Bodily Features Research Articles

Nearsighted empathy: exploring the effect of empathy on distance perception, with eye movements as modulators

Empathy, a cornerstone of social interaction, involves shared representation, eliciting vicarious emotions. However, its influence on shared perceptual representations, particularly in foundational domains such as distance perception, remains unexplored. In this study, we introduce a novel adaptation of the empathy for pain task to investigate empathy’s influence on distance perception. We also examine how two personality traits, trait empathy and alexithymia, modulate this relationship. Utilizing eye-tracking technology, we examine how attention allocation to different facial and bodily features affects empathy’s impact on distance perception. Our findings indicate that empathy biases individuals to perceive targets as closer, with trait empathy reinforcing this effect and alexithymia attenuating it. Furthermore, we demonstrate that heightened attention to eyes and face correlates with perceiving targets as closer, while attention to hand shows the opposite trend. These results underscore the broader influence of empathy beyond shared emotions, revealing its capacity to alter perceptual processes. By elucidating the interplay between personality traits and visual inputs in shaping these alterations, our study offers valuable insights for future research exploring the role of shared representation in empathy across various perceptual domains.

Beyond wrinkles: ageing, graphic medicine, and Zidrou and Aimée de Jongh’s Blossoms in Autumn

Ageing, an inevitable biological process, is often oversimplified, subjecting elderly individuals to both positive and negative sociocultural stereotypes. Elderly individuals are stigmatised as passive, suffering and asexual, while simultaneously being...

Spatial memory and frames of reference: How deeply do we rely on the body and the environment?

How do we mentally represent the world out there? Psychology, philosophy and neuroscience have given two classical answers: as a living space where we act and perceive, dependent on our bodies; as an enduring physical space with its feature, independent of our bodily interactions. The first would be based on egocentric frames of reference anchored to the body, while the second on allocentric frames of reference centred on the environment itself or on objects. This raises some questions concerning how deep the reliance on the body and the environment is when using these reference frames, and whether they are affected differently by the duration of time and the scale (small or large) of space. To answer these questions, I have brought empirical evidence of the effect of motor interference, blindness, environmental characteristics and temporal factors on egocentric and allocentric spatial representational capacity. The results suggest that egocentric representations are deeply rooted in the body, with its sensory and motor properties, and are closely linked to acting now in small-scale or peripersonal space. Allocentric representations are more influenced by environmental than by bodily characteristics, by visual than by motor properties, and seem particularly related to large-scale or extrapersonal space. In line with neurophysiological evidence and a Kantian perspective, it appears that we are endowed with an internal spatial representation system ready to structure environmental information for our purposes. To what extent this system is innate and pervasive in cognition and what is its relationship to the neural 'positioning' substrate discovered by O'Keefe and colleagues requires further scientific investigation.

Multimodal Learning Engagement Assessment System: An Innovative Approach to Optimizing Learning Engagement

In the realm of global smart education, optimizing classroom learning efficiency is paramount. This study harnesses cutting-edge technology to delve into learning engagement dynamics. Leveraging the XGBoost model, 468 facial and bodily features are captured in real-time, offering insights into student behavior. The ResNet neural transformation network and PNP algorithm discern facial expressions, body movements, and head rotation angles. Through a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method, proportions of these factors are delineated for objective assessment. Empirical validation involves scrutinizing final exam scores of 234 college students. Comparative analyses reveal a significant correlation between classroom participation and performance (p-value = 0.034). Results underscore the impact of real-time judgment on learning efficiency and highlight the potency of multimodal fusion in assessing engagement comprehensively. Practical application validates system effectiveness, offering insights for educational stakeholders and contributing to the evolution of smart education.

