Symbolic Behavior Research Articles

Language Growth in Young Children with Autism: Interactions Between Language Production and Social Communication.

Young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present with a broad range of spoken language abilities, as well as delays in precursor skills such as gesture production and joint attention skills. While standardized assessments describe language strengths, the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales (CSBS-DP) is a particularly robust measure as it additionally characterizes precise aspects of social communication. This study provides a unique contribution by assessing the interactional effects of CSBS-DP Social Composite performance with early language samples on later language outcomes. Our results indicate that multiple social communication elements significantly interact with early spoken language to predict later language. Our findings also highlight the transactional relationship between early spoken vocabulary and social communication skills that bolster language development growth.

Bows and arrows and complex symbolic displays 48,000 years ago in the South Asian tropics.

Archaeologists contend that it was our aptitude for symbolic, technological, and social behaviors that was central to Homo sapiens rapidly expanding across the majority of Earth's continents during the Late Pleistocene. This expansion included movement into extreme environments and appears to have resulted in the displacement of numerous archaic human populations across the Old World. Tropical rainforests are thought to have been particularly challenging and, until recently, impenetrable by early H. sapiens. Here, we describe evidence for bow-and-arrow hunting toolkits alongside a complex symbolic repertoire from 48,000 years before present at the Sri Lankan site of Fa-Hien Lena-the earliest bow-and-arrow technology outside of Africa. As one of the oldest H. sapiens rainforest sites outside of Africa, this exceptional assemblage provides the first detailed insights into how our species met the extreme adaptive challenges that were encountered in Asia during global expansion.

Using generalizability theory to evaluate the comparative reliability of developmental measures in neurogenetic syndrome and low-risk populations

BackgroundThe lack of available measures that can reliably characterize early developmental skills in children with neurogenetic syndromes (NGS) poses a significant challenge for research on early development in these populations. Although syndrome-specific measures may sometimes be necessary, a more cost- and time-efficient solution would be to identify existing measures that are appropriate for use in special populations or optimize existing measures to be used in these groups. Reliability is an important metric of psychometric rigor to consider when auditing and optimizing assessment tools for NGS. In this study, we use Generalizability Theory, an extension of classical test theory, as a novel approach for more comprehensively characterizing the reliability of existing measures and making decisions about their use in the field of NGS research.MethodsWe conducted generalizability analyses on a popular early social communication screener, the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales—Infant-Toddler Checklist (CSBS-ITC), collected on 172 children (41 Angelman syndrome, 30 Prader-Willi syndrome, 42 Williams syndrome, 59 low-risk controls).ResultsOverall, the CSBS-ITC demonstrated at least adequate reliability in the NGS groups included in this study, particularly for the Prader-Willi and Williams syndrome groups. However, the sources of systematic error variance in the CSBS-ITC varied greatly between the low-risk control and NGS groups. Moreover, as unassessed in previous research, the CSBS-ITC demonstrated substantial differences in variance sources among the NGS groups. Reliability of CSBS-ITC scores was highest when averaging across all measurement points for a given child and was generally similar or better in the NGS groups compared to the low-risk control group.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that the CSBS-ITC communicates different information about the reliability of stability versus change, in low-risk control and NGS samples, respectively, and that psychometric approaches like Generalizability Theory can provide more complete information about the reliability of existing measures and inform decisions about how measures are used in research on early development in NGS.

The 40,000-Year-Old Female Figurine of Hohle Fels: Previous Assumptions and New Perspectives

As the earliest image of a human being and the oldest piece of figurative art, the female figurine of Hohle Fels remains a significant discovery for understanding the development of symbolic behaviour in Homo sapiens. Discovered in southwestern Germany in 2008, this mammoth-ivory sculpture was found in several fragments and has always been assumed to be complete, never owning a head. In place of a head, there is instead a small loop that would allow her to be threaded, possibly to be worn as a pendant. Several hypotheses have been put forward as to her original use context, ranging from representing a fertility goddess to a pornographic figure. Yet none of these theses have ever suggested that she once had a head. Here we explore whether the female figurine of Hohle Fels was designed as a two-part piece, with the head made of perishable material culture, possibly woven plant or animal fibres; or that the artefact is a broken and reworked figurine with the head simply never found. By exploring the possibility that this figurine did originally have a second part—a head—we investigate issues surrounding the role of women and children in the Swabian Aurignacian.

