The structure of the cognitive revolution: an examination from the philosophy of science

The received view is that psychology has undergone several scientific revolutions similar to those that occurred in the physical sciences. Of these, this paper will consider the cognitive revolution. Because the arguments in favor of the existence of a cognitive revolution are cast using the concepts and terms of revolutionary science, we will examine the cognitive revolution using accounts of revolutionary science advanced by five influential philosophers of science. Specifically, we will draw from the philosophical positions of Popper, Kuhn, Lakatos, Laudan, and Gross for the purpose of discussion. We conclude that no substantive revolution took place according to these accounts. This conclusion is based on data gathered from some of the major participants in the "cognitive revolution" and on a general scholarly survey of the literature. We argue that the so-called cognitive revolution is best characterized as a socio-rhetorical phenomenon.     

建言采纳如何促进员工建言：基于目标自组织视角的整合机制

文章探讨了领导者建言采纳促进员工建言的理论基础、作用机制及其对发展建言研究的意义。通过引入个体心理的自组织目标系统理论, 整合了员工建言研究的动机视角和认知视角, 构建了建言的目标自组织观点。在此基础上, 分析和检验了工作意义感和建言效能感在领导者建言采纳促进员工建言的关系中所起的中介作用。通过问卷调查收集了来自73位领导者与236位员工的纵向数据, 结果显示：(1)领导者的建言采纳对员工的促进性/抑制性建言均具有显著的促进作用; (2)工作意义感和建言效能感在领导者建言采纳与员工建言行为的关系中起到完全中介作用。研究结果发展了对建言行为形成机制的认识, 促进了建言研究的理论发展, 并对管理实践有着积极的启示。     

A tutorial introduction to Bayesian models of cognitive development

We present an introduction to Bayesian inference as it is used in probabilistic models of cognitive development. Our goal is to provide an intuitive and accessible guide to the what, the how, and the why of the Bayesian approach: what sorts of problems and data the framework is most relevant for, and how and why it may be useful for developmentalists. We emphasize a qualitative understanding of Bayesian inference, but also include information about additional resources for those interested in the cognitive science applications, mathematical foundations, or machine learning details in more depth. In addition, we discuss some important interpretation issues that often arise when evaluating Bayesian models in cognitive science.     

Cognition in rapists Theoretical patterns by typological breakdown

Cognitive processing has been implicated in sexual offending in a number of recent theoretical and empirical papers. Clinicians have emphasized the need to challenge the cognitive distortions that are often exhibited by sexual offenders, and they have incorporated cognitive restructuring components into treatment programs. However, until recently, the literature has lacked an integrative theoretical approach to cognition in sexual offenders. In addition, the use of generic classifications (i.e., rapist, child molester) in both theoretical and empirical work has obscured understanding of the role played by a number of etiological factors, including cognition. In this paper, we present a multifaceted approach to cognition in rapists. We begin with a brief overview of a conceptual framework of cognitive dimensions. Next, we consider the heterogeneity that characterizes rapists as a group and the problems this presents for research. We suggest that Knight and Prentky's typology may prove useful for dealing with these problems and, in the final section, we provide our conceptualization of the potential distorted cognitions for each of the subtypes within the typology.     

Predictive joint-action model: A hierarchical predictive approach to human cooperation

Research in a number of related fields has recently begun to focus on the perceptual, cognitive, and motor workings of cooperative behavior. There appears to be enough coherence in these efforts to refer to the study of the mechanisms underlying human cooperative behavior as the field of joint-action (Knoblich, Butterfill, & Sebanz, 2011; Sebanz, Bekkering, & Knoblich, 2006). Yet, the development of theory in this field has not kept pace with the proliferation of research findings. We propose a hierarchical predictive framework for the study of joint-action that we call the predictive joint-action model (PJAM). The presentation of this theoretical framework is organized into three sections. In the first section, we summarize hierarchical predictive principles and discuss their application to joint-action. In the second section, we juxtapose PJAM’s assumptions with empirical evidence from the current literature on joint-action. In the third section, we discuss the overall success of the hierarchical predictive approach to account for the burgeoning empirical literature on joint-action research. Finally, we consider the model’s capacity to generate novel and testable hypotheses about joint-action. This is done with the larger goal of uncovering the empirical and theoretical pieces that are still missing in a comprehensive understanding of joint action.     

