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Book Cognition in the Wild

Download or read book Cognition in the Wild written by Edwin Hutchins and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 1996-08-26 with total page 403 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Edwin Hutchins combines his background as an anthropologist and an open ocean racing sailor and navigator in this account of how anthropological methods can be combined with cognitive theory to produce a new reading of cognitive science. His theoretical insights are grounded in an extended analysis of ship navigation—its computational basis, its historical roots, its social organization, and the details of its implementation in actual practice aboard large ships. The result is an unusual interdisciplinary approach to cognition in culturally constituted activities outside the laboratory—"in the wild." Hutchins examines a set of phenomena that have fallen in the cracks between the established disciplines of psychology and anthropology, bringing to light a new set of relationships between culture and cognition. The standard view is that culture affects the cognition of individuals. Hutchins argues instead that cultural activity systems have cognitive properties of their own that are different from the cognitive properties of the individuals who participate in them. Each action for bringing a large naval vessel into port, for example, is informed by culture: the navigation team can be seen as a cognitive and computational system. Introducing Navy life and work on the bridge, Hutchins makes a clear distinction between the cognitive properties of an individual and the cognitive properties of a system. In striking contrast to the usual laboratory tasks of research in cognitive science, he applies the principal metaphor of cognitive science—cognition as computation (adopting David Marr's paradigm)—to the navigation task. After comparing modern Western navigation with the method practiced in Micronesia, Hutchins explores the computational and cognitive properties of systems that are larger than an individual. He then turns to an analysis of learning or change in the organization of cognitive systems at several scales. Hutchins's conclusion illustrates the costs of ignoring the cultural nature of cognition, pointing to the ways in which contemporary cognitive science can be transformed by new meanings and interpretations. A Bradford Book

Book The Nature of Cognition

Download or read book The Nature of Cognition written by Robert J. Sternberg and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 760 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the first to introduce the study of cognition in terms of the major conceptual themes that underlie virtually all the substantive topics.

Book Primate Cognition

    Book Details:
  • Author : Michael Tomasello
  • Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
  • Release : 1997
  • ISBN : 9780195106244
  • Pages : 546 pages

Download or read book Primate Cognition written by Michael Tomasello and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1997 with total page 546 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book reviews all that is scientifically known about the cognitive skills of non-human primates and assesses the current state of our knowledge.

Book Efficient Cognition

    Book Details:
  • Author : Armin W. Schulz
  • Publisher : MIT Press
  • Release : 2022-11-01
  • ISBN : 0262546736
  • Pages : 281 pages

Download or read book Efficient Cognition written by Armin W. Schulz and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2022-11-01 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An argument that representational decision making is more cognitively efficient, allowing an organism to adjust more easily to changes in the environment. Many organisms (including humans) make decisions by relying on mental representations. Not simply a reaction triggered by perception, representational decision making employs high-level, non-perceptual mental states with content to manage interactions with the environment. A person making a decision based on mental representations, for example, takes a step back from her perceptions at the time to assess the nature of the world she lives in. But why would organisms rely on representational decision making, and what evolutionary benefits does this reliance provide to the decision maker? In Efficient Cognition, Armin Schulz argues that representational decision making can be more cognitively efficient than non-representational decision making. Specifically, he shows that a key driver in the evolution of representational decision making is that mental representations can enable an organism to save cognitive resources and adjust more efficiently to changed environments. After laying out the foundations of his argument—clarifying the central questions, the characterization of representational decision making, and the relevance of an evidential form of evolutionary psychology—Schulz presents his account of the evolution of representational decision making and critically considers some of the existing accounts of the subject. He then applies his account to three open questions concerning the nature of representational decision making: the extendedness of decision making, and when we should expect cognition to extend into the environment; the specialization of decision making and the use of simple heuristics; and the psychological sources of altruistic behaviors.

