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Wang S, Lin Y, Ding X. Unmasking social attention: The key distinction between social and non-social attention emerges in disengagement, not engagement. Cognition 2024; 249:105834. [PMID: 38797054 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2024.105834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2024] [Revised: 04/04/2024] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
The debate surrounding whether social and non-social attention share the same mechanism has been contentious. While prior studies predominantly focused on engagement, we examined the potential disparity between social and non-social attention from both perspectives of engagement and disengagement, respectively. We developed a two-stage attention-shifting paradigm to capture both attention engagement and disengagement. Combining results from five eye-tracking experiments, we supported that the disengagement of social attention markedly outpaces that of non-social attention, while no significant discrepancy emerges in engagement. We uncovered that the faster disengagement of social attention came from its social nature by eliminating alternative explanations including broader fixation distribution width, reduced directional salience in the peripheral visual field, decreased cue-object categorical consistency, reduced perceived validity, and faster processing time. Our study supported that the distinction between social and non-social attention is rooted in attention disengagement, not engagement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shengyuan Wang
- Department of Psychology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yanhua Lin
- Department of Psychology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaowei Ding
- Department of Psychology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
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2
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Colombatto C, Chen 陳鴨嘉 YC, Scholl BJ. Perceived gaze dynamics in social interactions can alter (and even reverse) the perceived temporal order of events. Cognition 2024; 247:105745. [PMID: 38569229 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2024.105745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Revised: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
Here's an all-too-familiar scenario: Person A is staring at person B, and then B turns toward A, and A immediately looks away (a phenomenon we call 'gaze deflection'). Beyond perceiving lower-level properties here - such as the timing of the eye/head turns - you can also readily perceive seemingly higher-level social dynamics: A got caught staring, and frantically looked away in embarrassment! It seems natural to assume that such social impressions are based on more fundamental representations of what happened when - but here we show that social gaze dynamics are unexpectedly powerful in that they can actually alter (and even reverse) the perceived temporal order of the underlying events. Across eight experiments, observers misperceived B as turning before A, when in fact they turned simultaneously - and even when B was turning after A. Additional controls confirmed that this illusion depends on visual processing (vs. being driven solely by higher-level interpretations), and that it is specific to the perception of social agents (vs. non-social objects). This demonstrates how social perception is tightly integrated into our perceptual experience of the world, and can have powerful consequences for one of the most basic properties that we can perceive: what happens when.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara Colombatto
- Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Canada; Department of Psychology, Yale University, United States of America.
| | - Yi-Chia Chen 陳鴨嘉
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, United States of America
| | - Brian J Scholl
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, United States of America.
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3
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Zhou S, Sun Y, Zhao Y, Jiang T, Yang H, Li S. I prefer what you can see: The role of visual perspective-taking on the gaze-liking effect. Heliyon 2024; 10:e29615. [PMID: 38681601 PMCID: PMC11046107 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e29615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2023] [Revised: 03/30/2024] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Individuals' gaze on an object usually leads others to prefer that object, which is called the gaze-liking effect. However, it is still unclear whether this effect is driven by social factors (i.e., visual perspective-taking) or the domain-general processing (i.e., attention cueing). This research explored the mechanism of the gaze-liking effect by manipulating the objects' visibility to an avatar in six online one-shot experiments. The results showed that participants' affective evaluation for the object was modulated by the avatar's visual perspective. Specifically, the visible object to the avatar received a higher rating of liking degree. However, when the avatar was replaced with a non-social stimulus, the experimental effect was absent. Furthermore, the gaze-liking effect was robust while controlling for confounding factors such as the distance between the object and the avatar or type of stimuli. These findings provided convincing evidence that the gaze-liking effect involves a process of the other's visual experience and is not merely a by-product of the gaze-cueing effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Song Zhou
- School of Psychology, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China
| | | | - Yan Zhao
- School of Psychology, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Tao Jiang
- Research Center for Regional and National Comparative Diplomacy, China Foreign Affairs University, Beijing, China
| | - Huaqi Yang
- School of Psychology, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Sha Li
- School of Psychology, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China
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4
