Mechanistic explanations of community structure: Introduction

Mechanistic explanations of community structure: Introduction

Lepš, J., Goldberg, D.E., Herben, T. & Palmer, M. — Mechanistic explanations of community structure: Introduction Stampfli, A. & Zeiter, M. — Plant species decline due to abandonment of meadows cannot easily be reversed by mowing. A case study from the southern Alps Brewer, S.W. & Rejmánek, M. — Small rodents as significant dispersers of tree seeds in a Neotropical forest Kotorová, I. & Lepš, J...

Mechanistic and topological explanations: an introduction

Dynamical Models and Mechanistic Explanations

Philosophers of science increasingly believe that cognitive phenomena are explained by describing the mechanisms that produce those phenomena, rather than by subsuming them under laws. With respect to the increasingly influential dynamical approach to cognition, however, it has been claimed that only certain kinds of dynamical models (in particular, connectionist dynamical models) satisfy the r...

Mechanistic and Anthropomorphic Explanations of Natural Phenomena

Many biases in decision-making and reasoning are a result of ignoring logical rules and relevant information while focusing on irrelevant cues present within an argument. In the present study we examine explanatory schemata – a set of interrelated concepts that are deemed relevant to participants. Participants were first trained in a syllogistic reasoning task and were then presented descriptio...

Automaticity: Componential, Causal, and Mechanistic Explanations.

The review first discusses componential explanations of automaticity, which specify non/automaticity features (e.g., un/controlled, un/conscious, non/efficient, fast/slow) and their interrelations. Reframing these features as factors that influence processes (e.g., goals, attention, and time) broadens the range of factors that can be considered (e.g., adding stimulus intensity and representatio...