Toward a social psychophysics of face communication

As a highly social species, humans are equipped with a powerful tool for social communication—the face, which can elicit multiple social perceptions in others due to the rich and complex variations of its movements, morphology, and complexion. Consequently, identifying precisely what face information elicits different social perceptions is a complex empirical challenge that has largely remained beyond the reach of traditional research methods. More recently, the emerging field of social psychophysics has developed new methods designed to address this challenge. Here, we introduce and review the foundational methodological developments of social psychophysics, present recent work that has advanced our understanding of the face as a tool for social communication, and discuss the main challenges that lie ahead

Potential solar axion signatures in X-ray observations with the XMM-Newton observatory

The soft X-ray flux produced by solar axions in the Earth's magnetic field is evaluated in the context of ESA's XMM-Newton observatory. Recent calculations of the scattering of axion-conversion X-rays suggest that the sunward magnetosphere could be an observable source of 0.2-10 keV photons. For XMM-Newton, any conversion X-ray intensity will be seasonally modulated by virtue of the changing visibility of the sunward magnetic field region. A simple model of the geomagnetic field is combined with the ephemeris of XMM-Newton to predict the seasonal variation of the conversion X-ray intensity. This model is compared with stacked XMM-Newton blank sky datasets from which point sources have been systematically removed. Remarkably, a seasonally varying X-ray background signal is observed. The EPIC count rates are in the ratio of their X-ray grasps, indicating a non-instrumental, external photon origin, with significances of 11(pn), 4(MOS1) and 5(MOS2) sigma. After examining the constituent observations spatially, temporally and in terms of the cosmic X-ray background, we conclude that this variable signal is consistent with the conversion of solar axions in the Earth's magnetic field. The spectrum is consistent with a solar axion spectrum dominated by bremsstrahlung- and Compton-like processes, i.e. axion-electron coupling dominates over axion-photon coupling and the peak of the axion spectrum is below 1 keV. A value of 2.2e-22 /GeV is derived for the product of the axion-photon and axion-electron coupling constants, for an axion mass in the micro-eV range. Comparisons with limits derived from white dwarf cooling may not be applicable, as these refer to axions in the 0.01 eV range. Preliminary results are given of a search for axion-conversion X-ray lines, in particular the predicted features due to silicon, sulphur and iron in the solar core, and the 14.4 keV transition line from 57Fe.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 67 pages total, including 39 figures, 6 table

Four not six: revealing culturally common facial expressions of emotion

As a highly social species, humans generate complex facial expressions to communicate a diverse range of emotions. Since Darwin’s work, identifying amongst these complex patterns which are common across cultures and which are culture-specific has remained a central question in psychology, anthropology, philosophy, and more recently machine vision and social robotics. Classic approaches to addressing this question typically tested the cross-cultural recognition of theoretically motivated facial expressions representing six emotions, and reported universality. Yet, variable recognition accuracy across cultures suggests a narrower cross-cultural communication, supported by sets of simpler expressive patterns embedded in more complex facial expressions. We explore this hypothesis by modelling the facial expressions of over 60 emotions across two cultures, and segregating out the latent expressive patterns. Using a multi-disciplinary approach, we first map the conceptual organization of a broad spectrum of emotion words by building semantic networks in two cultures. For each emotion word in each culture, we then model and validate its corresponding dynamic facial expression, producing over 60 culturally valid facial expression models. We then apply to the pooled models a multivariate data reduction technique, revealing four latent and culturally common facial expression patterns that each communicates specific combinations of valence, arousal and dominance. We then reveal the face movements that accentuate each latent expressive pattern to create complex facial expressions. Our data questions the widely held view that six facial expression patterns are universal, instead suggesting four latent expressive patterns with direct implications for emotion communication, social psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and social robotics

Reverse Engineering Psychologically Valid Facial Expressions of Emotion into Social Robots

