Intentional action processing results from automatic bottom-up attention: An EEG-investigation into the Social Relevance Hypothesis using hypnosis

Social stimuli grab our attention. However, it has rarely been investigated how variations in attention affect the processing of social stimuli, although the answer could help us uncover details of social cognition processes such as action understanding. In the present study, we examined how changes to bottom-up attention affects neural EEG-responses associated with intentional action processing. We induced an increase in bottom-up attention by using hypnosis. We recorded the electroencephalographic μ-wave suppression of hypnotized participants when presented with intentional actions in first and third person perspective in a video-clip paradigm. Previous studies have shown that the μ-rhythm is selectively suppressed both when executing and observing goal-directed motor actions; hence it can be used as a neural signal for intentional action processing. Our results show that neutral hypnotic trance increases μ-suppression in highly suggestible participants when they observe intentional actions. This suggests that social action processing is enhanced when bottom-up attentional processes are predominant. Our findings support the Social Relevance Hypothesis, according to which social action processing is a bottom-up driven attentional process, and can thus be altered as a function of bottom-up processing devoted to a social stimulus.     

The argument from surprise

I develop an account of productive surprise as an epistemic virtue of scientific investigations which does not turn on psychology alone. On my account, a scientific investigation is potentially productively surprising when (1) results can conflict with epistemic expectations, (2) those expectations pertain to a wide set of subjects. I argue that there are two sources of such surprise in science. One source, often identified with experiments, involves bringing our theoretical ideas in contact with new empirical observations. Another, often identified with simulations, involves articulating and bringing together different parts of our knowledge. Both experiments and simulations, then, can surprise.     

Why More Intelligent Individuals Like Classical Music

The origin of values and preferences is an unresolved theoretical problem in social and behavioral sciences. The Savanna‐IQ Interaction Hypothesis, derived from the Savanna Principle and a theory of the evolution of general intelligence, suggests that more intelligent individuals are more likely to acquire and espouse evolutionarily novel values and preferences than less intelligent individuals but that general intelligence has no effect on the acquisition and espousal of evolutionarily familiar values and preferences. Recent work on the evolution of music suggests that music in its evolutionary origin was always vocal and that purely instrumental music is evolutionarily novel. The Savanna‐IQ Interaction Hypothesis would then imply that more intelligent individuals are more likely to prefer purely instrumental music than less intelligent individuals, but general intelligence has no effect on the preference for vocal music. The analyses of American (General Social Surveys) and British (British Cohort Study) data are consistent with this hypothesis. Additional analyses suggest that the effect of intelligence on musical preference is not a function of the cognitive complexity of music. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Embodied simulation as part of affective evaluation processes: Task dependence of valence concordant EMG activity

The current studies investigated age-related biases in recall of emotion in older and younger adults. In two prospective–retrospective, Internet-based diary studies, older (aged 65 years and older) and younger participants (aged 18 to 37) reported on their affect at the end of every day. Participants then recalled their affect during the diary rating periods. In both studies, recall bias was assessed by comparing retrospective reports to the prospective diary ratings. Older adults tended to overestimate positive affect more than younger adults, who themselves tended to overestimate negative affect more than older adults, relative to diary ratings. Age-related patterns of recall bias are discussed in light of recent literature on the interface between cognition and emotion in ageing, particularly on increased positivity and reduced negativity effects in emotional processing and recall.     

Mirror neurons and their function in cognitively understood empathy

The current renewal of interest in empathy is closely connected to the recent neurobiological discovery of mirror neurons. Although the concept of empathy has been widely deployed, we shall focus upon one main psychological function it serves: enabling us to understand other peoples’ intentions. In this essay we will draw on neuroscientific, psychological, and philosophical literature in order to investigate the relationships between mirror neurons and empathy as to intention understanding. Firstly, it will be explored whether mirror neurons are the neural basis of our empathic capacities: a vast array of empirical results appears to confirm this hypothesis. Secondly, the higher level capacity of reenactive empathy will be examined and the question will be addressed whether philosophical analysis alone is able to provide a foundation for this more abstract level of empathy. The conclusion will be drawn that both empirical evidence and philosophical analysis can jointly contribute to the clarification of the concept of empathy.     

