Symbolic Behavior Research Articles

The Impact Mechanism of Corporate Water-Saving Behaviors on Consumer Response: A Case Study on High Water-Consuming Corporations

With the increasing awareness of sustainable development and the construction of a water-saving society, many Chinese enterprises, especially those with high water-consuming corporations, have begun to pay attention to water-saving management. This study employs a scenario experiment method, focusing on high water-consuming corporations, to examine the differentiated responses of consumers to both symbolic and substantive corporate water-saving behaviors. The results show that substantive water-saving behaviors significantly enhance positive consumer attitudes and purchase intentions compared to symbolic behaviors. Consumer–company identification mediates the impact of water-saving behaviors on consumer responses. Corporate abilities and water resource conditions in consumer’s location moderate this relationship. These findings underscore the market value of corporate water-saving behaviors and provide guidance for companies in developing effective water-saving practices and marketing strategies.

Hominin cognition: The null hypothesis.

The target article explores material culture datasets from three African forager groups. After demonstrating that these modern, contemporary human populations would leave scant evidence of symbolic behaviour or material complexity, it cautioned against using material culture as a barometer for human cognition in the deep past. Twenty-one commentaries broadly support or expand these conclusions. A minority offer targeted demurrals, highlighting (1) the soundness of reasoning from absence; and questioning (2) the "cognitively modern" null; (3) the role of hunter-gatherer ethnography; and (4) the pertinence of the inferential issues identified in the target article. In synthesising these discussions, this reply addresses all four points of demurral in turn, and concludes that there is much to be gained from shifting our null assumptions and reconsidering the probabilistic inferential links between past material culture and cognition.

Links Between Early Prelinguistic Communication and Later Expressive Language in Toddlers With Autistic and Non-Autistic Siblings.

The present study explored the extent to which early prelinguistic communication skills predict expressive language in toddlers with autistic siblings (Sibs-autism), who are known to be at high likelihood for autism and language disorder, and a comparison group of toddlers with non-autistic older siblings (Sibs-NA). Participants were 51 toddlers (29 Sibs-autism, 22 Sibs-NA) aged 12-18 months at the first time point in the study (Time 1). Toddlers were seen again 9 months later (Time 2). Three prelinguistic communication skills (i.e., intentional communication, vocalization complexity, and responding to joint attention) were measured at Time 1 via the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Developmental Profile-Behavior Sample. An expressive language aggregate was calculated for each participant at Time 2. A series of correlation and multiple regression models was run to evaluate associations of interest between prelinguistic communication skills as measured at Time 1 and expressive language as measured at Time 2. Vocalization complexity and intentional communication displayed significant zero-order correlations with expressive language across sibling groups. Vocal complexity and responding to joint attention did not have significant added value in predicting later expressive language, after covarying for intentional communication across groups. However, sibling group moderated the association between vocalization complexity and later expressive language, such that vocal complexity displayed incremental validity for predicting later expressive language, covarying for intentional communication, only within Sibs-NA. Results indicate that prelinguistic communication skills, in particular intentional communication, show promise for predicting later expressive language in siblings of autistic children. These findings provide additional empirical support for the notion that early preemptive interventions targeting prelinguistic communication skills, especially intentional communication, may have the potential to scaffold language acquisition and support more optimal language outcomes in this population at high likelihood for a future diagnosis of both autism and language disorder. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.27745437.

The tyranny of nomadic ethnography: Re-approaching Late Bronze Age (2100–1300 BCE) mobility in the central Eurasian steppes

For a number of years, researchers have associated Late Bronze Age (LBA) (2100 – 1300 BCE) settlements in the Trans-Ural steppe with nomadic pastoralism. This would have involved entire populations making periodic movements between pastures. To test this claim, I have synthesized eight lines of data from more than 40 archaeological sites. The analysis of settlement architecture, material culture accumulation rates, herd composition, osteological seasonality markers, stable isotopes, the degree of transportability of artifacts, haymaking activities, and symbolic behavior has allowed me to conclude the following. First, the settlements of the Sintashta, Petrovka, Alakul, and Srubnaya-Alakul cultural types were sedentary, i.e., occupied year-round by at least a portion of the population. If herder groups left their respective communities for extended periods of time, these moves were localized (within a 15 km radius). Furthermore, if separate nomadic pastoralist sub-groups were present, they were not numerous (∼10 % of the total population). The long-term tendency to see LBA communities as nomadic is rooted in the strong influence of ethnography on Eurasian steppe scholars. Based on these findings, I argue that LBA societies of the central steppes require no special approaches to account for community-level seasonal mobility in the context of settlement pattern studies. This opens up the possibility of focusing on the previously understudied theme of regional demography. Finally, this paper adds the Trans-Urals to the list of world regions where crop cultivation was not a necessary prerequisite for large-scale sedentism.

