What can we learn from toddlers about categorical perception of color? Comments on Goldstein, Davidoff, and Roberson

We comment on Goldstein, Davidoff, and Roberson’s replication and extension (Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 102, 219-238 [2009]) of our study of the effect of toddlers’ color term knowledge on their categorical perception (CP) of color (Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 90, 114-141 [2005]). First, we discuss how best to assess color term knowledge when concerned with the effects of language on color CP. A reanalysis of our data indicates that even toddlers who do not know the terms for the relevant focal colors still show CP. Second, we comment on Goldstein and colleagues’ finding of blue-purple CP, as we did, but not of blue-green CP in Himba toddlers. We present contrasting data from Wright (unpublished PhD thesis, University of Surrey, 2006) that demonstrates blue-green CP in Himba toddlers. Finally, we discuss the limitations of the approach taken by all of these investigations and discuss theoretical accounts of the origin and nature of color CP.     

Dynamic touch is affected in children with cerebral palsy

Children with developmental disorders such as cerebral palsy have limited opportunities for effortful interactions with objects and tools. The goal of the study was to investigate whether children with cerebral palsy have deficits in their ability to perceive object length by dynamic touch when compared to typically developing children. Fourteen children with typical development and 12 children with cerebral palsy were asked to report the length of hand-held rods after wielding them out of sight. Multilevel regression models indicated that I₁ (maximum principal moment of inertia) was a significant predictor of perceived length – L_P (p < .0001). The effect of I₁ on L_P was significantly different among children (p = .001) and the presence of cerebral palsy (group factor) partially explained such variance (p = .002). In addition, accuracy and reliability of the length judgments made by children with cerebral palsy were significantly lower than the typically developing children (p < .05). Theoretical and clinical implications of these results were identified and discussed.     

A standard conceptual framework for the study of subjective time

Research on the mental representation of time (‘subjective time’) has provided broad insights into the nature of time perception and temporal processing. As the field comprises different scientific disciplines, such as psychology, philosophy, and neuroscience, studies differ with regard to the basic terms and concepts used. For this reason, research on subjective time lacks a coherent conceptual system. We argue that research in the field of subjective time should aim at establishing such a system, i.e., a more standardized terminology, in order to strengthen its theoretical basis and to support an efficient communication of results. Based on key empirical findings and concepts that are commonly (but inconsistently) used in the literature, we argue for a conceptual framework for the study of subjective time that differentiates between three types of mental representations of time: basic temporal processing, time perception in terms of passage, and time perception in terms of duration.     

Visual expertise does not predict the composite effect across species: A comparison between spider (Ateles geoffroyi) and rhesus (Macaca mulatta) monkeys

Humans are subject to the composite illusion: two identical top halves of a face are perceived as “different” when they are presented with different bottom halves. This observation suggests that when building a mental representation of a face, the underlying system perceives the whole face, and has difficulty decomposing facial features. We adapted a behavioural task that measures the composite illusion to examine the perception of faces in two nonhuman species. Specifically we had spider (Ateles geoffroyi) and rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) perform a two-forced choice, match-to-sample task where only the top half of sample was relevant to the task. The results of Experiment 1 show that spider monkeys (N = 2) process the faces of familiar species (conspecifics and humans, but not chimpanzees, sheep, or sticks), holistically. The second experiment tested rhesus monkeys (N = 7) with the faces of humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, sheep, and sticks. Contrary to prediction, there was no evidence of a composite effect in the human (or familiar primate) condition. Instead, we present evidence of a composite illusion in the chimpanzee condition (an unfamiliar primate). Together, these experiments show that visual expertise does not predict the composite effect across the primate order.     

Perceiving subjectivity in bodily movement: The case of dancers

This paper is about one of the puzzles of bodily self-consciousness: can an experience be both and at the same time an experience of one′s physicality and of one′s subjectivity? We will answer this question positively by determining a form of experience where the body′s physicality is experienced in a non-reifying manner. We will consider a form of experience of oneself as bodily which is different from both “prenoetic embodiment” and “pre-reflective bodily consciousness” and rather corresponds to a form of reflective access to subjectivity at the bodily level. In particular, we argue that subjectivity is bodily expressed, thereby allowing the experience of the body′s subjectivity directly during perceptual experiences of the body. We use an interweaving of phenomenological explorations and ethnographical methods which allows validating this proposal by considering the experience of body experts (dancers).     

