Cortical Hyper Excitability correlating with Visual Distortions and Hallucinations
The primary focus of our study concerned how abnormalities in visual experiences such as visual distortions or hallucinations result in increase in cortical hyper-excitability in the non-clinical population. Aberrant neural processes leads to anomalous experiences. Susceptibility to such visual distortions reflects elevated levels of cortical hyper excitability. On the account of methodology, Forty-eight non-clinical individuals completed the "Pattern Glare Task" where they viewed certain striped grating patterns with different spatial frequencies. The non-clinical participants also completed the Cortical Hyper-excitability Index (Chi) and the Cambridge Depersonalization Scale (CDS). From the analysis, Pattern glare task performance showed that individuals experienced more visual distortions in the Medium Frequency (3cpd). The CDS and Chi results only confirm our study further. Conclusively, the study suggests that members of the non-clinical population do experience a certain level of increase in cortical hyper-excitability. It establishes the utility of pattern glare with regards to CHi and CDS to add to our existing knowledge.
Introduction The major objective of this study is to understand the relationship between the cortical hyper-excitability and the various visual hallucinations or distortions in the non-clinical population. The major research question is to understand how the aberrant neural processes lead to anomalous experiences. This section investigates into the methodology that has been used to investigate and validate hypotheses postulated by the research question of this project. The participants for this study are 48 non-clinical constituents. These participants were tested with the Pattern Glare Task, the Cortical Hyper-Excitability Index and the Cambridge Depersonalization Scale. Participants Forty-eight numbers of individuals, undergraduates and postgraduates ageing between 21 and 33 from were recruited for the experiment via random sampling. The mean age of the participants was 24. Out of these, 30 (62%) were male participants while 18 (38 %) were the number of female participants. None of the individuals reported any medical history of seizures, photo sensory epilepsy or were diagnosed with migraine. Individuals suffering from migraine, migraine (aura) or photosensitive epilepsy were excluded from the study. Materials Pattern Glare Test The pattern glare task includes stripy patterns on three separate cards each with different spatial frequencies; low spatial frequency baseline grating (approx. 0.5 cycles per degree), high spatial frequency baseline grating (approx. 12 cpd), and the crucial medium spatial frequency grating (approx. 3 cpd). The computerised version of the pattern glare task was modified for this experiment, as we were using a paper-based version (Wilkins, 1995; Wilkins et al., 1984) for the same. The stimuli used in the experiment are given in Figure 1. The individuals are asked to stare at the white dot in the center of each pattern for approximately 10-15 seconds, while holding each pattern at arm's length. Following, a series of questions are asked to the participant i.e. if they experienced any blurring of lines, bending of lines, and fading, shimmering, flickering or shadowy shapes. The participants on the basis of their experience on viewing each pattern, rate the above questions from a score of 0-7 where, 0-minimum and 7-maximum (Wilkins et al., 1984; Conlon et al., 1999). The score is obtained for each pattern and the difference between Pattern 2 and Pattern 3 is recorded, which is called as the '3-12 difference'; in other words, the difference between high frequency and the medium frequency (3cpd – 12cpd). Cambridge Depersonalization Scale The CDS is a self-reporting questionnaire and is used to measure the duration and frequency of any depersonalization symptoms that individual experiences in the time frame of the past six months (Sierra and Berrios, 1999). The CDS is an instrument containing 29 items. Each of the items in the scale are rated on the basis of Likert-scale both for frequency (0-4; where, 0=never, 1=rarely, 2=often, 3=very often, and 4=all the time) and duration based on its average on how much the experiences last (1-6; where 1=few seconds, 2=few minutes, 3=few hours, 4=about a day, 5=more than a day, and 6=more than a week). Its global score is the sum of all items (0-290). Sierra et al., (2005) established four well determined factors to dictate the different symptoms of depersonalization as single or underlying dimensions they were ‘Anomalous Body Experience’, ‘Emotional Numbing’, ‘Anomalous Subjective Recall’, and ‘Alienation from Surroundings.’ This questionnaire addresses the complexity of depersonalization and uncovers its symptoms, which can be directed towards distinct psychopathological domains. Cortical Hyper excitability Index The CHi was designed to provide an index that discovers the visual irritability, discomfort and the associated visual distortions that individual’s experience (Braithwaite, Merchant, Dewe and Takahashi, 2015). The above-mentioned experiences are well linked to the increase of cortical hyper excitability. A major advantage of the CHi’s design is that it unveils three broad factors which are (1) heightened visual sensitivity and discomfort, (2) negative aura-type visual aberrations, and (3) positive aura-type visual aberrations. The items present in the questionnaire picture a vast selection of visual experiences (sensitive to external sensory information for e.g. lights, patterns; certain environment is uncomfortable for the individual; dizziness/nausea; discomfort/ irritation from reading a certain font or style of writing etc) that have been previously reported through hallucinations based experimental studies on patients, control groups, non-clinical populations; aura and its underlying dimensions. The CHi uses a fine-grained 7-point Likert response scales, where in the test each question has two response scales i.e. frequency (1-7; where 1=not at all frequent and 7=very frequent) and intensity (1-7; where 1=not at all intense and 7=extremely intense). In terms of scoring, both the scales are summed to provide an overall CHi index for each question. However, a value of 1 is subtracted from each response on frequency and intensity, as the scale was transformed from 1-7 to a 0-6 Likert-scale. This was done for individuals who responded with 1 in every question would still have a score of 54. Design and Procedure All the participants were forwarded a brief explanation about the purpose of the study and how they can contribute to it. If the participants agree, later schedule a time for the voluntary study. The experiment was conducted in the Social Hub of the Graduate College, Lancaster University. The participants were seated comfortably on the right side of the researcher. The individuals were asked to read the Participant Information sheet carefully, later if they agree; they may sign their respective consent form. It was made clear to the participants that the confidentiality of their personal information will be ensured and that they could at any point (1) can ask questions during the experiment, (2) stop the experiment, if they are uncomfortable at any point during the conduction (3) participants have the right to withdraw themselves from the study with no further adverse consequences however, they need to inform the researcher about this via email. Participants were again asked if they suffered from any neurological disorder specially migraine, migraine (aura), or photo sensory epilepsy and if they had any severe incidences of alcohol and drug abuse. The first phase of the experiment included the pattern glare task. Individuals were handed over with the first pattern with low frequency (LF) and were asked to stare at the white dot in the center of the pattern for 10-15 seconds. After this, they were asked to rate the questions based on their experience on a scale of 0-7 (0-minimun, 7-maximum). The questions included if they experienced any blurring of lines, bending of lines, shimmering or flickering, fading or if they could see any shadowy shapes. Before handing over the second pattern, it was made sure that the participant is comfortable with proceeding further with the experiment and is not experiencing any kind of visual stress. The same steps were repeated for both the other two patterns with medium frequency (MF) and high frequency (HF). The order in which the participants viewed the patterns was randomized for each one. Individuals who are prone to pattern glare can be quantified for such a criterion based on their sum of distortions in 3cpd (MF) or as the difference between 3 and 12 cpd, also called the '3-12 cpd difference'. After a two-minute break, the second phase of the experiment included participants to answer 29 questions on the Cambridge Depersonalisation Scale, which are based on the frequency and duration of any 'strange or funny experiences' that they felt in the past six months. Lastly, the third phase, the second questionnaire was introduced to the participants, the Cortical Hyper Excitability Index. Similar to the patterns, the questionnaires presented to the participants were also randomised in order to obtain a variety in the responses of the participants. The total time taken to conduct the experiment was about 20 minutes or less. Post conduction, the individuals were thanked for their time and effort.
