Perception of being observed by a speaker alters gaze behavior

Visual fixations during processing of time-compressed audiovisual presentations

Time-compression is a technique that allows users to adjust the playback speed of audio recordings, but comprehension declines at higher speeds. Previous research has shown that under challenging auditory conditions people have a greater tendency to fixate regions closer to a speaker's mouth. In the current study, we investigated whether there is a similar tendency to fixate the mouth region for time-compressed stimuli. Participants were presented with a brief audiovisual lecture at different speeds, while eye fixations were recorded, and comprehension was tested. Results showed that the 50% compressed lecture group looked more at the nose compared to eye fixations for the normal lecture, and those in the 75% compressed group looked more towards the mouth. Greater compression decreased comprehension, but audiovisual information did not reduce this deficit. These results indicate that people seek out audiovisual information to overcome time-compression, demonstrating the flexibility of the multimodal attentional system.

Virtual parent-child visitation in support of family reunification in the time of COVID-19

When children are removed from their birth parents and placed in foster care, child welfare policy and practice prioritizes family reunification in permanency planning. Of the many services offered to families in support of reunification, parent-child visitation is one of the most important. The purposes of visitation are to maintain and support the parent-child relationship, facilitate improved parenting skills, and offer social workers opportunities to gauge the family’s progress in meeting reunification goals. Whether supervised or unsupervised, parent-child visitations most often involve face-to-face contact between family members. During periods of sheltering in place in response to COVID-19, however, face-to-face visits have been largely curtailed. In their place, child welfare agencies have begun using virtual visitation through various technology platforms such as smartphones, FaceTime, Zoom, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Skype, often facilitated by foster parents. A number of questions have arisen, however, about the effectiveness of virtual visitations and how best to use them as a means of supporting reunification goals. In the present article, we examine existing data on how children respond to virtual communication with parents and extended family and what practical issues and training needs are encountered when implementing virtual visits in juvenile dependency cases.