Dermatoglyphic palmar pattern variations in congenitally deaf and mute subjects

Background: Dermatoglyphics have the unique merit of retaining all their peculiarities unchanged throughout life, and afford in consequence an incomparably surer criterion of identity than any other bodily feature. The rationale for studying dermatoglyphic features is derived from the fact that development of dermal ridges and congenital deafness seems to develop at around the same time. Methods: The material for the study consisted of palm prints of congenitally deaf and mute children of 100 subjects with congenital deafness and muteness between 5-21 years of age and 50 control of similar age group with normal hearing and speech were chosen. The principal patterns of thenar/ I interdigital, interdigital II, interdigital III, interdigital IV and hypothenar area were noted. Position of axial triradius, ‘atd’ angle, pattern of palmar Flexion Creases, presence as well as pattern of the Simian Line and the Sydney Line were recorded. Results: The percentage of open field was maximum in subjects in thenar / interdigital area I. and in interdigital area IV. The mean a-b, c-d and atd angle ridge palmar ridge count was less in subjects in comparison to controls. Highly statistically significant results were obtained between subjects and control for the simian crease pattern when both hands were considered together in which the percentage of transitional type was more than the typical simian crease in subjects. Conclusion: When combined with other clinical and investigative features, dermatoglyphic study can serve as a diagnostic impression and can be advocated as a useful screening device.

Acknowledging and understanding the contributions of nature to human sense of time

Abstract There is growing evidence that interacting and connecting with nature are essential to maintain human health and well‐being. The benefits of specific nature experiences and the cultural ecosystem services they provide are increasingly being recognized, but many others remain to be discovered and explored. In this perspective piece, I argue that there is a need to better explore the pivotal role of nature experiences in shaping human time perception—our sense of time. Specifically, I outline the main elements of human time perception and the key factors that shape it, describe recent evidence showing that human time perception changes between urban and natural environments and discuss the potential societal gains from developing a better understanding of this relationship. Human time perception is complex and involves at least three key dimensions related to temporal succession, temporal duration and temporal perspective. Time perception is shaped by various contextual factors, including the contents of the time period and the cognitive, emotional and bodily characteristics of the experiencer. There is growing evidence that nature experiences can influence human sense of time by (i) extending human perception of temporal duration and (ii) shifting time perspectives. People who spend time in nature tend to overestimate the length of that experience and show a more positive outlook of the past, present and future, with less focus on a single‐time perspective. In the context of increasing time scarcity in modern urban societies with dire consequences for human health and well‐being, I argue we need a better understanding of how nature experiences shape our sense of time and suggest how future research can provide actionable insights to help restore a healthier and more balanced relationship with time and nature. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Baldassare D’Anna – nove slike s hrvatskih otoka

The Venetian painter Baldassare DʼAnna (Venice, 1572–1646) is represented by numerous paintings in Istria and Dalmatia. His oeuvre, relatively well researched, has been interpreted as comprising eclectic works that reveal direct and consistent influences of his contemporaries and predecessors along the lines of Titian and Jacopo Palma the Younger. This obvious influence resulted in conventional altarpieces and sacral paintings following Renaissance compositional patterns of symmetry and a clear layout, with firmly shaped figures repeating certain bodily features and physiognomy. To this corpus of the painter’s works in Croatia (and Bosnia and Herzegovina), the author has added some hitherto unattributed works on the islands of Brač, Šolta, Lošinj, and Krk. While these additions do not bring novelties in the artistic sense, they emphasize the role, significance, and popularity of D’Anna’s belated Renaissance art among Dalmatian commissioners. The still insufficiently researched role of D’Anna’s workshop collaborators has also been highlighted, given visible oscillations in the artistic value of his paintings.

The interaction between perceived chronological age and physical sexual development in attractiveness judgements made by people who are attracted to children

ABSTRACT The measurement of sexual attraction patterns has significance in relation to the assessment and treatment of people who may have caused sexual harm. However, it is also important to understand the drivers of sexual attractions within the community. In recent times there has been an increased level of interest in people with attractions to children, but minimal attention has been paid to fully understand how different indicators of age might influence their level of attraction to a range of child targets. In this paper we report three studies wherein we developed a merged person stimulus set that allowed us to manipulate the configuration of a target’s apparent age (depicted by facial features) and their physical development stage (depicted by non-facial bodily features). In Studies 1 and 2 we find that our merged person set performs comparatively well on indices of realism and estimated age, while in Study 3 we find that manipulating the apparent age of a body influences the attractiveness judgements made by people with attractions to different age groups. We discuss the theoretical and practical significance of our findings within the context of accurate assessment techniques.

