Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Relationships Between Personality Type And Cognitive Ability In Marmoset Monkeys (Callithrix Jacchus), Zachary Marciano

Masters Theses

Personality refers to multiple traits that are thought to be stable over time and across situations. It is recognized that personality has a neural basis and is associated with health outcomes. Whether personality is also associated with cognitive ability, however, is still a matter of intense debate. One way to examine these potential relationships is to use a nonhuman primate model for which complexities present in humans can be minimized. Recent research into the varying personality types of marmoset monkeys suggests that there are predominantly three to five core primary domains that most marmosets and other primates can be categorized …

Deepening Our Understanding Of Sheep, Lori Marino, Debra Merskin

Lori Marino, PhD

Our Response is centered on five major themes: (1) our presentation of human mythologies about sheep; (2) the relevance of cognitive complexity (“intelligence”) as a dimension underlying the way people perceive and treat sheep; (3) whether our review is too anthropocentric or anthropomorphic; (4) animal welfare versus animal rights (abolitionism); and (5) whether knowledge and education are enough to change human attitudes and behavior.

Intelligence, Complexity, And Individuality In Sheep, Lori Marino, Debra Merskin

Lori Marino, PhD

Domestic sheep (Ovis aries) are among the earliest animals domesticated for human use. They are consumed worldwide as mutton, hogget, and lamb, kept as wool and milk producers, and used extensively in scientific research. The popular stereotype is that sheep are docile, passive, unintelligent, and timid, but a review of the research on their behavior, affect, cognition, and personality reveals that they are complex, individualistic, and social.

Across Continents And Demographics, Unpredictable Maternal Signals Are Associated With Children's Cognitive Function, Elyssia Poggi Davis, Riikka Korja, Linnea Karlsson, Laura Glynn, Curt A. Sandman, Brian Vegetabile, Eeva-Leena Kataja, Saara Nolvi, Eija Sinervä, Juho Pelto, Hasse Karlsson, Hal S. Stern, Tallie Z. Baram

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Early life experiences have persisting influence on brain function throughout life. Maternal signals constitute a primary source of early life experiences, and their quantity and quality during sensitive developmental periods exert enduring effects on cognitive function and emotional and social behaviors. Here we examined if, in addition to established qualitative dimensions of maternal behavior during her interactions with her infant and child, patterns of maternal signals may contribute to the maturation of children's executive functions. We focused primarily on effortful control, a potent predictor of mental health outcomes later in life.

Methods

In two independent prospective cohorts in Turku, …

The Effects Of Working Memory Capacity And Trait Anxiety On Visual Short-Term Memory Performance, Celene Gonzalez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Anxiety is of importance within the field of cognition because it is often associated with adverse effects on attention, information processing, learning and memory (Eysenck, 1992, 2007). In existing literature, it has been reported that trait anxiety hinders cognitive performance (i.e., working memory capacity WMC). However, the relationship between trait anxiety and cognitive performance might be moderated by working memory capacity (WMC). For example, Owens (2014) reported that trait anxiety was negatively correlated with cognitive performance in the low WMC group and positively correlated to cognitive performance in the high WMC group. Although, past research on the working memory system …

The Epistemic And Psychological Mechanisms Perpetuating Racism Within The Criminal Justice System, Danielle Walker

Theses

Abstract

Many attempts have been made by philosophers, political activists, psychologists, historians, social advocates, and others to explain the mechanisms at play in the perpetuation and resulting manifestations of systemic and institutional racism. On one side of the debate there lies a theory that there is an epistemic failure at the root of racial bias towards Blacks, white ignorance, a collective amnesia regarding what has and does take place in society, as it pertains to their oppression and isolation, like the view of philosopher Charles W. Mills. According to Mills, this type of ignorance, or non-knowing, is a cognitive phenomenon …

Differences In Stimulus-Response Prediction And Reorientation Of Attention Relative To Student Athletic Background, Madelyn Quirk, Jessica Green

Senior Theses

Within the game of baseball, every hit, pitch, and catch, rely on a player’s ability to respond quickly and appropriately to the resulting play in a manner that allows them to be an asset on the field. The most successful athletes are those best able to allocate their attention to accomplish these goal-oriented tasks. To explore this attentional orientation, occipital neural recordings of alpha waves often show a preemptive shift in phase alignment according to temporal anticipations. Here we aimed to identify influences on voluntary attention using cueing paradigms to examine stimulus-response timing relative to validity and athletic background, while …

Object Permanence In Asian Elephants (Elephas Maximus), Dalia Miller

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated object permanence in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) using visible and invisible test paradigms with single and multiple object displacements. Elephants were predicted to succeed, demonstrating a capacity for object permanence and for using vision in a cognitive task. Study outcomes supported these predictions.

Intelligence, Complexity, And Individuality In Sheep, Lori Marino, Debra Merskin

Animal Sentience

Domestic sheep (Ovis aries) are among the earliest animals domesticated for human use. They are consumed worldwide as mutton, hogget, and lamb, kept as wool and milk producers, and used extensively in scientific research. The popular stereotype is that sheep are docile, passive, unintelligent, and timid, but a review of the research on their behavior, affect, cognition, and personality reveals that they are complex, individualistic, and social.

More Evidence Of Complex Cognition In Nonhuman Species, Lesley J. Rogers

Animal Sentience

Chapman & Huffman have highlighted observations of animals performing, in nature, complex behaviour once thought to be unique to humans. Just as relevant to their argument are examples of cognition shown by domesticated species tested in controlled conditions. These strengthen the case for human/nonhuman similarities in behaviour and cognition. Recent research has brought to our attention the ability of nonhuman species to perform many tasks previously considered to be the hallmark of humans. Even though different species may use different ways of solving these tasks, the very fact that they can do it undermines the notion of human superiority.

