Evolutionary psychology and the generation of culture,part II: Case study: A computational theory of social exchange

Models of the various adaptive specializations that have evolved in the human psyche could become the building blocks of a scientific theory of culture. The first step in creating such models is the derivation of a so-called “computational theory” of the adaptive problem each psychological specialization has evolved to solve. In Part II, as a case study, a sketch of a computational theory of social exchange (cooperation for mutual benefit) is developed. The dynamics of natural selection in Pleistocene ecological conditions define adaptive information processing problems that humans must be able to solve in order to participate in social exchange: individual recognition, memory for one's history of interaction, value communication, value modeling, and a shared grammar of social contracts that specifies representational structure and inferential procedures. The nature of these adaptive information processing problems places constraints on the class of cognitive programs capable of solving them; this allows one to make empirical predictions about how the cognitive processes involved in attention, communication, memory, learning, and reasoning are mobilized in situations of social exchange. Once the cognitive programs specialized for regulating social exchange are mapped, the variation and invariances in social exchange within and between cultures can be meaningfully discussed.     

Effects of alcohol on psycho-technical tests and social communication in a festive situation: a chronopsychological approach

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of consuming alcoholic vs. nonalcoholic beverages on performance of psycho-technical tasks (attentional and general nonverbal intelligence tasks) and social behavior at different times of day. Both alcoholic and nonalcoholic consumption took place in a largely festive situation. The experiment was conducted on 184 degree-level and postgraduate students (94 female and 90 male) divided into eight independent groups for study at different times: 8:00 to 11:00, 11:00 to 14:00, 14:00 to 17:00, 17:00 to 20:00h. The main result obtained, by analysis of variance (ANOVA), showed that time of day had no effect on the performance of psycho-technical tasks nor on social communication, except for the retest situation in the attentional task. Alcohol (equal to approximately 0.5 g/L of blood) facilitated communication, but basically it had no effect on any of the psycho-technical performance tests. For the latter, an interaction was observed between when the test was done and type of beverage consumed. Alcohol appears to alter the expected change in performance in the retest situation. The results suggest that the body's sensitivity to a measured quantity of alcohol differs according to the cognitive processes involved.     

Attentional performance, age and scholastic achievement in healthy children

Background

Attentional processes in children play a critical role in daily school demands and accomplishments. Studies on the association of attentional processes with school achievement and age in healthy school children are scarce. The aim of the present study was to identify correlations between dimensions of attentional performance, scholastic achievement and age.

Methodology/Principal Findings

An extensive testing battery was used to assess a wide range of attentional dimensions. A principal component analysis revealed three factors that are related to attentional performance (distractibility, lapses of attention, cognitive speed). Age was negatively associated with distractibility, lapses of attention and cognitive speed, indicating that distractibility and lapses of attention decreased with age in healthy children and resulted in lower cognitive speed.

Conclusions/Significance

Attentional processes in healthy children should be measured in relation to distractibility, lapses of attention and cognitive speed.     

Effects of Alcohol on Psycho-Technical Tests and Social Communication in a Festive Situation: A Chronopsychological Approach

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of consuming alcoholic vs. nonalcoholic beverages on performance of psycho-technical tasks (attentional and general nonverbal intelligence tasks) and social behavior at different times of day. Both alcoholic and nonalcoholic consumption took place in a largely festive situation. The experiment was conducted on 184 degree-level and postgraduate students (94 female and 90 male) divided into eight independent groups for study at different times: 8:00 to 11:00, 11:00 to 14:00, 14:00 to 17:00, 17:00 to 20:00 h. The main result obtained, by analysis of variance (ANOVA), showed that time of day had no effect on the performance of psycho-technical tasks nor on social communication, except for the retest situation in the attentional task. Alcohol (equal to ~0.5 g/L of blood) facilitated communication, but basically it had no effect on any of the psycho-technical performance tests. For the latter, an interaction was observed between when the test was done and type of beverage consumed. Alcohol appears to alter the expected change in performance in the retest situation. The results suggest that the body's sensitivity to a measured quantity of alcohol differs according to the cognitive processes involved.     