The Relative Contribution of Facial and Body Information to the Perception of Cuteness.

Faces and bodies both provide cues to age and cuteness, but little work has explored their interaction in cuteness perception. This study examines the interplay of facial and bodily cues in the perception of cuteness, particularly when these cues convey conflicting age information. Participants rated the cuteness of face-body composites that combined either a child or adult face with an age-congruent or incongruent body alongside manipulations of the head-to-body height ratio (HBR). The findings from two experiments indicated that child-like facial features enhanced the perceived cuteness of adult bodies, while child-like bodily features generally had negative impacts. Furthermore, the results showed that an increased head size significantly boosted the perceived cuteness for child faces more than for adult faces. Lastly, the influence of the HBR was more pronounced when the outline of a body's silhouette was the only available information compared to when detailed facial and bodily features were presented. This study suggests that body proportion information, derived from the body's outline, and facial and bodily features, derived from the interior surface, are integrated to form a unitary representation of a whole person in cuteness perception. Our findings highlight the dominance of facial features over bodily information in cuteness perception, with facial attributes serving as key references for evaluating face-body relationships and body proportions. This research offers significant insights into social cognition and character design, particularly in how people perceive entities with mixed features of different social categories, underlining the importance of congruency in perceptual elements.

Upright Posture and the Human Syndrome

Homo sapiens encapsulates peculiarities otherwise unseen in the biosphere: self-consciousness, language, reason, altruism, and extensive cultural inheritance ‐ traits sometimes labelled “the human syndrome”. The topic has mainly been studied along two separate pathways: along cognitive or along bodily features. However, the upcoming concept of embodied cognition offers a suitable pathway to explore how mind and matter interact. By means of phenomenology, this conceptual paper explores the human syndrome as a systemic mind-body interaction over evolutionary time. The essential crossroad of hominin evolution is verticalization of the spinal cord and bodily uprightness. This habit poses a challenge to the traditional adaptationist program, as it comprises substantial anatomical drawbacks. Uprightness, moreover, is not solely maintained by neuromuscular reflexes but by conscious involvement, too. Human locomotion is a psychophysical dance, culturally induced and actively maintained by the balancing self. From supporting the trunk in quadrupeds, forelimbs became hands and arms, as tools serving the mind. Verticalization also favored enhanced awareness of three-dimensionality of the environment and deliberate use of forelimbs to manipulate it. Release of forelimbs was in turn decisive for uncoupling respiration from locomotive functions, as a conditioner for language, which emerged from gestural expressions during the homo erectus period. Finally, language became the prelude for the upper Palaeolithic cognitive transition to reason and representation, as recognizable in cave art. Upright posture, language, and reason accordingly summarize the nested evolutionary history of hominins, where each competence became precursor for the next: Uprightness gave birth to language, which in turn became the pathway for reason. Finally, verticalization emerges as the ultimate reason for ethical conceptions, accomplished as beauty, truth and goodness.

