Impact Of Visual Cues Research Articles

Impact of Visual Cues on Consumers' Freshness Perception of Prepared Vegetables.

Freshness is an important quality attribute for vegetables. Identifying the sensory drivers for freshness is important to promote vegetable consumption. Due to the lack of research on freshness of prepared vegetables, this study focused on the role of visual cues of common vegetables (carrot, beetroot, bell pepper) on perception of freshness. Twenty-seven vegetables were prepared by varying five factors and photographed in a plate: (1) shape (stick, large cube, small cube), (2) vegetable presence for each of the three vegetables (yes, no), (3) number of vegetables conjointly present in the plate (1, 2, 3), (4) color (green bell pepper, yellow bell pepper), (5) combined vegetables prepared with same or different shapes. Freshness was rated online by 156 consumers. Visual cues leading to the main increase in freshness were the stick shape vs. large and small cubes, the absence of beetroot, and the presence of green bell pepper vs. yellow bell pepper. Overall, it seems that visual cues associated with minimally processed vegetables, such as stick shapes, which allow to recognize the vegetables in comparison to cube shapes, promote freshness. These results are particularly valuable for culinary and catering professionals and food industries involved in the preparation and/or manufacturing of prepared vegetables.

Exploring Children’s Reasoning about Continuous Causal Processes through Visual Cues and Non-Verbal Assessment in Science Education

Abstract Causal reasoning is important to children’s cognition and academic development. However, there have been few empirical studies on the impact of visual cues and non-verbal scaffolding on children’s reasoning in continuous causal processes. Hence, the present study aims to explore how causal reasoning in continuous processes is facilitated by visual mind maps and multiple-choice questions through science experiments. By randomly selecting 136 children aged 9–13, the following results were obtained: Children provided with a mind map containing visual causal cues performed significantly better than the non-cue group on explanation tasks regardless of age differences, and children assessed using non-verbal multiple-choice questions scored significantly higher in explaining causal relationships than those using only verbal reports. This suggests that identification and explanation need to be differentiated for a more accurate evaluation of causal reasoning ability. These results have valuable implications for science curriculum and pedagogy at primary schools.

The impact of visual cues during visual word recognition in deaf readers: An ERP study

Although evidence is still scarce, recent research suggests key differences in how deaf and hearing readers use visual information during visual word recognition. Here we compared the time course of lexical access in deaf and hearing readers of similar reading ability. We also investigated whether one visual property of words, the outline-shape, modulates visual word recognition differently in both groups. We recorded the EEG signal of twenty deaf and twenty hearing readers while they performed a lexical decision task. In addition to the effect of lexicality, we assessed the impact of outline-shape by contrasting responses to pseudowords with an outline-shape that was consistent (e.g., mofor) or inconsistent (e.g., mosor) with their baseword (motor). Despite hearing readers having higher phonological abilities, results showed a remarkably similar time course of the lexicality effect in deaf and hearing readers. We also found that only for deaf readers, inconsistent-shape pseudowords (e.g., mosor) elicited larger amplitude ERPs than consistent-shape pseudowords (e.g., mofor) from 150 ms after stimulus onset and extending into the N400 time window. This latter finding supports the view that deaf readers rely more on visual characteristics than typical hearing readers during visual word recognition. Altogether, our results suggest different mechanisms underlying effective word recognition in deaf and hearing readers.

The Impact of Visual Cues, Reward, and Motor Feedback on the Representation of Behaviorally Relevant Spatial Locations in Primary Visual Cortex

SummaryThe integration of visual stimuli and motor feedback is critical for successful visually guided navigation. These signals have been shown to shape neuronal activity in the primary visual cortex (V1), in an experience-dependent manner. Here, we examined whether visual, reward, and self-motion-related inputs are integrated in order to encode behaviorally relevant locations in V1 neurons. Using a behavioral task in a virtual environment, we monitored layer 2/3 neuronal activity as mice learned to locate a reward along a linear corridor. With learning, a subset of neurons became responsive to the expected reward location. Without a visual cue to the reward location, both behavioral and neuronal responses relied on self-motion-derived estimations. However, when visual cues were available, both neuronal and behavioral responses were driven by visual information. Therefore, a population of V1 neurons encode behaviorally relevant spatial locations, based on either visual cues or on self-motion feedback when visual cues are absent.

Online review helpfulness: Impact of reviewer profile image

Despite the growing number of studies on online reviews, the impact of visual cues on consumer's evaluation of review helpfulness has remained underexplored. It is not yet known whether and how images influence the way online reviews are perceived. This paper introduces and empirically examines the potential effects of reviewer profile image, a photo/image displayed next to the reviewer name, on review helpfulness by drawing on the decorative and information functions of images. With a sample of 2178 reviews from mobile gaming applications, we report that reviewer profile image can significantly enhance consumer's evaluation of review helpfulness; whereas there is no differential effect among image types (i.e. self, family, or random images). Interestingly, the effect of reviewer profile image on review helpfulness is moderated by review length, but not review valence and equivocality. Results suggest that reviewer profile image enhances the perception of review helpfulness by serving mainly as a visual decoration that creates affective responses rather than identity information.

