Boundary Extension in Face Processing

Setting the scene for boundary extension: Methods, findings, connections, and theories

A previously viewed scene is often remembered as containing a larger extent of the background than was actually present, and information that was likely present just outside the boundaries of that view is often incorporated into the representation of that scene. This has been referred to as boundary extension. Methodologies used in studies on boundary extension (terminology, stimulus presentation, response measures) are described. Empirical findings regarding effects of characteristics of the stimulus (whether the stimulus depicts a scene, semantics of the scene, view angle, object size, object cropping, object orientation, object color, number of objects, depth of field, object distance, viewpoint production, scene orientation, motion, faces, emotions, modality, whether the scene is multimodal), characteristics of the display (aperture shape, aperture size, target duration, retention interval), and characteristics of the observer (allocation of attention, imagination, age, expectations and strategies, eye fixation, eye movements, monocular or binocular view, vantage point, confinement, prior exposure, expertise, arousal, pathology) on boundary extension are reviewed. Connections of boundary extension to other cognitive phenomena and processes (evolutionary adaptation, Gestalt principles, illusions, psychophysics, invariant physical principles, aesthetics, temporal boundary extension, normalization) are noted, and theories and theoretical considerations regarding boundary extension (multisource model, boundary transformation, mental imagery, 4E cognition, cognitive modularity, neurological mechanisms of scene representation) are discussed.

Read and Imagine: Visual Imagery Experience Evoked by First versus Second Language

This research examined visual imagery evoked during reading in relation to language. Following the previous reports that bilinguals experience less vivid imagery in their second language (L2) than first language (L1), we studied how visual imagery is affected by the language in use, characteristics of text, and readers' individual differences. In L1 and L2, 382 bilinguals read object texts describing pictorial properties of objects such as color and shape, spatial texts describing spatial properties such as spatial relations and locations, and excerpts from novels. They rated imagery vividness after each segment and the whole text, and rated the specific imagery characteristics (e.g., color, spatial relations). Regardless of the types of text or the timing of rating, the vividness of imagery was higher in L1 than in L2. However, English proficiency also predicted vividness in L2. Further, vividness in the object and spatial trials were predicted by the individual's object and spatial imagery skills. The effect of language on imagery depends on the text nature and difficulty, when and how vividness is measured, and individual differences.

Masked emotions: Do face mask patterns and colors affect the recognition of emotions?

Previous research has shown that face masks impair the ability to perceive social information and the readability of emotions. These studies mostly explored the effect of standard medical, often white, masks on emotion recognition. However, in reality, many individuals prefer masks with different styles. We investigated whether the appearance of the mask (pattern: angular vs. curvy and color: black vs. white) affected the recognition of emotional states. Participants were asked to identify the emotions on faces covered by masks with different designs. The presence of masks resulted in decreasing accuracy and confidence and increasing reaction times, indicating that masks impair emotion recognition. There were no significant effects of angularity versus curvature or color on emotion recognition, which suggests that mask design may not impair the recognition beyond the effect of mere mask wearing. Besides, we found relationships between individual difference variables such as mask wearing attitudes, mask design preferences, individual traits and emotion recognition. The majority of participants demonstrated positive attitudes toward mask wearing and preferred non-patterned black and white masks. Preferences for white masks were associated with better emotion recognition of masked faces. In contrast, those with negative attitudes toward masks showed marginally poorer performance in emotion recognition for masked faces, and preferred patterned more than plain masks, perhaps viewing masks as a fashion item rather than a necessity. Moreover, preferences to wear patterned masks were negatively related to actual wearing of masks indoors and perceived risks of COVID.

Shaping our personal past: Assessing the phenomenology of autobiographical memory and its association with object and spatial imagery

A new instrument has been developed that allows a comprehensive assessment of the relevant dimensions of the phenomenology of autobiographical memories (Assessment of the Phenomenology of Autobiographical Memory, APAM), and their association with visual object and spatial imagery has been examined. An initial version of APAM consisting of 30 items (the first 28 measured on a seven-point Likert-type scale) was developed and administered to a sample of 138 undergraduates. To test whether each item consistently measured the same dimension across different memories, all questions were rated for 12 cues. Results showed that 25 Likert-type items possessed adequate levels of internal consistency and unidimensionality across cues. We also found that higher levels of visual object imagery were associated with more sensory details and recollective qualities of memory, and with stronger experience of sensory and emotional reliving. The theoretical and practical usefulness of APAM as well as the relevance of visual object imagery in the phenomenology of autobiographical memory are discussed.

The role of arousal in boundary judgement errors

Eyewitnesses to a crime rely heavily on their visual memory; however, there are many ways that the details of visual scenes can be missed, or distorted. In particular, for emotional scenes, the "boundaries" are narrowed at retrieval, whereas central details-such as a weapon-are remembered in greater detail. This phenomenon is known as boundary restriction, the reverse of boundary extension whereby people tend to expand the boundaries of a neutral scene at retrieval. In the present series of experiments, we investigated whether arousal is the element of an emotional scene that leads to increased boundary restriction or reduced boundary extension. We presented neutral images to participants either with or without a stress-inducing noise. In Experiment 1a and 1b, at test, participants viewed the image they originally viewed next to the same image but with narrower or wider boundaries and selected which of the two images they originally viewed. In Experiment 2, at test, participants viewed the identical image they originally viewed, but were told the boundaries had been changed. Participants selected the extent to which the images at test had restricted or extended boundaries compared to their memory of the original image. When the noise stressor was present, participants made more boundary restriction errors-selecting the image with narrower boundaries than the original-and fewer boundary extension errors than when the noise was absent. Our data suggest that arousal plays a key role in boundary judgements.