Phenomenology of Visuo-spatial Working Memory Task Performance

In experimental cognitive psychology, objects of inquiry have typically been operationalized with psychological tasks. If we are interested in measuring the target phenomena, we must inquire into the validity of the task; that is, to what extent does the task elicit the phenomenon in question. If we subscribe to the second view, evaluating the validity and the interpretation of the gathered data can be supplemented by understanding the experience of solving psychological tasks. The aim of the present article is to investigate how individuals experience performing a psychological task, specifically, a visuo-spatial working memory task. We present ethnographic descriptions of different ways individuals can experience the same task. We focus on aspects of experience that comprise the overall sense of experience (e.g., bodily feelings, emotional atmosphere, mood). We discuss the methodological implications of our findings and the possibility of conducting a neurophenomenology of visuo-spatial working memory.

Las representaciones conceptuales en la ciencia cognitiva

Resumen: En el marco de la ciencia cognitiva se ha polemizado acerca de la manera en la que el enfoque enraizado de la cognición pueda compatibilizarse con al enfoque clásico con el fin de explicar nuestras capacidades conceptuales. Sin embargo este debate metodológico no ha sido acompañado de una elucidación de la noción de “representación conceptual” tal como venía siendo entendida al menos en la filosofía y psicología cognitivas. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar en que consiste una representación conceptual con el fin de aportar claridad al debate sobre las capacidades conceptuales enraizadas. Desarrollaré y evaluaré la idea de que una representación es conceptual si puede combinarse sistemáticamente para formar nuevas estructuras representacionales y si se puede utilizar en tareas psicológicas con independencia del estímulo. Abstract: In cognitive science, it is an open debate whether grounded cognition might be compatible with traditional views of cognition. However, as far as I am aware, this methodological debate has not been accompanied by an elucidation of the notion of “conceptual representation” as it has been understood in philosophy and cognitive psychology. The aim of this paper is to offer an elucidation of this sort. I will develop and evaluate the idea that a representation is conceptual when it can be systematically combined to form new representational structures and when it can be used in psychological tasks regardless of the stimulus. Palabras clave: capacidades conceptuales, sistematicidad, independencia del estímulo, cognición enraizada, psicología cognitiva. Keywords: conceptual abilities, sistematicity, independence of stimulus, grounded cognition, cognitive psychology.

