London South Bank University
BSPID13
Keynote Speakers
Dr Gemma Modinos
Reader in Neuroscience & Mental Health
Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London
Understanding brain alterations in schizotypy through large scale meta- analyses of neuroimaging data in the non-clinical population
Dr Modinos’ lab uses multimodal neuroimaging approaches across humans and relevant animal models to understand the role of the neural mechanisms involved in emotional behaviour in the development of psychotic symptoms and psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. She also uses pharmacological imaging approaches to investigate whether targeting these mechanisms can help design new therapeutic strategies for psychosis. Gemma also founded and chairs the ENIGMA Schizotypy working group, the largest worldwide network for neuroimaging research in schizotypy. Gemma is active in science policy, currently being the Outgoing Chair of the Young Academy of Europe, and highly dedicated to public engagement, for example having recently hosted an artist in her lab through a King's Artists Award.
Professor Paul Allen
Cognitive Neuroscience and Director of the Centre for Research in Psychological Wellbeing
Vulnerability for psychosis and cannabis use
Professor Paul Allen is a Professor of Psychosis Neuroimaging at King’s College London and The University of Lille, France, and is currently funded by the Medical Research Council and by a University of Lille International Chair Award. Paul has been based at the University of Roehampton, London, for the last 8 years where his research focuses on the neurobiology of psychosis risk in young adults. His research aims to establish predictive factors conferring elevated risk for development of psychotic illness in young adults with a clinical risk for psychosis. He has been at the forefront of a multimodal neuroimaging programme that aims to characterise neuropathology associated with psychosis at anatomical, physiological and neurochemical levels and has developed a real time fMRI neurofeedback system for cognitive training and clinical applications. He has co-authored over 150 papers in peer reviewed international journals on the topics of schizophrenia and psychosis risk in young adults, auditory verbal hallucinations and the effects of cannabis on the brain.
Oral Presentations
Social Relationships and Social Media
The Effects of Schizotypy on the Perceptions of Emotion Expressed in a Family Context
Alice Betteridge (1), Christine Norman (1), John Groeger (1), Preethi Premkumar(2)
(1) Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, (2) Division of Psychology, London South Bank University
Schizotypy is a cluster of personality traits which resemble symptoms of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Expressed emotion (EE) is a family members attitude towards an individual, measured by consequential communication. High critical EE (perceived criticism) has been found to positively predict schizotypy and high praising EE to negatively predict schizotypy. The study aimed to expand on previous research, by further exploring the impact of arousal to EE and introducing frequency of EE as a new factor. 191 Participants listened to EE-like audio-files containing: criticism, praise, and neutral comments and self-reported their reactions regarding; arousal they would feel, how relevant they found the comment to be, and how frequently they have received a similar comment. Participants also answered questions regarding their schizotypy (O-LIFE-43), mental health (DASS-21) and EE (LEE-38). Results showed that frequency of critical comments positively correlated with all schizotypy subscales, which was partially mediated by depression and stress for cognitive disorganisation, introvertive anhedonia and impulsive nonconformity. Unusual experience and cognitive disorganisation were found to positively correlate with all EE response measures for critical EE. Praising EE comments were found to positively correlate with unusual experience for frequency and relevance, however not for arousal. Findings concluded that higher frequency of critical EE predicts all schizotypy subtypes, with depression and stress increasing the intensity of this for some. Arousal and relevance felt towards critical EE comments predict positive schizotypy and cognitive disorganisation. The frequency of and relevance felt towards praising EE predicts levels of positive schizotypy.
Sharenting: A Comprehensive Review of the Empirical Literature
Sule Betul Tosuntas (1, 2), Mark D. Griffiths (2)
(1) Department of Educational Sciences, Bursa Uludag University, Turkey, (2) Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK.