Effects of Alcohol on Psycho-Technical Tests and Social Communication in a Festive Situation: A Chronopsychological Approach

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of consuming alcoholic vs. nonalcoholic beverages on performance of psycho-technical tasks (attentional and general nonverbal intelligence tasks) and social behavior at different times of day. Both alcoholic and nonalcoholic consumption took place in a largely festive situation. The experiment was conducted on 184 degree-level and postgraduate students (94 female and 90 male) divided into eight independent groups for study at different times: 8:00 to 11:00, 11:00 to 14:00, 14:00 to 17:00, 17:00 to 20:00 h. The main result obtained, by analysis of variance (ANOVA), showed that time of day had no effect on the performance of psycho-technical tasks nor on social communication, except for the retest situation in the attentional task. Alcohol (equal to ?0.5 g/L of blood) facilitated communication, but basically it had no effect on any of the psycho-technical performance tests. For the latter, an interaction was observed between when the test was done and type of beverage consumed. Alcohol appears to alter the expected change in performance in the retest situation. The results suggest that the body's sensitivity to a measured quantity of alcohol differs according to the cognitive processes involved.     

Gestural communication in young gorillas (Gorilla gorilla): gestural repertoire,learning, and use

In the present study we investigated the gestural communication of gorillas (Gorilla gorilla). The subjects were 13 gorillas (1-6 years old) living in two different groups in captivity. Our goal was to compile the gestural repertoire of subadult gorillas, with a special focus on processes of social cognition, including attention to individual and developmental variability, group variability, and flexibility of use. Thirty-three different gestures (six auditory, 11 tactile, and 16 visual gestures) were recorded. We found idiosyncratic gestures, individual differences, and similar degrees of concordance between and within groups, as well as some group-specific gestures. These results provide evidence that ontogenetic ritualization is the main learning process involved, but some form of social learning may also be responsible for the acquisition of special gestures. The present study establishes that gorillas have a multifaceted gestural repertoire, characterized by a great deal of flexibility with accommodations to various communicative circumstances, including the attentional state of the recipient. The possibility of assigning Seyfarth and Cheney's [1997] model for nonhuman primate vocal development to the development of nonhuman primate gestural communication is discussed.     

An ethological-social learning theory of the development of altruism: Implications for human sociobiology

This paper presents an ethological-social learning theory of the development of human altruism. Central to the theory is the idea that altruism is a biological system involving the interaction of cognitive, affective, and perceptual processes. These affective processes are viewed as depending crucially on biologically based predispositions to respond to social stimuli, especially parents, during development, and as crucially affecting social learning processes central to altruism. Cross-cultural and historical evidence are discussed indicating associations between the degree of genetic relatedness in societies and familial affective relationships and it is argued that cultural controls on altruism have operated by manipulating the affective environment during development. Understanding the mechanisms underlying human altruism is necessary in order to properly investigate the flexibility, control, and genetic bases of altruism.     

The evolution of ADHD: a disorder of communication?

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric condition. Many believe that the central disability is impaired inhibition, which leads to reduced abilities in social skills, self-control, organization and time management. The behaviors identified by clinicians as problematic--inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity--have been incorporated into several evolutionary models as selectively adaptive cognitive skills for surviving the challenges of a variable Pleistocene environment. We propose that the "disabilities" exhibited by individuals with ADHD are maladaptive, and we concur with Barkley that there is a central impairment in the behavioral inhibition system. The underlying neural anatomy and physiology support the possibility that neurotransmitter pathology may have an impact on other interlinked systems (including language), and may also account for the frequent comorbidity of aggression, anxiety, depression, and learning disabilities (many of which are language-related). Language skills compete with other cognitive activities for the attentional system, and thus the evolution of language could not in fact be independent of the evolution of attention. If language represents the ultimate expression of the attentional system, and some individuals with ADHD are seriously impaired in the coordination of interlinked neural systems (including language), then ADHD fits Jerome Wakefield's definition of "harmful dysfunction," and communication impairments should be investigated more thoroughly by clinicians.     

