Two Arguments for Options I-don’t-know Except Options Yes /No in Anonymous Questionnaire Survey on Understanding the Causal Relations
In the experiment we examined the behaviour of the participants at the two seemingly equivalent decision situations. At the fi rst situation the participants, aimed to avoid a decisive answer, can only refuse at all, neither Yes nor No. But at the second situation they can choose an additional option I-don’t-know. It was proved that, even in the anonymous survey, the same participants tried to guess the proper Yes or No answers, signifi cantly more oft en at the fi rst situation than at the second one. Th erefore, the option I-don’t-know creates the better opportunity to obtain unbiased information. Th en, the observed relationship between the proportion of Yes versus No answers and the frequency of the I-don’t-know answers gives an additional insight into reliability of the obtained data.

NLP – A Tool of Persuasion Whether Art of Manipulation?
Neurolinguistic programming, technology once used mostly by psychotherapists, nowadays tool used increasingly in various fi elds of human activities. Used mostly by retailers, in whose work negotiations and communication techniques play the special role. Neurolinguistic programming aims at establishing positive contact with a correspondent, strengthening the forces of communication as well as creating and modifying patterns of thinking and perception of other people. Th ese actions are the cause of lively discussion among inthusiasts appreciating the effectiveness of NLP as a tool of persuasion and its critics, who recognize the negative aspects and the possible misuse for the purposes of manipulation.

„Only after the Amputation, I Will Be Complete” – Body Integrity Identity Disorder as Interdisciplinary Challenge. Outline of the Problem
This article draws attention to the ailment known as Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID). People aff ected by it are convinced that a particular limb does not correspond to their subjective body image. This discrepancy causing large discomfort is oft en eliminated through amputations. After selecting predominantly exchanged reasons for amputation of healthy limbs “on demand”, the specificity of the BIID is presented with particular emphasis on current research  in broadly understood neuroscience. Research suggests congenital dysfunction of the right superior parietal lobule. Th e last part of the article lists the examples of the legal, ethical and social problems that may be associated with BIID, while stressing the role of neuroscience in attempts to solve these dilemmas.

plWordNet as a Tool for Supporting the Translator’s Work
The goal of this article is to show the usefulness of plWordNet in the translator’s work, and more – in the manual translation, computer-aided. Due to space restriction the article is limited to discussion of translations from Polish into English made by a native speaker of English, who knows the Polish language and culture at the advanced level. The text consists of four chapters. Two parts consider the methodological issues. In the first part the authors present the definition
and the structure of plWordNet, in the second part – the essence of translation as a linguistic structure. Th e third part presents the difficulties, which may arise during the translation. In the fourth part the authors discuss, how the linguistic material collected in plWordNet can be elpful in solving some lexical problems.

Trademark Protection Law

Recently we are facing increasing application of neuroscience in law, however limited to criminal law and crime detection. The idea to implement neuroscience to trademark protection law is quite new and unexplored. There are however experiments that can make us see the problem in a different light. One of them certainly is Morrin/Jacoby experiment which points out how familiar trademarks can confuse consumers brain. Results of this experiment show that judge’s decision can be enriched with the idea of dilution. In connection with the above it seems understandable that pure idea of infringement ceases to be enough. Consequently, a trademark can be both infringed and diluted. Dilution is defined as an unconscious process which occurs when two or more marks use remarkably like logos, or have very similar names. Shall dilution be applied in law? It seems quite an interesting idea, yet it would lead to extreme inflation of law. Moreover, its theoretical bases are quite frail. Taking all the above mentioned doubts it seems reasonable to be reserved about such concepts.

Why Do Economists Need Brains: About Usefulness of Neuroeconomics

Necuroeconomics should be treated not like new direction in research, but rather like natural continuity of behavioral economics, which can benefit from neuroscientific component in analogous way as psychology does. Searching for neural correlates of behavior can be useful in delimitating between plausible and implausible theories, and also can be a source of new hypothesis about underlying mechanisms. Moreover methods used in neuroscience can help in formal description of constructs ignored by classical economics so far, such as emotions and individual differences.

Prismatic Adaptation in the Rehabilitation of Patients with Hemispatial Neglect

The goal of this article was to approximate the research on the prismatic adaptation as a method of rehabilitation of patients with attentional deficit – hemispatial neglect. These research have a direct application value. The goal of it is to discover the mechanisms of prismatic adaptation and put it into practice in neuropsychological rehabilitation. The patients with hemispatial neglect ignore objects appearing in the contralesional visual field. It is the source of substantial difficulties in daily functioning. Many results of clinical experiments suggest positive influence of prismatic adaptation, but some let us doubt in its effectiveness. These inconsistencies are the topic for future research on prismatic adaptation as well as careful consideration.