Sharenting, or the practice of parents publicly sharing information about their children on social media, has become increasingly prevalent in recent years. According to a study conducted by Nominet, a British domain registry company, parents on average share almost 1,500 pictures of their child on social media before the child reaches the age of five. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic literature review in order to evaluate existing publications that have empirically investigated the sharenting phenomenon and conceptualised the characteristics of sharenting and possible consequences of sharenting. To achieve this, the research was carried out and presented in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. All studies obtained had to meet a number of criteria in order to be included in the review. The review comprised a total of 61 studies. The identified studies were examined, and consequently, methodology, sample, explored domain, research aims, and main results were extracted from each study. The 61 studies dealt with the concept of sharenting in different aspects. Themes were determined depending on the point of view and focus of the studies on the concept of sharenting. The nine themes were: characteristics of sharenting, children's privacy, professional sharenting, children perspective, factors affecting sharenting, social media dilemmas, legal perspective, follower perspective, and intervention. In conclusion, this review highlights the growing prevalence of sharenting and provides a comprehensive overview of the empirical investigations and conceptualizations of this phenomenon. The findings of this review have implications for parents, professionals, and policymakers and suggest opportunities for future research to further our understanding of the complex and multifaceted nature of sharenting.
How perceived scarcity predicted cooperation during early pandemic lockdown
Claudia Civai(1), Marta Caserotti (2), Elisa Carrus (1), Inge Huijsmans (3), Rubaltelli Enrico (2)
(1) School of Applied Sciences, London South Bank University, (2) Faculty of Psychology, University of Padova, (3) Belastingdienst (Dutch Tax Office)
The early pandemic lockdown has decreased both material resources (jobs or access to healthcare), and socio-psychological resources (connecting with others or coping with movement restrictions). Resource scarcity in any domain (money, time, etc.) elicits a scarcity mindset that affects cognitive abilities, including decision-making. However, some studies found that scarcity increases generosity, whilst others that it promotes selfish behaviours. Since social norms compliance is key for the success of measures like lockdowns, we investigated whether perceived material and socio-psychological scarcity during early pandemic lockdown (May 2020 and August 2020) predicted cooperation. A sample of 900 UK participants was considered. Cooperation was measured using two Public Good Games (PGG), where participants contributed either money or time (i.e., hours indoors contributed to shorten the lockdown). Perceived scarcity was measured using two 5-item scales, one tapping into material scarcity (e.g., receiving an income or getting groceries), and the other into socio-psychological scarcity (e.g., connecting with friends and family or managing time). We controlled for Trait Emotional Intelligence, Communal Orientation (COS), and subjective social status (MacArthur Scale). The main results indicated that, whilst there was no relationship between material scarcity and cooperation, scarcity of socio-psychological wellbeing (e.g., connecting with others) predicted increased cooperation in both the money and the time scenario. Conversely, perceived scarcity of freedom (e.g., limited movement) predicted decreased willingness to spend time indoors to shorten the lockdown for everyone. It is important to analyze perceived scarcity in detail since its possible implications for message framing in policy communications.
Cognition and Psychophysiology
Assessing chronotype: what do the existing scales measure and how can we refine them?
Satyam Chauhan (1), Ray Norbury (1), Kaja Christina Faßbender (1), Ulrich Ettinger (2), Veena Kumari (1)
(1) Centre for Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, London, United Kingdom, (2) Department of Psychology, University of Bonn, Germany
Over the past few decades, the study of circadian typology has received considerable interest. Chronotype is widely defined as ‘an expression or proxy for circadian rhythms of varied mechanisms that occur over an approximately 24-hour cycle'. This definition is rather broad, and the inclusion of a wide range of processes has allowed researchers to focus on some processes and ignore others. We undertook a review and critical appraisal of existing self-report scales of chronotype, namely the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ, 1976; 19 items), the Composite Scale of Morningness (CSM, 1989; 13 items), the Reduced MEQ (rMEQ,1991; 5 items), and the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire (MCTQ; 2003, 16 items). The MEQ was found to be the most commonly used instrument in research studies with >10,000 citations. Currently available measures of chronotype, however, focus solely or mainly on the sleep dimension, and typically ignore social and environmental influencers. Although the currently available instruments provide quick and easy methods for assessing chronotype, there is a clear need to refine and expand them to incorporate relevant social, environmental, and individual factors that on their own, or in interaction, influence an individual’s true chronotype [1].
