Alle Publikationen
2017
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(2017): A higher-order theory of emotional consciousness. In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114 (10). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1619316114
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1619316114 Abstract: Although emotions, or feelings, are the most significant events in our lives, there has been relatively little contact between theories of emotion and emerging theories of consciousness in cognitive science. In this paper we challenge the conventional view, which argues that emotions are innately programmed in subcortical circuits, and propose instead that emotions are higher-order states instantiated in cortical circuits. What differs in emotional and nonemotional experiences, we argue, is not that one originates subcortically and the other cortically, but instead the kinds of inputs processed by the cortical network. We offer modifications of higher-order theory, a leading theory of consciousness, to allow higher-order theory to account for self-awareness, and then extend this model to account for conscious emotional experiences.
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(2017): The Influence of Politeness Behavior on User Compliance with Social Robots in a Healthcare Service Setting. In: International Journal of Social Robotics 9 (5), S. 727-743. DOI: 10.1007/s12369-017-0420-0
Abstract: Particularly in the healthcare service domain, social robots are expected to be good assistants, advisers, or practitioners. To increase the effectiveness of healthcare services provided by social robots, patients must comply with their requests. Research is plentiful on what makes patients comply with healthcare advice. In this paper, which is based on Bulgurcu's study of rationality-based beliefs, command-compliance theory, and social exchange theory, we propose a research model of compliance during interaction with social robots, examining beliefs about and overall assessments of the consequences of complying with robot requests and extending the findings of previous studies to the setting of healthcare services. We specifically investigate the perceived level of politeness in robots' speech and gestures as a determinant of compliance intention. Using a social robot, NAO, as a provider of healthcare services, we conducted an experiment. The results suggest that the aforementioned theories are useful in understanding user behaviors toward social robots in a healthcare service setting. Interestingly, and unlike in other settings, the perceived level of politeness of a social robot in a healthcare service setting negatively affects the perceived benefit of compliance, and, hence, intention to comply. A lower politeness level is closer to a command or strong recommendation than a suggestion or causal recommendation, which is common in shopping, tourism, or convention settings. The findings of this study imply that polite behavior from a social robot is an important factor in the compliance of healthcare service users. Direct speech with polite gestures is the most effective way to increase patient compliance in with healthcare advice provided by social robots in healthcare settings. However, higher levels of politeness do not always increase patients' intention to comply.
Keywords: Assistenztechnik, Befehle/eindringliche Empfehlung als Marker für Unhöflichkeit, Compliance, Disziplin, doppelter Treffer, Höflichkeit, Höflichkeitsforschung, human-robot interaction, Ingenieurswissenschaft, Interaktionspartner, Medizin, Mensch oder Maschine, Mensch-Technik-Relationen (MTR), polite social interaction, Politeness, Politeness Theory, Realtechnik, Robotics, Serviceroboter, Social exchange theory, Social robot, Soziale Angemessenheit, Soziale Robotik, Technik, Technikbezug -
(2017): Learning to Eat Politely at the Chinese Homestay Dinner Table. Two Contrasting Case Studies. In: Foreign Language Annals 50 (1), S. 135-158. DOI: 10.1111/flan.12244
Abstract: While study abroad homestays are often credited with providing opportunities for language and cultural learning, at times they can be characterized by communicative, cross-cultural, or interpersonal discord. In documenting these conflicts and their consequences, research to date has relied largely on students' self-reports, often focusing on their negative effect on students' orientations to learning. Grounded in Vygotskian sociocultural theory, this study adopts a longitudinal approach to the multimodal, multisensory process of learning table etiquette in Chinese homestays, including the perspectives of both hosts and students. Analysis of communicative interactions, photographs, diaries, and interviews reveals that the hosts directed students' attention to their inadequate etiquette at mealtimes through contextualized directives and accusations. These face-threatening acts stipulated dos and don'ts while also ultimately cultivating some habits of virtuous eating. Over time, face-threatening acts became repertoires of communicative resources invoked by students to control their social and mental activity. The findings suggest that students and hosts can collaboratively resolve homestay problems, transforming them into opportunities for learning.
