Study of young infants as social beings

In theories of development, an important but controversial question is whether or not young infants are social beings. For example, it is often argued that, while infants may appear to interact with adults, this is a mistaken impression until such a time as they have fulfilled certain theoretically defined criteria for sociability. The aims of this study were first, empirically to evaluate arguments for and against the view that infants have an EtXel,i sensitivity to other persons, and secondly, if such a sensitivity were found, to discover how it develops during the first six months of life. Both an experiment and detailed naturalistic observations were made to answer the first question. The experiment produced preliminary evidence that the behaviour of two- month -olds is consistently different with persons and with graspable objects. This finding was supported by fine -grain analysis of a filmed interaction between a two -month -old and her mother which produced conclusive evidence that young infants are sensitive not only to the form of others' actions but to the social significance of their actions, insofar as those actions affect the infant's immediate interests. Subsequent observations and experiments were made to find how social sensitivity or 'intersubjectivity' develops during the first six months of life. These involved comparisons between infants' behaviour when interacting with their mother, with strangers and with novel and familiar face -masks. Behaviour was recorded on video-tape for approximately four minutes in each condition, twice a month, between six and twenty -eight weeks of age. Findings showed that there is a peak of social interest between six and ten weeks of age which is followed by a decline. This decline was due to a general increase in infants' ability to take active control of their surroundings - typified by their increased interest in objects and in playing interpersonal games (as opposed to participating in 'conversational' adult-infant exchanges). Associated with this decline of interest was increased 'negativity' during interactions with the mother and with other stimuli (i.e. actions of refusing or shutting out contact with other entities). Twelve examples of negativity are described in detail. The thesis also includes a theoretical contribution to Lacan's and Winnicott's notion of 'mirroring', based on the analysis of maternal babytalk. This suggests that mirroring is not simply a social phenomenon but is also an ideological phenomenon and constitutes, therefore, a complex and salient form of social influence during early infancy. The thesis concludes with a Spinozan argument that, notwithstanding their innate sensitivity to other persons, the development of infants as persons should be viewed as a more all- embracing process than is usually connoted by the phrase 'social development'; namely, as just one expression of the essential process by which humans increase their power of self - determination

Humour is a laughing matter : the existential humour of Saki, Life of Brian and The Hitchhiker´s guide to the Galaxy

Humour is a complex, multifaceted phenomenon, the nature of which has eluded authors from Classical Antiquity to contemporary modernity. This dissertation explores some of the most important writings on humour to date, in an attempt to provide a well-rounded, critical approach to its most relevant characteristics, such as its relation to play, incongruity, relief, and superiority. These characteristics, and in particular the fact that humour seems to be deeply embedded in the tragic existential aspects of the human condition, then form the theoretical backbone of the subsequent analysis of three short stories by Saki, Monty Python’s Life of Brian and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, mostly through a practice of close reading. Each of these works, it is argued, reveal a particular outlook on the human condition through the exploration of its inherent incongruities – both on a social and individual level. They are also shown to, in the face of tragedy, encourage the adoption of a detached perspective that derives enjoyment from these incongruities, in what ultimately seems to be a life-affirming practice that seeks solace in the bleakest aspects of our existence. Keywords: Humour, Incongruity, Existential, Relief, Superiority, Saki, Monty Python, Douglas Adams, Laughter.O humor é um fenómeno complexo e multifacetado cuja natureza tem vindo a iludir pensadores desde a Antiguidade Clássica até à modernidade. Esta dissertação explora alguns dos escritos mais imporantes sobre humor, numa tentativa de providenciar uma análise crítica e completa das suas características mais relevantes, como a sua relação com “o lúdico”, a incongruência, o alívio e a superioridade. Estas características, e em particular o facto do humor parecer estar tão profundamente enraízado nos aspectos trágicos da condição humana, informam a análise subsequente de três contos de Saki (Hector Hugh Munro), d’A Vida de Brian, dos Monty Python, e d’À Boleia Pela Galáxia de Douglas Adams, análise essa que é feita maioritariamente através de uma prática de close reading. Nesta dissertação argumenta-se que cada uma destas obras revela uma visão específica da condição humana através da exploração das incongruências que lhe são inerentes – tanto a nível social como individual. Argumenta-se também que, face à tragédia, encorajam a adopção de uma perspectiva que retire prazer destas incongruências, no que acaba por ser uma prática que procura consolo nos aspectos mais sombrios da existência. Keywords: Humor, Incongruência, Existentialismo, Alívio, Superioridade, Saki, Monty Python, Douglas Adams, Riso

