A Restatement of the Problem of Learning

Adams, Donald K.

doi:10.1111/j.2044-8295.1931.tb00623.x

Cited by 27 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…The field of animal behavior has a long history of defining and quantifying stereotypy and interpreting its significance (Adams, 1931;Altmann, 1965;Barlow, 1968;Barlow, 1977;Brown, 1975;Gerhardt, 1991). Some of the issues addressed in the present paper recall discussions in animal behavior that took place decades ago and in general functional morphologists have been slow to incorporate the notions and lexicon common to animal behavior, even though in many cases the issues are virtually identical.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stereotypy, flexibility and coordination: key concepts in behavioral functional morphology

Wainwright

Mehta

Higham

2008

Journal of Experimental Biology

108

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SummaryAnimal movement and its muscular control are central topics in functional morphology. As experimentalists we often manipulate stimuli in a controlled setting or compare species to observe the degree of variation in movement and motor control of particular behaviors. Understanding and communicating the biological significance of these sources of variability requires a universal terminology that is presently lacking in the functional morphology literature. We suggest that ʻstereotypyʼ be used to refer to the degree of variability observed in a behavior across trials under a given set of conditions. The ability of an organism to alter its behavior across experimental treatments is referred to as ʻflexibilityʼ. We discuss how there has been a tendency to confound the phenomenon of a behavior exhibiting low variability, which we refer to as stereotyped, with inflexibility, or the inability to alter the behavior in response to a change in stimulus. The degree of stereotypy and flexibility in a behavior need not be correlated, nor need they have a common underlying basis. Coordination, a term used to describe the relationship between different body parts during movement, can be stereotyped and can show flexibility. Stereotypy of coordination can be assessed by the strength of correlations between movements of two body parts. The influence of coordination coherence on behavioral performance has rarely been considered, and could shed light on how taxa differ in their ability to perform behaviors. We suggest definitions of the terms stereotypy, flexibility and coordination, and provide examples of how and when these terms could be used when discussing behavioral changes in functional morphology.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This among-trial variability reflects a basic capacity of the organism to repeat the behavior consistently. Particularly in the case of repetitive and rhythmic behaviors, such as steady locomotion, stereotypy among cycles may strongly influence the overall effectiveness of the behavior (Adams, 1931;Alexander, 1980).…”

Section: Stereotypy and Flexibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Stereotypy, flexibility and coordination: key concepts in behavioral functional morphology

Wainwright

Mehta

Higham

2008

Journal of Experimental Biology

108

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“…What this theory and antecedent concepts (cf. Brown, 1929;Adams, 1931;Koffka, 1935) have in common is that within different social objectifications, objects do not merely take on different meanings but more specifically meanings for action that we pre-reflexively engage with. They 'invite' or 'call out to us' to act upon/through them on the basis of the meanings and functions their objectifications within a social group afford us, in terms of possible inter-objective activity/behaviour.…”

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confidence: 99%

Interobjectivity: Representations and artefacts in Cultural Psychology

Sammut

Daanen

Sartawi

2010

Culture & Psychology

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This paper revisits the emerging concept of interobjectivity and furthers Moghaddam’s (2003, 2006) proposal to prioritize this concept in Cultural Psychology. We argue that Heidegger’s phenomenology provides insights into a foundational understanding of what interobjectivity entails. We argue that human relations are not essentially characterized by intersubjective relations but rely on the non-conscious engagement in practices that occur within a social field that is phenomenally objective for subjects. From the phenomenological point of view, the distinction between subjectivity and objectivity is a false one. Thus, we argue that the study of objects and object relations should be given greater attention in Cultural Psychology. To this end, we distinguish between two meanings of interobjectivity: (a) inter-objectivity as a description of object-relations; (b) interobjectivity as a description of a representation spanning different objectifications, and that permits diverse inter-objective relations. We claim that, taken together, these concepts provide a useful framework that can guide inquiry into cultural practices and intercultural relations.

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“…The tendency of practice to induce behavioral parsimony has been variously termed the "law of least effort," or "least action" and the "principle of maxima and minima" ( Adams, 1931 ) .…”

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confidence: 99%

ABILITY TO AUTOMATIZE AND AUTOMATIZATION COGNITIVE STYLE: A VALIDATION STUDY Monograph Supplement 2-V23

Broverman¹,

Broverman²,

Klaiber³

1966

Perceptual and Motor Skills

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An index of automatization ability was constructed by assuming that ( I ) the response rate to repeated common stimuli reflects, in part, the ability to benefit from past practice and ( 2 ) such response rates should be corrected for general abiliry level. The relat~onship of such an index to mastery of a novel task was examined. Fifty male Ss were first given distributed and then massed practice trials on a coded additions cask. A second sample of 30 Ss was given twice the number of distributed practice trials followed by massed practice. In both samples, the automatization index related to performances under massed bur not distributed practice. The results were discussed in the context of physiological differences previously found related to the automatization index.Automatized behaviors are behaviors which have been so well practiced and overlearned that a minimum of conscious effort is required for their successful, efficient execution. Such behaviors include the bulk of everyday activities, e.g., maintaining one's balance, walking, writing, reading, talking, maintaining perceptual constancies, etc.The phenomenon of automatization was reported by the introspectionists who while studying attention processes noticed that the act of performing a task tended to fade from consciousness as learning accrued with practice (Ach, 1905).The amounts of physical and mental effort as well as the amount of time required to perform tasks were also noted to diminish as non-essential parts of the task performance disappeared with practice (Solomons, 1899; Thorndike, 1898). The tendency of practice to induce behavioral parsimony has been variously termed the "law of least effort," or "least action" and the "principle of maxima and minima" ( Adams, 1931 ) .The inuospectioniscs also noted that as a task became automatized it interferred less with the simultaneous performance of other tasks (James, 1909;Solomons, 1899). Ford ( 1929) interpreted this phenomenon with the teleological proposition that the function of learning is to reduce the amount of attention required for the performance of a given task in order to make more attentional energies available for the acquisition of new tasks or behaviors.

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A Restatement of the Problem of Learning

Cited by 27 publications

References 5 publications

Stereotypy, flexibility and coordination: key concepts in behavioral functional morphology

Stereotypy, flexibility and coordination: key concepts in behavioral functional morphology

Interobjectivity: Representations and artefacts in Cultural Psychology

ABILITY TO AUTOMATIZE AND AUTOMATIZATION COGNITIVE STYLE: A VALIDATION STUDY Monograph Supplement 2-V23

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