Recognising faces but not traits: Accurate personality judgment from faces is unrelated to superior face memory

It is suggested that accurate personality judgments of faces are driven by a morphological ‘kernel of truth’ from face shape. We hypothesised that this relationship could lead to those with better face identification ability being better at personality judgments. We investigated the relationship between face memory, face matching, Big Five personality traits, and accuracy in recognising Big Five personality traits from 50 photographs of unknown faces. In our sample (n = 792) there was overall good (but varying) face memory and personality judgment accuracy. However, there was convincing evidence that these two skills do not correlate (all r < 0.06). We also replicate the known relationship between extraversion and face memory ability in the largest sample to date.     

The coupling between gaze behavior and opponent kinematics during anticipation of badminton shots

PurposeWe examined links between the kinematics of an opponent’s actions and the visual search behaviors of badminton players responding to those actions.MethodA kinematic analysis of international standard badminton players (n = 4) was undertaken as they completed a range of serves. Video of these players serving was used to create a life-size temporal occlusion test to measure anticipation responses. Expert (n = 8) and novice (n = 8) badminton players anticipated serve location while wearing an eye movement registration system.ResultsDuring the execution phase of the opponent’s movement, the kinematic analysis showed between-shot differences in distance traveled and peak acceleration at the shoulder, elbow, wrist and racket. Experts were more accurate at responding to the serves compared to novice players. Expert players fixated on the kinematic locations that were most discriminating between serve types more frequently and for a longer duration compared to novice players. Moreover, players were generally more accurate at responding to serves when they fixated vision upon the discriminating arm and racket kinematics.ConclusionsFindings extend previous literature by providing empirical evidence that expert athletes’ visual search behaviors and anticipatory responses are inextricably linked to the opponent action being observed.     

A Transdiagnostic Multilevel Examination of Interoceptive Processing in Individuals With a Remote History of Suicidal Behavior

A developing area of research suggests that there may be a relationship between interoception and suicidal behavior. For example, it was recently reported that individuals who made a suicide attempt within the previous 5 years exhibit behavioral and neural abnormalities across multiple domains of interoception relative to nonattempters. This included increased tolerance for aversive sensations of pain and dyspnea, reduced heartbeat-perception accuracy, and blunted insula activity during attention to cardiac sensations. However, the degree to which interoceptive deficits persist following a suicidal attempt is unknown. In the current study, we examined differences between individuals with a remote history of suicide attempts (greater than 5 years ago; N = 56) versus those with no history of attempts (N = 240). We found that remote suicide attempters demonstrated greater pain tolerance and lower ratings of stress during a cold-pressor challenge and lower ratings of suffocation during a breath-hold challenge, as compared to nonattempters. In contrast, there were no group differences in breath-hold duration, interoceptive accuracy on a heartbeat-tapping task, or insula activation during cardiac attention. An exploratory resting-state functional connectivity analysis of individuals with suicide attempts in the past 5 years (N = 23), individuals with more remote histories of suicide attempts (N = 39), and nonattempters (N = 232) revealed preliminary and subtle evidence of differences in insula connectivity with areas of the temporal cortex in remote suicide attempters. Taken together, these findings suggest that blunted affective responses to aversive interoceptive sensations is an enduring characteristic of suicide attempters, even when assessed many years after a suicide attempt, whereas differences in the experience of nonaversive interoceptive sensations may be less persistent.     

