scholarly journals Lives as Collections of Strands: An Essay in Descriptive Psychology

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Kubovy
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
Comprehensive Description ◽  
Psychological Science ◽  
Person Perspective ◽  
Norms And Values ◽  
Severe Handicaps ◽  
Extended Duration ◽  
First Person Perspective ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Descriptive Framework

In this article (in press, Perspectives in Psychological Science) I generalize the notion of multiple self-aspects to create a descriptive framework in which lives are partitioned into containers of activities called strands. Strands are nearly-decomposable life-modules, structured, stable, and concurrent longitudinal streams of extended duration whose momentary cross-sections constitute self- aspects. They are differentiated by five features: (a) the person’s role, (b) the cast, (c) the setting, (d) norms and values, and (e) habits and routines. Strands contain projects, and episodes, and are replete with narrative. Each strand is continuous (i.e., strands persist when a person moves between them), and for the most part strands are mutually asynchronous. From a first-person perspective, the strands are continuous and concurrent but only one strand is in the foreground at a given time, i.e., transitions between strands are akin to a figure-ground reversal. Furthermore, a life is different from the sum of its strands: it is a nonlinear system that can take on configurations not predictable from a comprehensive description of the individual strands. Two such examples are the achievement of greatness despite severe handicaps and instances of extreme self-sacrifice. I also discuss the research potential of a proposed smartphone app called LifeMaps.

scholarly journals Lives as Collections of Strands: An Essay in Descriptive Psychology

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 497-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Kubovy
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
Smartphone App ◽  
Comprehensive Description ◽  
Person Perspective ◽  
Norms And Values ◽  
Severe Handicaps ◽  
Extended Duration ◽  
First Person Perspective ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Descriptive Framework

In this article I generalize the notion of multiple self-aspects to create a descriptive framework in which lives are partitioned into containers of activities called strands. Strands are nearly decomposable life modules, structured, stable, and concurrent longitudinal streams of extended duration whose momentary cross-sections constitute self-aspects. They are differentiated by five features: the person’s role, the cast, the setting, norms and values, and habits and routines. Strands contain projects and episodes and are replete with narrative. Each strand is continuous (i.e., strands persist when a person moves between them), and for the most part strands are mutually asynchronous. From a first-person perspective, the strands are continuous and concurrent, but only one strand is in the foreground at a given time (i.e., transitions between strands are akin to a figure-ground reversal). Furthermore, a life is different from the sum of its strands: It is a nonlinear system that can take on configurations not predictable from a comprehensive description of the individual strands. Two such examples are the achievement of greatness despite severe handicaps and instances of extreme self-sacrifice. I also discuss the research potential of a proposed smartphone app called LifeMaps.

scholarly journals EXPRESS: Embodied Mental Imagery Improves Memory

2021 ◽  
pp. 174702182110092
Author(s):  
Quentin Marre ◽  
Nathalie Huet ◽  
Elodie Labeye
Keyword(s):  
Motor Imagery ◽  
Mental Imagery ◽  
Visual Imagery ◽  
First Person ◽  
Person Perspective ◽  
Memory Efficiency ◽  
Third Person ◽  
First Person Perspective ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Emotional Systems

According to embodied cognition theory, cognitive processes are grounded in sensory, motor and emotional systems. This theory supports the idea that language comprehension and access to memory are based on sensorimotor mental simulations, which does indeed explain experimental results for visual imagery. These results show that word memorization is improved when the individual actively simulates the visual characteristics of the object to be learned. Very few studies, however, have investigated the effectiveness of more embodied mental simulations, that is, simulating both the sensory and motor aspects of the object (i.e., motor imagery) from a first-person perspective. The recall performances of 83 adults were analysed in four different conditions: mental rehearsal, visual imagery, third-person motor imagery, and first-person motor imagery. Results revealed a memory efficiency gradient running from low-embodiment strategies (i.e., involving poor perceptual and/or motor simulation) to high-embodiment strategies (i.e., rich simulation in the sensory and motor systems involved in interactions with the object). However, the benefit of engaging in motor imagery, as opposed to purely visual imagery, was only observed when participants adopted the first-person perspective. Surprisingly, visual and motor imagery vividness seemed to play a negligible role in this effect of the sensorimotor grounding of mental imagery on memory efficiency.

scholarly journals Pronouns and Visual Perspective-Taking: Two Replication Results

