Information sampling differences supporting superior face identity processing ability.

Face recognition in humans is often cited as a model example of perceptual expertise that is characterized by an increased tendency to process faces as holistic percepts. However emerging evidence across different domains of expertise points to a critical role of feature-based processing strategies during the initial encoding of information. Here, we examined the eye-movement patterns of super-recognisers-individuals with extremely high face identification ability compared with the average person-using gaze-contingent "spotlight" apertures that restrict visual face information in real time around their point of fixation.

A confirmation of the predictive utility of the Antibiotic Use Questionnaire.

Background: The change in the efficacy of antimicrobial agents due to their misuse is implicated in extensive health and mortality related concerns. The Antibiotics Use Questionnaire (AUQ) is a theory driven measure based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TpB) factors that is designed to investigate drivers of antibiotic use behaviour. The objective of this study is to replicate the factor structure from the pilot study within a similar Australian confirmation cohort, and to extend this through investigating if the factor structure holds in a Chinese-identifying cohort.

The impact of perceptual complexity on road crossing decisions in younger and older adults.

Cognitive abilities decline with healthy ageing which can have a critical impact on day-to-day activities. One example is road crossing where older adults (OAs) disproportionally fall victim to pedestrian accidents. The current research examined two virtual reality experiments that investigated how the complexity of the road crossing situation impacts OAs (N = 19, ages 65-85) and younger adults (YAs, N = 34, ages 18-24) with a range of executive functioning abilities (EFs).

Face-Information Sampling in Super-Recognizers.

Perceptual processes underlying individual differences in face-recognition ability remain poorly understood. We compared visual sampling of 37 adult super-recognizers-individuals with superior face-recognition ability-with that of 68 typical adult viewers by measuring gaze position as they learned and recognized unfamiliar faces. In both phases, participants viewed faces through "spotlight" apertures that varied in size, with face information restricted in real time around their point of fixation.

The Relative Contribution of Executive Functions and Aging on Attentional Control During Road Crossing.

As we age, many physical, perceptual and cognitive abilities decline, which can critically impact our day-to-day lives. However, the decline of many abilities is concurrent; thus, it is challenging to disentangle the relative contributions of different abilities in the performance deterioration in realistic tasks, such as road crossing, with age. Research into road crossing has shown that aging and a decline in executive functioning (EFs) is associated with altered information sampling and less safe crossing decisions compared to younger adults.

The impact of cognitive aging on route learning rate and the acquisition of landmark knowledge.

Aging is accompanied by changes in general cognitive functioning which may impact the learning rate of older adults; however, this is often not controlled for in cognitive aging studies. We investigated the contribution of differences in learning rates to age-related differences in landmark knowledge acquired from route learning. In Experiment 1 we used a standard learning procedure in which participants received a fixed amount of exposure to a route.

Differences in Encoding Strategy as a Potential Explanation for Age-Related Decline in Place Recognition Ability.

The ability to recognise places is known to deteriorate with advancing age. In this study, we investigated the contribution of age-related changes in spatial encoding strategies to declining place recognition ability. We recorded eye movements while younger and older adults completed a place recognition task first described by Muffato et al.

In pursuit of visual attention: SSVEP frequency-tagging moving targets.

Previous research has shown that visual attention does not always exactly follow gaze direction, leading to the concepts of overt and covert attention. However, it is not yet clear how such covert shifts of visual attention to peripheral regions impact the processing of the targets we directly foveate as they move in our visual field. The current study utilised the co-registration of eye-position and EEG recordings while participants tracked moving targets that were embedded with a 30 Hz frequency tag in a Steady State Visually Evoked Potentials (SSVEP) paradigm.

The paradoxical decline and growth of trust as a function of borderline personality disorder trait count: Using discontinuous growth modelling to examine trust dynamics in response to violation and repair.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is associated with paradoxical trust cognitions and behaviours. While BPD is associated with difficulty forming trust and maintaining cooperation in trust-based exchanges, design and analytical methodology best suited to reveal the temporal ebb and flow of trust have been underutilized. We used an economic game to examine the trajectories of trust as it forms, dissolves, and restores in response to trust violation and repair, and to explain how these vary as a function of borderline pathology.

The drivers of antibiotic use and misuse: the development and investigation of a theory driven community measure.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance is a global public health concern, with extensive associated health and economic implications. Actions to slow and contain the development of resistance are imperative. Despite the fact that overuse and misuse of antibiotics are highlighted as major contributing factors to this resistance, no sufficiently validated measures aiming to investigate the drivers behind consumer behaviour amongst the general population are available.

Developing attentional control in naturalistic dynamic road crossing situations.

In the last 20 years, there has been increasing interest in studying visual attentional processes under more natural conditions. In the present study, we propose to determine the critical age at which children show similar to adult performance and attentional control in a visually guided task; in a naturalistic dynamic and socially relevant context: road crossing. We monitored visual exploration and crossing decisions in adults and children aged between 5 and 15 while they watched road traffic videos containing a range of traffic densities with or without pedestrians.