Aftereffects for face attributes with different natural variability: Children are more adaptable than adolescents

Adults can be adapted to a particular facial distortion in which both eyes are shifted symmetrically (Robbins, R., McKone, E., & Edwards, M. (2007). Aftereffects for face attributes with different natural variability: Adapter position effects and neural models. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 33, 570–592), but they do not show as great adaptation to an asymmetrical eye distortion. We adapted children and adolescents to symmetrical and asymmetrical eye distortions and measured the aftereffects. Children (aged 6–12, mean age 9 years) showed larger aftereffects than adolescents (aged 13–18, mean age 15 years) and demonstrated aftereffects of a similar magnitude for both asymmetrical and symmetrical distortions. Adolescents only showed aftereffects for symmetrical distortions. We propose that children may have a more flexible face norm and neural responses that allow a broader range of adapted states compared to adolescents.     

Task effects, performance levels, features, configurations, and holistic face processing: A reply to Rossion

A recent article in Acta Psychologica (“Picture-plane inversion leads to qualitative changes of face perception” by Rossion [Rossion, B. (2008). Picture-plane inversion leads to qualitative changes of face perception. Acta Psychologica (Amst), 128(2), 274-289]) criticized several aspects of an earlier paper of ours [Riesenhuber, M., Jarudi, I., Gilad, S., & Sinha, P. (2004). Face processing in humans is compatible with a simple shape-based model of vision. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B (Supplements), 271, S448-S450]. We here address Rossion’s criticisms and correct some misunderstandings. To frame the discussion, we first review our previously presented computational model of face recognition in cortex [Jiang, X., Rosen, E., Zeffiro, T., Vanmeter, J., Blanz, V., & Riesenhuber, M. (2006). Evaluation of a shape-based model of human face discrimination using FMRI and behavioral techniques. Neuron, 50(1), 159-172] that provides a concrete biologically plausible computational substrate for holistic coding, namely a neural representation learned for upright faces, in the spirit of the original simple-to-complex hierarchical model of vision by Hubel and Wiesel. We show that Rossion’s and others’ data support the model, and that there is actually a convergence of views on the mechanisms underlying face recognition, in particular regarding holistic processing.     

Look Black in anger: The role of implicit prejudice in the categorization and perceived emotional intensity of racially ambiguous faces

Research has demonstrated that individuals high in implicit prejudice are more likely to classify a racially ambiguous angry face as Black compared to individuals low in implicit prejudice [Hugenberg, K., & Bodenhausen, G. V. (2004). Ambiguity in social categorization. Psychological Science, 15, 342-345]. The current study sought to replicate and extend this finding by examining whether the same expression of anger on a racially ambiguous face is perceived to be differentially intense when the face is judged to be Black or White. White participants viewed racially ambiguous, White, and Black faces displaying angry, neutral, or happy emotions. Participants’ task was to identify the race, emotion, and intensity of emotion display. The results revealed that participants high in implicit prejudice reported significantly more of the racially ambiguous angry faces as Black compared to participants low in implicit prejudice. Further, participants high in implicit prejudice reported the intensity of the racially ambiguous angry emotion as greater when the same face had been categorized as Black compared to White. The results suggest that implicit prejudice is not only associated with the racial categorization of an ambiguous face but also the perceived intensity of the emotion displayed.     

The homogeneity effect on figure/ground perception in infancy

We examined whether the homogeneity of the two profiles of Rubin's goblet affects figure/ground perception in infants. We modified the two profiles of Rubin's goblet in order to compare figure/ground perception under four test patterns: (1) two profiles painted with horizontal lines (horizontal-line condition), (2) two profiles painted middle gray (uni-color condition), (3) one profile painted light gray and the other dark gray (two-color condition), and (4) a goblet painted with concentric circles (concentric-circles condition). In the horizontal-line condition the homogeneity of the profile was strengthened, and in the two-color condition the homogeneity of the profile was weakened compared to the uni-color condition, which was an original Rubin's goblet. In the concentric-circles condition the homogeneity of the reversed areas of the horizontal-line were strengthened.     