Front and Back Covers, Volume 39, Number 6. December 2023

Front and back cover caption, volume 39 issue 6CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS POWERThe jolly figure of Santa Claus, tankard in hand as he rests his feet atop a sack of toys, invites us to ponder the mystery behind this iconic Christmas emblem. Who is the real Santa, and what is his relationship to adults and children during the holiday season? This image of Santa on the cover of Puck magazine's 1896 Christmas edition alludes to the complex web of secrecy and revelation that enables Santa to materialize each year.As Martí Torra Merín explores in the accompanying article, Santa Claus and other Christmas figures occupy a unique position in contemporary Western cultures. Their ‘existence’ relies upon the innocence projected onto children, who serve as conduits to the magical realm. Yet children's agency in navigating this process has been overlooked. Through an ethnographic study in Catalonia, the article reveals that even young children detect inconsistencies in Santa's portrayal, and older children may feign ignorance of the ‘secret’ to prolong the magic.Far from fragile, children's awareness empowers their agency. Their liminal position, privy to the ‘public secret’ that adults both disbelieve in Santa and expect children's innocence, allows for clever navigation of cultural expectations. Like Puck's impish character, children toe the line between innocence and cunning. Ultimately, the article argues, recognizing children's agency is key to understanding how Santa materializes each Christmas through intricate social performances between adults and youth. This image encapsulates that interplay, with Santa as the symbolic connector between magical worlds and everyday realities.SEX AND GENDER ARE INSEPARABLEThis back cover image* visually embodies the guest editorial's exploration of how the complex interplay between sex and gender defies conventional binary perceptions.The left circle, ‘sex’, includes the biological aspects of our being, encompassing our evolved physical attributes, biomaterial processes and bodily characteristics that are often, albeit incorrectly, assumed to be fixed and immutable. It acknowledges biomateriality as a dynamic process more than a static ‘thing’.The right circle, ‘gender’, encapsulates the roles, behaviours and identities shaped through socialization within various social groups and cultural constructs. It signifies the fluid and dynamic nature of how we express and identify ourselves in society, which is not necessarily aligned with biological sex.At the intersection of these two spheres lies the ‘gender/sex’ overlap, a space that acknowledges the co‐construction of hormones and behaviour. This area represents the ongoing interplay and feedback loops between our biological traits and the social roles we embody. It is a recognition that hormones can influence behaviours that society reads as gendered and, conversely, that our social experiences and behaviours can affect our biological functions, such as hormone levels.This diagram illustrates how sex and gender are deeply intertwined, each influencing and shaping the other in a continuous dance. It is a powerful representation of the biosocial nature of human identity, where biological and social influences are inseparable and in constant interaction, creating a spectrum of diversity that defies the simplistic bimodal model.This image underscores the message of the guest editorial, advocating for a nuanced understanding of human identity that respects and reflects the complex realities of our lives.* From: S. van Anders 2022. Gender/sex/ual diversity and biobehavioural research. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity. Advance online publication.

An example of an amulet used for obstetrics and gynecology in classical medicine

Introduction: Throughout history, women have sought help from mystical powers to protect them from unexpected situations related to pregnancy and childbirth. The use of amulets in Anatolia, which encompasses the dynamics of products, ideas, beliefs, and civilizations, has been prevalent. Aim: This study aims to explore the connection between amulets used in the Ancient Mediterranean region and medical practices within the context of the history of medicine, utilizing a figurine. Method: Through a detailed examination at the Mersin Museum, a figurine depicting a woman in a crouching position with distinctive facial and bodily features was discovered. The figurine, believed to have been used as a birth-facilitating amulet necklace, was compared with information found in classical medical literature. Findings: The figurine bears resemblance to ancient amulets utilized in the past, which aligns with women’s physiology, childbirth beliefs, and facilitating positions described in ancient texts. Recent studies indicate that women continue to employ amulets as a means of protection against birth-related risks. Discussion: The presence of amulets among archaeological remains draws attention to the enduring influence of superstitions from the past to the present, particularly in situations where the lives of both the mother and child are perceived to be at risk. Conclusion: The historical use of amulets and talismans by women has served as a unifying practice throughout different eras. While these methods are generally regarded as harmless, the ongoing advancement of medicine from its primitive origins suggests that women’s health still faces unresolved challenges.

Relationship between Osteoarthritis and Thyroid Dysfunction, as well as with Physical and Demographic Features

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a commonly prevalent and chronically complicated condition that affects different joints in millions of patients worldwide, leading to a cumulative effect over time. Due to few global prospective studies, this study investigated the association of OA to bodily and demographic characteristics of the study population. It demonstrated the levels of thyroid hormones in OA patients. Totally, 324 individuals; 162 normal (GN), 111 doubtful to minimal OA (GOA1) and 51 moderately to severe OA (GOA2) were subjected to this study from September to December (2021). For bodily characteristics of the study population, the findings of age, height and gender showed insignificance between study groups but not in weight and BMI. Regarding demographic data, level of education, non-smoking and smoking, and non-arthritis and arthritis population were associated almost insignificantly with OA patients except for GOA2 patients, who showed a significant correlation to OA compared to GOA1 and GN. For chronic diseases, the association was observed insignificantly between GOA1, GOA2 and GN of 1 and 2 chronic diseases and between GOA1 and GN of 3 and 4 chronic diseases; however, significance was recorded in values of GOA2 in comparison with values of GOA1 and GN. For physical activity, significance was observed in low and high values but not in medium activities. Results without and with walking aids were variable significantly, in particular in values of GOA2 when compared to GOA1 and GN. Findings of TSH, T3 and T4 of GOA1, GOA2 and GN were correlated significantly. The association of TSH to the severity of OA revealed an obvious significance in values of crude, adjusted 1 and 2 models. In conclusion, this study was the first Iraqi report, and studies are necessary due to the significant association between OA and thyroid hormone dysfunction. Keywords: OA, T3, T4, TSH, Risk factor, Iraq