Moral of the Story: predictor variables on negative fake news belief
Edward White (1), Giulia Galli (1)
(1) Kingston University
Informational news processing research suggests a strong relationship between the negativity bias-the tendency to focus on negative content- and morbid curiosity: curiosity for the macabre. However, the relationship between negativity bias and morbid curiosity has not explored the relationship between fake news susceptibility. Furthermore, whether other motivational traits, such as sensation seeking and knowledge fulfilment, influence fake news processing is unclear. Thus, we explored the relationship between curiosity and motivational traits on susceptibility to emotional real and fake news. Participants read 42 news articles with images and text that included either a positive, negative, or neutral story. Followed up with the Morbid Curiosity, Sensation-Seeking, and Knowledge Fulfilment Scales. Participants had to discern the article’s authenticity and whether they would share it by responding to single-item questions. We measured fake news susceptibility as the proportion of fake news inaccurately identified as real. Counter to our hypothesis that people would be most susceptible to negative fake news, the results showed greater susceptibility to positive fake news. Sharing behaviour was higher for positive news stories. Morbidly curious and knowledge-fulfilled participants were not susceptible to negative fake news but were willing to share it. The data suggest that curiosity and motivational traits are receptive to aspects of fake news beliefs, if not susceptibility. A news article’s emotional content does influence engagement and susceptibility. Suggesting that susceptibility is driven by emotional content and personality traits may not attribute to susceptibility, but interest in emotional content can result in its distribution.
Psychopathy
An investigation of the relationships underpinning aggression in psychopathy and sadism: the role of empathy, RST, and alexithymia
Monika Fleet (1), Nadja Heym (1) & Alexander Sumich (1)
(1) Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University
Psychopathy and sadism are intercorrelated, but unique, maladaptive personality traits that uniquely predict aggressive behaviour (Jain et al., 2022; Paulhus et al., 2018). In line with the Violence Inhibition Mechanism (VIM; Blair, 1995) and the revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (rRST; Gray & McNaughton, 2000), psychopathy is characterised by low empathy, low fearlessness, and low anxiety. Whether sadism can be delineated from psychopathy in relation to empathy, the BIS/BAS/FFFS systems and associations to aggression, is yet to be established. This online psychometric study aimed to examine the role of rRST, empathy and alexithymia in understanding psychopathic and sadistic mechanisms underpinning proactive and reactive aggression. Participants completed seven measures of psychopathy, sadism, aggression, empathy, motor empathy, alexithymia, and RST. Also, Hierarchical regressions, path analysis and potentially Latent Profile Analysis will be used for analyses. It is anticipated that affective empathy and behavioural inhibition (BIS) will negatively predict aggression and act as mediators for the traits-aggression relationship, with it being stronger for psychopathy than sadism. Also, higher affective dissonance, alexithymia and behavioural activation (BAS-fun seeking, BAS-drive) will associate with aggression, and also mediate the trait-aggression relationship, more strongly for sadism. The delineation of psychopathy and sadism in terms of their motivations and mechanisms for aggressive behaviour has applications for future aggression prevention. Moreover, the application, development, and expansion of rRST and VIM to understand sadism has theoretical implications that are discussed.
Relationships of Psychopathic and Callous-Unemotional Traits with Proactive and Reactive Aggression
Jennifer Firth (1)*, Alexander Sumich (1), Dr Nadja Heym (1)
(1) Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University
There are several subclinical adult psychopathic trait (PP) inventories in operation with distinctive conceptualisations of psychopathy – from classic to triarchic conceptualisations. Youth inventories focus on callous-unemotional (CU) traits as potential precursors to adult psychopathy. Prior research has associated CU traits with affective psychopathy deficits (e.g., Cold-heartedness), however, limited research has examined how the underlying constructs of CU and different PP inventories map. Two independent samples: (1) n= 519 adults (M=23.69; SD=9.24) completed the Self-Report Psychopathy (SRP-III; Williams et al., 2003), Levenson’s Self-Report Psychopathy (LSRP; Levenson et al., 1995), Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU; Frick, 2004) and Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPAQ; Raine et al., 2006); and (2) n= 592 adults (M=21.96; SD= 7.24) completed the SRP-III, Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM; Patrick et al., 2009), ICU and RPAQ. Two SEM path models indicated the presence of two latent variables comprising affective-interpersonal PP deficits and CU traits (AFFECT) and impulsive-irresponsible PP deficits (IMPULSE). AFFECT was a predictor of proactive aggression and IMPULSE was a predictor of reactive aggression in both models. Nevertheless, there was some variability between models indicating that the relationship between PP traits and aggression may vary depending on the inventory used. Overall, this research highlights the necessity for replication of models.
