PDSTD - The Portsmouth Dynamic Spontaneous Tears Database

The vast majority of research on human emotional tears has relied on posed and static stimulus materials. In this paper, we introduce the Portsmouth Dynamic Spontaneous Tears Database (PDSTD), a free resource comprising video recordings of 24 female encoders depicting a balanced representation of sadness stimuli with and without tears. Encoders watched a neutral film and a self-selected sad film and reported their emotional experience for 9 emotions. Extending this initial validation, we obtained norming data from an independent sample of naïve observers (N = 91, 45 females) who watched videos of the encoders during three time phases (neutral, pre-sadness, sadness), yielding a total of 72 validated recordings. Observers rated the expressions during each phase on 7 discrete emotions, negative and positive valence, arousal, and genuineness. All data were analyzed by means of general linear mixed modelling (GLMM) to account for sources of random variance. Our results confirm the successful elicitation of sadness, and demonstrate the presence of a tear effect, i.e., a substantial increase in perceived sadness for spontaneous dynamic weeping. To our knowledge, the PDSTD is the first database of spontaneously elicited dynamic tears and sadness that is openly available to researchers. The stimuli can be accessed free of charge via OSF from https://osf.io/uyjeg/?view_only=24474ec8d75949ccb9a8243651db0abf.

PDSTD - The Portsmouth Dynamic Spontaneous Tears Database

The vast majority of research on human emotional tears has relied on posed and static stimulus materials. In this paper, we introduce the Portsmouth Dynamic Spontaneous Tears Database (PDSTD), a free resource comprising video recordings of 24 female encoders depicting a balanced representation of sadness stimuli with and without tears. Encoders watched a neutral film and a self-selected sad film and reported their emotional experience for 9 emotions. Extending this initial validation, we obtained norming data from an independent sample of naïve observers (N = 91, 45 females) who watched videos of the encoders during three time phases (neutral, pre-sadness, sadness), yielding a total of 72 validated recordings. Observers rated the expressions during each phase on 7 discrete emotions, negative and positive valence, arousal, and genuineness. All data were analyzed by means of general linear mixed modelling (GLMM) to account for sources of random variance. Our results confirm the successful elicitation of sadness, and demonstrate the presence of a tear effect, i.e., a substantial increase in perceived sadness for spontaneous dynamic weeping. To our knowledge, the PDSTD is the first database of spontaneously elicited dynamic tears and sadness that is openly available to researchers. The stimuli can be accessed free of charge via OSF from https://osf.io/uyjeg/?view_only=24474ec8d75949ccb9a8243651db0abf.

Color-validity associations put to the test: Examining the robustness of red-false and green-true associations in the Implicit Association Test

Although there is a considerable amount of research on color associations, not much is known about color-validity associations. Initial work with a Stroop task suggests automatic green-true and red-false associations. In the present work, we were interested in testing the generalizability of these associations by using a different procedure, the Implicit Association Test (IAT). In four IAT-experiments we investigated red-false and green-true associations across different color contexts and stimulus materials. Participants categorized objects presented in two different colors as well as true and false statements (Experiment 1), true and false mathematical equations (Experiment 2), or true-related and false-related words (Experiment 3). The hypothesized green-true and red-false associations were observed in all experiments when both red and green stimuli appeared within the same task but varied in tasks involving only one of both colors and a respective control color. The use of conceptual color representation instead of colored objects (Experiment 4) did not produce a clear pattern. A final, registered experiment aims at finding an explanation in valence- and/or salience-asymmetries as potential confounds of IAT effects.

The East Asian Erotic Picture Dataset and Gender Differences in Response to Opposite-Sex Erotic Stimuli in Chinese College Students

Understanding the processing of sexual stimuli has become a significant part of research on human sexuality. In addition to individual characteristics (gender and sexual orientation), empirical studies have shown that cultural factors play an important role in sexual stimuli processing. The attitudes toward sex have been reported to be more conservative in East Asian societies as compared to western countries, and significantly more sexual difficulties are observed among East Asian people. However, stimulus materials, which potentially facilitate human sexuality research on native East Asian people, are relatively not satisfactory. Erotic stimuli depicting East Asian figures are limited in the existing picture datasets. To address this issue, we present a collection of 237 erotic and 108 control pictures, accompanied by self-reported ratings of sexual arousal, pleasantness, and sexual attractiveness for opposite-sex erotic stimuli by heterosexual males and females (n = 40, divided into two equal-sized subsamples). This collection is divided into six categories, depending on their contents: dressed males (44), semi-nude males (65), nude males (64), dressed females (64), semi-nude females (52), and nude females (56). We showed gender differences in sexual arousal, pleasantness, and sexual attractiveness ratings in response to opposite-sex erotic pictures. Males reported the highest levels of sexual arousal, pleasantness, and sexual attractiveness for nude female pictures, whereas females reported the highest levels of sexual arousal, pleasantness, and sexual attractiveness for semi-nude male pictures. The erotic picture dataset may provide a useful resource of erotic stimuli that can be used as stimulus materials in experimental research on sexual function in East Asians.

