Predicting cross-modal associations between aggression, brightness, and colour with the OPAC context model

Although researchers have repeatedly shown that the affective meaning of the same concept can vary across different contexts, it has proven difficult to predict when people will assign which meaning to a concept. To understand when and how the affective meaning of a concept is activated in specific contexts, we propose a multidimensional context model, the OPAC (opposition & activation) context model, based on the affective theory of meaning (Osgood, Suci, & Tannenbaum, 1957) and the polarity correspondence principle (Proctor & Cho, 2006). At the core of this model lies the idea that cross-modal associations emerge based on the distances between opposing concepts on the dimensions of meaning (i.e., evaluation, activity, & potency dimension), leading to one salient dimension, on which concepts in turn are mapped according to the attribution of plus and minus poles. To test the OPAC context model, we conducted 5 series of experiments, in which we predicted cross-modal associations between aggression-related concepts and colours (i.e., red versus green and red versus blue), saturation, and brightness. We manipulated the context by means of adjusting the opposing stimuli (Experiment 1 and 2), the presentation of the stimulus (Experiment 3 and 4), and the labels in the task (Experiment 5). For this, we used implicit association tests as well as explicit association tasks. Our data show that the relative differences between colour or light characteristics can be associated with conceptual differences between calmness and aggression in specific contexts, which in turn can be predicted with the use of the OPAC context model. We will discuss the potential of the OPAC context model for understanding and predicting how the context can influence the activation of emotional concepts

Cross Modal Associations between aggression and light

Brightness is associated with positivity and goodness. As a consequence, we might expect that increasing the luminance in public settings (e.g., outside clubs and café’s) could positively influence aggressive behavior in situations that are at risk of escalating. However, based on work of Osgood and colleagues (1957), an increase in luminance intensity can be associated with an increase in activity. Also, the dynamic nature of a light stimulus can affect the associations people have between brightness and aggression. With two studies we provide support for the presence of cross modal associations between aggression and dynamic achromatic (i.e. white versus black) and luminance (i.e. light versus dark) brightness differences. We asked people to report explicit associations between brightness stimuli and evaluation, potency, activity, and aggression, using either achromatic (Study 1a) or luminance stimuli (Study 1b). In addition, we examined cross-model associations between brightness and aggression using an implicit association test for achromatic stimuli (Study 2a). Our data show that the differences between static and dynamic stimuli, as well as the differences between achromatic brightness and luminance brightness, are crucial for understanding which associations emerge between brightness and aggression. On the conference, we will present these results together with the results of the implicit association tests with luminance brightness stimuli (Study 2b, planned for October)

Simulation study of a virtual natural lighting solutions prototype: validation and analysis

Introduction The benefit of natural light and view from windows in buildings has been widely reported (e.g. Berman et al., 2008; Aries et al., 2010). However, there are some situations in which natural light is absent, for example, due to hygienic or safety reasons. To answer this challenge, the concept of Virtual Natural Lighting Solutions (VNLS), which are systems that can artificially provide natural lighting as well as a realistic outside view with properties comparable to those of real windows and skylights, is proposed. This study aims to find how a certain VNLS prototype influences the indoor lighting condition and visual comfort. In particular, this study focuses on lighting measurement and simulation of a 'second generation' VNLS prototype. Two objectives are defined: (1) to validate the illuminance distribution results obtained from Radiance simulation (Ward & Shakespeare, 1998) with the ones obtained from measurement, by evaluating the interior lighting condition inside the test room; and (2) to determine the effect of various prototypes configurations on the space availability, uniformity, and visual comfort in the test room