Jessika Golle

Sweet Puppies and Cute Babies: Perceptual Adaptation to Babyfacedness Transfers across Species

Infant faces are very salient stimuli. The Kindchenschema describes specific features that characterize a cute infant face. In this study we used a visual adaptation paradigm to investigate the universality of the perceptual properties of the Kindchenschema. In Experiment 1, twenty-four participants adapted to cute and less cute human infant faces and in Experiment 2, twenty-four new participants adapted to cute and less cute faces of puppy dogs. In both experiments the task was to assess the cuteness of subsequently presented human infant faces. The results revealed cuteness after-effects for human infant faces in both adaptation conditions, suggesting a common mechanism coding cuteness in human and non-human faces. This study provides experimental evidence for the universality of the well-described concept of the Kindchenschema.

Something to smile about: The interrelationship between attractiveness and emotional expression

Previous studies have suggested a link between the processing of the emotional expression of a face and how attractive it appears. In two experiments we investigated the interrelationship between attractiveness and happiness. In Experiment 1 we presented morphed faces varying in attractiveness and happiness and asked participants to choose the more attractive of two simultaneously presented faces. In the second experiment we used the same stimuli as in Experiment 1 and asked participants to choose the happier face. The results of Experiment 1 revealed that the evaluation of attractiveness is strongly influenced by the intensity of a smile expressed on a face: A happy facial expression could even compensate for relative unattractiveness. Conversely, the findings of Experiment 2 showed that facial attractiveness also influences the evaluation of happiness: It was easier to choose the happier of two faces if the happier face was also more attractive. We discuss the interrelationship of happiness and attractiveness with regard to evolutionary relevance of positive affective status and rewarding effects.

Preference for Cute Infants Does Not Depend on Their Ethnicity or Species: Evidence from Hypothetical Adoption and Donation Paradigms

Results of previous work suggest a preference of adult observers for cute compared to less cute infants. In Study 1 we investigated whether the preference for cute infants depends on the ethnicity and species of the infant. We simultaneously presented two faces (one cute and one less cute) and asked Caucasian participants to choose the infant to whom they would rather give a toy (Task 1) and which infant they would rather adopt (Task 2). The infants were Caucasian or African human babies or dog puppies. For all face categories and in both tasks we found a strong preference for cute infants. A possible reason for preferring cute infants may be that cute infants look healthier than less cute infants. To investigate whether cuteness is associated with the assessment of health we conducted Study 2. Faces of Caucasian and African infants and dog puppies were rated for cuteness and health. The findings revealed a significant relationship between health and cuteness evaluation across all stimuli. We suggest that one reason why cute infants are preferred might be because they are perceived as being healthier.

Dominance of texture over shape in facial identity processing is modulated by individual abilities

For face recognition, observers utilize both shape and texture information. Here, we investigated the relative diagnosticity of shape and texture for delayed matching of familiar and unfamiliar faces (Experiment 1) and identifying familiar and newly learned faces (Experiment 2). Within each familiarity condition, pairs of 3D-captured faces were morphed selectively in either shape or texture in 20% steps, holding the respective other dimension constant. We also assessed participants individual face-processing skills via the Bielefelder Famous Faces Test (BFFT), the Glasgow Face Matching Test, and the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT). Using multilevel model analyses, we examined probabilities of same versus different responses (Experiment 1) and of original identity versus other/unknown identity responses (Experiment 2). Overall, texture was more diagnostic than shape for both delayed matching and identification, particularly so for familiar faces. On top of these overall effects, above-average BFFT performance was associated with enhanced utilization of texture in both experiments. Furthermore, above-average CFMT performance coincided with slightly reduced texture dominance in the delayed matching task (Experiment 1) and stronger sensitivity to morph-based changes overall, that is irrespective of morph type, in the face identification task (Experiment 2). Our findings (1) show the disproportionate importance of texture information for processing familiar face identity and (2) provide further evidence that familiar and unfamiliar face identity perception are mediated by different underlying processes.

Reactive aggression tracks within‐participant changes in women's salivary testosterone

The relation between testosterone and aggression has been relatively well documented in men, but it is less well understood in women. Here we assessed the relationship between salivary testosterone and reactive aggression (i.e., rejection rate for unfair offers) in the Ultimatum Game. Forty naturally cycling women were tested twice, once in the late follicular phase (around ovulation) and once during the luteal phase. Ovulation was determined using urine test strips measuring luteinizing hormone levels. Salivary samples were assayed for testosterone, estradiol, progesterone, and cortisol at both test sessions. There was no association with the cycle, but multilevel modeling revealed a significant within-participant association between testosterone and rejection rate for extremely unfair offers (i.e., high reactive aggression), indicating that women showed greater reactive aggression when their testosterone levels were higher. Additionally, we found that women with relatively high individual concentrations of testosterone were more likely to reject extremely unfair offers than women with relatively low concentrations of testosterone. This study is the first to demonstrate that women react more aggressively in response to provocation when their testosterone level is high than when their testosterone is low, suggesting that testosterone plays an important role in the regulation of womens aggressive behavior following social provocation.