Selections From the ABC 2020 Annual Conference, Online: Gathering Around the Cool Fire to Share Business Communication Teaching Innovations

Readers can explore 13 teaching innovations presented at the 2020 Association for Business Communication (ABC) annual international conference hosted online. Typically held in a large hotel ballroom, this year’s My Favorite Assignment sessions were adapted to an asynchronous virtual conference. These assignments are designed to teach managing complex communication, enhance cross-cultural communication, and building essential technical skills. This article is the second in a two-part series. The first appeared in the June 2021 issue. Additional teaching materials—instructions to students, stimulus materials, slides, grading rubrics, frequently asked questions, and sample student projects—are posted on the ABC website: https://www.businesscommunication.org/page/assignments .

Selections From the ABC 2020 Annual Conference, Online: Business Dress and Pajama Bottoms—My Favorite Assignment Goes Online

This article features 12 teaching innovations presented at the 2020 Association for Business Communication (ABC) annual international conference held online due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Readers can explore the classroom methods designed to enhance students’ individual and career skills, critical thinking, teamwork, and report writing skills—many are designed to be taught online. This article is the first in a two-part series. The next article will appear in the September 2021 issue. Additional teaching materials—instructions to students, stimulus materials, slides, grading rubrics, frequently asked questions, and sample student projects—are posted on the ABC website: https://www.businesscommunication.org/page/assignments .

Controlling Video Stimuli in Sign Language and Gesture Research: The OpenPoseR Package for Analyzing OpenPose Motion-Tracking Data in R

Researchers in the fields of sign language and gesture studies frequently present their participants with video stimuli showing actors performing linguistic signs or co-speech gestures. Up to now, such video stimuli have been mostly controlled only for some of the technical aspects of the video material (e.g., duration of clips, encoding, framerate, etc.), leaving open the possibility that systematic differences in video stimulus materials may be concealed in the actual motion properties of the actor’s movements. Computer vision methods such as OpenPose enable the fitting of body-pose models to the consecutive frames of a video clip and thereby make it possible to recover the movements performed by the actor in a particular video clip without the use of a point-based or markerless motion-tracking system during recording. The OpenPoseR package provides a straightforward and reproducible way of working with these body-pose model data extracted from video clips using OpenPose, allowing researchers in the fields of sign language and gesture studies to quantify the amount of motion (velocity and acceleration) pertaining only to the movements performed by the actor in a video clip. These quantitative measures can be used for controlling differences in the movements of an actor in stimulus video clips or, for example, between different conditions of an experiment. In addition, the package also provides a set of functions for generating plots for data visualization, as well as an easy-to-use way of automatically extracting metadata (e.g., duration, framerate, etc.) from large sets of video files.

Recreational Activities and d-Amphetamine Effects in High and Low Sensation Seekers

This study examined the behavioral effects of d-amphetamine and recreational activities, alone and in combination, in high and low impulsive sensation seekers. Healthy 18-27 year-old participants, scoring in the upper (N=8) or lower (N=8) third of college students on the impulsive sensation-seeking scale of the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire, completed eight test days in which sessions were completed before (i.e., baseline) and 60, 120 and 180 minutes after d-amphetamine (0, 10 mg/70 kg) administration. Between sessions, subjects completed recreational activities (movies, music, reading, videogames) identified as high or low in sensation value. Each of four conditions (low and high sensation value activities combined with placebo and active drug) was administered under double-blind conditions on 2 days according to a randomized-block design. Typical stimulant-like cardiovascular and task performance effects were engendered by d-amphetamine; consistent with previous research, the magnitude of drug effects were greater among high sensation seekers. High sensation value activities engendered independent stimulant-like effects on subject ratings. These results suggest that d-amphetamine and high sensation stimulus materials may activate a common neurobiological substrate, likely the mesolimbic dopamine system, and that individual differences in sensation seeking status play a role in vulnerability to stimulant drug abuse.

Computer Eye-Tracking Model to Investigate Influence of the Viewer’s Perception of the Graphic Information

The goal is to study the visual perception of graphic composition of various styles. An original author's method of conducting an experiment has been developed, which includes the preparation of stimulus material, collecting data, and statistical algorithms to analyze parametric data. The stimulus materials were based on graphic images in the cubism and abstractionism styles as well as on photorealistic images. An eye-tracking equipment was used to record eye movement activity and collect experimental data. The statistical analysis of the parametric data of the observer's viewing pattern has revealed that the viewer’s perception of visual information is more effective by observers with art education. The results are of importance for developing effective training and test systems for operators, users, GUI developers, etc.