The functional‐cognitive meta‐theoretical framework: Reflections,possible clarifications and how to move forward

The functional‐cognitive meta‐theoretical framework has been offered as a conceptual basis for facilitating greater communication and cooperation between the functional/behavioural and cognitive traditions within psychology, thus leading to benefits for both scientific communities. The current article is written from the perspective of two functional researchers, who are also proponents of the functional‐cognitive framework, and attended the “Building Bridges between the Functional and Cognitive Traditions” meeting at Ghent University in the summer of 2014. The article commences with a brief summary of the functional approach to theory, followed by our reflections upon the functional‐cognitive framework in light of that meeting. In doing so, we offer three ways in which the framework could be clarified: (a) effective communication between the two traditions is likely to be found at the level of behavioural observations rather than effects or theory, (b) not all behavioural observations will be deemed to be of mutual interest to both traditions, and (c) observations of mutual interest will be those that serve to elaborate and extend existing theorising in the functional and/or cognitive traditions. The article concludes with a summary of what we perceive to be the strengths and weaknesses of the framework, and a suggestion that there is a need to determine if the framework is meta‐theoretical or is in fact a third theoretical approach to doing psychological science.     

Rationality,perception, and the all-seeing eye

Seeing—perception and vision—is implicitly the fundamental building block of the literature on rationality and cognition. Herbert Simon and Daniel Kahneman’s arguments against the omniscience of economic agents—and the concept of bounded rationality—depend critically on a particular view of the nature of perception and vision. We propose that this framework of rationality merely replaces economic omniscience with perceptual omniscience. We show how the cognitive and social sciences feature a pervasive but problematic meta-assumption that is characterized by an “all-seeing eye.” We raise concerns about this assumption and discuss different ways in which the all-seeing eye manifests itself in existing research on (bounded) rationality. We first consider the centrality of vision and perception in Simon’s pioneering work. We then point to Kahneman’s work—particularly his article “Maps of Bounded Rationality”—to illustrate the pervasiveness of an all-seeing view of perception, as manifested in the extensive use of visual examples and illusions. Similar assumptions about perception can be found across a large literature in the cognitive sciences. The central problem is the present emphasis on inverse optics—the objective nature of objects and environments, e.g., size, contrast, and color. This framework ignores the nature of the organism and perceiver. We argue instead that reality is constructed and expressed, and we discuss the species-specificity of perception, as well as perception as a user interface. We draw on vision science as well as the arts to develop an alternative understanding of rationality in the cognitive and social sciences. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our arguments for the rationality and decision-making literature in cognitive psychology and behavioral economics, along with suggesting some ways forward.     

What’s the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Matter</Emphasis> with cognition? A ‘Vygotskian’ perspective on material engagement theory

The cross-disciplinary framework of Material Engagement Theory (MET) has emerged as a novel research program that flexibly spans archeology, anthropology, philosophy, and cognitive science. True to its slogan to ‘take material culture seriously’, “MET wants to change our understanding of what minds are and what they are made of by changing what we know about what things are and what they do for the mind” (Malafouris 2013, 141). By tracing out more clearly the conceptual contours of ‘material engagement,’ and firming up its ontological commitments, the main goal of this article is to help refine Malafouris’ fertile approach. In particular, we argue for a rapprochement between MET and the tradition of Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, based on the ‘Vygotskian’ hypothesis of scaffolded and/or distributed cognition.     

Beyond behaviorism: on the automaticity of higher mental processes

The first 100 years of experimental psychology were dominated by 2 major schools of thought: behaviorism and cognitive science. Here the authors consider the common philosophical commitment to determinism by both schools, and how the radical behaviorists' thesis of the determined nature of higher mental processes is being pursued today in social cognition research on automaticity. In harmony with "dual process" models in contemporary cognitive science, which equate determined processes with those that are automatic and which require no intervening conscious choice or guidance, as opposed to "controlled" processes which do, the social cognition research on the automaticity of higher mental processes provides compelling evidence for the determinism of those processes. This research has revealed that social interaction, evaluation and judgment, and the operation of internal goal structures can all proceed without the intervention of conscious acts of will and guidance of the process.     

Grades of Explanation in Cognitive Science

I sketch an explanatory framework that fits a variety of contemporary research programs in cognitive science. I then investigate the scope and the implications of this framework. The framework emphasizes (a) the explanatory role played by the semantic content of cognitive representations, and (b) the important mechanistic, non-intentional dimension of cognitive explanations. I show how both of these features are present simultaneously in certain varieties of cognitive explanation. I also consider the explanatory role played by grounded representational content, that is, content evaluated by appeal to its truth, falsity, accuracy, inaccuracy and other relational properties.     

