Visual information contributes fundamentally to the process of object categorization. The present... more Visual information contributes fundamentally to the process of object categorization. The present study investigated whether the degree of activation of visual information in this process is dependent on the contextual relevance of this information. We used the Proactive Interference (PI-release) paradigm. In four experiments, we manipulated the information by which objects could be categorized and subsequently be retrieved from memory. The pattern of PI-release showed that if objects could be stored and retrieved both by (non-perceptual) semantic and (perceptual) shape information, then shape information was overruled by semantic information. If, however, semantic information could not be (satisfactorily) used to store and retrieve objects, then objects were stored in memory in terms of their shape. The latter effect was found to be strongest for objects from identical semantic categories.
Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie), 2012
In order to interpret novel metaphoric relations, we have to construct ad hoc categories under wh... more In order to interpret novel metaphoric relations, we have to construct ad hoc categories under which the metaphorically related concepts can be subsumed. Shape is considered to be one of the primary vehicles of object categorization. Accordingly, shape might play a prominent role in interpreting visual metaphors (i.e., two metaphorically related objects depicted in one visual array). This study explores the role of object shape in visual metaphor interpretation of 10- to 12-year-olds. The experiment shows that participants can produce more correspondences between similarly shaped objects as compared to dissimilarly shaped objects and that they need less thinking time to do so. These findings suggest that similarity in shape facilitates the process of interpreting visual metaphors.
ABSTRACT Although research succeeds in eliciting spontaneous feelings of surprise with participan... more ABSTRACT Although research succeeds in eliciting spontaneous feelings of surprise with participants, these participants rarely show a prototypical expression of raising eyebrows, opening mouth, and widening eyes. In other words, there seems to be a discrepancy between the display and feeling of surprise. To get a better understanding of this discrepancy, we assessed what factors influence the display of surprise in children (study 1) and adults (study 2). In both studies, we conducted a quiz-like experiment, in which we manipulated the social context (participants either competed or collaborated), and various quiz questions to extract reactions of surprise (either caused by unexpectedly correct or unexpectedly incorrect answers). Results show that cause and social context did not affect the appearance of specific features in participants’ surprise display. However, we did find these factors to interact with regards to the intensity of perceived surprise displays of adults. For children, these relations were less complex. Overall, we can conclude that the expression of surprise is indeed moderated by contextual factors, namely cause of the surprise, social context, and age.
The goal of the project is to model the prosodic structuring of speech in terms of boundaries and... more The goal of the project is to model the prosodic structuring of speech in terms of boundaries and groupings. The modeling will include different communicative situations and be based on existing as well as new speech corpora. Production and perception studies will be used in parallel ...
Although current emotion theories emphasize the importance of contextual factors for emotional ex... more Although current emotion theories emphasize the importance of contextual factors for emotional expressive behavior, developmental studies that examine such factors are currently thin on the ground. In this research, we studied the course of emotional expressions of 8-and 11-year-old children after winning a (large) first prize or a (substantially smaller) consolation prize, while playing a game competing against the computer or a physically co-present peer. We analyzed their emotional reactions by conducting two perception tests in which participants rated children's level of happiness. Results showed that co-presence positively affected children's happiness only when receiving the first prize. Moreover, for children who were in the presence of a peer, we found that eye contact affected children's expressions of happiness, but that the effect was different for different age groups: 8-year-old children were negatively affected, and 11-year-old children positively. Overall, we can conclude that as children grow older and their social awareness increases, the presence of a peer affects their non-verbal expressions, regardless of their appreciation of their prize.
Visual information contributes fundamentally to the process of object categorization. The present... more Visual information contributes fundamentally to the process of object categorization. The present study investigated whether the degree of activation of visual information in this process is dependent on the contextual relevance of this information. We used the Proactive Interference (PI-release) paradigm. In four experiments, we manipulated the information by which objects could be categorized and subsequently be retrieved from memory. The pattern of PI-release showed that if objects could be stored and retrieved both by (non-perceptual) semantic and (perceptual) shape information, then shape information was overruled by semantic information. If, however, semantic information could not be (satisfactorily) used to store and retrieve objects, then objects were stored in memory in terms of their shape. The latter effect was found to be strongest for objects from identical semantic categories.
Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie), 2012
In order to interpret novel metaphoric relations, we have to construct ad hoc categories under wh... more In order to interpret novel metaphoric relations, we have to construct ad hoc categories under which the metaphorically related concepts can be subsumed. Shape is considered to be one of the primary vehicles of object categorization. Accordingly, shape might play a prominent role in interpreting visual metaphors (i.e., two metaphorically related objects depicted in one visual array). This study explores the role of object shape in visual metaphor interpretation of 10- to 12-year-olds. The experiment shows that participants can produce more correspondences between similarly shaped objects as compared to dissimilarly shaped objects and that they need less thinking time to do so. These findings suggest that similarity in shape facilitates the process of interpreting visual metaphors.
ABSTRACT Although research succeeds in eliciting spontaneous feelings of surprise with participan... more ABSTRACT Although research succeeds in eliciting spontaneous feelings of surprise with participants, these participants rarely show a prototypical expression of raising eyebrows, opening mouth, and widening eyes. In other words, there seems to be a discrepancy between the display and feeling of surprise. To get a better understanding of this discrepancy, we assessed what factors influence the display of surprise in children (study 1) and adults (study 2). In both studies, we conducted a quiz-like experiment, in which we manipulated the social context (participants either competed or collaborated), and various quiz questions to extract reactions of surprise (either caused by unexpectedly correct or unexpectedly incorrect answers). Results show that cause and social context did not affect the appearance of specific features in participants’ surprise display. However, we did find these factors to interact with regards to the intensity of perceived surprise displays of adults. For children, these relations were less complex. Overall, we can conclude that the expression of surprise is indeed moderated by contextual factors, namely cause of the surprise, social context, and age.
The goal of the project is to model the prosodic structuring of speech in terms of boundaries and... more The goal of the project is to model the prosodic structuring of speech in terms of boundaries and groupings. The modeling will include different communicative situations and be based on existing as well as new speech corpora. Production and perception studies will be used in parallel ...
Although current emotion theories emphasize the importance of contextual factors for emotional ex... more Although current emotion theories emphasize the importance of contextual factors for emotional expressive behavior, developmental studies that examine such factors are currently thin on the ground. In this research, we studied the course of emotional expressions of 8-and 11-year-old children after winning a (large) first prize or a (substantially smaller) consolation prize, while playing a game competing against the computer or a physically co-present peer. We analyzed their emotional reactions by conducting two perception tests in which participants rated children's level of happiness. Results showed that co-presence positively affected children's happiness only when receiving the first prize. Moreover, for children who were in the presence of a peer, we found that eye contact affected children's expressions of happiness, but that the effect was different for different age groups: 8-year-old children were negatively affected, and 11-year-old children positively. Overall, we can conclude that as children grow older and their social awareness increases, the presence of a peer affects their non-verbal expressions, regardless of their appreciation of their prize.
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