Lack of control enhances accurate and inaccurate identification responses to degraded visual objects

Recent studies have shown that lack of control induces illusory pattern perception. In this study, we demonstrate that lacking control also affected identification responses to degraded pictures of visual objects. As compared with control participants, participants in whom lack of control was experimentally induced produced identification responses to visual objects at a significantly higher level of degradation of the stimulus. Lacking control did not influence accuracy of identification, since the effect was present for both correct and incorrect identification responses, and did not encourage pure random guessing. Our results indicate that lacking control makes individuals more prone to achieve visual closure by attempting earlier identifications of perceptually degraded visual objects. Possible mechanisms involved in this effect are discussed.     

Identity concept learning in matching-to-sample tasks by tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella)

The abstract concept of equivalence is considered one of the bases of higher-order cognition, and it has been the subject of considerable research in comparative cognition. This study examined the conditions under which tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) are able to acquire an identity concept. Six capuchin monkeys were trained to solve a visual matching-to-sample (MTS) task on the basis of perceptual identity. The acquisition of the identity rule was inferred from the subject’s ability to solve transfer tests with novel stimuli. We evaluated the ability of the capuchin monkeys to match the shape of novel stimuli after training with both several small stimulus sets (Experiment 1) and a large stimulus set (Experiment 2). Moreover, we examined the ability of capuchins to transfer the concept to novel visual dimensions, such as colour and size and to transfer to novel spatial arrangements of the stimuli (Experiment 2). We demonstrated that the ability of capuchins to match novel stimuli was improved by increasing the number of stimuli used during training (Experiments 1 and 2) and that after a widely applicable identity concept based on the stimulus shape was acquired, the capuchins were able to match stimuli according to an identity rule based on both the colour and size of the stimuli and when the spatial arrangement of the stimuli was varied (Experiment 2). This study is the first to demonstrate that the size of the training set affects the acquisition of an abstract identity concept in an MTS task in non-human primates.     

Media exposure to terrorism and people's risk perception: The role of environmental sensitivity and psychophysiological response to stress

Terrorist attacks have a destabilizing impact on the general population, causing distress and fear. However, not all individuals are equally susceptible to the effects of terror threat. This study aimed to examine whether exposure to terrorism-related pictures interacted with individual differences in environmental sensitivity and psychophysiological response to stress to explain people's risk perception, operationalized as perceived likelihood of a terrorist attack and willingness to trade off one's privacy to increase national security. Ninety-five university students were randomly assigned to one of two conditions (terrorism-related vs. neutral pictures). After watching the pictures, they answered questions concerning risk perception and completed questionnaires. Stress was induced by the Mannheim Multicomponent Stress Test, during which heart rate was recorded. Results showed that the perceived likelihood of future attacks was affected by the interaction between exposure to terrorism pictures and psychophysiological reactivity to stress, whereas willingness to trade off one's privacy to improve national security was influenced by the interaction between exposure to terrorism pictures and environmental sensitivity. The study suggests that individuals high in sensitivity and psychophysiological stress reactivity are particularly affected by terrorism-related pictures. Psychologists should direct their efforts to raise general awareness of the negative effects, especially for some people, of such media coverage.     

Audience design affects acoustic reduction via production facilitation

In this article, we examine the hypothesis that acoustic variation (e.g., reduced vs. prominent forms) results from audience design. Bard et al. (Journal of Memory and Language 42:1-22, 2000) have argued that acoustic prominence is unaffected by the speaker's estimate of addressee knowledge, using paradigms that contrast speaker and addressee knowledge. This question was tested in a novel paradigm, focusing on the effects of addressees' feedback about their understanding of the speaker's intended message. Speakers gave instructions to addressees about where to place objects (e.g., the teapot goes on red). The addressee either anticipated the object, by picking it up before the instruction, or waited for the instruction. For anticipating addressees, speakers began speaking more quickly and pronounced the word the with shorter duration, demonstrating effects of audience design. However, no effects appeared on the head noun (e.g., teapot), as measured by duration, amplitude, and perceived intelligibility. These results are consistent with a mechanism in which evidence about addressee understanding facilitates production processes, as opposed to triggering particular acoustic forms.     

