@article{BreilHuesteggeBoeckler2022, author = {Breil, Christina and Huestegge, Lynn and B{\"o}ckler, Anne}, title = {From eye to arrow: Attention capture by direct gaze requires more than just the eyes}, series = {Attention, Perception \& Psychophysics}, volume = {84}, journal = {Attention, Perception \& Psychophysics}, number = {1}, issn = {1943-393X}, doi = {10.3758/s13414-021-02382-2}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-273206}, pages = {64-75}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Human attention is strongly attracted by direct gaze and sudden onset motion. The sudden direct-gaze effect refers to the processing advantage for targets appearing on peripheral faces that suddenly establish eye contact. Here, we investigate the necessity of social information for attention capture by (sudden onset) ostensive cues. Six experiments involving 204 participants applied (1) naturalistic faces, (2) arrows, (3) schematic eyes, (4) naturalistic eyes, or schematic facial configurations (5) without or (6) with head turn to an attention-capture paradigm. Trials started with two stimuli oriented towards the observer and two stimuli pointing into the periphery. Simultaneous to target presentation, one direct stimulus changed to averted and one averted stimulus changed to direct, yielding a 2 × 2 factorial design with direction and motion cues being absent or present. We replicated the (sudden) direct-gaze effect for photographic faces, but found no corresponding effects in Experiments 2-6. Hence, a holistic and socially meaningful facial context seems vital for attention capture by direct gaze. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: The present study highlights the significance of context information for social attention. Our findings demonstrate that the direct-gaze effect, that is, the prioritization of direct gaze over averted gaze, critically relies on the presentation of a meaningful holistic and naturalistic facial context. This pattern of results is evidence in favor of early effects of surrounding social information on attention capture by direct gaze.}, language = {en} } @article{BreilKanskePittigetal.2021, author = {Breil, Christina and Kanske, Philipp and Pittig, Roxana and B{\"o}ckler, Anne}, title = {A revised instrument for the assessment of empathy and Theory of Mind in adolescents: Introducing the EmpaToM-Y}, series = {Behavior Research Methods}, volume = {53}, journal = {Behavior Research Methods}, doi = {10.3758/s13428-021-01589-3}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-302877}, pages = {2487-2501}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Empathy and Theory of Mind (ToM) are two core components of social understanding. The EmpaToM is a validated social video task that allows for independent manipulation and assessment of the two capacities. First applications revealed that empathy and ToM are dissociable constructs on a neuronal as well as on a behavioral level. As the EmpaToM has been designed for the assessment of social understanding in adults, it has a high degree of complexity and comprises topics that are inadequate for minors. For this reason, we designed a new version of the EmpaToM that is especially suited to measure empathy and ToM in youths. In experiment 1, we successfully validated the EmpaToM-Y on the original EmpaToM in an adult sample (N = 61), revealing a similar pattern of results across tasks and strong correlations of all constructs. As intended, the performance measure for ToM and the control condition of the EmpaToM-Y showed reduced difficulty. In experiment 2, we tested the feasibility of the EmpaToM-Y in a group of teenagers (N = 36). Results indicate a reliable empathy induction and higher demands of ToM questions for adolescents. We provide a promising task for future research targeting inter-individual variability of socio-cognitive and socio-affective capacities as well as their precursors and outcomes in healthy minors and clinical populations.}, language = {en} } @article{RiechelmannGamerBoeckleretal.2021, author = {Riechelmann, Eva and Gamer, Matthias and B{\"o}ckler, Anna and Huestegge, Lynn}, title = {How ubiquitous is the direct-gaze advantage? Evidence for an averted-gaze advantage in a gaze-discrimination task}, series = {Attention, Perception, \& Psychophysics}, volume = {83}, journal = {Attention, Perception, \& Psychophysics}, issn = {1943-3921}, doi = {10.3758/s13414-020-02147-3}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-235268}, pages = {215-237}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Human eye gaze conveys an enormous amount of socially relevant information, and the rapid assessment of gaze direction is of particular relevance in order to adapt behavior accordingly. Specifically, previous research demonstrated evidence for an advantage of processing direct (vs. averted) gaze. The present study examined discrimination performance for gaze direction (direct vs. averted) under controlled presentation conditions: Using a backward-masking gaze-discrimination task, photographs of faces with direct and averted gaze were briefly presented, followed by a mask stimulus. Additionally, effects of facial context on gaze discrimination were assessed by either presenting gaze direction in isolation (i.e., by only showing the eye region) or in the context of an upright or inverted face. Across three experiments, we consistently observed a facial context effect with highest discrimination performance for faces presented in upright position, lower performance for inverted faces, and lowest performance for eyes presented in isolation. Additionally, averted gaze was generally responded to faster and with higher accuracy than direct gaze, indicating an averted-gaze advantage. Overall, the results suggest that direct gaze is not generally associated with processing advantages, thereby highlighting the important role of presentation conditions and task demands in gaze perception.