Curious Objects: How Visual Complexity Guides Attention and Engagement

Some things look more complex than others. For example, a crenulate and richly organized leaf may seem more complex than a plain stone. What is the nature of this experience—and why do we have it in the first place? Here, we explore how object complexity serves as an efficiently extracted visual signal that the object merits further exploration. We algorithmically generated a library of geometric shapes and determined their complexity by computing the cumulative surprisal of their internal skeletons—essentially quantifying the “amount of information” within each shape—and then used this approach to ask new questions about the perception of complexity. Experiments 1–3 asked what kind of mental process extracts visual complexity: a slow, deliberate, reflective process (as when we decide that an object is expensive or popular) or a fast, effortless, and automatic process (as when we see that an object is big or blue)? We placed simple and complex objects in visual search arrays and discovered that complex objects were easier to find among simple distractors than simple objects are among complex distractors—a classic search asymmetry indicating that complexity is prioritized in visual processing. Next, we explored the function of complexity: Why do we represent object complexity in the first place? Experiments 4–5 asked subjects to study serially presented objects in a self-paced manner (for a later memory test); subjects dwelled longer on complex objects than simple objects—even when object shape was completely task-irrelevant—suggesting a connection between visual complexity and exploratory engagement. Finally, Experiment 6 connected these implicit measures of complexity to explicit judgments. Collectively, these findings suggest that visual complexity is extracted efficiently and automatically, and even arouses a kind of “perceptual curiosity” about objects that encourages subsequent attentional engagement.     

特征整合与加工深度对道德概念容器隐喻联结的影响

提出了隐喻提取假说将隐喻联结的形成和提取进行分离, 并通过3个实验探究了道德概念与容器空间的隐喻联结及其受知觉加工深度和特征整合程度的影响。实验1采用空间Stroop范式, 实验2a和实验2b均采用启动范式, 实验3a和实验3b均采用加入任务要求的Stroop范式。结果发现：(1)在经典Stroop范式中未发现道德概念与容器空间的隐喻联结; (2)在启动范式中发现, 较深知觉加工深度下道德概念与容器空间存在较弱的隐喻联结; (3)在较高特征整合程度的Stroop任务中, 道德概念与容器空间存在较强的隐喻联结。结果表明：道德概念与容器空间存在道德为内、不道德为外的隐喻联结, 这种隐喻联结在映射上表现为双向性, 并且受到特征整合程度和知觉加工深度的影响, 同时也为隐喻提取假说提供了证据支持。     

Sensory Processing Sensitivity Moderates the Relationships Between Life Skills and Depressive Tendencies in University Students1

University students often experience depressive symptoms, and strengthening of life skills may be beneficial for improving their mental health. Several studies have suggested that life skills effective in reducing depressive tendencies vary by individuals depending on differences in sensory processing sensitivity (SPS). SPS is a genetically determined trait characterized by sensitivity and reactivity to environmental stimuli. This study investigated the relationship between life skills and depressive tendencies based on individual differences in SPS. A total of 868 Japanese university students (mean age = 19.8 years, SD = 1.3 years) completed a questionnaire measuring levels of SPS—decision-making, interpersonal relationships, effective communication, and emotional coping skills—and depressive tendencies. Hierarchical multiple regression and simple slopes analyses indicated that interpersonal relationship skills were negatively correlated with depression regardless of SPS levels. Furthermore, decision-making skills were negatively correlated with depressive tendencies only in low-SPS students. Emotional coping skills were negatively correlated with depressive tendencies in high-SPS students. These results may help universities incorporate SPS levels when creating life-skills-based interventions for students.     

The Mediation Effect of Ethical Leadership and Creative Performance: A Social Information Processing Perspective

Drawing upon social information processing theory, the study examined how ethical leadership shapes creative performance. Specifically, we tested a theoretical model integrating the sequential roles of psychological safety and creative self‐efficacy. A two‐waved sample of 512 supervisor‐subordinate dyads from frontline employees of three service industries located in Ghana was administered. The results of the hierarchical linear modeling analysis revealed that there is a positive relationship between ethical leadership and creative performance and that psychological safety positively and significantly mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and creative performance. Similarly, creative self‐efficacy significantly and positively mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and creative performance. Moreover, both psychological safety and creative self‐efficacy sequentially mediate the relationship between ethical leadership and creative performance. We discuss the implications of these results for research and practice.     