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Parker S, Ramsey R. What can evidence accumulation modelling tell us about human social cognition? Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2024; 77:639-655. [PMID: 37154622 PMCID: PMC10880422 DOI: 10.1177/17470218231176950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Revised: 04/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Evidence accumulation models are a series of computational models that provide an account for speeded decision-making. These models have been used extensively within the cognitive psychology literature to great success, allowing inferences to be drawn about the psychological processes that underlie cognition that are sometimes not available in a traditional analysis of accuracy or reaction time (RT). Despite this, there have been only a few applications of these models within the domain of social cognition. In this article, we explore several ways in which the study of human social information processing would benefit from application of evidence accumulation modelling. We begin first with a brief overview of the evidence accumulation modelling framework and their past success within the domain of cognitive psychology. We then highlight five ways in which social cognitive research would benefit from an evidence accumulation approach. This includes (1) greater specification of assumptions, (2) unambiguous comparisons across blocked task conditions, (3) quantifying and comparing the magnitude of effects in standardised measures, (4) a novel approach for studying individual differences, and (5) improved reproducibility and accessibility. These points are illustrated using examples from the domain of social attention. Finally, we outline several methodological and practical considerations, which should help researchers use evidence accumulation models productively. Ultimately, it will be seen that evidence accumulation modelling offers a well-developed, accessible, and commonly understood framework that can reveal inferences about cognition that may otherwise be out of reach in a traditional analysis of accuracy and RT. This approach, therefore, has the potential to substantially revise our understanding of social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha Parker
- School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Richard Ramsey
- School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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5
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Uono S, Egashira Y, Hayashi S, Takada M, Ukezono M, Okada T. Reduced gaze-cueing effect with neutral and emotional faces in adults with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. J Psychiatr Res 2023; 168:310-317. [PMID: 37949042 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2023.10.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Revised: 10/21/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
This study examined whether gaze shift of neutral and emotional faces triggers reflexive attention orienting in 45 adults with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and 45 age-, sex-, and intelligence quotient-matched typically developing (TD) adults. The cues changed from neutral to anger, fearful, or happy expressions under the emotional face condition. Participants were asked to detect a target that appeared to the left or right of the cue stimuli, as rapidly and accurately as possible. The results revealed a gaze-cueing effect, where the reaction time to the target was shorter under the "gaze-at-target" condition than under the "non-gaze-at-target" condition in both groups. Facial expressions did not modulate the gaze-cueing effect in either group. However, the magnitude of the gaze-cueing effect was smaller in the ADHD group than in the TD group. Contrary to our expectations, a larger gaze-cueing effect was observed in individuals with ADHD who exhibited more severe inattention. Our results suggest that adults with ADHD ineffectively orient their attention toward another's gaze. Moreover, difficulty with sustained and selective attention may be associated with a larger influence of gaze direction; this difficulty may play a role in social interaction problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shota Uono
- Department of Developmental Disorders, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, 4-1-1 Ogawa-higashi, Kodaira, Tokyo, 187-8553, Japan; Division of Disability Sciences, Institute of Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan.
| | - Yuka Egashira
- Department of Developmental Disorders, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, 4-1-1 Ogawa-higashi, Kodaira, Tokyo, 187-8553, Japan
| | - Sayuri Hayashi
- Department of Developmental Disorders, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, 4-1-1 Ogawa-higashi, Kodaira, Tokyo, 187-8553, Japan
| | - Miki Takada
- Department of Developmental Disorders, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, 4-1-1 Ogawa-higashi, Kodaira, Tokyo, 187-8553, Japan; Graduate School of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba, 260-0856, Japan
| | - Masatoshi Ukezono
- Department of Developmental Disorders, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, 4-1-1 Ogawa-higashi, Kodaira, Tokyo, 187-8553, Japan
| | - Takashi Okada
- Department of Developmental Disorders, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, 4-1-1 Ogawa-higashi, Kodaira, Tokyo, 187-8553, Japan
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McMahon E, Isik L. Seeing social interactions. Trends Cogn Sci 2023; 27:1165-1179. [PMID: 37805385 PMCID: PMC10841760 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2023] [Revised: 09/01/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/09/2023]
Abstract
Seeing the interactions between other people is a critical part of our everyday visual experience, but recognizing the social interactions of others is often considered outside the scope of vision and grouped with higher-level social cognition like theory of mind. Recent work, however, has revealed that recognition of social interactions is efficient and automatic, is well modeled by bottom-up computational algorithms, and occurs in visually-selective regions of the brain. We review recent evidence from these three methodologies (behavioral, computational, and neural) that converge to suggest the core of social interaction perception is visual. We propose a computational framework for how this process is carried out in the brain and offer directions for future interdisciplinary investigations of social perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emalie McMahon