Social robots are now part of human society, destined for schools, hospitals, and homes to perform a variety of tasks. To engage their human users, social robots must be equipped with the essential social skill of facial expression communication. Yet, even state-of-the-art social robots are limited in this ability because they often rely on a restricted set of facial expressions derived from theory with well-known limitations such as lacking naturalistic dynamics. With no agreed methodology to objectively engineer a broader variance of more psychologically impactful facial expressions into the social robots' repertoire, human-robot interactions remain restricted. Here, we address this generic challenge with new methodologies that can reverse-engineer dynamic facial expressions into a social robot head. Our data-driven, user-centered approach, which combines human perception with psychophysical methods, produced highly recognizable and human-like dynamic facial expressions of the six classic emotions that generally outperformed state-of-art social robot facial expressions. Our data demonstrates the feasibility of our method applied to social robotics and highlights the benefits of using a data-driven approach that puts human users as central to deriving facial expressions for social robots. We also discuss future work to reverse-engineer a wider range of socially relevant facial expressions including conversational messages (e.g., interest, confusion) and personality traits (e.g., trustworthiness, attractiveness). Together, our results highlight the key role that psychology must continue to play in the design of social robots

Myynninedistäminen mainonna avulla

Opinnäytetyössä etsittiin tehokkaita myynninedistämisen keinoja Select Service Partner Finlandin lentokentällä sijaitsevaan elintarvikekioski Pointtiin. Tutkimusongelmana oli selvittää, millainen mainos tehoaa asiakkaisiin kyseisessä toimintaympäristössä sekä millaisia tuotteita kannattaisi mainostaa tai laittaa tarjoukseen. Myynninedistämisprojektin aloitushetkellä syksyllä 2009 Point oli ollut nykyisessä muodossaan noin vuoden, eivätkä kaikki potentiaaliset asiakkaat olleet vielä löytäneet sitä. Pointtia oli tarkoitus tehdä nykyistä tunnetummaksi kentän henkilökunnan ja matkustajien keskuudessa. Myynnin kasvun edellytettiin tapahtuvan niin, että raaka-aine ja henkilöstökulut pysyivät ennallaan. Projektin teoreettinen viitekehys rakentuu asiakassuuntaisesta markkinoinnista, myynninedistämisestä ja mainonnan käytössä olevista muodoista sekä kilpailukeinoista. Vaikka opinnäytetyö käsittelee konkreettisesti myynnin kasvattamista nimenomaan mainonnan avulla, työssä tarkastellaan myös asiakaspalvelun teoriaa työntekijän mahdollisuutena edistää tarjoustuotteiden myyntiä. Point kioskille suunniteltiin erilaisia mainoksia ja pakettitarjouskampanjoita sekä muunlaista myynninedistämismateriaalia kuten grilli- ja pullapassit. Mainokset sekä materiaalit suunniteltiin ja laitettiin esille ajanjaksolla syksystä 2009 syksyyn 2010. Mainostettujen tuotteiden myyntilukuja verrattiin kassajärjestelmästä saatavien raportointitaulukoiden avulla. Vertailukohteena olivat mainoksia edeltäneet ja niiden jälkeen toteutuneet myyntiluvut. Tulosten tulkintamenetelmänä käytettiin dokumenttianalyysiä, jossa kvantitatiivinen aineisto analysoitiin kvalitatiivisesti. Lopuksi tuloksia analysoimalla pääteltiin, minkälainen mainonta olisi kannattavaa jatkossa kyseisessä toimipisteessä. Lisäksi Pointin esimiehelle tehtiin asiantuntijahaastattelu tukemaan saatuja tuloksia. Tuloksista selviää, että pitkäaikaiset pakettitarjoukset eivät juuri tehonneet asiakkaisiin. Palautteita ja myyntilukuja seuraamalla kannattavampaa olisi tulevaisuudessa mainostaa lyhytaikaisia selkeästi tarjoushintaisia tuotteita tai määräalennuksia. Mainoksien laittaminen näkyville myös myymälässä olevan television kautta voisi olla kokeilemisen arvoista jatkossa. Passit ja kioskin seinillä olevat tuotteita esittelevät mainokset todettiin toimiviksi kyseisessä toimipisteessä. Matkustavien asiakkaiden houkutteluun tehokas keino voisi olla mainoslehtisten jako ylemmän kerroksen kahvilaan. Pointin myynti on saatu kasvamaan projektiin käytetyn vuoden aikana 10,44 prosenttia. Tuloksen perusteella voidaan päätellä, että tavoitteeseen on päästy ja saatu myynti kääntymään kasvuun.This thesis investigates successful sales promotion methods for Select Service Partner Finland’s Kiosk, Point, which is located at the airport. The purpose of the study was to find out what type of advertisement is effective for customers in this environment and which products are worth to be placed on sales and in advertisements. When the project began Kiosk Point had been in its format for a year and all the potential customers had not found it. The objective of the project was to gain visibility among airport staff and passengers. Sales needed to be increased without having an effect on the material and staff costs. The theoretical section of the thesis outlines customer marketing, sales promoting as well as the means of advertisement and competition. Although this thesis concretely processes the increase of sales as a result of advertisement it also examines customer service in theory and employee’s’ possibility to increase the marketing of products that are on sale. Different forms of advertisements and sales campaigns were drawn up for the Point Kiosk and also sales promotion materials like grill and bun passes were created. Advertisements and materials were planned and introduced from fall 2009 to fall 2010. The sales figures of the advertised products were compared with cash desk reports. The compared objects were the sales figures before and after advertisement. The study is based on a document analysis where quantitative material is qualitatively analyzed. The format of advertisement for this appropriate kiosk was derived from the results. Point’s superior was interviewed to support the results of the study. The results show that long term sales were not affected by customer buying behavior. Based on the feedback and sales figures, it would be worthwhile to advertise products for a short period or use different sales campaigns. Advertising on the kiosk’s television should be considered in the future. Passes and advertisements on walls of the kiosk were functional. Placing advertisements at the upstairs coffee shop might bring more customers to Point. Point’s sale has increased by 10.44 percent during the project. As can be seen from the results the thesis reached its objective and the sales are increasing

