scholarly journals Effort, Uncertainty, and the Sense of Agency

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 955-975
Author(s):  
Oliver Lukitsch
Keyword(s):  
Prediction Error ◽  
Perceptual Experience ◽  
Accurate Prediction ◽  
Sense Of Agency ◽  
Action Effects ◽  
Sense Of Effort ◽  
Sense Of Efficacy

AbstractOrthodox neurocognitive accounts of the bodily sense of agency suggest that the experience of agency arises when action-effects are anticipated accurately. In this paper, I argue that while successful anticipation is crucial for the sense of agency, the role of unsuccessful prediction has been neglected, and that inefficacy and uncertainty are no less central to the sense of agency. I will argue that this is reflected in the phenomenology of agency, which can be characterized both as the experience of (1) efficacy and (2) effort. Specifically, the “sense of efficacy” refers to the perceptual experience of an action unfolding as anticipated. The “sense of effort”, in contrast, arises when an action has an uncertain trajectory, feels difficult, and demands the exertion of control. In this case, actions do not unfold as anticipated and require continuing adaptation if they are to be efficacious. I propose that, taken individually, the experience of efficacy and effort are insufficient for the sense of agency and that these experiences can even disrupt the sense of agency when they occur in isolation from each other. I further argue that a fully-fledged sense of agency depends on the temporally extensive process of prediction error-cancelation. This way, a comparator account can accommodate both the role of accurate prediction and prediction error and thus efficacy and effort.

The role of motor prediction in attenuation of sensory action-effects

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gethin Hughes ◽  
Cedric Roussel ◽  
Andrea Desantis ◽  
Florian Waszak
Keyword(s):  
Action Effects ◽  
Sensory Action ◽  
Motor Prediction

In Defense of Perceptual Content

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanna Schellenberg
Keyword(s):  
Perceptual Experience ◽  
Representational Content ◽  
Perceptual Content ◽  
Explanatory Role ◽  
Relational Understanding ◽  
The Way

Chapter 5 takes a step back and traces the way in which excessive demands on the notion of perceptual content invite an austere relationalist account of perception. It argues that any account that acknowledges the role of discriminatory, selective capacities in perception must acknowledge that perceptual states have representational content. The chapter shows that on a relational understanding of perceptual content, the fundamental insights of austere relationalism do not compete with representationalism. Most objections to the thesis that perceptual experience has representational content apply only to austere representationalist accounts, that is, accounts on which perceptual relations to the environment play no explanatory role. By arguing that perceptual relations and perceptual content are mutually dependent the chapter shows how Fregean particularism can avoid the pitfalls of both austere representationalism and austere relationalism. With relationalists, Fregean particularism argues that perception is constitutively relational, but with representationalists it argues that it is constitutively representational.

scholarly journals Facing neoliberalism through dialogic spaces as sites of hope in science education: experiences of two self-organised communities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Betzabé Torres-Olave ◽  
Paulina Bravo González
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Science Teacher ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
Sense Of Agency ◽  
Critical View ◽  
Counter Narratives ◽  
Science Teacher Educators

AbstractIn this paper, we discuss the role of dialogue in two layers; first, in relation to two self-organised communities of science teachers in which we participated and, second, our process of coming together during our PhDs to analyse these communities, a dialogue about the dialogue. Regarding the first layer, there is much to learn from science teachers and science teacher educators when they are organised in sites of learning that can be spaces of hope, beginnings, and becoming, as is illustrated in the case of these two self-organised communities. Regarding the second layer, we discuss the value of dialogue and the possibilities it offers to develop ideas for science education in a way that might be democratising, emancipatory, and offering counter-narratives in a neoliberal Chile. By engaging in this dialogue revisiting the practices of our communities, we gained a sense of agency within the field of science education. However, we realised that we need to move towards a critical view within our communities, and more contextual and transformative science education by translating these sites of hope to our educational praxis today. For us, this relates both to developing a collective view of how to make science education provide pedagogical conditions and experiences for critical and engaged citizenship and thinking how we can act and engage with different settings in solidarity. One way of moving towards this is by developing a political knowledge of our disciplines through a collective scientific conscientisation. Our communities are the departure points to achieve this.

