The logic of the stimulus

This paper examines the contribution of stimulus processing to animal logics. In the classic functionalist S-O-R view of learning (and cognition), stimuli provide the raw material to which the organism applies its cognitive processes–its logic, which may be taxon-specific. Stimuli may contribute to the logic of the organism's response, and may do so in taxon-specific ways. Firstly, any non-trivial stimulus has an internal organization that may constrain or bias the way that the organism addresses it; since stimuli can only be defined relative to the organism's perceptual apparatus, and this apparatus is taxon-specific, such constraints or biases will often be taxon-specific. Secondly, the representation of a stimulus that the perceptual system builds, and the analysis it makes of this representation, may provide a model for the synthesis and analysis done at a more cognitive level. Such a model is plausible for evolutionary reasons: perceptual analysis was probably perfected before cognitive analysis in the evolutionary history of the vertebrates. Like stimulus-driven analysis, such perceptually modelled cognition may be taxon-specific because of the taxon-specificity of the perceptual apparatus. However, it may also be the case that different taxa are able to free themselves from the stimulus logic, and therefore apply a more abstract logic, to different extents. This thesis is defended with reference to two examples of cases where animals' cognitive logic seems to be isomorphic with perceptual logic, specifically in the case of pigeons' attention to global and local information in visual stimuli, and dogs' failure to comprehend means-end relationships in string-pulling tasks.This contribution is part of the special issue “Animal Logics” (Watanabe and Huber 2006).     

Performance-based measures in autism: implications for diagnosis, early detection, and identification of cognitive profiles

Provides a critical review of performance-based assessment measures in autism. Currently, performance-based measures of autism are being explored in two domains: structured play sessions and cognitive-neuropsychological assessments. Structured play sessions are designed to elicit the behavioral symptoms associated with autism to provide a consistent and valid means of early detection and diagnosis of autism across different evaluators and settings. These structured play sessions provide a supplement to diagnostic instruments based on parental report. Cognitive-neuropsychological tasks have been used to identify possible underlying cognitive impairments in autism including executive function, theory of mind, selective attention, and abstraction. Currently, cognitive tasks are useful in treatment planning but are inappropriate for diagnostic purposes. Important goals for the future will be to integrate parent-report diagnostic interviews and structured play observations and to identify a profile of cognitive impairments that are specific to pervasive developmental disorders that can be incorporated into diagnostic protocols.     

Defining Elemental Imitation Mechanisms: A Comparison of Cognitive and Motor-Spatial Imitation Learning Across Object- and Computer-Based Tasks

During the first 5 years of life, the versatility, breadth, and fidelity with which children imitate change dramatically. Currently, there is no model to explain what underlies such significant changes. To that end, the present study examined whether task-independent but domain-specific—elemental—imitation mechanism explains performance across imitation tasks or domains. Preschool-age children (n = 156) were tested on 4 imitation tasks, 2 object-based (animal, puzzle box) and 2 computer-based (cognitive, motor-spatial). All tasks involved 3 serial actions. The animal task involved making an animal face, and the puzzle box task involved manipulating a box to retrieve a reward. The cognitive task involved responding to 3 different pictures in a specific picture order, and the motor-spatial task involved responding to 3 identical pictures in a specific spatial order. A principal component analysis including performance on all 4 tasks produced 2 components: “cognitive imitation” (cognitive and animal tasks) and “motor-spatial imitation” (motor-spatial and puzzle box tasks). Regression analyses replicated these results. These findings provide preliminary support for the hypothesis that underlying performance across these different tasks involves multiple—elemental—imitation mechanisms for learning and copying domain-specific information across tasks.     

The “New Big Five” from a personalistic point of view

McAdams and Pals (2006) “New Big Five” principles are contrasted with William Stern's conception of the person. It is criticized that the intra-individual organization of the person is not adequately addressed in the “New Big Five” approach: McAdams and Pals are shifting the issue of the idiosyncratic organization of the person to the level of a more or less coherent life narrative. The person tells or constructs a narrative, the person, however, is not the narrative.It is therefore suggested to complement and enrich the “New Big Five” with the three primary characteristics of the person as proposed by William Stern: unitas multiplex, purposefulness and individuality. In addition, Stern's concept of introception is suggested as a more integrated view of how the external world is internalized within the person. In concluding, the significance of Stern's critical personalism for an integrative science of personality in the 21^st century is highlighted.     

Family functioning and eating attitudes and behaviors in at-risk early adolescent girls: The mediating role of intra-personal competencies

The relation between perceived family functioning, intra-personal competence, and eating attitudes and behaviors was examined in a sample of at-risk, ethnically diverse, early adolescents. Both family functioning and intra-personal competencies were related to eating attitudes and behavior. However, adolescent intra-personal competence, defined as self-control, negative, and positive coping, mediated the relationship between family functioning and eating attitudes and behaviors. Results suggest that by early adolescence, important aspects of family environment have consolidated into individual differences in competence and/or personality. Results are discussed within a developmental framework emphasizing the influence of the family on adolescent psychosocial development. The implications of these data for prevention and intervention with at-risk adolescent girls are also discussed. This work was supported by the National Institute of Drug Abuse, NIH, under Grant DA 07031, to Thomas J. Dishion. Appreciation is expressed to the parents and adolescents who participated in this study, as well as the staff at the Project Alliance office in Portland.     

How to Argue about Solar Geoengineering

Should high-income countries engage in solar geoengineering research and possible deployment? On the assumption that the speed of the energy transition will be insufficient to abate catastrophic climate impacts, research into solar geoengineering begins to look like a technically and socially feasible route to mitigate such impacts. But on the assumption that a rapid and relatively just energy transition is still within the realm of political possibility, research into solar geoengineering looks more like an ideological tool designed to divert time and resources from less risky climate solutions. At the heart of debates over solar geoengineering, then, is disagreement over what political actors can be expected to do in the future. In this article, I argue that both objectors to and proponents of solar geoengineering research often make background assumptions regarding expected future actions that are either (a) inaccurate or (b) inconsistent. I propose an account of expected future actions that avoids these problems and sketch what the debate over solar geoengineering looks like with these assumptions in place.