红色的心理效应:现象与机制研究述评

红色是自然界和人类社会最常见的颜色之一,它对人类心理与行为的影响受到心理学家的关注.2005年发表在Nature上关于红色队服增强奥运选手竞赛成绩的研究报告,引发了一系列红色心理效应研究.本文从生理指标、行为观察、认知、语言文化、情绪、态度等多个角度综述了红色心理效应的现象和机制,并提出“情境假说”来解释红色对心理与行为的影响.综述表明,红色的心理效应缘于其在不同情境下联结着不同的心理意义.这些联结受先天遗传和后天环境的共同影响.红色与心理意义的联结诱发了特定的心理状态,从而影响个体的心理与行为.颜色对心理的影响及其机制,已经成为颜色科学基础与应用研究的前沿领域之一.     

Compensating for failed attention while driving

While operating a motor vehicle, drivers must pay attention to other moving vehicles and the roadside environment in order to detect and process critical information related to the driving task. Using a driving simulator, this study investigated the effects of an unexpected event on driver performance in environments of more or less clutter and under situations of high attentional load. Attentional load was manipulated by varying the number of neighboring vehicles participants tracked for lane changes. After baseline-driving behavior was established, the unexpected event occurred: a pedestrian ran into the driver’s path. Tracking-accuracy, brake initiation, swerving, and verbal report of the unexpected pedestrian were used to assess driver performance. All participants verbally reported noticing the pedestrian. However, analyses of driving behavior revealed differences in the reactions to the pedestrian: drivers braked faster and had significantly less deviation in their steering heading with a lower attentional load, and participants in low clutter environments had a larger overall change in velocity. This research advances the understanding of how drivers allocate attention between various stimuli and the trade-offs between a driver’s focus on an assigned task and external objects within the roadway environment. Moreover, the results of this research lend insight into how to construct roadway environments that encourage driver attention toward the most immediate and relevant information to reduce both vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian interactions.     

短期习得的语言范畴使成人大脑右半球颜色范畴知觉转为左半球颜色范畴知觉

本研究探讨了色词与颜色重组训练能否让被试习得与真实情境相似的色词与颜色范畴联结, 并引起相应的偏侧化颜色范畴知觉, 从而进一步揭示语言编码对颜色范畴知觉的影响。采用六种蓝色作为材料。B1与B2为先前研究的两种蓝色。B11和B12, B21和B22分别为使B1, B2变浅和变深所得, 四者是连续的蓝色。训练被试分别用“duān”和“kěn”命名B1和B2。由于被试可能习得色词与颜色范畴的联结, 因此B12与B21为可能变范畴间颜色, B11和B12, B21和B22为可能变范畴内颜色。训练前后分别让被试完成一个视觉搜索测验。结果发现：前测中可能变范畴间颜色的辨别优于可能变范畴内颜色, 且在左视野呈现时更显著; 后测中可能变范畴间颜色的辨别同样优于可能变范畴内颜色, 但在右视野呈现时更显著。这提示：(1)人们在知觉同一语言范畴的不同颜色时可能会区分深浅范畴, 并因此引发右半球颜色范畴知觉; (2)短期习得的语言范畴能引起偏左半球颜色范畴知觉, 且使右半球颜色范畴知觉转为左半球颜色范畴知觉; (3)被试在训练中习得了色词与颜色范畴的联结; (4)范畴学习可以在仅学习一个样例的条件下自动发生。     

Familiarity,Priming, and Perception in Similarity Judgments

We present a novel way of accounting for similarity judgments. Our approach posits that similarity stems from three main sources—familiarity, priming, and inherent perceptual likeness. Here, we explore each of these constructs and demonstrate their individual and combined effectiveness in explaining similarity judgments. Using these three measures, our account of similarity explains ratings of simple, color‐based perceptual stimuli that display asymmetry effects, as well as more complicated perceptual stimuli with structural properties; more traditional approaches to similarity solve one or the other and have difficulty accounting for both. Overall, our work demonstrates the importance of each of these components of similarity in explaining similarity judgments, both individually and together, and suggests important implications for other similarity approaches.