Shape Cues Research Articles

Racial Socialization in the United States.

Our review, situated within the context of the United States, explores how societal forces shape youths' racial socialization processes. Specifically, we explore how youths learn beliefs about race through interactions with their environment, how these processes affect youths' engagement with race in multiple contexts, and how they contribute to the perpetuation and dismantling of racial inequality. First, we discuss key psychological theories that inform our understanding of racial socialization. Second, we discuss how families, peers, media, and environmental cues shape racial socialization processes. Finally, we discuss interventions to enhance racial socialization and offer directions for future psychological research to advance our understanding of both racial and broader socialization processes in the United States and internationally.

What’s in a Cue? Decoding Political Values in Applauded Statements From Ukraine’s Leading Political Talk Shows

Experimental studies show that public opinion cues shape people’s perceptions of public opinion. However, the full extent of political information these cues comprise and, consequently, communicate remains unexplored. This study utilizes standardized content analysis to examine the political values in applauded statements ( n = 1,722) from Ukraine’s major political talk shows. The results suggest that applauded statements embody a complex mix of identity- and governance-oriented values, signaling to the broader audience the preferred type of political debate among those within the studio. The study enhances the literature on public opinion cues by demonstrating the significance of analyzing their underlying content.

Controlled experiments fail to capture plant phenological response to chilling temperature

AbstractAimControlled experiments are increasingly important for investigating how and to what degree plant phenology responds to global climate change. Current experiments underline that chilling and forcing temperatures are two major environmental cues shaping the budburst date of temperate species, but whether experiments could reflect the observed responses to chilling has rarely been examined.LocationEurope and North America.Time periods1951–2021.Major taxa studiedTemperate trees and shrubs.MethodsUsing an experimental database of budburst dates for 50 species derived from previous literature and observational data of the same species at 12,579 stations in Europe and 1469 stations in the USA, we compared the response of forcing requirement (FR) of the budburst date to chilling accumulation (CA) between observations and experiments using a common measure of FR and CA.ResultsThe median, variance and probability distribution of CA‐FR curves differed significantly between experiments and observations in most cases. The distinction in chilling effects between experiments and observations could be attributed to the difference in thermal space, heat stress, genetic variation among provenances, different forcing treatments adopted and plant materials used in the experiments.Main conclusionsOur results suggest that the uncertainty of phenological models based solely on the experimental data needs to be re‐evaluated when predicting future spring phenological responses across broad spatial scales.

Evaluating integration of letter fragments through contrast and spatially targeted masking.

Four experiments were conducted to gain a better understanding of the visual mechanisms related to how integration of partial shape cues provides for recognition of the full shape. In each experiment, letters formed as outline contours were displayed as a sequence of adjacent segments (fragments), each visible during a 17-ms time frame. The first experiment varied the contrast of the fragments. There were substantial individual differences in contrast sensitivity, so stimulus displays in the masking experiments that followed were calibrated to the sensitivity of each participant. Masks were displayed either as patterns that filled the entire screen (full field) or as successive strips that were sliced from the pattern, each strip lying across the location of the letter fragment that had been shown a moment before. Contrast of masks were varied to be lighter or darker than the letter fragments. Full-field masks, whether light or dark, provided relatively little impairment of recognition, as was the case for mask strips that were lighter than the letter fragments. However, dark strip masks proved to be very effective, with the degree of recognition impairment becoming larger as mask contrast was increased. A final experiment found the strip masks to be most effective when they overlapped the location where the letter fragments had been shown a moment before. They became progressively less effective with increased spatial separation from that location. Results are discussed with extensive reference to potential brain mechanisms for integrating shape cues.

Transient Attention Gates Access Consciousness: Coupling N2pc and P3 Latencies Using Dynamic Time Warping.

