Hear it here: Built environments predict ratings and descriptions of ambiguous sounds.

The built environments we move through are a filter for the stimuli we experience. If we are in a darker or a lighter room or space, a neutrally valenced sound could be perceived as more unpleasant or more pleasant. Past research suggests a role for the layout and lighting of a space in impacting how stimuli are rated, especially on bipolar valence scales.

Looking, pointing, and talking together: How dyads of differential expertise coordinate attention during conversation.

When people discuss something that they can both see, their attention becomes increasingly coupled. Previous studies have found that this coupling is temporally asymmetric (e.g.

Sex differences persist in visuospatial mental rotation under 3D VR conditions.

The classic Vandenberg and Kuse Mental Rotations Test (MRT) shows a male advantage for visuospatial rotation. However, MRTs that have been adapted for use with real or physical objects have found that sex differences are reduced or abolished. Previous work has also suggested that virtual 3D objects will eliminate sex differences, although this has not been demonstrated in a purely visuospatial paradigm without motor input.

Predator gaze captures both human and chimpanzee attention.

Primates can rapidly detect potential predators and modify their behavior based on the level of risk. The gaze direction of predators is one feature that primates can use to assess risk levels: recognition of a predator's direct stare indicates to prey that it has been detected and the level of risk is relatively high. Predation has likely shaped visual attention in primates to quickly assess the level of risk but we know little about the constellation of low-level (e.

A tutorial: Analyzing eye and head movements in virtual reality.

This tutorial provides instruction on how to use the eye tracking technology built into virtual reality (VR) headsets, emphasizing the analysis of head and eye movement data when an observer is situated in the center of an omnidirectional environment. We begin with a brief description of how VR eye movement research differs from previous forms of eye movement research, as well as identifying some outstanding gaps in the current literature. We then introduce the basic methodology used to collect VR eye movement data both in general and with regard to the specific data that we collected to illustrate different analytical approaches.

Large language models have divergent effects on self-perceptions of mind and the attributes considered uniquely human.

The rise of powerful Large Language Models (LLMs) provides a compelling opportunity to investigate the consequences of anthropomorphism, particularly regarding how their exposure may influence the way individuals view themselves (self-perception) and other people (other-perception). Using a mind perception framework, we examined attributions of agency (the ability to do) and experience (the ability to feel). Participants evaluated their agentic and experiential capabilities and the extent to which these features are uniquely human before and after exposure to LLM responses.

Incomplete Faces Do but Masked Faces Do Not Affect Mind Perception.

The human face plays a critical role in how we perceive the minds of others. The current research across two studies explored whether face masks also impact mind perception, with the expectation that they lead to lower attributions of agency and experience to individuals, making them seem less mentally capable due to their association with reduced facial expression perception and impaired communication. In the first study, participants' ratings of masked and unmasked faces for agency and experience did not yield significant differences, suggesting that wearing a face mask does not affect the perception of the mind.

Short-Term Memory Capacity Predicts Willingness to Expend Cognitive Effort for Reward.

We must often decide whether the effort required for a task is worth the reward. Past rodent work suggests that willingness to deploy cognitive effort can be driven by individual differences in perceived reward value, depression, or chronic stress. However, many factors driving cognitive effort deployment-such as short-term memory ability-cannot easily be captured in rodents.

The medium modulates the medusa effect: Perceived mind in analogue and digital images.

We effortlessly attribute mental states to other people. We also attribute minds to people depicted in pictures, albeit at a reduced strength. Intriguingly, this reduction in intensity continues for images of people within a photograph itself-a phenomenon known as the Medusa effect.

Autistic traits and anthropomorphism: the case of vehicle fascia perception.

Individuals high in autistic traits can have difficulties with social interactions which may stem from difficulties with mentalizing abilities, yet findings from research investigating anthropomorphism of non-human objects in high trait individuals are inconsistent. Measuring emotions and attributes of front-facing vehicles, individuals scoring high versus low on the AQ-10 were compared for ratings of angry-happy, hostile-friendly, masculine-feminine, and submissive-dominant, as a function of vehicle size (large versus small). Our results showed that participants perceived large vehicles as more angry, hostile, masculine, and dominant than small vehicles, with no significant difference in ratings between high and low AQ-10 scorers.

Eyes meet, hands greet: The art of timing in social interactions.

Shaking hands is a fundamental form of social interaction. The current study used high-definition cameras during a university graduation ceremony to examine the temporal sequencing of eye contact and shaking hands. Analyses revealed that mutual gaze always preceded shaking hands.

Self-discrepancies in mind perception for actual, ideal, and ought selves and partners.

Defining and measuring self-discrepancies in mind perception between how an individual sees their actual self in comparison to their ideal or ought self has a long but challenging history in psychology. Here we present a new approach for measuring and operationalizing discrepancies of mind by employing the mind perception framework that has been applied successfully to a variety of other psychological constructs. Across two studies (N = 265, N = 205), participants were recruited online to fill in a modified version of the mind perception survey with questions pertaining to three domains (actual, ideal, ought) and two agents (self versus partner).

