Graham Bell
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198569725
- eISBN:
- 9780191717741
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198569725.003.0013
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Diversification occurs readily in asexual populations, but is obstructed by recombination in outcrossed sexual organisms. Species may arise because sexual isolation permits diversification, or ...
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Diversification occurs readily in asexual populations, but is obstructed by recombination in outcrossed sexual organisms. Species may arise because sexual isolation permits diversification, or because sexual isolation follows diversification; this chapter takes the former view. The first section in this final chapter is called Speciation and diversification and it details allopatric and sympatric divergence; asexual diversification; the poverty of the protists; and speciation in macrobes. The second section is called Experimental speciation and is about sexual divergence by drift; disruptive natural selection; the evolution of isolating mechanisms; divergent natural selection in complete isolation; reinforcement; artificial selection for sexual isolation; sexual divergence; and offers a new species of yeast. The final section entitled Emerging species is all about sticklebacks; whitefish; and sedges.Less
Diversification occurs readily in asexual populations, but is obstructed by recombination in outcrossed sexual organisms. Species may arise because sexual isolation permits diversification, or because sexual isolation follows diversification; this chapter takes the former view. The first section in this final chapter is called Speciation and diversification and it details allopatric and sympatric divergence; asexual diversification; the poverty of the protists; and speciation in macrobes. The second section is called Experimental speciation and is about sexual divergence by drift; disruptive natural selection; the evolution of isolating mechanisms; divergent natural selection in complete isolation; reinforcement; artificial selection for sexual isolation; sexual divergence; and offers a new species of yeast. The final section entitled Emerging species is all about sticklebacks; whitefish; and sedges.
John R. Anderson
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195324259
- eISBN:
- 9780199786671
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195324259.003.0004
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Models and Architectures
The entire cerebral cortex projects down to the basal ganglia that plays an important role in coordinating cognition. These structures serve as the repository for our procedural knowledge. They have ...
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The entire cerebral cortex projects down to the basal ganglia that plays an important role in coordinating cognition. These structures serve as the repository for our procedural knowledge. They have the ability to recognize appropriate cortical patterns and take actions directly without further deliberation. In contrast to declarative memory, procedural memory is a slow-learning system in which new capacities only gradually emerge. This chapter describes how new production rules are acquired in procedural memory and how reinforcement learning mechanisms serve to select among alternative productions. Three examples are described that focus on procedural learning in language acquisition, learning from instructions, and brain imaging changes that occur with procedural learning.Less
The entire cerebral cortex projects down to the basal ganglia that plays an important role in coordinating cognition. These structures serve as the repository for our procedural knowledge. They have the ability to recognize appropriate cortical patterns and take actions directly without further deliberation. In contrast to declarative memory, procedural memory is a slow-learning system in which new capacities only gradually emerge. This chapter describes how new production rules are acquired in procedural memory and how reinforcement learning mechanisms serve to select among alternative productions. Three examples are described that focus on procedural learning in language acquisition, learning from instructions, and brain imaging changes that occur with procedural learning.
Ronald W. Langacker
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195331967
- eISBN:
- 9780199868209
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331967.003.0008
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
Language is both cognitive and sociocultural, consisting in conventionally sanctioned patterns of communicative activity. These patterns take the form of schemas abstracted from usage events by the ...
