Integration of psychological models in the design of artificial creatures

Artificial creatures form an increasingly important component of interactive computer games. Examples of such creatures exist which can interact with each other and the game player and learn from their experiences. However, we argue, the design of the underlying architecture and algorithms has to a large extent overlooked knowledge from psychology and cognitive sciences. We explore the integration of observations from studies of motivational systems and emotional behaviour into the design of artificial creatures. An initial implementation of our ideas using the “sim agent” toolkit illustrates that physiological models can be used as the basis for creatures with animal like behaviour attributes. The current aim of this research is to increase the “realism” of artificial creatures in interactive game-play, but it may have wider implications for the development of AI

A bibliometric study of the research area of videogames using Dimensions.ai database

Videogames are a very interesting area of research for fields as diverse as computer science, health, psychology or even social sciences. Every year a growing number of articles are published in different topics inside this field, so it is very convenient to study the different bibliometric data in order to consolidate the research efforts. Thus, the aim of this work is to conduct a study on the distribution of articles related to videogames in the different fields of research, as well as to measure their interest over time, to identify the sources, countries and authors with the highest scientific production. In order to carry out this analysis, the information system Dimensions.ai has been considered, since it covers a large number of documents and allows for easy downloading and analysis of datasets. According to the study, three countries are the most prolific in this area: USA, Canada and UK. The obtained results also indicate that the fields with the highest number of publications are Information and Computer Sciences, Medical and Health Sciences, and Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, in this order. With regard to the impact of the publications, differences between the number of citations, and the number of Altmetric Attention Score, have been found

Argument from Consciousness

Consciousness is one of the most complex phenomena of the world. As philosophy of mind, together with psychology and cognitive sciences, developed, consciousness was seriously studied in the twentieth century. Many attempts have been made to explain the nature of this mysterious phenomenon and the way in which it has come into being; as a result, different theories have been offered about it. In this paper, a variety of naturalistic theories of consciousness have been considered, and their weakness has been shown

Fooling the eyes: the influence of a sound-induced visual motion illusion on eye movements

The question of whether perceptual illusions influence eye movements is critical for the long-standing debate regarding the separation between action and perception. To test the role of auditory context on a visual illusion and on eye movements, we took advantage of the fact that the presence of an auditory cue can successfully modulate illusory motion perception of an otherwise static flickering object (sound-induced visual motion effect). We found that illusory motion perception modulated by an auditory context consistently affected saccadic eye movements. Specifically, the landing positions of saccades performed towards flickering static bars in the periphery were biased in the direction of illusory motion. Moreover, the magnitude of this bias was strongly correlated with the effect size of the perceptual illusion. These results show that both an audio-visual and a purely visual illusion can significantly affect visuo-motor behavior. Our findings are consistent with arguments for a tight link between perception and action in localization tasks

Ecological motivation of color in urban coloristics

The article analyses the key ideas and basic concepts of ecological theories of urban coloristics, the authors of which believe that the color identity of a city should be the result of an evolutionary process and be formed on the basis of local shades, which are characteristic of individual settlements and conditioned by geography and climate, natural environment and lighting conditions. The article reviews the stages and principles of the methodology of chromatic analysis of place proposed by J. Brino and J.-Ph. Lenclos. It also discusses the links between ecological theories of color in urban environment design and ecological theories formed in linguistics, psychology and cognitive sciences

Neural Empathic Response in Drug-Addicted Mothers.

