Chaotic Cognition Principles and Applications


Book Description

Focusing on the principles and applications of chaotic thinking, this text seeks to promote a more general understanding and acceptance of this cognitive style. It may help people deal more effectively with chaotic situations, such as economic crises, career changes, and relationship skills.




Chaos in Brain Function


Book Description

The analysis of deterministic chaos is currently an active field in many branches of research. Mathematically all nonlinear dynamical systems with more than two degrees of freedom can generate chaos, becoming unpredictable over a longer time scale. The brain is a nonlinear system par excellence. Accordingly, the concepts of chaotic dynamics have found, in the last five years, an important application in research on compound electrical activity of the brain. The present volume seeks to cover most of the relevant studies in the newly emerging field of chaotic attractors in the brain. This volume is essentially a selection and reorganization of contri butions from the first two volumes in the Springer Series in Brain Dynamics, which were based on conferences held in 1985 and 1987 in Berlin. It also includes (a) a survey of progress in the recording of evoked oscillations of the brain both at the cellular and EEG levels and (b) an agenda for research on chaotic dynamics. Although the first publications pointing out evidence of chaotic behavior of the EEG did not appear until the beginning of 1985, the presence of the pioneering scientists in this field gave the participants at the first conference (volume 1) a strong impulse toward this field. For me, as conference organizer, having been for a long time active in nonlinear EEG research, the integration of this topic was self-evident; however, the enthusiasm of the conference participants was greater than expected.




Reclaiming Cognition


Book Description

Traditional cognitive science is Cartesian in the sense that it takes as fundamental the distinction between the mental and the physical, the mind and the world. This leads to the claim that cognition is representational and best explained using models derived from AI and computational theory. The authors depart radically from this model.




Chaos and Nonlinear Psychology


Book Description

The pandemic, and our response to it, has shown how unpredictable, irrational, illogical, suddenly changing, and muddled human interactions can be in a time of crisis. How can we make sense of such confusing and baffling behavior? This book reveals how chaos and nonlinear dynamics can bring new understanding to everyday topics in social sciences. It brings together chapters from leaders at the intersection of psychology and chaos and complexity theories. Conceptual and user-friendly, it is built around six themes: 1) Seeing nonlinearity, 2) Finding patterns, 3) using Simple models, 4) Intervening nonlinearly, and 6) teaching a new Worldview. It takes no specialized study-although there is more sophisticated material and optional math for those wishing it. The techie will, in addition, find concepts and diagrams to ponder. The volume is engaging, at times startling-whether about the weather, Internet, organizations, family dynamics, health, evolution, or falling in love. It reveals how many social, personal, clinical, research, and life phenomena become understandable and can be modelled in the light of Nonlinear Dynamical Systems (NDS) theory. It even offers a broadening worldview, happening already in other sciences, toward a more dynamic, interconnected, and evolving picture, including process-oriented appreciation of one's own experience. The book offers those in the field of psychology and the social sciences a stunning new perspective on human behaviour.







Chaos theory in Psychology and the Life Sciences


Book Description

This book represents the best of the first three years of the Society for Chaos Theory in Psychology conferences. While chaos theory has been a topic of considerable interest in the physical and biological sciences, its applications in psychology and related fields have been obscured until recently by its complexity. Nevertheless, a small but rapidly growing community of psychologists, neurobiologists, sociologists, mathematicians, and philosophers have been coming together to discuss its implications and explore its research possibilities. Chaos theory has been termed the first authentic paradigm shift since the advent of quantum physics. Whether this is true or not, it unquestionably bears profound implications for many fields of thought. These include the cognitive analysis of the mind, the nature of personality, the dynamics of psychotherapy and counseling, understanding brain events and behavioral records, the dynamics of social organization, and the psychology of prediction. To each of these topics, chaos theory brings the perspective of dynamic self-organizing processes of exquisite complexity. Behavior, the nervous system, and social processes exhibit many of the classical characteristics of chaotic systems -- they are deterministic and globally predictable and yet do not submit to precise predictability. This volume is the first to explore ideas from chaos theory in a broad, psychological perspective. Its introduction, by the prominent neuroscientist Walter Freeman, sets the tone for diverse discussions of the role of chaos theory in behavioral research, the study of personality, psychotherapy and counseling, mathematical cognitive psychology, social organization, systems philosophy, and the understanding of the brain.