SPECIAL BUILDINGS AT NEOLITHIC GIRMELER, NEAR TLOS IN SOUTH‐WEST ANATOLIA

SummarySpecial buildings, or communal buildings, were ubiquitous in most Neolithic settlements in the Levant, Upper Mesopotamia, and Anatolia. Recently, remains of three special buildings with terrazzo floors dating to the early seventh millennium BC representing the Initial Neolithic period in west Anatolian chronology were unearthed in the basal layers of the mound located in front of the Girmeler cave in south‐west Anatolia. The terrazzo floors in these three special buildings feature traces of red‐painted linear and geometric decorations, while one also contains human burials. These special buildings may enhance our understanding of the symbolic and ritual behaviours of the Neolithic communities living on the south‐west fringes of Anatolia. They may have been gathering places for ritual activities that helped create social memories and define group identities, as well as strengthen intra‐ and inter‐societal relations among Neolithic groups. It is argued that the location of these special buildings adjacent to a natural hot spring before a cave with an impressive façade may have been one of the factors that eventually led Neolithic groups to form a gathering pattern here.

Когнітивні можливості дослідження пігментів на кам’яних артефактах

Palaeolithic stone artifacts reflect traces of human activity and spatio-temporal natural modifications. The study of stone artifacts and the development of modern technologies serve as an impetus for the development of new methods of reconstruction of the prehistoric past. Findings of the remains of natural dyes have always attracted the special attention of researchers, because it is traditionally believed that such finds rather reflect symbolic and social behaviour, interpreted according to numerous ethnographic and archaeological sources. Numerous finds of the use of ochre pigments as various dyes and unmodified nodules, which in most cases are interpreted by researchers as a display of symbolic behaviour, are recorded at Palaeolithic sites on the territory of Ukraine. Recent microscopic studies of the ochre pigments and use-wear analysis on the stone artifacts from the Late Acheulean site of Zaskelna IX (Crimea) allowed researchers to hypothesize the use of ochre as one from the components of the adhesive mixture for clamping the artifacts in the handle, which was composed of hides and plants. Taking into account the personal experience of studying ochre pigments on stone artifacts, the authors highlight the main stages and research methods that can be used to reproduce the hominins behavioural activities in prehistory. In the process of researching the ochre pigments on the stone artifacts originating from the cultural layer, there is a need to distinguish successive stages to study the surface: archeomineralogical, technological and residue analysis, use-wear analysis, and conducting an experiment. Non-destructive methods of studying the surface of a stone artifact are of great importance on the study of the composition of organic and inorganic compounds by modern methods of spectrometry. Key words: ochre pigments, residue analysis, stone artifacts, Palaeolithic, territory of Ukraine.

Wuyi Rock Tea Drinking Associated Knowledge and Practice: A Case Study from the Anthropological Perspectives

There are two domains in the anthropological knowledge of food and the practice of foodways: the materialist school, represented by Marvin Harris, and the teleological school, represented by Claude Levi Strauss. Scholars have considered these two schools irreconcilable for many years. This paper made a practical study of the two domains by investigating the consumption of Wuyi Rock Tea in Fujian Province from the perspective of anthropology. It suggests that Wuyi Rock Tea drinking has become a symbolic social behavior in Chinese society along with Chinese pragmatic principles. Consumers enjoy Wuyi Rock Tea and desire to consume it for various reasons.

Embarrassment as a public vs. private emotion and symbolic coping behaviour.

In dealing with embarrassment, individuals engage in symbolic coping behaviours (e.g., hiding one's face by wearing sunglasses). Research investigated these behaviours when embarrassment is experienced as a public emotion (e.g., others present). Contrary, there is emerging evidence showing that embarrassment can be experienced as a private emotion (e.g., no others present) as well. This is why the present research seeks to enhance previous work on symbolic coping behaviours and investigates to what extent symbolic coping behaviours differ when embarrassment is experienced in public and private. First, the present study finds that individuals experience embarrassment as a private as well as a public emotion. Second, both types of embarrassment relate to symbolic coping behaviours. Third, while both types of embarrassment experience a preference for face-hiding products there are differences in symbolic coping behaviours. Fourth, the study transfers extant research to a different cultural context.