The Effect of Positive and Negative Emotional States on the Price Sensitivity to Green Fast-Moving Consumer Goods in the UK
Psychology, behaviour, mood, pricing, green marketing, advertising
Consumers are growing increasingly aware about the environmental consequences of their daily purchases, creating a potentially lucrative space for agile brands to leverage sustainable or green fast-moving consumer good (FMCG) production and increase revenue and profit. However, a fuller exploitation of this growth is impeded by the high costs of offering greener FMCG’s, which are passed onto consumers via higher prices, leading to a preference for cheaper, non-green FMCG’s due to price sensitivity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the power of positive and negative emotional states in reducing this price sensitivity and thus, increasing green FMCG buying behaviour. To induce the two emotional states, conventionally happy and sad video stimuli were utilised, followed by a fictional product selection between green and non-green FMCG’s. The research involved two phases. Phase 1 applied a qualitative method in the form of two focus groups (total n = 10) to test and enhance the general research procedure, while gathering additional insights regarding the overall study subject. Phase 2 integrated the refined procedure into a quantitative questionnaire, which involved a sample for each emotional state and a third sample as a control (total n = 300). The results demonstrated that neither positive nor negative emotional states had an overall significant influence on FMCG product selection. The discussion of the results includes insights from Phase 1 and provides recommendations for brands. The study limitations and future research directions are also presented. The research was conducted for and funded by Astroten – a behavioural science consultancy in London.
Methods Overall Design In accordance with the research questions and hypotheses, the methodology tested the effect of positive and negative emotional states, which were induced by two online videos. Each video contained copyright-free footage, one depicting humorous scenes (positive state), and the other depicting sadness (negative state). The impact of the videos’ mood-inducement was primarily measured by the outcomes of a fictional product selection in which participants chose between a more expensive green FMCG and a less expensive non-green FMCG. Specific Design The project comprised two data collection and analysis phases. Phase 1 was a pilot qualitative study in which the overall design described above was discussed/tested and a series of additional questions regarding the relationship between green and non-green FMCG’s, emotional state (mood), and price were asked. Hence, the utility of Phase 1 was two-fold. First, it obtained richer insights afforded by the inherent advantage of qualitative research over quantitative research, through an in-depth exploration of participants’ perspectives around their decision-making regarding more expensive green FMCG’s. Second, this same advantage also yielded direct feedback from the participants on the general procedure so that it could be refined for Phase 2 – an online quantitative questionnaire. The questionnaire’s purpose was to achieve a stronger empirical basis for the effects of positive and negative emotional states. Phase 1: Pilot Qualitative Study The qualitative approach for Phase 1 consisted of focus groups. This method was selected because focus groups could facilitate the dynamic development of ideas between participants in contrast to individual in-depth interviews. In the latter, certain thoughts and perspectives could have failed to emerge, and to introduce these thoughts and perspectives, the researcher would risk posing leading questions, affecting data validity. In addition, given the study timeframe, focus groups were deemed to be more feasible in terms of data collection and analysis. Two focus groups (FG1 – approximately 70 minutes; FG2 – approximately 90 minutes) were conducted, each comprising 5 participants, split approximately by gender. The participants were post-graduate students from Lancaster University and were selected via opportunity sampling by posting the study details in a WhatsApp group chat for residents of the university’s Graduate College accommodations. Participants were each paid £15, and refreshments (snacks and beverages) were provided. Regarding the mood-inducing stimuli for Phase 1, the positive emotional state stimulus was a video containing clips of monkeys performing comic or happy actions (e.g., reading a newspaper or jumping around) (see Figure 1). The video was sourced from the Nature ALL (2020) channel on YouTube and was copyright-free (https://youtu.be/YQ4xwK7_rUY). The video also included a copyright-free comedic soundtrack, which effectively accompanied the content of the video. The duration of the video was edited down to one minute to ensure sufficient emotional impact, while preventing excessive exposure, which could have led to boredom and, logically, impacted the desired emotional state.
The impact of retribution on perception of transgressor by others
Retribution, Transgression, Guilt, Vignette
Emotions play a key role in within society, behaviour and human life with moral emotions such as guilt, regret and shame being able to influence individuals’ judgments and actions. For example, a person who experiences guilt will want to fix their wrongdoing that has caused this. There are times where these efforts to repair ones transgression, can lead an individual to self-punish in order to repair bonds with others and reduce negative consequences of the situation. The present study experimentally investigated the effect of self-punishment intensity on perceptions of a transgressor. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions of self-punishment intensity (low, correct and high). Vignettes were manipulated for each condition and presented for participants to read for them to answer questions on their judgments of the transgressor (perceptions of guilt, shame, regret, moral character, and trustworthiness, their willingness to forgive the transgressor, how likely they thought they would reoffend in the future) and rated this on a Likert scale of 0-5. Participants allocated to low self-punishment had more negative perceptions towards the transgressor overall when compared to correct self-punishment. However, this was not found beyond this as no differences were seen for those within the high self-punishment condition
Participants. Participants were recruited through the use of LU Sona system as well as opportunity sampling through use of social media and network platforms accessible. A total of 174 responses were collected via Qualtrics, of those 158 have been successfully completed through to the end whilst 16 have only been started and answered few questions at most. Therefore, the decision has been made to exclude any incomplete attempts. This resulted in a final sample of 158 of which 54 are in the high punishment condition, 52 in low punishment condition and 52 in correct punishment. Design. This is a one-factor study with 3 levels (self-punishment: Low punishment, correct punishment, and high punishment) between-subjects design. Qualtrics randomly allocated participants to one of the three conditions. Materials. A short hypothetical vignette was used to describe an event between two individuals; ‘Simon’ the transgressor and his friend, who he steals money from. With each of the punishment conditions, the vignette introduced the scenario with the same starting sentences to create the scene of someone performing a transgression against their friend with feelings of self-directed negative affect presented by the transgressor: Simon is out with his friends when he noticed that a member of his group has left their wallet unattended. Simon helps himself to the £40 that was in the wallet. His friend eventually realises that the money has been stolen and seems distressed. The next day, Simon feels bad for his actions and confesses to his friend that he took the money. The final sentence of the vignettes was manipulated for each of the three conditions. The sentence stated the amount of money returned to Simon’s friend, which was either less than originally taken (low punishment, £20), same amount (correct punishment, £40) or more than originally taken (high punishment, £60). He gives his friend all the money he has in his wallet, which came to £20 (or £40, or £60). Hypothetical vignettes have been a popular method to explore social actions within research allowing actions to be explored in context to specific situations, people’s judgments, reactions and perceptions of the scenario being described and/or the individual people within the vignette. It allows this all to be clarified in the form of data collection and provides a less personal, and therefore less threatening way of exploring sensitive issues and topics in society (Barter & Renold, 1999; Hughs, 1998; Schoenberg & Ravdal, 2000). Vignettes are a valuable technique for exploring perceptions of situations and have been utilised previously in research on guilt and perceptions of a transgressor post-transgression (McLatchie, 2019; Manstead & Semin, 1981; Dijk, de Jong & Peters, 2009) and so have been utilised in this research of intensity of self-punishment post-transgression. Empirical research has shown that emotions and perceptions of guilt specifically focuses attention on the behaviour and action that has occurred which has in turn elicited these feelings (Tangney & Dearing, 2002). This is why the vignette in the present study was written with a particular emphasis on presenting the transgressor to be feeling remorse/guilt after failing to adhere to a social standard, being explicitly stated through acceptance of responsibility. This was done through stating that Simon ‘felt bad for his actions’, intentionally presenting to participants that, regardless of the punishment, Simon did know his behaviour was wrong. It can also be seen in this study through the motivations and efforts to recompensate the wrongdoing through his self-punishment and returning of a quantity of money. Absence of this could imply to participants a lack of emotional response, this could have impacted judgments on Simon regardless of the presence of punishment or not. As stated previously, other emotions can be used synonymously within conversation when referring to guilt, such as self-conscious emotions like regret and shame; it was important to ensure that guilt was specifically being portrayed. McLatchie (2019) ensured this in his study investigating punishment types (no punishment, self-punishment, and other punishment). McLatchie used a vignette that described interpersonal violations as these are primarily associated with guilt than the other emotions. This is because it includes other individuals and not merely directed at the self where the common emotion that would most likely be triggered would be shame instead. Due to this, the present study also used a vignette that described an interpersonal violation of moral and social standards with the last sentence manipulated to present three self-punishment conditions based on varying intensities. These terms are popularly used interchangeably within conversation due to multiple similarities between them (Shen, 2018; Bhushan, Basu & Dutta; 2020; Stearns & Parrott, 2012), Participants were then asked a series of questions which gathered information on the participants judgments of Simon. Participants were asked to rate the extent of the perceived guilt, shame, and regret of the transgressor as a third-party observer which keeps in line with current research which provides evidence for a strong internal consistency of these measures (McLatchie, 2019). It is also consistent with previous research where the same elements were combined to calculate an overall guilt score. This emphasised the importance of these emotional responses and behaviours that an individual may present when judging overall guilt being experienced by the perpetrator. How much the participant thinks Simon (the transgressor) deserves to be forgiven was also measured. This was done with an adapted version of Zhu et al.’s (2017) way of measuring this and has proved to be effective in prior research related to guilt and self-punishment (McLatchie, 2019). The final questions were – how likely the participants thought Simon would reoffend, and to what extent they thought the punishment performed was sufficient for the transgression committed. All answers were presented and rated on a Likert scale with the question above. Procedure. Participants were invited to partake in a study aiming to evaluate a ‘social action’. Qualtrics was used to provide the survey to participants where they were asked to read through the vignette prior to moving through the questions and answers which measured their responses. As each question appeared, the vignette remaining at the top of the screen for reference throughout. Answers were presented on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (“Not at all”) to 5 (“Completely”) which they were required to choose their response through a rating. Once participants completed this survey, a final section asked participants to provide demographic information with a full debrief. Demographic information included basic information such as the participants age and gender. Additional questions were included in order to gain an insight into the participants experience with situations such as the one described in the vignette and their personal experiences with guilt allowing any influences of the participants character to be seen when analysing results. These include being asked if they have ever had an experience as the protagonist (Simon in this case), someone who has been stolen from, and if they are prone to feelings of guilt.
