scholarly journals Comparing theories of consciousness: why it matters and how to do it

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Hviid Del Pin ◽  
Zuzanna Skóra ◽  
Kristian Sandberg ◽  
Morten Overgaard ◽  
Michał Wierzchoń
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Psychology ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Unique Nature

Abstract The theoretical landscape of scientific studies of consciousness has flourished. Today, even multiple versions of the same theory are sometimes available. To advance the field, these theories should be directly compared to determine which are better at predicting and explaining empirical data. Systematic inquiries of this sort are seen in many subfields in cognitive psychology and neuroscience, e.g. in working memory. Nonetheless, when we surveyed publications on consciousness research, we found that most focused on a single theory. When ‘comparisons’ happened, they were often verbal and non-systematic. This fact in itself could be a contributing reason for the lack of convergence between theories in consciousness research. In this paper, we focus on how to compare theories of consciousness to ensure that the comparisons are meaningful, e.g. whether their predictions are parallel or contrasting. We evaluate how theories are typically compared in consciousness research and related subdisciplines in cognitive psychology and neuroscience, and we provide an example of our approach. We then examine the different reasons why direct comparisons between theories are rarely seen. One possible explanation is the unique nature of the consciousness phenomenon. We conclude that the field should embrace this uniqueness, and we set out the features that a theory of consciousness should account for.

scholarly journals Phenomenology of Visuo-spatial Working Memory Task Performance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleš Oblak ◽  
Anka Slana Ozimič ◽  
Grega Repovš ◽  
Urban Kordeš
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Psychology ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Bodily Feelings ◽  
Psychological Tasks

In experimental cognitive psychology, objects of inquiry have typically been operationalized with psychological tasks. If we are interested in measuring the target phenomena, we must inquire into the validity of the task; that is, to what extent does the task elicit the phenomenon in question. If we subscribe to the second view, evaluating the validity and the interpretation of the gathered data can be supplemented by understanding the experience of solving psychological tasks. The aim of the present article is to investigate how individuals experience performing a psychological task, specifically, a visuo-spatial working memory task. We present ethnographic descriptions of different ways individuals can experience the same task. We focus on aspects of experience that comprise the overall sense of experience (e.g., bodily feelings, emotional atmosphere, mood). We discuss the methodological implications of our findings and the possibility of conducting a neurophenomenology of visuo-spatial working memory.

scholarly journals Cognitive psychology and problem solving in the physical sciences

2016 ◽  
pp. 21-25
Author(s):  
David Sands ◽  
Tina Overton
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Psychology ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Mental Models ◽  
Cognitive Style ◽  
Field Dependence ◽  
Physical Sciences

This paper provides and introduction to the literature on cognitive psychology and problem solving in physical sciences. We consider the working memory and its three different components, two of which hold and record information and are controlled by an executive that controls attention. Working memory alone cannot explain problem solving ability and we review the influence of schemata, the construction of mental models, visual reasoning and the cognitive style of field dependence.

scholarly journals Experimental Studies on Memory in Conference Interpretation

2002 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 622-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeria Daró
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Psychology ◽  
Implicit Memory ◽  
Functional Organization ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Memory Systems ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Modal Systems ◽  
Mutually Independent

Abstract Several studies in cognitive psychology and neuropsychology have shown that memory is not a unitary function of human cognition, since it comprises several multi-modal systems, which can be mutually independent. This article describes: a) the present state of the art on the functional organization of the most relevant memory systems (working memory and explicit vs. implicit memory systems), and b) what experimental studies have so far revealed about the role ofmnestic systems during the process of simultaneous and consecutive interpretation. Since these studies suggest that memory is multifaceted, there cannot and should not be a single, unique way to teach and acquire the techniques and strategies of these two types of conference interpretation, which sometimes are erroneously considered reciprocally complementary.

scholarly journals Working memory and background knowledge - Cognitive science in the design classroom

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pino Trogu
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Psychology ◽  
Cognitive Science ◽  
Graphic Design ◽  
Classroom Instruction ◽  
Background Knowledge ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Universal Principles ◽  
Student Projects

This article discusses two universal principles from cognitive psychology, and proposes some ways in which those principles relate to graphic design. The two most important principles are first, the strict constraints of working memory, a function which persists for only a few seconds, and second, the finding that perceptions and meanings are mediated by the cultural knowledge of viewers, including their knowledge of design conventions and genre. Better de-signs are likely to emerge from the designer’s familiarity with these psychological and cultur-al principles. Visual examples, including maps and student projects, illustrate how the two principles are useful for classroom instruction.

