Theory of Mind and Non-Human Intelligence

Comparative cognition researchers have long been interested in the nature of nonhuman animal social capacities. One capacity has received prolonged attention: mindreading, or “theory of mind” as it’s also called, is often seen to be the ability to attribute mental states to others in the service of predicting and explaining behavior. This attention is garnered in no small measure from interest into what accounts for the distinctive features of human social cognition and what are the evolutionary origins of those features. This entry surveys: (1) main hypotheses concerning the adaptive value of mindreading, (2) theoretical problems complicating our ability to determine whether nonhuman animals mindread, and finally (3) proposals that mindreading is a plural rather than unitary cognitive system

Comparative psychometrics: establishing what differs is central to understanding what evolves

Cognitive abilities cannot be measured directly. What we can measure is individual variation in task performance. In this paper, we first make the case for why we should be interested in mapping individual differences in task performance on to particular cognitive abilities: we suggest that it is crucial for examining the causes and consequences of variation both within and between species. As a case study, we examine whether multiple measures of inhibitory control for non-human animals do indeed produce correlated task performance; however, no clear pattern emerges that would support the notion of a common cognitive ability underpinning individual differences in performance. We advocate a psychometric approach involving a three-step programme to make theoretical and empirical progress: first, we need tasks that reveal signature limits in performance. Second, we need to assess the reliability of individual differences in task performance. Third, multi-trait multi-method test batteries will be instrumental in validating cognitive abilities. Together, these steps will help us to establish what varies between individuals that could impact their fitness and ultimately shape the course of the evolution of animal minds. Finally, we propose executive functions, including working memory, inhibitory control and attentional shifting, as a sensible starting point for this endeavour

Risk Factors for Release in Nurses with Substance Use Disorder

Substance Use Disorder (SUD) is defined as the continued use of mood-altering addicting substances despite adverse consequences (Morse & Flavin, 1992). Nurses are not immune from this progressive and fatal disease and if left untreated, a nurse with SUD poses a double jeopardy: risk to the patients and a threat to her or his own health. Many State Boards of Nursing (SBN) have implemented a non-disciplinary alternative to punitive treatment of professionals with SUD; such programs offer monitoring for nurses afflicted with SUD. While studies have found a lower relapse rate for healthcare professionals enrolled in these monitoring programs than that of the general public, data on risk factors for relapse of nurses participating in an alternative monitoring program are lacking. This study seeks to answer the following: 1) What characteristics are common to nurses in a SUD monitoring program who relapse? 2) What characteristics are common to nurses in a SUD monitoring program who do not relapse? Pender’s Health Promotion Model “depicts the multidimensional nature of persons interacting with their interpersonal and physical environments as they pursue health” (Pender, Murdaugh, & Parsons, 2006, p. 50). This retrospective chart review used a descriptive, correlational and comparative design to examine and describe characteristics common to two groups of nurses while enrolled in a SUD monitoring program: those who relapsed and those who did not relapse. This research identified two risk factors for relapse of nurses: a family history of SUD and self-identified concern regarding emotional well-being. Nurse monitoring programs need to assess for these risk factors among participants and specific interventions developed before more nurses are lost to this disease. A network of resources could be developed and referrals for additional help and support implemented

The Effect of Non-Dominant Shoulder Exercises on Non-Dominant and Dominant Shoulder Range of Motion in Collegiate Volleyball Player

Context: Janda’s Upper-Crossed Syndrome (UCS) is characterized by alternating patterns of tightness and weakness, which is indicative of muscle imbalances and movement dysfunction usually seen in unilateral athletes. These muscle imbalances can cause abnormal movement patterns and sometimes manifest as pain. Anecdotal evidence seen in the athletic training clinic also supported the use of non-dominant side movement patterns to improve dominant side functioning and decrease pain. Objective: Based on the UCS, application of non-dominant shoulder exercises may decrease muscle imbalances and movement dysfunction. We hypothesized that there would be an increase in internal rotation of the dominant shoulder demonstrating increased movement pattern function. Design: Randomized control trial. Setting: Small Midwest NAIA athletic training clinic. Participants: Women collegiate volleyball players (22) with the age range of 18-21. Interventions: Participants were randomly assigned into two groups, a treatment and control group. The treatment group performed 15 overhand serves with their non-dominant arm three times a week for four weeks. Baseline, midpoint, and final measurements were taken. Main Outcome Measures: External and internal rotation of the dominant and non-dominant shoulder were taken using a clinometer app on a clinician’s smartphone. Results: Results were calculated using repeated measures ANOVA. With a large effect size (0.87 and 1.19), significant increase was found in external rotation ROM in the non-dominant shoulder from baseline to mid-point measurement (mean difference=10°), and from baseline to final measurement (mean differences=14°). Conclusions: Based on the differences in range of motion of the dominant and non-dominant shoulder, we speculate that muscle imbalances were present between shoulders. Non-dominant shoulder exercises significantly increased external rotation of non-dominant shoulder, therefore equalizing the muscular imbalance

