Abstract: It is unclear whether synesthesia is one condition or many, and this has implications for whether theories should postulate a single cause or multiple independent causes. Study 1 analyses data from a large sample of self-referred synesthetes (N = 2,925), who answered a questionnaire about N = 164 potential types of synesthesia. Clustering and factor analysis methods identified around seven coherent groupings of synesthesia, as well as showing that some common types of synesthesia do not fall into any grouping at all (mirror-touch, hearing-motion, tickertape). There was a residual positive correlation between clusters (they tend to associate rather than compete). Moreover, we observed a "snowball effect" whereby the chances of having a given cluster of synesthesia go up in proportion to the number of other clusters a person has (again suggesting non-independence). Clusters tended to be distinguished by shared concurrent experiences rather than shared triggering stimuli (inducers). We speculate that modulatory feedback pathways from the concurrent to inducers may play a key role in the emergence of synesthesia. Study 2 assessed the external validity of these clusters by showing that they predict performance on other measures known to be linked to synesthesia.

Abstract: Considering the widespread use of face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, the goal of the current study was to examine how occlusion of the lower half of the face may impact first impression formation. We conducted three experiments, each building on previous research, investigating the effect of face masks on first impressions of faces across the lifespan (children, young and older adults). Experiment 1 examined whether the mandatory influence of happy facial expressions on perceived trustworthiness in young adult faces is influenced by face masks. Experiment 2 examined behavioural consequences of adults’ first impressions of child faces to determine whether masks reduce the effect of facial niceness on interpretations of ambiguous behaviour. Experiment 3 investigated consensus for first impressions of trustworthiness and competence in older adult faces with and without masks, as well as consensus on underlying facial cues. The results of all three experiments present converging evidence that masks do not have a significant impact on first impressions and their behavioural consequences.

Abstract: Social perceptions of speakers are influenced by their voice information, including vocal characteristics and semantic content. Our study investigated how individuals’ warmth- and competence-related perceptions of speakers were affected by vocal pitch levels (i.e., high/low) and three kinds of semantic cues (i.e., prosocial, antisocial, and neutral) simultaneously. We have three key findings. First, antisocial cues negatively affected social perceptions, regardless of speakers’ gender. However, prosocial cues did not have positive impacts on evaluations of speakers because ratings were similar between prosocial cues and neutral cues. Second, female vocal pitch mattered for warmth-related perceptions but not for competence-related perceptions. The role of semantic cues should be additionally considered when investigating the impact of male vocal pitch on these perceptions. For example, higher-pitched men in prosocial contexts were perceived as warmer, while low-pitched men in antisocial contexts were judged as more competent. Third, the connection between vocal pitch and two kinds of perceptions showed an opposite trend, in which high pitch was related to more warmth but less competence, while the low pitch was associated with less warmth but more competence. These findings extend the understanding of the role of vocal pitch in the formation of stereotypes of strangers in different semantic contexts.

Abstract: We assessed the association between measures of dynamic visual acuity and a multiple object tracking task in physically active young adults. Ninety-four young adults performed the dynamic visual acuity and multiple object tracking tasks. Dynamic visual acuity was measured for horizontal and random walk motion paths at four target speeds (5, 10, 20, and 30°/s). For the multiple object tracking task, participants had to track three out of eight balls for 10 s, and the object speed was adjusted by a staircase procedure. We found that multiple object tracking performance was associated with better identification of horizontally and randomly moving targets in the dynamic visual acuity test (p < .001, r = −.35 [−.52, −.16]; and p < .001, r = −.52 [−.65, −.35]; respectively). This effect was consistent across all target speeds (all p-values<0.05). However, static visual acuity did not correlate with any measure of dynamic visual acuity or multiple object tracking (p > 0.170 in all cases). This study provides novel insights into the association between the ability to identify horizontally and randomly moving targets and track multiple objects. Future studies are needed to determine the potential utility of dynamic visual acuity for talent identification and predicting sports performance in real-game situations.