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tad Brunye ◽  
Tali Ditman ◽  
Caroline Mahoney ◽  
Jason Augustyn ◽  
Holly A. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Visual Perspective ◽  
External Observer ◽  
Psychological Science ◽  
Person Perspective ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
First Person Perspective

In 2007, our laboratory conducted a series of experiments examining whether pronouns embedded in short sentences (e.g., I am/You are/He is peeling the cucumber.) modulate reaction times when participants are tasked to verify whether a picture depicts a described action. Critically, the picture depicted an actor performing the action (e.g., peeling a cucumber) from either the actor’s internal perspective, or the perspective of an external observer. Our results demonstrated that description pronouns do indeed interact with picture perspectives; response times showed faster verifications when the implied perspectives of the pronouns and pictures matched rather than mismatched. As expected the grammatical persons I am and You are promoted faster response times when verifying internal rather than external perspective pictures; in contrast, He is promoted faster response times when verifying external rather than internal perspective pictures. We interpreted these findings as indicating that readers use pronouns to differentiate perspectives, and are more likely to internalize the action when they are directly addressed as the protagonist (You are) or the sentence uses the first-person perspective (I am). These findings were published in Psychological Science in 2009. In this replication attempt, we conducted two experiments to understand the robustness and reliability of our original effects, with an emphasis on individual differences in pronominal perspective-taking.

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.

Données LiDAR aériennes: pertinence de l'interprétation visuelle pour la foresterie

2017 ◽  
Vol 168 (3) ◽  
pp. 127-133
Author(s):  
Matthew Parkan
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
Forest Edge ◽  
Airborne Lidar ◽  
Visual Interpretation ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Small Areas ◽  
Interactive 3D ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Airborne Lidar Data ◽  
Stem Position

Airborne LiDAR data: relevance of visual interpretation for forestry Airborne LiDAR surveys are particularly well adapted to map, study and manage large forest extents. Products derived from this technology are increasingly used by managers to establish a general diagnosis of the condition of forests. Less common is the use of these products to conduct detailed analyses on small areas; for example creating detailed reference maps like inventories or timber marking to support field operations. In this context, the use of direct visual interpretation is interesting, because it is much easier to implement than automatic algorithms and allows a quick and reliable identification of zonal (e.g. forest edge, deciduous/persistent ratio), structural (stratification) and point (e.g. tree/stem position and height) features. This article examines three important points which determine the relevance of visual interpretation: acquisition parameters, interactive representation and identification of forest characteristics. It is shown that the use of thematic color maps within interactive 3D point cloud and/or cross-sections makes it possible to establish (for all strata) detailed and accurate maps of a parcel at the individual tree scale.

scholarly journals The Reaction of Spin–Orbit State-Selected Ca(PJ03) With CH3I, CH2I2, and SF6

1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 391-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark L. Campbell ◽  
Nick Furio ◽  
Paul J. Dagdigian
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Reactions ◽  
Cross Sections ◽  
Optical Pumping ◽  
Spin Orbit ◽  
Alkyl Bromide ◽  
The Individual ◽  
State Selection

Chemiluminescence cross sections for reaction of the individual spin–orbit states of metastable Ca(PJ03) with CH3I, CH2I2, and SF6 have been determined by the use of optical pumping state selection. This technique was also used to separate the chemiluminescence arising from the two excited metastable Ca 3P0 and 1D states. The spin–orbit dependence of the chemiluminescence pathway was found to be substantial for the CH3I and CH2I2 reactions and similar to that previously observed for halogen diatom and alkyl bromide reagents. By contrast, no spin–orbit effect was observed for Ca(3P0)+SF6. These results are discussed in terms of our previously presented model for the origin of spin–orbit effects in chemical reactions.

scholarly journals Differentiating Real-World Autobiographical Experiences without Recourse to Behaviour

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 521
Author(s):  
Jonathan Erez ◽  
Marie-Eve Gagnon ◽  
Adrian M. Owen
Keyword(s):  
Medial Temporal Lobe ◽  
Brain Injuries ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Extrastriate Cortex ◽  
First Person ◽  
Autobiographical Memories ◽  
True Nature ◽  
Person Perspective ◽  
Machine Learning Model ◽  
First Person Perspective

