Do New Caledonian Crows Solve Physical Problems Through Causal Reasoning? A
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The Mathematics of Causal Relations
In P.E. Shrout, K. Keyes, and K. Ornstein (Eds.), Causality and Psychopathology: Finding the TECHNICAL REPORT Determinants of Disorders and their Cures, Oxford University Press, 47-65, 2010. R-338 September 2010 The Mathematics of Causal Relations Judea Pearl Introduction Almost two decades have passed since Paul Holland published his highly cited review paper on the Neyman-Rubin approach to causal inference [Holland, 1986]. Our understanding of causal inference has since increased severalfold, due primarily to advances in three areas: 1. Nonparametric structural equations 2. Graphical models 3. Symbiosis between counterfactual and graphical methods These advances are central to the empirical sciences because the research questions that motivate most studies in the health, social, and behavioral sciences are not statistical but causal in nature. For example, what is the efficacy of a given drug in a given population? Can data prove an employer guilty of hiring discrimination? What fraction of past crimes could have been avoided by a given policy? What was the cause of death of a given individual in a specific incident? Remarkably, although much of the conceptual framework and many of the algorithmic tools needed for tackling such problems are now well established, they are hardly known to researchers in the field who could put them into practical use. Why? Solving causal problems mathematically requires certain extensions in the standard mathematical language of statistics, and these extensions are not generally emphasized in the mainstream literature and education. As a result, large segments of the statistical research community find it hard to appreciate and benefit from the many results that causal analysis has produced in the past two decades. -
Intelligence in Corvids and Apes: a Case of Convergent Evolution? Amanda Seed*, Nathan Emery & Nicola Claytonà
Ethology CURRENT ISSUES – PERSPECTIVES AND REVIEWS Intelligence in Corvids and Apes: A Case of Convergent Evolution? Amanda Seed*, Nathan Emery & Nicola Claytonà * Department of Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany School of Biological & Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK à Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK (Invited Review) Correspondence Abstract Nicola Clayton, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Intelligence is suggested to have evolved in primates in response to com- Street, Cambridge CB23EB, UK. plexities in the environment faced by their ancestors. Corvids, a large- E-mail: [email protected] brained group of birds, have been suggested to have undergone a con- vergent evolution of intelligence [Emery & Clayton (2004) Science, Vol. Received: November 13, 2008 306, pp. 1903–1907]. Here we review evidence for the proposal from Initial acceptance: December 26, 2008 both ultimate and proximate perspectives. While we show that many of Final acceptance: February 15, 2009 (M. Taborsky) the proposed hypotheses for the evolutionary origin of great ape intelli- gence also apply to corvids, further study is needed to reveal the selec- doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2009.01644.x tive pressures that resulted in the evolution of intelligent behaviour in both corvids and apes. For comparative proximate analyses we empha- size the need to be explicit about the level of analysis to reveal the type of convergence that has taken place. Although there is evidence that corvids and apes solve social and physical problems with similar speed and flexibility, there is a great deal more to be learned about the repre- sentations and algorithms underpinning these computations in both groups. -
Why Preen Others? Predictors of Allopreening in Parrots and Corvids and Comparisons to 2 Grooming in Great Apes
1 Why preen others? Predictors of allopreening in parrots and corvids and comparisons to 2 grooming in great apes 3 Short running title: Allopreening in parrots and corvids 4 Alejandra Morales Picard1,2, Roger Mundry3,4, Alice M. Auersperg3, Emily R. Boeving5, 5 Palmyre H. Boucherie6,7, Thomas Bugnyar8, Valérie Dufour9, Nathan J. Emery10, Ira G. 6 Federspiel8,11, Gyula K. Gajdon3, Jean-Pascal Guéry12, Matjaž Hegedič8, Lisa Horn8, Eithne 7 Kavanagh1, Megan L. Lambert1,3, Jorg J. M. Massen8,13, Michelle A. Rodrigues14, Martina 8 Schiestl15, Raoul Schwing3, Birgit Szabo8,16, Alex H. Taylor15, Jayden O. van Horik17, Auguste 9 M. P. von Bayern18, Amanda Seed19, Katie E. Slocombe1 10 1Department of Psychology, University of York, UK 11 2Montgomery College, Rockville, Maryland, USA 12 3Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University 13 Vienna, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. 14 4Platform Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Austria. 15 5Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA 16 6Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, University of Strasbourg, 23 rue Becquerel 67087 17 Strasbourg, France 18 7Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 7178, 67087 Strasbourg, France 19 8Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria 20 9UMR Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, INRA-CNRS-Université de Tours 21 -IFCE, 37380 Nouzilly, France 22 10School of Biological & Chemical Sciences, Queen -
Causal Knowledge and the Development of Inductive Reasoning ⇑ Aimée K