Abstract: This study explored how people look at The Night Watch (1642), Rembrandt's masterpiece. Twenty-one participants each stood in front of the painting for 5 min, while their eyes were recorded with a mobile eye-tracker and their thoughts were verbalized with a think-aloud method. We computed a heatmap of the participants’ attentional distribution using a novel markerless mapping method. The results showed that the participants’ attention was mainly directed at the faces of the two central figures, the bright mascot girl in the painting, and detailed elements such as the apparel of the key figures. The eye-movement analysis and think-aloud data also showed that participants’ attention shifted from the faces of the key figures to other elements of the scene over the course of the 5 min. Our analyses are consistent with the theory that Rembrandt used light and texture to capture the viewer's attention. Finally, the robustness of the eye-tracking method was demonstrated by replicating the study on a smaller replica.

Abstract: Inattentional blindness occurs when one fails to notice a fully visible stimulus because one's attention is on another task. Researchers have suggested that expertise at this other task should reduce rates of inattentional blindness. However, research on the topic has produced mixed findings. To gain clarity on the issue, we meta-analyzed the extant studies (K = 14; N = 1153). On average, experts showed only a slight reduction in rates of inattentional blindness: 62% of novices experienced inattentional blindness compared to 56% of experts, weighted odds ratio = 1.33, 95% CI [0.78, 2.28]. The relevance of the stimuli to the experts’ domain of expertise showed no notable moderating effects. The low number of the included studies, and the small sample sizes of the original studies, weaken our conclusions. Nonetheless, when taken together, the available evidence provides little support for any reliable influence of expertise on rates of inattentional blindness.

Abstract: Finding a target among uniformly oriented non-targets is typically faster when this target is perpendicular, rather than parallel, to the non-targets. The V1 Saliency Hypothesis (V1SH), that neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1) signal saliency for exogenous attentional attraction, predicts exactly the opposite in a special case: each target or non-target comprises two equally sized disks displaced from each other by 1.2 disk diameters center-to-center along a line defining its orientation. A target has two white or two black disks. Each non-target has one white disk and one black disk, and thus, unlike the target, activates V1 neurons less when its orientation is parallel rather than perpendicular to the neurons’ preferred orientations. When the target is parallel, rather than perpendicular, to the uniformly oriented non-targets, the target’s evoked V1 response escapes V1’s iso-orientation surround suppression, making the target more salient. I present behavioral observations confirming this prediction.

Abstract: The illusion of self-motion (vection) is a multisensory phenomenon elicited by visual, auditory, tactile, or other sensory cues. Aging is often associated with changes in sensory acuity, visual motion perception, and multisensory integration, processes which may influence vection perception. However, age-related differences in vection have received little study to date. Thus, the objective of the present study was to investigate age-related differences in vection during multisensory stimulation. Nineteen younger adults and 19 older adults were exposed to rotating visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli (separately or in combination) at a speed of 45°/s inside a VR laboratory inducing circular vection. The size of the field-of-view (FOV) was large (240°), medium (75°), small (30°), or contained no visuals. Vection intensity and duration were reported verbally after each trial. Overall, older adults experienced significantly stronger and longer vection compared to younger adults. Additionally, there were main effects of FOV and sensory cues, such that larger FOVs and the presence of auditory and tactile stimulation increased vection ratings for both age groups. These findings support the idea that vection is a multisensory experience that can be elicited by visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli and demonstrates these effects for the first time in older adults.

Abstract: A wealth of studies have shown that humans are remarkably poor at determining whether two face images show the same person or not (face matching). Given the prevalence of photo-ID, and the fact that people employed to check photo-ID are typically unfamiliar with the person pictured, there is a need to improve unfamiliar face matching accuracy. One method of improvement is to have participants complete the task in a pair, which results in subsequent improvements in the low performer (“the pairs training effect”). Here, we sought to replicate the original finding, to test the longevity of the pairs training effect, and to shed light on the potential underlying mechanisms. In two experiments, we replicated the pairs training effect and showed it is maintained after a delay (Experiment 1). We found no differences between high and low performers in confidence (Experiment 1) or response times (Experiment 2), and the content of the pairs’ discussions (Experiment 2) did not explain the results. The pairs training effect in unfamiliar face matching is robust, but the mechanisms underlying the effects remain as yet unexplained.

