EXPRESS: Does physical weight alter the mental representation of the body? Evidence from motor imagery in obesity

Objective. Obesity is a clinical condition that impacts severely the physical body. However, evidence related to the mental representation of the body in action is scarce. The few available studies only focus on avoiding obstacles, rather than participants imagining their own body. Method. To advance knowledge in this field, we assessed the performance of twenty-two individuals with obesity compared to thirty individuals with a healthy weight in two tasks that implied different motor (more implicit vs. more explicit) imagery strategies. Two tasks were also administered to control for visual imagery skills, to rule out confounding factors. Moreover, we measured body uneasiness, through a standard questionnaire, as body image negativity could impact on other body representation components. Results. Our findings do not show differences in the motor imagery tasks between individuals with obesity and individuals with healthy weight. On the other hand, some differences emerge in visual imagery skills. Crucially, individuals with obesity did report a higher level of body uneasiness. Conclusions. Despite a negative body image and visual imagery differences, obesity per se does not impact on the representation of the body in action. Importantly, this result is independent from the level of awareness required to access the mental representation of the body.

Great minds think alike: does leader-follower similarity in construal level of the work enhance leader-member exchange quality?

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate whether leader-follower similarity in construal level of the work, which indicates the degree of abstraction applied to mental representation of the work, influences the quality of interpersonal relationship at work.Design/methodology/approachFirst, an interview study was conducted to adapt the work-based construal-level (WBCL) scale. Then, a survey study was conducted for hypothesis testing. Data collected from 245 matched supervisor-subordinate dyads were analyzed using multi-level modeling.FindingsResults revealed that dyadic similarity in work-domain construal level is positively related to leader-member exchange (LMX) quality. As a leader and a follower become similar to each other in terms of mental representation (i.e. construal level) of work, they experience higher relationship quality.Originality/valueThis study enhances the current knowledge of the role of cognition and cognitive similarity in leadership processes.

A language of thought for the mental representation of geometric shapes

Why do geometric shapes such as lines, circles, zig-zags or spirals appear in all human cultures, but are never produced by other animals? Here, we formalize and test the hypothesis that all humans possess a compositional language of thought that can produce line drawings as recursive combinations of a minimal set of geometric primitives. We present a programming language, similar to Logo, that combines discrete numbers and continuous integration in higher-level structures based on repetition, concatenation and embedding, and show that the simplest programs in this language generate the fundamental geometric shapes observed in human cultures. On the perceptual side, we propose that shape perception in humans involves searching for the shortest program that correctly draws the image (program induction). A consequence of this framework is that the mental difficulty of remembering a shape should depend on its minimum description length (MDL) in the proposed language. In two experiments, we show that encoding and processing of geometric shapes is well predicted by MDL. Furthermore, our hypotheses predict additive laws for the psychological complexity of repeated, concatenated or embedded shapes, which are experimentally validated.

Influence of cognitive styles on coping behaviour and protective mechanisms of personality

The article presents theoretical and empirical studies of cognitive styles, mental representation, coping behaviour and mechanisms of psychological defence. The influence of cognitive styles is described: rigid/flexible cognitive control, narrow/wide range of equivalence, cognitive simplicity/complexity on coping behaviour and defence mechanisms. The tendency of respondents with flexible cognitive control to assess a difficult life situation through time characteristics, to associate it with solvability and safety is revealed. In coping behaviour, they choose Self-control, Social support, Acceptance of responsibility. Cognitive simplicity/complexity is characterised by predictability, solvability and the possibility of changing the situation. Respondents belonging to a narrow range of equivalence assess the situation in terms of completeness and saturation. It is revealed that the protective and coping behaviour in a difficult life situation depends on the specifics of the mental representation of those possessing cognitive-style characteristics. It is concluded that mental representation can be a link between cognitive styles and coping behaviour.

ПОНЯТТЯ ЧАСУ В ПОЕЗІЇ РАБІНДРАНАТА ТАГОРА: ЧИТАЦЬКА ІНТЕРПРЕТАЦІЯ

In the current study, readers’ interpretation of the conception of time in Rabindranath Tagore’s nonnarrative poetry is approached from the perspective of schema theory (E. Semino) and Text World Theory (P. Werth, J. Gavins). The analysis shows that in Rabindranath Tagore’s non-narrative poems about time, which were written in or translated into English, a TIME schema is instantiated through (i) linguistic units that refl ect human idea of dividing time into conventional periods – moments, days, months, years, etc.; (ii) a complex web of fi gurative devices, metaphors and similes in particular. In readers’ minds, fi gurative language prompts associative connections between several core, or basic, schemata: TIME, GOD, HUMAN LIFE, LIFE OF NATURE. Basic schemata can contain subordinate ones (TIME: MOMENT, DAY, MONTH; GOD: THY HANDS, SHUT GATE (thy gate be shut); HUMAN LIFE: CLOCK, PARODY, POEM, MEMORY; LIFE OF NATURE: BUTTERFLY, GARDEN, FLOWER, etc.). Connections between schemata on either a level or across levels indicate that the abstract conception of time is objectifi ed through physical processes and entities, which are perceptible by human senses; and that human life and life of nature have some common characteristics determined by time-related processes. Relying on schemata instantiated by the language of a poem, a reader creates his or her mental representation of the text, in other words, builds a poem’s text-world. On the text-world level, the conception of time in Rabindranath Tagore’s non-narrative poetry is presented through the use of all the three types of elements from which text-worlds are constructed: temporal deictic markers (world-building elements), function-advancing propositions (elements that describe actions, events, and states), and intensive relational processes (elements which describe physical characteristics). Text-worlds in Rabindranath Tagore’s non-narrative poems about time can be complex. His texts can contain world-switches – changes in the temporal parameters “present – future” from the perspective of the author and “present – past” from the perspective of a reader, and/or modal worlds that exist as hypothetical ones in the minds of the author and his readers. The latter concerns the poems in which time is associated with the transcendent conception of God. Key words: Rabindranath Tagore, non-narrative poetry, time, schema, text-world.