Do women tend while men fight or flee? Differential emotive reactions of stressed men and women while viewing newborn infants

Infant care often is carried out under stressful circumstances. Little is known about differences in caretaking motivation between men and women under stress. In the present study, stress was induced in 40 participants (21 women, 19 men) by means of the cold pressor stress test, 40 (22 women, 18 men) serving as controls. Participants then rated their urge to care for newborn infants shown on 20 short video clips. The infants in the videos were either crying (N=10) or were showing typical neonatal facial movements (N=10). Skin conductance was obtained while participants viewed the videos and salivary cortisol was measured to capture stress responses. We found sex differences in caretaking motivation, such that stress led to decreased caretaking motivation in men but not in women. Furthermore, stressed men elicited a stronger skin conductance change while viewing infant videos than stressed women. These findings provide further evidence for differential stress reactions in men and women and may have crucial implications for parental care.

Effectiveness of a “Grass Roots” Statewide Enrichment Program for Gifted Elementary School Children

ABSTRACT Enrichment programs provide learning opportunities for a broader or deeper examination of curricular or extracurricular topics and are popular in gifted education. Herein, we investigated the effectiveness of a statewide extracurricular enrichment program for gifted elementary school children in Germany. The program implemented a ”grass roots“ strategy by which local units developed and offered the enrichment courses, which spanned a broad array of topics. The courses targeted different outcomes, including students cognitive abilities, school achievement, interests, creativity, self-control, self-concept, and social competencies. We compared third-grade students attending the enrichment program (N =423) with nonattending third-grade students (N = 2,328) by means of a propensity score analysis. Specifically, we controlled for potential selection effects and estimated the average causal effect of the enrichment program for children attending the program. The findings revealed positive program effects on academic achievement but not on the other targeted outcomes.

Linking teacher and parent ratings of teacher-nominated gifted elementary school students to each other and to school grades

This study investigated teacher and parent ratings of teacher-nominated gifted elementary school students’ verbal abilities, mathematical abilities, deductive reasoning, creative thinking, and engagement, and connected these ratings to school grades. Teacher and parent ratings were compared with regard to accuracy levels and halo effects. Furthermore, this study explored the correlations between teacher and parent ratings and how they are related to school grades. The study was based on data from 572 elementary school students participating in an enrichment program. The results indicated the same accuracy levels for teachers and parents. However, teacher ratings were more strongly affected by halo effects than parent ratings. The correlations between teacher and parent ratings were small to medium. Both raters’ ratings were independently and positively associated with German grades when controlling for each other. Positive teacher or parent ratings of mathematical abilities and engagement buffered the relation between the other rater’s ratings and math grades.

Reactive aggression tracks within-participant changes in women's salivary testosterone

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to: Janek Lobmaier, University of Bern, Institute of Psychology, Fabrikstrasse 8, 3012 Bern, Switzerland. Email: janek.lobmaier@psy.unibe.ch; Telephone: +41 (0)31 631 40 24. Acknowledgments This study was supported by a grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation awarded to JL (grant number PP00P1_139072/1). The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Dominance of reflectance over shape in facial identity processing is related to individual abilities

For processing of facial identity, observers utilize visual information from both shape and reflectance. Recent evidence suggests an increasing importance of reflectance, at the expense of shape, with increasing face familiarity (Itz et al., 2014). Moreover, poor compared to good face recognizers were reported to disproportionately rely on shape when attempting to recognize learned faces (Kaufmann et al., 2013). In two experiments, we investigated the relative diagnosticity of shape and reflectance for matching of familiar and unfamiliar faces (Experiment 1) and identification of familiar and newly learned faces (Experiment 2). Within each familiarity condition, faces derived from a 3D camera system were morphed selectively in either shape or reflectance in steps of 20%, while holding the respective other dimension constant. Experiment 1 consisted of an identity matching task with unaltered S1 followed by morphed S2 stimuli. In Experiment 2 familiar and recently learned faces had to be identified from morphs. Individual scores from three tests were used to assess individual differences: the Bielefelder Famous Faces Test (BFFT), the Glasgow Face Matching Test (GFMT), and the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT). Using multi-level model analyses, we examined probabilities of same versus different responses in Experiment 1, and probabilities of original identity vs. other/unknown identity responses in Experiment 2. Overall, our data revealed higher diagnosticity of reflectance compared to shape for both matching and identification, particularly for familiar faces. Moreover, compared to the respective average performance in each test, above-average BFFT (i.e. familiar face) performance was associated with higher utilization of reflectance, whereas both above-average CFMT and GFMT (i.e. unfamiliar face) performance coincided with higher utilization of shape. Our findings highlight the importance of reflectance information for face matching and identification, and indicate different underlying strategies with respect to familiar compared to unfamiliar face processing skills. Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2015.