The BTBR Mouse Model of Autism Spectrum Disorders Has Learning and Attentional Impairments and Alterations in Acetylcholine and Kynurenic Acid in Prefrontal Cortex

Autism is a complex spectrum of disorders characterized by core behavioral deficits in social interaction, communication, repetitive stereotyped behaviors and restricted interests. Autism frequently presents with additional cognitive symptoms, including attentional deficits and intellectual disability. Preclinical models are important tools for studying the behavioral domains and biological underpinnings of autism, and potential treatment targets. The inbred BTBR T+tf/J (BTBR) mouse strain has been used as an animal model of core behavioral deficits in autism. BTBR mice exhibit repetitive behaviors and deficits in sociability and communication, but other aspects of their cognitive phenotype, including attentional performance, are not well characterized. We examined the attentional abilities of BTBR mice in the 5-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT) using an automated touchscreen testing apparatus. The 5-CSRTT is an analogue of the human continuous performance task of attention, and so both the task and apparatus have translational relevance to human touchscreen cognitive testing. We also measured basal extracellular levels of a panel of neurotransmitters within the medial prefrontal cortex, a brain region critically important for performing the 5-CSRTT. We found that BTBR mice have increased impulsivity, defined as an inability to withhold responding, and decreased motivation, as compared to C57Bl/6J mice. Both of these features characterize attentional deficit disorders in humans. BTBR mice also display decreased accuracy in detecting short stimuli, lower basal levels of extracellular acetylcholine and higher levels of kynurenic acid within the prefrontal cortex. Intact cholinergic transmission in prefrontal cortex is required for accurate performance of the 5-CSRTT, consequently this cholinergic deficit may underlie less accurate performance in BTBR mice. Based on our findings that BTBR mice have attentional impairments and alterations in a key neural substrate of attention, we propose that they may be valuable for studying mechanisms for treatment of cognitive dysfunction in individuals with attention deficits and autism.     

Nicotine self-medication of cognitive-attentional processing

This article selectively reviews research concerning nicotine's effects on cognition, including the neurobiological mechanism for these effects, task and experimental features that may be important for elucidating these effects, and why these effects may have amplified motivational significance among smokers with cognitive deficit. Nicotine has effects on various cognitive processes, though most studies in humans have focused on the amelioration of cognitive deficits experienced during drug withdrawal. The direct cognitive-enhancing effect of nicotine remains a controversial topic. The relationship between attentional and non-attentional cognitive effects of nicotine is discussed in the context of cognitive self-medication. Further research should include theory-driven examination of cognitive effects of nicotine, and develop targeted smoking cessation programs based on an improved understanding of the role of cognitive self-medication in high-risk individuals.     

To Beg,or Not to Beg? That Is the Question: Mangabeys Modify Their Production of Requesting Gestures in Response to Human’s Attentional States

Background

Although gestural communication is widespread in primates, few studies focused on the cognitive processes underlying gestures produced by monkeys.

Methodology/Principal Findings

The present study asked whether red-capped mangabeys (Cercocebus torquatus) trained to produce visually based requesting gestures modify their gestural behavior in response to human’s attentional states. The experimenter held a food item and displayed five different attentional states that differed on the basis of body, head and gaze orientation; mangabeys had to request food by extending an arm toward the food item (begging gesture). Mangabeys were sensitive, at least to some extent, to the human’s attentional state. They reacted to some postural cues of a human recipient: they gestured more and faster when both the body and the head of the experimenter were oriented toward them than when they were oriented away. However, they did not seem to use gaze cues to recognize an attentive human: monkeys begged at similar levels regardless of the experimenter’s eyes state.