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Language is both cognitive and sociocultural, consisting in conventionally sanctioned patterns of communicative activity. These patterns take the form of schemas abstracted from usage events by the reinforcement of recurring commonalities. Conventional linguistic units are linked by relationships of composition and categorization (either elaboration or extension) and thus form intersecting networks of great complexity. Expressions are interpreted and assessed for well-formedness through categorization by linguistic units. Through a process of interactive activation, particular units are selected to categorize particular facets of an expression. The total set of categorizing relationships constitutes the expression's structural description, and whether the categorizations involve elaboration or extension determines its degree of conventionality. Despite the absence of explicit prohibitions, this model affords an account of distribution, restrictions, and judgments of ungrammaticality. One aspect of grammatical constructions is their characterization at different levels of specificity, including constructional subschemas incorporating specific lexical items. And since one aspect of lexical items is their occurrence in particular constructions, lexicon and grammar are overlapping rather than disjoint. The model accommodates degrees and kinds of regularity, which decomposes into generality, productivity, and compositionality. Regularities include higher-order generalizations, where sets of categorizations or lexical behaviors are themselves schematized to form productive patterns. Among the phenomena described in this manner are patterns of phonological extension (phonological rules), patterns of semantic extension (e.g. general metonymies), and patterns of morphological realization (like conjugation classes).Less
Language is both cognitive and sociocultural, consisting in conventionally sanctioned patterns of communicative activity. These patterns take the form of schemas abstracted from usage events by the reinforcement of recurring commonalities. Conventional linguistic units are linked by relationships of composition and categorization (either elaboration or extension) and thus form intersecting networks of great complexity. Expressions are interpreted and assessed for well-formedness through categorization by linguistic units. Through a process of interactive activation, particular units are selected to categorize particular facets of an expression. The total set of categorizing relationships constitutes the expression's structural description, and whether the categorizations involve elaboration or extension determines its degree of conventionality. Despite the absence of explicit prohibitions, this model affords an account of distribution, restrictions, and judgments of ungrammaticality. One aspect of grammatical constructions is their characterization at different levels of specificity, including constructional subschemas incorporating specific lexical items. And since one aspect of lexical items is their occurrence in particular constructions, lexicon and grammar are overlapping rather than disjoint. The model accommodates degrees and kinds of regularity, which decomposes into generality, productivity, and compositionality. Regularities include higher-order generalizations, where sets of categorizations or lexical behaviors are themselves schematized to form productive patterns. Among the phenomena described in this manner are patterns of phonological extension (phonological rules), patterns of semantic extension (e.g. general metonymies), and patterns of morphological realization (like conjugation classes).
Daniel Durstewitz
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195373035
- eISBN:
- 9780199865543
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195373035.003.0018
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Molecular and Cellular Systems, History of Neuroscience
Current computational models of dopamine (DA) modulation have worked either from a more abstract neuroalgorithmic level, starting with specific assumptions about DA's computational role and then ...
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Current computational models of dopamine (DA) modulation have worked either from a more abstract neuroalgorithmic level, starting with specific assumptions about DA's computational role and then working out its implications at a higher cognitive level, or have used a more biophysical/physiological implementation to unravel the dynamic and functional consequences of DA's effects on voltage-gated and synaptic ion channels. This chapter focuses on the latter, and in addition will specifically review models of DA-innervated target regions rather than models of ventral tegmental area/substantia nigra (VTA/SN) DA neurons themselves. It begins with a brief discussion of how DA may change the input/output functions of single striatal and cortical neuron. It considers the network level and the potential computational role of DA in higher cognitive functions, and then reviews DA-based models of reinforcement learning.Less
Current computational models of dopamine (DA) modulation have worked either from a more abstract neuroalgorithmic level, starting with specific assumptions about DA's computational role and then working out its implications at a higher cognitive level, or have used a more biophysical/physiological implementation to unravel the dynamic and functional consequences of DA's effects on voltage-gated and synaptic ion channels. This chapter focuses on the latter, and in addition will specifically review models of DA-innervated target regions rather than models of ventral tegmental area/substantia nigra (VTA/SN) DA neurons themselves. It begins with a brief discussion of how DA may change the input/output functions of single striatal and cortical neuron. It considers the network level and the potential computational role of DA in higher cognitive functions, and then reviews DA-based models of reinforcement learning.
Barry J. Everitt, David Belin, Jeffrey W. Dalley, and Trevor W. Robbins
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195373035
- eISBN:
- 9780199865543
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195373035.003.0027
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Molecular and Cellular Systems, History of Neuroscience
This chapter begins with a discussion of the notion that dopamine (DA) transmission provides a neurochemical mechanism of reinforcement in the brain. It then covers the molecular mechanisms of action ...
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This chapter begins with a discussion of the notion that dopamine (DA) transmission provides a neurochemical mechanism of reinforcement in the brain. It then covers the molecular mechanisms of action of addictive drugs, Pavlovian conditioning, addictive drugs and cellular models of learning and plasticity, and dopaminergic mechanisms in the vulnerability to drug addiction.Less
This chapter begins with a discussion of the notion that dopamine (DA) transmission provides a neurochemical mechanism of reinforcement in the brain. It then covers the molecular mechanisms of action of addictive drugs, Pavlovian conditioning, addictive drugs and cellular models of learning and plasticity, and dopaminergic mechanisms in the vulnerability to drug addiction.