- Department of Cognitive Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Leyla Isik
- Department of Cognitive Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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Chen YC, Pollick F, Lu H. Aesthetic preferences for prototypical movements in human actions. Cogn Res Princ Implic 2023; 8:55. [PMID: 37589891 PMCID: PMC10435434 DOI: 10.1186/s41235-023-00510-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 08/05/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023] Open
Abstract
A commonplace sight is seeing other people walk. Our visual system specializes in processing such actions. Notably, we are not only quick to recognize actions, but also quick to judge how elegantly (or not) people walk. What movements appear appealing, and why do we have such aesthetic experiences? Do aesthetic preferences for body movements arise simply from perceiving others' positive emotions? To answer these questions, we showed observers different point-light walkers who expressed neutral, happy, angry, or sad emotions through their movements and measured the observers' impressions of aesthetic appeal, emotion positivity, and naturalness of these movements. Three experiments were conducted. People showed consensus in aesthetic impressions even after controlling for emotion positivity, finding prototypical walks more aesthetically pleasing than atypical walks. This aesthetic prototype effect could be accounted for by a computational model in which walking actions are treated as a single category (as opposed to multiple emotion categories). The aesthetic impressions were affected both directly by the objective prototypicality of the movements, and indirectly through the mediation of perceived naturalness. These findings extend the boundary of category learning, and hint at possible functions for action aesthetics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Chia Chen
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
| | - Frank Pollick
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Hongjing Lu
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
- Department of Statistics, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
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8
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Schmitz I, Einhäuser W. Effects of interpreting a dynamic geometric cue as gaze on attention allocation. J Vis 2023; 23:8. [PMID: 37548959 PMCID: PMC10414131 DOI: 10.1167/jov.23.8.8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Gaze is a powerful cue for directing attention. We investigate the interpretation of an abstract figure as gaze modulates its efficacy as an attentional cue. In each trial, two vertical lines on a central disk moved to one side (left or right). Independent of this "feature-cued" side, a target (black disk) subsequently appeared on one side. After 300 trials (phase 1), participants watched a video of a human avatar walking away. For one group, the avatar wore a helmet that visually matched the central disk and looked at black disks to either side. The other group's video was unrelated to the cueing task. After another 300 trials (phase 2), videos were swapped between groups; 300 further trials (phase 3) followed. In all phases, participants responded more quickly for targets appearing on the feature-cued side. There was a significant interaction between group and phase for reaction times: In phase 3, the group who had just watched the avatar with the helmet had a reduced advantage to the feature-cued side. Hence, interpreting the disk as a turning head seen from behind counteracts the cueing by the motion of the disk. This suggests that the mere perceptual interpretation of an abstract stimulus as gaze yields social cueing effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inka Schmitz
- Physics of Cognition Group, Institute of Physics, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Einhäuser
- Physics of Cognition Group, Institute of Physics, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany
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9
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Cheng Z, Zhang T, Hu S, Tian Y, Zhao J, Wang Y. The influence of perceptual load on gaze-induced attentional orienting: The modulation of expectation. Conscious Cogn 2023; 113:103543. [PMID: 37315495 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2023.103543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2023] [Revised: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Humans tend to focus on others' gaze. Previous studies have shown that the gaze direction of others can induce corresponding attentional orienting. However, gaze cues have typically been presented alone in these studies. It is unclear how gaze cues induce observers' attention in complicated contexts with additional perceptual information. Therefore, the present study investigated gaze-induced attentional orienting at different levels of perceptual load. Results indicated that the attentional effect of the dynamic gaze cue (i.e., GCE: gaze cue effect) emerged under low perceptual load and disappeared under high perceptual load. The absence of GCE could not attribute to perceptual capacity exhaustion. Moreover, the influence of perceptual load on gaze-induced attentional orienting was modulated by individuals' expectation. Specifically, the GCE occurred under high perceptual load when the gaze cue was predictive (with individuals' expectation). These findings provide new evidence on the mode of gaze-induced attentional orienting under different perceptual load conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhijun Cheng
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi'an, China
| | - Tingkang Zhang
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi'an, China
| | - Saisai Hu
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi'an, China
| | - Yanying Tian
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi'an, China
| | - Jingjing Zhao
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi'an, China.
| | - Yonghui Wang
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi'an, China.