School Dropout in Developing Countries: The Case of Indigenous Communities in Guatemala
Qualitative Semi-structured interviews Thematic Analyses
Education is a basic right which any person should have the opportunity to access. However, around 120 million children worldwide are as yet uneducated. A qualitative study was conducted in an indigenous community in rural Guatemala in order to identify the key factors that discourage students to continue from primary to secondary school education. The participants of the study were divided into two groups depending on whether they were students, parents of students or teachers at the rural school. Results suggested that factors of different natures (structural, political and cultural) overlap each other. The factors related to school dropout were related to demography, health, lack of economic resources and Government support, lack of social support and lack of intrinsic motivation to graduate from formal education. In contrast, protection factors to remain at school were related to future aspirations and social mobility, parental support and economic support.
Data Collection Data was collected using qualitative, semi-structured interviews to facilitate the discovery of new conceptual and theoretical knowledge (Power & Alison, 2017) about the factors that take place in the process regarding the decision of remaining or disengaging from education. This method has been used regularly by researchers who seek to generate an understanding of real-world psychology (Crandall, Klein, & Hoffman, 2006; Klein & Militello, 2004). The interview sought to achieve a better understanding of the reality that the people interviewed are living through analysing their personal experience. The researcher who conducted these interviews spent 2 weeks prior to data collection immersing herself in the work environment of the school in the rural area of Guatemala, reading previous literature on the topic, attending school and classes with the children and interacting with teachers, students and families in order to establish a working relationship with each group. Procedure Each interview lasted approximately half an hour, depending on the participants will, in order to prevent participant exhaustion (M = 35). The interview stopped if the participant was perceived to be uncomfortable. Participants were sat in a quiet location and interviewed on a mobile phone. Interviews were semi-structured and included topics such as the characteristic of the educational system, the practices and processes that appear as determinants of the decision for permanently remaining or disengaging from the formal educational process, and personal situations or of the people that the participants knew. Interviews were transferred to a computer and anonymously transcribed, with all identifiable details (e.g., names, locations) removed, for its analysis. Thematic analysis was conducted in order to understand the subjective experience of the participants as the paramount object of the study throughout the organization and reach description of the data set. Data Analyses Analyses conducted in the interpretation of the results were thematic analysis, as through its theoretical freedom, it provides a flexible and useful research tool, which can potentially provide a rich and detailed, yet complex, account of data (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Preliminary analyses were conducted of the notes that were taken during the interview immediately following each one of them. This was to develop an early understanding of the types of challenges identified by participants (Power & Alison, 2017). Analyses continued during interview transcription by keeping notes on the key themes that emerged during transcription. After the transcription of the interviews, thematic analyses were conducted on the data using NVIVO. Thematic analysis is a method for identifying, analysing and reporting patterns (themes) within data, minimally organising and describing the data set in (rich) detail (Braun & Clarke, 2006). According to Braun and Clarke (2006), thematic analyses involved six phases: (a) familiarization with the data through transcription and rereading of the text; (b) generation of initial codes across the data set; (c) collation of codes into themes that captured something important of the data in relation of the research question, and represents some level of patterned within the data set; (d) revision of themes and refinement of categories; (e) definition and naming of themes of the overall story that the data tells; and (f) production of a detailed scholarly report of analyses. Following the example of Power and Alison (2017), it is important to mention that the themes were not quantified. The reasons for this was that the interview style was semi-structured, meaning that not all participants were asked the same questions as prompts were used to probe discussion rather than lead it (i.e., just because the participant did not perceive lack of parental support as an issue in their description of the situations that may lead to students to disengage school, it does not mean that they do not perceive it as a helping factor to remain. Analyses were conducted by the primary researcher, who discussed coding with her supervisor to reach mutual agreement and consensus.
How does metaphorical language affect individuals’ aesthetic perception in modern poetry: In the life span view
Beauty perception Metaphoricity Familiarity Imageability
This study examined the relationship between the degree of metaphoricity and beauty perception as well as between cognitive load and beauty perception, by controlling for other possibly confounding variables such as familiarity and imageability. While previous research has shown that the variables of metaphoricity, familiarity and imageability influence beauty perception, no study investigate how the degree of metaphoricity and cognitive load influence beauty perception in poetic sentences reading. Therefore, this study aimed to bridge this gap. Beauty rating scale and keypress experiment were conducted, involving 22 young adults and 18 elderly adults. Because of the collinearity among metaphoricity, familiarity and iamgeability, a new variable called interpretation of metaphors was used to explain the hypotheses in the present study. Rather than cognitive load, interpretability was the predictor of beauty perception in poetry sentences reading. Young adults’ beauty perception achieved to the highest point at novel metaphors, while elderly adults considered dead metaphors as the most beautiful stimuli. This study suggests that poetic sentences are generally perceived as more beautiful when its degree of interpretability is lower in young adults rather than elderly adults. These findings provide an initial implication for future longitudinal or neuroaesthetic studies to further the understanding between metaphorical language and beauty perception.
