological point of view, habitus theory is not deterministic. Bourdieu’s treatment of this concept implies at least three principles that exclude determinism: (1) the production of an infinite number of behaviors from a limited number of principles, (2) permanent mutation, and (3) the intensive and extensive limits of sociological understanding. After identifying and describing these principles, I show the reason for their incompatibility with a deterministic perspective and consider their implications for the corresponding model of action. I illustrate this analysis by a discussion of Loïc Wacquant’s carnal sociology of the pugilistic universe which reveals why it is essential to understand and explain the relation between habitus and freedom.

Il CONTEXT AND COGNITION: INTRODUCTION

by Guy Tiberghien

Contexte, cognition et machines contextuelles

by Guy Tiberghien

Cerebellum and cognition: Evidence for the encoding of higher-order rules

by Joshua Balsters

Balsters JH, Whelan CD, Robertson IH, & Ramnani N
Cerebral Cortex. In Press

Converging anatomical and functional evidence suggests that the cerebellum processes both motor and non-motor... more Converging anatomical and functional evidence suggests that the cerebellum processes both motor and non-motor information originating from the primary motor cortex and prefrontal cortex respectively. However, it has not been established whether the cerebellum only processes prefrontal information where rules specify actions, or whether the cerebellum processes any form of prefrontal information no matter how abstract. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging we distinguish between two competing hypotheses; 1) activity within prefrontal-projecting cerebellar lobules (Crus I and II) will only be evoked by rules that specify action (i.e. first-order rules; arbitrary S-R mappings), 2) activity will be evoked in these lobules by both first-order rules, and second-order rules that govern the application of lower order rules. The results showed that prefrontal-projecting cerebellar lobules Crus I and Crus II were commonly activated by processing both first- and second-order rules. We demonstrate for the first time that cerebellar circuits engage both first and second-order rules, and in doing so show that the cerebellum can contribute to cognitive control independent from motor control.

Coffee consumption is inversely associated with cognitive decline in elderly European men: the FINE Study

by Brian Buijsse

Mind and Artifact: A Multidimensional Matrix for Exploring Cognition-Artifact Relations

by Richard Heersmink

To appear in: Proceedings of AISB/IACAP World Congress 2012

What are the possible varieties of cognition-artifact relations, and which dimensions are relevant for exploring these... more What are the possible varieties of cognition-artifact relations, and which dimensions are relevant for exploring these varieties? This question is answered in two steps. First, three levels of functional and informational integration between human agent and cognitive artifact are distinguished. These levels are based on the degree of interactivity and direction of information flow, and range from monocausal and bicausal relations to continuous reciprocal causation. Second, a multidimensional framework for exploring cognition-artifact relations is sketched. The dimensions in the framework include reliability, durability, trust, procedural and representational transparency, individualization, bandwidth, speed of information flow, distribution of computation, and cognitive and artifactual transformation. Together, these dimensions constitute a multidimensional space in which particular cognition-artifact relations can be located. The higher a cognition-artifact relation scores on these dimensions, the more integration occurs, and the more tightly coupled the overall system is. It is then better, for explanatory reasons, to see agent and artifact as one cognitive system with a distributed informational architecture.

I can't get no (epistemic) satisfaction: Why the hard problem of consciousness entails a hard problem of explanation

by Brian Earp

Earp, B. D. (2012). I can’t get no (epistemic) satisfaction: Why the hard problem of consciousness entails a hard problem of explanation. Dialogues in Philosophy, Mental and Neuro Sciences, in press.

Daniel Dennett (1996) has disputed David Chalmers’ (1995) assertion that there is a “hard problem of consciousness”... more Daniel Dennett (1996) has disputed David Chalmers’ (1995) assertion that there is a “hard problem of consciousness” worth solving in the philosophy of mind. In this paper I defend Chalmers against Dennett on this point: I argue that there is a hard problem of consciousness, that it is distinct in kind from the so-called easy problems, and that it is vital for the sake of honest and productive research in the cognitive sciences to be clear about the difference. But I have my own rebuke for Chalmers on the point of explanation. Chalmers (1995, 1996) proposes to “solve” the hard problem of consciousness by positing qualia as fundamental features of the universe, alongside such ontological basics as mass and space-time. But this is an inadequate solution: to posit, I will urge, is not to explain. To bolster this view, I borrow from an account of explanation by which it must provide “epistemic satisfaction” to be considered successful (Rowlands, 2001; Campbell, 2009), and show that Chalmers’ proposal fails on this account. I conclude that research in the science of consciousness cannot move forward without greater conceptual clarity in the field.

Intention Recognition, Commitment, and The Evolution of Cooperation.

by The Anh Han

Co-authored with L. M. Pereira and F. C. Santos.
In Proceedings of the 2012 IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation (CEC 2012), IEEE Press, Brisbane, Australia.

Individuals make commitments towards others in order to influence others to behave in certain ways. Most commitments... more Individuals make commitments towards others in order to influence others to behave in certain ways. Most commitments may depend on some incentive that is required to ensure that the action is in the agent's best interest and thus, should be carried out to avoid eventual penalties. Similarly, individuals may ground their decision on an accurate assessment of the intentions of others. Hence, both commitments and intention recognition go side by side in behavioral evolution. Here, we analyze the role played by the co-evolution of intention recognition plus the emergence of commitments, in the framework of the evolution of cooperative behavior. We resort to tools of evolutionary game theory in finite populations, showing how the combination of these two aspects of human behavior can enhance the emergent fraction of cooperative acts under a broad spectrum of configurations.