Learning at Workstations in the Zoo: A Controlled Evaluation of Cognitive and Affective Outcomes

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to test the cognitive and affective benefits gained through the provision of educational materials at workstations in the Wilhelma Zoo in Stuttgart, Germany. Structured learning materials were developed for use with visiting school groups. The materials focused on the adaptations of 6 selected groups of bird species and were organized as a self-guided learning environment (workstations). The value of the materials was assessed in terms of cognitive (learning and retention) and emotional (interest, well-being, boredom, anxiety, contentedness) variables. The authors measured prior knowledge (1 week before the zoo visit), learning effect (1 week after the visit), and retention (8 to 9 weeks later). A total of 103 students (6th graders aged between 11–12 years) participated in the study, 77 receiving a treatment about adaptations in bird species and 26 receiving a treatment about reptiles which served as a control. Students had similar prior knowledge, but 1 week later students receiving the bird unit scored significantly better and this persisted into retention. Girls achieved higher scores than boys, both 1 week and 8 to 9 weeks after the visit. Surprisingly, students in the control group reported higher interest, well-being and contentedness, and lower boredom than those in the treatment group.     

Threatening pictures induce shortened time-to-contact estimates

The ability to estimate the time remaining until collision occurs with an approaching object (time-to-collision, TTC) is crucial for any mobile animal. In the present study, we report three experiments examining whether higher level cognitive factors, represented by affective value of approaching objects, could affect judgments of TTC. A theory of TTC estimates based purely on the optical variable tau does not predict an influence of the affective value of an approaching object. In Experiments 1 and 2, we compared TTC estimates of threatening and neutral pictures that approached our participants on a screen and disappeared from view before a collision would have occurred. Images were taken from the International Affective Picture System. Threatening pictures??in particular, the picture of a frontal attack??were judged to collide earlier than neutral pictures. In Experiment 3, the approaching stimuli were faces with different emotional expressions. TTC tended to be underestimated for angry faces. We discuss these results, considering the roles of affective and cognitive mechanisms modulating TTC estimation and general time perception.     

Consciousness and cognitive control

The implementation or change of information processing routines, known as cognitive control, is traditionally believed to be closely linked to consciousness. It seems that we exert control over our behavior if we know the reasons for, and consequences of, doing so. Recent research suggests, however, that several behavioral phenomena that have been construed as instances of cognitive control can be prompted by events of which actors are not aware. Here we give a brief review of this research, discuss possible reasons for inconsistencies in the empirical evidence, and suggest some lines of future research. Specifically, we suggest to differentiate cognitive control evoked either because of explicit or because of implicit control cues. While the former type of control seems to work outside of awareness, the latter type of control seems to be restricted to consciously registered events that call for control.     

For the mind’s eye the world is two-dimensional

The nature of visual mental images is a topic that has puzzled neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers alike. On the one hand, mental images might preserve the 3-D properties of our perceptual world. On the other hand, they might be akin to 2-D pictures, such as photographs, paintings, or drawings. In the present study, 16 observers judged where real objects (Experiment 1) or photographs thereof (Experiment 2) were pointing. Both experiments contained a perception condition and an imagery condition. In Experiment 1, there was a significant difference between the pointing errors in the perception and the imagery conditions, whereas there was no such difference in Experiment 2. In imagined objects, actual photographs, and imagined photographs, the direction in which the objects pointed followed the observer, regardless of his or her vantage point. The results from this study extend the rotation effect, typically found in pictures, to the domain of mental imagery. We found the rotation effect in pictures and mental images alike, but not in direct perception of 3-D objects; thus, we provide evidence that mental images share main characteristics of 2-D pictures.     

Social environment and reproduction in female European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus): benefits of the presence of litter sisters

The authors investigated in an observational study the consequences of the presence of litter sisters on the social interactions and on reproductive performance of young female European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) from a population living under seminatural conditions. In early winter, when all young females were settled in a social group, they were characterized by the presence or absence of litter sisters in their groups. Females with litter sisters in their groups displayed significantly more positive social interaction with females of their social group compared to females without sisters, whereas this difference was mainly due to the high frequency of positive social interactions among the respective sisters. Such differences between the females of both categories were already apparent during the animals' juvenile phase, before the females integrated into a particular group: females which later had litter sisters in their group showed more positive social behavior than females which later no longer had litter sisters. During their first breeding season, females with litter sisters present generally started to breed earlier by an average of 14 days. A more favorable social environment might have possibly facilitated the earlier onset of breeding in females with present litter sisters by attenuating the negative consequences of stress.     