This study has been approved by the Psychology ethics committee at Lancaster University on 24/04/2018. Besides, this study were preregistered in ‘AsPredicted’ website, and the number was 11034. Participants. The participants were 22 young adults between the ages of 18 and 30, and 20 elderly adults between the ages of 55-75. They were recruited from SONA systems, social media (e.g., Facebook advert). All young participants have not suffered from any learning disability (i.e., dyslexia) and they were native English speakers. However, two elderly participants confirmed that they had a history of dyslexia, so they were excluded. Finally, there were 22 young adults with a mean age of 21.64 years (SD=3.05) and 18 elderly adults with a mean age of 63.22 years (SD=6.07) have participated. Participants were required to give informed consent via an online consent form before completing the online survey, and they would fill in a paper version consent form before the keypress experiment. All participant would receive four pounds after finishing all experiments. Materials. Stimuli. A bank of 92 stimuli, was generated by a previous student who was previously supervised by Dr Francesca Citron. Partially sentences are excerpted from modern poetry. The remaining sentences were created by this student, inspired by other poetic works. Creating novel sentences was to decrease the deviation caused by participants being familiar with some stimuli. All stimuli were divided into five categories, and the degree of metaphoricity of these categories was increasing. The first one is the literal expression which has concrete and pragmatic meaning and it usually equal to its literal meaning. It is not part of the metaphorical language. The following category is dead metaphors – a kind of metaphor that lose its imaginative space because of frequent use (Punter, 2007). The third one is the conventional metaphor that is commonly used in everyday life, and it is highly related to the specific culture. The fourth one is novel metaphors which is usually unusual in everyday life and challenging for the layperson to understand. The last category is extremely novel metaphors which are the most abstract and challenging. The semantic category overlap of subject and predicate in these sentences is less obvious than other categories. Considering the potential fatigue of the elderly participants, the researcher randomly selected 50 stimuli from the original stimuli bank as experimental materials (See Appendix A). There were ten sentences for each category. All stimuli were given a specific code for identification in the analysis procedure. The creator of the stimuli bank has invited 85 participants to rate the degree of metaphoricity for each stimulus via a 7-point Likert scale (1 for the minimum and 7 for the maximum). The result has shown that the degree of metaphoricity was increasing as the original design (See Figure 1). Figure 1. Scatterplot showing the trend of metaphoricity ratings of stimuli. The categories corresponding to the stimuli number as follows: literal sentences (1-14), dead metaphors (15-28), conventional metaphors (29-53), novel metaphors (54-75), and extremely novel metaphors (76-92). Apart from metaphoricity, these stimuli have been tested on multiple sentence-level characteristics, including familiarity and imageability in the same group of participants. Briefly, all ratings were collected by asking participants to rate "how familiar is this sentence to you?" and "how easy is it to imagine this sentence?" on two separate 7-point Likert scales. These raw data would be used for analysis in this study. Survey. Beauty rating scale was designed as a 7-point Likert scale via the online survey software ‘Qualtrics’. The scale included a digital version of the information sheet, consent form and debrief form, and it also investigated several basic information like age, biological sex and reading frequency (Appendix B). More importantly, the scale included the questions for checking whether the participants are British native speakers and whether they have had the history of learning disability (i.e., dyslexia) since these factors can influence the beauty ratings. In the formal test, 50 stimuli would be randomly presented to the participants through Qualtrics. Participants would see the poetic sentences, as well as the question ‘How beautiful is this sentence to you?" on the page. They need to give their responses by rating from 1 to 7(1 for not at all beautiful and 7 for extremely beautiful) for each sentence. Experiment. The researcher created a keypress experiment on ‘Presentation neurobehavioral system’ software. The material were identical to the online survey and included extra four filler sentences, five odd sentences, four questions related to the poetic stimuli. All new stimuli were generated by the researcher, but they would not be analysed eventually because of their functions (Appendix A). Filler sentences were used to let participants practice how to give their responses by the keypress. Odd sentences were unreasonable, and they were used to avoid the mechanically repeated responses. Similarly, some poetic stimuli would be followed by a question for checking whether participants have answered the question seriously. To ensure the randomness of the experimental materials, six versions of the experiment were created. Participants would be asked to read each sentence once at a time and to evaluate whether it was sensible for them by pressing a button (“F” for indicating “Yes” and “J” for indicating “No” via keyboard). Because wanting to avoid the habitual reaction caused by the participants being familiar with the traditional key press experiments, we also created six corresponding flipped version of the experiment. Overall, this experiment has 12 version, and they would be randomly allocated to the participant. Participants would take part in the experiment on the researcher’s computer, whereby the answer and the reaction time of each sentence would be collected by Presentation automatically and anonymously. Procedure. Questionnaire. When the participants decided to participate in the project, the researcher would send an anonymous questionnaire link to the participants by e-mail. The questionnaire can be completed on any electronic device, and the participants could pause the questionnaire at any time when they need a break. After clicking the link, the participants would read the information sheet and the electronic consent form orderly to ensure that they understood the necessary information of the questionnaire and gave their consents. They then need to answer ‘check questions’ to check whether they were native speakers and whether they have a previous or current learning disability. Knowing the answers to these questions was to confirm that the participants were suitable for the questionnaire. Subsequently, the demographic information would be asked, and all answers would be kept confidential. After, a brief instruction form would be presented to explain the basic operations of the questionnaire and some important terms (e.g., beauty) involved in the questionnaire. Then, 50 poetic stimuli which were varied in the degree of metaphoricity would be presented randomly, followed by a question after each stimulus: How beautiful is this sentence to you. Participants should give their responses by rating from the 7-point Likert scale (e.g., 1 for not at all beautiful and 7 for extremely beautiful). All answers would be automatically recorded by Qualtrics. After completing all, the participants would read the debrief sheet to understand the purpose and the design of this questionnaire. Also, the references about this questionnaire and the contact information of the experimenter would be given. When the participants completed the questionnaire, they would receive an e-mail from the experimenter to make an appointment for the keypress experiment. Time for the experiment was usually one or two days after completing the questionnaire. Keypress experiment. All participants were required to meet the experimenter personally to complete the keypress experiment. Before the experiment began, participants were required to sign on the paper version of the consent form. After that, the experimenter would verbally explain the operation of the experiment. Then, the experimenter would randomly select one of the twelve versions of the experiments and give the participant a unique code. Participants were asked to evaluate whether the sentences presented on the screen were reasonable at the time. When they think it was sensible, they need to press the button that represents ‘Yes’, and vice versa. When they need to answer the ‘Yes/No’ questions, the operation was the same. When the participants understood the operation, they would press F or J key to start the experiment. Before the poetic sentence was presented, there would be a white fixation cross in the center on the black screen, and the duration was 1000ms. Then, the stimulus would present on the screen and last for 8700ms. Usually, the participants need to give their responses during this period, and their reaction time was automatically recorded by the software. After the presentation of a stimulus, it would be followed by a blank screen that lasts for 300ms with a white jittered fixation cross before the next sentence/question was presented. If the subject answers the question at this time, their reaction time of this stimulus will be the reaction time during this period plus 8700ms. The font for all stimuli was 12, the font colour was white, and the background screen was black.
Student Experiences of Mental Health Issues in Further and Higher Education.
Mental health, stress, achievement anxiety, depression, students, education, provisions, resilience.
Previous research has shown that students are at risk of experiencing mental health difficulties, specifically relating to anxiety, depression, and stress (Andrews, Hejdenberg, & Wilding, 2006; Holland, 2016; Landow, 2006; Lattie, Lipson, & Eisenberg, 2019; Nascante, 2001; Shankar & Park, 2016). This study aimed to understand whether level of education, provisions to aid mental wellbeing within educational establishments, and students’ resilience were related to their mental wellbeing. A total of 94 participants were recruited for this study, however only 47 sets of data were complete enough to be used for the analyses. An online questionnaire using a series of demographic questions and subscales was used to collect data. No significant relationships were found between students’ mental wellbeing and their level of education or the provisions accessible to them in their place of education. However, a significant, negative correlation was found between students’ overall mental health and their resilience scores. Additional analyses were completed to better understand this and the same relationship was found between resilience and anxiety, depression, and stress. It was concluded that due to issues with power, more research with a larger sample is required to investigate these relationships further. It was also concluded that more understanding of resilience and mental health in students is required to be able to create better provisions.