Are age-related deficits in route learning related to control of visual attention?

Typically aged adults show reduced ability to learn a route compared to younger adults. In this experiment, we investigate the role of visual attention through eye-tracking and engagement of attentional resources in age-related route learning deficits. Participants were shown a route through a realistic virtual environment before being tested on their route knowledge.

The Facespan-the perceptual span for face recognition.

In reading, the perceptual span is a well-established concept that refers to the amount of information that can be read in a single fixation. Surprisingly, despite extensive empirical interest in determining the perceptual strategies deployed to process faces and an ongoing debate regarding the factors or mechanism(s) underlying efficient face processing, the perceptual span for faces-the Facespan-remains undetermined. To address this issue, we applied the gaze-contingent Spotlight technique implemented in an old-new face recognition paradigm.

iMap4: An open source toolbox for the statistical fixation mapping of eye movement data with linear mixed modeling.

A major challenge in modern eye movement research is to statistically map where observers are looking, by isolating the significant differences between groups and conditions. As compared to the signals from contemporary neuroscience measures, such as magneto/electroencephalography and functional magnetic resonance imaging, eye movement data are sparser, with much larger variations in space across trials and participants. As a result, the implementation of a conventional linear modeling approach on two-dimensional fixation distributions often returns unstable estimations and underpowered results, leaving this statistical problem unresolved (Liversedge, Gilchrist, & Everling, 2011).

Super-Memorizers Are Not Super-Recognizers.

Humans have a natural expertise in recognizing faces. However, the nature of the interaction between this critical visual biological skill and memory is yet unclear. Here, we had the unique opportunity to test two individuals who have had exceptional success in the World Memory Championships, including several world records in face-name association memory.

An appropriate use of iMap produces correct statistical results: a reply to McManus (2013) "iMAP and iMAP2 produce erroneous statistical maps of eye-movement differences".

McManus (2013, Perception, 42, 1075-1084) contends the validity of the statistical approach adopted in previous versions of iMap (namely, iMap and iMap2; Caldara & Miellet, 2011, Behavior Research Methods, 43, 864-878), casts doubts on earlier results obtained with the toolbox, and offers an altered version of the code. Here we dispute these claims and argue that while some of the arguments put forward are valid, McManus's conclusions are misleading, since they are based on a partial use of the toolbox. Moreover, we compared iMap with the alternative code offered by McManus and objectively demonstrate that McManus's approach is underpowered and flawed.

Disinhibited reactive attachment disorder symptoms impair social judgements from faces.

Typically developing adults and children can rapidly reach consensus regarding the trustworthiness of unfamiliar faces. Maltreated children can have problems with trusting others, yet those with the disinhibited form of reactive attachment disorder (dRAD) can be indiscriminately friendly. Whether children with dRAD symptoms appraise and conform to typical judgements about trustworthiness of faces is still unknown.

Mapping Face Recognition Information Use across Cultures.

Face recognition is not rooted in a universal eye movement information-gathering strategy. Western observers favor a local facial feature sampling strategy, whereas Eastern observers prefer sampling face information from a global, central fixation strategy. Yet, the precise qualitative (the diagnostic) and quantitative (the amount) information underlying these cultural perceptual biases in face recognition remains undetermined.

What checkers actually check: an eye tracking study of inhibitory control and working memory.

Background: Not only is compulsive checking the most common symptom in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) with an estimated prevalence of 50-80% in patients, but approximately ∼15% of the general population reveal subclinical checking tendencies that impact negatively on their performance in daily activities. Therefore, it is critical to understand how checking affects attention and memory in clinical as well as subclinical checkers. Eye fixations are commonly used as indicators for the distribution of attention but research in OCD has revealed mixed results at best.

Perceiving conspecifics as integrated body-gestalts is an embodied process.

We investigated the effect of posture congruence on social perception. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that completing "body gestalts," rather than being a purely visual process, is mediated by congruence in the postures of observer and stimulus. We developed novel stimuli showing a face and 2 hands that could be combined in various ways to form "body gestalts" implying different postures.

Local Jekyll and global Hyde: the dual identity of face identification.

The main concern in face-processing research is to understand the processes underlying the identification of faces. In the study reported here, we addressed this issue by examining whether local or global information supports face identification. We developed a new methodology called "iHybrid.

Social experience does not abolish cultural diversity in eye movements.

Adults from Eastern (e.g., China) and Western (e.

Developing cultural differences in face processing.

Perception and eye movements are affected by culture. Adults from Eastern societies (e.g.

iMap: a novel method for statistical fixation mapping of eye movement data.

Eye movement data analyses are commonly based on the probability of occurrence of saccades and fixations (and their characteristics) in given regions of interest (ROIs). In this article, we introduce an alternative method for computing statistical fixation maps of eye movements--iMap--based on an approach inspired by methods used in functional magnetic resonance imaging. Importantly, iMap does not require the a priori segmentation of the experimental images into ROIs.