Developing Concepts of Authenticity: Insights From Parents’ and Children’s Conversations About Historical Significance The present study investigated children’s understanding that an object’s history may increase its significance, an appreciation that underpins the concept of historical authenticity (i.e., the idea that an item’s history determines its true identity, beyond its functional or material qualities, leading people to value real items over copies or fakes). We examined the development of historical significance through the lens of parent–child conversations, and children’s performance on an authenticity assessment. The final sample was American, 79.2% monoracial White, and mid-high socio-economic status (SES) and included 48 parent–child pairs: 24 with younger children (R = 3.5 to 4.5 years) and 24 with older children (R = 5.5 to 6.5 years). Parent–child pairs discussed three books we created, with three storylines: a museum (culturally authentic) storyline, a clean-up (personally authentic) storyline, and a control storyline. Across measures, conversations suggested that authenticity may begin as a “placeholder concept” that is initially rooted in a broad appreciation for the significance of old objects and only later filled in with specifics. This placeholder initially directs children’s learning about authenticity by linking, in an unspecified way, the value and significance of objects to their past. For example, we found that young children appropriately appealed to history (vs. perceptual or functional features of objects) in contexts regarding authentic objects but struggled in determining which objects were more significant on the post-test assessment, suggesting that they attend to object history but are not yet sure how histories matter for making authenticity judgments. We also found some evidence that directing children’s attention toward conceptual information related to object history may in turn direct them away from material or perceptual considerations, as seen in trade-offs in parents’ and children’s conversations. Together, this exploratory report offers many new avenues for work on the development of authenticity concepts in childhood.
Representing and solving spatial problems Everyday life unfolds in both space and time, with our spatial experiences playing a central role in our interactions with the world. To grasp human cognition, it s essential to understand how we perceive spatial relationships and tackle spatio-temporal challenges. Over the past few decades, research in spatial cognition has made significant strides, particularly in developing computational methods for knowledge representation and reasoning. This special issue explores various approaches to formalizing, implementing, and automating solutions for spatial problems. In this introduction, we provide a current literature review to contextualize the three contributions featured in this issue.
Brain encoding during perceived control as a prospective predictor of improvement in quality of life Perceived control is strongly related to mental health and well-being. Specifically, lack of perceived control has been associated with learned helplessness and stress-related disorders, such as depression and anxiety. However, it is unknown whether brain activation to control and its protective effect against stress can predict changes in quality of life. To address this gap, we examined the neural underpinning of controllability in healthy females (N=40) performing the Value of Control task in an fMRI scanner. Quality of life and perceived stress were assessed at baseline and 6-month follow-up. Increased brain activation for control was found within the putamen, insula, thalamus, mid-cingulate, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, motor cortex, and cerebellum. In contrast, increased brain activation for lack of control was found within the posterior cingulate and prefrontal cortices. In an exploratory analysis, an elastic-net algorithm was used to identify brain predictors of quality of life 6 months later. The right putamen’s activation to control was selected as the best prospective predictor of improvement in life enjoyment and satisfaction and this association was mediated by changes in perceived stress. Our findings suggest that neural responsiveness to control may have utility as a potential marker of quality of life and resilience to adversity.
Experiential, perceptual, and cognitive individual differences in the development of declarative and automatized phonological vocabulary knowledge The present study explores the influence of individual differences in experience, perceptual acuity, and working memory on the development of both declarative and automatized aspects of L2 phonological vocabulary knowledge. A total of 486 Japanese English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) students took part in two vocabulary tests designed to measure declarative (meaning recognition) and automatized knowledge (lexicosemantic judgement task). Their performance was tied to the quantity and quality of their EFL experience, as well as their scores in auditory processing and working memory. While several significant, modest correlations between experience, aptitude, and vocabulary outcomes were observed, certain predictor variables were uniquely associated with either declarative or automatized vocabulary performance. Specifically, individuals with more extensive, typically language-focused EFL training and greater working memory demonstrated higher levels of declarative knowledge. Conversely, those who pursued extracurricular practice outside the classroom – exposing themselves to auditory materials and/or participating in study-abroad experiences – showed a more automatic execution of vocabulary knowledge.