Multiple levels of inquiry in cognitive science

Summary Gibsonian ecological psychology, symbolic information processing, and connectionist information processing are frequently construed as three competing paradigms or research traditions, each seeking dominance in experimental psychology and in cognitive science generally. There is an important element of truth in this perspective, and any adequate account of the development of experimental psychology over the past 30 years would have to examine seriously how the various conceptual frameworks, experimental endeavors, and social institutions have figured in this conflict. But the goal of this paper is not to characterize the historical dynamics within experimental psychology and cognitive science; rather, it is to consider what sorts of rapprochement is possible. Rapprochement, however, is not sought simply for its own sake or out of an a priori conviction that scientific enterprises should be unified. Spirited controversy between competing traditions is often an important component of progess (Laudan, 1977). Rapprochement has a purpose when alternative theoretical traditions have reached a point when each confronts serious shortcomings that can best be overcome by incorporating alternative perspectives. In this paper I try to show that this is the situation that exists in experimental psychology and cognitve science generally with respect to the three traditions enumerated above. I first explore how cognitive inquiry directed at internal procedures for processing information could benefit from a detailed study of the context of cognition, including insights provided by the Gibsonian tradition. Second, I examine the current controversy between symbolic and connectionist approaches and address the question of what contributions each offers to the other. Finally, I offer a framework in which multiple levels of inquiry in cognitve science can be related.     

The transactional psychobiological nature of cognitive appraisal during exercise in environmentally stressful conditions

Background and Purpose: Successful adaptation to the stress of physical exertion in adverse environmental conditions (heat, cold, high altitude) is of great concern when optimal performance within safe parameters is the goal. The perception of the psychophysical demands imposed by the stressful situation and the perceived capability to cope with these demands is a process that can dramatically alter the intensity of the ensuing physiological activation. Thus, exercise in environmentally stressful conditions provides an excellent model for examining the relationship between the cognitive appraisal of the physical stress and the ensuing stress response. A brief review of the research on cognitive appraisals during exercise in stressful environments provides evidence of the connection between cognitive appraisals and the stress response during exercise under environmental stress and demonstrates a need for a transactional psychobiological model proposed in this paper. This model attributes a central role to the continuous cognitive appraisal of the situation by the individual.Methods: Computer searches of psychological, sport science, and medical databases using the terms exercise, heat, cold, high altitude, environmental stress, and ratings of perceived exertion were conducted. Additionally, the reference citations in the obtained articles were searched for relevant studies. An abridged integrated review summarizes the critical findings and limitations. Furthermore, literature supporting the proposed transactional psychobiological model is presented.Results and Conclusions: Further investigation into the psychophysical and the affective responses to exercise in adverse environmental conditions can be facilitated through the utilization of the proposed transactional psychobiological model.     

Editorial synthesis for counseling psychology and relationship science: Making connections and expanding disciplinary diversity

The field of relationship science began with understanding the role of attraction and has expanded to examine factors associated with relationship initiation, development, and maintenance. Despite the growth of the field, recent reviews of topics present in relationship science have revealed a dearth of literature examining sociocultural contexts that may impact relational processing, especially for traditionally underrepresented groups in science. Notably, given the theories, frameworks, and methods applied in these disciplines, counseling psychology and relationship science are at the forefront of examining such contexts. To this end, the goal of the special issue was to bring together scholars whose work is either an application of or showcases how the contemporary foci of counseling psychology, including but not limited to intersectionality, social justice, cultural competence/humility, identity, strengths-based approaches, and social power hierarchies are applicable to the study of relationships broadly defined. This editorial synthesis provides a brief summary of the four articles that are included in this special issue and ends with recommendations for future research that intersects counseling psychology and relationship science.     

CONCEPTS, CATEGORIES, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE

Why are psychologists not often called on for their expertise in connection with the larger problems of society? The nature of expertise is analyzed in the framework of a theory of concept formation and categorization. Expert-novice differences in approaches to problems, and, more generally, the nature oj abstraction and judgment, are interpreted in terms of cognitive processes that operate by computations on an instance-based composite memory. Applied to "growing pains" of psychological science, the theory has implications for graduate training and the direction of research support.     