Nora D. Volkow, Joanna S. Fowler, Gene-Jack Wang, Frank Telang, and Ruben Baler
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195373035
- eISBN:
- 9780199865543
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195373035.003.0028
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Molecular and Cellular Systems, History of Neuroscience
This chapter begins with a discussion of the relationship between acute dopamine (DA) increases in the human brain and drug reinforcement. It then covers the long-term effects of drugs of abuse on DA ...
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This chapter begins with a discussion of the relationship between acute dopamine (DA) increases in the human brain and drug reinforcement. It then covers the long-term effects of drugs of abuse on DA in the human brain, and treatment implications.Less
This chapter begins with a discussion of the relationship between acute dopamine (DA) increases in the human brain and drug reinforcement. It then covers the long-term effects of drugs of abuse on DA in the human brain, and treatment implications.
Brian Skyrms
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199580828
- eISBN:
- 9780191722769
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199580828.003.0008
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Science
This chapter argues that investigation of reinforcement learning is a complement to the study of belief learning, rather than being a ‘dangerous antagonist’. It begins at the low end of the scale, to ...
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This chapter argues that investigation of reinforcement learning is a complement to the study of belief learning, rather than being a ‘dangerous antagonist’. It begins at the low end of the scale, to see how far simple reinforcement learning can get us, and then move up. Exactly how does degree of reinforcement affect the strengthening of the bond between stimulus and response? Different answers are possible, and these yield alternative theories of the law of effect.Less
This chapter argues that investigation of reinforcement learning is a complement to the study of belief learning, rather than being a ‘dangerous antagonist’. It begins at the low end of the scale, to see how far simple reinforcement learning can get us, and then move up. Exactly how does degree of reinforcement affect the strengthening of the bond between stimulus and response? Different answers are possible, and these yield alternative theories of the law of effect.
A. P. David
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199292400
- eISBN:
- 9780191711855
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199292400.003.0004
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Poetry and Poets: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter draws on two strands of evidence that bear on the form of the dactylic hexameter: one from Plato (Epinomis) and Aristotle (Metaphysics), one from a modern Greek folk dance (the συρτός). ...
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This chapter draws on two strands of evidence that bear on the form of the dactylic hexameter: one from Plato (Epinomis) and Aristotle (Metaphysics), one from a modern Greek folk dance (the συρτός). When combined with the new theory of the Greek accent, a theory of hexameter form emerges, which accounts for the peculiar features of traditional hexameter structure. It predicts that there will be two kinds of caesura in the third foot, with one of them favoured; and that there will be a bucolic diaeresis. Detailed analyses of emphasis and accentual reinforcement of metre in passages from Homer reveal such a musical richness, and rhythmic and harmonic density and complexity, that the notion of ‘composition-in-performance’ becomes implausible, and suggests that Homer’s texts, like Mozart’s, were scores that needed to be practiced and prepared in order to be performed.Less
This chapter draws on two strands of evidence that bear on the form of the dactylic hexameter: one from Plato (Epinomis) and Aristotle (Metaphysics), one from a modern Greek folk dance (the συρτός). When combined with the new theory of the Greek accent, a theory of hexameter form emerges, which accounts for the peculiar features of traditional hexameter structure. It predicts that there will be two kinds of caesura in the third foot, with one of them favoured; and that there will be a bucolic diaeresis. Detailed analyses of emphasis and accentual reinforcement of metre in passages from Homer reveal such a musical richness, and rhythmic and harmonic density and complexity, that the notion of ‘composition-in-performance’ becomes implausible, and suggests that Homer’s texts, like Mozart’s, were scores that needed to be practiced and prepared in order to be performed.
Prudence L. Carter
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195168624
- eISBN:
- 9780199943968
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195168624.003.0018
- Subject:
- Sociology, Education
This chapter examines differences in educational approaches between female and male African American and Latino students. It discusses the feminization of “acting white” and other cultural styles ...
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This chapter examines differences in educational approaches between female and male African American and Latino students. It discusses the feminization of “acting white” and other cultural styles associated with the white mainstream and investigates why males are more likely to fall into the noncompliant category, as opposed to in the groups of cultural straddlers or cultural mainstreamers. It suggests that parental reinforcement of how males and females “do” gender influences differences in academic approaches.Less
This chapter examines differences in educational approaches between female and male African American and Latino students. It discusses the feminization of “acting white” and other cultural styles associated with the white mainstream and investigates why males are more likely to fall into the noncompliant category, as opposed to in the groups of cultural straddlers or cultural mainstreamers. It suggests that parental reinforcement of how males and females “do” gender influences differences in academic approaches.