Assess the effectiveness of training module for sustainable Cashewnut cultivation in Tiruchirappalli region of Tamil Nadu

Cashewnut is a native of Eastern Brazil introduced to India just as other commercial crops like Rubber, Coffee, and Tea. In Tamil Nadu cashew is the one of the major plantation crop, which is being grown under 91058 ha. Cashew production is 57988 MT and productivity is 0.64 MT per hectare. In Tamil Nadu introduced various development programmes in cashew over the period. But the production and productivity are low only. It may be due to lack of knowledge and adoption behavior among the farmers to increases the above domains, the present study on developing Training Module for Sustainable Cashewnut cultivation. The study was conducted at Ariyalur District of Tamil Nadu with sample size of 180. Multiple randomized group design was used in this experimental study. Three training modules were tested/assessed among the selected respondents by using various dimensions of training methods. Well – structured and pre –tested questionnaire was used for evaluating knowledge gain and symbolic adoption behavior of the farmers. It was found that lecture supported with Video + Demonstration + Interaction with successful farmer’s experiences sharing during field visit were effective in terms of knowledge gain and symbolic adoption in Cashewnut. The developed training module was proposed to the farming community for achieving sustainable Cashewnut cultivation in the region of Tiruchirappalli.

Human exploitation of nocturnal felines at Diepkloof Rock Shelter provides further evidence for symbolic behaviours during the Middle Stone Age

Within the animal kingdom, carnivores occupied a unique place in prehistoric societies. At times predators or competitors for resources and shelters, anthropogenic traces of their exploitation, often for non-nutritional purposes, permeate the archaeological record. Scarce but spectacular depictions in Palaeolithic art confirm peoples’ fascination with carnivores. In contrast with the European record, research on hominin/carnivore interactions in Africa has primarily revolved around the hunting or scavenging debate amongst early hominins. As such, the available information on the role of carnivores in Anatomically Modern Humans’ economic and cultural systems is limited. Here, we illustrate a particular relationship between humans and carnivores during the MIS5-4 Still Bay and Howiesons Poort techno-complexes at Diepkloof Rock Shelter, South Africa. The recovery of numerous felid remains, including cut-marked phalanges, tarsals and metapodials, constitutes direct evidence for carnivore skinning and, presumably, pelt use in the southern African Middle Stone Age. Carnivore exploitation at the site seems to have focused specifically on nocturnal, solitary and dangerous felines. The lines of evidence presented here suggest the capture and fur use of those felines in the context of highly codified and symbolically loaded cultural traditions.

Breaking the Boundary of Semiotics

AbstractApart from perspectives from literature, culture, and linguistics, the field of translation studies is eager to call for new theories that are sufficiently rational to help researchers break traditional research boundaries. An increasing number of semioticians approve of translation activities as an important approach to interpreting symbolic behavior and describe translation as the meaning generation process in which a system of symbolic codes can be translated into another system of codes. This study attempts to apply the achievements in semiotics of the Tartu Semiotic School to the discussions of the relationship between the source text and the target text in the process of translation, in the light of cultural semiotics and biosemiotics. In addition, this paper reexamines the awareness of translation, the relationship between translation and Umwelt, and the extent of communication among all participants during the process of translation.

A Two-Stage Screening Approach with I-TC and Q-CHAT to Identify Toddlers at Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder within the Italian Public Health System.

Standardized screening programs ensure that children are monitored for early signs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in order to promote earlier diagnosis and intervention. The aim of this study is to identify early signs of atypical development consistent with ASD or other developmental disorders in a population of 224 low-risk toddlers through a two-stage screening approach applied at 12 and 18 months of age. We adopted two screening tools combined: 1. the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Developmental Profile (CSBS DP) Infant–Toddler Checklist (I-TC) and 2. The Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (Q-CHAT). We assessed their sensitivity and specificity related to the diagnostic outcome at 36 months. The results showed that autistic signs can be detected as early as the first year even through a few questions extrapolated from both screeners and that our model could be used as a screening procedure in the Italian public health system.

The evolution of early symbolic behavior in Homo sapiens

How did human symbolic behavior evolve? Dating up to about 100,000 y ago, the engraved ochre and ostrich eggshell fragments from the South African Blombos Cave and Diepkloof Rock Shelter provide a unique window into presumed early symbolic traditions of Homo sapiens and how they evolved over a period of more than 30,000 y. Using the engravings as stimuli, we report five experiments which suggest that the engravings evolved adaptively, becoming better-suited for human perception and cognition. More specifically, they became more salient, memorable, reproducible, and expressive of style and human intent. However, they did not become more discriminable over time between or within the two archeological sites. Our observations provide support for an account of the Blombos and Diepkloof engravings as decorations and as socially transmitted cultural traditions. By contrast, there was no clear indication that they served as denotational symbolic signs. Our findings have broad implications for our understanding of early symbolic communication and cognition in H. sapiens.