Abstract: In attentional orienting, researchers have proposed that reward history is a component of attentional control, as the reward value might enhance the spatial attention process to achieve more efficient goal-directed behavior and to improve target-detection performance. Although the effect of reward–induced motivation on attentional orienting has been studied in two–dimensional (2-D) space, the specific mechanisms underlying the influence of reward on inhibition of return (IOR) of attentional orienting in three-dimensional space (3-D) remain unclear. In the present study, by incorporating the Posner spatial-cueing paradigm into a virtual 3-D environment, we aimed to investigate the influence of reward on IOR in 3-D space. The results showed the following: (1) IOR size in the rewarded conditions was smaller than IOR size in the unrewarded condition in the near depth plane, resulting in an IOR difference with or without reward. (2) Reward weakened IOR in the near depth plane because the response to the uncued location was delayed, not because the response to the cued location was accelerated. The present study indicated that the different depth planes of the target location in 3-D space could influence the interaction between reward and IOR, and reward weakened IOR in the near depth plane.

Abstract: Audiovisual integrations and interactions happen everywhere, including in music concerts, where combined visual and auditory perception contributes to overall enjoyment. Thirty-three participants evaluated their overall subjective preference at various seats in four virtual auditoria, which comprised congruent and incongruent auditory and visual renders of two auditoria that differ only in size. Results show no significant difference between participants who completed the experiment in a fully calibrated and standardized laboratory environment and participants who completed remotely using various VR equipment in various environments. Both visual and auditory auditorium size have significant main effects, but no interaction. The larger hall is preferred for both conditions. Audiovisual congruency does not significantly affect preference.

Abstract: According to the central-peripheral dichotomy (CPD), feedback from higher to lower cortical areas along the visual pathway to aid recognition is weaker in the more peripheral visual field. Metacontrast masking is predominantly a reduced visibility of a brief target by a brief and spatially adjacent mask when the mask succeeds rather than precedes or coincides with the target. If this masking works mainly by interfering with the feedback mechanisms for target recognition, then, by the CPD, this masking should be weaker at more peripheral visual locations. We extended the metacontrast masking at fovea by Enns and Di Lollo to visual field eccentricities 1 ∘ , 3 ∘ , and 9 ∘ . Relative to the target’s onset, the mask appeared at a stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) of − 50 , 0, 50, 92, or 142 milliseconds (ms). Enlarged stimuli were used for larger eccentricities to equalize target discrimination performance across eccentricities as best as possible for zero SOA and when SOA was too long for substantial masking. At each eccentricity, the masking was weakest at 0 or − 50 ms SOA, strongest at 50 ms SOA, and weakened with larger (positive) SOAs. Consistent with the CPD, larger eccentricities presented weaker maskings at all nonzero, and particularly the positive, SOAs.

Abstract: The present study investigated cross-modal associations between a series of paintings and sounds. We studied the effects of sound congruency (congruent vs. non-congruent sounds) and embodiment (embodied vs. synthetic sounds) on the evaluation of abstract and figurative paintings. Participants evaluated figurative and abstract paintings paired with congruent and non-congruent embodied and synthetic sounds. They also evaluated the perceived meaningfulness of the paintings, aesthetic value and immersive experience of the paintings. Embodied sounds (sounds associated with bodily sensations, bodily movements and touch) were more strongly associated with figurative paintings, while synthetic sounds (non-embodied sounds) were more strongly associated with abstract paintings. Sound congruency increased the perceived meaningfulness, immersive experience and aesthetic value of paintings. Sound embodiment increased immersive experience of paintings.

Abstract: Categorical perception (CP) of color claims that colors from different linguistic categories are discriminated more easily than those from the same category, suggesting that language may interact with visual perception. However, controversy remains regarding whether CP effects derive from language. Recently, CP effects were found in a dynamic paradigm named multiple object tracking (MOT). Here, we investigated whether this kind of CP is dependent on online use of language. We found that the CP effects are reduced by verbal interference when the participants were required to memorize color words during tracking (Experiment 2) but not when the interference stimuli were digits (Experiment 1). Our study suggested that the CP effects in tracking depend partly on online use of language and that the difficulty of verbal interference tasks influences the capability of disrupting CP.