Keywords: time -
(2017) : Design of the companion robot interaction for supporting major tasks of the elderly: 2017 14th International Conference on Ubiquitous Robots and Ambient Intelligence (URAI): 2017 14th International Conference on Ubiquitous Robots and Ambient Intelligence (URAI): Jeju, Korea: IEEE, S. 655-659
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/URAI.2017.7992695 Abstract: This research aims to develop the companion robot experience design optimized for supporting living tasks of the elderly in Korea. First, Elder users' main needs were categorized into 4 groups based on ethnographic research. Second, the functional elements and physical actuators of robot were mapped to user needs in function-needs deploy matrix. The final UX design of companion robot was derived as a verbal non-touch multi modal interface with emotional facial expression. Usability test of the interface was conducted targeting 8 elderly' users and users' response and acceptance was positive.
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(2017): Trait anger, neuroticism, and the hostile reaction to provocation. Examining the hierarchical organization of affective traits in context. In: Motivation and Emotion 41 (6), S. 713-729. DOI: 10.1007/s11031-017-9637-3
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-017-9637-3 Abstract: It has been suggested that the broad trait of neuroticism may predict the tendency to become aggressive when provoked. Based on functionalist theories of emotion, however, we suspected that only the more specific trait of anger would predict such tendencies. To test these competing predictions, two laboratory studies and one daily diary study were conducted. Consistent with functionalist accounts, trait anger consistently predicted the angry emotional and aggressive behavioral response to provocation, even after controlling for neuroticism. This was true in relation to laboratory-based provocations and in provocations experienced in daily life. Neuroticism only predicted a more diverse negative emotional reaction. It is therefore proposed that trait anger clearly elicits an angry emotional response, which directly motivates aggressive behavior. By contrast, neuroticism may lead to a very diverse reaction which elicits different and even contradictory behavioral tendencies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved)
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(2017): Artificial cognition for social human–robot interaction. An implementation. In: Artificial Intelligence 247, S. 45-69. DOI: 10.1016/j.artint.2016.07.002
Abstract: Human–Robot Interaction challenges Artificial Intelligence in many regards: dynamic, partially unknown environments that were not originally designed for robots; a broad variety of situations with rich semantics to understand and interpret; physical interactions with humans that requires fine, low-latency yet socially acceptable control strategies; natural and multi-modal communication which mandates common-sense knowledge and the representation of possibly divergent mental models. This article is an attempt to characterise these challenges and to exhibit a set of key decisional issues that need to be addressed for a cognitive robot to successfully share space and tasks with a human. We identify first the needed individual and collaborative cognitive skills: geometric reasoning and situation assessment based on perspective-taking and affordance analysis; acquisition and representation of knowledge models for multiple agents (humans and robots, with their specificities); situated, natural and multi-modal dialogue; human-aware task planning; human–robot joint task achievement. The article discusses each of these abilities, presents working implementations, and shows how they combine in a coherent and original deliberative architecture for human–robot interaction. Supported by experimental results, we eventually show how explicit knowledge management, both symbolic and geometric, proves to be instrumental to richer and more natural human–robot interactions by pushing for pervasive, human-level semantics within the robot's deliberative system.
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(2017): Perceived differences in social status between speaker and listener affect the speaker's vocal characteristics. In: PLoS one 12 (6). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0179407
DOI: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28614413 Abstract: Non-verbal behaviours, including voice characteristics during speech, are an important way to communicate social status. Research suggests that individuals can obtain high social status through dominance (using force and intimidation) or through prestige (by being knowledgeable and skilful). However, little is known regarding differences in the vocal behaviour of men and women in response to dominant and prestigious individuals. Here, we tested within-subject differences in vocal parameters of interviewees during simulated job interviews with dominant, prestigious, and neutral employers (targets), while responding to questions which were classified as introductory, personal, and interpersonal. We found that vocal modulations were apparent between responses to the neutral and high-status targets, with participants, especially those who perceived themselves as low in dominance, increasing fundamental frequency (F0) in response to the dominant and prestigious targets relative to the neutral target. Self-perceived prestige, however, was less related to contextual vocal modulations than self-perceived dominance. Finally, we found that differences in the context of the interview questions participants were asked to respond to (introductory, personal, interpersonal), also affected their vocal parameters, being more prominent in responses to personal and interpersonal questions. Overall, our results suggest that people adjust their vocal parameters according to the perceived social status of the listener as well as their own self-perceived social status.