}, language = {en} } @article{BreilBoeckler2020, author = {Breil, Christina and B{\"o}ckler, Anne}, title = {The Lens Shapes the View: on Task Dependency in ToM Research}, series = {Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports}, volume = {7}, journal = {Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports}, doi = {10.1007/s40473-020-00205-6}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-232646}, pages = {41-50}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Purpose of Review This article provides an overview of current findings on Theory of Mind (ToM) in human children and adults and highlights the relationship between task specifications and their outcome in socio-cognitive research. Recent Findings ToM, the capacity to reason about and infer others' mental states, develops progressively throughout childhood—the exact time course is still a matter of debate. Neuroimaging studies indicate the involvement of a widespread neuronal network during mentalizing, suggesting that ToM is a multifaceted process. Accordingly, the tasks and trainings that currently exist to investigate and enhance ToM are heterogeneous, and the outcomes largely depend on the paradigm that was used. Summary We argue for the implementation of multiple-task batteries in the assessment of socio-cognitive abilities. Decisions for a particular paradigm need to be carefully considered and justified. We want to emphasize the importance of targeted research on the relationship between task specifications and outcomes.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Flohr2017, author = {Flohr, Elena Leonie Ruth}, title = {The Scents of Interpersonality - On the Influence of Smells on the Evaluation and Processing of Social Stimuli}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-153352}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2017}, abstract = {In daily life, olfactory stimuli are potential generators of affective states, but also have a strong influence on social interaction. Pleasant odors have been shown to increase perceived attractiveness and pro-social behavior, whereas unpleasant body odors are often associated with negative personality traits. Since both pleasant odors and positive affective state facilitate pro-social behavior, it is conceivable that the influence of the odors on social interaction is mediated by the induced affective state elicited by the odor itself. The present thesis aims at exploring the impact of hedonic, i.e., pleasant or unpleasant, odors on the processing and evaluation of social stimuli as assessed by verbal, physiological, and behavioral indices. First, I investigate the effects of initially neutral odors which gained threatening value through an aversive conditioning procedure on social stimuli (Study 1). Second, I study the influence of naturally hedonic odors on social interaction. Third, this thesis aims at disentangling differences in the effects of an odor attributed to either a social interaction partner or the environment where the social encounter takes place (Study 2, 3, and 4). In the first study, a context conditioning procedure was applied, during which one out of two long-lasting neutral odors was paired with an unpredictable aversive unconditioned stimulus (US, i.e., white noise). This odor (CTX+) thereby gained threatening value, while another odor (CTX-) remained unpaired and therefore signaled safety. During a test session, facial stimuli were presented within both conditioned olfactory contexts. Results indicate that autonomic arousal was increased to faces when presented in the threatening odor context. Additionally, participants rated facial stimuli as more aversive when presented in the threatening odor as compared to the safety odor, indicating that faces acquire hedonic value from the odor they were presented in. Strikingly, angry facial expressions received additional processing resources when presented within a threatening olfactory context, as reflected on verbal reports and electrodermal activity (EDA). This latter finding suggests that threat-related stimuli, here angry faces, are preferentially processed within an olfactory context where a threat might happen. Considering that the hedonic value of an odor may be quite subjective, I conducted a pilot study in order to identify odors with pleasant vs. unpleasant properties for most participants. Seven odors (four pleasant and three unpleasant) were rated with respect to their valence (pleasant vs. unpleasant), arousal (arousing vs. calm), and intensity. Additionally, EDA was measured. Two pleasant (Citral and Eucalyptol) and two unpleasant ("Animalis" and Isobutyraldehyde) odors were chosen from the original seven. The unpleasant odors were rated as more negative, arousing, and intense than the positive ones, but no differences were found regarding EDA. These four odors were subsequently used in a virtual reality (VR) paradigm with two odor attribution groups. Participants of the social attribution group (n = 59) were always passively guided into the same room (an office) towards one out of two virtual agents who were either paired with the pleasant or the unpleasant odor. Participants of the contextual attribution group (n = 58) were guided into one out of two rooms which were either paired with the pleasant or the unpleasant odor and where they always met the same agent. For both groups, the agents smiled, frowned or remained with a neutral facial expression. This design allowed evaluating the influence of odor valence as a within-subjects factor and the influence of odor attribution as a between-subjects factor. Unpleasant odors facilitated the processing of social cues as reflected by increased verbal and physiological arousal as well as reduced active approach behavior. Specific influence of odor valence on emotional facial expressions was found for ratings, EDA, and facial mimicry, with the unpleasant odor causing a levelling effect on the differences between facial expressions. The social attribution group exhibited larger differences between odors than the contextual group with respect to some variables (i.e., ratings and EDA), but not to others (i.e., electrocortical potentials - ERPs - and approach behavior). In sum, unpleasant in comparison to pleasant odors diminished emotional responses during social interaction, while an additional enhancing effect of the social attribution was observed on some variables. Interestingly, the awareness that an interaction partner would smell (pleasantly or unpleasantly) boosted the emotional reactivity towards them. In Study 3, I adapted the VR paradigm to a within-subjects design, meaning that the different attribution conditions were now manipulated