Abstract: Ensemble coding and attention are two mechanisms utilized by our visual system to overcome the limitation of visual processing when confronted with the overwhelming visual information. Recent evidence in ensemble coding of size suggests that the attended items contributed more to the averaging. On the other hand, some new evidence also indicates that reduced attention jeopardies the perceptual averaging of stimuli. What is the relationship between attention and ensemble coding? To answer this question, in the current study, we tested whether an exogenous attentional cue would influence the reported mean emotion of a crowd. We showed participants a group of four faces with different emotions. Participants' attention was guided to the happiest or saddest face (attention conditions), or not to any specific face (baseline condition). The results supported the notion that the attention alters the ensemble perception of the facial expression by elevating the weight of that face in the ensemble representation. This opens the question for the neural mechanisms of ensemble coding and its connection to visual attention.

Abstract: Recent research on time perception has revealed that actions which are replayed in slow motion are perceived to take longer and rated to be more intentional (e.g., foul plays). Interestingly, the bias on duration estimations seems to disappear when information on the slow motion factor (i.e., the degree the video was slowed down) was provided. Here, we scrutinize the question whether also the intentionality bias disappears when explicit information about the slow motion factor is provided. To this end, two groups watched the same video clips, all displaying foul situations in a basketball match, in different video speeds. While the uninformed group saw the videos without further information, the informed group received additional information about the current slow motion factor. This study replicated the overestimation of original duration with increasing slow motion and indicated that this effect might be reduced when information about the slow motion factor is provided. However, despite generally lower intentionality ratings in the informed group, video speed information was not able to reduce the rise in intentionality ratings with increasing slow motion. Potential reasons and open questions regarding the nature and mechanisms behind these perceptual temporal biases (e.g., different time processing systems) are discussed.

Abstract: Using immersive virtual reality (the HTC Vive Head Mounted Display), we measured both bias and sensitivity when making judgements about the scene stability of a target object during both active (self-propelled) and passive (experimenter-propelled) observer movements. This was repeated in the same group of 16 participants for three different observer-target movement conditions in which the instability of a target was yoked to the movement of the observer. We found that in all movement conditions that the target needed to move with (in the same direction) as the participant to be perceived as scene-stable. Consistent with the presence of additional available information (efference copy) about self-movement during active conditions, biases were smaller and sensitivities to instability were higher in these relative to passive conditions. However, the presence of efference copy was clearly not sufficient to completely eliminate the bias and we suggest that the presence of additional visual information about self-movement is also critical. We found some (albeit limited) evidence for correlation between appropriate metrics across different movement conditions. These results extend previous findings, providing evidence for consistency of biases across different movement types, suggestive of common processing underpinning perceptual stability judgements.

Abstract: For over one hundred years, we have been using the words “cue” and “clue” to describe the different sources of information we use to perceive the structure and layout of the surrounding world (Titchener, 1910; see Harper & Boring, 1948; Rogers, 2017). Both words have the connotation of insufficiency, incompleteness and possibly ambiguity. Cue is typically defined as a hint or a prompt, whereas a clue is defined in the Cambridge Dictionary as “some information that helps you to find the answer to a problem.” The idea of a cue is often attributed to Helmholtz but in the original German edition of the “Handbook of Physiological Optics,” he uses the word “Zeichen”—a “sign” (rather than a “cue”)—but note that the word “sign” also has a connotation of insufficiency or incompleteness. While the use of words like “cue” and “clue”might seem quite harmless, they represent what has been referred to as the cognitivisation of perception—the need to invoke “higher-level, cognitive processes” in order to explain what we see (see Tallis, 2003; Pagel, 2019). In the case of depth perception, for example, it is often argued that we need to make “assumptions” in order to use the available information. Specifically, we need to “assume” the homogeneity of the size of the texture elements that cover the surface in order to use texture gradient information. As humans, we are clearly capable of making assumptions and we can discuss those assumptions using language but in what sense do humans, or indeed other animals, need to make “assumptions” in order to use texture gradient information? The perspective characteristics of the spatio-temporal patterns of light reaching our eyes—the optic arrays—are all consequences of projective geometry—the sizes of objects or features in the world vary inversely with the viewing distance: that is, Euclid’s law. Hence it seems more likely that the mechanisms in our visual systems have evolved to incorporate these projective properties of our visual world, rather than requiring the perceiver to make “assumptions.” Helmholtz is also credited (correctly) with making the distinction between “primary” and “secondary” cues to depth and distance. He believed that some of the depth cues—for example, the vergence angle of the eyes, the accommodation state of the lens, and the small differences between the