Leslie R. Martin, Kelly B. Haskard-Zolnierek, and M. Robin DiMatteo
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195380408
- eISBN:
- 9780199864454
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195380408.003.0004
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
The ways in which healthy habits are formed and maintained over time, as well as the ways in which health-harmful habits can be extinguished, are the topics of this chapter. The principles of ...
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The ways in which healthy habits are formed and maintained over time, as well as the ways in which health-harmful habits can be extinguished, are the topics of this chapter. The principles of classical conditioning as they relate to health behaviors are reviewed. Then, following the operant conditioning framework, the important elements of reward (and punishment), along with the advantages and limitations of various schedules of reinforcement, are discussed. Included in this chapter are many practical suggestions for incorporating habit-changing tools into one’s daily routine, and a discussion of common barriers encountered by those attempting to change their habits—and how to overcome these barriers. The utility of external commitments (e.g., behavioral contracts and contingency contracts), along with the potential risks associated with external techniques (such as the reduction of intrinsic motivation), are reviewed. The importance of social support, choosing supportive environments, self-monitoring, and being mindful are highlighted.Less
The ways in which healthy habits are formed and maintained over time, as well as the ways in which health-harmful habits can be extinguished, are the topics of this chapter. The principles of classical conditioning as they relate to health behaviors are reviewed. Then, following the operant conditioning framework, the important elements of reward (and punishment), along with the advantages and limitations of various schedules of reinforcement, are discussed. Included in this chapter are many practical suggestions for incorporating habit-changing tools into one’s daily routine, and a discussion of common barriers encountered by those attempting to change their habits—and how to overcome these barriers. The utility of external commitments (e.g., behavioral contracts and contingency contracts), along with the potential risks associated with external techniques (such as the reduction of intrinsic motivation), are reviewed. The importance of social support, choosing supportive environments, self-monitoring, and being mindful are highlighted.
Judith G. Kelley
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691152776
- eISBN:
- 9781400842520
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691152776.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
This chapter studies how international monitors may improve elections and when their efforts may be more likely to succeed or fail. It argues that monitors can indeed improve elections, but their ...
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This chapter studies how international monitors may improve elections and when their efforts may be more likely to succeed or fail. It argues that monitors can indeed improve elections, but their influence is conditioned by domestic and international factors. In reality, monitors play a reinforcement role by building on existing domestic potential and enhancing the effectiveness of other international leverage. International election monitors can improve the quality of elections through two main mechanisms. First, monitors can alter incentives by increasing the risk of exposure, signaling increasing international cost, increasing domestic cost, or increasing the incentives for honesty. Second, monitors can alter the domestic conditions by recommending legal and institutional changes, and by teaching new norms and building capacity and skills that reinforce good electoral practices.Less
This chapter studies how international monitors may improve elections and when their efforts may be more likely to succeed or fail. It argues that monitors can indeed improve elections, but their influence is conditioned by domestic and international factors. In reality, monitors play a reinforcement role by building on existing domestic potential and enhancing the effectiveness of other international leverage. International election monitors can improve the quality of elections through two main mechanisms. First, monitors can alter incentives by increasing the risk of exposure, signaling increasing international cost, increasing domestic cost, or increasing the incentives for honesty. Second, monitors can alter the domestic conditions by recommending legal and institutional changes, and by teaching new norms and building capacity and skills that reinforce good electoral practices.
Edmund T. Rolls
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199232703
- eISBN:
- 9780191724046
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199232703.003.0010
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Behavioral Neuroscience
This chapter looks at selection of mainly autonomic responses and their classical conditioning. Selection of approach or withdrawal, and their classical conditioning are also mentioned. It then goes ...
