My Scholarly Life in Cybernetics

This article narrates how I discovered cybernetics, who inspired me to make the contributions of which I am proud, and the ideas that led me to recognize the importance of understanding the social world we live in as a consequence of what we do in language. It took me some time before I recognized that circular causality and digitalization that made cybernetics the driver of the current revolution toward a computationally autonomous information society had serious limitations. When used to explain human involvements, the mathematics of cybernetics trivializes what we do to each other and blinds us to recognize how cybernetics transformed society. Studying conversations and discourses made me aware of how cybernetic vocabularies, guiding concepts, and computational metaphors were enacted. By contrast to (first- or second-order) cybernetics, I learned that a cybernetics that is practiced in conversations and acknowledges the social consequences of what it generates had to be reflexive. Shifting attention from causal circularities to reflexive circularities opens up huge new areas for exploring socially meaningful contributions and criticizing the epistemologies of mindless discursive practices (e,g., of claiming the superiority of artificial intelligence and the power of computers). Such claims merely entrap their believers into inaction.     

An examination of the potential lingering effects of smartphone use on cognition

Smartphones might offer an extension of our own cognitive abilities, potentially preventing practice of certain forms of cognition. Our first study established that heavier usage of smartphones was negatively correlated with social problem solving and delayed gratification, as well as positively correlated with some aspects of critical thinking. Studies 2 and 3 involved experiments where participants were assigned to either a lower or higher smartphone usage group. In both experiments, higher usage of smartphones led only to a diminished ability to interpret and analyze the deeper meaning of information. However, Study 3 showed that, after a 4‐week interval, the difference in the ability to interpret and analyze meaning between lower and higher phone usage groups was no longer evident. The findings of this study suggest that, even in the rare cases where smartphones might alter cognition, this effect is likely transitory.     

Unity and diversity of executive functions in creativity

Increasing evidence suggests that executive functions (EFs) – a set of general-purpose control processes that regulate thoughts and behaviors – are relevant for creativity. However, EF is not a unitary process, and it remains unclear which specific EFs are involved. The present study examined the association between the three EFs, both uniquely (EF-Specific) and together (Common EF), and three measures of creativity. Participants (N = 47) completed a divergent thinking test, and self-reported their real-life creative accomplishments. A subset of participants indicated their involvement in the artistic or information technology (IT) professions. Results indicated that fluency (but not originality) of divergent thinking was uniquely predicted by working memory Updating. Better response Inhibition predicted higher number of real-world artistic creative achievements. Involvement in the artistic (versus IT) professions was associated with better Common EF, and with enhanced mental set Shifting abilities. Results demonstrate that different EFs predict creativity depending on its operational definition.     

Fostering learner autonomy and critical reflection through digital video-journals in a university foreign language course

Many studies have documented the benefits of incorporating reflective journals into foreign language education at university level, though the pedagogic tendency has been to utilise these valuable learning resources to enhance students’ written language skills. This study focuses on how the production of a digital reflective journal in video format can assist in the improvement of oral language abilities in tertiary students of Spanish as a foreign language. With spoken language as the driving vehicle for this assessment task, the course coordinator and educator in charge aimed to promote the development of learner autonomy and self-reflection. In addition, to foster students’ agency in this process, the task incorporated the use of modern digital technologies, which are part of the repertoire of communication channels used by today’s university language learners. Findings suggest that completing this self-reflection assessment task afforded creative teaching and learning experiences, and generated opportunities for learners to improve critical thinking skills, written language proficiency and oral communication. It also heightened their motivation to engage with language-related cultural knowledge, and minimised feelings of anxiety towards communicating verbally in a foreign language.     

Moving beyond reflection in a hall of mirrors: developing critical reflective capacity in teachers and teacher educators

Using reflection to merely affirm existing beliefs rather than engaging in confrontation and examination of beliefs is like reflecting in a hall of mirrors. This study explores the process of critical reflective development of practicing teachers through program reflections written to prompts during master’s-level coursework, seeking to understand: How does critical reflective capacity develop and change in practicing teachers enrolled in advanced coursework in an M.Ed. program? Researchers used a three-level reflective practice pyramid as a frame for examining teachers’ reflective writings. Specifically, 103 reflections from 26 PK-12 teachers were available for analysis. Where finding a clear trajectory in teacher’s reflective development was an anticipated outcome in which teachers would progress from the technical to contextual to dialectical levels of reflection, findings did not indicate such linear development for most teachers. As faculty analyzed the data, they engaged in critical reflection, also questioning purposes and program outcomes. This paper reports on both our study’s findings in response to the research question and on the results of faculty reflective engagement. Results reinforce the understanding that reflection is an individual journey for teachers and faculty alike; results also highlight the importance for engagement in critical reflection for both teachers and teacher educators.     