虚拟学习环境下图形加工的认知负荷研究

基于单探测变化觉察和双任务范式,采用项目数量（3）×呈现时间（2）×文字线索（2）混合实验设计,对沉浸式虚拟学习环境图形加工特征和认知负荷进行探讨,以任务绩效法与主观测量法评定认知负荷。44名大学生的实验结果显示：（1）项目数量对虚拟空间图形识记主任务绩效和主观认知负荷有显著影响,项目数量越多,主任务正确率越低,反应时越长,主观评定认知负荷越高,同时加工刺激数量以4个为宜;（2）呈现时间对虚拟空间图形识记次任务绩效有显著影响,呈现时间越长,次任务正确率越高,呈现时间超过0.5s有利于次任务加工;（3）文字线索对虚拟图形识记认知负荷有显著影响,重复性文字线索会增加认知负荷。结果表明,在沉浸式虚拟环境中,图形加工的认知负荷特点与平面和三维图形基本一致,项目数量多、呈现时间短以及有重复性文字线索时,认知负荷更高;任务绩效和主观测量评定指标在反映认知负荷强度上不完全一致。     

大脑电刺激在听觉语言加工研究中的应用

大脑电刺激是历史悠久但近年来才广泛应用在人类被试上的实验技术。通过对颅内刺激位点进行电刺激, 并分析引发的暂时性行为功能变化和记录位点的电位活动, 大脑电刺激技术可以揭示认知加工过程中脑区内的功能作用与脑区间的有效连接。通过对听觉语言加工过程相关的丘脑、听觉皮层、高级语言皮层进行电刺激, 现有研究发现了各个脑区的不同功能特点以及不同脑区间的信息传递机制, 为进一步探索听觉语言加工的神经机制提供了新的视角。     

Motor processing modulates word comprehension

We evaluated whether movement modulates the semantic processing of words. To this end, we used homograph words with two meanings, one associated with hand movements (e.g., ‘abanico’, ‘fan’ in Spanish) or foot movements (‘bota’, ‘boot’ in Spanish), and the other not associated with movement (‘abanico’, ‘range’ in Spanish; ‘bota’, ‘wineskin’ in Spanish). After the homograph, three words were presented, and participants were asked to choose the word related to one of the two homograph meanings. The words could be either related to the motor meaning of the homograph (‘fan-heat’), to the non-motor meaning of the homograph (‘range-possibility’) or unrelated (‘fan-phone’). The task was performed without movement (simple condition) or by performing hand (Experiment 1) and foot (Experiment 2) movements. Compared with the simple condition, the performance of movement oriented the preference towards the motor meaning of the homograph. This pattern of results confirms that movement modulates word comprehension.     

Manual exploration of objects is related to 7-month-old infants’ visual preference for real objects

The present study examined whether infants’ visual preferences for real objects and pictures are related to their manual object exploration skills. Fifty-nine 7-month-old infants were tested in a preferential looking task with a real object and its pictorial counterpart. All of the infants also participated in a manual object exploration task, in which they freely explored five toy blocks. Results revealed a significant positive relationship between infants’ haptic scan levels in the manual object exploration task and their gaze behavior in the preferential looking task: The higher infants’ haptic scan levels, the longer they looked at real objects compared to pictures. Our findings suggest that the specific exploratory action of haptically scanning an object is associated with infants’ visual preference for real objects over pictures.     

Development of visuo-haptic transfer for object recognition in typical preschool and school-aged children

Object recognition is a long and complex adaptive process and its full maturation requires combination of many different sensory experiences as well as cognitive abilities to manipulate previous experiences in order to develop new percepts and subsequently to learn from the environment. It is well recognized that the transfer of visual and haptic information facilitates object recognition in adults, but less is known about development of this ability. In this study, we explored the developmental course of object recognition capacity in children using unimodal visual information, unimodal haptic information, and visuo-haptic information transfer in children from 4 years to 10 years and 11 months of age. Participants were tested through a clinical protocol, involving visual exploration of black-and-white photographs of common objects, haptic exploration of real objects, and visuo-haptic transfer of these two types of information. Results show an age-dependent development of object recognition abilities for visual, haptic, and visuo-haptic modalities. A significant effect of time on development of unimodal and crossmodal recognition skills was found. Moreover, our data suggest that multisensory processes for common object recognition are active at 4 years of age. They facilitate recognition of common objects, and, although not fully mature, are significant in adaptive behavior from the first years of age. The study of typical development of visuo-haptic processes in childhood is a starting point for future studies regarding object recognition in impaired populations.