Keywords: Acoustic Stimulation, Adolescent, Adult, Auditory Perception/physiology, Diagnostic Self Evaluation, Female, fundamental frequency, Humans, Interviews as Topic/methods, Macht, Male, Middle Aged, Social Class, Social Perception, Socioeconomic Factors, Soziale Dominanz, Speech Acoustics, Speech/physiology, Status / biologische Marker, Stimme, Stimme / Prosodie, Voice/physiology, Young Adult -
(2017): Simondon: investigating the pre-organizational. In: Culture and Organization 23 (1), S. 1-13. DOI: 10.1080/14759551.2016.1240358
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(2017): Who Deserves My Trust? Cue-Elicited Feedback Negativity Tracks Reputation Learning in Repeated Social Interactions. In: Frontiers in human neuroscience 11. DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00307
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00307 Abstract: Trust and trustworthiness contribute to reciprocal behavior and social relationship development. To make better decisions, people need to evaluate others' trustworthiness. They often assess this kind of reputation by learning through repeated social interactions. The present event-related potential (ERP) study explored the reputation learning process in a repeated trust game where subjects made multi-round decisions of investment to different partners. We found that subjects gradually learned to discriminate trustworthy partners from untrustworthy ones based on how often their partners reciprocated the investment, which was indicated by their own investment decisions. Besides, electrophysiological data showed that the faces of the untrustworthy partners induced larger feedback negativity (FN) amplitude than those of the trustworthy partners, but only in the late phase of the game. The ERP results corresponded with the behavioral pattern and revealed that the learned trustworthiness differentiation was coded by the cue-elicited FN component. Consistent with previous research, our findings suggest that the anterior cue-elicited FN reflects the reputation appraisal and tracks the reputation learning process in social interactions.
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(2017): The Evolutionary Mismatch Hypothesis. Implications for Psychological Science. In: Current Directions in Psychological Science 27 (1), S. 38-44. DOI: 10.1177/0963721417731378
Abstract: Human psychological mechanisms are adaptations that evolved to process environmental inputs, turning them into behavioral outputs that, on average, increase survival or reproductive prospects. Modern contexts, however, differ vastly from the environments that existed as human psychological mechanisms evolved. Many inputs now differ in quantity and intensity or no longer have the same fitness associations, thereby leading many mechanisms to produce maladaptive output. We present the precepts of this evolutionary mismatch process, highlight areas of mismatch, and consider implications for psychological science and policy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved) zitiert von 3
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(2017): Fear of autonomous robots and artificial intelligence: Evidence from national representative data with probability sampling. In: International Journal of Social Robotics 9 (3), S. 379-384. DOI: 10.1007/s12369-017-0401-3
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-017-0401-3 Abstract: People vary in the extent to which they report fear toward robots, especially when they perceive that the robot is autonomous or has artificial intelligence. This research examines a specific form of sociological fear, which we name as fear of autonomous robots and artificial intelligence (FARAI). This fear may serve to affect how people will respond to and interact with robots. Applying data from a nationally representative dataset with probability sampling (N = 1541), research questions examine (1) the extent and frequency of FARAI, (2) demographic and media exposure predictors, and (3) correlates with other types of fear (i.e., loneliness, drones, and unemployment). A latent class analysis reveals that approximately 26% of participants reported experiencing a heightened level of FARAI. Demographic analyses show that FARAI is connected to participant sex, age, education, and household income; albeit these effects were small. Media exposure to science fiction predicts FARAI above and beyond the demographic variables. Correlational results indicate that FARAI is associated with other types of fear, including loneliness, becoming unemployed, and drone use. In sum, these findings render a much needed glimpse and update regarding how much individuals fear robots and artificial intelligence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved)
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(2017): Reflections: Thoughts on moral diversity and counseling psychology’s commitment to social justice.. In: The Counseling Psychologist 45 (1), S. 113-124. DOI: 10.1177/0011000016688096
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000016688096 Abstract: This article discusses moral diversity and counseling psychology’s commitment to social justice. It is the author's hope and wish that the Society of Counseling Psychology can be as respectful and accepting of moral and philosophical (and political) differences on social issues—while still vigorously debating them—as it is with regard to differences in perspective on our science, practice, education, and training, and with regard to other types of individual differences—differences that are celebrated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved)
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(2017): FinnFN 1.0. The Finnish frame semantic database. In: NORDIC JOURNAL OF LINGUISTICS 40 (3), S. 287-311
Abstract: The article describes the process of creating a Finnish language FrameNet or FinnFN, based on the original English language FrameNet hosted at the International Computer Science Institute in Berkeley, California. We outline the goals and results relating to the FinnFN project and especially to the creation of the FinnFrame corpus. The main aim of the project was to test the universal applicability of frame semantics by annotating real Finnish using the same frames and annotation conventions as in the original Berkeley FrameNet project. From Finnish newspaper corpora, 40,721 sentences were automatically retrieved and manually annotated as example sentences evoking certain frames. This became the FinnFrame corpus. Applying the Berkeley FrameNet annotation conventions to the Finnish language required some modifications due to Finnish morphology, and a convention for annotating individual morphemes within words was introduced for phenomena such as compounding, comparatives and case endings. Various questions about cultural salience across the two languages arose during the project, but problematic situations occurred only in a few examples, which we also discuss in the article. The article shows that, barring a few minor instances, the universality hypothesis of frames is largely confirmed for languages as different as Finnish and English.