父母教养方式对初中生创造思维的影响:自我概念的中介作用*

采用父母教养方式评价量表、田纳西自我概念量表和托兰斯创造性思维测验(中文版),测量了429名初中生的父母教养方式、自我概念与创造思维,并对其关系进行考察。结果发现:(1)父亲温暖、理解显著正向预测初中生的创造思维,父亲惩罚、严厉显著负向预测初中生的创造思维,母亲教养方式与之呈现出相似的预测模式;(2)自我概念在父亲惩罚、严厉与独创性间起中介作用;(3)在自我概念的三个维度中,只有自我认同在父母温暖、理解/父母惩罚、严厉与创造思维间起中介作用。作者着重探讨了父母惩罚、严厉,自我概念与创造思维的关系以及对父母教养子女的启示。     

动态信息呈现对问题发现的影响研究

在多轮次动态和一次性静态两种呈现方式下,采用出声思维研究20名大学生潜藏与矛盾情境的问题发现特点。研究表明:(1)动态呈现促进被试更全面加工信息,发现问题数量和变通性优于静态呈现,但也阻断信息间的关联,不利于发现跨区问题。(2)动态呈现下,问题均匀分布在每个区域并按轮次先后顺序出现,静态呈现与此相反。(3)被试在新信息呈现后发现的问题分全新、改变方向、改变程度、一致性和联系性五类,潜藏情境中问题与先前信息关联更多。(4)被试对新信息影响做出积极评价。     

The Application of Cortical Arousal Assessment to Control Neuromuscular Fatigue During Strength Training

The author's aim was to analyze the cortical arousal response during a conventional strength training session as a method to assess central nervous system fatigue. Sixteen trained men were recruited to perform the maximum number of training series composed of 6 exercises of 10 repetition each, at the intensity of 70% of the 1 maximum repetition, with a rest period of 2 min between exercises and 5 min between series, until exhaustion. Cortical arousal was measured using the critical flicker fusion threshold before, after warm-up, after each exercises series, after the recovery phase between series, and 15 min and 30 min after finishing the training session. Participants could not finish the fourth series of exercise, corresponding with a significant decrease of cortical arousal respect to the warm-up value. The assessment of cortical arousal using CFFT during a strength training session could be a fast and efficient method for assessing central nervous fatigue. Practically, coaches could modify the training protocol according to the individual cortical arousal response in order to improve training efficiency and prevent injuries.     

Real‐World Correlates of Performance on Heuristics and Biases Tasks in a Community Sample

In the current study, we sought to examine whether performance on several heuristics and biases tasks and thinking dispositions was associated with real‐life correlates in a community sample of adults. We examined performance on five heuristics and biases tasks (ratio bias, belief bias in syllogistic reasoning, cognitive reflection, probabilistic and statistical reasoning, and rational temporal discounting), three thinking dispositions (actively open‐minded thinking, future orientation, and avoidance of superstitious thinking), and a questionnaire assessing real‐world correlates in several domains (substance use, driving behavior, financial behavior, gambling behavior, electronic media use, and secure computing). Our heuristics and biases tasks and thinking disposition measures were modestly associated with several real‐world outcomes, including the domains of secure computing, financial behaviors, and the total scores. That is, better performance on the heuristics and biases measures was associated with fewer negative outcomes. We found that the associations were generally higher in males than in females. Heuristics and biases performance and thinking dispositions were unique predictors of real‐world outcomes after statistically controlling for educational attainment and sex differences. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Contribution of past and future self-defining event networks to personal identity

Personal identity is nourished by memories of significant past experiences and by the imagination of meaningful events that one anticipates to happen in the future. The organisation of such self-defining memories and prospective thoughts in the cognitive system has received little empirical attention, however. In the present study, our aims were to investigate to what extent self-defining memories and future projections are organised in networks of related events, and to determine the nature of the connections linking these events. Our results reveal the existence of self-defining event networks, composed of both memories and future events of similar centrality for identity and characterised by similar identity motives. These self-defining networks expressed a strong internal coherence and frequently organised events in meaningful themes and sequences (i.e., event clusters). Finally, we found that the satisfaction of identity motives in represented events and the presence of clustering across events both contributed to increase in the perceived centrality of events for the sense of identity. Overall, these findings suggest that personal identity is not only nourished by representations of significant past and future events, but also depends on the formation of coherent networks of related events that provide an overarching meaning to specific life experiences.