Theory of mind as a proxy for Palaeolithic language ability

Abstract Symbolic artefacts have long been archaeology’s primary contribution to tracing the origin and subsequent development of human language. But the identification and interpretation of symbolic behaviour poses numerous interpretive problems, particularly before the Upper Palaeolithic where clearly referential forms of symbolic material are rare. As an alternative, theory of mind is presented here, detailing its intimate relationship with language and likely coevolution, alongside the factors which make it a more effective proxy. As a cognitive ability that grades in complexity and predicts linguistic skill in modern cognition, theory of mind also has the potential to denote specific syntactic and semantic features of language such as word reference, mental state verbs and complementation. The potential to detect theory of mind in the archaeological record is considered here, such as within the cultural transmission of stone tool technology and forms of complex social learning like imitation and teaching in early hominin technologies.

Backdating systematic shell ornament making in Europe to 45,000 years ago

Personal ornaments are commonly linked to the emergence of symbolic behavior. Although their presence in Africa dates back to the Middle Stone Age, evidence of ornament manufacturing in Eurasia are sporadically observed in Middle Palaeolithic contexts, and until now, large-scale diffusion has been well documented only since the Upper Palaeolithic. Nevertheless, little is known during the period between ca. 50,000 and 40,000 years ago (ka), when modern humans colonized Eurasia replacing existing hominin populations such as the Neandertals, and a variety of “transitional” and/or early Upper Palaeolithic cultures emerged. Here, we present shell ornaments from the Uluzzian site of Grotta del Cavallo in Italy, southern Europe. Our results show evidence of a local production of shell beads for ornamental purposes as well as a trend toward higher homogeneity in tusk bead shape and size over time. The temporal interval of the layers of interest (45–40 ka) makes Cavallo the earliest known shell ornament making context in Europe.

The Early Iron Metallurgy of Bassar, Togo: furnaces, metallurgical remains and iron objects

ABSTRACTAn extensive iron production industry flourished in the Bassar region of northern Togo from as early as the Early Iron Age. However, it was during the Later Iron Age that this witnessed a period of rapid growth, with locally produced iron increasingly feeding into regional trade networks. This paper discusses the archaeology, archaeometallurgy and metallography of the earliest iron production in Bassar through the examination of two sites. The first, BAS-252 (Dekpassanware), is a large ironworking village (in operation throughout the Early and Later Iron Ages) with six zones devoted primarily to smithing. The second, the nearby site of BAS-273, was found to be a smaller smelting site and operated in the Early Iron Age. The paper presents a metallographic analysis of the EIA iron artefacts excavated at BAS-252, in conjunction with an archaeometallurgical analysis of EIA smelting remains from BAS-273. The close association of smithing and smelting sites has provided an unparalleled opportunity to consider the chaîne opératoire of iron production in EIA Bassar, with insights into the production of iron alloyed with carbon and phosphorus and the possible symbolic behaviours of past smelters at a time when the foundations were being laid for Bassar to develop subsequently into a regional hub of iron production.

Digging Cognition: Is it Possible?

Many archaeologists consider that symbolic behaviour is the key to a satisfactory definition of modern cognition, but items thought to embody symbolism are rare in the archaeological record and interpretation of their meaning is often theoretically problematic. Cognitive attributes that psychologists use, such as the ability to switch attention between tasks, analogical reasoning, response inhibition and multi-tasking seem more appropriate for study because they are evident in everyday tasks that are most often represented in the past. Technological data are abundant archaeologically and proxies derived from everyday technology can thus be used to interpret ancient cognition. Items of material culture can yield information about the minds of their makers because certain tasks cannot be performed without appropriate cognitive attributes. Theoretical ways of recognizing complex cognition include establishing which steps in technical processes cannot be undertaken without attributes of complex cognition such as multi-tasking and analogical reasoning. Bridging theories between archaeological data and interpretation of cognitive abilities are essential to the methodology. It also benefits from the application of scientific method and also supporting data retrieved from replication experiments that enable testing of hypotheses.