Several studies showed that a history of substance abuse can compromise mothers\u2019 competences of caring for their children (i.e., parenting). Indeed, it has been shown that neural circuits associated with parental behavior overlap with circuitry involved in addiction; in this vein, substance abuse may subtract neural resources for parenting. According to the neurocognitive model, empathy is the ability of sharing and understanding others\u2019 emotional states. At a neural level, these two aspects result to be dissociable at an either functional and temporal level. Empathy is a fundamental element of parental abilities as it allows to response properly to children\u2019s needs. Empathy deficits might explain the failure reported by drug addicted mothers in caring for their children. In the present study, we monitored event-related potentials (ERPs) during a pain decision task, which is classically used to activate an empathic response, with the aim to track the time-course of neural activity of mothers with (i.e., clinical) and without history of drug addiction (i.e., control group). Stimuli were pictures of adults\u2019 and children\u2019s hand depicted with a harmful tool either hurting the hand or placed nearby. At a behavioral level, drug addicted mothers showed a reduced reactivity to pain when compared to the control group. This difference has been corroborated at a neural level by ERPs results, starting from an early time-window. The neural reaction to pain in the control group correlated with some self-report scales of empathy, reinforcing the idea that the clinical group might report a lack of empathy when compared to a control group. These results are discussed in light of the two components of empathy proposed by the neurocognitive model

Relational autonomy in breast diseases care: A qualitative study of contextual and social conditions of patients' capacity for decision-making 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences 1701 Psychology

Background: A relational approach to autonomy refers to the way in which social conditions and relationships shape a person's self-identity and capacity in decision-making. This article provides an empirical account of how treatment choices for women undergoing breast diseases care are fostered within the dynamics of their relationships with clinicians, family members, and other aspects of their social environment. Methods: This qualitative study recruited ten women undergoing treatment at a breast programme, and eight clinicians supporting their care, in a private teaching hospital in New South Wales, Australia. Fourteen patient-clinician consultation observations and 17 semi-structured interviews were conducted. Schema analysis of interview transcripts were undertaken by a team of researchers and corroborated by observational fieldnotes. Results: Relational identities of patients influenced the rationale for treatment decision-making. Patients drew on supportive resources from family and medical advice from clinicians to progress with treatment goals. While clinicians held much social power over patients as the medical experts, patients highlighted the need for clinicians to earn their trust through demonstrated professionalism. Information exchange created a communicative space for clinicians and patients to negotiate shared values, promoting greater patient ownership of treatment decisions. As treatment progressed, patients' personal experiences of illness and treatment became a source of self-reflection, with a transformative impact on self-confidence and assertiveness. Conclusion: Patients' confidence and self-trust can be fostered by opportunities for communicative engagement and self-reflection over the course of treatment in breast disease, and better integration of their self-identity and social values in treatment decisions

Clear Advantages to Studying Abroad: So Why Aren’t Students Enrolling?

Today’s employers are looking for graduates who possess technical skills, work effectively in teams, think critically and communicate effectively, especially across cultures in addition to other qualities. One of the most important skills a person needs in order to be successful in today’s global economy is understanding and working with different cultures. To begin to understand cultural differences, it is important to have cultural training and to experience another culture in that particular country. One of the best ways for students to experience another culture is to take part in a study abroad course and to immerse themselves in another country’s traditions and customs. The Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Fellowship Study Abroad Program Report concluded, “What nations don’t know can hurt them. The stakes involved in study abroad are that simple, that straightforward, and that important. For their own future and that of the nation, college graduates today must be internationally competent.” 5 Not only should graduates be internationally competent, research indicates links between studying abroad and improved graduation rates, as well as employability. 13 While the total number of students in the US studying abroad is still relatively low, at approximately 10% of the total student population, this number is actually at all-time high, which also takes into count students at community colleges. Another study, Gaining an Employment Edge: The Impact of Study Abroad on 21st Century Skills and Career Perspectives, indicated that with “study abroad there was a positive impact on the development of a wide range of the 21st century skills, expands career possibilities, and has a long-term impact on career progression and promotion.” 14 Currently, at the author’s institution 9% of the total enrollment studies abroad. This number is close to the national average of 10%, however, in the School of Engineering and Technology only 1.8% of the total student population currently studies abroad. Why are the national numbers so low and even much lower in Engineering and Technology? This paper will explore what employers are looking for in graduates, how can study abroad help students achieve success, and the benefits of studying abroad for both the employer and the student. The paper will look at some reasons why students might not take advantage of study abroad programs and what can be done to change the attitudes of faculty and students on the value of studying abroad to increase the preparedness of students for a career in the 21st Centur