Participants 94 participants (25 males, 43 females) were used for this study, they were a minimum of 18 to over 51 years old and were from educational establishments around the UK. Participants were recruited using the SONA participant recruitment system through Lancaster University and also by advertising on Facebook and Instagram. All participants were treated in accordance with BPS ethical guidelines and Lancaster University Department of Psychology provided ethical approval for the study (Appendix A). Only data from 47 participants was used due to incomplete datasets. Design This cross-sectional study used volunteers from the student population as participants as one sample group. This was a questionnaire-based study with four sub-scales using correlational analyses. The factors being analysed are detailed in the procedural section to follow. Procedure Adverts were placed on Facebook, and Instagram to help recruit participants to the study. Potential participants were provided with a link to the online survey, administered through Qualtrics. They were then provided with a participant information sheet (Appendix B) and gave informed consent (Appendix C) to participate on that basis. Informed consent was gained by participants selecting all six consent statements on the questionnaire. Following this, participants were presented with demographic questions and four measures (Appendix D). Following this, participants were presented with a debrief sheet (Appendix E) before being asked to close the tab. Materials Demographic Questions The questionnaire started with two demographic questions. These were: “How old are you in years?” with the options of “18-21/22-25/26-29/30-35/36-40/41-45/46-50/51+/Prefer not to answer” and “What was your assigned sex at birth?” with the options of “Male/Female/Prefer not to answer”. These items were included in this questionnaire to better understand the sample of participants included in the study. Level of Education Participants’ level of education was measured using one multiple choice item. This item was: “What level of education are you in?” The options for this multiple-choice item are “A Levels/ Apprenticeship/ Undergraduate Degree/ Postgraduate Degree/ PhD/ Other (please specify)/ Prefer not to answer”. This item was included to help investigate whether the level of participant’s education is related to their mental wellbeing. Mental Wellbeing Existing mental wellbeing was measured using two items which both used multiple choice options. These questions were: “Have you ever been diagnosed with a mental health condition?” This item had options of “Yes/ No/ Prefer not to answer”. “Please select if any of these diagnostic categories apply to your diagnoses.” This item was only included if the participant answered the previous question with “Yes”. The options for answering this item were “Anxiety Disorder/ Depression/ Eating Disorder/ Stress/ Psychosis/ Personality Disorder/ Other (please specify)/ Prefer not to answer.” Measures of Support Two questions were used in this questionnaire to decipher how supported students felt by their educational establishments. These questions were: “How much support do you feel is available for your mental health at your place of education?” This question used a Likert scale ranging from one (lots) to four (I don’t know) and including an option of ‘prefer not to answer’. This was followed by the open, qualitative question of “Please tell us about any mental wellbeing support you know is available in your place of education.” This question had an open response box, allowing participants to communicate their understanding of support available for their mental wellbeing in their educational institutions. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) The Perceived Stress Scale (Andreou, et al., 2011; Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983; Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1994; Reis, Hino, & Añez, 2010; Roberti, Harrington, & Storch, 2006) (Appendix F) using a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to five (very often). This scale consisting of ten items was used to measure how stressed participants believed they were for this questionnaire. One example of the items used in this scale is: “In the last month, how often have you felt that you were on top of things?” The ten-item version of this measure was used in this study because research (Roberti, Harrington, & Storch, 2006) generally commented that the ten-item scale was a reliable and valid measure of perceived stress when compared to the original, longer Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983). Therefore, the PSS-10 was chosen for this questionnaire to reduce time demands on participants without compromising the reliability and validity of the measure. Adult Resilience Measure Revised (ARM-R) The Adult Resilience Measure Revised (Resilience Research Centre, 2018; Jefferies, McGarrigle & Ungar, 2018) (Appendix G) was used within the questionnaire to assess participants’ resilience skills. This sixteen-item measure was a five-point Likert scale ranging from one (not at all) to five (a lot) with an option of ‘prefer not to answer’ and consisting of seventeen items to measure resilience. An example of an item on this scale is: “My friends stand by me during difficult times.” Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale Revised (CESD-R) The Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale Revised (Eaton, et al., 2004; Van Dam, & Earleywine, 2011) (Appendix I) was used as a measure in this study to assess how depressed the participants felt. This measure used a four-point Likert scale with the first being rarely or none of the time to most or all of the time and an option of ‘prefer not to answer’ include. There were 20 items included in this scale in order to measure this factor, one such example of this is: “I felt everything I did was an effort.” Achievement Anxiety Test (AAT) The Achievement Anxiety Test (Alpert & Haber, 1960) (Appendix I) was used in this questionnaire to measure how anxious participants were about their ability to achieve. This measure used a five-point Likert scale with one meaning always and five meaning never, this scale consisted of nineteen items. An option of prefer not to answer was also provided. One example of an item on the scale is: “I work most effectively under pressure, as when a task is very important.” All measures in this questionnaire had an additional option of ‘prefer not to answer’ added to them for the purpose of this study to allow for forced choices to be selected for the questionnaire answers without removing the participants’ right to withdraw or withhold information. Ethics This study was conducted after ethical approval was received from the ethics committee of the Lancaster University psychology department on 12th June 2023. One ethical issue that could come up in this study is that participants could believe that there is some diagnostic weight to the questionnaire. Analyses Descriptive statistics were taken for all variables and demographic data, specifically in regard to their mean and standard deviation. Following this correlational analyses were then completed to determine whether there were relationships between mental wellbeing scores taken as a combination of the AAT, PSS-10 and the CESD-R subscales included in the questionnaires, resilience, preexisting mental health, provisions being accessed, and educational level. If significant relationships are identified through the correlational analyses, regressions will be conducted to further investigate these relationships to identify whether they were causational.
analogical transfer insight problem solving extra constraints developmental differences maximization of progress
Analogical problem solving involves transferring the method used to solve the base analog onto the target analog based on the structural similarity they share. Studies have found that Experts have no difficulty in solving domain specific analogical problems. While, novice problem solvers fail to solve such problems due to their difficulty in retrieving the base analog. Failure to recollect the correct base analog forces the problem solver to solve the problem in an act first think later manner. They use number of maximizing moves within the problem space to reach the goal state quickly. Use of such maximizing moves in solving analogical problems leads to an impasse, while alternative moves must be sought out. The current study tries to overcome the problem of retrieval of the correct base analog, by implementing an additional factor termed as extra constraint in solving analogical problem. These extra constraint acts in a manner which inhibit the problem solver from choosing problem moves that aim to maximizing their progress to reach the goal state which must essentially be avoided in analogical problem solving tasks. A secondary aim focuses on examining if there exists’ any difference between an adolescent problem solver and adult problem solver. Method: A total of 64 Participants within the age group of, 12-15 and 18-21 years were administered three problems (2 analogical and 1 non analogical). Results: Results demonstrate that the predictor variables (age or money) were not able to predict that participants from the older age category would perform better than the younger age group on any of the problems. Based on second aim, results showed that the older age group able to solve more problems successfully than the younger age group.
The test materials consisted of paper and pencil tasks (see appended booklet). Each Participant was provided with a booklet which consisted of a set of 5 problems, comprising three experimental tasks and two filler tasks. The first problem was the analogical source problem (sheep dog problem), followed by a filler task (anagram solution). The second problem was the transfer problem (9 ball problem), followed by a second filler task (algebra solution). The last problem was the non-analog problem (cheap necklace problem). There was space provided under each of the problems to allow the participant to work out the solution to each problem. Solutions to each of the problems were also given for the participants. Design and Procedure The study design comprised of a two between-subjects factors. The first factor is Age (12-15; 18-21 years). The second factor is Resource (£8 vs. £12). The dependent variable was the number of correct solutions. The aim of the research was to assess whether to two predictor variables, age and money would predict whether the participant would solve the problem correctly or incorrectly. As per the BPS rules, confidentiality and anonymity of participants were strictly maintained. The study was conducted in a classroom setting with 16 participants being administered the problems at a time. Each participant from each age group was first assigned to low or high resource conditions. 50 % of the participants from older and younger age group received low resource condition (8 pounds) and other 50% high resource condition (12 pounds). Participants received the booklet containing the 3 problems and 2 filler tasks. Each participant was given 5 minutes to attempt each problem. After five minutes, the solution to each problem is shown. The problems contained in the booklet are as follows: ¥ Source problem (killer dog) ¥ Filler task(anagrams) ¥ Transfer problem (ball problem- £8 or £12 versions); ¥ Filler task(algebra) ¥ Non-analogical problem (cheap necklace).