Mental Simulation as a Process Underlying Cognitive Engagement with Narrative Fictions

The aim of the article is to employ results from philosophy of mind and cognitive sciences in order to answer certain questions from the field of philosophy of art. What is specifically at issue is the problem of the cognitive underpinnings of subject’s relation to narrative fictions presented in novels and movies. A proposal according to which this relation is mediated by mental simulation is critically assessed. The author discusses two theses that are based on this general simulationist idea, namely theses that (1) a person engaged in reading a novel or watching a movie simulates mental states of the protagonists (empathizes with them); (2) the simulation mechanism underlies the ability to imagine fictional events presented in narratives.

Qualitative Methods in Pain Assessment – Report of Research Project

The paper is a report of research project concerning qualitative methods in pain assessment. The linguistic analysis of patients with chronic pain narratives was done on the first stage. It was showed that pain is communicated in an individualized way – people use different grammatical categories and stylistic means talking about their pain experience. On the second stage of the project the adequacy of McGill Pain Questionnaire in pain assessment and diagnosis was investigated. Conclusions are connected with human experience, broadly speaking, and scientific method used in psychology.

Neurocognitive Models of Crime and their Application in Forensic Psychology Based on Deviant Sexual Preferences Diagnosis

This article applies to applications of cognitive neuroscience in forensic psychology and sexology. Many studies show that anti-social people demonstrate deficits in the central area of ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VMPF) and related to it executive functions (FZ). These people have difficulties with learning, discounting of rewards and use the rules. The somatic markers theory explains this in terms of disorders in the formation of association between stimulus and reward or punishment (function VMPF). Tests involving VMPF should therefore differentiate between control groups and those manifesting anti-social behavior. The theory is confirmed by numerous studies measuring the efficiency of the FZ in the population of sex offenders. Deficits in the FZ are used in the diagnosis of deviant sexual preferences

Asperger Syndrome, Hard Science and Nerd Culture

In this paper we analyse selected psychological and cultural aspects of the Asperger Syndrome (a mild form of autism). We present its characteristic cognitive style and compare it to that of the hard sciences. Our claims about this connection are supported by some empirical data. Additionally, we investigate similarities in the social behaviour of people with Asperger Syndrome and nerds (i.e. intelligent people with deep interests, but also with certain social difficulties).

Virtual Reality Technologies Application in Psychology

This paper is the review of virtual reality (VR) technologies application in psychology. At the beginning, definition of virtual reality is introduced with a special focus on immersion problem. Then, advantages of VR technologies usage in psychology are described. In the last part, few examples illustrating virtual reality environment applications in behavioral therapy, cognitive functions assessment and pain reduction are enumerated. At the end, some constraints of VR technologies usage are discussed.

Can Machines Do Something Entirely New? A Question about the Limits of Creativity

There is a class of programs that generate solutions to complex problems in a indeterministic way (quantitative progress), while unsatisfying the requirements of creativity beyond the structural boundaries of algorithm (the qualitative leap.) Only this class (qualitative progress) can be regarded as simulating the human creativity. I would assume, that a conceptual blending theory could be tool we need to reach that qualitative level of creativity.

Cognitive Science in Education – Employment of Method RECITO in Process of Acquisition Improvement and Solidification of Ability of Reading and Re-education of Child with Disturbances in This Range

I would like to present proposal within the confines of the hereby article process method called recently RECITO, which helps process of reading. For this creation of program motivation, was noticing, that lack of ability offluent reading can present serious barrier with apprehension in present times in conquest of desirable education. As it happens that worse, that it does not take into account majority of available on market of program fact re-education, that reading is process multimodal, which involve numerous districts in brain. And so after analyzing literature concerning problems reading, pilotage research decide carry, which had verifications of efficiencies of discussed methods on purpose. Results and short review of literature has been presented in farthest article concerning reading part.

Cognitive Principles of Interaction Design

This paper discusses the basic principles and guidelines derived from psychology, cognitive science and related disciplines that can inform the process of designing website or application in User Centered Design methodology. Interface constitutes the connection between the human and the computer or device. Its main goal is to help the user to operate the system or the machine. Too often though, interfaces are designed with the focus only on technological innovations, requirements and limitations. To make them efficient though, it is important to focus on the end user needs as well. Commercial success of solutions created nowadays hinges on intuitive, simple, elegant and convenient – usable solutions, which allow the user to realize her tasks with ease. To successfully design for people, it is necessary to have at least basic knowledge regarding their needs, goals and behaviours as well as physical and cognitive limitations. Experiments in the domain of psychology have been analyzing human behavior and cognition for over 100 years now – there is a lot of knowledge to draw from in order to make informed decisions in the design process.