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10
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Zhao W, Yang J, Hu Z. Guilt-inducing interaction with others modulates subsequent attentional orienting via their gaze. Sci Rep 2023; 13:5348. [PMID: 37005444 PMCID: PMC10067001 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-32283-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/25/2023] [Indexed: 04/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Gaze direction can trigger social attentional orientation, characterised by a speeded reaction time in detecting targets appearing in a gazed-at location compared with those appearing in other locations. This is called the 'gaze-cueing effect' (GCE). Here, we investigated whether a feeling of guilt established through prior interaction with a cueing face could modulate the gaze-cueing effect. Participants first completed a guilt-induction task using a modified dot-estimation paradigm to associate the feeling of guilt with a specific face, after which the face that had established the binding relationship was used as the stimulus in a gaze-cueing task. The results showed that guilt-directed faces and control faces induce equal magnitudes of gaze-cueing effect in 200 ms of stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA), while guilt-directed faces induce a smaller gaze-cueing effect than control faces in 700 ms SOA. These findings provide preliminary evidence that guilt may modulate social attention triggered by eye gaze at a later stage of processing but not in the earlier stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen Zhao
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610068, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiajia Yang
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610068, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhonghua Hu
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610068, People's Republic of China.
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11
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Liu J, Yang J, Huang L, Zhou L, Xie J, Hu Z. Masked face is looking at me: Face mask increases the feeling of being looked at during the COVID-19 pandemic. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:1056793. [PMID: 36507359 PMCID: PMC9730803 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.1056793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background As the COVID-19 global pandemic unfolded, governments recommended wearing face masks as a protective measure. Recent studies have found that a face mask influences perception; but how it affects social perception, especially the judgment of being looked at, is still unknown. This study investigated how wearing a mask influences the judgment of gaze direction by conducting a cone of direct gaze (CoDG) task. Methods In Experiment 1, three types of masked faces were considered to investigate whether the effect of masks on CoDG is modulated by mask types. Experiment 2 was to further validate the results of Experiment 1 by adding a learning phase to help participants better distinguish N95 and surgical masks. Furthermore, to investigate whether the effect of masks derives from its social significance, a face with only the eye-region (a mouth-cut face) was used as the stimuli in Experiment 3. Results The results of Experiment 1 found that wearing masks widens the CoDG, irrespective of the mask type. Experiment 2 replicated the results of Experiment 1. Experiment 3 found that the CoDG of N95-masked faces was wider than the mouth-cut and non-masked faces, while no significant difference existed between the CoDG of mouth-cut and non-masked faces, illustrating that the influence of wearing masks on CoDG was due to high-level social significance rather than low-level facial feature information. Conclusion The results show that face mask increases the feeling of being looked at during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The present findings are of significance for understanding the impact of wearing masks on human social cognition in the context of COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiakun Liu
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Jiajia Yang
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Lihui Huang
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Li Zhou
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Jinxi Xie
- Jinhua Middle School, Suining, China
| | - Zhonghua Hu
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China,Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China,*Correspondence: Zhonghua Hu, ; orcid.org/0000-0002-9213-457X
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12
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Eye spy: Gaze communication and deception during hide-and-seek. Cognition 2022; 227:105209. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2022.105209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Revised: 05/18/2022] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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13
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Cracco E, Bernardet U, Sevenhant R, Vandenhouwe N, Copman F, Durnez W, Bombeke K, Brass M. Evidence for a two-step model of social group influence. iScience 2022; 25:104891. [PMID: 36051185 PMCID: PMC9424596 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Revised: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Social group influence plays an important role in societally relevant phenomena such as rioting and mass panic. One way through which groups influence individuals is by directing their gaze. Evidence that gaze following increases with group size has typically been explained in terms of strategic processes. Here, we tested the role of reflexive processes. In an ecologically valid virtual reality task, we found that participants were more likely to follow the group’s gaze when more people looked, even though they knew the group provided no relevant information. Interestingly, participants also sometimes changed their mind after starting to follow the gaze of the group, indicating that automatic imitation can be overruled by strategic processes. This suggests that social group influence is best explained by a two-step model in which bottom-up imitative processes first elicit a reflexive tendency to imitate, before top-down strategic processes determine whether to execute or inhibit this reflex. Groups influence human behavior in two stages First, groups elicit a reflexive tendency to imitate Second, strategic processes decide to execute or inhibit this reflex Social group conformity may be more automatic than previously thought