Representation and Copying in Hume’s Treatise and Later Works

Some of Hume’s central arguments in the Treatise—for example, arguments about causality, the self, and motivation—concern which of our perceptions represent, and what these perceptions can and cannot represent. A growing body of literature aims to reconstruct the theory of mental representation that (it is presumed) underwrites these arguments. The most popular type of interpretation says that, according to Hume’s theory, copying plays a significant role in explaining mental representation. This paper raises two challenges to such interpretations. First, they cannot be squared with Treatise Book 2’s account of passions formed via sympathy (hereinafter, sympathetic passions). Second, Hume’s treatment of copying and representation in his later works differs significantly from that of the Treatise, and provides no clear evidence that the mature Hume accepted a theory of mental representation based on copying.

Transference of Self Concept in First Impressions of Similar Others

<p>Forming rapid and reasonably accurate impressions of other people to determine the potential for threat is a crucial human skill that has evolved over millennia. That said, often these first impressions may be inaccurate as the processes underlying person perception are subject to bias. Transference is one such bias which occurs when an encountered novel individual, for whatever reason, is similar enough that he or she activates the mental representation of a ‘significant other’ which is then “transferred” to that novel individual. In particular, judgments of the new person are assimilated to both evaluations (positive or negative) as well as the specific trait content of the activated representation. The current research proposed that the self-concept as activated by self-similar stimuli can act in a similar fashion. Specifically, it was proposed that activation of the self-concept – through encountering an individual who is similar to the self – may trigger transference of self-concept-related feelings and emotions to a novel other. The current research tested this prediction in four experiments by comparing participant judgements of own self-concept with trait-related judgements about novel targets, half of which were modified to resemble the perceiver. It was expected that participants would rate participant-similar stimuli as more similar to themselves than non-similar stimuli. Overall, experimental results did not support this hypothesis in that participant judgements and evaluations of self-resembling faces did not differ significantly from judgements and evaluations of stranger-similar faces in any reliable pattern. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to previous research on first impressions, transference, and self-concept.</p>

Transference of Self Concept in First Impressions of Similar Others

<p>Forming rapid and reasonably accurate impressions of other people to determine the potential for threat is a crucial human skill that has evolved over millennia. That said, often these first impressions may be inaccurate as the processes underlying person perception are subject to bias. Transference is one such bias which occurs when an encountered novel individual, for whatever reason, is similar enough that he or she activates the mental representation of a ‘significant other’ which is then “transferred” to that novel individual. In particular, judgments of the new person are assimilated to both evaluations (positive or negative) as well as the specific trait content of the activated representation. The current research proposed that the self-concept as activated by self-similar stimuli can act in a similar fashion. Specifically, it was proposed that activation of the self-concept – through encountering an individual who is similar to the self – may trigger transference of self-concept-related feelings and emotions to a novel other. The current research tested this prediction in four experiments by comparing participant judgements of own self-concept with trait-related judgements about novel targets, half of which were modified to resemble the perceiver. It was expected that participants would rate participant-similar stimuli as more similar to themselves than non-similar stimuli. Overall, experimental results did not support this hypothesis in that participant judgements and evaluations of self-resembling faces did not differ significantly from judgements and evaluations of stranger-similar faces in any reliable pattern. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to previous research on first impressions, transference, and self-concept.</p>

SPEECH ACT «DIRECTIVE» (ENTREATY, REQUEST, DEMAND AND A THREATENING DEMAND) AS AN ILLOCUTIVE CONCEPT WITH DISTINGUISHING FEATURES

В статье представлены подтипы речевого акта «директив» - мольба, просьба, требование и требование с угрозой - как иллокутивный концепт с дифференцирующими признаками. Просодия выступает главным фактором, разграничивающим данные подтипы. Под иллокутивным концептом понимается ментальный образ, выраженный вербально словом, словосочетанием или предложением. На основе экспериментально-фонетического исследования на уровне частоты основного тона (ЧОТ) были выявлены отличительные просодические особенности мольбы, просьбы, требования и требования с угрозой. The article shows the subtypes of the speech act «directives» - entreaty, request, demand and a threatening demand - as concepts with distinguishing features. Prosody is the main factor delimiting these subtypes. One understands by an illocutionary concept a mental representation expressed orally in terms of a word, phrase or sentence. On the basis of an experimental and phonetic research at the level of pitch frequency, distinguishing features of entreaty, request, demand and a threatening demand were identified.

Prospective Theorizing: Researching for Social Impact

Prospection—defined here as the mental representation and evaluation of possible futures—offers scholars a powerful new approach to researching with social impact. In this paper, we begin by reviewing the strengths and limitations of the kind of theory building long favored by the Academy. We do so to understand why management scholarship is perceived as falling short in terms of its relevance and social impact. We invite management scholars to re-examine what determines a theory’s assessed value in the face of social and global challenges distinguished by emergent complexity (Funtowicz & Ravetz 1994; Scharmer & Käufer, 2010). The advantages of prospective theorizing are presented in two variants: projective and envisioned. The first embraces prospection within the current bounds and editorial practices of the Academy. When viewed through a quantum lens, the second proposes a radically new approach to theory building. It contends that quantum science is giving powerful impetus and renewed legitimacy to the idea that prospective theorizing calls forth a reality rather than objectively studying a world “out there”. Such theorizing is not only about advancing knowledge about what exists. In a very real sense, it has agency to create the future it studies. We conclude with an inquiry into what it means for management research aimed at tackling wicked problems such as climate change and social justice.