MIS 3 innovative behavior and highland occupation during a stable wet episode in the Lake Tana paleoclimate record, Ethiopia

Securely dated archaeological sites from key regions and periods are critical for understanding early modern human adaptive responses to past environmental change. Here, we report new radiocarbon dates of > 42,000 cal years BP for an intensive human occupation of Gorgora rockshelter in the Ethiopian Highlands. We also document the development of innovative technologies and symbolic behaviors starting around this time. The evidenced occupation and behavioral patterns coincide with the onset and persistence of a stable wet phase in the geographically proximate high-resolution core record of Lake Tana. Range expansion into montane habitats and the subsequent development of innovative technologies and behaviors are consistent with population dispersal waves within Africa and beyond during wetter phases ~ 60–40 thousand years ago (ka).

Reliability and validity of the Polish version of Communication and Symbolic Behaviour Scales-Developmental Profile - Infant-Toddler Checklist

BackgroundEarly diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders allows to start a therapy tailored to the child - the earlier it happens, the better the results. This study marked a preliminary attempt to prepare culturally and linguistically adapted Polish version of the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales-Developmental Profile – Infant-Toddler Checklist (CSBS-DP ITC). MethodThe study was conducted among 1471 Polish parents of children from the general population aged 6 to 24 months, 490 of them participated in the follow-up. An additional 122 pairs of parents completed the questionnaire to determine reliability using the inter-rater method. The collected data were statistically processed to calculate the reliability and validity of the Polish version of the CSBS-DP ITC questionnaire. ResultsThe results indicated a very good fit of the one-factor and three-factor models in confirmatory factor analysis. Both one-factor and three-factor model showed satisfactory fit in both sex subsamples. The total score of CSBS-DP ITC demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency, Cronbach's α = .92 and McDonald’s ω = .92. In test-retest all the correlation coefficients between the first and second measurements were above.70, proving a satisfactory level of stability. ConclusionsThe Polish version of the CSBS-DP-ITC is a reliable tool for the early screening of autism spectrum disorder, but further studies on sensitivity and specificity are essential.

Analysis of The Arabic Language Textbook for the Islamic Middle School for the Seventh Grade based on Multiple Intelligences

This research aims to analyse the 2013 curriculum Arabic language textbook based on the theory of multiple intelligences. The research uses a qualitative descriptive approach with content analysis method for the 7th grade student textbook of Islamic junior high school under the 2013 curriculum with the topic "Let's Understand Arabic". The purpose of this study is to identify the multiple intelligences present in the student textbook, determine the unit of analysis, determine the sample, prepare a coding guide, collect data, analyze the harmony between the book and the concept of multiple intelligences, describe the results of the analysis based on the multiple intelligence concept, draw conclusions and provide recommendations. The study revealed that the 7th grade student textbook under the topic "Let's Understand Arabic" did not adequately facilitate the development of students' multiple intelligences, as the distribution of multiple intelligences in the book is uneven. The most prevalent intelligences in the book are linguistic intelligence at 31% and visual-spatial intelligence at 31%, followed by logical-mathematical intelligence at 26%, while the least represented intelligences are bodily-kinesthetics and interpersonal intelligences at 6% each. To enhance these intelligences, instructional materials on songs, rhythms, rhythmic patterns, etc. can be added, and discussion on symbolic behaviour and dasa dharma behaviour can be expanded. Thus, developing instructional materials in student textbooks is an important step for authors or writers in maximizing the development of students' intelligences.

Prilaku Simbolis Jama’ah Tabligh

Symbolic behavior in the context of the Tablighi Jama'ah includes various practices, including the use of typical clothing, the practice of shaking hands, the practice of eating together, the way of walking, and the emphasis on preaching and religious activities. Some people see this symbolic behavior as a form of expression of strong faith, while others see it as self-isolation.This research uses a descriptive method with a phenomenological approach. Primary data sources and secondary data, primary data sources in this research are works and books which are the main guidelines for the Tablighi Jama'ah. Meanwhile, secondary data from this research are the works of experts in their respective fields. The research results show that the religious symbols and behavior practiced by the Tablighi Jama'ah have given rise to various interpretations among Muslims. These differences in interpretation are caused by differences in viewpoints in understanding one group versus another, which can lead to divisions. Even though Islam is a religion of rahmatan lil 'alamin which protects all its adherents.

The role of multiple board directorships in sustainability strategies: symbol or substance?

