In the face of dominance: Self-perceived and other-perceived dominance are positively associated with facial-width-to-height ratio in men

In recent research, facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) has garnered considerable attention because it has been linked with different behavioural characteristics (e.g., achievement drive, deception, aggression). Here we examined whether other-perceptions and self-perceptions of dominance are related to fWHR. In study 1, we found that other-perceived dominance was positively associated with fWHR, but only in men. In studies 2 and 3, using two different self-perceived dominance scales, and two different samples of participants, we found that fWHR was positively related to self-perceived dominance, again only in men. There was no relationship between fWHR and self-perceived prestige scores. Consistent with previous work, we also found that there was no sexual dimorphism in fWHR across all three studies. Together these results suggest that fWHR may be a reliable cue to dominant social behaviour in men.     

Preferential processing of threatening facial expressions using the repetition blindness paradigm

Background: Neuroanatomical evidence suggests that the human brain has dedicated pathways to rapidly process threatening stimuli. This processing bias for threat was examined using the repetition blindness (RB) paradigm. RB (i.e., failure to report the second instance of an identical stimulus rapidly following the first) has been established for words, objects and faces but not, to date, facial expressions. Methods: 78 (Study 1) and 62 (Study 2) participants identified repeated and different, threatening and non-threatening emotional facial expressions in rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) streams. Results: In Study 1, repeated facial expressions produced more RB than different expressions. RB was attenuated for threatening expressions. In Study 2, attenuation of RB for threatening expressions was replicated. Additionally, semantically related but non-identical threatening expressions reduced RB relative to non-threatening stimuli. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the threat bias is apparent in the temporal processing of facial expressions, and expands the RB paradigm by demonstrating that identical facial expressions are susceptible to the effect.     

An optimized facial stimuli paradigm for hybrid SSVEP+P300 brain computer interface

In this paper, hybrid BCI that merges Event Related Potentials (P300) and Steady State visual Evoked Potentials (SSVEP) simultaneously is proposed to enhance the performance of Four-choice command system. Here we integrate human facial structure in external visual stimulus to evoke stronger cortical responses in hybrid SSVEP+P300 BCI & compare it with non-face stimuli. We also addressed question of feasibility of eliciting one potential by face & other by non-face stimuli. To evoke SSVEP & P300 responses, paradigms with non-face stimuli, neutral face stimuli, and facial expression changes stimuli are proposed. We also projected additional paradigm where SSVEP is elicited by non-face and P300 by flashing different facial expressions. Results proved the last paradigm evoke stronger cortical potentials and thereby improve system accuracy and ITR than other paradigms. Author discussed external stimulus parameters that might affect simultaneous evocation of multiple brain potentials and their deterioration effect on individual potentials.     

Friend or foe: the effect of implicit trustworthiness judgments in social decision-making

The human face appears to play a key role in signaling social intentions and usually people form reliable and strong impressions on the basis of someone's facial appearance. Therefore, facial signals could have a substantial influence on how people evaluate and behave towards another person in a social interaction, such as an interactive risky decision-making game. Indeed, there is a growing body of evidence that demonstrates that social behavior plays a crucial role in human decision-making. Although previous research has demonstrated that explicit social information about one's partner can influence decision-making behavior, such as knowledge about the partner's moral status, much less is known about how implicit facial social cues affect strategic decision-making. One particular social cue that may be especially important in assessing how to interact with a partner is facial trustworthiness, a rapid, implicit assessment of the likelihood that the partner will reciprocate a generous gesture. In this experiment, we tested the hypothesis that implicit processing of trustworthiness is related to the degree to which participants cooperate with previously unknown partners. Participants played a Trust Game with 79 hypothetical partners who were previously rated on subjective trustworthiness. In each game, participants made a decision about how much to trust their partner, as measured by how much money they invested with that partner, with no guarantee of return. As predicted, people invested more money in partners who were subjectively rated as more trustworthy, despite no objective relationship between these factors. Moreover, the relationship between the amount of money offered seemed to be stronger for trustworthy faces as compared to untrustworthy faces. Overall, these data indicate that the perceived trustworthiness is a strong and important social cue that influences decision-making.     

Modulation of facial mimicry by attitudes

The current experiment explored the influence of attitudes on facial reactions to emotional faces. The participants’ attitudes (positive, neutral, and negative) towards three types of characters were manipulated by written reports. Afterwards participants saw happy, neutral, and sad facial expressions of the respective characters while their facial muscular reactions (M. Corrugator supercilii and M. Zygomaticus major) were recorded electromyografically. Results revealed facial mimicry reactions to happy and sad faces of positive characters, but less and even incongruent facial muscular reactions to happy and sad faces of negative characters. Overall, the results show that attitudes, formed in a few minutes, and only by reports and not by own experiences, can moderate automatic non-verbal social behavior, i.e. facial mimicry.     

The Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3: a confirmatory factor analysis

The Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 measures awareness and endorsement of societal appearance standards. The instrument has been subjected to exploratory factor analyses but to date no studies have reported a priori tests of its hypothesized factor structure using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The aim of the present study was to subject the SATAQ-3 to a CFA. Results from a non-clinical convenience sample of 369 women revealed an adequate fit of the model according to conventional criteria. However, detailed residual analysis indicated a significant lack of fit which was explainable by one mis-specified item and shared method variance due to similarities in item content. It was concluded that, with the removal of the mis-specified item, the degree of misfit was tolerable and the intended four-factor solution provides a satisfactory and parsimonious representation of the data.     

Gender Similarities in Response to Figure-Size Feedback in a Selected Nonclinical Population

In this study we examined the effect of figure-size feedback on the body image, self-esteem, and negative mood states of college men and women who were within normal body weight and did not show symptoms of eating disorders. The feedback was manipulated to represent the opinions of their classmates. Men were expected to show a positive bias in their response to the feedback, whereas women were expected to respond in accordance with the positive and negative valence of the feedback. Multivariate analysis of covariance, controlled for pretest scores, revealed nonsignificant differences between men and women. Those in the negative feedback condition reported fewer instances of negative appearance-related feedback in their past than did those in the no feedback condition and those from a more inclusive population that was the normative sample for the measure. This suggests a compensatory strategy to refute the negative feedback.     

幼儿心理理论表现的任务特异性分析

研究以90名3～5岁幼儿为被试,采用相同材料和标准评估幼儿外表-事实的区分和错误信念认识,考察幼儿表现的任务特异性及材料刺激的影响。结果表明;幼儿的表现仍存在任务特异性,并且实验材料对儿童的外表-事实区分和错误信念认识具有重要影响。在解释这些结果时,特殊领域知识习得观似乎优于表征缺失理论。     

Men dissociate sexual attraction from moral judgement more than women

Would you find an opposite‐sex individual physically less attractive if you knew that he/she was a bad person? Would you feel the same if you were a man or a woman? This study examined whether gender differences exist in the influence of moral judgements on heterosexual physical attraction. In a first Experiment, participants (N = 214) rated on attractiveness photographs of opposite‐sex persons. Each photograph was paired with a “good” and a “bad” (from a moral point of view) sentence to depict a quality or activity of the displayed person (i.e., she/he is a defender of human rights in an NGO vs. she/he belongs to a terrorist group). Compared with women, men were significantly less influenced by sentence valence in their attractiveness ratings. A second Experiment (N = 105) using photographs of very attractive people showed the same pattern of results. The data suggest that sexual attraction is relatively less permeable to moral factors in men, and that this sex difference is consistent with an evolutionary approach to human sexuality.