Faces retain attention

In the present study, we investigated whether faces have an advantage in retaining attention over other stimulus categories. In three experiments, subjects were asked to focus on a central go/no-go signal before classifying a concurrently presented peripheral line target. In Experiment 1, the go/no-go signal could be superimposed on photographs of upright famous faces, matching inverted faces, or meaningful objects. Experiments 2 and 3 tested upright and inverted unfamiliar faces, printed names, and another class of meaningful objects in an identical design. A fourth experiment provided a replication of Experiment 1, but with a 1,000-msec stimulus onset asynchrony between the onset of the central face/nonface stimuli and the peripheral targets. In all the experiments, the presence of an upright face significantly delayed target response times, in comparison with each of the other stimulus categories. These results suggest a general attentional bias, so that it is particularly difficult to disengage processing resources from faces.     

Measurement of body image satisfaction using computer manipulation of a digital image

The authors investigated a method for assessing body image satisfaction based on computer manipulation of a digitized image of self using a sample of 56 female students aged 17 to 22 years. The total percentage change when re-sizing the actual image to the ideal by the computer adjustment method was significantly correlated with the figural/silhouette discrepancy method. Both of these measures were correlated significantly with body part satisfaction and body mass index but not with social physique anxiety. Although for this sample the 2 methods yielded similar results, the computer adjustment method addresses several limitations of the figural/silhouette method, such as scale coarseness and the accuracy of proportional change between figural/silhouettes. Furthermore, by using the individual's actual image, potential confounds associated with stylized figure drawings that are typically based on Caucasian physical features are removed. Finally, this method also takes into account the importance of various body parts for determining body image satisfaction.     

A two-point visual control model of steering

When steering down a winding road, drivers have been shown to use both near and far regions of the road for guidance during steering. We propose a model of steering that explicitly embodies this idea, using both a 'near point' to maintain a central lane position and a 'far point' to account for the upcoming roadway. Unlike control models that integrate near and far information to compute curvature or more complex features, our model relies solely on one perceptually plausible feature of the near and far points, namely the visual direction to each point. The resulting parsimonious model can be run in simulation within a realistic highway environment to facilitate direct comparison between model and human behavior. Using such simulations, we demonstrate that the proposed two-point model is able to account for four interesting aspects of steering behavior: curve negotiation with occluded visual regions, corrective steering after a lateral drift, lane changing, and individual differences.     

An animal model of fetishism

An animal model of sexual fetishism was developed with male Japanese quail based on persistence of conditioned sexual responding during extinction to an inanimate object made of terrycloth (Experiments 1 and 3). This persistent responding occurred only in subjects that came to copulate with the terrycloth object, suggesting that the copulatory behavior served to maintain the fetishistic behavior. Sexual conditioning was carried out by pairing a conditioned stimulus (CS) with the opportunity to copulate with a female (the unconditioned stimulus or US). Copulation with the CS object and persistent responding did not develop if the CS was a light (Experiment 1) or if conditioning was carried out with a food US (Experiment 2). In addition, subjects that showed persistence in responding to the terrycloth CS did not persist in their responding to a light CS (Experiment 3). The results are consistent with the hypothesis that conditioned copulatory behavior creates a form of self-maintenance that leads to persistent responding to an inanimate object. The development of an animal model of such fetishistic behavior should facilitate experimental analysis of the phenomenon.     

Motivated decision making: effects of activation and self-centrality of values on choices and behavior

Six studies examined the value-behavior relation and focused on motivational properties of values, the self, and value activation. Priming environmental values enhanced attention to and the weight of information related to those values, which resulted in environmentally friendly consumer choices. This only occurred if these values were central to the self-concept. Value-congruent choices were also found in response to countervalue behavior in an unrelated context. Donating behavior congruent with central altruistic values was found as a result of enhanced self-focus, thus demonstrating the importance of the self in the value-behavior relation. The external validity of the value-centrality measure and its distinction from attitudes were demonstrated in the prediction of voting. Values were thus found to give meaning to, energize, and regulate value-congruent behavior, but only if values were cognitively activated and central to the self.     

Differential effects of object orientation on imaginary object /viewer transformations

Given a specific view of a simple symmetrical object, participants were asked whether a certain imaginary transformation could result in a second viewed image. An experiment was conducted in which the participants had either to mentally rotate an object or to imagine themselves looking at the object from another position (i.e., the object-based condition and the viewer-based condition, respectively). In the experiment, combinations of these imagery tasks (i.e., the combined conditions) were also included. The symmetrical objects could be oriented horizontally or vertically. The performance in the object-based conditions was generally equal to or better than the performance in the viewer-based conditions. In addition, there were more confusions for shapes with a horizontal orientation, especially when viewer-based upside-down rotations were involved, with an apparent mediating role of object rotation in the combined conditions.     

Ingroup and outgroup differences in face detection

Humans show improved recognition for faces from their own social group relative to faces from another social group. Yet before faces can be recognized, they must first be detected in the visual field. Here, we tested whether humans also show an ingroup bias at the earliest stage of face processing – the point at which the presence of a face is first detected. To this end, we measured viewers' ability to detect ingroup (Black and White) and outgroup faces (Asian, Black, and White) in everyday scenes. Ingroup faces were detected with greater speed and accuracy relative to outgroup faces (Experiment 1). Removing face hue impaired detection generally, but the ingroup detection advantage was undiminished (Experiment 2). This same pattern was replicated by a detection algorithm using face templates derived from human data (Experiment 3). These findings demonstrate that the established ingroup bias in face processing can extend to the early process of detection. This effect is ‘colour blind’, in the sense that group membership effects are independent of general effects of image hue. Moreover, it can be captured by tuning visual templates to reflect the statistics of observers' social experience. We conclude that group bias in face detection is both a visual and a social phenomenon.     

Cognitive and Attitudinal Factors in the Analysis of Alternatives to Binge Drinking1

The present study examined cognitive and attitudinal factors relevant to binge-drinking tendencies in a college sample. Results indicate that positive expectations about binge-drinking activities were related to binge-drinking tendencies. Binge-drinking tendencies were also negatively related to expectations regarding nonbinge-drinking alternatives. General attitudes toward drinking and normative influences were found to have complex influences on binge-drinking tendencies involving indirect, direct, and moderated effects. The findings are discussed with respect to developing prevention programs.