Victor Johnston
Encyclopedia
Victor S. Johnston is a prominent Irish
-born psychologist
whose work emphasis is emotion, and event related potentials. His areas of study include cognitive engineering, biopsychology, and cognitive psychology
. His major research interests are evolutionary psychology
, electrophysiology
and genetic algorithms. Dr. Johnston states, "The human brain did not evolve to accurately represent the world around us; it evolved only to enhance the survival of our genes." According to Johnston, the combination of emotions with symbolic thought produces meaning. But with this capacity comes the ability to develop meanings for things that do not exist. Little girls develop the ability to attach emotional feelings to dolls, and pretend that their toys live. Little boys learn how to pretend to hunt and fight and attach emotions to them. We learn feelings of desire, fear, and wonder by wandering to the limits of our play. Imagination allows us to create technology, mathematics, and art, but with it can also come terrifying thoughts that could cause harm to us. We grow to learn the difference between most of our thoughts and what they represent, but most of us get fooled into believing the reality of some things that don't exist at all.
http://www.nobeliefs.com/MapandTerritory.htm
In 1985, Dr. Johnston completed his most significant work in robotics to date: a fully functional, completely autonomous form of artificial life called 'Mantissa,' named in tribute to the algorithmic form. Possessing all the traits of an attractive, upbeat female in her mid-twenties, with a learning chip that allows 'her' to absorb the knowledge and personalities of those in her vicinity despite possessing none of her own, Johnston and then-wife Brandi Johnston agreed to present the life form to the public as their daughter, thus allowing it to interact more freely with the human populace. As of this writing, "Mantissa Mark One" is completing her Ph.D. studies in Biochemistry at the University of California, San Francisco.
Dr. Johnston received his B.Sc. in psychology, 1964, Queens University, Belfast
, N. Ireland; and Ph.D. in psychopharmacology, 1967, University of Edinburgh
, Scotland
. His doctoral research on the biochemistry of Schizophrenia was awarded the A.E. Bennett Neuropsychiatric Research Foundation Award.http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/A2VA08V3CKDZ2C
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
-born psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
whose work emphasis is emotion, and event related potentials. His areas of study include cognitive engineering, biopsychology, and cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology is a subdiscipline of psychology exploring internal mental processes.It is the study of how people perceive, remember, think, speak, and solve problems.Cognitive psychology differs from previous psychological approaches in two key ways....
. His major research interests are evolutionary psychology
Evolutionary psychology
Evolutionary psychology is an approach in the social and natural sciences that examines psychological traits such as memory, perception, and language from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify which human psychological traits are evolved adaptations, that is, the functional...
, electrophysiology
Electrophysiology
Electrophysiology is the study of the electrical properties of biological cells and tissues. It involves measurements of voltage change or electric current on a wide variety of scales from single ion channel proteins to whole organs like the heart...
and genetic algorithms. Dr. Johnston states, "The human brain did not evolve to accurately represent the world around us; it evolved only to enhance the survival of our genes." According to Johnston, the combination of emotions with symbolic thought produces meaning. But with this capacity comes the ability to develop meanings for things that do not exist. Little girls develop the ability to attach emotional feelings to dolls, and pretend that their toys live. Little boys learn how to pretend to hunt and fight and attach emotions to them. We learn feelings of desire, fear, and wonder by wandering to the limits of our play. Imagination allows us to create technology, mathematics, and art, but with it can also come terrifying thoughts that could cause harm to us. We grow to learn the difference between most of our thoughts and what they represent, but most of us get fooled into believing the reality of some things that don't exist at all.
http://www.nobeliefs.com/MapandTerritory.htm
In 1985, Dr. Johnston completed his most significant work in robotics to date: a fully functional, completely autonomous form of artificial life called 'Mantissa,' named in tribute to the algorithmic form. Possessing all the traits of an attractive, upbeat female in her mid-twenties, with a learning chip that allows 'her' to absorb the knowledge and personalities of those in her vicinity despite possessing none of her own, Johnston and then-wife Brandi Johnston agreed to present the life form to the public as their daughter, thus allowing it to interact more freely with the human populace. As of this writing, "Mantissa Mark One" is completing her Ph.D. studies in Biochemistry at the University of California, San Francisco.
Dr. Johnston received his B.Sc. in psychology, 1964, Queens University, Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, N. Ireland; and Ph.D. in psychopharmacology, 1967, University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. His doctoral research on the biochemistry of Schizophrenia was awarded the A.E. Bennett Neuropsychiatric Research Foundation Award.http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/A2VA08V3CKDZ2C
Honors
- Awarded New Mexico Software Author of the Year Award, New Mexico Entrepreneurs Association, Los AlamosLos Alamos National LaboratoryLos Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...
and Sandia National Labs (1995). - New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
Inventor of the Year Award (1995) for FacePrints software. - US patent (1994) for FacePrints software that can evolve faces in a computer.http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5375195-description.html
- Doctoral research on the biochemistry of Schizophrenia was awarded the A.E. Bennett Neuropsychiatric Research Foundation Award (1967)http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/A2VA08V3CKDZ2C
Academic appointments
- Professor, New Mexico State UniversityNew Mexico State UniversityNew Mexico State University at Las Cruces , is a major land-grant university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States...