Conclusions/Significance

These results indicate that mangabeys lowered their production of begging gestures when these could not be perceived by the human who had to respond to it. This finding provides important evidence that acquired begging gestures of monkeys might be used intentionally.     

Dissociated deficits in attentional networks in social anxiety and depression

A critical cognitive symptom that is commonly involved in social anxiety and depression is attentional deficit. However, the functional relationship between attentional deficit and these two disorders remains poorly understood. Here, we behaviorally disentangled the three key attentional components(alerting, orienting, and executive control) using the established attentional network task(ANT) to investigate how social anxiety and depression are related to deficits in these attention components. We identified a double dissociation between the symptoms of social anxiety and depression and the attentional component deficits when processing non-emotional stimuli. While individuals vulnerable to social anxiety exhibited deficits in the orienting component, individuals vulnerable to depression were impaired in the executive control component. Our findings showed that social anxiety and depression were associated with deficits in different attentional components, which are not specific to emotional information.     

Adolescent development and external influences

There are two different approaches to the definition of "normal" in adolescence: psychoanalytic interpretation and empirical research. They are not necessarily at odds but can complement each other if normalcy is viewed as a dependent variable. Its definition depends also on cultural rules, social values and expectancies, professional orientations, personality traits and political climate, which all determine the tolerance level for aberrance. The adolescent development including biological, cognitive and psychosocial changes is related to the existing social formations and processes. It is affected by family, peer groups, neighborhood, work and wider community. The paper describes the adolescent development in particular social contexts.     

Attentional selection in visual perception,memory and action: a quest for cross-domain integration

For decades, the cognitive and neural sciences have benefitted greatly from a separation of mind and brain into distinct functional domains. The tremendous success of this approach notwithstanding, it is self-evident that such a view is incomplete. Goal-directed behaviour of an organism requires the joint functioning of perception, memory and sensorimotor control. A prime candidate for achieving integration across these functional domains are attentional processes. Consequently, this Theme Issue brings together studies of attentional selection from many fields, both experimental and theoretical, that are united in their quest to find overreaching integrative principles of attention between perception, memory and action. In all domains, attention is understood as combination of competition and priority control (‘bias’), with the task as a decisive driving factor to ensure coherent goal-directed behaviour and cognition. Using vision as the predominant model system for attentional selection, many studies of this Theme Issue focus special emphasis on eye movements as a selection process that is both a fundamental action and serves a key function in perception. The Theme Issue spans a wide range of methods, from measuring human behaviour in the real word to recordings of single neurons in the non-human primate brain. We firmly believe that combining such a breadth in approaches is necessary not only for attentional selection, but also to take the next decisive step in all of the cognitive and neural sciences: to understand cognition and behaviour beyond isolated domains.     

White Matter Hyperintensities among Older Adults Are Associated with Futile Increase in Frontal Activation and Functional Connectivity during Spatial Search

The mechanisms by which aging and other processes can affect the structure and function of brain networks are important to understanding normal age-related cognitive decline. Advancing age is known to be associated with various disease processes, including clinically asymptomatic vascular and inflammation processes that contribute to white matter structural alteration and potential injury. The effects of these processes on the function of distributed cognitive networks, however, are poorly understood. We hypothesized that the extent of magnetic resonance imaging white matter hyperintensities would be associated with visual attentional control in healthy aging, measured using a functional magnetic resonance imaging search task. We assessed cognitively healthy older adults with search tasks indexing processing speed and attentional control. Expanding upon previous research, older adults demonstrate activation across a frontal-parietal attentional control network. Further, greater white matter hyperintensity volume was associated with increased activation of a frontal network node independent of chronological age. Also consistent with previous research, greater white matter hyperintensity volume was associated with anatomically specific reductions in functional magnetic resonance imaging functional connectivity during search among attentional control regions. White matter hyperintensities may lead to subtle attentional network dysfunction, potentially through impaired frontal-parietal and frontal interhemispheric connectivity, suggesting that clinically silent white matter biomarkers of vascular and inflammatory injury can contribute to differences in search performance and brain function in aging, and likely contribute to advanced age-related impairments in cognitive control.     