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14
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Flavell JC, Over H, Vestner T, Cook R, Tipper SP. Rapid detection of social interactions is the result of domain general attentional processes. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0258832. [PMID: 35030168 PMCID: PMC8759659 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Using visual search displays of interacting and non-interacting pairs, it has been demonstrated that detection of social interactions is facilitated. For example, two people facing each other are found faster than two people with their backs turned: an effect that may reflect social binding. However, recent work has shown the same effects with non-social arrow stimuli, where towards facing arrows are detected faster than away facing arrows. This latter work suggests a primary mechanism is an attention orienting process driven by basic low-level direction cues. However, evidence for lower level attentional processes does not preclude a potential additional role of higher-level social processes. Therefore, in this series of experiments we test this idea further by directly comparing basic visual features that orient attention with representations of socially interacting individuals. Results confirm the potency of orienting of attention via low-level visual features in the detection of interacting objects. In contrast, there is little evidence for the representation of social interactions influencing initial search performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan C. Flavell
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom
| | - Harriet Over
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom
| | - Tim Vestner
- Department of Psychology, Birkbeck, University of London, London, Greater London, United Kingdom
| | - Richard Cook
- Department of Psychology, Birkbeck, University of London, London, Greater London, United Kingdom
| | - Steven P. Tipper
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom
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15
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Dalmaso M, Castelli L, Galfano G. Increased gaze cueing of attention during COVID-19 lockdown. iScience 2021; 24:103283. [PMID: 34667942 PMCID: PMC8516435 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.103283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Revised: 09/02/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Affiliation with others is a basic human need. The lockdown implemented for counteracting the COVID-19 pandemic has determined an unprecedented situation of social deprivation, forcing individuals to dramatically reduce face-to-face interactions. This, in turn, has caused relevant consequences on psychological well-being. However, the impact of lockdown-related social isolation on basic cognitive processes is still largely unknown. Here, we focus on social attention and address gaze cueing, namely the ability to shift attention in response to the gaze of others. This is a hard-wired cognitive mechanism critically supporting the establishment of social interactions and pervasive relationships among individuals. Our results show a stronger gaze-cueing effect during, rather than after, the lockdown, whose magnitude was positively correlated with social isolation distress. These findings indicate that, in a condition of prolonged social deprivation, orienting of attention may be shaped by hypersensitivity to social cues, likely due to the strive to reconnect with others. The impact of COVID-19 lockdown on cognitive processes is still largely unexplored We focus on gaze cueing of attention as a building block of social interaction Gaze cueing was larger during the lockdown than after the lockdown Social deprivation is associated with increased sensitivity to the eyes of others
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Dalmaso
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Luigi Castelli
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Giovanni Galfano
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
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Dalmaso M. Face Masks Do Not Alter Gaze Cueing of Attention: Evidence From the COVID-19 Pandemic. Iperception 2021; 12:20416695211058480. [PMID: 34925752 PMCID: PMC8673884 DOI: 10.1177/20416695211058480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Interacting with others wearing a face mask has become a regular worldwide practice since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the impact of face masks on cognitive mechanisms supporting social interaction is still largely unexplored. In the present work, we focused on gaze cueing of attention, a phenomenon tapping the essential ability which allows individuals to orient their attentional resources in response to eye gaze signals coming from others. Participants from both a European (i.e., Italy; Experiment 1) and an Asian (i.e., China; Experiment 2) country were involved, namely two countries in which the daily use of face masks before COVID-19 pandemic was either extremely uncommon or frequently adopted, respectively. Both samples completed a task in which a peripheral target had to be discriminated while a task irrelevant averted gaze face, wearing a mask or not, acted as a central cueing stimulus. Overall, a reliable and comparable gaze cueing emerged in both experiments, independent of the mask condition. These findings suggest that gaze cueing of attention is preserved even when the person perceived is wearing a face mask.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Dalmaso