Decade-Wise Rasayana prayoga in Female Reproductive Health - A Conceptual study

The existence of life on Earth is sustained by the act of reproduction. The ultimate blessing for a couple in their lifetime is to give birth to a healthy progeny, which is only possible by the union of healthy beeja in the favorable conditions of Ritu, kshetra and ambhu. Female reproductive health plays a key role in all these four factors. Good reproductive health ensures a female to have a satisfactory and safe sexual life both physically and mentally. Rasayana prayoga during the course of dhatu utpatti in balya and madhyamavastha helps to attain the rasadi dhatu at its supreme quality. Acharya Sharangadhara quotes that the development of certain bodily characteristics attained in its pinnacle in every decade of life, starts to decline gradually after that certain period of years naturally. Rasayana therapy administered in each reproductive stage of female life may improve her reproductive health qualitatively which intern helps them to prevent various common reproductive aliments from balyatara avastha (pre-menarche) to Jara (complications after menopause). In this article, an attempt is made to collect and analyze the relevant facts from Samhitas, contemporary textbooks and e-resources and tried to conceptualize the significance of administering decade-wise Rasayana in female for improving their reproductive health.

KNOWLEDGE AMONG SULAIMANIYAH POPULATION TOWARDS INJECTABLE FACIAL FILLERS

BackgroundAny operation that involves cosmetic correction and alteration of existing bodily features is referred to as a cosmetic procedure. It also covers surgical operations like liposuction, rhinoplasty, breast augmentation, and minimally invasive procedures like botulinum toxin injections and fillers.
 ObjectivesTo explore and evaluate participants’ personal and subjective views on facial fillers in the Sulaimani governorate.
 Patients and MethodsOne hundred and sixty-one participants were recruited over three months from 6 January 2022 to 8 April 2022; all the participants were approached with a questionnaire regarding their personal and subjective views on facial fillers, and informed consent was taken before participating.
 ResultsThe recruited population for the work includes 111 females and 60 males, with an F/M ratio of 1.85. The main reason listed by most of the participants (n=102, 69.56%) who have or are considering undergoing facial fillers are their concerns about visible ageing signs and facial appearance; the (n=29, 18.01%) listed that people’s influence and the fact that they compare themselves with other people and people from the social media has encouraged them to opt facial fillers.
 ConclusionHalf of the participants understood the procedure enough, although they needed more information regarding the facial fillers’ side effects. Most participants do not even feel they would need to hide that they have undergone any procedure, which is the ultimate level of acceptance.

Mechanical sex, science, security: Intersex medical violence, Thomas Hobbes and John Money’s invention of gender

According to a widespread contemporary medical discourse, intersex people’s well-being is threatened by their own bodily features, which must be ‘corrected’ through emergency surgical measures. Yet intersex people and activists have abundantly documented how these measures enact precisely the suffering that they were framed as countering. This article asks how the presence of such exceptionalist security logic in mundane hospital settings highlights particular intersections of security, bodies and materiality in Western modernity. It puts 17th-century philosopher Thomas Hobbes in dialogue with 20th-century sexologist John Money, and shows how both struggled to construct social order in spite of the disorderly materiality of human bodies. Hobbes ‘invented’ a universal abstracted body, a machine in which matter is subsumed to the fiction of a social will. As science provided mechanistic understandings of sex, race and deviance, the messy materiality of concrete bodies eventually failed to substantiate a biological grounding for the sex binary. Money then ‘invented’ the concept of gender – a social category to which physiological sex is subservient, which feminists later borrowed – to justify violent interventions that physically cut that disorderly materiality out of intersex people’s bodies.

