Unintended Affordances as Violent Mediators

This paper outlines a theoretical framework meant to help people understand the emergence of violent mediators in human cognitive niches enriched by technology. Violent mediators are external objects that mediate relations with the environment in a way facilitating – not causing – the adoption of violent behaviors. In order to cast light on the dynamics violent mediators are involved in, the author illustrates the role played by what is called unintended affordances. In doing so, the author presents three specific examples of unintended affordances as violent mediators: multitasking while driving, desultory behavior and cyberstalking. The last part of the paper presents the notion of counteractive cognitive niche as a possible, yet partial, solution to the problem concerning the emergence of unintended affordance.

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Unintended Affordances as Violent Mediators

Moral, Ethical, and Social Dilemmas in the Age of Technology ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-2931-8.ch014 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 198-214

Author(s):

Emanuele Bardone

Keyword(s):

Partial Solution ◽

Theoretical Framework ◽

Cognitive Niche ◽

Violent Behaviors ◽

External Objects ◽

Cognitive Niches

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Mind wandering as data augmentation: How mental travel supports abstraction

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x1900311x ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 43 ◽

Author(s):

Myrthe Faber

Keyword(s):

Machine Learning ◽

Data Augmentation ◽

Mental Content ◽

Mind Wandering ◽

Theoretical Framework ◽

Important Addition

Abstract Gilead et al. state that abstraction supports mental travel, and that mental travel critically relies on abstraction. I propose an important addition to this theoretical framework, namely that mental travel might also support abstraction. Specifically, I argue that spontaneous mental travel (mind wandering), much like data augmentation in machine learning, provides variability in mental content and context necessary for abstraction.

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Adaptive and Maladaptive Neural Plasticity Due to Facial Nerve Palsy

Zeitschrift für Psychologie ◽

10.1027/2151-2604/a000244 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 224 (2) ◽

pp. 102-111 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Carsten M. Klingner ◽

Stefan Brodoehl ◽

Gerd F. Volk ◽

Orlando Guntinas-Lichius ◽

Otto W. Witte

Keyword(s):

Facial Nerve ◽

Neural Plasticity ◽

Cortical Plasticity ◽

Brain Plasticity ◽

Motor Nerve ◽

Predictive Coding ◽

Theoretical Framework ◽

Cortical Reorganization ◽

Nerve Lesion ◽

Peripheral Facial Palsy

Abstract. This paper reviews adaptive and maladaptive mechanisms of cortical plasticity in patients suffering from peripheral facial palsy. As the peripheral facial nerve is a pure motor nerve, a facial nerve lesion is causing an exclusive deefferentation without deafferentation. We focus on the question of how the investigation of pure deefferentation adds to our current understanding of brain plasticity which derives from studies on learning and studies on brain lesions. The importance of efference and afference as drivers for cortical plasticity is discussed in addition to the crossmodal influence of different competitive sensory inputs. We make the attempt to integrate the experimental findings of the effects of pure deefferentation within the theoretical framework of cortical responses and predictive coding. We show that the available experimental data can be explained within this theoretical framework which also clarifies the necessity for maladaptive plasticity. Finally, we propose rehabilitation approaches for directing cortical reorganization in the appropriate direction and highlight some challenging questions that are yet unexplored in the field.

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