Human Self-Domestication and the Evolution of Pragmatics

As proposed for the emergence of modern languages, we argue that modern uses of languages (pragmatics) also evolved gradually in our species under the effects of human self-domestication, with three key aspects involved in a complex feedback loop: (a) a reduction in reactive aggression, (b) the sophistication of language structure (with emerging grammars initially facilitating the transition from physical aggression to verbal aggression); and (c) the potentiation of pragmatic principles governing conversation, including, but not limited to, turn-taking and inferential abilities. Our core hypothesis is that the reduction in reactive aggression, one of the key factors in self-domestication processes, enabled us to fully exploit our cognitive and interactional potential as applied to linguistic exchanges, and ultimately to evolve a specific form of communication governed by persuasive reciprocity—a trait of human conversation characterized by both competition and cooperation. In turn, both early crude forms of language, well suited for verbal aggression/insult, and later more sophisticated forms of language, well suited for persuasive reciprocity, significantly contributed to the resolution and reduction of (physical) aggression, thus having a return effect on the self-domestication processes. Supporting evidence for our proposal, as well as grounds for further testing, comes mainly from the consideration of cognitive disorders, which typically simultaneously present abnormal features of self-domestication (including aggressive behavior) and problems with pragmatics and social functioning. While various approaches to language evolution typically reduce it to a single factor, our approach considers language evolution as a multifactorial process, with each player acting upon the other, engaging in an intense mutually reinforcing feedback loop. Moreover, we see language evolution as a gradual process, continuous with the pre-linguistic cognitive abilities, which were engaged in a positive feedback loop with linguistic innovations, and where gene-culture co-evolution and cultural niche construction were the main driving forces.     

Ecumenism and Global Governance

On 21 June 2018, on his 23rd international journey, Pope Francis travelled to Geneva to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the World Council of Churches. The Swiss city also hosts a large number of representative international institutions dealing with global governance and the issues of peace, human rights, and migration. After reviewing the main highlights of the journey, this article discusses its significance: to appeal to the common commitment of Christians to proclaim the gospel and its power of salvation in a divided and wounded world. In this way, Pope Francis underlined that in the pluralistic society of today, harmony is not possible if we just ignore faith and focus on what it means to be human while excluding the transcendent. Indeed, it is the gospel that promotes harmony and commitment to a better world.     

Peculiar aspects of reading and writing performances in patients with olivopontocerebellar atrophy

Olivopontocerebellar atrophy (OPCA) is a still debated condition, of which motor disruption is the most common feature. A high incidence of associated mood disorders may exist, but there are few studies on concomitant cognitive impairment. Our aim was to assess whether there is reading and writing disruption in olivopontocerebellar atrophy (OPCA). 6 patients were administered different reading and writing tasks. Scores were then compared to those obtained by healthy volunteers. There was an evident impairment in reading and writing execution in our patients compared to those of the control group. On the contrary, no difference could be found in abstraction, problem-solving, and memory tasks. We discuss the results, debating the role of the cerebellum in the conscious process of cognition or in ocular movement control (necessary for reading and writing fluidity and effective execution) and in the dynamic activation of all the cerebral cortex mediated by the diffuse projection to the reticular system.     

Construing action abstractly and blurring social distinctions: implications for perceiving homogeneity among,but also empathizing with and helping,others

Most people's actions serve goals that, defined abstractly enough, are quite similar to one another. The authors thus proposed, and found, that construing action in abstract (vs. concrete) terms relates to perceiving greater similarity among persons both within and across different social groups (Studies 1-3). By fostering perspective taking, viewing action abstractly also related to empathizing with and expressing willingness to help nonstigmatized and stigmatized others (e.g., AIDS patients; Studies 3-5) and to donating money to help those in need (Study 6). These findings held when controlling for ideological, motivational, and broad personality variables. Abstract action construals, then, appear to blur social distinctions, fostering perspective taking and empathy on the one hand but also perceptions of group homogeneity on the other.     

Confirmatory factor analysis of parents' and teachers' ratings of DSM-IV symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in a Spanish sample

Confirmatory factor analysis examined the factor structure of DSM IV Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder symptoms and analyzed the differences in informants' ratings of ADHD symptoms by children's age and sex. A sample of 1,018 Spanish school children, 574 girls and 444 boys, ages 4 to 12 years, was rated by teachers and parents. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a similar fit for the three-factor model of Inattention, Hyperactivity, and Impulsivity (teachers: CFI = .976, RMR = .041, % of total variance = 83.2; parents: CFI = .969, RMR = .037, % of total variance = 82.7) and for the two-factor model of Inattention and Hyperactivity Impulsivity (teachers: CFI = .958, RMR = .044, % of total variance = 79.3; parents: CFI = .961, RMR = .038, % of total variance, 79.9). The two-factor model was selected as a parsi monious representation of the teachers' and parents' ratings of ADHD symptoms. Analyses of variance indicated significant differences in teachers' and parents' mean ratings across sex and school grades of children.     