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Elsevier - Publisher Connector Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 122 (2014) 48–61 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Experimental Child Psychology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jecp Causal knowledge and the development of inductive reasoning ⇑ Aimée K. Bright a, , Aidan Feeney b a Psychology Division, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK b School of Psychology, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland, UK article info abstract Article history: We explored the development of sensitivity to causal relations in chil- Received 5 April 2013 dren’s inductive reasoning. Children (5-, 8-, and 12-year-olds) and Revised 27 November 2013 adults were given trials in which they decided whether a property Available online 8 February 2014 known to be possessed by members of one category was also possessed by members of (a) a taxonomically related category or (b) a causally Keywords: related category. The direction of the causal link was either predictive Category-based induction Causal knowledge (prey ? predator) or diagnostic (predator ? prey), and the property Causal asymmetry that participants reasoned about established either a taxonomic or cau- Taxonomic knowledge sal context. There was a causal asymmetry effect across all age groups, Inductive selectivity with more causal choices when the causal link was predictive than Knowledge over-generalization when it was diagnostic. Furthermore, context-sensitive causal reason- ing showed a curvilinear development, with causal choices being most frequent for 8-year-olds regardless of context. -
UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Causal Action: A
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Causal Action: A Framework to Connect Action Perception and Understanding A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology by Yujia Peng 2019 ©Copyright by Yujia Peng 2019 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Causal Action: A Framework to Connect Action Perception and Understanding by Yujia Peng Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology University of California, Los Angeles, 2019 Professor Hongjing Lu, Chair Human actions are more than mere body movements. In contrast to dynamic events involving inanimate objects, human actions have a special status in that they control interactions with the world and afford privileged access to the experience of agency and to control interactions with the world. Several causal constraints on human actions support the generation and the understanding of actions. For example, human actions inherently involve a causal structure: limb movements generally cause changes in body position along a path through the environment to achieve intentional goals. However, it remains unclear how the system that supports action perception communicates with high-level reasoning system to recognize actions, and more importantly, to achieve a deeper understanding of observed actions. My dissertation aims to ii determine whether causality imposes critical motion constraints on action perception and understanding, and how causal relations involved in actions impact behavioral judgments. The project also investigates the developmental trajectory and neural substrate of action processing, and whether a feedforward deep learning model is able to learn causal relations solely from visual observations of human actions. Through behavioral experiments, an infant eye movement study, a neural study using magnetoencephalography, and model simulations, my dissertation yields a number of insights. -
At Natural Foraging Sites Corvus Moneduloides Tool Use by Wild New Caledonian Crows
Downloaded from rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org on January 30, 2014 Tool use by wild New Caledonian crows Corvus moneduloides at natural foraging sites Lucas A. Bluff, Jolyon Troscianko, Alex A. S. Weir, Alex Kacelnik and Christian Rutz Proc. R. Soc. B 2010 277, doi: 10.1098/rspb.2009.1953 first published online 6 January 2010 Supplementary data "Data Supplement" http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/suppl/2010/01/05/rspb.2009.1953.DC1.h tml References This article cites 23 articles, 5 of which can be accessed free http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/277/1686/1377.full.html#ref-list-1 Article cited in: http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/277/1686/1377.full.html#related-urls Subject collections Articles on similar topics can be found in the following collections behaviour (1094 articles) Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article - sign up in the box at the top Email alerting service right-hand corner of the article or click here To subscribe to Proc. R. Soc. B go to: http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/subscriptions Downloaded from rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org on January 30, 2014 Proc. R. Soc. B (2010) 277, 1377–1385 doi:10.1098/rspb.2009.1953 Published online 6 January 2010 Tool use by wild New Caledonian crows Corvus moneduloides at natural foraging sites Lucas A. Bluff1,*,†,‡, Jolyon Troscianko2, Alex A. S. Weir1, Alex Kacelnik1 and Christian Rutz1,*,‡ 1Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK 2School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK New Caledonian crows Corvus moneduloides use tools made from sticks or leaf stems to ‘fish’ woodboring beetle larvae from their burrows in decaying wood. -
Novel Pancreatic Endocrine Maturation Pathways Identified by Genomic Profiling and Causal Reasoning