Abstract: Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is a phenomenon characterised by a static-like tingling sensation spreading from the scalp and neck to the periphery in response to a variety of audio, visual, and tactile triggers resulting in a highly relaxed state and boosted positive affect. The limited literature on this phenomenon points to a potential of ASMR to alleviate pain. Emerging evidence also suggests that ASMR may be linked to increased sensory sensitivity more broadly. This study aimed to objectively address these claims by administering an algometer (measure of pain tolerance), and a visual analog scale (VAS) (measure of subjective pain sensitivity) to ASMR experiencers and controls at baseline, following an ASMR video, and a control video. Findings indicate that ASMR experiencers have a higher pain sensitivity than controls; however, there was no difference between the two groups in terms of pain tolerance. In addition, any potential analgesic properties associated with experiencing ASMR may reflect protective properties of ASMR buffering against the increased pain sensitivity among ASMR experiencers relative to controls.

Abstract: Perceiving other people's direct gaze is important for many areas of everyday activity. For horizontal and vertical eye movements, the area of being looked at, known as the cone of gaze, has been well explored. Previous research has shown a range of eye rotations (up to eccentricities of 4°–9°) that people accept as direct gaze. Vergence is an important cue for perceiving the depth of fixation. This study examines the range of vergence angles that support the perception of being looked at. In two experiments, observers adjusted the degree of vergence of the lookers’ eyes until they felt just (not) looked at. The first experiment also asked to adjust the point of being exactly looked at, which was 0° (parallel eyes). The thresholds of being just (not) looked at were around 4.5° of convergence and 2.5° divergence, which results in a depth of 7° of vergence. This depth was replicated in Experiment 2, while the thresholds of convergence (3.5°) and divergence (3.5°) slightly differ from Experiment 1. The results indicate a consistent area of vergences being accepted as direct gaze, yielding first-time evidence for a third dimension—the depth dimension—of direct gaze.

Abstract: The size-weight illusion is well-known: if two equally heavy objects differ in size, the large one feels lighter than the small one. Most explanations for this illusion assume that because the information about the relevant attribute (weight itself) is unreliable, information about an irrelevant but correlated attribute (size) is used as well. If such reasoning is correct, one would expect that the illusion can be inverted: if size information is unreliable, weight information will be used to judge size. We explored whether such a weight-size illusion exists by asking participants to lift Styrofoam balls that were coated with glow in the dark paint. The balls (2 sizes, 3 weights) were lifted using a pulley system in complete darkness at 2 distances. Participants reported the size using free magnitude estimation. The visual size information was indeed unreliable: balls that were presented at a 20% larger distance were judged 15% smaller. Nevertheless, the judgments of size were not systematically affected by the 20% weight change (differences < 0.5%). We conclude that because the weight-size illusion does not exist, the mechanism behind the size-weight illusion is specific for judging heaviness.

Abstract: Restricted accessAbstractFirst published online December 21, 2022The 44th European Conference on Visual Perception (ECVP) 2022, Nijmegen, The NetherlandsVolume 51, Issue 1_supplhttps://doi.org/10.1177/03010066221141167

Abstract: Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is a pleasant, tingling sensation on the skin that can be elicited by certain auditory and visual stimuli, with the intertwining of sensory modalities and emotional reactions observable in this phenomenon resembling that of synesthesia. The current study shows that the perception of ASMR-associated tingles can be enhanced by means of a prior mindfulness exercise in which attention is drawn to the body. This finding contributes to a better understanding of the crossmodal mechanisms behind ASMR and emphasizes the role that attentional processes play in its unfolding.

Abstract: Familiar and unfamiliar faces are recognized in fundamentally different ways. One way in which recognition differs is in terms of the features that facilitate recognition: previous studies have shown that familiar face recognition depends more on internal facial features (i.e., eyes, nose and mouth), whereas unfamiliar face recognition depends more on external facial features (i.e., hair, ears and contour). However, very few studies have examined the recognition of faces that vary in both familiarity and race, and the reliance on different facial features, whilst also using faces that incorporate natural within-person variability. In the current study, we used an online version of the card sorting task to assess adults’ (n = 258) recognition of faces that varied in familiarity and race when presented with either the whole face, internal features only, or external features only. Adults better recognized familiar faces than unfamiliar faces in both the whole face and the internal features only conditions, but not in the external features only condition. Reasons why adults did not show an own-race advantage in recognition are discussed.