The importance of high-frequency audibility with and without visual cues on speech recognition for listeners with normal hearing

Objective: To examine the impact of visual cues, speech materials, age and listening condition on the frequency bandwidth necessary for optimizing speech recognition performance. Design: Using a randomized repeated measures design; speech recognition performance was assessed using four speech perception tests presented in quiet and noise in 13 LP filter conditions and presented in multimodalities. Participants’ performance data were fitted with a Boltzmann function to determine optimal performance (10% below performance achieved in FBW). Study sample: Thirty adults (18–63 years) and thirty children (7–12 years) with normal hearing. Results: Visual cues significantly reduced the bandwidth required for optimizing speech recognition performance for listeners. The type of speech material significantly impacted the bandwidth required for optimizing performance. Both groups required significantly less bandwidth in quiet, although children required significantly more than adults. The widest bandwidth required was for the phoneme detection task in noise where children required a bandwidth of 7399 Hz and adults 6674 Hz. Conclusions: Listeners require significantly less bandwidth for optimizing speech recognition performance when assessed using sentence materials with visual cues. That is, the amount of bandwidth systematically decreased as a function of increased contextual, linguistic, and visual content.

Online Review Helpfulness: Impact of Reviewer Image

Despite the growing number of studies on online reviews, the impact of visual cues on consumer’s evaluation of review helpfulness has remained underexplored. This paper examines the effect of revie...

Can itch-related visual stimuli provoke an itch response?

Itching is a common subjective sensation experienced on the skin and is associated with the desire and impulse to scratch. We tested whether visual cues could generate feelings of itch and provoke a scratch response in healthy volunteers. A secondary aim was to assess whether certain pictures were more effective in evoking sensations of itch. Thirty participants viewed static images that could either be itch-related (i.e., viewing ants or skin conditions) or neutral (viewing butterflies or healthy skin). These were further separated by picture type: ‘skin contact’ (i.e., ants crawling on the skin or a butterfly sitting on the hand); ‘skin response’ (i.e., scratching an insect bite or washing the hands) or ‘no skin’ (simply viewing midges or birds flying). The results indicate that the sensation of itch was successfully generated using itch-related pictures in terms of significantly higher self-reports of itch in answer to the questions ‘how itchy do you feel?’ and ‘how itchy do you think the person in the picture feels?’ compared to viewing neutral pictures (). In addition, participants scratched themselves significantly more when viewing itch-related pictures compared to neutral (). The picture type also had an effect upon these measures with more scratching behaviour recorded when viewing pictures depicting others scratching (). This study demonstrates the impact of visual cues on the sensation of itch and the scratch response and may provide preliminary evidence linking contagious itching to the mirror neuron system and the effectiveness of itch-inducing stimuli as a way to probe social communication.

Impact of Visual Cues on Directional Benefit and Preference: Part II—Field Tests

The field tests performed in the current investigation examined how visual cues impact the benefit provided by directional (DIR) microphone hearing aids in the real world. Specifically, the study tested the hypotheses that (1) the provision of visual cues would reduce the preference for DIR processing (re: omnidirectional [OMNI] microphone) and (2) laboratory audiovisual (AV) testing would predict real-world outcomes better than auditory-only testing. The same 24 hearing-impaired adults enrolled in the laboratory testing of this study compared microphone modes (DIR versus OMNI processing) in their everyday activities three times a day for 4 wk using paper and pencil journals. In each comparison, the participants were asked to identify an environment that favored DIR processing (e.g., the talker standing in front of the user and noise at his or her back), listen to speech amid noise via both the DIR and OMNI microphone modes, and then record the preferred microphone mode in the journal. To further understand what the listeners based their preference on, the participants were also asked to provide the reasons for their preferences. Microphone modes were compared when the listeners' eyes were either open or closed. The field results first suggested that OMNI processing was more frequently preferred over DIR processing. Visual cues were not found to have a significant effect on preference for DIR processing. Furthermore, the analysis revealed that when listeners indicated "louder" or "less internal noise" as the reasons for their microphone preference, the likelihood of preferring the OMNI mode increased significantly, suggesting that OMNI processing was preferred for its louder output and lower internal circuit noise level. Finally, the preference score obtained by the laboratory preference judgment task under the AV condition was shown to be the best predictor of microphone preference in the real world. The field data did not reveal the effect of visual cues on preference for DIR processing because preference was not altered by the availability of visual cues. This negative result may be due to the unsuccessful control of visual cues during the field trial. However, the finding that AV laboratory testing predicted field outcomes more accurately than did auditory-only testing demonstrates the role of visual cues in the real world and emphasizes the necessity of using AV testing in the laboratory to evaluate DIR microphone hearing aids. Furthermore, this study demonstrates the importance of factors other than DIR benefit-such as loudness and hearing aid internal noise-in determining preference for microphone mode in the real world.