AbstractMultiple board directorships are a global phenomenon in the business environment and have come under intense debate from regulators, professionals, and academics alike. At the same time, sustainability has become a major challenge for firms in the current scenario. The main objective of this paper is to investigate whether multiple directorships lead firms to symbolic or substantive sustainability strategies. After performing different methodological approaches and robustness tests, our findings highlight that multiple directorships lead to symbolic sustainable development by significantly intensifying environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting practices, although this is not supported by substantial ESG actions. This symbolic behaviour is even more evident in socially and environmentally sensitive industries. Given the ongoing regulatory and professional discussions concerning multiple board directorships, the ever-increasing importance of sustainability and the significant consequences of symbolic ESG strategies, our paper has direct implications for firms in the selection of board members, as well as for regulators and professionals when refining their legislation and recommendations concerning boards.

Early Communication Skills Training for Infants and Toddlers with Cochlear ImplantEarly Communication Skills Training for Infants and Toddlers with Cochlear Implant

Background and Aim: Early communication skills in children with hearing loss depend on the quantity and quality of information received from parents. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of early communication skills training in developing the communication skills of infants and toddlers with cochlear implants. Methods: To this end, 54 infants and toddlers at the age range of 8–24 months with sever to profound hearing loss fitted by Cochlear Implant (CI) with their mothers participated in this study. The experimental and wait list control groups had auditory verbal therapy as the main intervention after the CI; however, the experimental group received a systematic early communication skills program. All subjects were assessed using the Communication and Symbolic Behaviour Scales Developmental Profile as the pre-and post-tests. Results: Multivariate analysis of covariance indicated the effect of systematic training on the early communication development of subjects in intervention group. Conclusion: Teaching the parents how to interact with infants and toddlers with CI could improve the communication skills of the infants and therefore it’s recommended to be included in the auditory rehabilitation programs.

Reconsidering the link between past material culture and cognition in light of contemporary hunter-gatherer material use.

Many have interpreted symbolic material culture in the deep past as evidencing the origins sophisticated, modern cognition. Scholars from across the behavioural and cognitive sciences, including linguists, psychologists, philosophers, neuroscientists, primatologists, archaeologists and paleoanthropologists have used such artefacts to assess the capacities of extinct human species, and to set benchmarks, milestones or otherwise chart the course of human cognitive evolution. To better calibrate our expectations, the present paper instead explores the material culture of three contemporary African forager groups. Results show that, while these groups are unequivocally behaviourally modern, they would leave scant long-lasting evidence of symbolic behaviour. Artefact-sets are typically small, perhaps as consequence of residential mobility. When excluding traded materials, few artefacts have components with moderate-strong taphonomic signatures. Present analyses show that artefact function influences preservation probability, such that utilitarian tools for the processing of materials and the preparation of food are disproportionately likely to contain archaeologically traceable components. There are substantial differences in material-use between populations, which create important population-level variation preservation probability independent of cognitive differences. I discuss the factors - cultural, ecological and practical - that influence material choice. In so doing, I highlight the difficulties of using past material culture as an evolutionary or cognitive yardstick.

Metal Objects Were Much Desired: A Sixteenth-Century Shipwreck Cargo off the Coast of Esposende (Portugal) and the Importance of Studying Ship Cargos

During winter storms in 2014 and 2017, strong waves exposed hundreds of timbers and artefacts at the Belinho beach, in the North of Portugal. These ship remains were later discovered to belong to a 16th-century shipwreck, probably originating from Northern Europe. This paper aims to discuss the importance of cargo analysis through the study of the material culture associated with that site, consisting mainly of hundreds of pewter, brass, lead, iron, and stone artefacts. Most of these objects seem to have belonged to the ship’s cargo and are tied to a European trade system reflecting economic, cultural, and symbolic behaviours.

Oral storytelling: humanity's first data management system?

Occupation of the foraging niche requires an extensive body of ecological knowledge, and humans rely heavily on social learning to master this curriculum in a safe, efficient, timely manner. This presents a formidable information management problem: In the absence of writing, how did ancestral hunter-gatherer societies accurately store and transmit their accumulated knowledge from generation to generation? Pronounced patterns in forager oral story corpora suggest a partial answer. Cross-culturally, these stories exhibit similar themes, genres, and characters, which in turn map onto critical domains of ecological knowledge. These stories also exhibit pronounced consistencies in their formal properties, predictably utilizing strategies that engage attention (e.g., ostensive communication) and facilitate memorization (e.g., repetition, rhythm, imagery). These patterns suggest that storytelling is an information technology that addresses key problems posed by our entry into the information niche: in conjunction with other forms of symbolic behavior (e.g., ritual, visual art, song, dance, games) storytelling provides a mnemonic framework for encoding accumulated knowledge, rules for faithfully copying it, and regular occasions for refreshing and transmitting it. Collectively, these behaviors may have been instrumental in the emergence of cumulative culture.