El corte de los modelos de volumen utilizados para el cálculo por elementos finitos

En este trabajo se presenta un método para calcular y representar el corte de modelos tridimensionales. Para representar resultados se debe previamente determinar una superficie. En el caso de la representación de valores en cortes del modelo, esta superficie es la intersección con el plano de corte. En este trabajo se describe un método rápido y simple para el cálculo de la sección así como el método empleado para la interpolación de los valores a representar.In this work, a method to compute section of 3D finite element models is presented. A surface of model must be evaluate to represent any results. In the section representation, this surface is the intersection with the section plane. A simple and fast method to determine section model and to interpolate results is here developed.Peer Reviewe

Dynamic facial expressions of emotion transmit an evolving hierarchy of signals over time

Designed by biological and social evolutionary pressures, facial expressions of emotion comprise specific facial movements to support a near-optimal system of signaling and decoding. Although highly dynamical, little is known about the form and function of facial expression temporal dynamics. Do facial expressions transmit diagnostic signals simultaneously to optimize categorization of the six classic emotions, or sequentially to support a more complex communication system of successive categorizations over time? Our data support the latter. Using a combination of perceptual expectation modeling, information theory, and Bayesian classifiers, we show that dynamic facial expressions of emotion transmit an evolving hierarchy of “biologically basic to socially specific” information over time. Early in the signaling dynamics, facial expressions systematically transmit few, biologically rooted face signals supporting the categorization of fewer elementary categories (e.g., approach/avoidance). Later transmissions comprise more complex signals that support categorization of a larger number of socially specific categories (i.e., the six classic emotions). Here, we show that dynamic facial expressions of emotion provide a sophisticated signaling system, questioning the widely accepted notion that emotion communication is comprised of six basic (i.e., psychologically irreducible) categories, and instead suggesting four