Technical cognition, working memory and creativity

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Wynn ◽  
Frederick L. Coolidge
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Psychology ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Craft Production ◽  
Cognitive Anthropology ◽  
Creative Potential ◽  
Virtual Absence ◽  
Folk Theories ◽  
Technical Production

This essay explores the nature and neurological basis of creativity in technical production. After presenting a model of expert technical cognition based in cognitive anthropology and cognitive psychology, the authors propose that craft production has three inherent sources of novelty — procedural drift, serendipitous error and fiddling. However, these are quite limited in their creative potential, which may help explain the virtual absence of innovation over the long millennia of the Palaeolithic. Innovation can be far more rapid and effective via invention, which requires folk theories of causation and adequate working memory capacity, all fairly recent evolutionary developments. The neurological basis of expert technical cognition lies in well-known cortical and sub-cortical structures, but recent research has established a provocative role for the cerebellum in the formulation of novel arrangements.

scholarly journals Storage and Executive Components of Working Memory: Integrating Cognitive Psychology and Behavior Genetics in the Study of Aging

2008 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. P84-P91 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. S. Kremen ◽  
H. Xian ◽  
K. C. Jacobson ◽  
L. J. Eaves ◽  
C. E. Franz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Psychology ◽  
Behavior Genetics ◽  
And Behavior

scholarly journals МЕТОДИЧЕСКИЕ АСПЕКТЫ ОБУЧЕНИЯ МАТЕМАТИКЕ НЕСПОСОБНЫХ ШКОЛЬНИКОВ

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandr Pigarev
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Mathematical Knowledge ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Teaching Mathematics ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Mathematical Abilities ◽  
Computing Skills

Описаны сущность и причина неспособности к усвоению математике – недостаток рабочей памяти. Охарактеризованы два основных подхода к решению проблемы обучения математике неспособных школьников: 1) тренировка рабочей памяти, 2) снижение нагрузки на рабочую память в учебном процессе. Отмечена неоднозначность результатов внедрения первого подхода: тренировка рабочей памяти приводит к улучшению результатов прохождения тестов на рабочую память, однако может не приводить к улучшению показателей обучаемости, связанных с рабочей памятью ученика. Этим обосновывается приоритет второго подхода. Представлены как уже известные методы снижения нагрузки на рабочую память при обучении математике, так и разработанные автором компьютерные тренажеры, направленные на автоматизацию базовых вычислительных навыков (арифметических, тригонометрических, геометрических). Дана методика работы с тренажерами на основе метода интервальных повторений и приведены эмпирические данные по результатам их внедрения. Differences in the mathematical abilities of different students are manifested in the fact that the same practice and exercises for students with different abilities give different results. For a capable student, these exercises lead to the mastery of mathematical knowledge and skills, for an incapable student do not. The reason for the inability to mathematics is the lack of working memory. There are two main approaches to solve the problem of teaching mathematics to incapable students: (1) training working memory and (2) reducing the load on working memory in the educational process. The results of the first approach are ambiguous: training working memory leads to an improvement in the performance of untrained tests for working memory, but it may not lead to noticeable changes in learning indicators associated with the working memory of the student. Accordingly, it remains to reduce the load on working memory in the educational process. Well known methods that reduce the load on working memory when studying mathematics are described. Automation of basic computing skills (arithmetic, trigonometric, geometric) is achieved with the help of computer trainers developed by the author: the mental calculations trainer, the trainer for developing skills in working with a trigonometric circle, the trainer for developing skills of using reduction formulas and the rectangular triangle solving trainer. The technique of working with trainers is based on the interval repetition method. Empirical data on the results of their implementation are presented.

scholarly journals A Validation Study of the German Complex-Span Tasks and Some General Considerations on Task Translation Procedures in Cognitive Psychology

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 725-736 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Rummel ◽  
Lena Steindorf ◽  
Ivan Marevic ◽  
Daniel Danner
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Psychology ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Complex Span ◽  
Reasoning Test ◽  
Equivalence Tests ◽  
Span Tasks ◽  
Open Question

Abstract. Automated complex-span tasks are widely used to assess working-memory capacity and the English versions show good psychometric properties ( Unsworth, Heitz, Schrock, & Engle, 2005 ). However, it is generally an open question whether translated task versions have the same properties as the original versions and whether results obtained with translated tasks can be interpreted equivalently to those obtained with the original tasks. We translated the complex-span tasks and had a sample of German participants perform these tasks as well as a running-memory-span task and a reasoning test. We assessed the reliabilities of the German complex-span tasks and their construct and criterion-related validities. Extrapolating from cross-cultural literature, we also employed a test of measurement invariance to compare the correlational patterns as well as the construct structure between the German sample and a similar North-American sample. Results show that the German complex-span tasks are reliable and valid indicators of working-memory capacity and that they are metrically and functionally equivalent to the original versions. As measurement equivalence is an important but often neglected topic in basic cognitive psychology, we also highlight the general benefits of using equivalence tests when translating cognitive tasks.

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