Impact of Visual Cues on Directional Benefit and Preference: Part I—Laboratory Tests

The purpose of the laboratory tests of the current investigation was to examine how visual cues impact directional (DIR) benefit and preference for the DIR microphone hearing aid (re: the omnidirectional [OMNI] microphone). Specifically, three hypotheses were examined: (1) the presence of visual cues would improve OMNI-aided performance to ceiling levels and therefore reduce DIR benefit and preference, (2) DIR benefit measured in the audiovisual (AV) condition could not be predicted by that measured using auditory-only (AO) testing, and (3) with visual cues, listeners with greater lipreading skills would perceive less DIR benefit than did listeners with lesser lipreading skills. Twenty-four adults with sensorineural hearing loss were recruited. Their speech recognition performances were measured in two hearing aid microphone modes (DIR and OMNI), at various signal-to-noise ratios (SNR, -10 to +10 dB in 4-dB steps) and under two presentation conditions (AV and AO) by using the AV version of the Connected Speech Test. Microphone preference (DIR versus OMNI) was also assessed with and without visual cues at each of the SNRs by using the same Connected Speech Test sentences. Lipreading skills were measured using the Utley test. The speech recognition data revealed that the participants obtained significantly less DIR benefit in the AV condition because their AV performances were at the ceiling level. Consistent with this, the likelihood of preferring DIR processing was significantly reduced when visual cues were available to the listeners. Further, DIR benefit measured in the AV condition was not correlated with that measured in the AO condition while being significantly and negatively correlated with lipreading skill. These results suggest that AO laboratory testing overestimates the DIR benefit and preference for DIR processing that hearing aid users may have in most face-to-face conversations in typical SNR, real-world environments. Additionally, because the DIR benefit measured in the AV condition cannot be predicted by the benefit score obtained from traditional AO laboratory testing, the effect of visual cues should be considered in establishing a valid laboratory/clinical environment and protocol for DIR microphone hearing aid testing. In light of these findings, consultations should be provided for hearing aid users with superior lipreading skills to help them adjust their expectations regarding the possibly small perceivable benefit gained from DIR microphone hearing aids.

The impact of visual cues on perceived intimacy in an acoustic ecology.

Crossmodal studies of the effects of visual cues on the perceived acoustics of a performance space have suggested the inextricable relationship between vision and audition. When designing a building or virtual environment for music, critical attention must be paid to a visual aesthetic to ensure a desired level of intimacy between the audience and performer. This visual aesthetic is ordinarily left entirely to the main architect or visual artist. However, given the body of research suggesting crossmodal influences on the human auditory system, it is clear that acousticians must also carefully consider the visual effects of their recommendations for acoustic improvement. The objective of this study is to establish the effects of various visual cues on audition as pertaining to intimacy in an ecological context. This study uses digital compositing (bluescreen) techniques to place a musical performance in various virtual environments, and employs real time audio‐video processing to create an interactive, cross‐modally immersive environment. Participant‐adjusted direct‐to‐reverberant ratio as well as visual cues adapted from stage lighting techniques are used to establish crossmodal relationships. It is hypothesized that the ability to adjust visual cues will significantly effect subjects’ perception of intimate acoustic settings.

Spectro-temporal interactions in auditory-visual perception: How the eyes modulate what the ears hear

Auditory-visual speech perception has been shown repeatedly to be both more accurate and more robust than auditory speech perception. Attempts to explain these phenomena usually treat acoustic and visual speech information (i.e., accessed via speechreading) as though they were derived from independent processes. Recent electrophysiological (EEG) studies, however, suggest that visual speech processes may play a fundamental role in modulating the way we hear. For example, both the timing and amplitude of auditory-specific event-related potentials as recorded by EEG are systematically altered when speech stimuli are presented audiovisually as opposed to auditorilly. In addition, the detection of a speech signal in noise is more readily accomplished when accompanied by video images of the speaker’s production, suggesting that the influence of vision on audition occurs quite early in the perception process. But the impact of visual cues on what we ultimately hear is not limited to speech. Our perceptions of loudness, timbre, and sound source location can also be influenced by visual cues. Thus, for speech and nonspeech stimuli alike, predicting a listener’s response to sound based on acoustic engineering principles alone may be misleading. Examples of acoustic-visual interactions will be presented which highlight the multisensory nature of our hearing experience.

Impact of Visual Cues in Computer-Mediated Vocational Test Interpretation

Online delivery of rehabilitation counseling can make services more widely available, but more information is needed about specific features before it can be considered a viable approach. Video conferencing with broadcast of counselor and client image is one recommended tool with some evidence that client rating of session depth may be equivalent to face-to-face sessions but at a cost of increased client discomfort. In this study, the counselor's image was broadcast to 24 participants in online test interpretation sessions Broadcast of participant image to the counselor was contingent on random assignment. The Session Evaluation Questionnaire completed by participants at the end of the session showed no significant impact on ratings of session of depth between camera-on and camera-off conditions. Session smoothness/comfort ratings, however, were significantly higher when the participant image was not broadcast to the counselor. Implications for rehabilitation counseling are discussed.