Critical Note

Author(s):  
Sven Walter

I offer some critical thoughts on some philosophical issues touched upon in the four papers in the section on Cognition, Action, and Perception. I highlight these issues because, apart from revealing some problematic aspects of the arguments presented therein, they illustrate a general concern about some prominent debates in the context of 4E approaches to cognition: that at some times we are so excited that we can bring philosophy in close touch with empirical results that we forget our core business as philosophers—the argument—while at other times we can’t stop overdoing it with our philosophical concept-mongery and thereby fail to see important lessons empirical results have to teach us. In addition, I want to draw attention to a topic that one might have expected to be covered in a handbook on 4E cognition, in particular in the section on Cognition, Action, and Perception, but that isn’t addressed: the topic of self-control.

Author(s):  
Andreas Roepstorff ◽  
Tobias Starzak

How can approaching the topic of 4E cognition from an evolutionary perspective shed light on aspects of cultural and biological evolution, the nature of cognition in general, and of human nature in particular? The four papers in this section offer a temporal analysis that puts cognition into a context of larger processes that span historical and indeed evolutionary time, and they embed the dynamics of cognition beyond brains and individuals, into groups and even species. This analysis does not deny the importance of abstract representations for human cognition. However, all four contributions suggest that in focusing too narrowly on representational cognition we lose sight of the basic mechanisms supporting and driving cognition. Furthermore, to understand these, we need to understand not only how these processes are embodied, embedded, enactive, and extended, but also how they are shaped, transmitted, and diversified in processes of group formation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Donna E. West

Abstract This collection of articles by noted Peirce scholars stands at the frontiers of the discipline in expressing a primary issue which runs through Peirce’s semiotic, logic, and metaphysics – how his more mature semiotic is inextricably linked with questions of consciousness. As such, Peirce’s concept of consciousness is augmented in the following ways: intelligent agency, temporal contracts in 4E cognition, the privilege of the non-ego and the role of heterocriticism, and the impingement of consciousness upon Peirce’s notion of self-control. In short, it brings together threads of Peirce’s theory of consciousness into a semio-logical model. The contributions address how Peirce’s system of “instinctual” consciousness, awareness, and more reflective forms of consciousness influence the generation of propositions and assertions. Peirce’s ultimate position is showcased – that to serve esthetic ends, quasi-interpreters must argue with/between themselves how to craft courses of action to serve esthetic ends.


Author(s):  
Joachim Körkel

Hintergrund: Verhaltenstherapeutische Behandlungen zum selbstkontrollierten Trinken (KT) wurden in den letzten 50 Jahren vielfältig erforscht. Eine aktuelle Übersicht über den gegenwärtigen Status dieses Ansatzes liegt nicht vor. Fragestellung: Es wird ein systematischer Überblick über die Konzept- und Forschungsgeschichte des KT (Definition, theoretische Wurzeln, Behandlungsmethoden), Wirksamkeit von KT-Behandlung (inkl. Prognosefaktoren) sowie Implementierung von KT in das Behandlungssystem (Akzeptanz und Verbreitung) vorgenommen. Methodik: Gemäß den PRISMA Richtlinien wurde in den Datenbanken PsycINFO, Medline und Psyndex nach psychologischen Behandlungen zum selbstkontrollierten Alkoholkonsum bei Menschen mit klinisch relevanten Alkoholproblemen recherchiert und 676 einschlägige Beiträge identifiziert. Ergebnisse: KT wird als regelgeleitet-planvoller Alkoholkonsum definiert. Seine theoretischen Wurzeln reichen von Lerntheorien bis zur Psychologie der Selbstregulation. In der Behandlung haben Behavioral Self-Control Trainings frühere Methoden (z. B. aversive Konditionierung, Kontingenzmanagement und Reizexposition) abgelöst. Einzel und Gruppenbehandlungen sowie Selbsthilfemanuale zum KT erweisen sich über das gesamte Spektrum des problematischen Alkoholkonsums als kurz- und langfristig wirksam zur Reduktion des Alkoholkonsums und alkoholassoziierter Probleme wie auch zur Förderung des Übergangs zur Abstinenz. Prognostisch bedeutsam sind v. a. der Zielentscheid des Patienten pro KT und seine Zuversicht in die Realisierbarkeit von KT. Akzeptanz und Verbreitung von KT haben in den letzten Jahrzehnten zugenommen und variieren u. a. länderspezifisch. Schlussfolgerungen: Angesichts der Wirksamkeit von KT-Behandlungen sowie gesundheitspolitischer, ethischer, therapeutischer und ökonomischer Überlegungen sollten Reduktionsbehandlungen gleichrangig neben Abstinenzbehandlungen in ein zieloffen ausgerichtetes Behandlungssystem integriert werden.


2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asmir Gračanin ◽  
Igor Kardum ◽  
Jasna Hudek-Knežević

Abstract. The neurovisceral integration model proposes that different forms of self-regulation, including the emotional suppression, are characterized by the activation of neural network whose workings are also reflected in respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). However, most of the previous studies failed to observe theoretically expected increases in RSA during emotional suppression. Even when such effects were observed, it was not clear whether they resulted from specific task demands, a decrease in muscle activity, or they were the consequence of more specific self-control processes. We investigated the relation between habitual or trait-like suppression, spontaneous, and instructed suppression with changes in RSA during negative emotion experience. A modest positive correlation between spontaneous situational and habitual suppression was observed across two experimental tasks. Furthermore, the results showed greater RSA increase among participants who experienced higher negative affect (NA) increase and reported higher spontaneous suppression than among those with higher NA increase and lower spontaneous suppression. Importantly, this effect was independent from the habitual suppression and observable facial expressions. The results of the additional task based on experimental manipulation, rather than spontaneous use of situational suppression, indicated a similar relation between suppression and RSA. Our results consistently demonstrate that emotional suppression, especially its self-regulation component, is followed by the increase in parasympathetic activity.