Mirror symmetry opposes splitting of chromatically homogeneous surfaces

Chromatically homogeneous surfaces can be seen as single figures but also as two or more overlapping figures. Local factors such as relatability have been proposed in order to explain perception of two or more figures (Kellman and Shipley, 1991 Cognitive Psychology 23 141-221). However, even when these factors are at work, there are conditions favouring the perception of a single figure, which have not been explored so far. Here we propose that one such factor is the mirror symmetry of the surface. Three experiments were designed to test: (a) the main hypothesis, that mirror symmetry enhances perception of a single figure; (b) the role of orientation; (c) the effect of the number of axes of symmetry. The results show that (i) there is a good general correlation between mirror symmetry and perception of a single figure; (ii) vertical and horizontal axes of symmetry are the most effective; and (iii) the more axes of symmetry a surface has, the more likely is the perception of a single figure. These results suggest that mirror symmetry is an important factor in the perception of chromatically homogeneous displays. Some explanations are discussed, particularly one based on the rejection-of-coincidence principle [Rock, 1983 The Logic of Perception (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press)], and a version of the minimum principle in which the strength of the global solution depends on symmetry, whereas the strength of the splitting solution depends on the strength of local factors. In brief, global and local factors compete in determining the perceptual outcome in chromatically homogeneous surfaces.     

Daydreaming to navigate the social world: What we know,what we don't know,and why it matters

A substantial portion of daily life is spent daydreaming—that is, engaged in thought independent of, and unrelated to, goals in the external environment. We argue that this naturally occurring, unconstrained cognition is a vital, but currently underappreciated, form of social cognition that enables navigation of the social world. First, we present the results of a meta‐analysis of neuroimaging studies which illustrate the shared neural basis of daydreaming and social cognition (including regions of the anterior temporal lobes and the posterior cingulate cortex). Second, we review evidence regarding the frequency, correlates, and adaptive outcomes of social daydreaming, cumulative findings that point to the adaptive value of imaging others during this offline state. We end by encouraging cross‐fertilization between daydreaming research and domains of social psychology (goal pursuit, social interactions, and close relationships), which we hope will foster mutually beneficial directions for understanding the role that unconstrained thinking plays in social life.     

Children's Moral Emotion Attribution in the Happy Victimizer Task: The Role of Response Format

Previous research in the happy victimizer tradition indicated that preschool and early elementary school children attribute positive emotions to the violator of a moral norm, whereas older children attribute negative (moral) emotions. Cognitive and motivational processes have been suggested to underlie this developmental shift. The current research investigated whether making the happy victimizer task less cognitively demanding by providing children with alternative response formats would increase their attribution of moral emotions and moral motivation. In Study 1, 93 British children aged 4–7 years old responded to the happy victimizer questions either in a normal condition (where they spontaneously pointed with a finger), a wait condition (where they had to wait before giving their answers), or an arrow condition (where they had to point with a paper arrow). In Study 2, 40 Spanish children aged 4 years old responded to the happy victimizer task either in a normal or a wait condition. In both studies, participants' attribution of moral emotions and moral motivation was significantly higher in the conditions with alternative response formats (wait, arrow) than in the normal condition. The role of cognitive abilities for emotion attribution in the happy victimizer task is discussed.     

The moderating role of internalising negative emotionality in the relation of self-regulation to social adjustment in Italian preschool-aged children

The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating role of internalising negative emotionality (i.e., anxious, concerned, and embarrassed displays) in the association between children's self-regulation and social adjustment. Seventy-four Italian children (44 girls, 30 boys; M age?=?35.05 months, SD?=?3.57) were assessed using two self-regulation tasks. Internalising negative emotionality was assessed through observations of children's emotion expressions during the tasks. Teachers evaluated children's social competence and internalising and externalising problems. Results demonstrated that among children who exhibited internalising negative emotionality, self-regulation was positively associated with social competence and negatively related to externalising problems. Our results suggest that self-regulation may play a crucial role for social adjustment when children show emotions such as anxiety and embarrassment during challenging situations.     

Contextual variation and objectivity in olfactory perception

Synthese - According to Smell Objectivism, the smells we perceive in olfactory experience are objective and independent of perceivers, their experiences, and their perceptual systems. Variations in...