Posttraumatic Growth


Book Description

That which does not kill us makes us stronger. (Nietzsche) The phenomenon of positive personal change following devastating events has been recognized since ancient times, but given little attention by contemporary psychologists and psychiatrists, who have tended to focus on the negative consequences of stress. In recent years, evidence from diverse fields has converged to suggest the reality and pervasive importance of the processes the editors sum up as posttraumatic growth. This volume offers the first comprehensive overview of these processes. The authors address a variety of traumas--among them bereavement, physical disability, terminal illness, combat, rape, and natural disasters--following which experiences of growth have been reported. How can sufferers from posttraumatic stress disorder best be helped? What does "resilience" in the face of high risk mean? Which personality characteristics facilitate growth? To what extent is personality change possible in adulthood? How can concepts like happiness and self-actualization be operationalized? What role do changing belief systems, schemas, or "assumptive worlds" play in positive adaptation? Is "stress innoculation" possible? How do spiritual beliefs become central for many people struck by trauma, and how are posttraumatic growth and recovery from substance abuse or the crises of serious physical illnesses linked? Such questions have concerned not only the recently defined and expanding group of "traumatologists," but also therapists of all sorts, personality and social psychologists, developmental and cognitive researchers, specialists in health psychology and behavioral medicine, and those who study religion and mental health. Overcoming the challenges of life's worst experiences can catalyze new opportunities for individual and social development. Learning about persons who discover or create the perception of positive change in their lives may shed light on the problems of those who continue to suffer. Posttraumatic Growth will stimulate dialogue among personality and social psychologists and clinicians, and influence the theoretical foundations and clinical agendas of investigators and practitioners alike.




Neurodynamics of Cognition and Consciousness


Book Description

Experimental evidence in humans and other mammalians indicates that complex neurodynamics is crucial for the emergence of higher-level intelligence. Dynamical neural systems with encoding in limit cycle and non-convergent attractors have gained increasing popularity in the past decade. The role of synchronization, desynchronization, and intermittent synchronization on cognition has been studied extensively by various authors, in particular by authors contributing to the present volume. This book addresses dynamical aspects of brain functions and cognition.




The Psychology of Political Behavior in a Time of Change


Book Description

This volume seeks to add a unique perspective on the complex relationship between psychology and politics, focusing on three analytical points of view: 1) psychology, politics, and complex thought, 2) bio/psycho/social factors of masculinity and power, and 3) underlying factors in political behavior. Contributors examine recent political events worldwide through a psychological lens, using interdisciplinary approaches to seek a deeper understanding of contemporary political ideas, psychologies, and behaviors. Finally, the book offers suggestions for surviving and thriving during rapid political change. Among the topics discussed: Biopsychological factors of political beliefs and behaviors Understanding political polarization through a cognitive lens Impact of psychological processes on voter decision making Motivations for believing in conspiracy theories Nonverbal cues in leadership Authoritarian responses to social change The Psychology of Political Behavior in a Time of Change is a timely and insightful volume for students and researchers in psychology, political science, gender studies, business and marketing, and sociology, as well as those working in applied settings: practitioners, government workers, NGOs, corporate organizations.




Proceedings of the Twenty-second Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society


Book Description

Vol inclu all ppers & postrs presntd at 2000 Cog Sci mtg & summaries of symposia & invitd addresses. Dealg wth issues of representg & modelg cog procsses, appeals to scholars in all subdiscip tht comprise cog sci: psy, compu sci, neuro sci, ling, & philo