2001 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marja Kokkonen ◽  
Lea Pulkkinen ◽  
Taru Kinnunen

The study was part of the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development, underway since 1968, in which children's low self-control of emotions was studied using teacher ratings at age 8 in terms of inattentiveness, shifting moods, aggression, and anxiety. The study was based on data from 112 women and 112 men who participated in the previous data collections at ages 8, 27, and 36. At age 27, the participants had been assessed in Neuroticism (N) using the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire , and at age 36 they filled in several inventories measuring, among others, conscious and active attempts to repair negative emotions in a more positive direction as well as physical symptoms. The present study used structural equation modeling to test the hypothesis that personality characteristics indicating low self-control of emotions at ages 8 and 27 are antecedents of self-reported physical symptoms at age 36; and that this relationship is indirect, mediated by attempts to repair negative emotions in a more positive direction. The findings showed, albeit for men only, that inattentiveness at age 8 was positively related to self-reported physical symptoms at age 36 via high N at age 27 and low attempts to repair negative emotions at age 36. Additionally, N at age 27 was directly linked to self-reported physical symptoms at age 36. The mediation of an active attempt to repair negative emotions was not found for women. Correlations revealed, however, that shifting moods and aggression in girls were antecedents of self-reported physical symptoms in adulthood, particularly, pain and fatigue.


2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ching-Wen Huang ◽  
Chung-Ju Huang ◽  
Chiao-Ling Hung ◽  
Chia-Hao Shih ◽  
Tsung-Min Hung

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are characterized by a deviant pattern of brain oscillations during resting state, particularly elevated theta power and increased theta/alpha and theta/beta ratios that are related to cognitive functioning. Physical fitness has been found beneficial to cognitive performance in a wide age population. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between physical fitness and resting-state electroencephalographic (EEG) oscillations in children with ADHD. EEG was recorded during eyes-open resting for 28 children (23 boys and 5 girls, 8.66 ± 1.10 years) with ADHD, and a battery of physical fitness assessments including flexibility, muscular endurance, power, and agility tests were administered. The results indicated that ADHD children with higher power fitness exhibited a smaller theta/alpha ratio than those with lower power fitness. These findings suggest that power fitness may be associated with improved attentional self-control in children with ADHD.


2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 175-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam K. Fetterman ◽  
Brian P. Meier ◽  
Michael D. Robinson

Abstract. Metaphors often characterize prosocial actions and people as sweet. Three studies sought to explore whether conceptual metaphors of this type can provide insights into the prosocial trait of agreeableness and into daily life prosociality. Study 1 (n = 698) examined relationships between agreeableness and food taste preferences. Studies 2 (n = 66) and 3 (n = 132) utilized daily diary protocols. In Study 1, more agreeable people liked sweet foods to a greater extent. In Study 2, greater sweet food preferences predicted a stronger positive relationship between daily prosocial behaviors and positive affect, a pattern consistent with prosocial motivation. Finally, Study 3 found that daily prosocial feelings and behaviors varied positively with sweet food consumption in a manner that could not be ascribed to positive affect or self-control. Altogether, the findings encourage further efforts to extend conceptual metaphor theory to the domain of personality processes, in part by building on balance-related ideas.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 125-134
Author(s):  
Bettina S. Wiese ◽  
Olivia Chaillié ◽  
Ruth Noppeney ◽  
Anna M. Stertz

Abstract. The study investigates how commuting strain affects daily self-control capacities at work and at home. Irritability (i.e., increased readiness to express negative emotions when facing frustration) and concentration (i.e., a cognitive control capacity that relies on attention) were used as indicators of (impaired) self-control. Based on 5-day diary data from N = 185 train commuters, we found that on days with a strenuous ride from home to work, commuters indicated higher irritability and lower concentration capacity at work. On days with higher strain during the work-to-home ride, commuters reported to be more irritable back home. Moreover, commuters with low emotional stability turned out to be more affected by commuting strain but only if considering self-control impairment at home.


Author(s):  
S. Matthew Liao

Abstract. A number of people believe that results from neuroscience have the potential to settle seemingly intractable debates concerning the nature, practice, and reliability of moral judgments. In particular, Joshua Greene has argued that evidence from neuroscience can be used to advance the long-standing debate between consequentialism and deontology. This paper first argues that charitably interpreted, Greene’s neuroscientific evidence can contribute to substantive ethical discussions by being part of an epistemic debunking argument. It then argues that taken as an epistemic debunking argument, Greene’s argument falls short in undermining deontological judgments. Lastly, it proposes that accepting Greene’s methodology at face value, neuroimaging results may in fact call into question the reliability of consequentialist judgments. The upshot is that Greene’s empirical results do not undermine deontology and that Greene’s project points toward a way by which empirical evidence such as neuroscientific evidence can play a role in normative debates.


2002 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 700-702
Author(s):  
Marvin Frankel

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