Knowledge embedded in process: the self-organization of skilled noun learning

Young children's skilled generalization of newly learned nouns to new instances has become the battleground for two very different approaches to cognition. This debate is a proxy for a larger dispute in cognitive science and cognitive development: cognition as rule-like amodal propositions, on the one hand, or as embodied, modal, and dynamic processes on the other. After a brief consideration of this theoretical backdrop, we turn to the specific task set before us: an overview of the Attentional Learning Account (ALA) of children's novel noun generalizations, the constrained set of experimental results to be explained, and our explanation of them. We conclude with a consideration of what all of this implies for a theory of cognitive development.     

A Screening Tool to Assess and Manage Behavioral Risk in the Postoperative Bariatric Surgery Patient: The WATCH

Bariatric surgery is increasingly recognized as a highly effective treatment for individuals who are severely obese. Amount of weight loss and resolution of comorbidities surpass those of nonsurgical approaches; however, suboptimal weight loss and weight regain are not uncommon. These outcomes, though not fully understood, are likely at least partially explained by failure to make long-term behavioral and/or cognitive changes. We are unaware of any established clinical tools to guide providers in assessing postoperative behaviors and identifying those who may require specialized treatment. The goal of this paper is to introduce a brief screening tool, The WATCH, to help clinicians assess and identify patients who may be at risk for poor or untoward outcomes post bariatric surgery. We first review the literature on postoperative outcomes, including weight loss, resolution of comorbidities, suboptimal outcomes, and development of problematic eating behaviors. We then provide an easily-recalled, five-item tool that assesses outcomes, and discuss patient responses that may necessitate further intervention or referral.     

The extended cognition thesis: Its significance for the philosophy of (cognitive) science

While the extended cognition (EC) thesis has gained more followers in cognitive science and in the philosophy of mind and knowledge, our main goal is to discuss a different area of significance of the EC thesis: its relation to philosophy of science. In this introduction, we outline two major areas: (I) The role of the thesis for issues in the philosophy of cognitive science, such as: How do notions of EC figure in theories or research programs in cognitive science? Which versions of the EC thesis appear, and with which arguments to support them? (II) The potentials and limits of the EC thesis for topics in general philosophy of science, such as: Can naturalism perhaps be further advanced by means of the more recent EC thesis? Can we understand “big science” or laboratory research better by invoking some version of EC? And can the EC thesis help in overcoming the notorious cognitive/social divide in science studies?     

Delusions and theories of belief

Cognitive neuropsychiatry is a branch of cognitive psychology that seeks to explain neuropsychiatric symptoms in terms of disruptions or damage to normal cognitive processes. A key objective of this approach is to use insights derived from the study of pathological symptoms to inform accounts of premorbid cognitive systems. Delusions, in particular, can be considered to represent dysfunction of the cognitive processes underlying belief formation, so studying delusions may provide unique insights into nonpathological belief. While this approach has provided compelling accounts for a range of delusions in terms of putative cognitive dysfunctions, it is less clear that it has achieved progress in its reciprocal goal of informing understanding of belief more generally. In this review, we trace the origins of the cognitive neuropsychiatric approach and consider the reasons for the lack of progress. We propose a tentative framework to overcome these challenges and suggest directions for future research.     

Neurocognitive mechanisms underlying the experience of flow

Recent theoretical and empirical work in cognitive science and neuroscience is brought into contact with the concept of the flow experience. After a brief exposition of brain function, the explicit-implicit distinction is applied to the effortless information processing that is so characteristic of the flow state. The explicit system is associated with the higher cognitive functions of the frontal lobe and medial temporal lobe structures and has evolved to increase cognitive flexibility. In contrast, the implicit system is associated with the skill-based knowledge supported primarily by the basal ganglia and has the advantage of being more efficient. From the analysis of this flexibility/efficiency trade-off emerges a thesis that identifies the flow state as a period during which a highly practiced skill that is represented in the implicit system's knowledge base is implemented without interference from the explicit system. It is proposed that a necessary prerequisite to the experience of flow is a state of transient hypofrontality that enables the temporary suppression of the analytical and meta-conscious capacities of the explicit system. Examining sensory-motor integration skills that seem to typify flow such as athletic performance, writing, and free-jazz improvisation, the new framework clarifies how this concept relates to creativity and opens new avenues of research.