Hierarchical Event-Control and Subjective Experience of Agency

Kumar, Dhananjay; Srinivasan, Narayanan

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00410

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…This position possibly leads a way to SA. Yet on the other hand, she proposes a complex model which attributes SoA to a cybernetic model of action specification (Pacherie, 2008 , also Kumar and Srinivasan, 2012 drawing on Clark, 2013 ). It is exactly this latter model which renders conscious agency, as Pacherie proposes, impossible.…”

Section: Unifunctional Integration and The Sense Of Agencymentioning

confidence: 99%

Voluntary initiation of movement: multifunctional integration of subjective agency

2015

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This paper investigates subjective agency (SA) as a special type of efficacious action consciousness. Our central claims are, firstly, that SA is a conscious act of voluntarily initiating bodily motion. Secondly, we argue that SA is a case of multifunctional integration of behavioral functions being analogous to multisensory integration of sensory modalities. This is based on new perspectives on the initiation of action opened up by recent advancements in robot assisted neuro-rehabilitation which depends on the active participation of the patient and yields experimental evidence that there is SA in terms of a conscious act of voluntarily initiating bodily motion (phenomenal performance). Conventionally, action consciousness has been considered as a sense of agency (SoA). According to this view, the conscious subject merely echoes motor performance and does not cause bodily motion. Depending on sensory input, SoA is implemented by means of unifunctional integration (binding) and inevitably results in non-efficacious action consciousness. In contrast, SA comes as a phenomenal performance which causes motion and builds on multifunctional integration. Therefore, the common conception of the brain should be shifted toward multifunctional integration in order to allow for efficacious action consciousness. For this purpose, we suggest the heterarchic principle of asymmetric reciprocity and neural operators underlying SA. The general idea is that multifunctional integration allows conscious acts to be simultaneously implemented with motor behavior so that the resulting behavior (SA) comes as efficacious action consciousness. Regarding the neural implementation, multifunctional integration rather relies on operators than on modular functions. A robotic case study and possible experimental setups with testable hypotheses building on SA are presented.

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Section: Unifunctional Integration and The Sense Of Agencymentioning

confidence: 99%

Voluntary initiation of movement: multifunctional integration of subjective agency

2015

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“…Previous studies have shown that fatigue impaired cognitive performance (e.g., Craig and Cooper, 1992 ; Beurskens et al, 2000 ), which was supported by the current study. The results from previous studies also suggest that it could be the increased fatigue, decreased control, and increased automation in the working environment which resulted in the changed sense of agency (e.g., Berberian et al, 2012 ; Kumar and Srinivasan, 2012 , 2013 ; Moore, 2016 ; Howard et al, 2016 ; Di Plinio et al, 2019 , 2020 ). The modern railway industry has increased the level of automation in operating systems and decreased control by operators ( Young et al, 2015 ; Fan and Smith, 2019 ), and future studies of fatigue in railway staff samples should focus on changes in the sense of agency.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…In addition, fatigue may impair the sense of agency (i.e., the loss of the sense of being responsible for own’s actions; Howard et al, 2016 ), which increases the safety risks in the workplace. In particular, previous studies show that human agency was reduced by increased out of the loop events which could be associated with fatigue, and decreased control or increased automation in the environment ( Berberian et al, 2012 ; Kumar and Srinivasan, 2012 , 2013 ; Moore, 2016 ; Di Plinio et al, 2019 , 2020 ). Such effects may also show inter-individual differences ( Di Plinio et al, 2019 ) and also vary with cultural background ( Barlas and Obhi, 2014 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Occupational Fatigue on Cognitive Performance of Staff From a Train Operating Company: A Field Study

Fan

Smith

2020

Front. Psychol.

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Background: Occupational fatigue is a key issue in the rail industry that can endanger staff, passenger, and train safety. There is a need to demonstrate the relationship between workload, fatigue, and performance among rail staff. Objective: The present study, conducted in the workplace in realistic situations, integrating both subjective and objective measurements, aimed at demonstrating the relationship between workload, fatigue, and cognitive performance with a rail staff sample. Methods: The "After-Effect" technique was applied in the current study. Online diaries and cognitive performance tasks were used to assess the fatigue, work experiences, and performance of rail staff before and after work on the first and last days of one working week. Results: Reported fatigue was greater after work on both the first and last day of the working week. There were large individual differences in the change in fatigue and workload ratings. Analysis of covariance with age and the pre-work performance score as covariates and the post-work performance score as the dependent variable showed that high levels of fatigue were associated with impaired performance on both the visual search and logical reasoning tasks. Workload had fewer effects on performance than fatigue. Conclusion: This field study provided evidence for the relationship between workrelated fatigue and performance impairment. The findings show the need for future work on predicting fatigue-related performance decrements, and the necessity of providing interventions and support so that the risk to safety can be reduced.

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“…Focused attention meditation can be conceived as a way to minimize prediction error through the processes of focusing attention and eliminating distractions with practice ( Lutz et al, 2019 ). If we regard the mind as a hierarchical predictive control system ( Jordan, 2003 ; Kumar and Srinivasan, 2012 , 2014 ), then perhaps one is in a state of effortless perception in which prediction errors at all hierarchical levels are zero. This would include the ability to predict not signals from external environment but interoceptive signals from the body itself, which would need the ability to control the body as well.…”

Section: Consciousness Without Content and Theories Of Consciousnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consciousness Without Content: A Look at Evidence and Prospects

Srinivasan

2020

Front. Psychol.

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Many traditions in the East have proposed that consciousness without content is possible and could be achieved with mental training. However, it is not clear whether such a state is possible given that intentionality is a critical property of mentality and consciousness in many theories of consciousness. A prominent recent attempt to account for such states of “minimal phenomenal experience” is the ascending reticular arousal system (ARAS) model, which proposes a specific type of non-conceptual representational content to address such a state. Consciousness without content can also be understood by studying related or similar states of minimal phenomenal experience and this paper discusses such findings from such states including dreamless sleep experience and their implications. One way to argue for the need for proposing consciousness without content is to locate a property of consciousness that would necessitate postulating it. A continuous state of consciousness without content may be needed to understand continuity of conscious experience. Finally, I discuss the implications of consciousness without content for current theories of consciousness.

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Hierarchical Event-Control and Subjective Experience of Agency

Cited by 6 publications

References 10 publications

Voluntary initiation of movement: multifunctional integration of subjective agency

Voluntary initiation of movement: multifunctional integration of subjective agency

Effects of Occupational Fatigue on Cognitive Performance of Staff From a Train Operating Company: A Field Study

Consciousness Without Content: A Look at Evidence and Prospects

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