Optimizing dual energy cone beam CT protocols for preclinical imaging and radiation research

Objective: The aim of this work was to investigate whether quantitative dual-energy CT (DECT) imaging is feasible for small animal irradiators with an integrated cone-beam CT (CBCT) system. Methods: The optimal imaging protocols were determined by analyzing different energy combinations and dose levels. The influence of beam hardening effects and the performance of a beam hardening correction (BHC) were investigated. In addition, two systems from different manufacturers were compared in terms of errors in the extracted effective atomic numbers (Z(eff)) and relative electron densities (rho(e)) for phantom inserts with known elemental compositions and relative electron densities. Results: The optimal energy combination was determined to be 50 and 90kVp. For this combination, Z(eff) and r rho(e) can be extracted with a mean error of 0.11 and 0.010, respectively, at a dose level of 60cGy. Conclusion: Quantitative DECT imaging is feasible for small animal irradiators with an integrated CBCT system. To obtain the best results, optimizing the imaging protocols is required. Well-separated X-ray spectra and a sufficient dose level should be used to minimize the error and noise for Z(eff) and rho(e). When no BHC is applied in the image reconstruction, the size of the calibration phantom should match the size of the imaged object to limit the influence of beam hardening effects. No significant differences in Z(eff) and rho(e) errors are observed between the two systems from different manufacturers. Advances in knowledge: This is the first study that investigates quantitative DECT imaging for small animal irradiators with an integrated CBCT system

Dynamics of trimming the content of face representations for categorization in the brain

To understand visual cognition, it is imperative to determine when, how and with what information the human brain categorizes the visual input. Visual categorization consistently involves at least an early and a late stage: the occipito-temporal N170 event related potential related to stimulus encoding and the parietal P300 involved in perceptual decisions. Here we sought to understand how the brain globally transforms its representations of face categories from their early encoding to the later decision stage over the 400 ms time window encompassing the N170 and P300 brain events. We applied classification image techniques to the behavioral and electroencephalographic data of three observers who categorized seven facial expressions of emotion and report two main findings: (1) Over the 400 ms time course, processing of facial features initially spreads bilaterally across the left and right occipito-temporal regions to dynamically converge onto the centro-parietal region; (2) Concurrently, information processing gradually shifts from encoding common face features across all spatial scales (e.g. the eyes) to representing only the finer scales of the diagnostic features that are richer in useful information for behavior (e.g. the wide opened eyes in 'fear'; the detailed mouth in 'happy'). Our findings suggest that the brain refines its diagnostic representations of visual categories over the first 400 ms of processing by trimming a thorough encoding of features over the N170, to leave only the detailed information important for perceptual decisions over the P300

Revealing the information contents of memory within the stimulus information representation framework

The information contents of memory are the cornerstone of the most influential models in cognition. To illustrate, consider that in predictive coding, a prediction implies that specific information is propagated down from memory through the visual hierarchy. Likewise, recognizing the input implies that sequentially accrued sensory evidence is successfully matched with memorized information (categorical knowledge). Although the existing models of prediction, memory, sensory representation and categorical decision are all implicitly cast within an information processing framework, it remains a challenge to precisely specify what this information is, and therefore where, when and how the architecture of the brain dynamically processes it to produce behaviour. Here, we review a framework that addresses these challenges for the studies of perception and categorization–stimulus information representation (SIR). We illustrate how SIR can reverse engineer the information contents of memory from behavioural and brain measures in the context of specific cognitive tasks that involve memory. We discuss two specific lessons from this approach that generally apply to memory studies: the importance of task, to constrain what the brain does, and of stimulus variations, to identify the specific information contents that are memorized, predicted, recalled and replayed