11,964 research outputs found
Code Red: Triage, Or, COgnition-based DEsign Rules Enhancing Decisionmaking TRaining In A Game Environment
No full textSerious games have a great potential for training and educating people in novel and engaging ways. However, little empirical research has been done on the effectiveness of serious games, and although early findings do point to a moderately positive direction, even less is known about why some games succeed in effectively educating while others do not.We therefore propose a serious game, COgnition-based DEsign Rules Enhancing Decisionmaking TRaining In A Game Environment (Code Red: Triage), which is designed to empirically test a number of cognition-based design guidelines in the context of crisis management training that ameliorate mental model construction. Our purpose is to come to a set of design guidelines through empirical experiments that enhance the instructional design of serious games and can be used in the development of future games. Furthermore a method is discussed to extract the mental structure players have built during gameplay
Emotion and cognition in low birth weight pigs
No full textIn commercial pig farming, increasing numbers of low birth weight (LBW) piglets are born, due to selection for larger litter sizes. These piglets are known to have an increased risk of poor animal welfare during the neonatal period, as they are more likely to suffer from injury and disease than normal birth weight piglets. While this results in LBW piglets having a higher risk of pre-weaning mortality, a considerable number of these piglets survive to slaughter age. Whether the welfare of these surviving pigs is affected by their birth weight has received far less scientific attention. In humans, LBW is a risk factor for long-term emotional and cognitive impairments. As humans and pigs share many similarities in brain development, it is possible that the adverse effects of LBW are comparable as well. Impaired emotional and cognitive functioning could negatively affect the welfare of pigs. A negative emotional state reflects an animal’s negative subjective response to its environment, while impaired cognition may hinder an animal’s interaction with its environment. Therefore, the aim of this thesis was to evaluate if LBW influences emotion and cognition in pigs. To assess emotion, pigs were tested in a judgment bias task. Judgment bias is a cognitive measure of emotional state which reflects the influence of emotion on an animal’s interpretation of ambiguous stimuli. In the judgment bias task, pigs first received discrimination training. Pigs were trained to perform a specific behavioral response to two auditory stimuli, predicting either a positive or negative outcome. Once pigs successfully discriminated between these stimuli, they were presented with intermediate, ambiguous stimuli. The pigs’ responses to ambiguous stimuli were scored as optimistic (performance of ‘positive’ response) or pessimistic (performance of ‘negative’ response). Optimistic interpretation of an ambiguous stimulus is indicative of a positive emotional state, whereas a pessimistic interpretation is indicative of a negative emotional state. In addition to judgment bias, pigs’ cortisol concentrations in hair and saliva were measured as a physiological marker of stress. Cognitive performance was evaluated using discrimination training in the judgment bias task, as well as performance in the spatial holeboard task. In this task, pigs had to learn and remember the locations of hidden food rewards in an open arena. After a pig had successfully acquired the task, it was presented with a reversal phase during which it was presented with a new configuration of reward locations. The holeboard allows for simultaneous assessment of working and reference memory, as well as measures of motivation, exploration, and behavioral flexibility. We found that LBW does not have to result in a more negative emotional state in pigs, if they are housed in an enriched environment. However, such housing conditions were not sufficient to counter LBW pigs’ impaired cognitive development based on decreased performance in both behavioral tasks. Although the cognitive impairments we found were mild, it is likely they were ameliorated by the presence of (cognitive) enrichment. LBW pigs on commercial farms may suffer from exaggerated deficits compared to the pigs tested in this thesis
Elephant cognition in primate perspective
No full textOn many of the staple measures of comparative psychology, elephants show no obvious differences from other mammals, such as primates: discrimination learning, memory, spontaneous tool use, etc. However, a range of more naturalistic measures have recently suggested that elephant cognition may be rather different. Wild elephants sub-categorize humans into groups, independently making this classification on the basis of scent or colour. In number discrimination, elephants show no effects of absolute magnitude or relative size disparity in making number judgements. In the social realm, elephants show empathy into the problems faced by others, and give hints of special abilities in cooperation, vocal imitation and perhaps teaching. Field data suggest that the elephant’s vaunted reputation for memory may have a factual basis, in two ways. Elephants’ ability to remember large-scale space over long periods suggests good cognitive mapping skills. Elephants’ skill in keeping track of the current locations of many family members implies that working memory may be unusually developed, consistent with the laboratory finding that their quantity judgements do not show the usual magnitude effects.Peer reviewe