Impaired Attentional Disengagement from Stimuli Matching the Contents of Working Memory in Social Anxiety

Although many cognitive models in anxiety propose that an impaired top-down control enhances the processing of task-irrelevant stimuli, few studies have paid attention to task-irrelevant stimuli under a cognitive load task. In the present study, we investigated the effects of the working memory load on attention to task-irrelevant stimuli in trait social anxiety. The results showed that as trait social anxiety increased, participants were unable to disengage from task-irrelevant stimuli identical to the memory cue under low and high working memory loads. Impaired attentional disengagement was positively correlated with trait social anxiety. This impaired attentional disengagement was related to trait social anxiety, but not state anxiety. Our findings suggest that socially anxious people have difficulty in disengaging attention from a task-irrelevant memory cue owing to an impaired top-down control under a working memory load.     

线索有效性对社会性注意和外源性注意的影响

目的 眼睛注视、头朝向和生物运动方向等社会性线索,对人类的生存和社会交互极为重要.由于社会性线索和外周线索都具有反射性注意定向这一特点,社会性注意往往也被认为属于外源性注意.但是,外源性注意并不能完全解释所有的社会性注意现象.因此,两者是否具有相同的加工机制,尚存在争论.方法 本研究使用空间线索范式,系统考察了线索有效...     

The “online brain”: how the Internet may be changing our cognition

The impact of the Internet across multiple aspects of modern society is clear. However, the influence that it may have on our brain structure and functioning remains a central topic of investigation. Here we draw on recent psychological, psychiatric and neuroimaging findings to examine several key hypotheses on how the Internet may be changing our cognition. Specifically, we explore how unique features of the online world may be influencing: a) attentional capacities, as the constantly evolving stream of online information encourages our divided attention across multiple media sources, at the expense of sustained concentration; b) memory processes, as this vast and ubiquitous source of online information begins to shift the way we retrieve, store, and even value knowledge; and c) social cognition, as the ability for online social settings to resemble and evoke real‐world social processes creates a new interplay between the Internet and our social lives, including our self‐concepts and self‐esteem. Overall, the available evidence indicates that the Internet can produce both acute and sustained alterations in each of these areas of cognition, which may be reflected in changes in the brain. However, an emerging priority for future research is to determine the effects of extensive online media usage on cognitive development in youth, and examine how this may differ from cognitive outcomes and brain impact of uses of Internet in the elderly. We conclude by proposing how Internet research could be integrated into broader research settings to study how this unprecedented new facet of society can affect our cognition and the brain across the life course.     

The poetics of babytalk

Caretaker-infant attachment is a complex but well-recognized adaptation in humans. An early instance of (or precursor to) attachment behavior is the dyadic interaction between adults and infants of 6 to 24 weeks, commonly called "babytalk." Detailed analysis of 1 minute of spontaneous babytalk with an 8-week infant shows that the poetic texture of the mother’s speech—specifically its use of metrics, phonetics, and foregrounding—helps to shape and direct the baby’s attention, as it also coordinates the partners’ emotional communication. We hypothesize that the ability to respond to poetic features of language is present as early as the first few weeks of life and that this ability attunes cognitive and affective capacities in ways that provide a foundation for the skills at work in later aesthetic production and response. By linking developmental social processes with formal cognitive aspects of art, we challenge predominant views in evolutionary psychology that literary art is a superfluous byproduct of adaptive evolutionary mechanisms or primarily an ornament created by sexual selection. David S. Miall is Professor of English at the University of Alberta in Canada. He is the author of essays on British Romantic writers, empirical studies of readers’ responses to literature, hypertext and literary computing. Ellen Dissanayake is Visiting Scholar at the Walter Chapin Simpson Center for the Humanities, University of Washington. Her most recent book is Art and Intimacy: How the Arts Began (2000).