Higher-order thoughts in action : Consciousness as an unconscious re-description process

Peer reviewedPostprin

Exploring the components, asymmetry and distribution of relationship quality in wild Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus)

Social relationships between group members are a key feature of many animal societies. The quality of social relationships has been described by three main components: value, compatibility and security, based on the benefits, tenure and stability of social exchanges. We aimed to analyse whether this three component structure could be used to describe the quality of social relationships in wild Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus). Moreover, we examined whether relationship quality was affected by the sex, age and rank differences between social partners, and investigated the asymmetric nature of social relationships. We collected over 1,900 hours of focal data on seven behavioural variables measuring relationship quality, and used principal component analysis to investigate how these variables clustered together. We found that relationship quality in wild Barbary macaques can be described by a three component structure that represents the value, compatibility and security of a relationship. Female-female dyads had more valuable relationships and same-age dyads more compatible relationships than any other dyad. Rank difference had no effect on the quality of a social relationship. Finally, we found a high degree of asymmetry in how members of a dyad exchange social behaviour. We argue that the asymmetry of social relationships should be taken into account when exploring the pattern and function of social behaviour in animal societies

Cognitive Computation sans Representation

The Computational Theory of Mind (CTM) holds that cognitive processes are essentially computational, and hence computation provides the scientific key to explaining mentality. The Representational Theory of Mind (RTM) holds that representational content is the key feature in distinguishing mental from non-mental systems. I argue that there is a deep incompatibility between these two theoretical frameworks, and that the acceptance of CTM provides strong grounds for rejecting RTM. The focal point of the incompatibility is the fact that representational content is extrinsic to formal procedures as such, and the intended interpretation of syntax makes no difference to the execution of an algorithm. So the unique 'content' postulated by RTM is superfluous to the formal procedures of CTM. And once these procedures are implemented in a physical mechanism, it is exclusively the causal properties of the physical mechanism that are responsible for all aspects of the system's behaviour. So once again, postulated content is rendered superfluous. To the extent that semantic content may appear to play a role in behaviour, it must be syntactically encoded within the system, and just as in a standard computational artefact, so too with the human mind/brain - it's pure syntax all the way down to the level of physical implementation. Hence 'content' is at most a convenient meta-level gloss, projected from the outside by human theorists, which itself can play no role in cognitive processing

Grooming coercion and the post-conflict trading of social services in wild Barbary macaques

In animal and human societies, social services such as protection from predators are often exchanged between group members. The tactics that individuals display to obtain a service depend on its value and on differences between individuals in their capacity to aggressively obtain it. Here we analysed the exchange of valuable social services (i.e. grooming and relationship repair) in the aftermath of a conflict, in wild Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus). The relationship repair function of post-conflict affiliation (i.e. reconciliation) was apparent in the victim but not in the aggressor. Conversely, we found evidence for grooming coercion by the aggressor; when the victim failed to give grooming soon after a conflict they received renewed aggression from the aggressor. We argue that post-conflict affiliation between former opponents can be better described as a trading of social services rather than coercion alone, as both animals obtain some benefits (i.e. grooming for the aggressor and relationship repair for the victim). Our study is the first to test the importance of social coercion in the aftermath of a conflict. Differences in competitive abilities can affect the exchange of services and the occurrence of social coercion in animal societies. This may also help explain the variance between populations and species in their social behaviour and conflict management strategies

Generosity motivated by acceptance - evolutionary analysis of an anticipation game

We here present both experimental and theoretical results for an Anticipation Game, a two-stage game wherein the standard Dictator Game is played after a matching phase wherein receivers use the past actions of dictators to decide whether to interact with them. The experimental results for three different treatments show that partner choice induces dictators to adjust their donations towards the expectations of the receivers, giving significantly more than expected in the standard Dictator Game. Adding noise to the dictators' reputation lowers the donations, underlining that their actions are determined by the knowledge provided to receivers. Secondly, we show that the recently proposed stochastic evolutionary model where payoff only weakly drives evolution and individuals can make mistakes requires some adaptations to explain the experimental results. We observe that the model fails in reproducing the heterogeneous strategy distributions. We show here that by explicitly modelling the dictators' probability of acceptance by receivers and introducing a parameter that reflects the dictators' capacity to anticipate future gains produces a closer fit to the aforementioned strategy distributions. This new parameter has the important advantage that it explains where the dictators' generosity comes from, revealing that anticipating future acceptance is the key to success.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Algunes reflexions entorn de la conceptualització de la infància i adolescència en risc social a l'Estat espanyol