Centrifugal acceleration to 3Gz is related to increased release of stress hormones and decreased mood in men and women

It has been suggested that the central and peripheral neural processes (CPNP) are affected by gravitational changes. Based on the previous experiments during parabolic flights, central and peripheral changes may not only be due to the changed gravitational forces but also due to neuroendocrine reactions related to the psycho-physiological consequences of gravitational changes. The present study focuses on the interaction of neuroendocrine changes and the physical and mental states after acceleration to three-time terrestrial gravity (3Gz). Eleven participants (29.4+/-5.1 [SD] years (male (n=8): 30+/-5.1 years; female (n=3): 27.7+/-2.1 years) underwent a 15 min acceleration to 3Gz in a human centrifuge. Before and after the acceleration to 3Gz circulating stress hormone concentrations (cortisol, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), prolactin, epinephrine, norepinephrine) and perceived physical and mental states were recorded. A second control group of 11 participants underwent the same testing procedure in a laboratory session. Serum cortisol concentration during exposure to the centrifugal acceleration increased by 70%, plasma concentration of ACTH increased threefold, prolactin twofold, epinephrine by 70% and norepinephrine by 45%, whereas the perceived physical well-being decreased. These findings demonstrate that psycho-physiological changes have to be regarded as a relevant factor for the changes in CPNP during phases of hypergravity exposure.     

Are you looking at me? Measuring the cone of gaze

The processing of gaze cues plays an important role in social interactions, and mutual gaze in particular is relevant for natural as well as video-mediated communications. Mutual gaze occurs when an observer looks at or in the direction of the eyes of another person. The authors chose the metaphor of a cone of gaze to characterize this range of gaze directions that constitutes "looking at" another person. In 4 experiments using either a real person or a virtual head, the authors investigated the influences of observer distance, head orientation, visibility of the eyes, and the presence of a 2nd head on the perceived direction and width of the gaze cone. The direction of the gaze cone was largely affected by all experimental manipulations, whereas its angular width remained comparatively stable.     

Analysis of timing variability in human movements by aligning parameter curves in time

The analysis of timing in human movements requires a reference with which timing can be quantified. In reactive movements this reference is given by the stimulus. However, many movements do not respond to such an external event. In throwing, for instance, the hand opening for release has to be timed to an acceleration of the throwing arm. A common approach to analyzing release-timing variability is to choose a landmark in the movement that is supposed to have a fixed temporal relation to the release. Such distinct landmarks, however, are not always well definable. Therefore, the present article describes an alternative approach analyzing timing variability on the basis of the alignment of different trials relative to their kinematic shape, by shifting the trials in the time domain. The basic assumption behind this approach is that single throwing movements are one instance of an acquired movement template, and thus show a considerable similarity. In contrast, the location of the temporal moment of release varies from trial to trial, generating imprecision regarding the release timing. In trials synchronized with respect to the release, this variability can be assessed by shifting the kinematic profiles of the throwing movements in time such that they superimpose as closely as possible. As a result, the corresponding time shifts for all trials represent a measure of the release time deviations across trials, and the standard deviation of these deviations represents the timing variability. Aside from timing analyses in such movements as throwing, the approach can be applied to very different tasks with timing demands—for example, to neurophysiological signals.     

Analyzing the kinematics of hand movements in catching tasks—An online correction analysis of movement toward the target’s trajectory

Free, 3-D interceptive movements are difficult to visualize and quantify. For ball catching, the endpoint of a movement can be anywhere along the target’s trajectory. Furthermore, the hand may already have begun to move before the subject has estimated the target’s trajectory, and the subject may alter the targeted position during the initial part of the movement. We introduce a method to deal with these difficulties and to quantify three movement phases involved in catching: the initial, non-goal-directed phase; the goal-directed phase, which is smoothly directed toward the target’s trajectory; and the final, interception phase. Therefore, the 3-D movement of the hand was decomposed into a component toward the target’s trajectory (the minimal distance of the hand to the target’s parabolic [MDHP] trajectory) and a component along this trajectory. To identify the goal-directed phase of the MDHP trajectory, we employed the empirical finding that goal-directed trajectories are minimally jerky. The second component, along the target’s trajectory, was used to analyze the interaction of the hand with the ball. The method was applied to two conditions of a ball-catching task. In the manipulated condition, the initial part of the ball’s flight was occluded, so the visibility of the ball was postponed. As expected, the onset of the smooth part of the movement shifted to a later time. This method can be used to quantify anticipatory behavior in interceptive tasks, allowing researchers to gain new insights into movement planning toward the target’s trajectory.     

Effects of task-irrelevant texture motion on time-to-contact judgments

We investigated the effect of local texture motion on time-to-contact (TTC) estimation. In Experiment 1, observers estimated the TTC of a looming disk with a spiral texture pattern in a prediction-motion task. Rotation of the spiral texture in a direction causing illusory contraction resulted in a significant TTC overestimation, relative to a condition without texture rotation. This would be consistent with an intrusion of task-irrelevant local upon task-relevant global information. However, illusory expansion did not cause a relative TTC underestimation but rather also a tendency towards overestimation. In Experiment 2, a vertical cylinder moved on the frontoparallel plane. Observers judged its TTC with a finish line. The cylinder was textured with stripes oriented in parallel to its longitudinal axis. It was either not rotating, rotating such that the stripes moved towards the finish line (i.e., in the same direction as the contour), or rotating such that the stripes moved away from the finish line. Both types of texture motion caused TTC overestimation compared to the static condition. Experiment 3 showed that the different effects of task-relevant and task-irrelevant texture motion are not a mere procedural effect of the prediction-motion task. In conclusion, task-irrelevant local motion and global motion are neither averaged in a simple manner nor are they processed independently.