Exploring the motion advantage: evaluating the contribution of familiarity and differences in facial motion

Seeing a face move can improve familiar face recognition, face matching, and learning. More specifically, familiarity with a face may facilitate the learning of an individual's “dynamic facial signature”. In the outlined research we examine the relationship between participant ratings of familiarity, the distinctiveness of motion, the amount of facial motion, and the recognition of familiar moving faces (Experiment 1) as well as the magnitude of the motion advantage (Experiment 2). Significant positive correlations were found between all factors. Findings suggest that faces rated as moving a lot and in a distinctive manner benefited the most from being seen in motion. Additionally findings indicate that facial motion information becomes a more important cue to recognition the more familiar a face is, suggesting that “dynamic facial signatures” continue to be learnt over time and integrated within the face representation. Results are discussed in relation to theoretical explanations of the moving face advantage. </jats:p

The effect of motion at encoding and retrieval for same- and other-race face recognition

In an experimental study, we assessed the role of motion when encoding and recognizing unfamiliar faces, using an old/new recognition memory paradigm. Our findings revealed a clear advantage for learning unfamiliar faces moving non-rigidly, compared with static faces. This advantage for motion was found with both same- and other-race faces. Furthermore, results indicate that it is more important that the face is learnt in motion than recognized from a moving clip. Interestingly, despite a reliable other-race effect being revealed, participants were able to utilize motion information exhibited by other-race faces in a manner akin to the motion advantage found for same-race faces. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the nature of the stored face representations, considering whether the facilitative role found here can be explained by factors other than motion per se.</p

Seeing a drummer’s performance modulates the subjective experience of groove when listening to popular music drum patterns

Spontaneous rhythmical movements, like foot-tapping and head-bobbing, often emerge when people listen to music, promoting the sensation of being in the ‘groove’: a psychological construct that additionally incorporates positive affect. Here we report the first study to investigate if seeing the music maker modulates this subjective experience of groove. Across trials participants (n = 36) listened to high and low groove drum beats, while concurrently observing a task-irrelevant point-light display (PLD) of the drummer. The PLD was either fully-corresponding with the audio or was incompatible across three other visual display conditions: a static PLD, a corresponding but asynchronous PLD (0.5s time shifted); or a non-corresponding PLD (e.g. low groove audio paired with high groove PLD). Participants rated: (a) their desire to move; and (b) the perceived groove in response to the auditory beats only, using 8-point Likert scales. In both measurements there were significant main effects of groove level and of visual display. Ratings were higher for high compared to low groove audio, and for the fully-corresponding condition compared to the other three visual conditions. The participants’ desire to move was also rated higher in the static condition compared to the non-corresponding condition, while the two-way interaction was also significant: ratings were higher for the high compared to low groove audio in the fully-corresponding, static and asynchronous conditions, but not in the non-corresponding condition. These findings identify the importance of seeing as well as hearing the musician for an enhanced listening experience, which necessitates a multimodal account of music perception

Organic-Conventional Dairy Systems Trial in New Zealand: Four Years’ Results

The Organic-Conventional Comparative Dairy Systems trial at Massey University began in August 2001, and the organic farmlet achieved certification in August 2003. The trial is unique because it is the only comparative grassland-based open grazing dairy study in the world. The organic and conventional systems are managed individually according to best practice, and both are intensively monitored for production, animal health, and environmental impacts. The systems remained similar for the first two years, but began to diverge in the third and fourth years. Production has been 10-20% lower on the organic farm, but environmental impacts appear to be less than on the conventional unit, and net incomes would be similar given a 20% price premium for the organic product. Animal health issues have been manageable on the organic farmlet, and not too dissimilar from the conventional farmlet. Full results after four years of the trial will be available and presented at the conference

A neural signature for combined action observation and motor imagery? An fNIRS study into prefrontal activation, automatic imitation, and self–other perceptions

INTRODUCTION: Research indicates that both observed and imagined actions can be represented in the brain as two parallel sensorimotor representations. One proposal is that higher order cognitive processes would align these two hypothetical action simulations. METHODS: We investigated this hypothesis using an automatic imitation paradigm, with functional near‐infrared spectroscopy recordings over the prefrontal cortex during different motor simulation states. On each trial, participants (n = 14) observed a picture of a rhythmical action (instructed action) followed by a distractor movie showing the same or different action. Participants then executed the instructed action. Distractor actions were manipulated to be fast or slow, and instructions were manipulated during distractor presentation: action observation (AO), combined action observation and motor imagery (AO+MI) and observe to imitate (intentional imitation). A pure motor imagery (MI) condition was also included. RESULTS: Kinematic analyses showed that although distractor speed effects were significant under all instructions (shorter mean cycle times in execution for fast compared to slow trials), this imitation bias was significantly stronger for combined AO+MI than both AO and MI, and stronger for intentional imitation than the other three automatic imitation conditions. In the left prefrontal cortex, cerebral oxygenation was significantly greater for combined AO+MI than all other instructions. Participants reported that their representation of the self overlapped with the observed model significantly more during AO+MI than AO. CONCLUSION: Left prefrontal activation may therefore be a neural signature of AO+MI, supporting attentional switching between concurrent representations of self (MI, top‐down) and other (AO, bottom‐up) to increase imitation and perceived closeness

A Constructivist Study of Graduate Assistants\u27 Healthcare Experiences in a Research University

This constructivist study explores 16 graduate assistants’ (GAs) healthcare experiences and uses grounded theory to create a model of graduate assistants’ experiences with university-provided healthcare in a large research university. The model is composed of four broad components: (a) systems; (b) access, care and coverage; (c) knowledge, quality and cost; and (d) self. Graduate assistants’ needs and expectations constantly negotiate various systems in the model. Expanding upon the limited research regarding graduate student healthcare, this study provides implications for higher education administrators and policy makers. Based on our study findings we argue that it is not sufficient for university administrations to simply provide paid health insurance “options” without robust support systems on campus. Because students are often stressed out, lack time and energy, and find it hard to navigate the complicated systems of profit-driven health care industry, the lack of direct support in graduate students’ day-to-day healthcare needs can cause tremendous loss on their success and productivity. Hence, universities have tremendous opportunities to better understand and address their graduate students’ real needs so as to add value to institutional success and productivity

Placing joy, surprise and sadness in space. A cross-linguistic study

The valence-space metaphor posits that emotion concepts map onto vertical space such that positive concepts are in upper locations and negative in lower locations. Whilst previous studies have demonstrated this pattern for positive and negative emotions e.g. ‘joy’ and ‘sadness’, the spatial location of neutral emotions e.g. ‘surprise’ has not been investigated and little is known about the effect of linguistic background. In this study we first characterised the emotions joy, surprise and sadness via ratings of their concreteness, imageability, context availability and valence before examining the allocation of these emotions in vertical space. Participants from six linguistic groups completed either a rating task used to characterise the emotions or a word allocation task to implicitly assess where these emotions are positioned in vertical space. Our findings suggest that, across languages, gender, handedness, and ages, positive emotions are located in upper spatial locations and negative emotions in lower spatial locations. Additionally, we found that the neutral emotional valence of surprise is reflected in this emotion being mapped mid-way between upper and lower locations onto the vertical plane. This novel finding indicates that the location of a concept on the vertical plane mimics the concept’s degree of emotional valence