The Development of an Attentional Bias toward Body Size Stimuli: Performance on a Novel Stroop Task
Distorted perceptions of body size have been identified and well-documented in eating disordered (ED) and eating-restricted populations, however, less is known about the development of this distortion. Research has employed Stroop food- and body-word tasks to investigate attentional biases towards semantically-related words and found a significant Stroop effect to such stimuli in ED, and sub-clinical, cohorts. The Size Congruity Effect (SiCE) has confirmed the perception of inanimate object size, however such an effect has not yet been studied in regards to body size specifically. This study recruited a novel Stroop size task to measure the perception of conceptual body size versus physical object size in four developmental age groups (Child, Adolescent, Young Adult and Adult). The Body Satisfaction Questionnaire (BSQ-34) was also taken as a measure of body dissatisfaction in participants over the age of 18. Findings indicate that a significant attentional bias towards body size is present across all age groups, but is most prevalent in adolescent and young adult participants. These findings imply that cognitive interference towards body size stimuli is not only present in the typical population, but is also present in children from aged 7. Body dissatisfaction, measured using the BSQ-34, did not have a significant effect on Stroop interference scores, suggesting that dissatisfaction with one’s own body does not implicate perception of others body size. The findings contribute to the fields understanding of body size misperception throughout typical development, the results also infer that body size perception is special, and not processed in the same way as inanimate size.
Participants Eighty-eight participants (N = 88) were recruited to participate in this research. The participants (35 males, 53 females) were aged between 7 and 59 years (Mage = 23.38, SDage = 14.34). Participants were divided into one of four groups, dependent on their chronological age. Child group. Child participants (N = 24, 8 male and 16 female), aged between 7 and 11 years (Mage = 10.04, SDage = 1.23), were recruited from St Boniface RC Primary School, Salford. A minimum participation age of 7 years was enforced for this experiment as previous research has not identified a consistent Stroop effect with younger children (Comalli et al., 1962). Parental consent was obtained prior to the research and participant assent was obtained on the day of testing. Five participants required glasses to correct their eyesight and were permitted to wear these throughout the testing period. Five participants reported having a specific learning difficulty (SLD); three participants had dyslexia, one participant had dyspraxia, one participant had attention deficit disorder (ADD) and one participant had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). One participant was on the autism spectrum (ASD). All participants with additional needs were performing well in mainstream school and were therefore considered able to participate in this research. Twelve participants had white British or white Irish ethnicity. Three participants had white European ethnicity. Three participants had black African ethnicity. Three participants had mixed or multiple ethnicities. One participant had Chinese Asian ethnicity. One participant had Irish traveller ethnicity. Two participants spoke English as a second language, however both were fluent English speakers. Each child received a reward sticker for their participation. Adolescent group. Adolescent participants (N = 22, 9 males, 13 females), aged between 13 and 16 years (Mage = 14.73, SDage = 1.12), were recruited through opportunity sampling. Social media posts were used to advertise the study, as well as word of mouth. All participants were recruited from Greater Manchester. Parental consent was obtained prior to testing and participant assent was obtained on the day of testing. One participant was colour blind. Six participants required glasses to correct their eyesight and were permitted to wear these throughout the testing period. Four participants reported having a SLD; two participants had dyslexia, one participant had dyslexia and dyscalculia and one participant had dyslexia and ADHD. All participants with SLD’s were performing well in mainstream school and were therefore considered able to participate in the research. Eighteen participants had white British or white Irish ethnicity. Two participants had black African ethnicity. One participant had mixed or multiple ethnicities. One participant had British and Chinese ethnicity. Young Adult group. Young Adult participants (N = 22, 7 male and 15 female), aged between 22 and 33 years (Mage = 25.86, SDage = 2.34), were recruited through opportunity sampling. The researcher utilised social media, approached classmates in Lancaster Univeristy’s Psychology Department and workplace colleagues to participate in the research. All participants were recruited from the North West of England. Each participant provided their informed consent prior to the research. Six participants required glasses to correct their eyesight and were permitted to wear these throughout the testing period. Two participants reported having a SLD; one participant had dyslexia and one participant had ADD. Both participants reported after testing that they were able to complete the task with no additional difficulty as a result of their SLD. Fifteen participants had white British ethnicity. Five participants had white European ethnicity. One participant had white American ethnicity. One participant had mixed or multiple ethnicities. Three participants spoke English as a second language, however both were fluent English speakers. Adult group. Adult participants (N = 20, 11 male and 9 female), aged between 37 and 59 years (Mage = 45.75, SDage = 8.27), were recruited through opportunity sampling. Social media posts were used to advertise the study, as well as word of mouth. All participants were recruited from Greater Manchester. Each participant provided their informed consent prior to the research. Ten participants required glasses to correct their eyesight and were permitted to wear these throughout the testing period. One participant had dyslexia. This participant reported after testing that they were able to complete the task with no additional difficulty as a result of their SLD. Fourteen participants had white British ethnicity. Three participants had white European ethnicity. Two participants had black Caribbean ethnicity. One participant had mixed or multiple ethnicities. Three participants were removed from the data sample due to a high number of errors. The responses from 85 participants were subsequently included in the data analyses. This study received ethical approval from Lancaster University’s ethics committee on 1st May 2018. Materials Task. The novel Stroop task was created using Psychopy, an open source Python –based programme used to run psychological experiments (Peirce, 2007, 2009). In the task participants were presented with computer-generated images of female bodies. Each body was individually presented on the screen and remained there until the participant made their screen size selection. One hundred and eight images were presented in total; 54 in the congruent trial and the same 54 in the incongruent trial. Eighteen unique images were presented three times, each time the screen size of the image was varied in order to ensure all 18 images were presented in all 3 screen sizes. The 18 images consisted of three model types (See Figure 1) which were used to represent the polarities of body size (3 small body sizes, 3 large body sizes; see Figure 2). Figure 2. An image to show the body ‘models’ used in the experiment. Row 1 Left – Right: Model 1, Model 2, Model 3, Model 4. Row 2 Left – Right: Model 5, Model 6, Model 7, Model 8. The first testing phase of the Stroop task consisted of the individual presentation of 54 stimuli, these stimuli were presented with congruent screen and body sizes; all stimuli presented with a small screen size (10 x 4cm, 11 x 4.4cm, 12 x 4.8cm) contained a small body size, all stimuli presented with a large screen size (21 x 8.4cm, 22 x 8.8cm, 23 x 9.2cm) also contained a large body size. The second testing phase of the Stroop task consisted of the individual presentation of the same 54 stimuli as the first phase. These stimuli were presented with incongruent screen and body sizes; all stimuli presented with small screen size contained large body size, all stimuli presented with large screen size contained a small body size. See Appendix A for screenshots of the Stroop task, demonstrating the congruent and incongruent presentation of the stimuli as described here. The order of stimulus presentation was pseudo-randomised within Psychopy, so that each individual image was presented only once per participant. Randomising the order of stimulus presentation assured that participants were not subjected to order effects (Shaughnessy, Zechmeister, & Zechmeister, 2006). Participants were instructed to determine the screen size of each stimuli and respond as quickly and accurately as possible using the keyboard keys indicated to them in the instruction phase. The relevant keyboard keys (A and L) were indicated with white stickers on the external keyboard. Key allocations (e.g. A = Small, L = Big) were also visible on screen throughout the task, see Appendix A for screenshots of the task. Participant response times were recorded within Psychopy and exported to