scholarly journals Quantifying defensive behavior and threat response through integrated headstage accelerometry

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Younk ◽  
Alik S Widge
Keyword(s):  
Defensive Behavior ◽  
Video Recording ◽  
Change Score ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Smoothing Methods ◽  
Reward Seeking ◽  
Defensive Behaviors ◽  
Computationally Intensive ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Post Hoc

Background Defensive and threat-related behaviors are common targets of investigation, because they model aspects of human mental illness. These behaviors are typically quantified by video recording and post hoc analysis. Those quantifications can be laborious and/or computationally intensive. Depending on the analysis method, the resulting measurements can be noisy or inaccurate. Other defensive behaviors, such as suppression of operant reward seeking, require extensive animal pre-training. New Method We demonstrate a method for quantifying defensive behavior (immobility or freezing) by 3-axis accelerometry integrated with an electrophysiology headstage. We tested multiple pre-processing and smoothing methods, and correlated them against two common methods for quantification: freezing as derived from standard video analysis, and suppression of operantly shaped bar pressing. We assessed these three methods' ability to track defensive behavior during a standard threat conditioning and extinction paradigm. Results The best approach to tracking defensive behavior from accelerometry was Gaussian filter smoothing of the first derivative (change score or jerk). Behavior scores from this method reproduced canonical conditioning and extinction curves at the group level. At the individual level, timepoint-to-timepoint correlations between accelerometry, video, and bar press metrics were statistically significant but modest (largest r=0.53, between accelerometry and bar press). Comparison with existing methods The integration with standard electrophysiology systems and relatively lightweight signal processing may make accelerometry particularly well suited to detect behavior in resource-constrained or real-time applications. At the same time, there were modest cross-correlations between all three methods for quantifying defensive behavior. Conclusions Accelerometry analysis allows researchers already using electrophysiology to assess defensive behaviors without the need for additional behavioral measures or video. The similarities in behavioral tracking and modest correlations between each metric suggest that each measures a distinct aspect of defensive behavior. Accelerometry is a viable alternative to current defensive measurements, and its non-overlap with other metrics may allow a more sophisticated dissection of threat responses in future experiments.

Measuring Real-Time Team Cognition During Team Training

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 825-860 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie C. Gorman ◽  
David A. Grimm ◽  
Ronald H. Stevens ◽  
Trysha Galloway ◽  
Ann M. Willemsen-Dunlap ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mutual Information ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Cognitive Skill ◽  
Time Response ◽  
Team Cognition ◽  
Leadership Emergence ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Post Hoc

Objective A method for detecting real-time changes in team cognition in the form of significant communication reorganizations is described. We demonstrate the method in the context of scenario-based simulation training. Background We present the dynamical view that individual- and team-level aspects of team cognition are temporally intertwined in a team’s real-time response to challenging events. We suggest that this real-time response represents a fundamental team cognitive skill regarding the rapidity and appropriateness of the response, and methods and metrics are needed to track this skill. Method Communication data from medical teams (Study 1) and submarine crews (Study 2) were analyzed for significant communication reorganization in response to training events. Mutual information between team members informed post hoc filtering to identify which team members contributed to reorganization. Results Significant communication reorganizations corresponding to challenging training events were detected for all teams. Less experienced teams tended to show delayed and sometimes ineffective responses that more experienced teams did not. Mutual information and post hoc filtering identified the individual-level inputs driving reorganization and potential mechanisms (e.g., leadership emergence, role restructuring) underlying reorganization. Conclusion The ability of teams to rapidly and effectively reorganize coordination patterns as the situation demands is a team cognitive skill that can be measured and tracked. Application Potential applications include team monitoring and assessment that would allow for visualization of a team’s real-time response and provide individualized feedback based on team member’s contributions to the team response.