L'article realitza una aproximació a les interpretacions del concepte de risc social de la infancia per part de diversos autors d'àmbit estatal, tenint també en compte els marcs legals català i espanyol. Pretén aclarir quins són els criteris valoratius emprats, tant des de l'àmbit acadèmic com del professional, per interpretar les categoritzacions de la infància i l'adolescència en processos de dificultat i precarietat social. Des d'aquesta perspectiva, s'hi analitza l'estreta relació entre factors de risc, desemparament i marginació. S'hi rebutgen les interpretacions que responsabilitzen el propi menor de la desadaptació, i s'hi defensa la hipótesi de la necessitat d'una intervenció socioeducativa que treballi per una disminució dels factors de risc en el propi medi, mantenint el seu protagonisme en aquest procés.This article is an approach to the different acceptances of the concept social risk as well as the terms neglect and maladjustment, based on the reflections made by different authors and both statal and autonomous legal framework. It intends to clarify which are the criteria of values used in academic and professional ambits in order to understand the categoriesfound in the fields of childhood and adolescence in difficult and precarious conditions. The strong relation between risk factors, neglect and margination has been analysed from this point of view. In the same way the interpretations that hold the minor himself responsible for his maladjustment are rejected and the author defends the necessity of a socio-educational intervention, which reduces the risk factors in the child's environment, and the need of paying close attention to the child's main role in this process.El artículo realiza una aproximación a las interpretaciones del concepto de riesgo social de la infancia por parte de diversos autores de ámbito estatal, teniendo también en cuenta los marcos legales catalán y español. Pretende aclarar cuáles son los criterios valorativos utilizados, tanto desde el ámbito academico como profesional, para interpretar las categorizaciones de la infancia en procesos de dificultad y precariedad. Desde esta perspectiva, se analiza la estrecha relación entre factores de riesgo, desamparamiento y marginación. Se rechazan las interpretaciones que responsabilizan al propio menor de la desadaptación y se defiende la hipótesis de la necesidad de una intervención socioeducativa que trabaje para una disminución de los factores de riesgo en el propio medio, manteniendo su protagonismo en este proceso

Male Mating Tactics in Captive Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta): The Influence of Dominance, Markets, and Relationship Quality

Male mating success in a multimale–multifemale group can depend on several variables: body condition, dominance, coalitions, “friendship,” or an exchange of services for mating access. Exchange patterns may also be determined by market effects or social relationships. We studied the mating tactics of males in a captive, multimale–multifemale group of rhesus macaques and the resulting patterns of mating and paternity to determine the influence of dominance rank, mating markets, and relationship quality on their mating tactics. Male rank was positively related to the total number of copulations and the number of mating partners, but did not explain male mating distribution completely. Moreover, male fertilization success was not related to male rank. Males did not exchange grooming for mating access on the same day and neither the supply nor the rank (as a proxy for quality) of receptive females affected the amount of male grooming, suggesting that market effects did not explain male mating access. However, there was a positive correlation between long-term grooming patterns of both males and females and mating access, indicating that social relationships were important for male mating access. Paternity data revealed that these social relationships were also important for male reproductive success. We conclude that both male rank and male–female “friendship” determined male mating access in these rhesus macaques, but that “friendship” was more important in determining paternity, emphasizing the importance of intersex social bonds in male mating success in multimale primate societies

Empathy, engagement, entrainment: the interaction dynamics of aesthetic experience

A recent version of the view that aesthetic experience is based in empathy as inner imitation explains aesthetic experience as the automatic simulation of actions, emotions, and bodily sensations depicted in an artwork by motor neurons in the brain. Criticizing the simulation theory for committing to an erroneous concept of empathy and failing to distinguish regular from aesthetic experiences of art, I advance an alternative, dynamic approach and claim that aesthetic experience is enacted and skillful, based in the recognition of others’ experiences as distinct from one’s own. In combining insights from mainly psychology, phenomenology, and cognitive science, the dynamic approach aims to explain the emergence of aesthetic experience in terms of the reciprocal interaction between viewer and artwork. I argue that aesthetic experience emerges by participatory sense-making and revolves around movement as a means for creating meaning. While entrainment merely plays a preparatory part in this, aesthetic engagement constitutes the phenomenological side of coupling to an artwork and provides the context for exploration, and eventually for moving, seeing, and feeling with art. I submit that aesthetic experience emerges from bodily and emotional engagement with works of art via the complementary processes of the perception–action and motion–emotion loops. The former involves the embodied visual exploration of an artwork in physical space, and progressively structures and organizes visual experience by way of perceptual feedback from body movements made in response to the artwork. The latter concerns the movement qualities and shapes of implicit and explicit bodily responses to an artwork that cue emotion and thereby modulate over-all affect and attitude. The two processes cause the viewer to bodily and emotionally move with and be moved by individual works of art, and consequently to recognize another psychological orientation than her own, which explains how art can cause feelings of insight or awe and disclose aspects of life that are unfamiliar or novel to the viewer