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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Zhang X, Dalmaso M, Castelli L, Fu S, Galfano G. Cross-cultural asymmetries in oculomotor interference elicited by gaze distractors belonging to Asian and White faces. Sci Rep 2021; 11:20410. [PMID: 34650168 PMCID: PMC8516900 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-99954-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The averted gaze of others triggers reflexive attentional orienting in the corresponding direction. This phenomenon can be modulated by many social factors. Here, we used an eye-tracking technique to investigate the role of ethnic membership in a cross-cultural oculomotor interference study. Chinese and Italian participants were required to perform a saccade whose direction might be either congruent or incongruent with the averted-gaze of task-irrelevant faces belonging to Asian and White individuals. The results showed that, for Chinese participants, White faces elicited a larger oculomotor interference than Asian faces. By contrast, Italian participants exhibited a similar oculomotor interference effect for both Asian and White faces. Hence, Chinese participants found it more difficult to suppress eye-gaze processing of White rather than Asian faces. The findings provide converging evidence that social attention can be modulated by social factors characterizing both the face stimulus and the participants. The data are discussed with reference to possible cross-cultural differences in perceived social status.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyuan Zhang
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova, 35131, Padua, Italy.,Department of Psychology and Center for Brain and Cognitive Sciences, School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Mario Dalmaso
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova, 35131, Padua, Italy.
| | - Luigi Castelli
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova, 35131, Padua, Italy
| | - Shimin Fu
- Department of Psychology and Center for Brain and Cognitive Sciences, School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Giovanni Galfano
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova, 35131, Padua, Italy
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Motive on the mind: Explanatory preferences at multiple stages of the legal-investigative process. Cognition 2021; 217:104892. [PMID: 34600355 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2021] [Revised: 08/24/2021] [Accepted: 08/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Much work has investigated explanatory preferences for things like animals and artifacts, but how do explanation preferences manifest in everyday life? Here, we focus on the criminal justice system as a case study. In this domain, outcomes critically depend on how actors in the system (e.g., lawyers, jurors) generate and interpret explanations. We investigate lay preferences for two difference classes of information: information that appeals to opportunistic aspects of a crime (i.e., how the culprit could have committed the crime) vs. motivational aspects of that crime (i.e., the purpose for committing the crime). In two studies, we demonstrate that people prefer 'motive' accounts of crimes (analogous to a teleology preference) at different stages of the investigative process. In an additional two studies we demonstrate that these preferences are context-sensitive: namely, we find that 'motive' information tends to be more incriminating and less exculpatory. We discuss these findings in light of a broad literature on the cognitive basis of explanatory preferences; specifically, we draw analogy to preferences for teleological vs. mechanistic explanations. We also discuss implications for the criminal justice system.
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Colombatto C, van Buren B, Scholl BJ. Hidden intentions: Visual awareness prioritizes perceived attention even without eyes or faces. Cognition 2021; 217:104901. [PMID: 34592478 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2021] [Revised: 08/29/2021] [Accepted: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Eye contact is a powerful social signal, and it readily captures attention. Recent work has suggested that direct gaze is prioritized even unconsciously: faces rendered invisible via interocular suppression enter awareness faster when they look directly at (vs. away from) you. Such effects may be driven in a relatively low level way by the special visual properties of eyes, per se, but here we asked whether they might instead arise from the perception of a deeper property: being the focus of another agent's attention and/or intentions. We report five experiments which collectively explore whether visual awareness also prioritizes distinctly non-eye-like stimuli that nevertheless convey directedness. We first showed that directed (vs. averted) 'mouth' shapes also break through into awareness faster, after being rendered invisible by continuous flash suppression - a direct 'gaze' effect without any eyes. But such effects could still be specific to faces (if not eyes), so we next asked whether the prioritization of directed intentions would still occur even for stimuli that have no faces at all. In fact, even simple geometric shapes can be seen as intentional, as when numerous randomly scattered cones are all consistently pointing at you. And indeed, even such directed (vs. averted) cones entered awareness faster - a direct 'gaze' effect without any facial cues. Additional control experiments ruled out effects of both symmetry and response biases. We conclude that the perception of directed intentions is sufficient to boost objects into awareness, and that putative eye-contact effects might instead reflect more general phenomena of 'mind contact'.
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