The Extended Mind and Network-Enabled Cognition
No full textIn thinking about the transformative potential of network technologies with respect to human cognition, it is common to see network resources as playing a largely assistive or augmentative role. In this paper we propose a somewhat more radical vision. We suggest that the informational and technological elements of a network system can, at times, constitute part of the material supervenience base for a human agent’s mental states and processes. This thesis (called the thesis of network-enabled cognition) draws its inspiration from the notion of the extended mind that has been propounded in the philosophical and cognitive science literature. Our basic claim is that network systems can do more than just augment cognition; they can also constitute part of the physical machinery that makes mind and cognition mechanistically possible. In evaluating this hypothesis, we identify a number of issues that seem to undermine the extent to which contemporary network systems, most notably the World Wide Web, can legitimately feature as part of an environmentally-extended cognitive system. Specific problems include the reliability and resilience of network-enabled devices, the accessibility of online information content, and the extent to which network-derived information is treated in the same way as information retrieved from biological memory. We argue that these apparent shortfalls do not necessarily merit the wholesale rejection of the network-enabled cognition thesis; rather, they point to the limits of the current state-of-the-art and identify the targets of many ongoing research initiatives in the network and information sciences. In addition to highlighting the importance of current research and technology development efforts, the thesis of network-enabled cognition also suggests a number of areas for future research. These include the formation and maintenance of online trust relationships, the subjective assessment of information credibility and the long-term impact of network access on human psychological and cognitive functioning. The nascent discipline of web science is, we suggest, suitably placed to begin an exploration of these issues
Using cognitive paradigms to measure emotion in pigs
No full textThe welfare of pigs both on farm and in laboratories can be influenced by the conditions associated with each environment. Modern definitions of welfare emphasize the importance of affective states as essential for understanding welfare needs, and welfare legislation refers to the avoidance of unnecessary ‘suffering’ and ‘distress’ of animals. To objectively measure affective states in animals is therefore a priority for assessing welfare. From human research we know that emotion and mood can influence cognitive processes, such as memory and judgement. In particular emotional valence (positive /negative) can lead to mood congruent judgements of ambiguous stimuli, e.g. people in a positive mood are more likely to make optimistic judgements. It has been proposed that these biases can be used as a proxy measure of the valence of emotion and mood in animals. In this thesis I develop and try to validate novel tasks for pigs which can be used to study emotion-biased cognitive processing. First, we developed a Judgement Bias Task (JBT) whereby pigs were trained to discriminate one tone-cue predicting a large reward (positive cue), from a second tone cue predicting a small reward (negative cue), by choosing the correct goal box. When pigs could sufficiently discriminate between these two cues, responses to three unfamiliar ambiguous tone cues, intermediate in frequency between the positive and negative cue, were measured. An optimistic choice was scored if the pig chose the goal box associated with the large reward. We demonstrated that both a common farm breed and laboratory breed of pig could relatively easily learn the discrimination, and showed a similar pattern of responding to the ambiguous cues. To validate the task we looked at responses of low birth weight (LBW) pigs. LBW in humans is associated with later emotional problems such as anxiety and depression. In pigs, LBW is associated with higher mortality, but also higher stress reactivity in surviving piglets, suggestive of altered emotionality. We hypothesized therefore that LBW pigs ought to make fewer optimistic choices in response to the ambiguous cues. We compared LBW pigs to their normal-birth-weight siblings and, in two studies found, that the LBW pigs did indeed make fewer optimistic choices. In a third study we failed to find a difference. We developed a second task, a probabilistic choice Pig Gambling Task (PGT), to look at decision making under risk, which is also susceptible to emotional influences. Pigs could freely choose between an option offering small but frequent rewards and a second option offering large but infrequent rewards. LBW pigs chose more for the small but frequent rewards suggesting higher levels of risk aversion. Responses on the PGT were independent from responses on the JBT suggesting that the two tasks are measuring different aspects of decision making under uncertainty (risk vs ambiguity). Further, responses on the JBT were independent of memory, learning, and motivation suggesting that our task is indeed targeting emotion-biased judgements. However, our tasks are not yet suitable for the on-farm testing of emotion in pigs due to the complex training involved
