The extended ramp model: A biomimetic model of behaviour arbitration for lightweight cognitive architectures

In this article, we present an idea for a more intuitive, low-cost, adjustable mechanism for behaviour control and management. One focus of current development in virtual agents, robotics and digital games is on increasingly complex and realistic systems that more accurately simulate intelligence found in nature. This development introduces a multitude of control parameters creating high computational costs. The resulting complexity limits the applicability of AI systems. One solution to this problem it to focus on smaller, more manageable, and flexible systems which can be simultaneously created, instantiated, and controlled. Here we introduce a biologically inspired systems-engineering approach for enriching behaviour arbitration with a low computational overhead. We focus on an easy way to control the maintenance, inhibition and alternation of high-level behaviours (goals) in cases where static priorities are undesirable. The models we consider here are biomimetic, based on neuro-cognitive research findings from dopaminic cells responsible for controlling goal switching and maintenance in the mammalian brain. The most promising model we find is applicable to selection problems with multiple conflicting goals. It utilizes a ramp function to control the execution and inhibition of behaviours more accurately than previous mechanisms, allowing an additional layer of control on existing behaviour prioritization systems.     

Whether highly curious students thrive academically depends on perceptions about the school learning environment: A study of Hong Kong adolescents

The present study tested whether the perceived academic values of a school moderate whether highly curious students thrive academically. We investigated the interactive effects of curiosity and school quality on academic success for 484 Hong Kong high school students. Chinese versions of the Curiosity and Exploration Inventory, Subjective Happiness Scale, and Rosenberg Self-Esteem scales were administered and shown to have acceptable measurement properties. We obtained Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) scores (national achievement tests) from participating schools. Results yielded Trait Curiosity × Perceived School Quality interactions in predicting HKCEE scores and school grades. Adolescents with greater trait curiosity in more challenging schools had the greatest academic success; adolescents with greater trait curiosity in less challenging schools had the least academic success. Findings were not attributable to subjective happiness or self-esteem and alternative models involving these positive attributes were not supported. Results suggest that the benefits of curiosity are activated by student beliefs that the school environment supports their values about growth and learning; these benefits can be disabled by perceived person-environment mismatches.

When curiosity killed regret: Avoiding or seeking the unknown in decision-making under uncertainty

In two experimental studies we investigated how curiosity and regret aversion affect decision-making under uncertainty. Building on insights derived from information-gap theory [Loewenstein, G. (1994). The psychology of curiosity: a review and reinterpretation. Psychological Bulletin, 116, 75-98], we demonstrate that curiosity may overcome regret aversion. In Experiment 1, we concentrate on the reluctance to opt for alternatives with uncertain outcomes and demonstrate that curiosity about the uncertain outcomes may override regret aversion. In Experiment 2, we focus on reluctance to expose oneself to potential regret-inducing information and demonstrate that curiosity may overcome this reluctance.     

The curiosity and exploration inventory-II: Development, factor structure, and psychometrics

Given curiosity’s fundamental role in motivation, learning, and well-being, we sought to refine the measurement of trait curiosity with an improved version of the Curiosity and Exploration Inventory (CEI; [Kashdan, T. B., Rose, P., & Fincham, F. D. (2004). Curiosity and exploration: Facilitating positive subjective experiences and personal growth opportunities. Journal of Personality Assessment, 82, 291–305]). A preliminary pool of 36 items was administered to 311 undergraduate students, who also completed measures of emotion, emotion regulation, personality, and well-being. Factor analyses indicated a two-factor model—motivation to seek out knowledge and new experiences (Stretching; five items) and a willingness to embrace the novel, uncertain, and unpredictable nature of everyday life (Embracing; five items). In two additional samples (ns = 150 and 119), we cross-validated this factor structure and provided initial evidence for construct validity. This includes positive correlations with personal growth, openness to experience, autonomy, purpose in life, self-acceptance, psychological flexibility, positive affect, and positive social relations, among others. Applying item response theory (IRT) to these samples (n = 578), we showed that the items have good discrimination and a desirable breadth of difficulty. The item information functions and test information function were centered near zero, indicating that the scale assesses the mid-range of the latent curiosity trait most reliably. The findings thus far provide good evidence for the psychometric properties of the 10-item CEI-II.     

