Timing is everything: Dance aesthetics depend on the complexity of movement kinematics

What constitutes a beautiful action? Research into dance aesthetics has largely focussed on subjective features like familiarity with the observed movement, but has rarely studied objective features like speed or acceleration. We manipulated the kinematic complexity of observed actions by creating dance sequences that varied in movement timing, but not in movement trajectory. Dance-naïve participants rated the dance videos on speed, effort, reproducibility, and enjoyment. Using linear mixed-effects modeling, we show that faster, more predictable movement sequences with varied velocity profiles are judged to be more effortful, less reproducible, and more aesthetically pleasing than slower sequences with more uniform velocity profiles. Accordingly, dance aesthetics depend not only on which movements are being performed but on how movements are executed and linked into sequences. The aesthetics of movement timing may apply across culturally-specific dance styles and predict both preference for and perceived difficulty of dance, consistent with information theory and effort heuristic accounts of aesthetic appreciation

Timing is everything: dance aesthetics depend on the complexity of movement kinematics

What constitutes a beautiful action? Research into dance aesthetics has largely focussed on subjective features like familiarity with the observed movement, but has rarely studied objective features like speed or acceleration. We manipulated the kinematic complexity of observed actions by creating dance sequences that varied in movement timing, but not in movement trajectory. Dance-naïve participants rated the dance videos on speed, effort, reproducibility, and enjoyment. Using linear mixed-effects modeling, we show that faster, more predictable movement sequences with varied velocity profiles are judged to be more effortful, less reproducible, and more aesthetically pleasing than slower sequences with more uniform velocity profiles. Accordingly, dance aesthetics depend not only on which movements are being performed but on how movements are executed and linked into sequences. The aesthetics of movement timing may apply across culturally-specific dance styles and predict both preference for and perceived difficulty of dance, consistent with information theory and effort heuristic accounts of aesthetic appreciation

The Goldsmiths Dance Sophistication Index (Gold-DSI): A Psychometric Tool to Assess Individual Differences in Dance Experience

Dance has become an important topic for research in empirical aesthetics, social and motor cognition, and as an intervention for neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders. Despite the growing scientific interest in dance, no standardised psychometric instrument exists to assess people’s dance experience. Here, we introduce the Goldsmiths Dance Sophistication Index (Gold-DSI), a 26-item questionnaire to measure individual differences in participatory and observational dance experience on a continuous scale. The Gold-DSI was developed in three stages: In the first stage a set of 76 items was generated by adapting questions from the Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Index (Müllensiefen et al., 2014), and as part of a stakeholder workshop using a grounded theory approach. The second stage focused on item reduction. Using a large-scale online survey (N=424) , hierarchical factor analysis was used to fit a model comprising of one general and six secondary factors (28 items in total). In stage three, six new items were added to specifically capture individual differences in dance observation. We then collected data from two samples for final model estimation (N=127) and evaluation (N=190). The final version of the Gold-DSI comprises 26 items; 20 items relate to one general factor that captures experience in dance participation. This includes four secondary factors: Body Awareness, Social Dancing, Urge to Dance, and Dance Training. A further six items separately measure experience in dance observation. In sum, the Gold-DSI provides a brief, standardised and continuous assessment of doing, watching and knowing about dance

Online structured dance/movement therapy reduces bodily detachment in depersonalization-derealization disorder

Background: Depersonalization-derealization disorder (DDD) is a dissociative disorder encompassing pronounced disconnections from the self and from external reality. As DDD is inherently tied to a detachment from the body, dance/movement therapy could provide an innovative treatment approach. / Materials and methods: We developed two online dance tasks to reduce detachment either by training body awareness (BA task) or enhancing the salience of bodily signals through dance exercise (DE task). Individuals with DDD (n = 31) and healthy controls (n = 29) performed both tasks individually in a cross-over design. We assessed symptom severity (Cambridge Depersonalization Scale), interoceptive awareness (Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness – II), mindfulness (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire), and body vigilance (Body Vigilance Scale) before, during and after the tasks. / Results: At baseline, individuals with DDD exhibited elevated depersonalization-derealization symptoms alongside lower levels of interoceptive awareness and mindfulness compared to controls. Both tasks reduced symptoms in the DDD group, though dance exercise was perceived as easier. The DE task increased mindfulness in those with DDD more than the BA task, whereas controls showed the opposite pattern. In the DDD group, within-subject correlations showed that lower levels of symptoms were associated with task-specific elevations in interoceptive awareness and mindfulness. / Conclusion: Individual and structured dance/movement practice, performed at home without an instructor present, offers an effective tool to reduce symptoms in DDD and can be tailored to address specific cognitive components of a mindful engagement with the body

Online structured dance/movement therapy reduces bodily detachment in depersonalization-derealization disorder

Background: Depersonalization-derealization disorder (DDD) is a dissociative disorder encompassing pronounced disconnections from the self and from external reality. As DDD is inherently tied to a detachment from the body, dance/movement therapy could provide an innovative treatment approach. Materials and Methods: We developed two online dance tasks to reduce detachment either by training body awareness (BA task) or enhancing the salience of bodily signals through dance exercise (DE task). Individuals with DDD (n=31) and healthy controls (n=29) performed both tasks individually in a cross-over design. We assessed symptom severity (Cambridge Depersonalization Scale), interoceptive awareness (Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness – II), mindfulness (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire), and body vigilance (Body Vigilance Scale) before, during and after the tasks. Results: At baseline, individuals with DDD exhibited elevated depersonalization-derealization symptoms alongside lower levels of interoceptive awareness and mindfulness compared to controls. Both tasks reduced symptoms in the DDD group, though dance exercise was perceived as easier. The DE task increased mindfulness in those with DDD more than the BA task, whereas controls showed the opposite pattern. In the DDD group, within-subject correlations showed that lower levels of symptoms were associated with task-specific elevations in interoceptive awareness and mindfulness. Conclusion: Individual and structured dance/movement practice, performed at home without an instructor present, offers an effective tool to reduce symptoms in DDD and can be tailored to address specific cognitive components of a mindful engagement with the body