Early life in a barren environment adversely affects spatialcognition in laying hens (Gallus gallus domesticus)
Full text linkSpatial cognition in vertebrates is adversely affected by a lack of environmental complexity during early life. However, to our knowledge, no previous studies have tested the effect of early exposure to varying degrees of environmental complexity on specific components of spatial cognition in chickens.There are two main rearing systems for laying hens in the EU: aviaries and cages.These two systems differ from one another in environmental complexity. The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that rearing in a barren cage environment relative to a complex aviary environment causes long-lasting deficits in the
ability to perform spatial tasks. For this purpose, 24 white Dekalb laying hens, half of which had been reared in an aviary system and the other half in a conventional cage system, were tested in a holeboard task. Birds from both treatment groups learnt the task; however, the
cage-reared hens required more time to locate rewards and had poorer levels of working memory. The latter finding supports the hypothesis that rearing in a barren environment
causes long-term impairment of short-term memory in chickens
Cognition and the Web
No full textEmpirical research related to the Web has typically focused on its impact to social relationships and wider society; however, the cognitive impact of the Web is also an increasing focus of scientific interest and research attention. In this paper, I attempt to provide an overview of what I see as the important issues in the debate regarding the relationship between human cognition and the Web. I argue that the Web is potentially poised to transform our cognitive and epistemic profiles, but that in order to understand the nature of this influence we need to countenance a position that factors in the available scientific evidence, the changing nature of our interaction with the Web, and the possibility that many of our everyday cognitive achievements rely on complex webs of social and technological scaffolding. I review the literature relating to the cognitive effects of current Web technology, and I attempt to anticipate the cognitive impact of next-generation technologies, such as Web-based augmented reality systems and the transition to data-centric modes of information representation. I suggest that additional work is required to more fully understand the cognitive impact of both current and future Web technologies, and I identify some of the issues for future scientific work in this area. Given that recent scientific effort around the Web has coalesced into a new scientific discipline, namely that of Web Science, I suggest that many of the issues related to cognition and the Web could form part of the emerging Web Science research agenda
Methoden voor de bepaling van corticosteron in veren en cortisol in haren als mogelijke lange-termijn indicator voor dierenwelzijn
No full textVery low birth weight piglets show improved cognitive performance in the spatial cognitive holeboard task
No full textLow birth weight (LBW) is common in humans and has been found to cause lasting cognitive and developmental deficits later in life. It is thought that the primary cause is intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR) due to a shortage of oxygen and supply of nutrients to the fetus. Pigs appear to be a good model animal to investigate long-term cognitive effects of LBW, as LBW is common in commercially farmed breeds of pigs. Moreover, pigs are developmentally similar to humans and can be trained to perform complex tasks. In this study, we trained ten very low birth weight (vLBW) piglets and their ten normal birth weight (NBW) siblings in a spatial cognitive holeboard task in order to investigate long-term cognitive effects of LBW. In this task, four out of sixteen holes contain a hidden food reward, which allows measuring working memory (WM) (short-term memory) and reference memory (RM) (long-term memory) in parallel. Piglets were trained for 46–54 trials during the acquisition phase, followed by a 20-trial reversal phase in which a different set of four holes was baited. Both groups acquired the task and improved their performance over time. A mixed model repeated measures ANOVA revealed that vLBW piglets showed better RM performance than NBW piglets in both the acquisition and reversal phase. Additionally, WM scores in the vLBW were less disrupted than in the NBW animals when switched to the reversal phase. These findings are contrary to findings in humans. Moreover, vLBW pigs had lower hair cortisol concentrations (HCCs) than NBW pigs in flank hair at 12 weeks of age. These results could indicate that restricted intra-uterine growth causes compensatory mechanisms to arise in early development that result in beneficial effects for vLBW piglets, increasing their low survival chances in early-life competition
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