О РОЛИ СИМВОЛИЧЕСКОГО ИЗМЕРЕНИЯ ИСТОРИЧЕСКОГО ПРОЦЕССА: ЧИТАЯ КНИГУ МАЛЬТЕ РОЛЬФА О ПОЛЬСКИХ ЗЕМЛЯХ ПОД ВЛАСТЬЮ ПЕТЕРБУРГА

The article combines a review of the Russian translation of Malte Rolf's study on the interaction between the Russian administrative apparatus and the Polish population during the "long 19th century" with a reflection on the importance of investigating the symbolic perception and behaviour of historical actors to interpret ethnic conflicts. The book successfully set and solved the task of using Polish-Russian material to show how the Russian Empire functioned between the Congress of Vienna and the beginning of World War I. Rolf succeeded in convincingly demonstrating that the mutual distrust of tsarist officials and the Polish population did not exclude mutual interest and constructive interaction. The author criticizes the widespread clichés about the permanent conflict between the "reactionary" state and the "progressive" society both in imperial Russia as a whole and – especially – in western provinces. The attention to the symbolic component of the Polish-Russian conflict allowed the author to plastically switch the perspective of research and representation between macro- and micro-historical approaches, to understand the optics of the vision of the own and the foreign, and the logic of the actions and interactions of the parties of the community in conflict. Communication between Tsarist officials, Polish society and the Russian diaspora, as persuasively demonstrated by the German historian, provided a complex learning process for all its participants, in which some stereotypical ideas about each other were reinforced, others were modified, others became outdated and went out of the political, social and symbolic practice.

Основні наукові підходи щодо осмислення моделі мовної політики як політологічного концепту

Scientific approaches to understanding the of language as a political science concept are studied, which are: circle, based on which this is built, the components of which are a single whole, consisting of separate sectors, which are political networks interconnected by political science contexts , ie cause-and-effect relationships; institutional, which includes the Institute of the Head of State, parliament, government, court, political parties, local governments, NGOs, civil society and others. institutions; network, which makes it possible to find out which political networks make up the model, which at the stages of formation and implementation of language by different administrations and states, is subject to change; geopolitical, which clarified that the subjects of Russian and others. political parties and public organizations aim to destroy Ukraine as a sovereign state, relying on the Russian language, which should receive official / state status, and the Russian population, which, according to some Russian politicians and scholars, is not a national minority in the post-Soviet states, in particular in Ukraine, and the indigenous nation; ideological, which is a system of conceptually designed political, legal, religious, philosophical ideas, views and ideas on political life, which reflect the interests, worldview, ideals, moods of people, society, political parties, social movements and others. actors that constructively or destructively influence the structure of the model; value, which is closely related to the language, ideology, self-consciousness of the subjects of language policy, their political culture, verbal and political behavior; synergetic, which helps to analyze the through the prism of the interaction of its parts, which is essentially constructive or destructive; postmodern, the product of which is multiculturalism, democracy, the decline of communism, globalization, decentralization, etc., which determine the verbal, real and symbolic behavior of politicians, some of which slow down the implementation of language and negatively affect the development of its model. Emphasis is placed on understanding the model of language policy as a political science concept, which consists of political networks and political science contexts that connect its parts into a complex structure that interacts on the principle of circle. The concept of hermeneutics is defined, which is the basis of the hermeneutic circle as a phenomenon and concept, the basis of which is: knowledge of language and morality, which regulate the behavior of language policy; understanding the content and significance of political science contexts and political networks of the language model; political science knowledge, which is used to study laws, programs, scientific works, historical and political sources, political decisions and phenomena that we study, analyze linguistic and political situations and processes. It is proved that each of the approaches used to understand this is important, because they all together help to consider its structure and find out that its constructive or destructive nature depends on the regime prevailing in the state, ie the form of government and ideologies that differently affect the implementation of language policy, the formation of this complex structure and its development.

Metaphysic Dimension in Labuhan Ceremony of Yogyakarta Palace

The symbolic behavior in Javanese culture is reflected in labuhan ceremony which is done at certain moments by Yogyakarta Palace. This tradition is based on values and has a specific purpose. Labuhan ceremony has strong cultural roots associated with metaphysical meanings. The material object in this study is labuhan ceremony by Yogyakarta Palace, while the formalized object is metaphysics. This research is a qualitative research in philosophy. The method used is the method of analysis-synthesis with methodical interpretation. The existence of labuhan ceremony is regarded as the metaphysical type of communication between the world and the supernatural nature. Both have a reciprocal relationship so that labuhan ceremony is a form of communication to maintain harmony. Labuhan ceremony has a metaphysical meaning, which is a symbol of a harmonious relationship among human beings, supernatural nature, and God.