Inhibitory control and cue relevance modulate chimpanzees’ (Pan troglodytes) performance in a spatial foraging task

This project has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (Grant Agreement 639072). Brandon Tinklenberg was supported by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC 435-2016-1051).Inhibition tasks usually require subjects to exert control to act correctly when a competing action plan is prepotent. In comparative psychology, one concern about the existing inhibition tasks is that the relative contribution of inhibitory control to performance (as compared to learning or object knowledge) is rarely explicitly investigated. We addressed this problem by presenting chimpanzees with a spatial foraging task in which they could acquire food more efficiently by learning which objects were baited. In Experiment 1, we examined how objects that elicited a prepotent approach response, transparent cups containing food, affected their learning rates. Although showing an initial bias to approach these sealed cups with visible food, the chimpanzees learned to avoid them more quickly across sessions compared to a color discrimination. They also learned a color discrimination more quickly if the incorrect cups were sealed such that a piece of food could never be hidden inside them. In Experiment 2, visible food of 2 different types was sealed in the upper part of the cups: 1 type signaled the presence of food reward hidden underneath; the cups with the other type were sealed. The chimpanzees learned more quickly in a congruent condition (the to-be-chosen food cue matched the reward) than in an incongruent condition (the to-be-avoided food cue matched the reward). Together, these findings highlight that performance in inhibition tasks is affected by several other cognitive abilities such as object knowledge, memory, and learning, which need to be quantified before meaningful comparisons can be drawn.PostprintPeer reviewe

Learning from communication versus observation in great apes

This research was supported by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013)/ERC Grant 609819 (SOMICS project).When human infants are intentionally addressed by others, they tend to interpret the information communicated as being relevant to them and worth acquiring. For humans, this attribution of relevance leads to a preference to learn from communication, making it possible to accumulate knowledge over generations. Great apes are sensitive to communicative cues, but do these cues also activate an expectation of relevance? In an observational learning paradigm, we demonstrated to a sample of nonhuman great apes (bonobos, chimpanzees, orangutans; N = 24) how to operate on a food dispenser device. When apes had the opportunity to choose between an effective and an ineffective method in the baseline conditions, the majority of them chose the effective method. However, when the ineffective method was demonstrated in a communicative way, they failed to prioritize efficiency, even though they were equally attentive in both conditions. This suggests that the ostensive demonstration elicited an expectation of relevance that modified apes’ interpretation of the situation, potentially leading to a preference to learn from communication, as human children do.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Unexpected utility

My work explores imaginative relationships between objects and their function. Using both kinetic and interactive elements I ask questions of the precarious relationship between utility and futility. Looking for unusual, unorthodox, or unexpected ways to fulfill functional roles I hope to challenge social norms and stereotypes. The work calls upon the viewer to question their own passive or active role in society. Are we contributing to homogeneity, simply fulfilling obligation or expected behavior? Or can our interaction within the world be informed in the many possible ways of seeing, as an active dialogue that risks vulnerability and awkwardness? My intent for these artworks is to utilize objects of function to access and explore fundamental human characteristics: vulnerability, awkwardness, and humor

The factorial structure of the mini mental state examination (MMSE) in Japanese dementia patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) is one of the most commonly used instruments in the evaluation of global cognitive status. Few studies have investigated the relationship among its components in terms of factorial structure in Japanese individuals suffering from dementia. The aims of this study were: 1) to analyze the factorial structure of MMSE in Japanese dementia patients, 2) to clarify the MMSE static structure in identifying different cognitive profiles and understanding how these profiles are related to levels of dysfunction in subsets of dementia patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>30,895 consecutive outpatients with dementia were evaluated. The 11 subtests composing the MMSE and the global MMSE score were analyzed. Factor analysis based on principal component analysis with Promax rotation was applied to the data representing the frequency of failures in each subtest as identified by the MMSE.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Factor analysis identified three factors that explained approximately 44.57% of the total variance. The first factor, immediate memory, essentially constituted a simple index of the reading and writing subtests. The second factor, orientation and delayed recall, expressed the ability to handle new information. The third factor, working memory, was most closely related to the severity of dementia at the time of test administration.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Japanese dementia patients appear to develop difficulty handling new information in the early stages of their disease. This finding, and our finding that there is a factor associated with disease severity, suggest that understanding the specific factors related to subtest items, which underlie the total MMSE score may be useful to clinicians in planning interventions for Japanese patients in the early stages of dementia.</p