“I Want to Know More!”: Children Are Sensitive to Explanation Quality When Exploring New Information

When someone encounters an explanation perceived as weak, this may lead to a feeling of deprivation or tension that can be resolved by engaging in additional learning. This study examined to what extent children respond to weak explanations by seeking additional learning opportunities. Seven‐ to ten‐year‐olds (N = 81) explored questions and explanations (circular or mechanistic) about 12 animals using a novel Android tablet application. After rating the quality of an initial explanation, children could request and receive additional information or return to the main menu to choose a new animal to explore. Consistent with past research, there were both developmental and IQ‐related differences in how children evaluated explanation quality. But across development, children were more likely to request additional information in response to circular explanations than mechanistic explanations. Importantly, children were also more likely to request additional information in direct response to explanations that they themselves had assigned low ratings, regardless of explanation type. In addition, there was significant variability in both children's explanation evaluation and their exploration, suggesting important directions for future research. The findings support the deprivation theory of curiosity and offer implications for education.     

Who self-initiates gratitude interventions in daily life? An examination of intentions,curiosity, depressive symptoms,and life satisfaction

Despite a variety of interventions to increase well-being, little is known about who is interested in and initiates exercises on their own. We explored individual differences that predict who is most likely to participate in a voluntary gratitude intervention. College students (n = 226) completed measures of curiosity, depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, and intentions to change their lifestyle. Afterwards, participants received a personalized invitation to take part in a web-based intervention to enhance their well-being (anonymous and strictly voluntary). Results suggested that 11.5% of participants started the gratitude intervention. Individuals endorsing strong intentions to change their lifestyle (+1 SD above mean) were 2.2 times more likely than their peers to start the gratitude intervention. People with greater trait curiosity endorsed greater intentions to start this intervention; people with greater depressive symptoms endorsed weaker intentions. Both curiosity and depressive symptoms indirectly influenced initiation of the gratitude intervention via intentions. These findings provide support for particular paths that lead to the initial behavioral effort towards healthy change. We discuss the implications for attempting to increase and sustain people’s well-being.     

Psychologie du frisson esthétique

This study concerns the problem of aesthetic emotions and that of aesthetic chills in particular. We asked thirty subjects to describe a narrative structure (film, play, book) eliciting chills and the phenomenology of the aesthetic experience. A number of non-random redundancies are observable. The stimuli eliciting positive aesthetic chills in our population have a sensorial dimension and their particular properties are often the selfless actions, existential considerations of a very general nature (e.g., the meaning of life), moments of inner recollection or quiet reflection, situations of solidarity and communion (family, couple, friends) or, on the contrary, situations of violent separation (family, couple, friends). In general, when real events are at stake (and not fictional scenes as in a film or a novel), subjects describe situations where they are safe, where they trust the environment.     

Curiosity and time: from not knowing to almost knowing

How does it feel to be curious? We reasoned that there are two sides to curiosity: not knowing something (i.e. information-gap) and almost knowing something (i.e. anticipation of resolution). In three experiments, we showed that time affects the relative impact of these two components: When people did not expect to close their information-gap soon (long time-to-resolution) not knowing affected the subjective experience of curiosity more strongly than when they expected to close their information-gap quickly (short time-to-resolution). As such, people experienced less positive affect, more discomfort, and more annoyance with lack of information in a long than a short time-to-resolution situation. Moreover, when time in the long time-to-resolution setting passed, the anticipation of the resolution became stronger, positive affect increased, and discomfort and annoyance with lack of information decreased. Time is thus a key factor in the experience of curiosity.     

Dynamics of the knowledge instinct: Effects of incoherence on the cognitive system

We successfully replicated a study about aesthetic emotions in a different socio-cultural environment. The present results suggest that incoherence is a strong inhibitor for aesthetic chills and verify a positive correlation between pleasure and meaning. These results allow for a scientific study of aesthetic emotions as it is now possible for the experimenter to have two groups of subjects, both exposed to the same stimulation, one group experiencing measurable aesthetic emotions whereas the other does not. We review the literature on the problem of both positive and negative psychogenic shivering and relate this phenomenon to the instinct of knowledge. We discuss the implications of our findings, stress the importance of studying the psychological and physiological effects of incoherence on the central nervous system, introduce a series of hypotheses to be tested in further research and conclude with a plausible explanation for the relation between temperature and cognition in humans.     

The paradox of Alypius and the pursuit of unwanted information

Prior work has found that people occasionally seek useless information, a violation of strict rationality. The present work examined whether and why curiosity can also cause individuals to seek predictably harmful information. In four studies, participants were given the opportunity to gain knowledge of questionable personal value. In each case, participants focused on their curiosity about the information and underweighted its consequences. As a result, participants tended to seek knowledge that they themselves believed they would be better off without. Consistent with Loewenstein’s [Loewenstein, G. (1996). Out of control: Visceral influences on behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 65, 272–292] analysis of visceral factors in decision making, these effects diminished with a time delay and when deciding whether to expose someone else to unpleasant information. These results shed light on a common yet paradoxical aspect of human behavior that presents a counterpoint to traditional hedonistic models of human motivation.