Using XR (Extended Reality) for Behavioral, Clinical, and Learning Sciences Requires Updates in Infrastructure and Funding.

Extended reality (XR, including augmented and virtual reality) creates a powerful intersection between information technology and cognitive, clinical, and education sciences. XR technology has long captured the public imagination, and its development is the focus of major technology companies. This article demonstrates the potential of XR to (1) deliver behavioral insights, (2) transform clinical treatments, and (3) improve learning and education.

Exploring Women's State-Level Anxiety in Response to Virtual Reality Erotica.

Virtual Reality (VR)-based treatments for anxiety disorders are efficacious but there is a lack of research examining anxious responses to VR erotica, which could innovate treatments for sexual difficulties. We examined erotica features that elicited anxiety and sexual presence in women. Thirty-eight women viewed erotic videos from different modalities (2D, VR) and points of view (1, 3 person) and completed anxiety and sexual presence measures before and after each video.

Eyelash length attractiveness across ethnicities.

Eyelashes evolved to protect eyes. An optimum eyelash length functions to protect eyes from external hazards such as contaminations, excessive evaporation or shear stress from airflow. They can also be an indicator of a person's health as various congenital and noncongenital diseases can lead to short or long eyelashes.

Predicting group benefits in joint multiple object tracking : Predicting group benefits.

In everyday life, people often work together to accomplish a joint goal. Working together is often beneficial as it can result in a higher performance compared to working alone - a so-called "group benefit". While several factors influencing group benefits have been investigated in a range of tasks, to date, they have not been examined collectively with an integrative statistical approach such as linear modeling.

Neural Correlates and Perceived Attractiveness of Male and Female Shoulder-to-Hip Ratio in Men and Women: An EEG Study.

While there are studies regarding the neural correlates of human facial attractiveness, there are few investigations considering neural responses for body form attractiveness. The most prominent physical feature defining men's attractiveness is their physical fitness and upper body strength. Shoulder-to-hip ratio (SHR), a sexually dimorphic trait in humans, is an indicator of men's attractiveness for both men and women.

Reading the room: Autistic traits, gaze behaviour, and the ability to infer social relationships.

Individuals high in autistic traits can have difficulty understanding verbal and non-verbal cues, and may display atypical gaze behaviour during social interactions. The aim of this study was to examine differences among neurotypical individuals with high and low levels of autistic traits with regard to their gaze behaviour and their ability to assess peers' social status accurately. Fifty-four university students who completed the 10-item Autism Quotient (AQ-10) were eye-tracked as they watched six 20-second video clips of people ("targets") involved in a group decision-making task.

Eye and head movements while encoding and recognizing panoramic scenes in virtual reality.

One approach to studying the recognition of scenes and objects relies on the comparison of eye movement patterns during encoding and recognition. Past studies typically analyzed the perception of flat stimuli of limited extent presented on a computer monitor that did not require head movements. In contrast, participants in the present study saw omnidirectional panoramic scenes through an immersive 3D virtual reality viewer, and they could move their head freely to inspect different parts of the visual scenes.

Eye Tracking in Virtual Reality.

This chapter explores the current state of the art in eye tracking within 3D virtual environments. It begins with the motivation for eye tracking in Virtual Reality (VR) in psychological research, followed by descriptions of the hardware and software used for presenting virtual environments as well as for tracking eye and head movements in VR. This is followed by a detailed description of an example project on eye and head tracking while observers look at 360° panoramic scenes.

Associations of political orientation, xenophobia, right-wing authoritarianism, and concern of COVID-19: Cognitive responses to an actual pathogen threat.

Previous research has related the existence of pathogenic threat to an individual's social cognition, with people avoiding physical interactions with those who have potential contagion risks. These pathogenic induced behavioral responses have broader social consequences, such as avoidance of outgroup members or negative reactions to individuals foreign to one's own group. Specially, higher pathogen threat is associated with xenophobic attitudes and ideological tendencies, such as authoritarianism and political conservatism.

The Interacting Effects of Height and Shoulder-to-Hip Ratio on Perceptions of Attractiveness, Masculinity, and Fighting Ability: Experimental Design and Ecological Validity Considerations.

Previous research has shown that men's height and upper body size are both associated with the perception of attractiveness, because they might be cues to men's genetic fitness, fighting ability, and resource holding power. However, the combined effects of men's height and upper body size have not been explored. In this research, across four studies (N = 659 heterosexual women), we systematically explored the perception of men's muscular upper body at different heights on perceptions of attractiveness, masculinity, and fighting ability.

The Psychology of Athletic Endeavor.

A considerable amount of human behavior occurs within the context of sports. In recent years there have been notable advances in psychological science research applied to understanding athletic endeavor. This work has utilized a number of novel theoretical, methodological, and data analytic approaches.