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This chapter looks at selection of mainly autonomic responses and their classical conditioning. Selection of approach or withdrawal, and their classical conditioning are also mentioned. It then goes on to describe a selection of fixed stimulus-response habits; and a selection of arbitrary behaviours to obtain goals, action-outcome learning, and emotional learning. The roles of the prefrontal cortex in decision-making and attention are described. The chapter then goes on to talk about neuroeconomics, reward magnitude, expected value, and expected utility; delay of reward, emotional choice, and rational choice; reward prediction error, temporal difference error, and choice; reciprocal altruism, strong reciprocity, generosity, and altruistic punishment; and dual routes to action, and decision-making.Less
This chapter looks at selection of mainly autonomic responses and their classical conditioning. Selection of approach or withdrawal, and their classical conditioning are also mentioned. It then goes on to describe a selection of fixed stimulus-response habits; and a selection of arbitrary behaviours to obtain goals, action-outcome learning, and emotional learning. The roles of the prefrontal cortex in decision-making and attention are described. The chapter then goes on to talk about neuroeconomics, reward magnitude, expected value, and expected utility; delay of reward, emotional choice, and rational choice; reward prediction error, temporal difference error, and choice; reciprocal altruism, strong reciprocity, generosity, and altruistic punishment; and dual routes to action, and decision-making.
Roy A. Wise
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198547877
- eISBN:
- 9780191724275
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198547877.003.0010
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Behavioral Neuroscience
This chapter discusses the history of the so-called anhedonia hypothesis. The term anhedonia was first used in 1978 in connection with the assertion that pimozide blocks the reward quality of food. ...
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This chapter discusses the history of the so-called anhedonia hypothesis. The term anhedonia was first used in 1978 in connection with the assertion that pimozide blocks the reward quality of food. The anhedonia hypothesis was based largely on studies of psychomotor stimulant, brain stimulation, and food and water reinforcement. It also discusses brain stimulation reward, opiate reinforcement, and several other drugs of abuse that activate the dopamine system.Less
This chapter discusses the history of the so-called anhedonia hypothesis. The term anhedonia was first used in 1978 in connection with the assertion that pimozide blocks the reward quality of food. The anhedonia hypothesis was based largely on studies of psychomotor stimulant, brain stimulation, and food and water reinforcement. It also discusses brain stimulation reward, opiate reinforcement, and several other drugs of abuse that activate the dopamine system.
JACQUELINE CORCORAN and JOSEPH WALSH
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195154306
- eISBN:
- 9780199864287
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195154306.003.0003
- Subject:
- Social Work, Health and Mental Health
This chapter provides a brief overview of cognitive-behavioral therapy, a broad class of present-focused interventions with a shared focus on changing cognition (thoughts, beliefs, and assumptions ...
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This chapter provides a brief overview of cognitive-behavioral therapy, a broad class of present-focused interventions with a shared focus on changing cognition (thoughts, beliefs, and assumptions about the world), changing behavior, and building clients' coping skills. Cognitive theory focuses on the rationality of one's thinking patterns and the connections between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Behavior theory is not concerned with internal mental processes but rather how human behavior, whether adaptive or problematic, is developed, sustained, or eliminated through its external reinforcement. The nature of change in cognitive-behavioral theory is apparent in its hyphenated term. That is, clients can be helped to change in three ways: 1) cognitively, by teaching them how to identify and change distorted thinking; 2) behaviorally, by offering skills training to improve coping capability; and 3) experientially, by helping clients set up natural experiments so they can test the extent to which their beliefs about an event are rational. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is used in the strengths- and skills-based model when people are ready to take action toward their problems and when it appears that a lack of knowledge or skills represent a barrier to more effective functioning.Less
This chapter provides a brief overview of cognitive-behavioral therapy, a broad class of present-focused interventions with a shared focus on changing cognition (thoughts, beliefs, and assumptions about the world), changing behavior, and building clients' coping skills. Cognitive theory focuses on the rationality of one's thinking patterns and the connections between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Behavior theory is not concerned with internal mental processes but rather how human behavior, whether adaptive or problematic, is developed, sustained, or eliminated through its external reinforcement. The nature of change in cognitive-behavioral theory is apparent in its hyphenated term. That is, clients can be helped to change in three ways: 1) cognitively, by teaching them how to identify and change distorted thinking; 2) behaviorally, by offering skills training to improve coping capability; and 3) experientially, by helping clients set up natural experiments so they can test the extent to which their beliefs about an event are rational. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is used in the strengths- and skills-based model when people are ready to take action toward their problems and when it appears that a lack of knowledge or skills represent a barrier to more effective functioning.
James A. Gardner
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195392616
- eISBN:
- 9780199855438
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195392616.003.0003
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
Could changes to the laws that regulate campaigns improve them? This chapter addresses this question by reviewing the social science literature on how people arrive at political opinions. This ...