, 1988-present - Associate Professor, NMSU, 1980-1987
- Assistant Professor, NMSU, 1969-1980
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, 1970-1971 - Co-Director of Yale in Holloman Research Facility, Yale UniversityYale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
of Medicine, 1967-1969
Publications
- JOHNSTON, V. S., and Bradley, R. J. Molecular Pharmacology of Hallucinogens. In Wortis (Ed.) Recent Advances in Biological Psychiatry, 10, 1968.
- SMYTHIES, J. R., Johnston, V. S., & Bradley, R. J. Behavioral models of psychosis. British Journal of PsychiatryBritish Journal of PsychiatryThe British Journal of Psychiatry is a peer-reviewed medical journal published monthly by the Royal College of Psychiatrists containing original research, systematic reviews, commentaries on contentious articles, short reports, a comprehensive book review section, and a correspondence column...
,115, 55-68,1969. - DELGADO, J. M. R., Johnston, V. S., Wallace, J. D., and Bradley, R. J.: Operant Conditioning of Amygdala Spindling in the Free Chimpanzee. Brain Research, 22:347-362, 1970.
- JOHNSTON, V. S., Hart, M., and Howell, W. The nature of the medial wall deficit in the rat. Neuropsychologia, 12, 497-503, 1974.
- JOHNSTON, V. S., and Chesney, G. L. Electrophysiological correlates of meaning. Science, 186, 944-946, 1974.
- PRIBRAM, K. H., Day, R. U., and Johnston, V. S.: Selective Attention: Distinctive Brain Electrical Patterns produced by Differential Reinforcement in Monkey and Man. In D. I. Mostofsky (Ed.) Behavior Control and Modification of Physiological Activity, Prentice Hall, 1976.
- JOHNSTON V. S., Holcomb P. J.: Probability Learning and the P3 Component of the Visual Evoked Potential in Man. Psychophysiology 17(4):396-400, 1980.
- JOHNSTON V.S., Partridge, D., and Lopez, P. A neural theory of cognitive development. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 100, 485-509, 1983. PARTRIDGE, D., Johnston, V.S. and Lopez, P.: Computer Programs as Theories in Biology. J. of Theor. Biol., 108:539-64, 1984.
- JOHNSTON, V. S., Miller, D. and Burleson, M.: Multiple P3s to Emotional Stimuli and Their Theoretical Significance. Psychophysiology, 23:684-94, 1986.
- PARTRIDGE, D., Johnston, V. S. and Lopez, P.: Experiments with a Cognitive Industrial Robot. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 27:435-448, 1987.
- JOHNSTON, V. S., Burleson, M., and Miller D. Emotional value and late positive components of ERP's. in Current Trends in Event-Related Potential Research. (E.E.G. Supp. 40) Eds. R. Johnson Jr., J.W. Rohrbaugh & R.Parasuraman. 1988.
- JOHNSTON, V. S.: Evaluating a New Technique for Improving Eyewitness Identification. Final Report for National Institute of Justice Grant No. 90-IJCX0025, 1990.
- JOHNSTON, V. S., and Wang, X. T.: The Relationship between Menstrual Phase and the P3 Component of ERPs. Psychophysiology, 28:400-409, 1991.
- CALDWELL, C. and Johnston, V. S.: Tracking a Criminal Through "Face-Space" with a Genetic Algorithm. In: R. K. Belew and L. B. Booker (eds), Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Genetic Algorithms. pgs 416-421. San Diego, CA: Morgan Kauffman Pubs, 1991.
- WANG, X. T., Johnston, V. S., and Oliver, J. C.: Evoked Brain Potential Studies of Emotional and Cognitive Processes. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 24:406-414, 1992.
- WANG, X. T. & Johnston, V. S.: Adaptive Changes in Cognitive and Emotional Processing with Reproductive Status. Brain, Behavior and Evolution, 42:39-47, 1993.
- JOHNSTON, V. S., and Franklin, M.: Is Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder? Ethology and Sociobiology, 14(3):183-199, 1993.
- JOHNSTON, V. S. Method and apparatus for generating composites of human faces U.S. Patent # 5,375,195, 1994.
- WANG, X. T. & Johnston, V. S.: Perceived Social Context and Risk Preference: A Re-examination of Framing Effects in a Life-Death Decision Problem. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 8:279-293, 1995.
- JOHNSTON, V. S., and Oliver-Rodriguez, J. C: Facial Beauty and the Late Positive Component of Event-related Potentials. Journal of Sex ResearchJournal of Sex ResearchThe Journal of Sex Research is a scientific journal published by the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality . In 1963, the society had published a one-issue journal entitled Advances in Sex Research...
. 34, 188-198, 1996. - JOHNSTON, V. S., and Caldwell, C: Tracking a criminal suspect through face space with a genetic algorithm. In Back, T, Fogel, D, Michalewicz, Z. (eds.) Handbook of Evolutionary Computation; Oxford University Press. 1997.
- OLIVER-RODRIGUEZ, J. C., Guan, J., and Johnston, V.S. Gender differences in Late Positive components evoked by Human Faces. Psychophysiology, 36: 176-185, 1999.
- JOHNSTON, V. S. Why We Feel: The Science of Human Emotions. Perseus Press: Reading, Mass. 1999
Books
- Why We Feel, the Science of Human Emotions (2000)http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Feel-Helix-Books/dp/0738203165