Abstract: The judgment of female body appearance has been reported to be affected by a range of internal (e.g., viewers’ sexual cognition) and external factors (e.g., viewed clothing type and colour). This eye-tracking study aimed to complement previous research by examining the effect of facial expression on female body perception and associated body-viewing gaze behaviour. We presented female body images of Caucasian avatars in a continuum of common dress sizes posing seven basic facial expressions (neutral, happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, and disgust), and asked both male and female participants to rate the perceived body attractiveness and body size. The analysis revealed an evident modulatory role of avatar facial expressions on body attractiveness and body size ratings, but not on the amount of viewing time directed at individual body features. Specifically, happy and angry avatars attracted the highest and lowest body attractiveness ratings, respectively, and fearful and surprised avatars tended to be rated slimmer. Interestingly, the impact of facial expression on female body assessment was not further influenced by viewers’ gender, suggesting a ‘universal’ role of common facial expressions in modifying the perception of female body appearance.

Abstract: Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is a perceptual and emotional phenomenon in which specific sensory stimuli elicit a feeling of calm as well as tingling sensations on the scalp, neck, and shoulders. In the current study, we use fMRI to examine whether the motoric and sensory regions of the spinal cord segments associated with these body parts show increased activity during ASMR experiences. Nine individuals with ASMR completed six spinal functional magnetic resonance imaging runs while passively viewing videos. Three of the videos were shown (through pre-testing) to elicit ASMR tingles and three videos did not (i.e., control videos). The results demonstrated that ASMR-related stimuli elicited activity in dorsal (sensory) regions of spinal cord segments C1, C5, and C6; activity was observed in ventral (motoric) regions of segments C2–C8. Similar activity was not detected in response to control videos.

Abstract: Ambiguous figures (aka bistable, multistable, or reversible images) have fascinated scientists as well as laypersons for centuries. It may be surprising indeed how one and the same physical depiction can be experienced in perceptual awareness in cardinally different ways. In the most well-known examples of such illusions of multistability, the phenomenal change relates just to visual organization. Much less common are perceptions of alternating emotional content in the ambiguous visual image. Here, I introduce one such example.

Abstract: Pairing a single visual stimulus with multiple auditory stimuli will lead to the illusory perception of multiple visual stimuli, which is known as sound-induced flash illusion (SIFI). The present study adopted the classic SIFI paradigm to investigate whether value-associated tasks could affect the SIFI. By adjusting the sequence of reward and nonreward conditions, we also examined the effect of reward history on SIFI. The results showed that the fission illusion was reduced when associated with momentary reward, demonstrating significantly higher accuracy and discriminability than the nonreward condition. However, the fusion illusion was not affected by the momentary reward, and the explanation was that the fusion illusion was not as stable as the fission illusion and disappeared across different trials and conditions. Moreover, the robustness of reward history in the present study was not as strong as previous studies have suggested, indicating that the effect of sound on the perceptual representation of visual stimuli is strong and robust to reward history. These findings demonstrated that the reward could reduce the SIFI and broaden the existing dichotomy of SIFI. New evidence for the operation of value-driven attention mechanisms is also provided, suggesting that the underlying value-driven attention operates across multiple sensory systems.

Abstract: Deviating from human norms in human-looking artificial entities can elicit uncanny sensations, described as the uncanny valley. This study investigates in three tasks whether configural deviation in written text also increases uncanniness. It further evaluates whether the uncanniness of text is better explained by perceptual disfluency and especially deviations from specialized categories, or conceptual disfluency caused by ambiguity. In the first task, lower sentence readability predicted uncanniness, but deviating sentences were more uncanny than typical sentences despite being just as readable. Furthermore, familiarity with a language increased the effect of configural deviation on uncanniness but not the effect of non-configural deviation (blur). In the second and third tasks, semantically ambiguous words and sentences were not uncannier than typical sentences, but deviating, non-ambiguous sentences were. Deviations from categories with specialized processing mechanisms thus better fit the observed results as an explanation of the uncanny valley than ambiguity-based explanations.