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Could changes to the laws that regulate campaigns improve them? This chapter addresses this question by reviewing the social science literature on how people arrive at political opinions. This literature demonstrates dramatically that the actual persuasion of voters plays virtually no meaningful role in American election campaigns because it is next to impossible to persuade voters during an election campaign of anything they do not already believe. Several mutually reinforcing phenomena work to stabilize political beliefs and to insulate their holders against the possibility of short-term persuasion during campaigns. These phenomena include cognitive processes that bias voters' attention and comprehension in favor of beliefs they already hold; social reinforcement effects that, through processes of ordinary social interaction, tend to suppress and punish dissident viewpoints; and cognitive information-processing strategies that reduce voters' incentives to seek out and attend to campaign information, or to change their opinions in response to it.Less
Could changes to the laws that regulate campaigns improve them? This chapter addresses this question by reviewing the social science literature on how people arrive at political opinions. This literature demonstrates dramatically that the actual persuasion of voters plays virtually no meaningful role in American election campaigns because it is next to impossible to persuade voters during an election campaign of anything they do not already believe. Several mutually reinforcing phenomena work to stabilize political beliefs and to insulate their holders against the possibility of short-term persuasion during campaigns. These phenomena include cognitive processes that bias voters' attention and comprehension in favor of beliefs they already hold; social reinforcement effects that, through processes of ordinary social interaction, tend to suppress and punish dissident viewpoints; and cognitive information-processing strategies that reduce voters' incentives to seek out and attend to campaign information, or to change their opinions in response to it.
Andreas Heinz
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780262036894
- eISBN:
- 9780262342841
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262036894.001.0001
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Behavioral Neuroscience
For many psychiatric disorders, neurobiological findings do not help to diagnose a specific disease or to predict its outcome. This book suggests to take a new look at mental disorders by using ...
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For many psychiatric disorders, neurobiological findings do not help to diagnose a specific disease or to predict its outcome. This book suggests to take a new look at mental disorders by using computational models to better understand human decision making. It shows how such models can be applied to basic learning mechanisms that cut across established nosological boundaries of mental disorders. Such a computational and dimensional approach focuses on the malleability of human behavior and its biological underpinnings. The book argues that this computational and dimensional approach can help to promote and focus neurobiological research, however, it does not replace an anthropological understanding of clinical questions including the definition of mental disorders and ethical considerations. This is illustrated by describing the new understanding of mental disorders with respect to clinical and neuro-computational aspects of psychosis, affective and addictive disorders.Less
For many psychiatric disorders, neurobiological findings do not help to diagnose a specific disease or to predict its outcome. This book suggests to take a new look at mental disorders by using computational models to better understand human decision making. It shows how such models can be applied to basic learning mechanisms that cut across established nosological boundaries of mental disorders. Such a computational and dimensional approach focuses on the malleability of human behavior and its biological underpinnings. The book argues that this computational and dimensional approach can help to promote and focus neurobiological research, however, it does not replace an anthropological understanding of clinical questions including the definition of mental disorders and ethical considerations. This is illustrated by describing the new understanding of mental disorders with respect to clinical and neuro-computational aspects of psychosis, affective and addictive disorders.
Nathaniel D. Daw
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780262018098
- eISBN:
- 9780262306003
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262018098.003.0012
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Psychology and Interaction
One oft-envisioned function of search is planning actions (e.g., by exploring routes through a cognitive map). Yet, among the most prominent and quantitatively successful neuroscentific theories of ...
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One oft-envisioned function of search is planning actions (e.g., by exploring routes through a cognitive map). Yet, among the most prominent and quantitatively successful neuroscentific theories of the brain’s systems for action choice is the temporal-difference account of the phasic dopamine response. Surprisingly, this theory envisions that action sequences are learned without any search at all, but instead wholly through a process of reinforcement and chaining. This chapter considers recent proposals that a related family of algorithms, called model-based reinforcement learning, may provide a similarly quantitative account for action choice by cognitive search. It reviews behavioral phenomena demonstrating the insufficiency of temporal-difference-like mechanisms alone, then details the many questions that arise in considering how model-based action valuation might be implemented in the brain and in what respects it differs from other ideas about search for planning.Less
One oft-envisioned function of search is planning actions (e.g., by exploring routes through a cognitive map). Yet, among the most prominent and quantitatively successful neuroscentific theories of the brain’s systems for action choice is the temporal-difference account of the phasic dopamine response. Surprisingly, this theory envisions that action sequences are learned without any search at all, but instead wholly through a process of reinforcement and chaining. This chapter considers recent proposals that a related family of algorithms, called model-based reinforcement learning, may provide a similarly quantitative account for action choice by cognitive search. It reviews behavioral phenomena demonstrating the insufficiency of temporal-difference-like mechanisms alone, then details the many questions that arise in considering how model-based action valuation might be implemented in the brain and in what respects it differs from other ideas about search for planning.
