Information, Communication and Signals Flashcards
‘Qualitative approach’ to information and communication
- sign theory
2.descriptive
3.about semiograms, ethograms, etc.
3about structure (syntax), meaning (semantics), context (pragmatics), expression (prosodics)
4.embodied, situated, etc.
‘Quantitative approach’ to information and communication
- information theory
- statistical (SDT)
- about models, formulas, units of info (bits)
- about entropy, uncertainty, transmission, redundancy, channel coding
- network (circuits), noise
is information processing cognitive? why or why not?
-can be thought of as cognitive, but there is danger in doing so-decisions may be thoughtful or just choice/ response (A or B)
errors can be measured in information processing by looking at what? (2)
- Cognitive dimension
- sensory/ perceptual, attentional, mnemonic (acquisition, storage and retrieval of info), decisional - Affective/ conative (motivational) dimension
- fear, rage, hunger, etc.
what is present when a channel is noisy?
Entropy and uncertainty, potential for error
channel coding
-finding optimal codes to transmit data over a noisy channel (noise= interference, channel= a route)
Equivocation (error type)
- stimulus uncertainty
- uncertainty of stimulus given the response
Ambiguity (error type)
- Response uncertainty
- uncertainty of response given the stimulus
how can the sender deal with noise? (3)
- adjust/ change behavior
- sign/ signal itself, the frequency/ intensity, the redundancy
- sender controls the stimulus - adjust/change the channel
- channels are generally noisy- can take advantage sometimes - adjust/change the context/ environment (social or physical)
- can be simplistic
- ex. burying scent mark can make more salient
channel
=sensory and physical modality that allows signal to be transmitted
-environment that carries signal (ex. wind)
proximate (optimal) factors in communication
- learning
- motivation
- sensation/perception
- affect (emotion)
- sensorimotor integration
- neural networks
- physiological and biochemistry
Ultimate (distal) factors in communication
=species strategies to deal with constraints
- sharing? (altruism)
- manipulation? (deception)
- origin/ evolution of signs/ signals
- optimality theorizing
- ritualization (usually innate and evolved)
- mate attraction
- individual species recognition
code
-info contained in signal
signal + context
message
what sign encodes about the sender (what animal produces)
meaning
what receiver makes of message (where misinterpretations can happen)
properties of ‘Discrete Signals’
- punctual, usually short, best to communicate quickly
- discrete, ‘all or none’, ‘black or white’
- redundancy, repetition (not a lot of info)
- sequential analysis of actions/ events
- may indicate if aggressive, but not how much
- usually highly (serially) predictable
- safe and cheap to produce
Ex. light flashing in fireflies or Morse code
properties of ‘Graded Signals’
- more info but at a cost
- graded; longer and more continuous
- ‘shade of grey’
- intensity/ volume and complexity are modulated (more degrees of freedom to make complex sounds)
- informs of strength of stimulus and motivation
- time series analysis of actions/ events
- many possible nuances, harder to decipher
- risky and costly (expensive) to produce
- real time modifications
Ex. howls of wolves, human voice/ speech
Bojest effect
- wolfs make it sound like more of them by breaking unison during howl
- coyotes also very good at this
theory of mind: perspective taking
- intentionality
- understanding cognitions, emotions and motivations of others
- if trying to deceive, suggests theory of mind
deception
- intentionality
- communication wrong/ misleading info intentionally
conflict and motivations
- intentionality
- sharing and surviving (or even deceiving) at the same time
- signalling presence of predator to other conspecifics, but not indicating position to predator (graded signal)
unconventional sources of info in social dynamics (3)
=complex social interaction
- attentional structure
- what pay attention to is important
- proximities (who you are close to or keep distance from) - affiliative behaviors
allo-grooming behaviors and play - sensation seeking
like showing off, usually know it is dangerous but continue
Ex. raven pulling wolves tail (is it sensation seeking or communication to other ravens?)
ritualization
=complex social interaction
-implicit (strategy level- not individual)
Ex. ritualized aggression (threat display), scent marking posture, courtship feeding, gift giving, nest building)
diversity of signals due to? (5)
- physical constraints- physiological mechanisms
- evolutionary histories- adaptations, constraints of natural and sexual selection
- economics of communication- cost and benefits (risk assessment), short or long term, inter and intra specific
- conflicts on interests- honesty and deception, short or long term, inter and intra specific, conflict mediation and resolution
- communication networks- beyond dyadic interactions (eavesdropping- listening in on others)
what is the point of dominance hierarchies?
reduce conflict, gives predictability about how social interaction will unfold
what effects the complexity of signals? (4)
- modality (physical or chemical)
- medium (air, water, solids- fluid important)
- information carried and transmitted (ex. pheromones carry a lot of info)
- conflicts (of interest) and honesty
goals and perspectives of animal behavior (5)
- forms- descriptive explanation
- ethology and zoosemiotics) - causes- causal explanation (proximate)
- functions- functional explanations (ultimate)
- consequences of behavior
- tactics (ethology) vs. strategies (behavioral ecology)
example of third party involved in communication?
- courtship and behavior that follows (males fight to impress females)
- females often have last word, as third party very important
coding rules for information correlate with what 3 things?
- sender/ receiver
- intention/ interpretation
- agreement on conventions, meaning
limitations to coding rules of information
- innate or acquired rules
- signal propagation and distortion
information in context of ‘agonistic’
=aggressive and submissive
information in context of ‘affiliative’
=positive behaviors
-see a lot of fighting in wolves, actually 2/3 of it is play fighting (affiliative)
information in context of ‘reproductive’
=courtship and mating
information in context of ‘social integration’
= coordination (care, hunting, mobility, etc.)
-conflict resolution is a component
information in context of ‘environmental signals ‘
presence and location of threats (predators) or resources (food and shelter)
signalling sequence
- generation/ production of signal
- modification
- coupling to some medium (sensory feedback received)
- propagation- medium dependent
- coupling (detection, discrimination from medium)
- modification
- identification stimulus and classification
- decision