Microsoft Excel. The task was presented on a Toshiba Satellite Pro laptop computer with a 15.6-inch HD non-reflective display with a 16:9 ratio and LED backlighting. Body stimuli. Eighteen images of computer generated semi-nude female bodies, ranging in body size and physical appearance, were used in the current study. These were created and donated to the researcher by Dr Martin Tovee, body size perception researcher, for the purpose of the current experiment. The bodies ranged in size from ‘emaciated’ to ‘overweight’, the variations in body size were visually distinguishable (see Figure 1), Eight ‘models’ were created, each with variations in physical appearance including hair colour and style, skin tone, facial features and eye colour (see Figure 2). All bodies were presented in a forward facing 0o pose, in order to eliminate visual preference or difficulties in comparing stimuli. Image size was manipulated as a factor of the experiment; to reflect ‘small’ screen size all images were presented at 10 x 4cm, 11 x 4.4cm and 12 x 4.8cm. To reflect ‘big’ screen size all images were presented at 21 x 8.4cm, 22 x 8.8cm and 23 x 9.2cm. These sizes were chosen as they created incremental differences in screen size that were visually distinguishable, as can be seen in Appendix B. Figure 2. An image to show the body size increments in the stimuli provided by Dr. Tovee. Model 3 is used to illustrate the size increments. Row 1 Left – Right: Size 1, Size 2, Size 3, Size 4, Size 5. Row 2 Left – Right: Size 6, Size 7, Size 8, Size 9, Size 10. For the purpose of the current experiment, sizes 1, 3, 4, 7, 8 and 10 were used as body size stimuli as these bodies had the largest size variation when visually scrutinised. Questionnaires. All participants were required to complete a demographic questionnaire, see Appendix C. The parent/guardian of a participant under the age of 16 was required to complete this questionnaire on behalf of the participant. This questionnaire was used to ascertain factors which may affect a participants ability to successfully complete the Stroop task. Participants over the age of 18 years were also required to complete the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ-34; Cooper, Taylor, Cooper & Fairburn, 1987). The BSQ-34 is a 34-item scale which measures participants feelings toward their own weight and body shape (Taylor, 1987). For example; ‘Have you been afraid that you might become fat (or fatter)?’ and ‘Has seeing your reflection (e.g. in a mirror or shop window) made you feel bad about your shape?’. Each item of this scale is scored on a six-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (never) to 6 (always). BSQ-34 scores are totalled using Likert scale points; a score less than 80 indicates no concern with shape, a score between 80 and 110 points indicates a mild concern with shape, a score between 111 and 140 indicates moderate concern with shape and a score of 140 and above indicates a marked concern with shape (Cooper et al., 1987). The BSQ-34 was originally intended for use with female participants; the authors have since approved changes to items 9, 12 and 25 for use with male participants, this version was provided for male participants in the current experiment. The BSQ-34 was not considered suitable for participants under the age of 18 due to the explicit mention of clinically salient stimuli. The BSQ-34, as well as participants consent forms and demographic questionnaires, were provided to participants on Adobe Fill & Sign using an Apple Ipad and touchscreen pen. All participants indicated daily or weekly use of a touchscreen and/or computer. Design Variables. The dependent variable in this study was task response time, recorded by Psychopy in milliseconds. Mean response times (MeanRT) were calculated for the congruent and incongruent trials, per participant. An interference score (incongruent MeanRT minus congruent MeanRT) was also calculated for each participant. The dependent variables of MeanRT and Interference Score were both used in the current data analyses. The independent variables in the study were; AgeGroup and Congruency. AgeGroup. This was a between subjects factor. Participants were placed into one of four age groups, based solely on their chronological age. Congruency. This was a within subjects factor. All eighty-eight participants completed the same novel Stroop task, containing both congruent and incongruent trials. The order of trial presentation were randomised for each participant. Procedure Three months prior to testing, the parents/guardians of children in years five and six of St Boniface RC Primary School, Salford were contacted and given the opportunity for their child to participate in this study. The children of parents/guardians who returned the consent form and completed questionnaire were able to participate. The research was also advertised, via social media and word of mouth, to potential participants. The parents/guardians of participants under the age of 16 years, and participants over 16 years, were provided with an information letter, consent form and demographic questionnaire (See Appendices C, D and E).. Those who responded with a complete consent form and questionnaire participated in the research. Participants were individually invited to complete the procedure in a small quiet room. All participants were seated at a desk in front of the testing laptop and an external keyboard, see Figure 3 for the testing set-up. Participant consent, and child assent, was ascertained once the participants were seated. All participants were encouraged to ask any questions they had and child participants were reminded that they could return to their class at any time, without providing a reason. Once the preliminary period was completed participants were then asked to complete the computerised Stroop task. The task was visible on the screen prior to each participant entering the room. Participants were aided through the initial instruction screens of the task and encouraged to stop and ask questions at this stage. The researcher read all instructions to participants under the age of 16, and to any participant who requested that the instructions be read to them. The task then contained two practice trials, in order to ensure that participants understood their role in the task. All participants were able to complete the two test trials without difficulty and were therefore permitted to complete the rest of the task. The researcher left the room and waited nearby for all participants over the age of 16 years, the researcher remained in the testing room for younger participants. Participants were informed that they should only take a break when they reached an instruction screen as their times were being recorded on all testing screens. Participants were asked to alert the researcher once they had completed all stages of the computer task and reached the end screen. Child participants were given an envelope containing a parental debrief and escorted back to their classroom. Young adult and adult participants were asked to complete the BSQ-34 (Cooper et al., 1987) using Abobe Fill & Sign on an Apple Ipad. The BSQ-34 was provided after the task as Davison and Wright (2002) reported that this method reduced demand characteristics in a similar study. Upon completion of the testing period all participants were thanked for their time and provided with a debrief sheet as well as help and information pertaining to eating disorder or body anxiety concerns. Child participants were rewarded with a sticker for completing the task. Please see Appendix F for the participant debrief. Each participants response times were recorded in an Excel document which was then encrypted and saved to the researchers password protected laptop. All data was also stored on an encrypted external hard-drive, this copy of the data will be securely destroyed upon completion of the data analyses. Figure 3. A photograph to show the testing set-up used in the current study. Note, participants were encouraged to adjust their seat height to remain at a ninety-degree angle to the screen. The testing set-up was replicated for all eighty-eight participants to ensure continuity.
Visual engagement with different animals
Animals, dichotomization, eye-tracking, empathic gaze, guilt
People treat animals differently depending on how they are dichotomized.The present study tested the consequences of dichotomization on our visual engagement with still images of different animals. Fifty-seven participants took part in two identical image visualization tasks, the first preceded a short empathy inducing video,and the second followed. We used eye-tracking to study dwell time percentage oriented towards the eyes of companion, farmed and endangered animals. Eye-directed visual engagement was greatest for companion animals in the first image visualization task. This bias in visual engagement towards companion animals was attenuated in the second image visualization task.We hypothesised that the empathy inducing video would change gaze towards farmed animals, evidencing either increased attentional avoidance or increased engagement. Although mean averages suggest a slight increase in visual engagement following the video, this difference was not significant. Participants reported highest levels of negative emotion regarding the farmed animal’s videos. Empathic gaze with farmed animals correlated positively with participants’ level of meat consumption restriction. The findings support several pre-registered hypotheses but disconfirm others, and are discussed in terms of the extension of empathic gaze to animals.