Book Human Cognition

Download or read book Human Cognition written by R. Kim Guenther and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 552 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book introduces the essential and enduring contrasts that cognitive scientists study and reflects the state of the field through its own distinct point of view. Readers will gain an appreciation of the manner in which cognitive scientists resolve controversies while advancing what we know about human "mental life". Covering every major topic in cognition with over 1300 references to recently published research and emerging ideas, each chapter opens with a contrast between two perspectives and is organized around a discussion of the contrast and its implications. Much of the cited research has ecological validity that relates the ideas, controversies, and theories to everyday life. It presents individual physiological-, cultural-, and gender-based differences in cognition. It also emphasizes the Darwinian adaptability of cognitive processes. And, finally, it presents the growing consensus that the human mind does not function like a digital computer, but rather is multifaceted.

Book Semantic Cognition

    Book Details:
  • Author : Timothy T. Rogers
  • Publisher : MIT Press
  • Release : 2004
  • ISBN : 9780262182393
  • Pages : 446 pages

Download or read book Semantic Cognition written by Timothy T. Rogers and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A mechanistic theory of the representation and use of semantic knowledge that uses distributed connectionist networks as a starting point for a psychological theory of semantic cognition.

Book Cognition and Perception

Download or read book Cognition and Perception written by Athanassios Raftopoulos and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2009-07-17 with total page 447 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An argument that there are perceptual mechanisms that retrieve information in cognitively and conceptually unmediated ways and that this sheds light on various philosophical issues. In Cognition and Perception, Athanassios Raftopoulos discusses the cognitive penetrability of perception and claims that there is a part of visual processes (which he calls “perception”) that results in representational states with nonconceptual content; that is, a part that retrieves information from visual scenes in conceptually unmediated, “bottom-up,” theory-neutral ways. Raftopoulos applies this insight to problems in philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, and epistemology, and examines how we access the external world through our perception as well as what we can know of that world. To show that there is a theory-neutral part of existence, Raftopoulos turns to cognitive science and argues that there is substantial scientific evidence. He then claims that perception induces representational states with nonconceptual content and examines the nature of the nonconceptual content. The nonconceptual information retrieved, he argues, does not allow the identification or recognition of an object but only its individuation as a discrete persistent object with certain spatiotemporal properties and other features. Object individuation, however, suffices to determine the referents of perceptual demonstratives. Raftopoulos defends his account in the context of current discussions on the issue of the theory-ladenness of perception (namely the Fodor-Churchland debate), and then discusses the repercussions of his thesis for problems in the philosophy of science. Finally, Raftopoulos claims that there is a minimal form of realism that is defensible. This minimal realism holds that objects, their spatiotemporal properties, and such features as shape, orientation, and motion are real, mind-independent properties in the world.

Book Consciousness and Cognition

Download or read book Consciousness and Cognition written by Henri Cohen and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2011-10-10 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What were the circumstances that led to the development of our cognitive abilities from a primitive hominid to an essentially modern human? The answer to this question is of profound importance to understanding our present nature. Since the steep path of our cognitive development is the attribute that most distinguishes humans from other mammals, this is also a quest to determine human origins. This collection of outstanding scientific problems and the revelation of the many ways they can be addressed indicates the scope of the field to be explored and reveals some avenues along which research is advancing. Distinguished scientists and researchers who have advanced the discussion of the mind and brain contribute state-of-the-art presentations of their field of expertise. Chapters offer speculative and provocative views on topics such as body, culture, evolution, feelings, genetics, history, humor, knowledge, language, machines, neuroanatomy, pathology, and perception. This book will appeal to researchers and students in cognitive neuroscience, experimental psychology, cognitive science, and philosophy. Includes a contribution by Noam Chomsky, one of the most cited authors of our time

Book Training Cognition

    Book Details:
  • Author : Alice F. Healy
  • Publisher : Psychology Press
  • Release : 2012-08-21
  • ISBN : 1136724575
  • Pages : 342 pages

