Vocal theories of the origin of language rarely make a case for the precursor functions that underlay the evolution of speech. The vocal expression of emotion is unquestionably the best candidate for ...such a precursor, although most evolutionary models of both language and speech ignore emotion and prosody altogether. I present here a model for a joint prosodic precursor of language and music in which ritualized group-level vocalizations served as the ancestral state. This precursor combined not only affective and intonational aspects of prosody, but also holistic and combinatorial mechanisms of phrase generation. From this common stage, there was a bifurcation to form language and music as separate, though homologous, specializations. This separation of language and music was accompanied by their (re)unification in songs with words.
What informs the process of remembering and forgetting? Is it merely about our capability to store and retrieve experiences in a purely functional sense? What about ′collective memories′, not just ...those of the individual - how do these manifest themselves in the passages of time? The authors present a new, fascinating insight into the social psychology of experience drawing upon a number of classic works (particularly by Frederick Bartlett, Maurice Halbwachs & Henri Bergson) to help develop their argument. The significance of their ideas for developing a contemporary psychology of experience is illustrated with material from studies focused on settings at home and at work, in public and commercial organizations where remembering and forgetting are matters of concern, involving language and text based communication, objects and place. As their argument unfolds, the authors reveal that memories do not solely reside in a linear passage of time, linking past, present and future, nor do they soley rest within the indidvidual′s conciousness, but that memory sits at the very heart of ′lived experience′; whether collective or individual, the vehicle for how we remember or forget is linked to social interaction, object interaction and the different durations of living that we all have. It is very much connected to the social psychology of experience.
Within cognitive psychology, there are separate experimental fields devoted to the study of creativity, on the one hand, and aesthetics, on the other, with virtually no cross-talk between them. In ...this article, I propose a means of uniting creativity and aesthetics via a consideration of the mechanisms of cultural evolution. I call this the creativity/aesthetics cycle . The basic tenet of the model is that creativity and aesthetics mediate, respectively, the processes of variation (production) and selection (perception or consumption) in evolutionary models of culture. By means of this cycle, creators produce works that they hope will be evaluated positively by consumers, where such appraisals ultimately feed back to influence the subsequent decision-making processes of creators. I discuss the implications of this model for the fields of creativity and aesthetics.
The circadian clock directs nearly all aspects of diurnal physiology, including metabolism. Current research identifies several major axes by which it exerts these effects, including systemic signals ...as well as direct control of cellular processes by local clocks. This redundant network can transmit metabolic and timing information bidirectionally for optimal synchrony of metabolic processes. Recent advances in cellular profiling and metabolomics technologies have yielded unprecedented insights into the mechanisms behind this control. They have also helped to illuminate individual variation in these mechanisms that could prove important in personalized therapy for metabolic disease. Finally, these technologies have provided platforms with which to screen for the first potential drugs affecting clock-modulated metabolic function.
Neuroscientists are fond of talking about brain systems for the processing of “what” and “where” information about objects and their locations. What is critically missing is the concept of a “who” ...system dedicated to the neural processing of information about social agents – both the self and others – and their interactions. I propose here the characterization of such a system, one that functions not only in perception but in production as well, such as when recounting stories about oneself and others. The most human-specific features of the “who” system are two complementary systems that I refer to as the other-as-self mechanism and the self-as-other mechanism. The major function of the other-as-self mechanism is to perceive other people egocentrically as proxies of the self, as occurs through the processes of mentalizing and empathizing in both everyday life and in the experience of the theatrical and literary arts. The major function of the self-as-other mechanism is to overtly depict other people during acts of communication through vocal and gestural processes of mimicry, such as occurs during quotation in conversation and through acting in the theatrical arts. Overall, the “who” system of the human brain mediates both perceptual and behavioral aspects of social cognition, and establishes the existential distinction between self and other in human cognition. I present neural models for the instantiation of the “who” system in the human brain, and conclude with a discussion of how narrative serves as a foundation for human cognition more generally, what I refer to as narrative-based cognition.
A biological 'circadian' clock conveys diurnal regulation upon nearly all aspects of behavior and physiology to optimize them within the framework of the solar day. From digestion to cardiac function ...and sleep, both cellular and systemic processes show circadian variations that coincide with diurnal need. However, recent research has shown that this same timekeeping mechanism might have been co-opted to optimize other aspects of development and physiology that have no obvious link to the 24 h day. For example, clocks have been suggested to underlie heterogeneity in stem cell populations, to optimize cycles of cell division during wound healing, and to alter immune progenitor differentiation and migration. Here, I review these circadian mechanisms and propose that they could serve as metronomes for a surprising variety of physiologically and medically important functions that far exceed the daily timekeeping roles for which they probably evolved.
Social cognitive career theory (SCCT) consists of five interrelated models. Its original models focus on the determinants of educational and occupational interest, choice, and performance (including ...persistence) (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994). A fourth model is aimed at satisfaction and other aspects of well-being in academic and career-related settings (Lent & Brown, 2006a, 2008), and the fifth model highlights processes whereby people manage common developmental tasks and uncommon challenges across the career lifespan (Lent & Brown, 2013). Each of the models seeks to integrate relevant streams of inquiry, with the larger goal of producing a unifying perspective on educational and career behavior. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of SCCT's introduction, we consider the empirical status of the original three models as well as inquiry on the sources of self-efficacy and outcome expectations, which undergird the three models. Drawing primarily on meta-analytic findings, we examine the tenability of each of the models, observe the roles of particular social cognitive variables within and across model tests, note moderators of model relationships and anomalous findings, point to hypotheses that have been understudied, and suggest additional directions for future inquiry.
•Examined the empirical status of the original three models of social cognitive career theory.•The interest, choice, and performance models generally offer good fit to the data in meta-analytic studies.•There is also general support for hypotheses regarding the experiential sources of self-efficacy and outcome expectations.•Certain social cognitive variables play somewhat varying roles in the different models.
The new version of EPA's positive matrix factorization (EPA PMF) software, 5.0, includes three error estimation (EE) methods for analyzing factor analytic solutions: classical bootstrap (BS), ...displacement of factor elements (DISP), and bootstrap enhanced by displacement (BS-DISP). These methods capture the uncertainty of PMF analyses due to random errors and rotational ambiguity. To demonstrate the utility of the EE methods, results are presented for three data sets: (1) speciated PM2.5 data from a chemical speciation network (CSN) site in Sacramento, California (2003–2009); (2) trace metal, ammonia, and other species in water quality samples taken at an inline storage system (ISS) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (2006); and (3) an organic aerosol data set from high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-AMS) measurements in Las Vegas, Nevada (January 2008). We present an interpretation of EE diagnostics for these data sets, results from sensitivity tests of EE diagnostics using additional and fewer factors, and recommendations for reporting PMF results. BS-DISP and BS are found useful in understanding the uncertainty of factor profiles; they also suggest if the data are over-fitted by specifying too many factors. DISP diagnostics were consistently robust, indicating its use for understanding rotational uncertainty and as a first step in assessing a solution's viability. The uncertainty of each factor's identifying species is shown to be a useful gauge for evaluating multiple solutions, e.g., with a different number of factors.
•We provide examples and interpretation of new error estimation methods in EPA PMF.•Multiple error estimation methods improve understanding of rotational uncertainty.•Multiple error estimation methods provide range of uncertainty in factor profiles.
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