HISTORICAL-PSYCHOLOGICAL IDEAS OF A.P. NECHAEV. PART 1: HISTORY OF LITERATURE, LITERARY CRITICISM, HISTORICAL PSYCHOLOGY

Статья посвящена Александру Петровичу Нечаеву (1870-1948), выдающемуся отечественному психологу и педагогу первой половины XX в. В данной работе А.П. Нечаев показан как историк психологии. Рассматриваются историко-психологические работы и взгляды ученого по трем направлениям: анализ историко-литературных работ, в которых освещаются идеи, связанные с исторической психологией; анализ работ, освещавших состояние психологии на рубеже XIX-XX вв. и об отдельных персоналиях современной Нечаеву психологии; анализ специальных историко-психологических и историко-философских работ. В первой части представляются историко-литературные и литературно-критические работы: «Об отношении Крылова к науке» (1895) и «Поэзия А.Н. Майкова. Критический очерк» (1898). Отечественный психолог анализирует взгляды И.А. Крылова на ученых и научную деятельность, выраженных в художественных метафорах и отражавших общественные и народные представления о науке. Рассматривая творчество Майкова, Нечаев показывает, что поэзия может выполнять психологические задачи: с одной стороны, она влияет на эмоциональное состояние читателя и на развитие его личности, с другой - выражает внутренние особенности самого поэта, и необходима ему для удовлетворения собственных потребностей и стремлений. Несмотря на то, что напрямую эти работы не касаются проблематики истории психологии, они показывают интерес Нечаева к историко-научным исследованиям, а также могут быть отнесены к области исторической психологии, поскольку в них представлено изучение образов ученого и поэта и их психологические качества, характерные для XIX в., через художественное творчество и литературу. The article is dedicated to Aleksander Petrovich Nechaev (1870-1948), an outstanding Russian psychologist and teacher of the first half of the 20th century. In this work, Nechaev is presented as a historian of psychology. The historical-psychological views and works of the scientist in three directions are considered: analysis of historical and literary works in which ideas related to historical psychology are presented; analysis of works covering the state of psychology at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries and dedicated to Nechaev’s contemporaries in psychology; analysis of special historical-psychological and historical-philosophical works. The first part presents the historical-literary and literary-critical works of Nechaev: «On Krylov's attitude to science» (1895) and «Poetry of A.N. Maikov. A critical sketch» (1898). The Russian psychologist analyzes the views of I.A. Krylov on scientists and scientific activities, expressed in artistic metaphors and reflecting public and popular ideas about science. Considering the work of Maikov, Nechaev shows that poetry can perform psychological tasks: on the one hand, it affects the emotional state of the reader and the development of his personality, on the other hand, it expresses the inner characteristics of the poet himself, poetry is necessary for him to satisfy his own needs and intentions. Even though these works do not directly relate to the problems of history of psychology, they show the interest of Nechaev to historical-scientific research, and can also be attributed to the field of historical psychology: through artistic creativity and literature, the author studies the images of a scientist and a poet and their psychological traits specific to the 19th century.

Behavioral Restriction Determines Left Attentional Bias: Preliminary Evidences From COVID-19 Lockdown

During the COVID-19 lockdown, individuals were forced to remain at home, hence severely limiting the interaction within environmental stimuli, reducing the cognitive load placed on spatial competences. The effects of the behavioral restriction on cognition have been little examined. The present study is aimed at analyzing the effects of lockdown on executive function prominently involved in adapting behavior to new environmental demands. We analyze non-verbal fluency abilities, as indirectly providing a measure of cognitive flexibility to react to spatial changes. Sixteen students (mean age 20.75; SD 1.34), evaluated before the start of the lockdown (T1) in a battery of psychological tasks exploring different cognitive domains, have been reassessed during lockdown (T2). The assessment included the modified Five-Point Test (m-FPT) to analyze non-verbal fluency abilities. At T2, the students were also administered the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). The restriction of behaviors following a lockdown determines increased non-verbal fluency, evidenced by the significant increase of the number of new drawings. We found worsened verbal span, while phonemic verbal fluency remained unchanged. Interestingly, we observed a significant tendency to use the left part of each box in the m-FPT correlated with TAS-20 and with the subscales that assess difficulty in describing and identifying feelings. Although our data were collected from a small sample, they evidence that the restriction of behaviors determines a leftward bias, suggesting a greater activation of the right hemisphere, intrinsically connected with the processing of non-verbal information and with the need to manage an emotional situation.

The cognitive effect of university classroom geometry. A virtual reality study focused on memory and attention.

Space influences our cognitive-emotional state. In teaching spaces, with a considerable effect on performance. Many design variables are involved. Among them, geometry has been traditionally less explored despite its usual prominence in design, due to the complexity of its modification in existing physical classrooms. However, today this can be addressed through the use of virtual reality. This was the objective of the present study: to contribute to the study of the cognitive effect of different geometry parameters applied in a university classroom. It was tackled through a laboratory field study carried out with 80 university students. The geometry variable was studied through two parameters: ceiling heigh (3 settings) and width (3 settings) of the university classroom. The 9 combinations were implemented in a virtual reality. The cognitive effect was explored through memory and attention performances. Both of them, quantified through auditory psychological tasks: the former, using a list of words to memorize; and the latter, using a computer program to measure reaction times and errors. Analyses indicate that memory and attention can be affected by some of the geometry parameters. This suggests that they may be especially relevant in the design of university classrooms, which is of interest to the different agents involved in the university classroom project and design.