Download or read book Training Cognition written by Alice F. Healy and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2012-08-21 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Training is both a teaching and a learning experience, and just about everyone has had that experience. Training involves acquiring knowledge and skills. This newly acquired training information is meant to be applicable to specific activities, tasks, and jobs. In modern times, where jobs are increasingly more complex, training workers to perform successfully is of more importance than ever. The range of contexts in which training is required includes industrial, corporate, military, artistic, and sporting, at all levels from assembly line to executive function. The required training can take place in a variety of ways and settings, including the classroom, the laboratory, the studio, the playing field, and the work environment itself. The general goal of this book is to describe the current state of research on training using cognitive psychology to build a complete empirical and theoretical picture of the training process. The book focuses on training cognition, as opposed to physical or fitness training. It attempts to show how to optimize training efficiency, durability, and generalizability. The book includes a review of relevant cognitive psychological literature, a summary of recent laboratory experiments, a presentation of original theoretical ideas, and a discussion of possible applications to real-world training settings.

Book The Oxford Handbook of Numerical Cognition

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Numerical Cognition written by Roi Cohen Kadosh and published by Oxford Library of Psychology. This book was released on 2015 with total page 1217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do we understand numbers? Do animals and babies have numerical abilities? Why do some people fail to grasp numbers, and how we can improve numerical understanding? Numbers are vital to so many areas of life: in science, economics, sports, education, and many aspects of everyday life from infancy onwards. Numerical cognition is a vibrant area that brings together scientists from different and diverse research areas (e.g., neuropsychology, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, comparative psychology, anthropology, education, and neuroscience) using different methodological approaches (e.g., behavioral studies of healthy children and adults and of patients; electrophysiology and brain imaging studies in humans; single-cell neurophysiology in non-human primates, habituation studies in human infants and animals, and computer modeling). While the study of numerical cognition had been relatively neglected for a long time, during the last decade there has been an explosion of studies and new findings. This has resulted in an enormous advance in our understanding of the neural and cognitive mechanisms of numerical cognition. In addition, there has recently been increasing interest and concern about pupils' mathematical achievement in many countries, resulting in attempts to use research to guide mathematics instruction in schools, and to develop interventions for children with mathematical difficulties. This handbook brings together the different research areas that make up the field of numerical cognition in one comprehensive and authoritative volume. The chapters provide a broad and extensive review that is written in an accessible form for scholars and students, as well as educationalists, clinicians, and policy makers. The book covers the most important aspects of research on numerical cognition from the areas of development psychology, cognitive psychology, neuropsychology and rehabilitation, learning disabilities, human and animal cognition and neuroscience, computational modeling, education and individual differences, and philosophy. Containing more than 60 chapters by leading specialists in their fields, the Oxford Handbook of Numerical Cognition is a state-of-the-art review of the current literature.

Book Unified Theories of Cognition

Download or read book Unified Theories of Cognition written by Allen Newell and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 1994 with total page 580 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Newell introduces Soar, an architecture for general cognition. A pioneer system in AI, Soar is the first problem-solver to create its own subgoals and learn continuously from its own experience. Its ability to operate within the real-time constraints of intelligent behavior illustrates important characteristics of human cognition.

Book Language  Cognition  and Human Nature

Download or read book Language Cognition and Human Nature written by Steven Pinker and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013-11 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pinker's seminal research explores the workings of language and its connections to cognition, perception, social relationships, child development, human evolution, and theories of human nature. This eclectic collection spans Pinker's thirty-year career, exploring his favorite themes in greater depth and scientific detail. It includes thirteen of Pinker's classic articles, ranging over topics such as language development in children, mental imagery, the recognition of shapes, the computational architecture of the mind, the meaning and uses of verbs, the evolution of language and cognition, the nature-nurture debate, and the logic of innuendo and euphemism. Each outlines a major theory or takes up an argument with another prominent scholar, such as Stephen Jay Gould, Noam Chomsky, or Richard Dawkins.