Pulling The Wool From Our Eyes, Jennifer Vonk

Animal Sentience

Marino & Merskin review evidence of the complexity of sheep cognition, concluding that researchers ought to feel sheepish about misrepresenting ovine cognitive capacities. However, the failure to situate the data in critical context risks pulling the wool over readers’ eyes.

What Should We Do About Sheep? The Role Of Intelligence In Welfare Considerations, Heather Browning

Animal Sentience

Marino & Merskin (2019) demonstrate that sheep are more cognitively complex than typically thought. We should be cautious in interpreting the implications of these results for welfare considerations to avoid perpetuating mistaken beliefs about the moral value of intelligence as opposed to sentience. There are, however, still important ways in which this work can help improve sheeps’ lives.

Is Knowing Enough To Change Human Attitudes And Actions?, Liv Baker

Animal Sentience

Marino & Merskin present evidence on key aspects of cognition, such as theory of mind, learning, emotional valence, and sociality, to make a convincing argument that sheep are due consideration as individual sentient beings. With this information, what will it take to produce a real, meaningful shift in our attitudes and actions towards other animals, including a species as disadvantaged as sheep? What else do we need to know?

Domestication And Cognitive Complexity, David R. Brodbeck, Madeleine I. R. Brodbeck, Keeghan Rosso

Animal Sentience

Marino and Merskin (2019) list a number of tasks that sheep can perform well. As comparative psychologists, we are not surprised by these results. Indeed, many domesticated animal species show similar abilities.

Deepening Our Understanding Of Sheep, Lori Marino, Debra Merskin

Animal Sentience

Our Response is centered on five major themes: (1) our presentation of human mythologies about sheep; (2) the relevance of cognitive complexity (“intelligence”) as a dimension underlying the way people perceive and treat sheep; (3) whether our review is too anthropocentric or anthropomorphic; (4) animal welfare versus animal rights (abolitionism); and (5) whether knowledge and education are enough to change human attitudes and behavior.

Octopi-Ing A Unique Niche In Comparative Psychology, Jennifer Vonk

Animal Sentience

Mather’s work has been fundamental in informing scientists of the relatively mysterious behavior and cognition of an understudied group of animals – the cephalopods. This work helps to fill a gap in the comparative literature that has historically sought evidence for complex behavior only in species that are closely related to humans or share important ecological features such as social complexity.

Moral Relevance Of Cognitive Complexity, Empathy And Species Differences In Suffering, John Lazarus

Animal Sentience

I qualify two criticisms made by commentators on Chapman & Huffman’s target article. Responding to the view that differences between humans and other animals are irrelevant to deciding how we should treat other species, I point out that differences between any species in their capacity to suffer are morally relevant. And in response to the claim that suffering is the sole criterion for the moral treatment of animals, I argue that cognitive complexity and a capacity for empathy also have moral relevance to the extent that they influence suffering.

Short-Term Abstinence Effects In Experienced Electronic Cigarette Users, Nicholas J. Felicione

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Nicotine/tobacco dependence is a problem that negatively affects health at an individual and population level. Nicotine/tobacco dependence may be best assessed by measuring withdrawal symptoms of a nicotine/tobacco user who abstains from use. Withdrawal symptoms experienced by cigarette smokers are well characterized, including deficits in attention and memory, as well as self-reported cravings, urges, and other symptoms. While withdrawal in cigarette smokers has been studied extensively, little is known about dependence and withdrawal associated with newer products, such as electronic cigarettes (ECIGs). ECIGs can deliver nicotine comparably to tobacco cigarettes, indicating that they may have the potential to cause dependence. …

Sheeple? The Need For More Research On Sheep Cognition, Michael Colombo, Damian Scarf

Animal Sentience

Marino & Merskin (2019) provide a comprehensive review of the cognitive abilities of sheep. If research with other animals is any guide, there may be justification for the view that the abilities of sheep have been underestimated, and their review will likely stimulate more research into sheep cognition.

Octopus: Multiple Minds Or Just A Slow Thinker?, Shelley A. Adamo

Animal Sentience

An octopus has more neurons in their peripheral nervous system (PNS) than in their brain. PNS neurons could participate in forming cognitive networks with the central brain in the same way that the cerebellum is now thought to contribute to mammalian cognition. However, cephalopods lack myelinated fibres, which might decrease the ability of the PNS to participate in cognitive networks. The lack of myelinated fibres may also select for a less integrated brain, with an increased emphasis on local information processing. Alternatively, integration may still occur across distant neural centers, but proceed more slowly in cephalopods than in mammals.

What And Where Is An Octopus’S Mind?, Jennifer A. Mather

Animal Sentience

It is gratifying to see the thorough discussion of whether octopuses have a mind, though perhaps a mind that is different from those of “higher” vertebrates. It stimulates us to look at the welfare of these animals and challenges us to find better ways to test mindfulness and cognition across animals with widely differing natural histories and sensory and motor capacities.

Phonetic Convergence And Auditory Imagery In Reading, Josue E. Rodriguez

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This study aimed to address whether phonetic convergence (speech imitation) and auditory imagery in reading are fundamentally governed by the same process — episodic encoding (c.f., Goldinger, 1998). A set of participants (talkers; N = 12) were recorded speaking sentences at a baseline level. Talkers were then exposed model speaker with either a fast or slow speech rate and then engaged in a reading phase where they read sentences thought to be written by that speaker. If episodic encoding predicts effects of phonetic convergence and auditory imagery in reading style, then talkers should be influenced by a speaker …