Eye-Movement Markers of Mind-Wandering during Reading: A Meta-Analysis Mind-wandering during reading has been extensively investigated, with multiple studies reporting differences in eye-movement behavior between mind-wandering and on-task reading. However, eye-movement indicators of mind-wandering during reading have not yet been clearly identified. This article presents results from two studies. Firstly, we carried out a meta-analysis to identify eye movement indicators of mind-wandering during reading. From the initial search, abstracts from 140 articles were reviewed for eligibility, and 39 articles were included for full text reading and data extraction. Finally, we identified 16 individual datasets from 19 articles for which we could compute effect sizes. We calculated effect sizes for 9 eye-movement measures: mean fixation duration, fixations count, first-fixation duration, gaze duration, total reading time, saccade length, skipping, blink count, and inter-word regressions. The results indicated that readers skipped more words and made fewer fixations during mind-wandering compared to on-task reading. Following these results, we carried out exploratory analyses with a dataset from our own lab to examine other possible explanations for this eye-movement pattern. Specifically, we investigated readers’ sensitivity to word frequency and length and readers’ use of corrective regressions. Results indicated that readers show reduced effects of word length and frequency on skipping behavior as well as a reduced use of corrective regressions during mind-wandering compared to on-task reading. Results and implications from both studies are discussed in the context of mind-wandering and reading research.
A whole-brain model of the aging brain during slow wave sleep Age-related brain changes affect sleep and are reflected in properties of sleep slow-waves, however the precise mechanisms behind these changes are still not completely understood. Here, we adapt a previously established whole-brain model relating structural connectivity changes to resting state dynamics, and extend it to a slow-wave sleep brain state. In particular, starting from a representative connectome at the beginning of the aging trajectory, we have gradually reduced the inter-hemispheric connections, and simulated sleep-like slow-wave activity. We show that the main empirically observed trends, namely a decrease in duration and increase in variability of the slow waves are captured by the model. Furthermore, comparing the simulated EEG activity to the source signals, we suggest that the empirically observed decrease in amplitude of the slow waves is caused by the decrease in synchrony between brain regions.
The Case Against Medium Independence The Physical Signature of Computation builds on previous publications by Gualtiero Piccinini that have shaped the debate over the nature of information processing in the brain. I will focus on this topic, the subject of Chapter 9, and discuss how PSC inherits some of the flaws embedded in the earlier work, especially the assumption that the majority of signaling in the brain is medium independent. In a comment on Piccinini’s previous book, Neurocognitive Mechanisms, I stated the empirical case that signaling in the brain,[1] including spiking, is dominantly medium dependent (Chirimuuta 2022). PSC does not, unfortunately, take the weight of this empirical evidence on board. But rather than repeating myself I would here like to state an in principle case as to why neural signaling is not medium independent.
Digital computation is the paradigmatic medium independent form of computation:
“The rules defining digital computations are defined in terms of strings of digits and internal states of the system, which are simply states that the physical system can distinguish from one another. No further physical properties of a physical medium are relevant to whether they implement digital computations. Thus, digital computations can be implemented by any physical medium with the right degrees of freedom” (Piccinini 2015, 123)
PEL 353: Reid on Visual Knowledge (Part One) We’re continuing from ep. 352 on Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense (1764), now discussing ch. 6: “Of Seeing.”
The moral of Reid’s previous treatment of the other senses was that the sensations that a perceived object causes in us do not resemble that thing. The physical rose and its odor have very little in common, and it’s only because they are generally present together that think that that particular sort of odor is the odor of that kind of object.
But what about sight? In this case, the visual sensation we get of an object actually does resemble it as a picture resembles the object depicted. This is entirely what fooled other philosophers into thinking seeing the general relation between idea and object as one of resemblance (i.e. the image is a degraded copy of the physical original), which Reid argued had several counter-intuitive consequences ultimately leading to Humean skepticism about our ability to know mind-independent objects at all.
However, on closer attention to our visual experience, which Reid invites us to engage in, we see that our visual sensations, e.g. of shape, are still quite different than the shapes out in the world (which we could detect by touch). Only a painter typically has the patience to focus on sensations alone to be able to reproduce these on a canvas, instead of just using the image to take our minds straight to an object (like a signifier takes us to the signified).
Love Dishonored in Euripides’ “Medea” (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) Known for casting mythical heroes in human proportions, Eurpides has his hands full with Medea—homocidal sorcerous, granddaughter of the sun, and a woman who does not take betrayal lightly. Nevertheless, the poet is able to capture the agony of someone who has given up everything for love—family, home, and homeland—only to find her passion disregarded, and her sacrifices unappreciated, by a man who robotically puts practicality above all else. But can we sympathize with a woman who would kill her own children, just for spite? Wes & Erin discuss Ancient Greece’s most notorious battle of the sexes, and Euripides’ rumination on the question of whether the Athenian ideals of rationality and moderation sufficiently honor the instinctual side of human nature.