Forensic voice discrimination by lay listeners: The effect of speech type and background noise on performance

In forensic settings, lay (nonexpert) listeners may be required to compare voice samples for identity. In two experiments we investigated the effect of background noise and variations in speaking style on performance. In each trial, participants heard two recordings, responded whether the voices belonged to the same person, and provided a confidence rating. In Experiment 1, the first recording featured read speech and the second featured read or spontaneous speech. Both recordings were presented in quiet, or with background noise. Accuracy was highest when recordings featured the same speaking style. In Experiment 2, background noise either occurred in the first or second recording. Accuracy was higher when it occurred in the second. The overall results reveal that both speaking style and background noise can disrupt accuracy. Although there is a relationship between confidence and accuracy in all conditions, it is variable. The forensic implications of these findings are discussed.     

The influence of background music on learners with varying extraversion: Seductive detail or beneficial effect?

Seductive details in general affect learning and cognitive load negatively. However, especially background music as a seductive detail may also influence the learner's arousal, whose optimal level depends on the learner's extraversion. Therefore, the effects of extraversion and background music on learning outcomes, cognitive load, and arousal were investigated. We tested 167 high school students and found better transfer outcomes for the group with background music. They also reported higher germane load, but no impact of background music on extraneous cognitive load or arousal was found. In the group without background music, learners with higher extraversion reached better recall scores, which was not found in the group with background music. Results may cautiously be interpreted that there is a beneficial impact of background music that compensates for the disadvantages of low extraverted learners and which cannot be explained through arousal.     

A preregistered study of the relationship between childhood socioeconomic background,life history strategies and conformity

We conducted a high powered pre-registered study to investigate the relationship between childhood socioeconomic status, the adoption of different life history strategies and conformity. Contrary to our expectation we found no direct relationship between childhood socioeconomic background and conformity. However, we discovered a significant association between life history strategies and conformity. People who adopt fast (slow) life history strategies conform less (more) to social suggestions. Furthermore, we found a relationship between childhood socioeconomic background and life history strategies, with people from low (high) childhood socioeconomic backgrounds adopting fast (slow) life history strategies.     

背景音乐对消费者的影响：音乐契合度的视角

音乐契合度指的是背景音乐与广告、消费环境及商品特征等消费要素的契合程度。背景音乐与消费要素的契合可以体现在音乐特性、社会隐义和文化意蕴三个方面,这些契合程度能够对消费者的认知、情绪和行为等方面产生影响。若背景音乐的音乐特性与消费要素之间存在较高契合度,则能够提升消费者的注意效果、加强对商品的记忆并提升购买意图;背景音乐的社会隐义也能与消费要素产生契合关系,两者之间的契合程度决定了消费者对品牌的态度、情绪状态、对商品的记忆和选择;背景音乐与消费要素在文化意蕴方面的高度契合则能够促进消费者对品牌的态度、提升购买意愿、促进购买行为。未来研究应探索背景音乐更多的结构属性,进一步挖掘背景音乐影响消费者的边界条件,突破现有理论探索更深入的理论机制,并进一步探索音乐契合对于消费者认知和情绪的影响效应及其影响机制。     

Iki and Contingency: A Reconstruction of Shūzō Kuki’s Early Aesthetic theory

Iki is the key word of Shūzō Kuki’s The Structure of Iki, and it became one of the most widely recognized Japanese aesthetic categories mainly due to this work. However, in The Problems of Contingency, which is Kuki’s most important philosophical work, there is no discussion of iki again, and consequently, most commentators of Kuki fail to see the correlation between his theories of iki and contingency. This article, by contrast, intends to provide a new interpretation of iki in the light of Kuki’s theory of contingency. The specific thesis of this paper is that aesthetic phenomena categorized as subject to the principles of iki are positively evaluated in Japanese culture just because the consciousness of iki is just one form of the consciousness of contingency, in which the awareness of alternatives to the actual situation could produce considerable spiritual entertainment for aesthetic subjects.     

Can a twelve-week intervention reduce barriers to bicycling among overweight adults in low-income Latino and Black communities?

This pilot study summarizes perceived barriers to bicycling among overweight adults in two low-income communities of color and evaluates the impact of a bicycling intervention on these perceived barriers. A randomized controlled trial with 38 total participants from one predominantly Latino and one predominantly Black neighborhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin was conducted during summer 2015. The twelve-week intervention consisted of group bicycle rides and bicycling instruction. Several barriers identified prior to the intervention declined significantly among intervention group members soon after it was completed: not feeling healthy enough to bike, being physically uncomfortable while biking, not having a bicycle to use, not having other people to bicycle with, not knowing the best routes to use, not feeling safe from crime, not feeling safe from car traffic, and worrying that neighbors do not think it is normal for an adult to ride a bike. Eight weeks after completion, the intervention group reported significantly greater reductions than the control group with respect to the barriers of not feeling healthy enough to bike and not feeling safe from car traffic. In addition to decreasing barriers, qualitative analysis suggested that increasing support from family and friends as well as emphasizing personal health benefits could help motivate people to bicycle.     

Do Preschoolers Recognize The Emotional Expressiveness of Colors in Realistic and Abstract Art Paintings?

The present study was designed to examine preschoolers' ability to recognize the emotional expressiveness of an art painting, through its colors. To attain this aim 78 children, 3–5 years old were presented with realistic and abstract paintings conveying either happiness or sadness and were asked to choose those which matched the appropriate emotion. In total 16 paintings were used, which varied in color, while their subject matter was held as constant as possible after they had been previously rated by a group of adults to ensure that they conveyed the two emotions under investigation. Results showed that children's ability to recognize the emotional expressiveness of a painting through its colors appears at 3 years old and increases significantly at 4 and 5 years old. It was also found that the mood of happiness was more easily recognized than that of sadness, while the style of art paintings (realistic vs. abstract) did not affect children's ability to recognize emotions.     

Failure to Replicate the Increased Temporal Resolution Induced by Images That Give Impression of Danger

Kobayashi and Ichikawa (2016) recently reported that briefly presented images with dangerous impressions were detected with higher accuracy than images with safe impressions and concluded that the emotion evoked by such images improves temporal resolution of visual perception. In this study, we assessed confounding effects of the color saturations of the images used in their study. While attempting to replicate their results, we found the opposite results—that is, images with safe impressions were detected with higher accuracy than those with dangerous impressions. This likely reflected an observed correlation between color saturations and detection thresholds. To confirm the effects of color saturations, in subsequent experiments, we independently examined the effects of emotion and of color characteristics. We concluded that the previously reported increased temporal resolution was due to the confounding effect of color saturation, and not by the evoked emotion.     

双重作业的颜色编码方式对作业绩效的影响

研究探讨了不同颜色编码方式对双重任务操作绩效的影响。实验结果证明：若采用同类颜色编码方式,同时操作的两种作业就会产生结构限制,降低双重任务操作绩效;相反,若采用异常颜色编码方式,将有效地减少双重任务操作的结构限制,使双重任务的操作绩效得到提高。     

汉语常用颜色词的概念结构

采用自然分类和多维标度的方法,研究了汉语常用颜色词的概念结构。结果表明,汉语常用颜色词的语义空间具有按原型分布的特点。常用颜色词的概念结构有3个维度:1.彩色/非彩色;2.暖色/冷色;3.颜色的互补和对比。整个研究表明,颜色认知既受光波的物理属性和人眼的生物特性影响,又受语言和社会文化影响。