Research on Cognitive Processes in Obsessive-compulsive Disorder – An Outline of Issues

The aim of this article is to discuss possible directions of interdisciplinary studies on obsessive-compulsive disorder. It is proposed that while examining the cognitive basis of the disorder one’s beliefs about the way cognitive processes work and the actual functioning of these processes should be taken into consideration, with executive functions in particular. Interdisciplinary studies combining psychiatry, clinical psychology and cognitive sciences may not only improve the understanding of the nature of cognitive processes, but also provide important data on how they are associated with specifi c symptoms of mental disorders. From a broader perspective such an approach may be potentially useful in developing new therapeutic techniques.

Differences in Sensory Perception in the Context of Visual Impairment and Synaesthesia

The article investigates the role of senses in cognitive processes, based on the experience of people suffering from visual impairments or synaesthesia. It also presents an attempt to define the role of each sensual modality in gathering information about one’s closest environment. Special attention is paid to the increased importance of non-visual stimuli in cognitive processes due to the absence or impairment to the visual modality. The second part of the article contains a brief introduction to the problem of synaesthesia together with its influence on the perception of the world and learning processes.

The Decline of the Norm-deciphering Process and Effectiveness of Legal Norms in the Factual Sense

The article is an analysis of the language of legal norms in the context of its cognitive value, with an assumption that currently created norms are gradually deprived of their intelligibility towards the norm’s addressees, being in fact addressed directly to lawyers. Moreover, authors claim that there is a growing trend in the lawmaking process to create law which, in order to be applied, needs to be supplied with information from other genres of knowledge, external to law. In order to describe this phenomenon they introduce a new term, the “specialized norm”, and, through investigation of specific legal cases, they prove significance of the issue. By means of concepts deriving from philosophy of law and theory of language, the paper points out a strengthening tendency in legislative process, which forces one to ask themselves certain basic questions of nature and purpose of the law.

Are Actions Founded on Representations? Cognitive Science and Practice

The article, by referring to the computational theory of thinking and Fodor’s Representational Theory of Mind, argues that both theories presuppose an understanding of activity as a process reducible to a set of rules. The author rejects the presupposition and sketches an alternative view on action; the alternative view justifies a necessity of building connectionist models of neural networks and it leads to a formulation of hypothesis of extended, embodied and embedded mind.

The Evolutionary Sources of Some Human Musical Aesthetic Preferences

Human musical aesthetic preferences differ significantly. People vary in this respect depending on culture in which they were brought up and on their individual experiences. The awareness of this differentiation was one of the reasons for which these aesthetic preferences were considered as conditioned only by culture. After cognitive science became interested in art, the aesthetic preferences have been explained by seeing the aesthetic assessment of stimuli as related to the evolutionary sources of human aesthetic tendencies. The contemporary knowledge of music processing by the nervous system and of musical skills development indicates that there are also some ubiquitous tendencies in the aesthetic assessment of music. The purpose of the current paper is to present preferences for tonal music and to explain their origin.

Personalised Recomendation Systems as Potential for Sociological Research in Case of Movie Database

In my article I would try to present concept of using film portal as a research tool. What distinguishes this method from conventional quantitative methods is the size of the resulting sample. Th e problem of assessing the film is necessity for evaluating it using a specific scale, to which we, as a human beeings, are not fittest. Our judgments may vary depending on the conditions under which the film is viewed. It is this aspect of the evaluation, I would like to draw attention. Proposed study will takes account of four assessment modifiers, such as: individual factors, II context of group III quality of the image, IV evaluators state of knowledge.

Adjustment and anchoring heuristic on material presented as animal list

The experiment shows an attempt to answer the question, whether the anchoring effect occurs on a material different from the numeral one, in this case, presented as an animal list. Two studies have been conducted, and the participants were university and high school students. First study, utilized visual presentation of a list of animals arranged analogically to Tversky and Kahneman’s experiment (1982). In the second study, previous animals were replaced by new ones and the weight of each has been added. Also, the list has been presented to participants by reading aloud. The results of first study, has not confirmed the anchoring effect. Although, the second study showed the participants’ decisions were biased. They were affected by anchoring not on the first element of the list but on the last one. The following finding is interpreted as the recency effect.

The Role of Consciousness in the End-of-life Decisions

Recent fMRI research suggests that at least some patients diagnosed as being in the permanent vegetative state can be more aware than it was previously thought. In this paper I briefly discuss the aforementioned research; then I consider to which of several kinds of consciousness they appeal to; and finally I analyze the ethical implications of these findings. In particular I consider whether having higher forms of consciousness must always be an additional reason against the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment. In my paper I also highlight the general importance of cognitive science for the ethical evaluations of some medical practices.