Agency.

IF 1.9 4区 心理学 Q2 PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
Peter R Killeen, Stephen Helms Tillery, Felipe Cabrera
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Agency is action aimed at goals selected by an agent. A deterministic world view leaves scant room for agency. To reconcile the arguments, we represent action as nested control systems, ranging from clearly deterministic to clearly volitional. Negative feedback minimizes deviations from setpoints (goals). Goals are determined by higher modules in a hierarchy of systems, ranging from gamma-efferent spindles through reflexes to operant responses; these last, and the larger system that contains them, called the Self, comprise volitional agents. When operants become habitual they descend to closed teleonomic systems-automaticity. Change in emotional states, and unpredicted changes in the context-raise them back to full volitional systems. At the highest level is the Self-the brain's model of the agent. When aroused out of open teleonomic functioning, it must reconsider means and ends. It does so by simulating action plans, using the same neural systems it uses to effect them. The simulated stimuli and responses are conscious, approximating their perceptions as experienced in real time; this verisimilitude gives them their hedonic value. Positive feedback plays a key role in these complex adaptive systems, as it focuses and holds attention on the most salient percepts and goals, permitting the self-organization of action plans. The Self is not a separate entity, but a colloquy of command modules wearing the avatar of the agent. This system is put into correspondence with Grossberg's Adaptive Resonance Theory. Free will and determinism emerge not as binary opposites, but the modulating inputs to a spectrum of systems.

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来源期刊
Journal of General Psychology
Journal of General Psychology PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY-
CiteScore
5.20
自引率
4.00%
发文量
10
期刊介绍: The Journal of General Psychology publishes human and animal research reflecting various methodological approaches in all areas of experimental psychology. It covers traditional topics such as physiological and comparative psychology, sensation, perception, learning, and motivation, as well as more diverse topics such as cognition, memory, language, aging, and substance abuse, or mathematical, statistical, methodological, and other theoretical investigations. The journal especially features studies that establish functional relationships, involve a series of integrated experiments, or contribute to the development of new theoretical insights or practical applications.
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