Participants Our pre-registered recruitment strategy was to collect fifty participants with complete data. Fifty participants were recruited through (1) Lancaster University’s research participation system, SONA or(2) poster advertisementand were paid £3for their involvement. Each participant saw 9 images, presented twice, each for 10 seconds, totaling 180 seconds of eye-tracking data. On first inspection of the data we were forced to exclude seven participants whose eyes had not been tracked for 50% of the experiment. To reach our pre-registered participant pool of 50 we recruited seven more participants, one of whom had to be excluded on the same grounds as previous. Our final data set was comprised of 49 participants, 36 females and 13 males. Age ranged between 18 and 30 (M= 21.10, SD= 2.13). Participants reported a range of nationalities, including: American (n=1), British (n=28), Bulgarian (n=3), Chinese (n=3), Croatian (n=2), German (n=2), Hungarian (n=2) Indian (n=3), Indonesian (n= 1), Latvian (n=1), Nigerian (n=1), Malaysian (n=1) and Slovakian (n =1). Participants dietary classifications were as follows:Meat lover(n =1), Omnivore (n =23), Semi-vegetarian (n =16), Pescatarian(n =3),Lacto-or Ovo-vegetarian(n =5), Strict vegetarian(n =0), Dietary vegan(n =0),andLifestyle vegan(n =1).Design The experiment employed a 3x2 fully within-subjects design. The independent variables were animal category and time. The variable animal category hadthree levels: farmed animals (sheep, cow, pig), companion animals (dog, cat), and endangered wild animals (chimpanzee, tiger, koala) and was operationalized using still images. Our main research interest was the distinction between farmed and companion animals, given the marginalized status of farmed animals in society and the privileged status of companion animals. Endangered animals are vulnerable to human interference and confer some value VISUAL ENGAGMENT WITH ANIMALS.4due to their endangered status, but they are not actively used by humans as objects of consumption. For this reason, endangered animals were used as a control or comparison group. The variable time had two levels, pre-and post-video task. Participants took part in two IVT, one before a video watching task and one after. Our main dependent variable was dwell time percentage on the eyes of the animal. This was recorded during the presentation of each of the nine images in both IVT. At no other point in the experiment were eye-movements recorded. Additional outcome measures.We recorded the participants emotional state immediately after the video watching task. Participants emotion ratings were transformed into numerical valuesas follows: Extremely positive (+3), Fairly positive (+2), Slightly positive(+1), Neutral (0), Slightly negative (-1), Fairly negative (-2) and Extremely negative(-3). As a result, more negative responses were represented by a more negative value. We asked participants if they(Yes/No) contribute to the suffering and well-being of each animal category. Participants were also asked to state their agreement (Yes/No) with two statements, the first regarding their outrage having heard about the harm inflicted on animals, and the second about the animal’s capacity to suffer as being meaningfully similar to a human’s capacity to suffer.However, due to an experimenter error, these four measures were not recorded by the experiment-analysis system, and therefore cannot be discussed further.MaterialsImages. In total we sourced nine images, three for each animal category in our design. We sourced images for three different species of animal to make up our target category. The companion animal category was the only exception to this rule. For this category of animal, we used two dog images (Siberian Husky and Staffordshire Bull Terrier) and one cat image. In our original companion animal category, we had considered using the VISUAL ENGAGMENT WITH ANIMALS.5image of a horse, but decided against this for two reasons. Firstly, the composition of the face was noticeably different in comparison to the other eight images. The horses face was longer with its eyes positioned laterally. Secondly, the category in which horses fall in to (i.e. farmed or companion) is often blurred. Whilst cows pose similar facial composite issues tothe horse, there is no question that cows are members of the farmed animal category. We decided that this justified the inclusion of the cow in the experiment, but we could not justify the use of the horse. The original source for each image is displayed in Appendix A.Due to limited financial resources we were restricted to the use of free, open-source images. This meant that the images contain some background colour and contextual inconsistencies. Nonetheless, all images share these same consistencies: forward facing gaze, minimal to no background noise and the absence of other animals. We adjusted some of the images so that the body of the animals is mostly cropped out. As a result, all nine images have a central focus on the animals face. We ensured that the images did not objectively indicate animal harm nor confinement. Finally, all animals were adult so as to avoid the baby schema effect–the finding that infantile features promote caregiving behaviour(Archer & Monton, 2011; Borgi, Cogliati-Dezza, Brelsford, Meints & Cirulli., 2014; Fridlund& MacDonald, 1998). This was an important consideration as the baby schema effect has been linked to stronger caregiving motivationswith animals(Piazza, McLatchie & Olesen, 2018).Videos. Three videos were selected to induce empathic concern with each of the three animal categories. Each video targeted a specific class of animal (companion, farmed, or endangered) and was presented prior to the second viewing session. All three videos outlined the harm inflicted upon the relevant animal category. They include emotional but not graphic content and were selected for their empathy arousing nature. To reduce any variation caused by the different music styles of the videos, all audio was removed. Videos were trimmed to VISUAL ENGAGMENT WITH ANIMALS.6ensure that they had a similar duration time. Supplementary details of each video can be found in Appendix B. Additionally, each video can be accessed in the “Materials” section of our OSF file. Stimuli presentation. All stimuli werepresented on a Windows 10 Pro hplaptop which had a 14-inch monitor, a screen resolution of 60 Hz and the Intel® Core™ i7-4710MQ CPU processor. Stimuli ran semi-automatically. The experiment was built using Experiment Centre (Version 3.6, SensoMotoric Instruments).Eye-tracking device. Eye movements were recorded monocularly and at a frequency of 30Hz using the REDn Scientific eye-tracking device (SensoMotoric Instruments). Gaze was calibrated using a 5-point method and a calibration area of 1920 X 1080. We used a centered black cross for the fixation points during the initial calibration and throughout the experiment. These were Arial in font and 72 in size. The experiment was built to measure dwell time percentage during the IVT only. Diet. Diet was assessed using an adapted version of the 5 item dietary practice scale used by Piazza, Ruby, Loughnan et al.(2015).We expanded the original scale to include 8 dietary practices. These included “Meat lover,” “Omnivore,”“Semi-vegetarian,” “Pescatarian,” “Lacto-or Ovo-vegetarian,”“Strict vegetarian,”“Dietary vegan,” and“Lifestyle vegan”. Definitions for each category are provided in Appendix C. Procedure Preliminary procedures. Participants were tested individually. Having been welcomed into the lab each participant received an information sheet and consent form. All participants who arrived at the lab gave their consent. Each participant was seated on a stationary chair at a desk where the equipment stood. The experimenter explained that they VISUAL ENGAGMENT WITH ANIMALS.7would load up the experiment and leave them to complete it in privacy. The experiment ran an initial calibration of the eye before moving through into the task information. Task information was presented across three separate screens which outlined for the participant what would be required of them (See Appendix D). Warm-up. Participants took part in two identical IVT. The first was framed as a warm-up. These warm-up trials ran automatically and did not require any participant action. Following task information, participants saw a screen which read “Warm-up” for 4000ms. The animal category was then announced (e.g. “Farmed Animals” “Companion Animals” or Endangered Animals”) and remained on screen for 4000ms. A centered fixation point appeared for 500ms before the first category animal image appeared for 10,000ms. It was during each 10,000ms image presentation that eye-movements were recorded. This same fixation point/image presentation routine was repeated three times over to cover all three images in each category. The order in which each animal category was presented was randomized across participants. Having completed the IVT for each animal category, participants were presented with a screen instructing them that the warm-up was now complete. This instruction screen was advanced manually by the participant. Video watching task. Following the first IVT, participants took part in the video watching task. The animal category was first announced and remained on screen for 4000ms. The appropriate video then played and was concluded with a blank screen lasting 3000ms. Participants were then made aware that the video had finished. Having manually moved the experiment along, the participant was next asked to indicate their current emotional state. They read: “Howpositive or negative do you feel right now?” and should select their response via mouse-click on a 7-point scale with the following range: “Really negative,” “Fairly negative,” “Slightly negative,” “Neutral,” “Slightly positive,” “Fairly positive” and “Really positive”. Again, this screen was manually advanced. The participant was next VISUAL ENGAGMENT WITH ANIMALS.8presented with the statement “I contribute to the suffering of Farmed/ Companion/ Endangered animals” and was asked to indicate their response using the “Y” (Yes) and “N” (No) keys on the keyboard before pressing space bar to advance. “I contribute to the well-being of Farmed/Companion/Endangered animals” was presented on the next screen and participants indicated their response as previous. Responses to these Y/N questions failed to record due to a programming error, and therefore will not be discussed further.The second IVT. As in the first IVT, participants saw a centered fixation point (500ms) followed by the first category animal image (10,000ms). Again, the REDn was programmed to record eye-movement during each of the 10,000ms image presentation. After each animal image the participant was then presented with the statement: “Thinking about how ___ (e.g. Cows) are slaughtered for their meat makes me feel outraged” and are again asked to indicate their response using the “Y” (Yes) and “N” (No) keys on the keyboard. This question was tailored to each animal category and target animal (see Appendix E for a list of each statements used). Next the participant read: “___ (e.g.,Cows) possess a capacity to suffer that is meaningfully similar to humans” and are asked to indicate their response Y/N as previous. This procedure was repeated three times over, once for each animal target. Due to a programming error, responses to these Y/N question were not recorded, and therefore they will not be discussed further. The entire procedure from the beginning of the video watching task to the end of the second IVT was repeated for each animal category, the order of which was randomized for each participant. See Appendix F for a visual representation of the experiment flow.