Keywords: cultural salience, FinnFN, frame semantics, FrameNet, Korpus, Korpusanalyse, Kulturvergleich, Linguistik -
(2017) : The HERA approach to morally competent robots: IROS Vancouver 2017: IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems : Vancouver, BC, Canada, September 24 - 28, 2017: 2017 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS): Vancouver, BC: 9/24/2017 - 9/28/2017: [Piscataway, New Jersey]: IEEE, S. 6991-6997
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(2017): A Model for Generating Socially-Appropriate Deictic Behaviors Towards People. In: International Journal of Social Robotics 9 (1), S. 33-49. DOI: 10.1007/s12369-016-0348-9
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-016-0348-9 Abstract: Pointing behaviors are essential in enabling social robots to communicate about a particular object, person, or space. Yet, pointing to a person can be considered rude in many cultures, and as robots collaborate with humans in increasingly diverse environments, they will need to effectively refer to people in a socially-appropriate way. We confirmed in an empirical study that although people would point precisely to an object to indicate where it is, they were reluctant to do so when pointing to another person. We propose a model for selecting utterances and pointing behaviors towards people in terms of a balance between understandability and social appropriateness. Calibrating our proposed model based on empirical human behavior, we developed a system able to autonomously select among six deictic behaviors and execute them on a humanoid robot. We evaluated the system in an experiment in a shopping mall, and the results show that the robot’s deictic behavior was perceived by both the listener and the referent as more polite, more natural, and better overall when using our model, as compared with a model considering understandability alone. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)
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(2017) : Interpersonale Pragmatik und (Un)Höflichkeitsforschung In: Ehrhardt, Claus; Neuland, Eva (Hg.): Sprachliche Höflichkeit: Historische, aktuelle und künftige Perspektiven: Tübingen, Germany: Narr Francke Attempto, S. 77-88
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(2017): Communal and agentic interpersonal and intergroup motives predict preferences for status versus power. In: Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 43 (1), S. 71-86
Abstract: Seven studies involving 1,343 participants showed how circumplex models of social motives can help explain individual differences in preferences for status (having others' admiration) versus power (controlling valuable resources). Studies 1 to 3 and 7 concerned interpersonal motives in workplace contexts, and found that stronger communal motives (to have mutual trust, support, and cooperation) predicted being more attracted to status (but not power) and achieving more workplace status, while stronger agentic motives (to be firm, decisive, and influential) predicted being more attracted to and achieving more workplace power, and experiencing a stronger connection between workplace power and job satisfaction. Studies 4 to 6 found similar effects for intergroup motives: Stronger communal motives predicted wanting one's ingroup (e.g., country) to have status but not power relative to other groups. Finally, most people preferred status over power, and this was especially true for women, which was partially explained by women having stronger communal motives.