Paul W. Glimcher
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199744251
- eISBN:
- 9780199863433
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199744251.003.0013
- Subject:
- Psychology, Neuropsychology
This chapter reviews the anatomy of the neural circuits associated with dopamine and valuation; presents theories of reinforcement learning from psychology and computer science that predate ...
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This chapter reviews the anatomy of the neural circuits associated with dopamine and valuation; presents theories of reinforcement learning from psychology and computer science that predate dopaminergic studies of valuation; examines experimental work that forged a relationship between dopamine and these pre-existing computational theories; and reductively follows these insights all the way down to the behavior of ion channels. It shows that a neuroeconomic theory of valuation sweeps effectively from cell membranes to utility theory, and that constraints derived from each interlocking level of analysis provide useful tools for better understanding how we decide.Less
This chapter reviews the anatomy of the neural circuits associated with dopamine and valuation; presents theories of reinforcement learning from psychology and computer science that predate dopaminergic studies of valuation; examines experimental work that forged a relationship between dopamine and these pre-existing computational theories; and reductively follows these insights all the way down to the behavior of ion channels. It shows that a neuroeconomic theory of valuation sweeps effectively from cell membranes to utility theory, and that constraints derived from each interlocking level of analysis provide useful tools for better understanding how we decide.
H. Peyton Young
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199269181
- eISBN:
- 9780191699375
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199269181.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Econometrics
Reinforcement is an empirical principle which states that the higher the payoff from taking an action in the past, the more likely it will be taken in the future. This approach has long occupied a ...
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Reinforcement is an empirical principle which states that the higher the payoff from taking an action in the past, the more likely it will be taken in the future. This approach has long occupied a prominent place in psychology; more recently it has begun to migrate into experimental economics and game theory. This chapter sketches some of the better-known models and what is known about their asymptotic behaviour in particular situations.Less
Reinforcement is an empirical principle which states that the higher the payoff from taking an action in the past, the more likely it will be taken in the future. This approach has long occupied a prominent place in psychology; more recently it has begun to migrate into experimental economics and game theory. This chapter sketches some of the better-known models and what is known about their asymptotic behaviour in particular situations.
C. Y. Cyrus Chu and Ruoh‐Rong Yu
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199578092
- eISBN:
- 9780191722424
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199578092.003.0012
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, South and East Asia
This chapter analyzes the intergenerational transmission of gender preferences in education investment at the macro and the micro level using the Taiwan PSFD data. The macro‐level analysis shows ...
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This chapter analyzes the intergenerational transmission of gender preferences in education investment at the macro and the micro level using the Taiwan PSFD data. The macro‐level analysis shows that, relative to the older generation, (1) parental differential treatment of girls has become weaker for the younger generation, (2) the influence of parental educational background on child schooling is weaker for the younger generation, and (3) the helping effect of elder siblings has become a competing effect for the younger generation. Tracing each micro lineage, however, a weak habitus effect of the gender‐specific mindset within each lineage is found, in the sense that mothers who were treated unfavorably when they were young tend to treat their female children unfavorably. It is also shown that education is the most important factor in the dilution of this habitus effect.Less
This chapter analyzes the intergenerational transmission of gender preferences in education investment at the macro and the micro level using the Taiwan PSFD data. The macro‐level analysis shows that, relative to the older generation, (1) parental differential treatment of girls has become weaker for the younger generation, (2) the influence of parental educational background on child schooling is weaker for the younger generation, and (3) the helping effect of elder siblings has become a competing effect for the younger generation. Tracing each micro lineage, however, a weak habitus effect of the gender‐specific mindset within each lineage is found, in the sense that mothers who were treated unfavorably when they were young tend to treat their female children unfavorably. It is also shown that education is the most important factor in the dilution of this habitus effect.
