scholarly journals Active Inference and Cooperative Communication: An Ecological Alternative to the Alignment View

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rémi Tison ◽  
Pierre Poirier
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Cooperative Communication ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Cooperative Interaction ◽  
Prior Belief ◽  
Active Inference ◽  
Communicative Interaction ◽  
Communicative Behavior ◽  
Theoretical Standpoint ◽  
Selection Of

We present and contrast two accounts of cooperative communication, both based on Active Inference, a framework that unifies biological and cognitive processes. The mental alignment account, defended in Vasil et al., takes the function of cooperative communication to be the alignment of the interlocutor's mental states, and cooperative communicative behavior to be driven by an evolutionarily selected adaptive prior belief favoring the selection of action policies that promote such an alignment. We argue that the mental alignment account should be rejected because it neglects the action-oriented nature of cooperative communication, which skews its view of the dynamics of communicative interaction. We introduce our own conception of cooperative communication, inspired by a more radical ecological interpretation of the active inference framework. Cooperative communication, on our ecological conception, serves to guide and constrain the dynamics of the cooperative interaction via the construction and restructuring of shared fields of affordances, in order to reach the local goals of the joint actions in which episodes of cooperative communication are embedded. We argue that our ecological conception provides a better theoretical standpoint to account for the action-oriented nature of cooperative communication in the active inference framework.

scholarly journals Prefrontal Computation as Active Inference

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 682-695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Parr ◽  
Rajeev Vijay Rikhye ◽  
Michael M Halassa ◽  
Karl J Friston
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Message Passing ◽  
Transition Probabilities ◽  
Delay Period ◽  
Active Inference ◽  
Inference Problem ◽  
Markov Decision ◽  
Trial Basis ◽  
Selection Of

Abstract The prefrontal cortex is vital for a range of cognitive processes, including working memory, attention, and decision-making. Notably, its absence impairs the performance of tasks requiring the maintenance of information through a delay period. In this paper, we formulate a rodent task—which requires maintenance of delay-period activity—as a Markov decision process and treat optimal task performance as an (active) inference problem. We simulate the behavior of a Bayes optimal mouse presented with 1 of 2 cues that instructs the selection of concurrent visual and auditory targets on a trial-by-trial basis. Formulating inference as message passing, we reproduce features of neuronal coupling within and between prefrontal regions engaged by this task. We focus on the micro-circuitry that underwrites delay-period activity and relate it to functional specialization within the prefrontal cortex in primates. Finally, we simulate the electrophysiological correlates of inference and demonstrate the consequences of lesions to each part of our in silico prefrontal cortex. In brief, this formulation suggests that recurrent excitatory connections—which support persistent neuronal activity—encode beliefs about transition probabilities over time. We argue that attentional modulation can be understood as the contextualization of sensory input by these persistent beliefs.

scholarly journals The Interaction Between Caudate Nucleus and Regions Within the Theory of Mind Network as a Neural Basis for Social Intelligence

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikhail Votinov ◽  
Artem Myznikov ◽  
Maya Zheltyakova ◽  
Ruslan Masharipov ◽  
Alexander Korotkov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Caudate Nucleus ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Social Intelligence ◽  
Functional Integration ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Caudate Nuclei ◽  
Structural Peculiarity ◽  
The Right

The organization of socio-cognitive processes is a multifaceted problem for which many sophisticated concepts have been proposed. One of these concepts is social intelligence (SI), i.e., the set of abilities that allow successful interaction with other people. The theory of mind (ToM) human brain network is a good candidate for the neural substrate underlying SI since it is involved in inferring the mental states of others and ourselves and predicting or explaining others’ actions. However, the relationship of ToM to SI remains poorly explored. Our recent research revealed an association between the gray matter volume of the caudate nucleus and the degree of SI as measured by the Guilford-Sullivan test. It led us to question whether this structural peculiarity is reflected in changes to the integration of the caudate with other areas of the brain associated with socio-cognitive processes, including the ToM system. We conducted seed-based functional connectivity (FC) analysis of resting-state fMRI data for 42 subjects with the caudate as a region of interest. We found that the scores of the Guilford-Sullivan test were positively correlated with the FC between seeds in the right caudate head and two clusters located within the right superior temporal gyrus and bilateral precuneus. Both regions are known to be nodes of the ToM network. Thus, the current study demonstrates that the SI level is associated with the degree of functional integration between the ToM network and the caudate nuclei.