block-wise. Instead of an approach task, participants had to move away from the virtual agent (withdrawal task). Results on the ratings were replicated from Study 2. Specifically, the difference between pleasant and unpleasant odors on valence, arousal, and sympathy ratings was larger in the social as compared to the contextual attribution condition. No effects of odor or attribution were found on EDA, whereas heart rate (HR) showed a stronger acceleration to pleasant odors while participants were passively guided towards the agent. Instead of an approach task, I focused on withdrawal behavior in this study. Interestingly, independently of the attribution condition, participants spent more time withdrawing from virtual agents, when an unpleasant odor was presented. In sum, I demonstrated that the attribution of the odors to the social agent itself had an enhancing effect on their influence on social interaction. In the fourth and last study, I applied a similar within-subjects protocol as in Study 3 with an additional Ultimatum Game task as a measure of social interaction. Overall findings replicated the results of Study 3 with respect to HR and EDA. Strikingly, participants offered less money to virtual agents in the bad smelling room than in the good smelling room. In contrast to Study 3, no effects of odor attribution were found in Study 4. In sum, again I demonstrated that unpleasant odor may lessen social interaction not only when the interaction partner smells badly, but also in more complex interaction situations. In conclusion, I demonstrated that hedonic odors in general influence social interaction. Thus, pleasant odors seem to facilitate, while unpleasant odors seem to reduce interpersonal exchanges. Therefore, the present thesis extends the body of literature on the influence of odors on the processing of social stimuli. Although I found a direct influence of odors on social preferences as well as on the physiological and behavioral responses to social stimuli, I did not disentangle impact of odor per se from the impact of the affective state. Interestingly, odor attribution might play an additional role as mediator of social interactions such as odor effects in social interactions might be boosted when the smell is attributed to an individual. However, the results in this regard were less straightforward, and therefore further investigations are needed. Future research should also take into account gender or other inter-individual differences like social anxiety.}, subject = {smell}, language = {en} } @article{HerbertSfaerleaBlumenthal2013, author = {Herbert, Cornelia and Sf{\"a}rlea, Anca and Blumenthal, Terry}, title = {Your emotion or mine: labeling feelings alters emotional face perception—an ERP study on automatic and intentional affect labeling}, series = {Frontiers in Human Neuroscience}, journal = {Frontiers in Human Neuroscience}, doi = {10.3389/fnhum.2013.00378}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-97065}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Empirical evidence suggests that words are powerful regulators of emotion processing. Although a number of studies have used words as contextual cues for emotion processing, the role of what is being labeled by the words (i.e., one's own emotion as compared to the emotion expressed by the sender) is poorly understood. The present study reports results from two experiments which used ERP methodology to evaluate the impact of emotional faces and self- vs. sender-related emotional pronoun-noun pairs (e.g., my fear vs. his fear) as cues for emotional face processing. The influence of self- and sender-related cues on the processing of fearful, angry and happy faces was investigated in two contexts: an automatic (experiment 1) and intentional affect labeling task (experiment 2), along with control conditions of passive face processing. ERP patterns varied as a function of the label's reference (self vs. sender) and the intentionality of the labeling task (experiment 1 vs. experiment 2). In experiment 1, self-related labels increased the motivational relevance of the emotional faces in the time-window of the EPN component. Processing of sender-related labels improved emotion recognition specifically for fearful faces in the N170 time-window. Spontaneous processing of affective labels modulated later stages of face processing as well. Amplitudes of the late positive potential (LPP) were reduced for fearful, happy, and angry faces relative to the control condition of passive viewing. During intentional regulation (experiment 2) amplitudes of the LPP were enhanced for emotional faces when subjects used the self-related emotion labels to label their own emotion during face processing, and they rated the faces as higher in arousal than the emotional faces that had been presented in the "label sender's emotion" condition or the passive viewing condition. The present results argue in favor of a differentiated view of language-as-context for emotion processing.}, language = {en} } @article{StrackDeutsch2004, author = {Strack, Fritz and Deutsch, Roland}, title = {Reflective and Impulsive Determinants of Social Behavior}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-40447}, year = {2004}, abstract = {This article describes a 2-systems model that explains social behavior as a joint function of reflective and impulsive processes. In particular, it is assumed that social behavior is controlled by 2 interacting systems that follow different operating principles. The reflective system generates behavioral decisions that are based on knowledge about facts and values, whereas the impulsive system elicits behavior through associative links and motivational orientations. The proposed model describes how the 2 systems interact at various stages of processing, and how their outputs may determine behavior in a synergistic or antagonistic fashion. It extends previous models by integrating motivational components that allow more precise predictions of behavior. The implications of this reflective-impulsive model are applied to various phenomena from social psychology and beyond. Extending previous dual-process accounts, this model is not limited to specific domains of mental functioning and attempts to integrate cognitive, motivational, and behavioral mechanisms.}, subject = {Psychologie}, language = {en} }