The Embodiment of Concepts

2018 ◽  
pp. 640-660
Author(s):  
Michiel Van Elk ◽  
Harold Bekkering
Keyword(s):  
Prediction Error ◽  
Predictive Processing ◽  
Prediction Errors ◽  
Conceptual Representation ◽  
Recurrent Processing ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
Prior Models ◽  
Processing Framework

We characterize theories of conceptual representation as embodied, disembodied, or hybrid according to their stance on a number of different dimensions: the nature of concepts, the relation between language and concepts, the function of concepts, the acquisition of concepts, the representation of concepts, and the role of context. We propose to extend an embodied view of concepts, by taking into account the importance of multimodal associations and predictive processing. We argue that concepts are dynamically acquired and updated, based on recurrent processing of prediction error signals in a hierarchically structured network. Concepts are thus used as prior models to generate multimodal expectations, thereby reducing surprise and enabling greater precision in the perception of exemplars. This view places embodied theories of concepts in a novel predictive processing framework, by highlighting the importance of concepts for prediction, learning and shaping categories on the basis of prediction errors.

The role of ‘action-effects’ and agency in toddlers’ imitation

2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dalia Danish ◽  
James Russell
Keyword(s):  
Action Effects

Local optimal prediction: exploiting strangeness and the variation of sensitivity to initial condition

1994 ◽  
Vol 348 (1688) ◽  
pp. 371-381 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Nonlinear System ◽  
State Space ◽  
Prediction Error ◽  
Prediction Accuracy ◽  
Accurate Prediction ◽  
Initial Condition ◽  
Optimal Prediction ◽  
Simple Test ◽  
Limited Data ◽  
Prediction Scheme

Accurate prediction of a nonlinear system from limited data requires sensitivity to the variation of the system’s properties in state space. Two aspects of this variability are examined, throwing new light on the ‘limits of predictability’ as well as individual predictions. A prediction scheme which embraces the variability both of dynamics and geometry is outlined and illustrated. The paper concludes with a discussion of residual predictability, proposing a simple test to detect systematic prediction error, which indicates that further improvement in prediction accuracy is possible.

scholarly journals Perception and hallucination: from an analytical approach to an enactive approach

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-108
Author(s):  
Ana Lorena Domínguez Rojas
Keyword(s):  
Perceptual Experience ◽  
Analytical Approach ◽  
Analytic Philosophy ◽  
The Body ◽  
Enactive Approach

In this opinion, I examine the benefits of the enactivist approach in the study of perception and hallucination, which have traditionally been studied in the context of analytic philosophy. I consider some arguments that rescue the role of objects and the body in the perceptual experience, which allow certain clarities regarding the case of hallucination.

The role of teachers’ self-efficacy between trust and organisational citizenship behaviour among secondary school teachers

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 864-886
Author(s):  
Yuen Onn Choong ◽  
Lee Peng Ng ◽  
Seow Ai Na ◽  
Chun Eng Tan
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Secondary School Teachers ◽  
School Administrator ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sense Of Efficacy ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of teachers’ perception on trust over their willingness to exercise organisational citizenship behaviours (OCB) using self-efficacy as a mediator. Design/methodology/approach Usable questionnaires were collected from 411 teachers in secondary schools. A two-stage analytic approach was used to analyse the data. Findings The results indicated that trust and teachers’ self-efficacy dimensions (general teaching and personal teaching) are positively related to OCB. Additionally, trust in the principal, colleagues and clients are predicted to have indirect influence on OCB through self-efficacy. Practical implications Teachers’ personal sense of efficacy is largely dependent on the amount of efforts devoted in their teaching, their decision-making ability and the degree of persistency in solving problematic issues. School management and policy makers are urged to develop effective human resources initiatives and programmes that can create a trusting relationship in the organisation and enhance teachers’ self-efficacy. These may include the socialisation programmes that can inculcate teachers’ inner natures, confidence and interpersonal skills when directed towards perceived abilities in given specific tasks and responsibilities to make a significant impact on OCB. Apart from this, the school administrator is advised to offer relevant training and workshops that able to enhance the efficacy level of teachers. Originality/value This study explored how teachers’ self-efficacy was related to trust and OCB. Teachers’ positive behaviours enable them to have greater belief in their capability of handling pressures and crises. The study contributes to the current body of literature and creates a comprehensive theoretical framework for teachers to be involved in OCB. Besides, these unique findings served as a reference to management of any school to better understand the importance of trust in the school and how it relates to teacher self-efficacy, which, in turn nurture the citizenship behaviour in workplace.

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