scholarly journals Minimal Mindreading and Animal Cognition

2018 ◽  
Vol 95 (4) ◽  
pp. 541-565
Author(s):  
Anna Strasser
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Animal Cognition ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
Versus Behavior ◽  
Behavioral Interpretation ◽  
Pluralistic Approach ◽  
Morgan’S Canon ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Fundamental Requirement ◽  
Rule Out

Human and non-human animals are social beings, both have social interactions. The ability to anticipate behavior of others is a fundamental requirement of social interactions. However, there are several ways of how agents can succeed in this. Two modes of anticipation, namely mindreading and behavior-reading, shape the animal mindreading debate. As a matter of fact, no position has yet convincingly ruled out the other. This paper suggests a strategy of how to argue for a mentalistic interpretation as opposed to a behavioral interpretation. The first step suggests considering a pluralistic approach in order to allow for shortcomings such as not having a natural language. Second, a critical examination of the principle called Morgan’s Canon will show that this principle cannot be used as a final argument to rule out mentalistic approaches. Finally, the author argues that the setting of current experiments is responsible for the indistinguishability of mindreading versus behavior-reading and she suggests alternative experimental designs.

scholarly journals Serotonin in Animal Cognition and Behavior

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 1649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julien Bacqué-Cazenave ◽  
Rahul Bharatiya ◽  
Grégory Barrière ◽  
Jean-Paul Delbecque ◽  
Nouhaila Bouguiyoud ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Animal Cognition ◽  
Behavioral Flexibility ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Neuronal Responses ◽  
Animal Kingdom ◽  
Specific Behavior ◽  
It Impacts ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Behavior And Cognition

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) is acknowledged as a major neuromodulator of nervous systems in both invertebrates and vertebrates. It has been proposed for several decades that it impacts animal cognition and behavior. In spite of a completely distinct organization of the 5-HT systems across the animal kingdom, several lines of evidence suggest that the influences of 5-HT on behavior and cognition are evolutionary conserved. In this review, we have selected some behaviors classically evoked when addressing the roles of 5-HT on nervous system functions. In particular, we focus on the motor activity, arousal, sleep and circadian rhythm, feeding, social interactions and aggressiveness, anxiety, mood, learning and memory, or impulsive/compulsive dimension and behavioral flexibility. The roles of 5-HT, illustrated in both invertebrates and vertebrates, show that it is more able to potentiate or mitigate the neuronal responses necessary for the fine-tuning of most behaviors, rather than to trigger or halt a specific behavior. 5-HT is, therefore, the prototypical neuromodulator fundamentally involved in the adaptation of all organisms across the animal kingdom.

Digital Pollution and Its Impact on the Family and Social Interactions

2021 ◽  
pp. 0192513X2098555
Author(s):  
Shiv Ratan Agrawal
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Critical Dimensions ◽  
Digital Devices ◽  
The Family ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Potential Negative Effect ◽  
Human Attitude ◽  
Impact On Family ◽  
And Behavior

The present study was an attempt to identify the most prevailing means of digital devices and its impact as digital pollution on family and social interactions. Despite the obvious benefits of digital devices, in recent years researchers have taken more concern about its potential negative effect on human attitude and behavior, which in turn affects our society. A total of 613 usable responses were collected from Bangalore, India of excessive users of digital devices, such as a smartphone, computer/laptop, and television. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 23.0, AMOS 23.0, and SmartPLS 3.0. The results indicated that as the use of smartphone and computer/laptop increases, levels of digital pollution also increase, which in turn significantly triggers unfavorable impact on family and social interactions. The study indicated that digital pollution appears as an important predictor, which significantly affects social interaction unfavorably. The present study explored the various critical dimensions within this domain and delineated gaps in our knowledge of digital pollution. It was found that smartphones are more responsible for digital pollution among all the identified digital devices, followed by computer/laptop.

scholarly journals Despite Appearances: Comparing Emotion Recognition in Abstract and Humanoid Avatars Using Nonverbal Behavior in Social Virtual Reality

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yilu Sun ◽  
Andrea Stevenson Won
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Nonverbal Behavior ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Social Closeness ◽  
Similar Information ◽  
Individual Measure ◽  
And Behavior

The ability to perceive emotional states is a critical part of social interactions, shaping how people understand and respond to each other. In face-to-face communication, people perceive others’ emotions through observing their appearance and behavior. In virtual reality, how appearance and behavior are rendered must be designed. In this study, we asked whether people conversing in immersive virtual reality (VR) would perceive emotion more accurately depending on whether they and their partner were represented by realistic or abstract avatars. In both cases, participants got similar information about the tracked movement of their partners’ heads and hands, though how this information was expressed varied. We collected participants’ self-reported emotional state ratings of themselves and their ratings of their conversational partners’ emotional states after a conversation in VR. Participants’ ratings of their partners’ emotional states correlated to their partners’ self-reported ratings regardless of which of the avatar conditions they experienced. We then explored how these states were reflected in their nonverbal behavior, using a dyadic measure of nonverbal behavior (proximity between conversational partners) and an individual measure (expansiveness of gesture). We discuss how this relates to measures of social presence and social closeness.

scholarly journals Influence of Foreign Workers Engagement Barriers on Management Attitude and Behavior within a Warehouse Organization in Canada

2020 ◽  
pp. 11-26
Author(s):  
Sunkanmi Peter Ayenimo ◽  
Dipak Chauhan
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Regression Coefficient ◽  
P Value ◽  
Foreign Workers ◽  
Management Commitment ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Partial Fulfillment ◽  
Management Attitude