Mapping the protective pathway of emotional intelligence in youth: From social cognition to smoking intentions

The purpose of this study was to test perceptions of the social consequences of smoking as a mediator of the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and intentions to smoke cigarettes among youth. Upper elementary school students (N = 255, M_age = 10.9 years, 49% male) completed measures of EI, verbal intelligence, smoking-related intentions, past behavior, and perceived social consequences. Mediation was tested using the Sobel test. Perceived social consequences was a marginally significant mediator of the impact of total EI on intentions to smoke (Z = 1.91, p = .057). Follow-up analyses showed that perceived social consequences significantly mediated the effect of 2 EI abilities on smoking intentions: using emotions (Z = 2.02, p = .043) and managing emotions (Z = 2.28, p = .023). The results indicate that the role of higher EI in deterring smoking among youth may be related to social processing ability (i.e., greater perceptions of the negative social consequences of smoking). These findings contribute to a growing body of research demonstrating that EI may reduce cigarette smoking among youth by influencing their social perceptions.     

When two become one: Temporally dynamic integration of the face and voice

In everyday interactions with others, people have to deal with the sight of a face and sound of a voice at the same time. How the perceptual system brings this information together over hundreds of milliseconds to perceive others remains unclear. In 2 studies, we investigated how facial and vocal cues are integrated during real-time social categorization by recording participants' hand movements (via the streaming x, y coordinates of the computer mouse) en route to “male” and “female” responses on the screen. Participants were presented with male and female faces that were accompanied by a same-sex voice morphed to be either sex-typical (e.g., masculinized male voice) or sex-atypical (i.e., feminized male voice). Before settling into ultimate sex categorizations of the face, the simultaneous processing of a sex-atypical voice led the hand to be continuously attracted to the opposite sex-category response across construal. This is evidence that ongoing results from voice perception continuously influence face perception across processing. Thus, social categorization involves dynamic updates of gradual integration of the face and voice.     

Valuing time: Moderate download times can improve online goal pursuit

This research examines how the length of time for which a goal is interrupted affects goal pursuit, in an online context. Goal interruption duration in the form of long download time duration has been identified as a significant impediment to electronic commerce. It is believed that a faster download time is always better to motivate web users to keep surfing. We challenge this belief. In three studies, we find that, under certain circumstances, longer rather than shorter download times motivate web users to keep surfing longer. The counterintuitive pattern of effects can be explained by web users' fit experiences (Higgins, 2000) while surfing. In particular, our findings suggest that when online surfing “feels right”, web users think that online information is right.     

Temporal reproductions are influenced by an internal reference: Explaining the Vierordt effect

Several findings from duration perception literature suggest that when making decisions about time, participants rely on an internal reference memory for time rather than merely on the current physical stimuli. According to a recent account, such an internal reference is formed by a continuous dynamic updating process that integrates duration information from previous trials and the current trial. In the present work, we show how such a dynamic mechanism can account for the classical yet unresolved Vierordt effect, which refers to the overestimation of relatively short and the underestimation of relatively long temporal intervals. We conducted an experiment to examine this and related predictions by means of a temporal reproduction task. Specifically, participants were presented with two successive time intervals — a standard s with constant duration and a comparison c with variable duration. Instead of performing a comparison judgment, however, the participants were subsequently cued to reproduce one of the two presented stimuli. Reproductions were affected not only by the temporal position of the to-be-reproduced stimulus, but also by the stimuli presented on earlier trials. These results support the notion of a dynamically updated internal reference underlying our judgments about the time elapsed, which might also be the basis of the Vierordt effect.     

EEG correlates of cognitive time scales in the Necker-Zeno model for bistable perception

The Necker-Zeno model of bistable perception provides a formal relation between the average duration of meta-stable percepts (dwell times T) of ambiguous figures and two other basic time scales (t₀, ΔT) underlying cognitive processing. The model predicts that dwell times T covary with t₀, ΔT or both. We tested this prediction by exploiting that observers, in particular experienced meditators, can volitionally control dwell times T.Meditators and non-meditators observed bistable Necker cubes either passively or tried to hold their current percept. The latencies of a centro-parietal event-related potential (CPP) were recorded as a physiological correlate of t₀.Dwell times T and the CPP latencies, correlated with t₀, differed between conditions and observer groups, while ΔT remained constant in the range predicted by the model. The covariation of CPP latencies and dwell times, as well as their quadratic functional dependence extends previous psychophysical confirmation of the Necker-Zeno model to psychophysiological measures.