Measures of early social communication and vocabulary production to predict language outcomes at two and three years in late-talking toddlers

BackgroundLate talkers are a heterogeneous group of toddlers and reliable predictors of persistent language delay have been elusive. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which early social communication and vocabulary production predicted variance in language outcomes at 2 and 3 years of age. MethodsParticipants were 408 typically developing and late-talking toddlers who completed the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Caregiver Questionnaire and Behavior Sample (CSBS CQ and CSBS BS) at a mean of 20 months, the Language Development Survey (LDS) at a mean of 24 months, and the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) at a mean of 25 months. A subgroup of 198 children completed a second MSEL at 3 years of age. Associations among the LDS, CSBS CQ, CSBS BS, and MSEL were examined using correlational and hierarchical linear regression analyses. Logistic regression was used to examine each measure’s contribution to predicting language delay at 2 and 3 years. ResultsModerate to large correlations were observed among all variables. The LDS, CSBS CQ, and CSBS BS added unique contributions to the prediction of 2- and 3-year expressive and receptive language outcomes. Measures of speech and vocabulary production were the strongest predictors of language outcomes at age 2. At age 3, social and symbolic communication played a more significant role in accounting for variance in expressive and receptive language outcome. A similar pattern emerged for the categorical prediction of language delay. ConclusionsMeasures of social communication between 18–21 months added important information to predicting language outcomes at 2 and 3 years, above and beyond parent-reported expressive vocabulary production measured at 24 months, with small effect sizes overall. Implications for identifying younger children who are at risk for continued language delay and recommendations for referral to early intervention programs are discussed.

Representation of a Social Group in the Cult of the Saint

The representation of the social groups as a product of their worldview finds expression in the institutions, values, norms and strategies of symbolic behavior, for example, in the cult of the saint patron, as his image transmits the ideal collective portrait of a group. The cult of St. Ragnebert (7th century) — laity aristocrat — is very unusual for the early Middle Ages. It is the first known example in history, when a social group creates a cult of “his own” Saint. This group was the Burgundian aristocracy party (optimates) which was in opposition to the royal court in Neustria in the years 660—680 and defended its “old rights” (i. e. “Burgundian particularism”). The Duke of Burgundy’ son, Ragnebert, executed by order of the maior domus Ebroyn, was the victim of this political struggle. Since his death was treated as innocent, he received a halo of the Martyr and was canonized on the initiative of the Metropolitan of Lyon, one of the opposition’s leaders. That was a specific show of the political will. So the “Burgundian frond” received from her ranks a true Saint, whose image was recorded, legitimized and promoted the group identity, class values and political goals.

“Boss ceiling effect”: brand downgrading consumption of workplace employees

PurposePrevious literature suggests that people might purchase symbolic products to signal their social identity. However, in the organizational context, subordinates as customers might choose products with less brand prestige than what they want and can afford, just to make sure their choices are below the invisible “red-line” set by the brands of their supervisors. The authors term the phenomenon as “boss ceiling effect,” and term the behavior that people often downgrade their original choice to make sure the brand prestige is lower than that of the product owned by their boss as “downgrading behavior,” which have not been explored and well explained by existing literature so far. The paper aims to discuss this issue.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conduct qualitative study to explore the existence of boss ceiling effect and providing possible influential factors of brand downgrading attitude. The quantitative study empirically examines the relationships among undesired self, perceived risk, organizational culture balance, and downgrading attitude and intension.FindingsThe authors find that undesired self-congruence and perceived risk are positively related to the downgrading attitude. In addition, the culture balance directly affects the brand downgrading attitude negatively and also moderates the relationship between undesired self-congruence and downgrading attitude positively and the relationship between perceived risk and downgrading attitude negatively.Originality/valueThe authors contribute to both organizational culture research and symbolic consumption research by considering symbolic consumption behavior in organization context. It is of great practical implications for marketers of symbolic consumption to understand the downgrading behavior.

Symbolic behavior in Neanderthals

Anthropology A new discovery provides rare evidence of symbolic behavior in Neanderthal communities and extends the record further geographically and temporally across Europe. Rodriguez-Hidalgo et al. analyzed recently unearthed Spanish imperial eagle phalanges, which were found along the Iberian Peninsula, and inferred that Neanderthal communities used these talons for symbolic purposes. Neanderthals most likely cut the eagle phalanges to extract the talon, presumably for use as pendants. These findings address questions around the recurrent appearance of large raptor talons throughout the Middle Paleolithic time frame. Sci. Adv. 10.1126/sciadv.aax1984 (2019).