2 
This report summarizes the findings of previous technical reports on the immediate changes in child development associated with Head Start and presents a statement of the extent to which these changes have been enhanced or attenuated by different program experiences for different children. Background information presented includes an overview of the findings; a history of […]
5 
Understanding others’ emotions requires both the identification of overt behaviors (“smiling”) and the attribution of behaviors to a cause (“friendly disposition”). Previous research suggests that whereas emotion identification depends on a cortical mirror system that enables the embodiment of observed motor behavior within one’s own motor system, causal attribution for emotion depends on a separate cortical mentalizing system, so-named because its function […]
7 
Background The present study investigated individual differences in the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS), representing measures of primary emotional systems, and depressive tendencies in two independent samples. Methods In order to be able to find support for a continuum model with respect to the relation of strength in the cross-species affective neuroscience taxonomy of primary […]
7 
Based on an interdisciplinary perspective, we discuss how primary-process, anoetic forms of consciousness emerge into higher forms of awareness such as knowledge-based episodic knowing and self-aware forms of higher-order consciousness like autonoetic awareness. Anoetic consciousness is defined as the rudimentary state of affective, homeostatic, and sensory-perceptual mental experiences. It can be considered as the autonomic […]
6 
Synthetic ethology is proposed as a means of conducting controlled experiments investigating the mechanisms and evolution of communication. After a discussion of the goals and methods of synthetic ethology, two series of experiments are described based on at least 5000 breeding cycles. The first demonstrates the evolution of cooperative communication in a population of simple […]
6 
What is the nature of comparative psychology and how does or should it relate to evolutionary psychology? This is a time of reassessment of both fields and this article reviews the history of comparative psychology and its relationships with evolutionary psychology, ethology, and other approaches to behavior from the perspective of a former editor of […]
6 
Many types of animal behaviour, especially seemingly complex social interactions, have been attributed to the existence of complex cognitive mechanisms. Indeed, as specific behaviours are analysed in greater and greater detail, the increasing number of minor variations observed seem to necessitate the operation of increasingly powerful computational devices. An alternate view, inspired by cybernetic theory, […]
6 
The aim of this cross-sectional study was to test the idea that the psychopathic trait “Fearless dominance ” (FD) may be associated with reduced psychological stress symptoms and better stress coping strategies in psychiatric patients, whereas the factor “Self-centered impulsivity ” (SCI) may be associated with more stress and maladaptive stress coping. The investigation included […]
5 
Some comments are appended to Patrick Bateson’s reflections on the future of behavioral biology that were triggered by remembering the contributions of G¸nter Tembrock to ethology. While the suggestions made are valid and insightful, a few specific areas where exciting research possibilities may reside are added including those involving communication and language, culture and ritual, […]
4 
There has been a perennial debate about whether aggression is learned or innate. The power of extreme arguments in this area has diminished as all are beginning to recognize that both evolution and learning contribute much to our tendency to be aggressive in various distinct ways, including impulsive anger, premeditated predatory behavior in its many […]
4
Since the 1970s, texts on research methods in animal behavior advocate that researchers minimize potential observer bias in their studies. One way to minimize possible bias is to record or score behavioral data blind to treatment, group, or individual. Another way to reduce bias is for researchers to analyze subsets or entire sets of data […]
4 
Location-based games use smartphones and other location-aware devices to incorporate their players’ actions in everyday, physical spaces – the streets and public spaces of the city – into the virtual world of the game. Scholars and designers of these games often claim that they reconfigure their players’ relationship with the people and environment around them. […]
4 
This article explores the gamification trend sweeping the globe promising increased engagement and motivation, in practically any industry, context and culture, based on a stratagem of “game design elements in non-game contexts, ” which is its most quoted definition [Deterding, Sebastian, Miguel Sicart, Lennart Nacke, Kenton O’Hara, and Dan Dixon. 2011. “Gamification-Using Game-Design Elements in […]
4 
This plausible group-selection model should aid the conceptual integration of the natural and social sciences, but testing in vertebrates is needed. The history of the vehicles-of-selection debate is compared with the controversy over the readmission of innate behavior and genetics to a respectable position in behavioral study. In the spirit of Wilson & Sober a […]
4 
Objective Preclinical models of human mood disorders commonly focus on the study of negative affectivity, without comparably stressing the role of positive affects and their ability to promote resilient coping styles. We evaluated the role of background constitutional affect of rats by studying the separation and reunion responses of infants from low and high positive […]
3 
Mythic symbolic type is a unique cultural structure that permits no exit to the one who has lost his “self ” to it. The semi-commune Little Home housed a community of mythic symbolic types which engendered a ritual of their own in which the men trapped within the type moved between its two edges, purity […]
3 This study compared sibling interactions between 24-month-old children and their older sibling with ASD (high-risk; n = 24) with 24-month-old children and their typically developing older sibling (low-risk; n = 32). First, high-risk sibling pairs showed lower levels of positive behaviour and younger siblings of children with ASD imitated their older sibling less. Second, in […]
3 
Purpose: Young children have a high risk of concussion or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Children often appear healthy soon after mTBI, but some have pervasive cognitive and/or motor impairments. Understanding underlying mechanisms recruited after concussion may help for return to play protocols and mitigating what might be lifelong impairments. Methods: We investigated molecular and […]
3 
Using Latino critical race theory as a lens, this qualitative study explored ways in which young children’s translanguaging practices informed the design of culturally relevant sociodramatic spaces in a bilingual early childhood classroom located along the Texas/Mexico border in South Texas. The authors identified aspects of language development that were evident as children engaged in […]
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From Neurons to Neighborhoods – The Science of Early Childhood Development
How we raise young children is one of today’s most highly personalized and sharply politicized issues, in part because each of us can claim some level of “expertise.” The debate has intensified as discoveries about our development—in the womb and in the first months and years—have reached the popular media. How can we use our […]