scholarly journals How Strong Should My Anchor Be For Estimating Group And Individual Level Meaningful Change? A Simulation Study Assessing Anchor Correlation Strength And The Impact of Sample Size, Distribution of Change Scores And Methodology On Establishing A True Meaningful Change Threshold.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Griffiths ◽  
Joel Sims ◽  
Abi Williams ◽  
Nicola Williamson ◽  
David Cella ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sample Size ◽  
Roc Curves ◽  
Change Score ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Meaningful Change ◽  
Change Scores ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Correlation Strength ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Purpose: Treatment benefit as assessed using clinical outcome assessments (COAs), is a key endpoint in many clinical trials at both the individual and group level. Anchor-based methods can aid interpretation of COA change scores beyond statistical significance, and help derive a meaningful change threshold (MCT). However, evidence-based guidance on the selection of appropriately related anchors is lacking. Methods: A simulation was conducted which varied sample size, change score variability and anchor correlation strength to assess the impact of these variables on recovering the true simulated MCT at both the individual and group-level. At the individual-level, Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves and Predictive Modelling (PM) anchor analyses were conducted. At the group-level, group means of the ‘not-improved’ and ‘improved’ groups were compared. Results: Sample sizes, change score variability and magnitude of anchor correlation affected accuracy of the estimated MCT. At the individual-level, ROC curves were less accurate than PM methods at recovering the true MCT. For both methods, smaller samples led to higher variability in the returned MCT, but higher variability still using ROC. Anchors with weaker correlations with COA change scores had increased variability in the estimated MCT. An anchor correlation of 0.50-0.60 identified a true MCT cut-point under certain conditions using ROC. However, anchor correlations as low as 0.30 were appropriate when using PM under certain conditions. At the group-level, the MCT was consistently underestimated regardless of the anchor correlation. Conclusion: Findings show that the chosen method, sample size and variability in change scores influence the necessary anchor correlation strength when identifying a true individual-level MCT. Often, this needs to be higher than the commonly accepted threshold of 0.30. Stronger correlations than 0.30 are required at the group-level, but a specific recommendation is not provided. Results can be used to assist researchers selecting and assessing the quality of anchors.

Differential Effects of Competence and Morality on Self-Esteem at the Individual and the Collective Level

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 183-198
Author(s):  
Wiktor Soral ◽  
Mirosław Kofta
Keyword(s):  
Self Esteem ◽  
Differential Effects ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Individual

Abstract. The importance of various trait dimensions explaining positive global self-esteem has been the subject of numerous studies. While some have provided support for the importance of agency, others have highlighted the importance of communion. This discrepancy can be explained, if one takes into account that people define and value their self both in individual and in collective terms. Two studies ( N = 367 and N = 263) examined the extent to which competence (an aspect of agency), morality, and sociability (the aspects of communion) promote high self-esteem at the individual and the collective level. In both studies, competence was the strongest predictor of self-esteem at the individual level, whereas morality was the strongest predictor of self-esteem at the collective level.

Metonymy in Dance: Ballet Bunheads Take a Cognitive Turn

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-34
Author(s):  
Edward C. Warburton
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
Cognitive Science ◽  
Artistic Development ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Figures Of Speech ◽  
Self Image ◽  
Level I ◽  
Dance Educators ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Metaphor And Metonymy

This essay considers metonymy in dance from the perspective of cognitive science. My goal is to unpack the roles of metaphor and metonymy in dance thought and action: how do they arise, how are they understood, how are they to be explained, and in what ways do they determine a person's doing of dance? The premise of this essay is that language matters at the cultural level and can be determinative at the individual level. I contend that some figures of speech, especially metonymic labels like ‘bunhead’, can not only discourage but dehumanize young dancers, treating them not as subjects who dance but as objects to be danced. The use of metonymy to sort young dancers may undermine the development of healthy self-image, impede strong identity formation, and retard creative-artistic development. The paper concludes with a discussion of the influence of metonymy in dance and implications for dance educators.