Novel Pancreatic Endocrine Maturation Pathways Identified by Genomic Profiling and Causal Reasoning Alex Gutteridge2*, J. Michael Rukstalis1,4, Daniel Ziemek3, Mark Tie´ 1, Lin Ji1,4, Rebeca Ramos-Zayas1, Nancy A. Nardone4, Lisa D. Norquay4, Martin B. Brenner4, Kim Tang1, John D. McNeish1, Rebecca K. Rowntree1* 1 Pfizer Regenerative Medicine, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America, 2 Pfizer Regenerative Medicine, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 3 Pfizer Computational Sciences Center of Emphasis, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America, 4 Pfizer Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America Abstract We have used a previously unavailable model of pancreatic development, derived in vitro from human embryonic stem cells, to capture a time-course of gene, miRNA and histone modification levels in pancreatic endocrine cells. We investigated whether it is possible to better understand, and hence control, the biological pathways leading to pancreatic endocrine formation by analysing this information and combining it with the available scientific literature to generate models using a casual reasoning approach. We show that the embryonic stem cell differentiation protocol is highly reproducible in producing endocrine precursor cells and generates cells that recapitulate many aspects of human embryonic pancreas development, including maturation into functional endocrine cells when transplanted into recipient animals. The availability of whole genome gene and miRNA expression data from the early stages of human pancreatic development will be of great benefit to those in the fields of developmental biology and diabetes research. Our causal reasoning algorithm suggested the involvement of novel gene networks, such as NEUROG3/E2F1/KDM5B and SOCS3/STAT3/IL-6, in endocrine cell development We experimentally investigated the role of the top-ranked prediction by showing that addition of exogenous IL-6 could affect the expression of the endocrine progenitor genes NEUROG3 and NKX2.2. -
Individual Repeatability, Species Differences, and The
Supplementary Materials: Individual repeatability, species differences, and the influence of socio-ecological factors on neophobia in 10 corvid species SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS 2 Figure S1 . Latency to touch familiar food in each round, across all conditions and species. Round 3 differs from round 1 and 2, while round 1 and 2 do not differ from each other. Points represent individuals, lines represent median. SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS 3 Figure S2 . Site effect on latency to touch familiar food in azure-winged magpie, carrion crow and pinyon jay. SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS 4 Table S1 Pairwise comparisons of latency data between species Estimate Standard error z p-value Blue jay - Azure-winged magpie 0.491 0.209 2.351 0.019 Carrion crow - Azure-winged magpie -0.496 0.177 -2.811 0.005 Clark’s nutcracker - Azure-winged magpie 0.518 0.203 2.558 0.011 Common raven - Azure-winged magpie -0.437 0.183 -2.392 0.017 Eurasian jay - Azure-winged magpie 0.284 0.166 1.710 0.087 ’Alal¯a- Azure-winged magpie 0.416 0.144 2.891 0.004 Large-billed crow - Azure-winged magpie 0.668 0.189 3.540 0.000 New Caledonian crow - Azure-winged magpie -0.316 0.209 -1.513 0.130 Pinyon jay - Azure-winged magpie 0.118 0.170 0.693 0.488 Carrion crow - Blue jay -0.988 0.199 -4.959 0.000 Clark’s nutcracker - Blue jay 0.027 0.223 0.122 0.903 Common raven - Blue jay -0.929 0.205 -4.537 0.000 Eurasian jay - Blue jay -0.207 0.190 -1.091 0.275 ’Alal¯a- Blue jay -0.076 0.171 -0.443 0.658 Large-billed crow - Blue jay 0.177 0.210 0.843 0.399 New Caledonian crow - Blue jay -0.808 0.228 -3.536 -
Development of Causal Reasoning
The Development of Causal Reasoning Oxford Handbooks Online The Development of Causal Reasoning Paul Muentener and Elizabeth Bonawitz The Oxford Handbook of Causal Reasoning Edited by Michael R. Waldmann Print Publication Date: Jun 2017 Subject: Psychology, Cognitive Psychology Online Publication Date: May 2017 DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199399550.013.40 Abstract and Keywords Research on the development of causal reasoning has broadly focused on accomplishing two goals: understanding the origins of causal reasoning, and examining how causal reasoning changes with development. This chapter reviews evidence and theory that aim to fulfill both of these objectives. In the first section, it focuses on the research that explores the possible precedents for recognizing causal events in the world, reviewing evidence for three distinct mechanisms in early causal reasoning: physical launching events, agents and their actions, and covariation information. The second portion of the chapter examines the question of how older children learn about specific causal relationships. It focuses on the role of patterns of statistical evidence in guiding learning about causal structure, suggesting that even very young children leverage strong inductive biases with patterns of data to inform their inferences about causal events, and discussing ways in which children’s spontaneous play supports causal learning. Keywords: development, causal reasoning, learning, induction, bias Causality plays a fundamental role in human cognition, and has long been a topic of interest for many developmental researchers—causal reasoning has been proposed to be a central aspect of early learning in the physical (Baillargeon, 2004; Carey, 2009; Cohen, Amsel, Redford, & Casasola, 1998; Leslie, 1995; Spelke, 1990), psychological (Csibra & Gergely, 1998; Gopnik & Wellman, 1992; Meltzoff, 2007; White, 2014; Woodward, 2009), and biological world (Carey, 2009; Wellman & Gelman, 1992). -