This research that was completed in partial fulfillment of a master’s degree at Lough borough University examined the Influence of foreign workers' engagement barriers on Management attitude and behavior within a warehouse Organization located across three sites in Canada. Quantitative data were collected from the three operating sites of an anonymous warehouse Company.350 responses were received out of 515 questionnaires distributed. This project found a positive regression coefficient more than 40% between the variables of management commitment and the variables of the workers' engagement barriers at a 95% confidence level and a P-value less than 5%. Evidence from the open-ended questions suggested language barriers, cultural differences, discriminations, and lack of social interactions amongst the inter-racial workers were the barriers for workers' engagement in the organization.

scholarly journals Alternative Therapeutic Approach in the Treatment of Oral Pyogenic Granuloma

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 493-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amr Bugshan ◽  
Harsh Patel ◽  
Karen Garber ◽  
Timothy F. Meiller
Keyword(s):  
Oral Cavity ◽  
Malignant Tumors ◽  
Surgical Excision ◽  
Pyogenic Granuloma ◽  
Hormonal Imbalance ◽  
Choice Of Treatment ◽  
Chronic Irritation ◽  
Multiple Recurrences ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Rule Out

Pyogenic granulomas (PGs) in the oral cavity present as an inflammatory hyperplasia usually caused by trauma, hormonal imbalance, chronic irritation, or as the response to a wide variety of drugs. PGs with atypical presentation and behavior may clinically mimic malignant tumors. Thus, histological examination is required to rule out cancer development. Lesions in the oral cavity have been described to be either an isolated entity or present in multiple forms and with multiple recurrences. Conservative surgical excision is the standard choice of treatment in almost every scenario. However, the severity of the lesions and the affected sites often challenge surgical treatment. In this report, we describe the clinical scenario of a recurrent PG, where surgical excision of the lesion was questioned. As an alternative, we describe a noninvasive approach with lesional steroid injections.

scholarly journals Zoocentrism in the weeds? Cultivating plant models for cognitive yield

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Linson ◽  
Paco Calvo
Keyword(s):  
Natural Science ◽  
General Model ◽  
Animal Cognition ◽  
Plant Science ◽  
Turn Point ◽  
Cognitive Agents ◽  
Action Memory ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Perception Action

Abstract It remains at best controversial to claim, non-figuratively, that plants are cognitive agents. At the same time, it is taken as trivially true that many (if not all) animals are cognitive agents, arguably through an implicit or explicit appeal to natural science. Yet, any given definition of cognition implicates at least some further processes, such as perception, action, memory, and learning, which must be observed either behaviorally, psychologically, neuronally, or otherwise physiologically. Crucially, however, for such observations to be intelligible, they must be counted as evidence for some model. These models in turn point to homologies of physiology and behavior that facilitate the attribution of cognition to some non-human animals. But, if one is dealing with a model of animal cognition, it is tautological that only animals can provide evidence, and absurd to claim that plants can. The more substantive claim that, given a general model of cognition, only animals but not plants can provide evidence, must be evaluated on its merits. As evidence mounts that plants meet established criteria of cognition, from physiology to behavior, they continue to be denied entry into the cognitive club. We trace this exclusionary tendency back to Aristotle, and attempt to counter it by drawing on the philosophy of modelling and a range of findings from plant science. Our argument illustrates how a difference in degree between plant and animals is typically mistaken for a difference in kind.

Effects of Peer Encouragement on Efficacy Perceptions and Physical Performance in Children

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 314-322
Author(s):  
Kira L. Innes ◽  
Jeffrey D. Graham ◽  
Steven R. Bray
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Physical Performance ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Mental Fatigue ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Physical Task ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Experimental Group

Social interactions are theorized to inform relation-inferred self-efficacy (RISE), which, in turn, may influence self-efficacy and behavior. This study investigated the effects of peer encouragement on RISE, task self-efficacy, and physical performance. Children (N = 84) were assigned to dyads and randomized to provide peer encouragement to one another or not (control group). Participants completed two endurance handgrip trials, separated by a cognitively demanding task intended to induce mental fatigue and increase the salience of the peer encouragement manipulation. Participants in the experimental group exchanged words of encouragement prior to the second endurance trial, whereas those in the control group did not. The peer encouragement group reported higher RISE and showed increased performance across trials compared with controls. Providing peer encouragement prior to a challenging physical task was associated with more positive RISE perceptions and improved physical performance.

scholarly journals Individual Morphology and Habitat Structure Alter Social Interactions in a Range-Shifting Species

Diversity ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary J. Cannizzo ◽  
Sara K. Nix ◽  
Isabel C. Whaling ◽  
Blaine D. Griffen
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marsh ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Foundation Species ◽  
Species Structure ◽  
Geographic Ranges ◽  
Mangrove Tree ◽  
As Species ◽  
Aratus Pisonii ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Behavioral Assays

Ecosystem engineers that serve as foundation species shape the ecology and behavior of the species which depend on them. As species shift their geographic ranges into ecosystems they have not previously inhabited, it is important to understand how interactions with novel foundation species alter their behavior. By employing behavioral assays and morphological analyses, we examined how individual morphology and foundation species structure impact the ritualistic aggression behavior of the range shifting mangrove tree crab Aratus pisonii between its historic and colonized habitats. Structure of the foundation species of the colonized salt marsh ecosystem increases the incidence and risk of this behavior over the historic mangrove habitat, potentially negating benefits of ritualizing aggression. Further, docks within the salt marsh, which are structurally analogous to mangroves, mitigate some, but not all, of the increased costs of performing ritualized aggression. Crabs in the salt marsh also had relatively larger claws than conspecifics from the dock and mangrove habitats, which has implications for the risk and outcomes of ritualized interactions. These changes to morphology and behavior highlight the impacts that foundation species structure can have on the morphology, ecology, and behavior of organisms and the importance of studying these impacts in range shifting species.

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