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(2017): Specifying and testing the design rationale of social robots for behavior change in children. In: COGNITIVE SYSTEMS RESEARCH 43, S. 250-265. DOI: 10.1016/j.cogsys.2016.07.002
Abstract: We are developing a social robot that helps children with diabetes Type 1 to acquire self-management skills and routines. There is a diversity of Behavior Change Techniques (BCTs) and guidelines that seem to be useful for the development of such support, but it is not yet clear how to work out the techniques into concrete robot support functions and behaviors. The situated Cognitive Engineering (sCE) methodology provides guidance for the design and evaluation of such functions and behaviors, but doesn't provide a univocal specification method of the theoretical and empirical justification. This paper presents an extension of sCE: a formal template that describes the relations between support objectives, behavior change theory, design specifications and evaluation outcomes, called situated Design Rationale (sDR) and the method to get this. As test case, the European ALIZ-e project is used to instantiate this design rationale and to evaluate the usage. This case study showed that sDR provides concrete guidance (1) to derive robot functions and behaviors from the theory and (2) to designate the corresponding effects with evaluation instruments. Furthermore, it helps to establish an effective, incremental and iterative, design and evaluation process, by relating positive and negative evaluation outcomes to robot behaviors at the task and communication level. The proposed solution for explicating the design rationale makes it possible for others to understand the decisions made and thereby supports replicating experiments or reusing parts of the design rationale.
Keywords: Design -
(2017) : Vorwort In: Schütz, Alfred; Luckmann, Thomas (Hg.): Strukturen der Lebenswelt: 2., überarbeitete Auflage: Konstanz; München: UTB, UVK Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, UVK/Lucius (UTB), S. 13-26
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(2017): Systemtheorie der Gesellschaft. Berlin: Suhrkamp
Abstract: »Thema: Theorie der Gesellschaft; Laufzeit: 30 Jahre; Kosten: keine« – so lautet die berühmte Antwort, die Niklas Luhmann Ende der 1960er Jahre auf die Frage nach seinem Forschungsprojekt gab. Der Zeitplan wurde eingehalten: 1997 erschien Die Gesellschaft der Gesellschaft, Luhmanns Opus magnum und Kernstück dieses Vorhabens. So bedeutend dieses Werk, so bemerkenswert seine Vorgeschichte. Denn wie der wissenschaftliche Nachlass des Soziologen zeigt, hat Luhmann im Laufe der Jahrzehnte mehrere weitgehend druckreife und inhaltlich eigenständige Fassungen seiner Gesellschaftstheorie geschrieben. 1975 brachte er die erste dieser Fassungen auf nahezu tausend Typoskriptseiten zum Abschluss. Sie ist ohne Frage die soziologisch reichhaltigste Version einer umfassenden Theorie der Gesellschaft, die aus Luhmanns einzigartigem Forschungsprojekt hervorgegangen ist, und wird nun unter dem Titel Systemtheorie der Gesellschaft erstmals publiziert.
Keywords: Youssef, Ramy -
(2017): Automatic actions. Agency, intentionality, and responsibility. In: Philosophical Psychology 30 (5), S. 616-644. DOI: 10.1080/09515089.2017.1291928
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2017.1291928 Abstract: This article discusses a challenge to the traditional intentional-causalist conceptions of action and intentionality as well as to our everyday and legal conceptions of responsibility, namely the psychological discovery that the greatest part of our alleged actions are performed automatically, that is unconsciously and without a proximal intention causing and sustaining them. The main part of the article scrutinizes several mechanisms of automatic behavior, how they work, and whether the resulting behavior is an action. These mechanisms include actions caused by distal implementation intentions, four types of habit and habitualization, mimicry, and semantically induced automatic behavior (which is later disregarded because of its lack of clarity). According to the intentional-causalist criterion, the automatic behaviors resulting from all but one of these mechanisms turn out to be actions and to be intentional; and even the behavior resulting from the remaining mechanism (natural ly acquired habits) is something we can be responsible for. Hence, the challenge, seen from close up, does not really call the traditional conception of action and intentionality into question. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved) zitiert von 1
Keywords: agency, Automatism, Causality, Habits, Habitualization, Intention, Philosophie, Verhaltensforschung -
(2017): Toward an intelligent long-term assistance for people with dementia in the context of navigation in indoor environments : Intelligente Langzeit-Unterstützung für Menschen mit Demenz im Kontext der Navigation in Gebäuden. In: Universität Würzburg, Graduate School of Science and Technology