The N2pc and P3 event-related potentials (ERPs), used to index selective attention and access to working memory and conscious awareness, respectively, have been important tools in cognitive sciences. Although it is likely that these two components and the underlying cognitive processes are temporally and functionally linked, such links have not yet been convincingly demonstrated. Adopting a novel methodological approach based on dynamic time warping (DTW), we provide evidence that the N2pc and P3 ERP components are temporally linked. We analyzed data from an experiment where 23 participants (16 women) monitored bilateral rapid serial streams of letters and digits in order to report a target digit indicated by a shape cue, separately for trials with correct responses and trials where a temporally proximal distractor was reported instead (distractor intrusion). DTW analyses revealed that N2pc and P3 latencies were correlated in time, both when the target or a distractor was reported. Notably, this link was weaker on distractor intrusion trials. This N2pc-P3 association is discussed with respect to the relationship between attention and access consciousness. Our results demonstrate that our novel method provides a valuable approach for assessing temporal links between two cognitive processes and their underlying modulating factors. This method allows to establish links and their modulator for any two time-series across all domains of the field (general-purpose MATLAB functions and a Python module are provided alongside this paper).

Conspicuity of staircase configuration: Effects of markings and contrast.

To be able to walk safely up or down a staircase, we must be able to judge the configuration and slope of the staircase and our viewing position. Adding markings to the stairs might help form correct perceptions of the staircase geometry. In this study, we examined how visual judgements about staircase configuration are affected by different marking patterns. Fifteen normally sighted young participants viewed computer-generated images of staircases as seen from the top landing of the stairs. Marking patterns included contrasting baseboard, transverse edge-stripes, longitudinal side-stripes, longitudinal stripes, diamond patterns, longitudinal stripes extended to landing and diamond patterns extended to landing. For comparison, we included the no-marking condition as a control. We tested several contrast levels of marking patterns (3.2%-50%), pitch lines of the staircases (shallow/medium/steep) and viewing positions (left/centre/right). The effect of the overall shape cue of the staircase on participants' performance was also evaluated. We measured participants' accuracies in judging whether the staircase was shallow, medium or steep, and whether the viewing position was located to the left, centre or right. Transverse edge-stripes markings yielded fewer underestimations of slope (9% [transverse] vs. 18% [others]) when compared with other markers. The presence of an overall shape cue helped both slope (67% [presence] vs. 51% [absence]) and viewing position judgements (79% [presence] vs. 62% [absence]). When the overall shape cue was present, only the transverse edge-stripes markings yielded a significant improvement in performance (compared with no-marking condition). When the cue was absent, performance was significantly better with markings with high and moderate contrasts. Adding marking patterns such as high-contrast transverse stripes to stairs may help enhance the visibility of the stairs and judgements of staircase geometry. This might be particularly useful for people with visual impairment or normally sighted individuals under compromised environmental conditions.

A Psychological Scientific Exploration of Color in Cinema

This research delves into the intricate relationship between color and its impact on human emotions. It unveils that the way we perceive and respond to colors is not a universal phenomenon, but rather a multifaceted interplay influenced by diverse factors such as language, culture, environmental conditions, and even individual gender. Furthermore, our research uncovers the intriguing connections between color and various external stimuli, including sound and other surrounding colors. It elucidates how color exerts a direct influence on our emotional states, subsequently affecting behaviors, sleep patterns, levels of aggression, and overall energy levels. Notably, we find that bright, vibrant colors with longer wavelengths tend to evoke greater stimulation and arousal compared to their less saturated, darker, and shorter wavelength counterparts. The study also delves into the symbolism of color within the realm of cinema, demonstrating that colors can convey a wide array of seemingly contradictory concepts even within the same cinematic narrative. This underscores the critical role of contextual cues in shaping the interpretation of color. In essence, this research underscores the notion that cinematographers, whether consciously or unconsciously, leverage insights from neuroscience and symbolism to craft compelling visual narratives that profoundly influence the emotional engagement of their audiences.

INFLUENCE OF VISUAL MERCHANDISING ON KIDS IMPULSE BUYING BEHAVIOUR - PERSPECTIVE OF PARENTS

This research explores the impact of visual merchandising on childrens impulse buying behavior within retail environments. With a growing emphasis on marketing to children, understanding the role of visual cues in shaping their purchasing decisions is crucial for both retailers and parents. The study employs a mixed-methods approach, combining observational analysis of childrens reactions to visual stimuli in-store with surveys administered to parents to gauge the extent of impulse buying. The research aims to identify specific visual merchandising elements, such as color schemes, product placement, and interactive displays, which significantly influence childrens impulsive purchasing tendencies. Additionally, the study examines demographic factors, such as age and gender, to assess variations in the susceptibility to visual merchandising techniques. Insights gained from this research can contribute to the development of ethical guidelines for marketing to children and help retailers create environments that balance engaging displays with responsible consumer practices. Ultimately, this research contributes to a broader understanding of the intricate relationship between visual merchandising and childrens impulse buying behavior, providing practical implications for both industry stakeholders and policymakers. KEY WORDS: Visual Merchandising, Window Display, Floor Display, Promotional Signage, Mannequin Display

External Mechanical Stability Regulates Hematoma Vascularization in Bone Healing Rather than Endothelial YAP/TAZ Mechanotransduction.

