Simulation, projection and empathy

Simulationists have recently started to employ the term “empathy” when characterizing our most basic understanding of other minds. I agree that empathy is crucial, but I think it is being misconstrued by the simulationists. Using some ideas to be found in Scheler’s classical discussion of empathy, I will argue for a different understanding of the notion. More specifically, I will argue that there are basic levels of interpersonal understanding—in particular the understanding of emotional expressions—that are not explicable in terms of simulation-plus-projection routines.     

Parametric induction of animacy experience

Graphical displays of simple moving geometrical figures have been repeatedly used to study the attribution of animacy in human observers. Yet little is known about the relevant movement characteristics responsible for this experience. The present study introduces a novel parametric research paradigm, which allows for the experimental control of specific motion parameters and a predictable influence on the attribution of animacy. Two experiments were conducted using 3D computer animations of one or two objects systematically introducing variations in the following aspects of motion: directionality, discontinuity and responsiveness. Both experiments further varied temporal kinematics. Results showed that animacy experience increased with the time a moving object paused in the vicinity of a second object and with increasing complexity of interaction between the objects (approach and responsiveness). The experience of animacy could be successfully modulated in a parametric fashion by the systematic variation of comparably simple differential movement characteristics.     

The Psychosocial Vulnerability Model of Hostility as a Predictor of Coronary Heart Disease in Low-income African Americans

The current study examined social support and stress as mediators of the hostility—coronary heart disease (CHD) relationship as suggested by the psychosocial vulnerability model in a sample of low-income African Americans. Among 95 CHD patients and 30 healthy controls, hostility was negatively correlated with social support, but was not related to minor stress. CHD patients endorsed higher levels of hostility; however, the relationship between hostility and CHD status was diminished once stress and social support were included in the model. This study lends partial support for the psychosocial vulnerability model of hostility in African Americans, but suggests that the relationship between hostility and stress may be impacted by socioeconomic status.     

Rigidity in social and emotional memory in the R6/2 mouse model of Huntington's disease

Four experiments were conducted to examine social and emotional memory in the R6/2 transgenic mouse model of Huntington’s disease. First, R6/2 mice were tested in a social transmission of food preference task where they had to acquire a preference for a flavoured food (acquisition) and subsequently to learn a preference for a different flavour (shifted reinforcement). R6/2 mice performed well in the acquisition trial. However, they were impaired in the shifted reinforcement trial and perseverated on the first preference learned. Second, mice were trained in an inhibitory avoidance paradigm, with either one or two footshocks delivered during the training. WT mice given one footshock showed retention levels lower than those of mice trained with two footshocks. By contrast, there was no difference in retention levels of R6/2 mice given either one or two footshocks. Third, mice were tested in an active avoidance task that paired a mild footshock with a warning light. R6/2 mice had a strong age-dependent deficit in this task. Finally, mice were tested in a conditioned taste aversion task that paired a saccharine solution with a nausea-inducing agent (LiCl). R6/2 mice displayed normal aversion, however this was not extinguished following repeated exposure to saccharine solution alone. Our data show that while R6/2 mice have functional hippocampus-based memory, they have deficits in striatum-based memory skills. Further, social and emotional memories appear to be encoded in a rigid way that is not influenced by subsequent learning or by arousal levels.     

Engineering with Uncertainty: Monitoring Air Bag Performance

Modern engineering is complicated by an enormous number of uncertainties. Engineers know a great deal about the material world and how it works. But due to the inherent limits of testing and the complexities of the world outside the lab, engineers will never be able to fully predict how their creations will behave. One way the uncertainties of engineering can be dealt with is by actively monitoring technologies once they have left the development and production stage. This article uses an episode in the history of automobile air bags as an example of engineers who had the foresight and initiative to carefully track the technology on the road to discover problems as early as possible. Not only can monitoring help engineers identify problems that surface in the field, it can also assist them in their efforts to mobilize resources to resolve problem.     

Social presence in online discussion groups: testing three conceptions and their relations to perceived learning

The correlation between three conceptions of social presence (seen as 1. a subjective quality of a medium that determines the quality of the communication and perception of others, 2. self-projection onto the group, and 3. identification with the group) and different aspects of perceived learning in online discussion groups were tested. Six hundreds and fifty nine students completed a web-based questionnaire that was distributed via 50 course Websites. Self projection, perception of others and identification with the group correlated positively with each other. They also correlated positively with most aspects of perceived learning. The subjective quality of the medium did not correlate with these conceptions and also did not correlate with any aspects of perceived learning. Thus, social presence may afford learning by setting a convenient climate. Alternatively, it may contribute only to the socioemotional source of perceived learning while leaving cognitive source unaffected.

Self,Sin, and the Sacred: Some Elements of a Select Psychology for the Care of Souls

Many pastors feel that their work in the secular sphere can best be described as an exploration of the meaning of life: as spiritual care. However, the idea that it is possible and easy to find such a thing as “the meaning of life,” as well as the concurrent idea that this meaning will help to make life more agreeable, should not be taken for granted but, rather, should be considered to be open for further exploration. To get a better understanding of the difference between spiritual care and the care of souls, I will discuss three central themes in any pastoral practice: sin, sense, and sorrow, together with three related constructs: soul, self, and the sacred. My exposition will result in a plea for revaluing two traditional but ever relevant modes of religious leadership: the modes of shepherd and teacher, of tutor and theologian, which are performed either in the context of the church or the secular institutional environment.     

Well-being and Spirituality from a Korean Perspective: Based on the Study of Culture and Subjective Well-being

Criteria for well-being and spirituality are culturally bound. In this article, therefore, the notions of well-being and spirituality were reconsidered from a Korean perspective. Two major conceptual approaches that pertain to “subjective well-being” research in social psychology provide the methodological framework for this study. While “bottom-up” approaches focus on how external events and situations influence happiness, “top-down” approaches center on diverse variables within an individual and his or her culture. Noting the cultural differences between American and Korean self-construals (i.e., independence vs. interdependence), the author argues that Koreans need to construct “top-down” approaches to both well-being and spirituality. Reviewing Robert Emmon’s concept of “spiritual intelligence,” the author also suggests an integrative model for spirituality and well-being in Korea.     

How do guide dogs of blind owners and pet dogs of sighted owners (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Canis familiaris</Emphasis>) ask their owners for food?

Although there are some indications that dogs (Canis familiaris) use the eyes of humans as a cue during human-dog interactions, the exact conditions under which this holds true are unclear. Analysing whether the interactive modalities of guide dogs and pet dogs differ when they interact with their blind, and sighted owners, respectively, is one way to tackle this problem; more specifically, it allows examining the effect of the visual status of the owner. The interactive behaviours of dogs were recorded when the dogs were prevented from accessing food that they had previously learned to access. A novel audible behaviour was observed: dogs licked their mouths sonorously. Data analyses showed that the guide dogs performed this behaviour longer and more frequently than the pet dogs; seven of the nine guide dogs and two of the nine pet dogs displayed this behaviour. However, gazing at the container where the food was and gazing at the owner (with or without sonorous mouth licking), gaze alternation between the container and the owner, vocalisation and contact with the owner did not differ between groups. Together, the results suggest that there is no overall distinction between guide and pet dogs in exploratory, learning and motivational behaviours and in their understanding of their owner's attentional state, i.e. guide dogs do not understand that their owner cannot see (them). However, results show that guide dogs are subject to incidental learning and suggest that they supplemented their way to trigger their owners' attention with a new distal cue.