scholarly journals “Pedagogical” Agression in Russian Everyday Communication

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 975-993
Author(s):  
Natalia Georgievna Bragina ◽  
Igor Alekseevich Sharonov
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Short Review ◽  
Communicative Interaction ◽  
Politeness Theory ◽  
Rhetorical Question ◽  
Communicative Behavior ◽  
Communicative Strategies ◽  
Everyday Communication ◽  
National Corpus

The article is devoted to speakers’ responses to inappropriate communicative behavior in Russian everyday communication. The analytic part of the article presents a short review of both classical and modern works on (im)politeness theories, which show that communicative strategies in response to the wrong communicative behavior in a particular context have not been investigated and described sufficiently in modern Politeness theories, investigating face-aggravating communication. The aim of this work is to describe a strategy that we define as “pedagogical aggression”, which manifests itself in a variation of impolite answers whose purpose is to “punish” the interlocutor for a communicative error. This strategy is in contrast to what we call “empathy” strategy since - instead of trying to neutralize the interlocutor’s error - “pedagogical aggression” emphasizes it by “teaching” the addressee to be more considerate in adhering to norms. The material for the research was collected in the Russian National Corpus and analysed by drawing on discourse analysis, pragmatics and (im)politeness theories. The study showed that “pedagogical aggression” is realized in three face-aggravating communicative tactics: (1) a pseudo-question (rhetorical question or a question to the assumptions of an interlocutor), 2) mocking citations from interlocutor’s speech, 3) rhymed pseudo-answers. The last tactic was given special attention in the study. We grouped the pseudo-answers in four types corresponding to typical discourse situation. This tactic is based on an unspoken rule, according to which it is permissible to point out in a playful way a communicative error made by the interlocutor. In response to an inappropriate question with this or that interrogative pronoun (where, who, why, etc.), the speaker can allow himself or herself to “punish” the interlocutor with a pseudo-answer, so that he or she will be more careful, more attentive and will not repeat such mistakes. The considered tactic of rhymed pseudo-response is rooted in language with the help of formulaic phrases. The research contributes to (im)politeness theory and the study of communicative interaction.

Znaczenie intuicji językowej w procesie antycypacji – na przykładzie komunikacji obcojęzycznej

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (24 A) ◽  
pp. 137-149
Author(s):  
Wioletta A. Piegzik
Keyword(s):  
Speech Perception ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Speech Comprehension ◽  
Cognitive Schema ◽  
Language Communication ◽  
Language User ◽  
The Right ◽  
Selection Of

This paper presents the phenomenon of anticipation which is one of the manifestations of linguistic maturity and language user rationality. Anticipation, taking place essentially in implicit structures and based on evolutionary old intuition, improves speech comprehension and increases the efficiency of cognitive processes. The phenomenon in question is presented on the example of foreign language communication, because it is there that the mechanisms governing the formulation of accurate hypotheses about form and content are particularly evident. The first part of the article discusses speech perception, and with it the categorization and selection of an appropriate cognitive schema conditioning accurate anticipation. The second part presents factors that facilitate and hinder the right hypothesis. Finally, conclusions and directions for future research on anticipation are formulated.