Bone fracture healing is regulated by mechanobiological cues. Both, extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition and microvascular assembly determine the dynamics of the regenerative processes. Mechanical instability as by inter-fragmentary shear or compression is known to influence early ECM formation and wound healing. However, it remains unclear how these external cues shape subsequent ECM and microvascular network assembly. As transcriptional coactivators, the mechanotransducers yes-associated protein 1 (YAP)/transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) translate physical cues into downstream signaling events, yet their role in sprouting angiogenesis into the hematoma after injury is unknown. Using bone healing as model system for scar-free regeneration, the role of endothelial YAP/TAZ in combination with tuning the extrinsic mechanical stability via fracture fixation is investigated. Extrinsically imposed shear across the gap delayed hematoma remodeling and shaped the morphology of early collagen fiber orientations and microvascular networks, suggesting that enhanced shear increased the nutrient exchange in the hematoma. In contrast, endothelial YAP/TAZ deletion haslittle impact on the overall vascularization of the fracture gap, yet slightly increasesthe collagen fiber deposition under semi-rigid fixation. Together, these data provide novel insights into the respective roles of endothelial YAP/TAZ and extrinsic mechanical cues in orchestrating the process of bone regeneration.

An angular vs. circular servicescape? The impact of shape cues and music tempo on solo diners

With the increasing number of solo diners, creating a stimulating dining environment for solo diners is of great importance. While angular and circular shape cues are ubiquitous in the service context, their impact on solo dining experiences has been overlooked. Therefore, this research examines the joint effect of shape cues and background music on solo diners’ responses. The findings of Study 1 show that solo diners exhibit higher arousal when exposed to angular (vs. circular) shape cues, leading to enhanced dining experiences and revisit intention. However, such a shape effect is not observed among social diners. Furthermore, the findings of Study 2 demonstrate that the shape effect is more pronounced when solo diners listen to slow-tempo (vs. fast-tempo) music. This study contributes to the growing literature on solo dining and servicescape in hospitality. Our findings provide practitioners with a novel sensory strategy for enhancing solo dining experiences.

Phonetic differences between affirmative and feedback head nods in German Sign Language (DGS): A pose estimation study.

This study investigates head nods in natural dyadic German Sign Language (DGS) interaction, with the aim of finding whether head nods serving different functions vary in their phonetic characteristics. Earlier research on spoken and sign language interaction has revealed that head nods vary in the form of the movement. However, most claims about the phonetic properties of head nods have been based on manual annotation without reference to naturalistic text types and the head nods produced by the addressee have been largely ignored. There is a lack of detailed information about the phonetic properties of the addressee's head nods and their interaction with manual cues in DGS as well as in other sign languages, and the existence of a form-function relationship of head nods remains uncertain. We hypothesize that head nods functioning in the context of affirmation differ from those signaling feedback in their form and the co-occurrence with manual items. To test the hypothesis, we apply OpenPose, a computer vision toolkit, to extract head nod measurements from video recordings and examine head nods in terms of their duration, amplitude and velocity. We describe the basic phonetic properties of head nods in DGS and their interaction with manual items in naturalistic corpus data. Our results show that phonetic properties of affirmative nods differ from those of feedback nods. Feedback nods appear to be on average slower in production and smaller in amplitude than affirmation nods, and they are commonly produced without a co-occurring manual element. We attribute the variations in phonetic properties to the distinct roles these cues fulfill in turn-taking system. This research underlines the importance of non-manual cues in shaping the turn-taking system of sign languages, establishing the links between such research fields as sign language linguistics, conversational analysis, quantitative linguistics and computer vision.

