Matching Items (4)
Description
What makes living systems different than non-living ones? Unfortunately this question is impossible to answer, at least currently. Instead, we must face computationally tangible questions based on our current understanding of physics, computation, information, and biology. Yet we have few insights into how living systems might quantifiably differ from their non-living counterparts, as in a mathematical foundation to explain away our observations of biological evolution, emergence, innovation, and organization. The development of a theory of living systems, if at all possible, demands a mathematical understanding of how data generated by complex biological systems changes over time. In addition, this theory ought to be broad enough as to not be constrained to an Earth-based biochemistry. In this dissertation, the philosophy of studying living systems from the perspective of traditional physics is first explored as a motivating discussion for subsequent research. Traditionally, we have often thought of the physical world from a bottom-up approach: things happening on a smaller scale aggregate into things happening on a larger scale. In addition, the laws of physics are generally considered static over time. Research suggests that biological evolution may follow dynamic laws that (at least in part) change as a function of the state of the system. Of the three featured research projects, cellular automata (CA) are used as a model to study certain aspects of living systems in two of them. These aspects include self-reference, open-ended evolution, local physical universality, subjectivity, and information processing. Open-ended evolution and local physical universality are attributed to the vast amount of innovation observed throughout biological evolution. Biological systems may distinguish themselves in terms of information processing and storage, not outside the theory of computation. The final research project concretely explores real-world phenomenon by means of mapping dominance hierarchies in the evolution of video game strategies. Though the main question of how life differs from non-life remains unanswered, the mechanisms behind open-ended evolution and physical universality are revealed.
ContributorsAdams, Alyssa M (Author) / Walker, Sara I (Thesis advisor) / Davies, Paul CW (Committee member) / Pavlic, Theodore P (Committee member) / Chamberlin, Ralph V (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
The relationship between parent and child is one that has been studied intensively for years. Much of the previous research in this field has quantified the parent-child relationship through self-report measures, with a subsample coding behavior from videotape and averaging individual scores across the entire parent-child interaction. Using a dynamic systems approach, we attempted to gain a deeper understanding of the parent-child relationship by quantifying the relationship in terms of dyadic patterns using the software Gridware. We then used these dyadic patterns to predict internalizing and externalizing behaviors in eight-year-old twin children. Dyadic relationship patterns predicted externalizing behaviors such as aggression and conduct disorder (i.e., frequency and stability within negative attractor states, and infrequency and low stability in positive attractor states), but not internalizing behaviors. Findings provide a method for capturing variance in parent-child interactions that is important for children's externalizing behaviors. Future studies should utilize these patterns in understanding risk and resilience family processes for children's mental health and well being.
ContributorsEccles, Jenna Christine (Author) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Thesis director) / Knight, George (Committee member) / Spinrad, Tracy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Child chronic pain is both common and consequential and identification of malleable risk factors is a critical step towards developing effective interventions. Existing evidence points to the possibility that parent behavior may play a significant role in the development of children’s chronic pain through modeling of pain-related behaviors. An important parental trait that predicts parent behavior in pain contexts is parental pain catastrophizing, which has been linked to child pain outcomes as well as to increased facial pain behavior in both parents and their children during pain induction. Existing research has examined facial pain behavior in aggregate, summarizing facial expressions over the course of an entire dyadic interaction, which does not allow for evaluation of the dynamic interplay between a parent and child. The current study aimed to test the hypothesis that higher parental catastrophizing would predict decreased flexibility in emotional dynamics between parent and child (reflected in facial affect during a parent-child interaction that occurs within the context of child pain-induction), which would in turn predict fewer child chronic pain symptoms. The approach used dynamic systems analysis of facial behaviors during the parent-child interaction during the child’s performance of a pain inducing cold pressor task to assess dyadic emotional flexibility. Nine-year old children from a larger sample of twins (N = 30) were video recorded during a cold-water pain task while their parents observed them. Videos of the children and their parent from these interactions were analyzed using facial action unit software (AffDex), into positive, neutral, and negative facial emotional expressions. Synchronized parent and child coded facial data were then analyzed for flexibility using GridWare (version 1.1). Parents completed the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) to assess parental trait pain catastrophizing and the Body Pain Location/Frequency scale to assess child chronic pain symptoms during the prior three months. Contrary to prediction, parental catastrophizing was related to higher levels of flexibility, and flexibility was unrelated to child chronic pain. Exploratory analyses indicated that children with higher levels of effortful control had more emotionally flexible interactions with their parent during the cold pressor, and emotionally flexible interactions predicting lower levels of children’s negative emotional responses to the acute pain task. suggesting some promising avenues for future research.
ContributorsSowards, Hayley Anne (Author) / Davis, Mary (Thesis director) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Fractal analyses examine variability in a time series to look for temporal structure
or pattern that reveals the underlying processes of a complex system. Although fractal
property has been found in many signals in biological systems, how it relates to
behavioral performance and what it implies about the complex system under scrutiny are
still open questions. In this series of experiments, fractal property, movement kinematics,
and behavioral performance were measured on participants performing a reciprocal
tapping task. In Experiment 1, the results indicated that the alpha value from detrended
fluctuation analysis (DFA) reflected deteriorating performance when visual feedback
delay was introduced into the reciprocal tapping task. This finding suggests that this
fractal index is sensitive to performance level in a movement task. In Experiment 2, the
sensitivity of DFA alpha to the coupling strength between sub-processes within a system
was examined by manipulation of task space visibility. The results showed that DFA
alpha was not influenced by disruption of subsystems coupling strength. In Experiment 3,
the sensitivity of DFA alpha to the level of adaptivity in a system under constraints was
examined. Manipulation of the level of adaptivity was not successful, leading to
inconclusive results to this question.
or pattern that reveals the underlying processes of a complex system. Although fractal
property has been found in many signals in biological systems, how it relates to
behavioral performance and what it implies about the complex system under scrutiny are
still open questions. In this series of experiments, fractal property, movement kinematics,
and behavioral performance were measured on participants performing a reciprocal
tapping task. In Experiment 1, the results indicated that the alpha value from detrended
fluctuation analysis (DFA) reflected deteriorating performance when visual feedback
delay was introduced into the reciprocal tapping task. This finding suggests that this
fractal index is sensitive to performance level in a movement task. In Experiment 2, the
sensitivity of DFA alpha to the coupling strength between sub-processes within a system
was examined by manipulation of task space visibility. The results showed that DFA
alpha was not influenced by disruption of subsystems coupling strength. In Experiment 3,
the sensitivity of DFA alpha to the level of adaptivity in a system under constraints was
examined. Manipulation of the level of adaptivity was not successful, leading to
inconclusive results to this question.
ContributorsNguyen, Tri, M.A (Author) / Amazeen, Eric L (Thesis advisor) / Glenberg, Arthur M. (Thesis advisor) / Amazeen, Polemnia G (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019