Abstract: Designed and examined a system for indoor environments for people with moderate to severe dementia, who are unable or reluctant to use smartphone technology. To this end, a series of 10 studies was conducted with total of 35 adults with dementia. In the first step, a user-centered design approach was adopted to gather context and requirements of people with dementia in order to understand needs and difficulties (especially in spatial disorientation and wayfinding problems) experienced in dementia care facilities. Then, an "Implicit Interactive Intelligent (III) Environment" for people with dementia was proposed emphasizing implicit interaction and natural interface. The backbone of this III Environment is based on supporting orientation and navigation tasks with three systems: a monitoring system, an intelligent system, and a guiding system. The monitoring system and intelligent system automatically detect and interpret the locations and activities performed by the users i.e. people with dementia. This approach (implicit input) reduces cognitive workload as well as physical workload on the user to provide input. The intelligent system is also aware of context, predicts next situations (location, activity), and decides when to provide an appropriate service to the users. The guiding system with intuitive and dynamic environmental cues (lighting with color) has the responsibility for guiding the users to the places they need to be. Overall, three types of a monitoring system with Ultra-Wideband and iBeacon technologies, different techniques and algorithms were implemented for different contexts of use. They showed a high user acceptance with a reasonable price as well as decent accuracy and precision. In the intelligent system, models were built to recognize the users' current activity, detect the erroneous activity, predict the next location and activity, and analyze the history data, detect issues, notify them and suggest solutions to caregivers via visualized web interfaces. Regarding the guiding systems, five studies were conducted to test and evaluate the effect of lighting with color on people with dementia. The results were promising. Although several components of III Environment in general and three systems, in particular, are in place (implemented and tested separately), integrating them all together and employing this as a fully properly evaluation with formal stakeholders (people with dementia and caregivers) need to be examined in future research.
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(2017) : Barriers in acceptance of Ambient Assisted Living technologies among older Australians: 2017 IEEE Life Sciences Conference (LSC): 13-15 Dec. 2017: 2017 IEEE Life Sciences Conference (LSC): Sydney, Australia: 12/13/2017 - 12/15/2017. IEEE Life Sciences Conference; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; International IEEE Life Sciences Conference; Lsc: Piscataway, NJ: IEEE, S. 222-225
Abstract: One of the great challenges facing Australian society is the ageing population. Amongst various issues involved in this drastic demographic change, the most significant aspect is the demand for older Australians to be able to live independently at home. One of the things done to address these issues is the development of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) technologies. However, the optimum uptake of these technologies among the end-users (the elderly Australians) still remains a big concern. This aim of this study is to investigate the barriers and perceptions in the use of AAL applications amongst older Australians. Focus groups, and quantitative surveys have been conducted to provide the detailed analysis of these impediments. The results show that there are different factors that restrict the use of these technologies and elderly people have certain preferences when using the technology. An understanding of these barriers is gained to provide solutions according to user needs.
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(2017): Social Transformation and Online Technology. In: Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology 21 (1), S. 55-70. DOI: 10.5840/techne20174561
Abstract: The Internet age has seen the influential rise of social media. Consumer culture is tied to this modern phenomenon. This paper begins with an exposition of Herbert Marcuse’s grounding in phenomenology and his subsequent critique of Heidegger’s apolitical Dasein. In explicating Marcuse’s critical theory of technology, this paper will retrace Hegel’s influence on Marcuse in the idea of the dialectic. The dialectic is an integral aspect of social transformation. While modern technology may be value-neutral, it is argued herein that the lack of depth in social media provokes thought and invites critical dissent. Marcuse believes in the capacity of modern tools to effect social reform through adaptation. But emerging pathologies from online technology also have pressing challenges. For instance, social media makes manifest a dominant order that can be manipulative. It can be said that particular interests, notably from business and capitalists, shape the type of consumer culture that online technology promotes. In advancing Marcuse’s relevance in today’s Internet age, the paper will explore how social media as a platform can truly liberate the individual from the ills that consumerism peddles online.
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(2017): Moral alchemy. How love changes norms. In: Cognition 167, S. 135-150. DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2017.03.003
DOI: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28404207 Abstract: We discuss a process by which non-moral concerns (that is concerns agreed to be non-moral within a particular cultural context) can take on moral content. We refer to this phenomenon as moral alchemy and suggest that it arises because moral obligations of care entail recursively valuing loved ones' values, thus allowing propositions with no moral weight in themselves to become morally charged. Within this framework, we predict that when people believe a loved one cares about a behavior more than they do themselves, the moral imperative to care about the loved one's interests will raise the value of that behavior, such that people will be more likely to infer that third parties will see the behavior as wrong (Experiment 1) and the behavior itself as more morally important (Experiment 2) than when the same behaviors are considered outside the context of a caring relationship. The current study confirmed these predictions. zitiert von: 2