Aesthetic Judgements of Abstract Dynamic Configurations

To date, aesthetic preference for abstract patterns has mainly been examined in the relation to static stimuli. However, dynamic art forms (e.g., motion pictures, kinetic art) are arguably more powerful in producing emotional responses. To start the exploration of aesthetic preferences for dynamic stimuli (stripped of meaning and context) we conducted three experiments. Symmetrical or random configurations were created. Each line element had a local rotation, and the whole configuration also underwent a global transformation (horizontal translation, rotation, expansion, horizontal shear). Participants provided explicit preference ratings for these patterns. As expected results showed a preference for dynamic symmetrical patterns over random. When global transformations were compared, expansion was the preferred dynamic transformation whilst participants liked the horizontal shear transformation the least. Overall, these results show that preference for symmetry persists and is enhanced for dynamic stimuli, and that there are systematic preferences for global transformations.</jats:p

How Men and Women Respond to Hypothetical Parental Discovery: The Importance of Genetic Relatedness

Paternal uncertainty has shaped human behavior both in evolutionary and cultural terms. There has been much research investigating parenting as a function of genetic relatedness to the child, with a focus on male behavior, but the nature of these sex differences is hard to evaluate. We devised a hypothetical scenario that was as similar as possible for men and women to test whether, even in such a scenario, sex differences would remain strong. Participants were presented with the discovery that a child that s/he believed to be theirs was not carrying their own genes. Irrespective of sex, participants ( n = 1007) were more upset when the baby was not genetically related to them than when the child was genetically related but the sex gamete was not from a chosen donor. Women were more upset than men in both scenarios, but were more likely to want to keep the baby. The results are discussed with reference to evolved and rational mechanisms affecting parenting

Reasoning about visibility in mirrors: A comparison between a human observer and a camera

Human observers make errors when predicting what is visible in a mirror. This is true for perception with real mirrors as well as for reasoning about mirrors shown in diagrams. We created an illustration of a room, a top-down map, with a mirror on a wall, and objects (nails) on the opposite wall. The task was to select which nails were visible in the mirror from a given position (viewpoint). To study the importance of the social nature of the viewpoint we divided the sample (N=108) in two groups. One group (N=54) were tested with a scene in which there was the image of a person. The other group (N=54) were tested with the same scene but with a camera replacing the person. Participants were instructed to think about what would be captured by a camera on a tripod. This manipulation tests the effect of social perspective taking in reasoning about mirrors. As predicted, performance on the task shows an overestimation of what can be seen in a mirror, and a bias to underestimate the role of the different viewpoints, i.e. a tendency to treat the mirror as if it captures information independently of viewpoint. In terms of the comparison between person and camera there were more errors for the camera, suggesting an advantage for evaluating a human viewpoint as opposed to an artificial viewpoint. We suggest that social mechanisms may be involved in perspective taking in reasoning rather than in automatic attention allocation

Leaf pigments, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase, nitrate reductase and photosynthetic efficiency of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Pinot noir) grown under different light conditions

Changes of leaf pigments, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (Rubisco), nitrate reductase and photosynthetic efficiency were determined in leaves of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Pinot noir plants grown at full sunlight (2000 µmol m-2 s-1) and 40 % of sunlight (800 µmol m-2 s-1). The contents of chlorophyll and carotenoids per fresh mass were higher in 40 % sunlight than in full sunlight-grown leaves. In contrast, Rubisco activity, in vivo nitrate reductase activity (indicator of nitrate utilisation) and soluble proteins were significantly reduced in 40 % sunlight-grown leaves. In isolated thylakoids, a marked inhibition of whole chain (PSI+PSII) and PSII activity were observed in 40 % sunlight-grown leaves. Smaller inhibition of NI activity was also observed in 40 % sunlight-grown leaves. The artificial exogenous electron donors, DPC and NH2OH, significantly restored the loss of PSII activity in 40 % sunlight-grown leaves. The same results were obtained when Fv/Fm was evaluated by chlorophyll fluorescence measurements. The marked loss of PSII activity in 40 % sunlight-grown leaves was due to the loss of 47, 33, 28-25 and 23 kDa polypeptides. This conclusion was confirmed by immunological studies showing that the content of the 33 kDa protein of the water-splitting complex was diminished significantly in 40 % sunlight-grown leaves.