On the Recognition of Emotion from Physiological Data

This work encompasses several objectives, but is primarily concerned with an experiment where 33 participants were shown 32 slides in order to create ‗weakly induced emotions‘. Recordings of the participants‘ physiological state were taken as well as a self report of their emotional state. We then used an assortment of classifiers to predict emotional state from the recorded physiological signals, a process known as Physiological Pattern Recognition (PPR). We investigated techniques for recording, processing and extracting features from six different physiological signals: Electrocardiogram (ECG), Blood Volume Pulse (BVP), Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), Electromyography (EMG), for the corrugator muscle, skin temperature for the finger and respiratory rate. Improvements to the state of PPR emotion detection were made by allowing for 9 different weakly induced emotional states to be detected at nearly 65% accuracy. This is an improvement in the number of states readily detectable. The work presents many investigations into numerical feature extraction from physiological signals and has a chapter dedicated to collating and trialing facial electromyography techniques. There is also a hardware device we created to collect participant self reported emotional states which showed several improvements to experimental procedure

Despotic mirth : laughter, gender and power in the novels of Charlotte Brontë

PhDThis thesis contends that while Charlotte Brontë’s novels are not typically associated with humour, they are nonetheless centrally concerned with the politics of laughter. I investigate Brontë’s serious and sustained use of laughter imagery to challenge cultural constructions of femininity and subvert the gendering of rationality and emotion. In doing so I highlight how laughter’s capacity to tyrannise or marginalise underpins her disquiet about men’s abuse of power, and shapes her concern with the experience of the social outsider. Situating historical theories of humour and satire alongside those of physiognomy, physiology and mental health, my research revises current ideas both about the significance of laughter in the nineteenth-century imagination and about Brontë’s methods of characterisation. While showing how laughter features as a source of oppression throughout her writing, I also argue that she makes radically apparent its expressive power, deploying laughing and smiling faces to dispute or destabilise constraining gender ideals. Chapter One attends to cultural context circa 1830-60, providing analysis of laughter in periodicals, in philosophy and in pseudo/scientific thought, and discussing Charles Dickens and William Makepeace Thackeray in particular detail, in order to position Brontë in relation to these influential writers. Chapter Two traces the transition from despotic to empowering laughter between Brontë’s early writings and Jane Eyre, Chapter Three examines the psychology of facial expression in The Professor, and Chapter Four locates Brontë’s ultimate rejection of contemporary norms and expectations in the changing face of laughter between Shirley and Villette. I conclude by considering the wider cultural significance of Brontë’s marked ambivalence towards laughter at a time when, despite our conventional impression of the Victorian era as earnest and unamused, attitudes to laughter were emphatically celebratory rather than sceptical

Branded: Corporate Image, Sexual Stereotyping, and the New Face of Capitalism

In the context of unionized workforces covered by collective bargaining agreements, companies have-at most-been required to demonstrate a reasonable relationship between the grooming code and the business\u27s effort to project a corporate image that it believes will result in a larger market share.5 In a small number of cases, sexualized branding that exposes workers to sexual harassment or is predicated upon sexual stereotypes not essential to performance of the job has been curtailed by the antidiscrimination mandate of Title VII.6 However, challenges under Title VII have been effective only where corporate branding is at odds with community norms; where the branding is consistent with community norms that encode sexual stereotypes, customer preferences and community norms become the business justification for branding

Micromoments Matter: Finding Agency and Connection Through a Micromoments Mindset

As humans, our tendency is to reduce uncertainty, leading us to want to hold things still rather than accept the inevitable change that comes (Langer, 2009). However, psychological and behavioral attempts to do so can result in clinging to outdated and erroneous information, limiting our perspectives and narrowing opportunities for meaningful choice. In this paper, we merge Western psychology and Eastern wisdom traditions and build upon conceptions of mindfulness from both perspectives, to present our theory of the micromoments mindset as a tool for well-being. We define a micromoment as both the instant opening into conscious awareness of the present moment, as well as the brief stretch of experience that follows, until awareness recedes. A micromoments mindset is the cognitive prioritization toward these openings. It serves as both an entryway into mindfulness and the experience of being more mindful within the micromoment. We argue that tapping into micromoments throughout our days can facilitate factors of well-being, particularly agency and connection, so that we have more tools for living with intention in the world of uncertainty and flux in which we find ourselves. We also present the PEACE framework for optimizing well-being within micromoments