Grounding the Human Conceptual System in Perception, Action, and Internal States

According to Hamilton’s Selfish Herd Theory, a crucial survival benefit of group living is that it provides a ‘risk dilution’ function against predation. Despite a large literature on group living benefits in animals, few studies have been conducted on how group size alters subjective fear or threat perception in humans, and on what factors drive preferences for being in groups when facing threats. We conducted seven experiments (N=3,838) to test (A) if the presence of others decreases perception of threat under a variety of conditions. In studies 1 to 3, we experimentally manipulated group size in hypothetical and real-world situations, to show that fear responses decreased as group size increased. In studies 4 to 7 we again used a combination of hypothetical, virtual and real-world decisions to test (B) how internal states (e.g. anxiety) and external factors (e.g. threat level, availability of help) affected participants’ preference for groups. Participants consistently chose larger groups when threat and anxiety were high. Overall, our findings show that group size provides a salient signal of protection and safety.

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Building representations of affective internal states in emotional development of child

Человек ◽

10.31857/s023620070005383-8 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 30 (3) ◽

pp. 107-119

Author(s):

T. Kotova ◽

Keyword(s):

Emotional Development ◽

Internal States

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A Conceptual System For Understanding Personal Actions

Journal of Environmental Systems ◽

10.2190/0rb2-b991-epnp-8mq9 ◽

1973 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 189-202 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

David L. Groves ◽

Harvey Kahalas ◽

Charles W. Smart

Keyword(s):

Conceptual System

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Capabilities

10.1093/oso/9780199674923.003.0023 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Paul F. M. J. Verschure

Keyword(s):

Building Blocks ◽

Living Systems ◽

System Level ◽

Cognitive Architectures ◽

Multiple Components ◽

Perception Action

This chapter introduces the “Capabilities” section of the Handbook of Living Machines. Where the previous section considered building blocks, we recognize that components or modules do not automatically make systems. Hence, in the remainder of this handbook, the emphasis is toward the capabilities of living systems and their emulation in artifacts. Capabilities often arise from the integration of multiple components and thus sensitize us to the need to develop a system-level perspective on living machines. Here we summarize and consider the 14 contributions in this section which cover perception, action, cognition, communication, and emotion, and the integration of these through cognitive architectures into systems that can emulate the full gamut of integrated behaviors seen in animals including, potentially, our own capacity for consciousness.

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