Acceptance and Attitude Toward Cosmetic Surgeries in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

Cosmetic surgery refers to any surgical intervention that alters normal bodily characteristics in order to attain a more appealing appearance as perceived by the patient. Data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) indicates a consistent rise in plastic surgery procedures over time. The objective of our research is to carry out a cross-sectional investigation to assess the perceptions and attitudes towardcosmetic surgery among individuals residing in the western region of Saudi Arabia. This study employed a descriptive, cross-sectional methodology. The intended sample includes residents of Makkahand Medina Regions who are 18 years of age or older, representing the general population. Data collection was carried out through an online questionnaire created using Google Forms, which was disseminated electronically via social media platforms. The questionnaire gathered demographic information and assessed participants' attitudes and acceptance towards cosmetic surgery. The study included a total of 1249 participants, with 1064 (85%) being female and 185 (15%) being male. In our sample, the overall acceptance rate for cosmetic surgery was 54.2%. There was a significant correlation between the acceptance level and factors such as gender, age, marital status, and occupational status (P value <0.001) for all the aforementioned factors. However,thelevel of education and financial status were not significantly associated. The majority of the participants in our study were accepting of cosmetic surgery. However, to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the acceptance of aesthetic surgery in Saudi Arabia, further research should be conducted across the country to assess the attitudes of the wider population.

When shapes are more than shapes: perceptual, developmental, and neurophysiological basis for attributions of animacy and theory of mind.

Among a variety of entities in their environment, what do humans consider alive or animate and how does this attribution of animacy promote development of more abstract levels of mentalizing? By decontextualizing the environment of bodily features, we review how physical movements give rise to perceived animacy in Heider-Simmel style animations. We discuss the developmental course of how perceived animacy shapes our interpretation of the social world, and specifically discuss when and how children transition from perceiving actions as goal-directed to attributing behaviors to unobservable mental states. This transition from a teleological stance, asserting a goal-oriented interpretation to an agent's actions, to a mentalistic stance allows older children to reason about more complex actions guided by hidden beliefs. The acquisition of these more complex cognitive behaviors happens developmentally at the same time neural systems for social cognition are coming online in young children. We review perceptual, developmental, and neural evidence to identify the joint cognitive and neural changes associated with when children begin to mentalize and how this ability is instantiated in the brain.

“They always want to argue with you”: Navigating raciolinguistic ideologies at airport security

AbstractIn the aftermath of the Holocaust, Dutch public discourse promotes a self‐image of the Netherlands as ‘innocently’ post‐racial, a place where distinctions are drawn based on cultural differences rather than bodily characteristics. However, this innocence is called into question when groups or individuals, who culturally, legally and linguistically ‘fit’ within the Netherlands, are still racialised to the point of not being recognised as properly Dutch.This paper uses a feminist approach to autoethnography and critical discourse analysis to explore the author's racialised/racialising experiences of Dutch airport security, and how these experiences are both informed by and themselves re‐inform wider enactments of normative raciolinguistic ideologies. Drawing on theorisations of the links among language, embodiment and (self‐)surveillance by Sara Ahmed and Samy Alim, this paper argues that although markers of citizenship and linguistic ability can be fluidly employed and engaged with, raciolinguistic categorisation is still heavily influenced by bodily appearance.

Filthy Old People

Abstract Based on an ethnographic study the article explores ageism in the context of gyms in Israel. It questions perceptions of ‘old age’ as having self-evident existence. As bodily characteristics are prominent in the social surrounding of the gym, this context serves as a convenient sphere for examining ageism. The findings reveal that fitness activity is perceived by all gym participants as serving to mitigate physical fragility. They also demonstrate that the attitude toward older exercisers shifts from encouragement to contempt and disregard. However, significant differences were found, depending on the contexts and situations, the specific sites, the extent of social integration, and other characteristics.