Investigating human consciousness based on brain activity alone is a key challenge in cognitive neuroscience. One of its central facets, the ability to form autobiographical memories, has been investigated through several fMRI studies that have revealed a pattern of activity across a network of frontal, parietal, and medial temporal lobe regions when participants view personal photographs, as opposed to when they view photographs from someone else’s life. Here, our goal was to attempt to decode when participants were re-experiencing an entire event, captured on video from a first-person perspective, relative to a very similar event experienced by someone else. Participants were asked to sit passively in a wheelchair while a researcher pushed them around a local mall. A small wearable camera was mounted on each participant, in order to capture autobiographical videos of the visit from a first-person perspective. One week later, participants were scanned while they passively viewed different categories of videos; some were autobiographical, while others were not. A machine-learning model was able to successfully classify the video categories above chance, both within and across participants, suggesting that there is a shared mechanism differentiating autobiographical experiences from non-autobiographical ones. Moreover, the classifier brain maps revealed that the fronto-parietal network, mid-temporal regions and extrastriate cortex were critical for differentiating between autobiographical and non-autobiographical memories. We argue that this novel paradigm captures the true nature of autobiographical memories, and is well suited to patients (e.g., with brain injuries) who may be unable to respond reliably to traditional experimental stimuli.

scholarly journals An immersive first-person navigation task for abstract knowledge acquisition

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Doerte Kuhrt ◽  
Natalie R. St. John ◽  
Jacob L. S. Bellmund ◽  
Raphael Kaplan ◽  
Christian F. Doeller
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Navigation ◽  
First Person ◽  
Abstract Space ◽  
Motion Platform ◽  
Head Mounted Display ◽  
Person Perspective ◽  
Abstract Knowledge ◽  
Behavioural Patterns ◽  
Spatial Domains ◽  
First Person Perspective

AbstractAdvances in virtual reality (VR) technology have greatly benefited spatial navigation research. By presenting space in a controlled manner, changing aspects of the environment one at a time or manipulating the gain from different sensory inputs, the mechanisms underlying spatial behaviour can be investigated. In parallel, a growing body of evidence suggests that the processes involved in spatial navigation extend to non-spatial domains. Here, we leverage VR technology advances to test whether participants can navigate abstract knowledge. We designed a two-dimensional quantity space—presented using a head-mounted display—to test if participants can navigate abstract knowledge using a first-person perspective navigation paradigm. To investigate the effect of physical movement, we divided participants into two groups: one walking and rotating on a motion platform, the other group using a gamepad to move through the abstract space. We found that both groups learned to navigate using a first-person perspective and formed accurate representations of the abstract space. Interestingly, navigation in the quantity space resembled behavioural patterns observed in navigation studies using environments with natural visuospatial cues. Notably, both groups demonstrated similar patterns of learning. Taken together, these results imply that both self-movement and remote exploration can be used to learn the relational mapping between abstract stimuli.

scholarly journals Human Enhancements and Voting: Towards a Declaration of Rights and Responsibilities of Beings

Philosophies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
S. J. Blodgett-Ford
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Voting Rights ◽  
Governance Structure ◽  
The Other ◽  
First Person ◽  
Person Perspective ◽  
First Person Perspective ◽  
To Come ◽  
Additional Option

The phenomenon and ethics of “voting” will be explored in the context of human enhancements. “Voting” will be examined for enhanced humans with moderate and extreme enhancements. Existing patterns of discrimination in voting around the globe could continue substantially “as is” for those with moderate enhancements. For extreme enhancements, voting rights could be challenged if the very humanity of the enhanced was in doubt. Humans who were not enhanced could also be disenfranchised if certain enhancements become prevalent. Voting will be examined using a theory of engagement articulated by Professor Sophie Loidolt that emphasizes the importance of legitimization and justification by “facing the appeal of the other” to determine what is “right” from a phenomenological first-person perspective. Seeking inspiration from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) of 1948, voting rights and responsibilities will be re-framed from a foundational working hypothesis that all enhanced and non-enhanced humans should have a right to vote directly. Representative voting will be considered as an admittedly imperfect alternative or additional option. The framework in which voting occurs, as well as the processes, temporal cadence, and role of voting, requires the participation from as diverse a group of humans as possible. Voting rights delivered by fiat to enhanced or non-enhanced humans who were excluded from participation in the design and ratification of the governance structure is not legitimate. Applying and extending Loidolt’s framework, we must recognize the urgency that demands the impossible, with openness to that universality in progress (or universality to come) that keeps being constituted from the outside.

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