A dot that went for a walk: People prefer lines drawn with human-like kinematics

A dominant theory of embodied aesthetic experience (Freedberg & Gallese, 2007) posits that the appreciation of visual art is linked to the artist’s movements when creating the artwork, yet a direct link between the kinematics of drawing actions and the aesthetics of drawing outcomes has not been experimentally demonstrated. Across four experiments we measured aesthetic responses of students from arts and non-arts backgrounds to drawing movements generated from computational models of human writing. Experiment 1 demonstrated that human-like drawing movements with bell-shaped velocity profiles (Sigma Lognormal (SL) and Minimum Jerk (MJ)) are perceived as more natural and pleasant than movements with a uniform profile, and in both Experiments 1 and 2 movements that were perceived as more natural were also preferred. Experiment 3 showed that this effect persists if lower-level dynamic stimulus features are fully matched across experimental and control conditions. Furthermore, aesthetic preference for human-like movements were associated with greater perceptual fluency in Experiment 3, evidenced by unbiased estimations of the duration of natural movements. In Experiment 4, line drawings with visual features consistent with the dynamics of natural, human-like movements were preferred, but only by art students. Our findings directly link the aesthetics of human action to the visual aesthetics of drawings, but highlight the importance of incorporating artistic expertise into embodied accounts of aesthetic experience

Sobre Discurso e Tradução

Edição: 1ª. ed. Editoria: Florianópolis: PGET/UFSC; Tubarão: Copiart, 2013. Páginas: 208 p. Língua da publicação: Português Referência ABNT: Santos, Alckmar Luiz dos; Santa, Everton Vinícius de (Orgs.). Literatura, Arte e Tecnologia. 1ª. ed. Florianópolis: PGET/UFSC; Tubarão: Copiart, 2013. 208 p

Assessing responsiveness to direct verbal suggestions in depersonalization-derealization disorder

The dissociative disorders and germane conditions are reliably characterized by elevated responsiveness to direct verbal suggestions. However, it remains unclear whether atypical responsiveness to suggestion is similarly present in depersonalization-derealization disorder (DDD). 55 DDD patients and 36 healthy controls completed a standardised behavioural measure of direct verbal suggestibility that includes a correction for compliant responding (BSS-C), and psychometric measures of depersonalization-derealization (CDS), mindfulness (FFMQ), imagery vividness (VVIQ), and anxiety (GAD-7). Relative to controls, patients did not exhibit elevated suggestibility (g = 0.26, BF10 = .11) but displayed significantly lower mindfulness (g = 1.38), and imagery vividness (g = 0.63), and significantly greater anxiety (g = 1.39). Although suggestibility did not correlate with severity of depersonalization-derealization symptoms in controls, r = -.03 [95% CI: -.36, .30], there was a weak tendency for a positive association in patients, r = .25, [95% CI: -.03, .48]. Exploratory analyses revealed that patients with more severe anomalous bodily experiences were also more responsive to suggestion, an effect not seen in controls. This study demonstrates that DDD is not characterized by elevated responsiveness to direct verbal suggestions. These results have implications for the aetiology and treatment of this condition, as well as its classification as a dissociative disorder in psychiatric nosology

Antologias bilíngues - Clássicos da Teoria da Tradução - Volume 3 - Italiano-Português

Editoria: Florianópolis: Núcleo de Tradução/UFSC, 2005. Páginas: 221 p. Língua da publicação: Italiano e português Tradução: [T.V.] Língua do original: Português Referência ABNT: Guerini, Andréia; Arrigoni, Maria Teresa (Orgs.). Antologias bilíngues - Clássicos da Teoria da Tradução - Volume 3 - Italiano-Português. Florianópolis: Núcleo de Tradução/UFSC, 2005. 221 p. [: Português]. Tradução de: [T.V.]

Evolução, cultura e comportamento humano

Livro organizado a partir do GT de Psicologia Evolucionista - ANPEPP, cujo objetivo é planejar estratégias que tenham efeito no sentido de dar continuidade ao trabalho que está sendo realizado, e preparar o terreno para o desenvolvimento futuro. A cada encontro dos membros nos simpósios da ANPEPP que são realizados a cada dois anos (em anos pares) refletem criticamente sobre o que foi realizado e o que pode ser construído mais à frente. A realização de atividades que envolvam intercâmbio e parceria entre membros do GT é estratégica para o fortalecimento e expansão da área no Brasil.Apresenta reflexões sobre temas relacionados com evolução, cultura e comportamento humano na contemporaneidade. Parte do pressuposto de que os comportamentos apresentados pelos indivíduos (animais e humanos) têm influência em certa medida que caracterizou a história filogenética daquela espécie à qual o indivíduo pertence. Além disso, considera que existe uma continuidade filogenética entre o ser humano e os outros animais. No entanto, ao adotar uma abordagem evolucionista, não tem como objetivo reduzir o comportamento humano ao animal. A proposta é ter uma visão mais abrangente da nossa espécie e uma melhor compreensão do que é ser humano.CNPq e PPGPsi/UFS