A Graph-Dynamic Perspective on Coordinative Structures,the Role of Affordance-Effectivity Relations in Action Selection,and the Self-Organization of Complex Activities

Meaningful parallels exist between the coordinative structures (CSs) involved in planning and controlling complex actions of the body (limbs, torso, head, face, eyes) in service of both mechanical (e.g., manipulation and/or transport of environmental objects) and social (e.g., inter-agent coordination) functions. While early treatments focused on CS state-dynamics and parameter-dynamics, attention has focused more recently on CS graph-dynamics. We describe a coordinative structure graph (CSG) perspective that brings affordances and effectivities into a dynamical systems framework in which a) task-specific perceptual and physical links are created between an agent's end-effectors and environmental objects/surfaces during the graph-dynamics of CSG assembly; and b) these dynamics embed the agent in his/her environmental context such that the agent+environment system functions as a higher-order task-specific unit. Additionally, we describe a 3-tuple formalism for CSs that govern simple, single actions; such 3-tuples are viewed as modular planning graphs that can self-assemble under a compositional graph-dynamics into multi-action chains or hierarchical structures, and that may inform future developments of CS-based action grammars.     

Timing in trace conditioning of the nictitating membrane response of the rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus): scalar, nonscalar, and adaptive features

Using interstimulus intervals (ISIs) of 125, 250, and 500 msec in trace conditioning of the rabbit nictitating membrane response, the offset times and durations of conditioned responses (CRs) were collected along with onset and peak latencies. All measures were proportional to the ISI, but only onset and peak latencies conformed to the criterion for scalar timing. Regarding the CR's possible protective overlap of the unconditioned stimulus (US), CR duration increased with ISI, while the peak's alignment with the US declined. Implications for models of timing and CR adaptiveness are discussed.     

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Achievement Goal Orientations Shift with Age

Students engage in learning activities with different achievement goal orientations. Some students pursue learning for learning sake (i.e. mastery goal orientation), some are driven by gaining favourable judgement of their performance (i.e. performance approach goal orientation), and others focus on avoiding negative judgement (i.e. performance avoidance goal orientation). These goal orientations are linked with academic achievement, and troublingly, students report decreasing levels of goal orientations across the school years. However, little is known concerning the mechanisms that drive this decline. In a large (N = 891 twin pairs) cross‐sectional genetically informative sample (age = 8 to 22 years), we found that older students reported lower goal orientations. Then, we identified shifts in the magnitude of genetic and environmental variance in each goal orientation. For example, variance in mastery goal orientation was primarily associated with environmental factors during the elementary school years. As students entered high school, genetic influences increased, replacing shared environmental influences. Finally, we situated these findings in the larger nomological network by testing associations with psychological constructs (e.g. personality and cognitive ability) and contextual variables (e.g. parents, schools, and peers). The development of academic motivation is complex with many interconnecting factors that appear to shift with age © 2019 European Association of Personality Psychology