Exploring the effect of weight loss on food reward at the individual level

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Oustric ◽  
Kristine Beaulieu ◽  
Nuno Casanova ◽  
Francois Husson ◽  
Catherine Gibbons ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Weight Loss ◽  
Food Reward ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Individual

Personality change and environmental concerns

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher James Hopwood ◽  
Ted Schwaba ◽  
Wiebke Bleidorn
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Environmental Concerns ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
German Population ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Sustainable Behavior ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Over Time

Personal concerns about climate change and the environment are a powerful motivator of sustainable behavior. People’s level of concern varies as a function of a variety of social and individual factors. Using data from 58,748 participants from a nationally representative German sample, we tested preregistered hypotheses about factors that impact concerns about the environment over time. We found that environmental concerns increased modestly from 2009-2017 in the German population. However, individuals in middle adulthood tended to be more concerned and showed more consistent increases in concern over time than younger or older people. Consistent with previous research, Big Five personality traits were correlated with environmental concerns. We present novel evidence that increases in concern were related to increases in the personality traits neuroticism and openness to experience. Indeed, changes in openness explained roughly 50% of the variance in changes in environmental concerns. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the individual level factors associated with changes in environmental concerns over time, towards the promotion of more sustainable behavior at the individual level.

Reply to Connor and Evers (2020): Critique of the Bias of Crowds Model Simply Restates the Model

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Payne ◽  
Heidi A. Vuletich ◽  
Kristjen B. Lundberg
Keyword(s):  
Implicit Bias ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Systemic Racism ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Core ◽  
Psychological Science ◽  
Implicit Biases ◽  
The Individual

The Bias of Crowds model (Payne, Vuletich, & Lundberg, 2017) argues that implicit bias varies across individuals and across contexts. It is unreliable and weakly associated with behavior at the individual level. But when aggregated to measure context-level effects, the scores become stable and predictive of group-level outcomes. We concluded that the statistical benefits of aggregation are so powerful that researchers should reconceptualize implicit bias as a feature of contexts, and ask new questions about how implicit biases relate to systemic racism. Connor and Evers (2020) critiqued the model, but their critique simply restates the core claims of the model. They agreed that implicit bias varies across individuals and across contexts; that it is unreliable and weakly associated with behavior at the individual level; and that aggregating scores to measure context-level effects makes them more stable and predictive of group-level outcomes. Connor and Evers concluded that implicit bias should be considered to really be noisily measured individual construct because the effects of aggregation are merely statistical. We respond to their specific arguments and then discuss what it means to really be a feature of persons versus situations, and multilevel measurement and theory in psychological science more broadly.

Leadership Enactment for Information System Acceptance: an Explanation from a Sensemaking Perspective

2019 ◽  
pp. 78-106
Author(s):  
Aruna Dayanatha ◽  
J A S K Jayakody
Keyword(s):  
Information System ◽  
User Involvement ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Is Success ◽  
Managerial Leadership ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
System Acceptance ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Leadership Intervention ◽  
Is Failure

Information system (IS) projects have been seen to be failing at an alarmingly high rate. The prevailing explanations of IS failure have had only a limited success. Thus, the time may be right to look at the reasons for IS failure through an alternative perspective. This paper proposes that IS success should be explained in terms of managerial leadership intervention, from the sensemaking perspective. Managers are responsible for workplace outcomes; thus, it may be appropriate to explain their role in IS success as well. The sensemaking perspective can explain IS success through holistic user involvement, a concept which critiques of existing explanations have stated to be a requirement for explaining IS failure. This paper proposes a framework combining the theory of enactment and leadership enactment to theorize managerial leadership intervention for “IS success.” The proposed explanation postulates that the managerial leader’s envisioning of the future transaction set influences the liberation of the follower and cast enactment, while liberating followers and cast enactment constitute manager sensegiving. The managerial leader’s sense-giving influences follower sensemaking. Follower sensemaking, under the influence of managerial sensegiving, will lead to followers’ IS acceptance, and that constitutes IS success at the individual level. Further, collective level IS acceptance constitutes IS adaption/success, and this will influence the leader’s sensegiving, for the next round of sensemaking.

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