Infering Emotions and Applying Affective Tactics for a Better Learning

2008 ◽  
pp. 135-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Augustin Jaques ◽  
Rosa M. Viccari
Keyword(s):  
Educational System ◽  
Emotional Support ◽  
Positive Mood ◽  
Mental States ◽  
User Model ◽  
Emotional Behavior ◽  
Pedagogical Agent ◽  
Selection Of

This chapter aims to present an animated pedagogical agent, called Pat, that has the role of providing emotional support to the student: motivating and encouraging him/her, making him/her believe in his/her self-ability, and promoting a positive mood in him/her, which fosters learning. This careful support of the agent, its affective tactics, is expressed through emotional behavior and encouragement messages of the life-like character. In order to respond appropriately to the student, the agent infers the student’s emotions: joy/distress, satisfaction/disappointment, anger/gratitude, and shame, from the students’ observable behavior, that is, their actions in the interface of the educational system. It adopted a mental states approach, more specifically, the BDI model, to implement the affective user model, the affective diagnosis, and the selection of the affective tactics, because it allows simple revisions and frequent modifications on the information concerning the student, which is convenient since emotions are very dynamic.

Relationship of Metacognition and Insight to Neural Synchronization and Cognitive Function in Early Phase Psychosis

2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 259-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethany L. Leonhardt ◽  
Jenifer L. Vohs ◽  
Lisa A. Bartolomeo ◽  
Andrew Visco ◽  
William P. Hetrick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Early Phase ◽  
Psychotic Disorders ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Neural Synchronization ◽  
Need For Treatment ◽  
Gamma Range ◽  
Brief Assessment ◽  
Life Challenges

Metacognition is the process of thinking about one’s own mental states. It involves a range of faculties that allow an individual to integrate information and form understanding of self and others, and use this understanding to respond to life challenges. Clinical insight is the awareness of one’s mental illness, its consequences, and the need for treatment. Persons with psychotic disorders show impaired metacognition and insight, but the neurobiological bases for these impairments are not well characterized. We hypothesized that metacognition and insight may depend on capacity of neural circuits to synchronize at gamma frequencies, as well as the integrity of underlying cognitive processes. In order to test these hypotheses, 17 adults with early phase psychosis were evaluated. Metacognition was assessed with the Metacognition Assessment Scale–Abbreviated, and insight was assessed with the Scale of Unawareness of Illness–Abbreviated. The auditory steady state response (ASSR) to gamma range stimulation (40 Hz) was used as an index of neural synchronization. Cognitive function was assessed using the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia. Increases in ASSR power were associated with poorer metacognition and insight. Higher cognitive performance was associated with higher levels of metacognitive function and insight. These findings suggest that altered neural synchronization and constituent cognitive processes affect both metacognition and insight in early phase psychosis and may offer targets for both pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions.

Evolutionary Developmental Psychology of Children’s Religious Beliefs

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler S. Greenway ◽  
Justin L. Barrett
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Developmental Psychology ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Time Period ◽  
The World ◽  
Intuitive Ontologies

The pancultural presence of religious beliefs suggests that children’s ordinary development may incline them toward such beliefs. Various cognitive processes that mature during this time period may enable and encourage religion. Such processes include the ability to distinguish agents from objects, think about the mental states of other agents, see purpose in the world, and view agents dualistically. The generation and persistence of religious beliefs may also be a product of their violation of certain intuitive ontologies, as such violations are more memorable for younger individuals. The naturalness of religion is discussed, and evolutionary accounts of religion as an adaptation and byproduct are presented.

scholarly journals Adolescent Social Cognitive Development

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Guazzelli Williamson
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cultural Considerations ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
Social Cognitive Processes

During adolescence, our bodies, brains, and behaviors undergo marked developmental changes. Adolescents often become increasingly aware of their social worlds and use this stage of development to develop skills to help them navigate this changing landscape. Up until recently, an overwhelming majority of research on social cognition–specifically on understanding the mental states of others–has focused on childhood. In this chapter, I demonstrate that adolescence is an important developmental period for the refinement and sophistication of social cognitive processes that began developing during childhood. I also discuss the development of more advanced and distinct social cognitive processes. Additionally, I review the available literature on the developmental trajectories of advanced social cognition across adolescence–including individual differences, cultural considerations, and implications for adolescent health and wellbeing. Finally, I describe how future research may begin to address current knowledge gaps on this topic.

scholarly journals INTERFAMILY COMMUNICATION OF UKRAINIAN-RUSSIAN BILINGUALS

2021 ◽  
pp. 228-238
Author(s):  
I. I. Braha
Keyword(s):  
Life Experience ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
Family Values ◽  
Communicative Interaction ◽  
Communicative Behavior ◽  
Audio Recordings ◽  
Speech Interaction ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Everyday Communication