1/4 New Caledonian Crows Afford Invaluable Comparative Insights Into
Target article: Osiurak and Reynaud Word counts: abstract (60 words), main text (995), references (1191), entire text (2356) New Caledonian crows afford invaluable comparative insights into human cumulative technological culture Christian Rutza,b and Gavin R. Huntc aCentre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, UK; bRadcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, Cambridge MA 02138, USA; and cUnaffiliated. +1 617 899 6744 (C.R.) [email protected] [email protected] https://aviantooluse.org Abstract The New Caledonian crow may be the only non-primate species exhibiting cumulative technological culture. Its foraging tools show clear signs of diversification and progressive refinement, and it seems likely that at least some tool-related information is passed across generations via social learning. Here, we explain how these remarkable birds can help us uncover the basic biological processes driving technological progress. Cumulative culture – the social transmission and accumulation of innovations across generations – has enabled humans to develop technologies of astonishing complexity (Boyd & Richerson 1996). Osiurak and Reynaud (O&R) present a timely re-evaluation of the potential cognitive capacities enabling this process, shifting the focus from social-learning to technical-reasoning skills. We enjoyed O&R’s fresh perspective, but were surprised that they did not examine more carefully their starting assumption that only humans possess cumulative technological culture. Two non-human species have been suggested to refine their foraging tools in a cumulative manner – one of our closest relatives, the chimpanzee, and a tropical corvid, the New Caledonian crow (Dean et al. 2014). -
Adaptive Bill Morphology for Enhanced Tool Manipulation in New Caledonian Crows Received: 30 November 2015 Hiroshi Matsui1,*, Gavin R
www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN Adaptive bill morphology for enhanced tool manipulation in New Caledonian crows Received: 30 November 2015 Hiroshi Matsui1,*, Gavin R. Hunt2,*, Katja Oberhofer3, Naomichi Ogihara4, Kevin J. McGowan5, Accepted: 19 February 2016 Kumar Mithraratne3, Takeshi Yamasaki6, Russell D. Gray2,7 & Ei-Ichi Izawa1 Published: 09 March 2016 Early increased sophistication of human tools is thought to be underpinned by adaptive morphology for efficient tool manipulation. Such adaptive specialisation is unknown in nonhuman primates but may have evolved in the New Caledonian crow, which has sophisticated tool manufacture. The straightness of its bill, for example, may be adaptive for enhanced visually-directed use of tools. Here, we examine in detail the shape and internal structure of the New Caledonian crow’s bill using Principal Components Analysis and Computed Tomography within a comparative framework. We found that the bill has a combination of interrelated shape and structural features unique within Corvus, and possibly birds generally. The upper mandible is relatively deep and short with a straight cutting edge, and the lower mandible is strengthened and upturned. These novel combined attributes would be functional for (i) counteracting the unique loading patterns acting on the bill when manipulating tools, (ii) a strong precision grip to hold tools securely, and (iii) enhanced visually-guided tool use. Our findings indicate that the New Caledonian crow’s innovative bill has been adapted for tool manipulation to at least some degree. Early increased sophistication of tools may require the co-evolution of morphology that provides improved manipulatory skills. Human tool behaviour is underpinned by adaptations associated with enhanced manipulation of tools and tool material. -
Potency and Process: a Naturalistic Defense of Mental Causation
University of Nevada, Reno Potency and Process: A Naturalistic Defense of Mental Causation A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Philosophy By Devin J. Bray Dr. Thomas Nickles/Thesis Advisor May, 2016 THE GRADUATE SCHOOL We recommend that the thesis prepared under our supervision by DEVIN JAMES BRAY Entitled Potency and Process: A Naturalistic Defense of Mental Causation be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Thomas Nickles, Ph.D., Advisor Christopher Williams, Ph.D., Committee Member Michael Webster, Ph.D., Graduate School Representative David W. Zeh, Ph.D., Dean, Graduate School May, 2016 i Abstract It has been argued extensively in contemporary philosophy of mind and neuroscience that physicalism precludes the possibility of robust mental causation. “Exclusion arguments” of the sort offered by Jaegwon Kim present the physicalist with an apparent dilemma: either all putatively “mental” causation reduces to mere “bottom-up” causation, or else it is epiphenomenal. However, the purportedly “scientific” premises that bolster these arguments can be argued are metaphysically overladen, smuggling in assumptions about the fundamental nature of matter that are not warranted by our best current data. By examining the evidence against such assumptions and the feasibility of alternative metaphysical frameworks, serious doubt can be cast on the validity of Exclusion arguments. Accepting the plausibility of causal entanglements leading from