Book Music Cognition  The Basics

Download or read book Music Cognition The Basics written by Henkjan Honing and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-09-30 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do people attach importance to the wordless language we call music? Music Cognition: The Basics considers the role of our cognitive functions, such as perception, memory, attention, and expectation in perceiving, making, and appreciating music. In this volume, Henkjan Honing explores the active role these functions play in how music makes us feel; exhilarated, soothed, or inspired. Grounded in the latest research in areas of psychology, biology, and cognitive neuroscience, and with clear examples throughout, this book concentrates on underappreciated musical skills such as sense of rhythm, beat induction, and relative pitch, that make people intrinsically musical creatures—supporting the conviction that all humans have a unique, instinctive attraction to music. The scope of the topics discussed ranges from the ability of newborns to perceive a beat, to the unexpected musical expertise of ordinary listeners. It is a must read for anyone studying the psychology of music, auditory perception, or simply interested in why we enjoy music the way we do.

Book Cognitive Skills and Their Acquisition

Download or read book Cognitive Skills and Their Acquisition written by John R. Anderson and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2013-10-28 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1981. This book is a collection of the papers presented at the Sixteenth Annual Carnegie Symposium on Cognition, held in May 1980.

Book Creative Cognition

    Book Details:
  • Author : Ronald A. Finke
  • Publisher : MIT Press
  • Release : 1996-01-05
  • ISBN : 0262560968
  • Pages : 255 pages

Download or read book Creative Cognition written by Ronald A. Finke and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 1996-01-05 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Creative Cognition combines original experiments with existing work in cognitive psychology to provide the first explicit account of the cognitive processes and structures that contribute to creative thinking and discovery. Creative Cognition combines original experiments with existing work in cognitive psychology to provide the first explicit account of the cognitive processes and structures that contribute to creative thinking and discovery. In separate chapters, the authors take up visualization, concept formation, categorization, memory retrieval, and problem solving. They describe novel experimental methods for studying creative cognitive processes under controlled laboratory conditions, along with techniques that can be used to generate many different types of inventions and concepts. Unlike traditional approaches, Creative Cognition considers creativity as a product of numerous cognitive processes, each of which helps to set the stage for insight and discovery. It identifies many of these processes as well as general principles of creative cognition that can be applied across a variety of different domains, with examples in artificial intelligence, engineering design, product development, architecture, education, and the visual arts. Following a summary of previous approaches to creativity, the authors present a theoretical model of the creative process. They review research involving an innovative imagery recombination technique, developed by Finke, that clearly demonstrates that creative inventions can be induced in the laboratory. They then describe experiments in category learning that support the provocative claim that the factors constraining category formation similarly constrain imagination and illustrate the role of various memory processes and other strategies in creative problem solving.

Book Intentions and Intentionality

Download or read book Intentions and Intentionality written by Bertram F. Malle and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 444 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Highlights the roles of intention and intentionality in social cognition.

Book Distributed Cognition and the Will

Download or read book Distributed Cognition and the Will written by Don Ross and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Philosophers and behavioral scientists discuss what, if anything, of the traditional concept of individual conscious will can survive recent scientific discoveries that human decision-making is distributed across different brain processes and through the social environment. Recent scientific findings about human decision making would seem to threaten the traditional concept of the individual conscious will. The will is threatened from "below" by the discovery that our apparently spontaneous actions are actually controlled and initiated from below the level of our conscious awareness, and from "above" by the recognition that we adapt our actions according to social dynamics of which we are seldom aware. In Distributed Cognition and the Will, leading philosophers and behavioral scientists consider how much, if anything, of the traditional concept of the individual conscious will survives these discoveries, and they assess the implications for our sense of freedom and responsibility. The contributors all take science seriously, and they are inspired by the idea that apparent threats to the cogency of the idea of will might instead become the basis of its reemergence as a scientific subject. They consider macro-scale issues of society and culture, the micro-scale dynamics of the mind/brain, and connections between macro-scale and micro-scale phenomena in the self-guidance and self-regulation of personal behavior. Contributors George Ainslie, Wayne Christensen, Andy Clark, Paul Sheldon Davies, Daniel C. Dennett, Lawrence A. Lengbeyer, Dan Lloyd, Philip Pettit, Don Ross, Tamler Sommers, Betsy Sparrow, Mariam Thalos, Jeffrey B. Vancouver, Daniel M. Wegner, Tadeusz W. Zawidzki