The aim of the article is to model the situation of oral communication of UkrainianRussian bilinguals within a family by its parameters: topic, place, time, participants. For the purpose of the analysis, the descriptive method and the method of discourse analysis are employed. The paper studied audio recordings of oral interfamily communication among Ukrainian-Russian bilinguals and surzhyk speakers from town and village in the Sumy region. By interfamily communicative interaction we understand a type of everyday communication in which members of different families are involved, who are related by blood (provided they live separately), by marriage or by being godparents. Communication within a family circle is predominately cooperative. However, compared to communication within a wider circle of friends it is more prone to conflict; the interlocutors are, therefore, more likely to follow formal rules for polite conversation. Interfamily speech interaction can be both phatic and informative; it manifests itself through oral (dialogues and polylogues) and written (letters, including emails) communication. However, both forms are characterized by non-codified speech. We have identified the main features of communicative behavior of members of different families taking into account such extralinguistic factors as social role, status, age and gender of interlocutors. We have singled out the specific features of interfamily communication in the context of Ukrainian-Russian bilingualism. We have established, in particular, that both the choice of the language means and the code switching are determined by the following: changes in the topic of conversation, its duration, the birthplace of speakers and the region where they live as well as their respective status and role. In their speech behavior, men employ the tactics of assertiveness, seek to conform to the stereotypes of masculinity. Women, especially the older ones, employ the tactics of transferring their life experience and family values and seek to maintain communicative balance. The older generation is more communicatively active than the young. Further research will test the obtained results against a larger body of empirical data. 

scholarly journals SOME ASPECTS OF "MISCELLANY OF 1073" PHILOSOPHICAL TERMS TRANSLATION: PHILOSOPHY OF COGNITION

2020 ◽  
pp. 89-97
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Greek Philosophy ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Research Article ◽  
Philosophical Language ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Specific Meaning ◽  
Classical Greek Philosophy ◽  
Philosophy Of Knowledge ◽  
Selection Of

This research article is devoted to the research of philosophical terms of the famous Kyivan Rus’ artifact on translation of the 11th century – “Miscellany (Izbornyk) of 1073”. Scientists studied this subject in the past. However, they were focused on logical terminology, reflected in the famous fragment of “Miscellany”, which was called “philosophical treatise”. The author of this research article, unlike other scientists, has researched a part of the text “Joseph on the Maccabees”. It is no less important for clarifying the peculiarities of the philosophical terms use than the already mentioned “philosophical treatise”. The chapter “Joseph on the Maccabees” in “Miscellany” is a translation of fragments of the 4 Maccabees from Greek into Old Church Slavonic, which raises the issue – how passions can be guided by reflection. This well-known apocrypha is quite saturated with receptions of classical Greek philosophy, primarily Platonism, Aristotelianism and Stoicism. It is also extremely valuable as an illustration of the complex process of the translator’s selection of ancient Slavic equivalents of Greek philosophical terms related to the philosophy of knowledge and ethics. Some of them were subsequently established in our philosophical language. In particular, the features of translation of such Greek words as “λογισμὸς”, “νοῦς”, “λόγου”, “σοφία” reflected in “Miscellany” into Old Church Slavonic have been analyzed, and the possibility of Old Church Slavonic terms translation into modern Ukrainian has also been considered. The result of the study is recognition of the need to raise the issue of modern Ukrainian philosophical terms ability to reproduce ancient Greek or even ancient Slavic terms associated with philosophy of knowledge in the process of translation. In particular, when dealing with “Miscellany”, it becomes clear that it is wrongful to reflect all cognitive processes and psychic instances with the concept “mind” in the modern terminological scheme. When dealing with old handwritten material in Old Church Slavonic, in particular “Miscellany of 1073”, it is necessary to define and distinguish the concepts of “reflection”, “mind”, “intellect”, “wisdom”, since they had specific meaning generated by attempt to translate them from Greek.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document