Feature Preservation and Shape Cues Assist Infrared Small Target Detection

Feature Preservation and Shape Cues Assist Infrared Small Target Detection

Examining the Effect of Anthropomorphic Design Cues on Healthcare Chatbots Acceptance and Organization-Public Relationships: Trust in a Warm Human Vs. a Competent Machine

AI-powered healthcare chatbots demonstrate great promise in enhancing communication and fostering stronger relationships between healthcare organizations and their publics. This study conducted an experiment to examine how different anthropomorphic design cues shape chatbot acceptance and organization-public relationships by influencing trust in the chatbot. Results revealed an interesting dynamic: when users interacted with healthcare chatbot featuring human-like cues, they tend to place greater trust in the chatbot that showed warmth rather than competence. Conversely, in interactions with a chatbot embodying machine-like cues, a competent conversation style generated higher levels of trust compared to a warm style. This trust in human-computer interactions further enhanced users’ intentions to continue using the chatbot and follow its recommendations, alongside bolstering relational trust and satisfaction with the healthcare organization. These findings contribute to the theoretical understanding of human-chatbot interaction and offer practical insights by aligning chatbot design nuances with the broader strategic health communication goals.

Shaping extendibility: The influence of circular versus angular shapes on consumer brand extension evaluation

This study proposed a novel sensory marketing strategy (shape cues) to alter consumers’ reactions to distant brand extensions. Across five studies, circular (vs. angular) shapes lead to a more favorable overall evaluation of distant rather than close brand extensions. These effects are mediated sequentially by consumers’ cognitive flexibility and fit perceptions. In line with the “cognitive flexibility” account, this study found that the influence of shapes on brand extension evaluation diminishes when a sub-branding strategy is adopted to introduce the extension product. When a direct-branding strategy was used, shape was not affected. These effects were replicated across different product categories and cultures using different approaches to demonstrate shape cues, and employing both fictitious and real brand stimuli. In addition, theoretical and managerial implications were also discussed.

In paired preference tests, domestic chicks innately choose the colour green over red, and the shape of a frog over a sphere when both stimuli are green

Many animals express unlearned colour preferences that depend on the context in which signals are encountered. These colour biases may have evolved in response to the signalling system to which they relate. For example, many aposematic animals advertise their unprofitability with red warning signals. Predators’ innate biases against these warning colours have been suggested as one of the potential explanations for the initial evolution of aposematism. It is unclear, however, whether unlearned colour preferences reported in a number of species is truly an innate behaviour or whether it is based on prior experience. We tested the spontaneous colour and shape preferences of dark-hatched, unfed, and visually naive domestic chicks (Gallus gallus). In four experiments, we presented chicks with a choice between either red (a colour typically associated with warning patterns) or green (a colour associated with palatable cryptic prey), volume-matched spheres (representing a generalised fruit shape) or frogs (representing an aposematic animal’s shape). Chicks innately preferred green stimuli and avoided red. Chicks also preferred the shape of a frog over a sphere when both stimuli were green. However, no preference for frogs over spheres was present when stimuli were red. Male chicks that experienced a bitter taste of quinine immediately before the preference test showed a higher preference for green frog-shaped stimuli. Our results suggest that newly hatched chicks innately integrate colour and shape cues during decision making, and that this can be augmented by other sensory experiences. Innate and experience-based behaviour could confer a fitness advantage to novel aposematic prey, and favour the initial evolution of conspicuous colouration.

Congruence in European and Asian perception of Vietnamese facial attractiveness, averageness, symmetry and sexual dimorphism

Attractiveness is a proposed universal cue to overall biological quality. Nonetheless, local raters and raters of the same ethnicity may be more accurate in assessing the cues for attractiveness than distant and unfamiliar raters. Shared ethnicity and shared environment may both affect rating accuracy: our aim was to compare their relative influence. Therefore, we photographed young Vietnamese participants (N = 93, 33 women) from Hanoi, Vietnam. The photographs were rated by Czechs, Asian Vietnamese, and Czech Vietnamese (raters of Vietnamese origin who lived in Czechia for all or most of their life). Using geometric morphometrics, we measured facial shape cues to biological quality: averageness, asymmetry, and sexual dimorphism. We expected that Vietnamese raters residing in Czechia and Vietnam would agree on perceived attractiveness and use shape-related facial cues to biological quality better than Czech European raters, who are less familiar with East Asians. Surprisingly, mixed-effect models and post hoc comparisons identified no major cross-group differences in attributed attractiveness and path analyses revealed that the three groups based their rating on shape-related characteristics in a similar way. However, despite the considerable cross-cultural agreement regarding perceived attractiveness, Czech European raters associated attractiveness with facial shape averageness significantly more than Vietnamese raters.