Datasets for Cognitive Load Inference Using Wearable Sensors and Psychological Traits

This study introduces two datasets for multimodal research on cognitive load inference and personality traits. Different to other datasets in Affective Computing, which disregard participants’ personality traits or focus only on emotions, stress, or cognitive load from one specific task, the participants in our experiments performed seven different tasks in total. In the first dataset, 23 participants played a varying difficulty (easy, medium, and hard) game on a smartphone. In the second dataset, 23 participants performed six psychological tasks on a PC, again with varying difficulty. In both experiments, the participants filled personality trait questionnaires and marked their perceived cognitive load using NASA-TLX after each task. Additionally, the participants’ physiological response was recorded using a wrist device measuring heart rate, beat-to-beat intervals, galvanic skin response, skin temperature, and three-axis acceleration. The datasets allow multimodal study of physiological responses of individuals in relation to their personality and cognitive load. Various analyses of relationships between personality traits, subjective cognitive load (i.e., NASA-TLX), and objective cognitive load (i.e., task difficulty) are presented. Additionally, baseline machine learning models for recognizing task difficulty are presented, including a multitask learning (MTL) neural network that outperforms single-task neural network by simultaneously learning from the two datasets. The datasets are publicly available to advance the field of cognitive load inference using commercially available devices.

Tracking Prudence: What an Iconographic Trail Reveals about Western Culture and its Pathology

In the Middle Ages the cardinal virtue Prudence is revered and her depiction widespread. In the modern era, however, few Westerners esteem Prudence or can recognize her iconography. This article traces the evolution of the archetypal image of Prudence beginning in the fifth century through art and literature. By the modern era the formerly multifaceted Prudence becomes narrowly characterized as cautious or prudish, evidenced in popular culture (e.g., film). Her value might appear negligible. However, archetypal Prudence reemerges in Jung’s paradigm. The lens of depth psychology further reveals the current presence of archetypal Prudence within western culture, especially its prevalent pathological presentation, which may have implications for western culture’s sustainability. Prudence, as a virtue rooted in human neurobiology and the archetypal psyche, seems crucial to navigating the current manifestations of cultural and ecological chaos, perhaps demonstrating one of humanity’s current psychological tasks: to bridge human consciousness with Nature.

Analysis of the Operation of the Ground Handling Agent in the Aspect of Safety

The role of the human factor in aviation is a critical element for the safety of flight operations. It is described by methods such as SHELL and BowTie, which propose solutions to minimize the risk of occurrence of aviation events. The work presents the development of these concepts by introducing the method of testing the predisposition of airport staff using a specialized system which is the Polipsychograph - a system dedicated to designing and carrying out psychological tasks testing human mental, cognitive and motor skills in connection with the assessment of his professional capabilities. The work contains the results of 40 tests performed on employees dealing with airport ground handling on a daily basis. Research has shown that the employee’s predisposition depends on the quality of work entrusted to him. The paper presents a method of assessing the psychophysical predisposition of an employee allowing him to be directed to work corresponding to his qualifications.

East-West Differences in Cognitive Style and Social Orientation: Are They Real?

Previous work showed that East-Asians tend to be more holistic in cognitive style and more interdependent in social orientation than Westerners. It is not clear, however, whether these differences generalize beyond the young, well-educated, financially well-off samples that have been tested in the past. We administered 16 previously studied psychological tasks to random samples of Americans and Japanese who varied in age (25-79), gender, and education. We found that the East-West differences are remarkably stable across the sub-populations. The present research provides the first empirical evidence that East Asian adults reliably differ from Western adults in cognitive style and social orientation, regardless of age, gender, or level of educational attainment, and across a variety of socio-cognitive tasks. Our findings have implications for the significant role culture plays in shaping various psychological processes and highlight the risk of basing psychological theories on observations made in a small segment of humanity.