Communication of individuals with CDKL5 deficiency disorder as observed by caregivers: A descriptive qualitative study.

CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD) is a genetically caused developmental epileptic encephalopathy that causes severe communication impairments. Communication of individuals with CDD is not well understood in the literature and currently available measures are not well validated in this population. Accurate and sensitive measurement of the communication of individuals with CDD is important for understanding this condition, clinical practice, and upcoming interventional trials. The aim of this descriptive qualitative study was to understand how individuals with CDD communicate, as observed by caregivers. Participants were identified through the International CDKL5 Disorder Database and invited to take part if their child had a pathogenic variant of the CDKL5 gene and they had previously completed the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Checklist (CSBS-DP ITC). The sample comprised caregivers of 23 individuals with CDD, whose ages ranged from 2 to 30 years (median 13 years), 15 were female, and most did not use words. Semistructured interviews were conducted via videoconference and analyzed using a conventional content analysis. Three overarching categories were identified: mode, purpose and meaning, and reciprocal exchanges. These categories described the purposes and mechanism of how some individuals with CDD communicate, including underpinning influential factors. Novel categories included expressing a range of emotions, and reciprocal exchanges (two-way interactions that varied in complexity). Caregivers observed many communication modes for multiple purposes. Understanding how individuals with CDD communicate improves understanding of the condition and will guide research to develop accurate measurement for clinical practice and upcoming medication trials.

Каменный век Камчатки: переход от палеолита к неолиту

The article describes general and peculiar features of transition from the Palaeolithic to the Neolithic on the Kamchatka peninsula. The findings are obtained through studying multi-layered camps of Ushki and artefact of Anavgay II and Razdelny II sites. The objective of the article is to systematize archaeological and stratigraphic materials, both the new ones and the ones already existing in the scholarly discourse. The objective implies description of the functioning of the human culture in the Stone Age Kamchatka with regards to the dynamics of natural complexes. It is established that the peculiarity of the transition from the Palaeolithic to the Neolithic on the Kamchatka peninsula is three consequent and differently looking tangible culture complexes: the Final Palaeolithic (~13.3–12.5 thousand years B.P. calibrated; 12.0–10.1 thousand years B.P. calibrated) and the Mesolithic (~9.9–8.6 thousand years B.P. calibrated). The peculiarities of the first complex imply bifacial arrowheads and darts with shafts, stone embellishments (pendants, beads), artificial organic colourings; distinctive feature of the second complex is evidence of using the micro plate technology (Yūbetsu technique); the third complex is represented with the micro lithic technique of tool production and plate- and flake-based tool sets. The population of all complexes is characterized with appropriating economy based on preying on different animal and bird species, fishing and gathering. Two Late Pleistocene cultural complexes are typical for the Final Palaeolithic Eurasia and America in terms of their settlement arrangements, stone industry, economy and symbolic behaviour. The third period demonstrates the Early Holocene age and certain materials, which makes it associated with the Mesolithic. The Mesolithic complexes’ stone industry shows predominant items based on prismatic plates. There is no ceramics found. There are common features with the Mesolithic cultures of Eurasia. The dynamic and migration of the Kamchatka population in the researched period was linked to the volcanic activity, endogenous landscape formation and associated consequences.

Assessing early language and communication development: An e-health approach using online applications

The early assessment of language and communication abilities is critical to meet the needs and challenges of inclusive societies. We developed a novel e-health approach whereby well-known assessment tools are available through online applications that allow a quick (computer, tablet, smartphone) on-screen assessment, making health monitoring and intervention in this field highly flexible and possible in a rich variety of contexts and users, including practitioners, educators, researchers, and caregivers. The app versions of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory Short forms (CDI) and the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Developmental Profile (CSBS-DPTM) Infant-Toddler Checklist offer automatic scoring and percentile profiles for the individual infant and toddler. The easy, quick, decentralized access to health monitoring in the sensitive areas of cognitive and language development fosters the early identification of risk for language and communication impairments, early intervention and diagnosis, with individual, social and economic benefits.