Likelihood inference on the underlying structure of IRT models

The assumptions underlying item response theory (IRT) models may be expressed as a set of equality and inequality constraints on the parameters of a latent class model. It is well known that the same assumptions imply that the parameters of the manifest distribution have to satisfy a more complicated set of inequality constraints which, however, are necessary but not sufficient. In this paper, we describe how the theory for likelihood-based inference under equality and inequality constraints may be used to test the underlying assumptions of IRT models. It turns out that the analysis based directly on the latent structure is simpler and more flexible. In particular, we indicate how several interesting extensions of the Rasch model may be obtained by partial relaxation of the basic constraints. An application to a data set provided by Educational Testing Service is used to illustrate the approach.We thank Dr. Gorman and Dr. Rogers of the Educational Testing Service for providing the data analyzed in Section 4. We also thank three reviewers for comments and suggestions.This revised article was published online in August 2005 with the PDF paginated correctly.     

Metarepresentative functions in borderline personality disorder

Many authors consider that patients suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) are hampered in their ability to metarepresent, which is the correct ascribing of states of mind to oneself and to others and the reflecting thereon. Although the ability to mentalize is generally described as being uniform, various authors pinpoint problems which appear to be of a diverse psychological nature. Some describe difficulties in identifying emotions or a shortfall in their regulation, others identify a lack of integration between representations of self and those of others, and yet others focus on the failure to distinguish between fantasy and reality. In the present research all sessions during the first year of therapy of four patients suffering from BPD were tape-recorded and transcribed, and then analyzed using the Metacognition Assessment Scale (MAS), which is designed for the evaluation of the ability to metarepresent in clinical reports. The results support the hypothesis that there is a metarepresentation impairment in BPD but that it is more selective than was thought until now. In particular, such patients maintain their ability to identify internal states, whereas they are impaired in the integration of representations of self and others and in the differentiation between fantasy and reality.     

Fitting Rasch model using appropriateness measure statistics

In this paper, the distributional properties and power rates of the Lz, Eci2z, and Eci4z statistics when they are used as item fit statistics were explored. The results were compared to t-transformation of Outfit and Infit mean square. Four sample sizes were selected: 100, 250, 500, and 1000 examinees. The abilities were uniform and normal with mean 0 and standard deviation 1, and uniform and normal with mean -1 and standard deviation 1. The pseudo-guessing parameter was fixed at .25. Two ranges of difficulty parameters were selected: +/- 1 logits and +/- 2 logits. Two test lengths were selected: 15 and 30 items. The results showed important differences between the T-infit, T-outfit, Lz, Eci2z, and Eci4z statistics. The T-oufit, T-infit, and Lz statistics showed poor standardization with estimated parameters because their distributional properties were not close to the expected values. However, the Eci2z and Eci4z statistics showed satisfactory standardization on all conditions. Further, the power rates of Eci2z and Eci4z were 5% to 10% higher than the power rates of Lz, T-outfit, and T-infit to detect items that do not fit Rasch model.     

Task- and location-switching effects on visual attention

In two experiments, we examined the effects of task and location switching on the accuracy of reporting target characters in an attentional blink (AB) paradigm. Single-character streams were presented at a rate of 100 msec per character in Experiment 1, and successive pairs of characters on either side of fixation were presented in Experiment 2. On each trial, two targets appeared that were either white letters or black digits embedded in a stream of black letter distractors, and they were separated by between zero and five items in the stream (lags 1-6). Experiment 1 showed that report of the first target was least accurate if it immediately preceded the second target and if the two targets were either both letters or both digits (task repetition cost). Report of the second target was least accurate if one or two distractors intervened between the two targets (the U-shaped AB lag effect) and if one target was a letter and the other a digit (task switch cost). Experiment 2 added location uncertainty as a factor and showed similar effects as Experiment 1, with one exception. Lag 1 sparing (the preserved accuracy in reporting the second of two targets if the second immediately follows the first) was completely eliminated when the task required attention switching across locations. Two-way additive effects were found between task switching and location switching in the AB paradigm. These results suggests separate loci for their attentional effects. It is likely that the AB deficit is due mainly to central memory limitations, whereas location-switching costs occur at early visual levels. Task-switching costs occur at an intermediate visual level, since the present task switch involved encoding differences without changes in stimulus-response mapping rules (i.e., the task was character identification for both letters and digits).