Catching eyes of social media wanderers: How pictorial and textual cues in visitor-generated content shape users’ cognitive-affective psychology

Documenting and sharing individual museum visits flourishes on social media. However, little research exists about how peer-generated content cues shape prospective visitors' perceptions and decisions. Drawing upon the stimulus‒organism‒response (SOR) framework, we holistically investigated the visual weight and attitudinal feedback of exhibition selfies and caption appeal types via eye-tracking technology and interviews, as well as the persuasive execution of accompanying texts using an experimental method. Two sequential studies were conducted: Study 1 empirically investigated the superiority of selfies and emotional titles in attracting visual attention and their influence on viewers' attitudinal evaluations through aesthetic judgments, mental imagery and flow experience during visual processing; Study 2 differentiated two types of textual stimuli (informational self-disclosure and emotional self-disclosure) that indirectly influence viewers’ behavioral intention through their inner organism changes in aesthetic experience and trust. The findings provide theoretical and marketing insights for tourism and cultural organizations to promote their social media communication.

Exploring Tuning Characteristics of Ventral Stream’s Neurons for Few-Shot Image Classification

Human has the remarkable ability of learning novel objects by browsing extremely few examples, which may be attributed to the generic and robust feature extracted in the ventral stream of our brain for representing visual objects. In this sense, the tuning characteristics of ventral stream's neurons can be useful prior knowledge to improve few-shot classification. Specifically, we computationally model two groups of neurons found in ventral stream which are respectively sensitive to shape cues and color cues. Then we propose the hierarchical feature regularization method with these neuron models to regularize the backbone of a few-shot model, thus making it produce more generic and robust features for few-shot classification. In addition, to simulate the tuning characteristic that neuron firing at a higher rate in response to foreground stimulus elements compared to background elements, which we call belongingness, we design a foreground segmentation algorithm based on the observation that the foreground object usually does not appear at the edge of the picture, then multiply the foreground mask with the backbone of few-shot model. Our method is model-agnostic and can be applied to few-shot models with different backbones, training paradigms and classifiers.

Politicization of a Pathogen: A Prospective Longitudinal Study of COVID‐19 Responses in a Nationally Representative U.S. Sample

Understanding population‐level variability in responses to pathogens over time is important for developing effective health‐based messages targeted at ideologically diverse populations. Research from psychological and political sciences suggests that party and elite cues shape how people respond to major threats like climate change. Research on responses to the COVID‐19 pandemic suggests similar variability across party identities; however, prior work has methodological limitations. This prospective, longitudinal study of a large probability‐based nationally representative U.S. sample assessed in March–April 2020 (N = 6,514) and then 6 months later in September–October 2020 (N = 5,661) demonstrates that COVID‐19 fear, perceived COVID‐19 death risk, and reported health‐protective behaviors became increasingly polarized over the first 6 months of the pandemic. Initial differences between Democrats and Republicans failed to converge over time and became more pronounced. Responses among Republicans were further polarized by support for former President Donald Trump: Trump Republicans initially reported weaker responses to COVID‐19 than non‐Trump Republicans, and these differences became more pronounced over time. Importantly, political identity and Trump support were not linked to perceived infection risk of a nonpoliticized pathogen, the flu. Finally, political identity and Republican Trump support prospectively predicted COVID‐19 vaccine intentions 6 months into the pandemic.

Object Shape and Depth of Word Representations in Preschoolers.

This study examined the effect of a shape cue (i.e., co-speech gesture) on word depth. We taught 23 preschoolers (M = 3;5 years, SD = 5.82) novel objects with either shape (SHP) or indicator (IND) gestures. SHP gestures mimicked object form, but IND gestures were not semantically related to the object (e.g., an upward-facing palm, extended toward the object). Each object had a unique IND or SHP gesture. Outcome measures reflected richer semantic and phonological learning in the SHP than in the IND condition. In the SHP condition, preschoolers (a) expressed more semantic knowledge, (b) said more sounds in names, and (c) generalized more names to untaught objects. There were also fewer disruptions to prime picture names in the SHP condition; we discuss the benefit of a co-speech shape gesture to capitalize on well-established statistical word learning patterns.