The association between childhood trauma and emotion recognition is reduced or eliminated when controlling for alexithymia and psychopathy traits
Holly Cooper (1), Ben J Jennings (1), Veena Kumari (1), Aiyana K Willard (1), and Rachel J Bennetts (1)
(1) College of Health, Medicine, and Life Sciences, Brunel University London
The ability to recognise emotions shows large variability between individuals and is substantially affected by experience of childhood trauma as well as modality, emotion portrayed, and intensity. There is a great deal of research suggesting childhood trauma influences emotion recognition accuracy, however, it is unclear whether this effect is consistent when controlling for interrelated individual differences. Further, the universality of the effects has not been explored, most studies have not examined various modalities or intensities. This study examined childhood trauma’s association with accuracy, when controlling for alexithymia and psychopathy traits, and if this varied across modality, emotion portrayed, and intensity. Participants (N = 122, Mage = 28) completed childhood trauma, alexithymia, and psychopathy self-report questionnaires and three emotion recognition tasks: facial, vocal, and audio-visual conditions. When exploring childhood trauma alone, there was a significant association with poorer accuracy when exploring modality, emotion portrayed, and intensity. When controlling for alexithymia and psychopathy traits, childhood trauma remained significant when exploring emotion portrayed. It was no longer significant when exploring modality and intensity, but alexithymia was significant when exploring intensity. When controlling for other traits the effects of childhood trauma were reduced or non-significant. This suggests the association between childhood trauma and emotion recognition may be driven by other interrelated traits, suggesting the importance of controlling for related individual differences. Present theories exploring childhood trauma and emotion deficits may need to consider other factors such as higher levels of alexithymia and psychopathy traits in the groups being studied.
Mental Health and Psychological Interventions
Beneficial effects on subjective mood and brain function of biophilic quality in university environments shown in virtual reality
Alexander Sumich (1), Sabrina Lenzoni (1), Caroline Thomas (2), Bradley Standen (1), Alexander Hardy (1), Nadja Heym (1), Yangang Xing (2)
(1) Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, (2) Department of Construction Management, School of Architecture Design and the Built Environment, Nottingham Trent University
Biophilic designs promote health by incorporating nature-based features into built environments. Differences between urban and natural settings are also reported in electroencephalographic (EEG) theta activity. However, inconsistencies exist in the direction of this effect, possibly reflecting distinct theta subtypes and individual differences in the response to nature. Virtual Reality was used to create interior university spaces (classrooms, stairwells, corridors) that had either no biophilic qualities or from 1-3 biophilic features (increasing intensity). Participants (n=32; Younger-adults n=18 18-35 years old, Older-adults n=14 48-90 years old) underwent EEG (30 channels, Emotiv Flex) assessment as they viewed the spaces. Items from the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) were used to measure subjective responses, based on four theories for biophilic benefit: i) Recovery from stress; ii) Restoration of attentional resources; and iii) provision of Refuge and prospect; and/or iv) fostering Inspiration and creativity. Mood improved with biophilic quality (particularly in classrooms). There was also a positive linear relationship between theta power and biophilic quality from levels 1-3. Paradoxically, theta was also high in the condition devoid of biophilic features (Level 0). Opposite associations between PANAS and theta power were seen at level 0 compared to level 3 biophilic quality. No interactions were seen between level of biophilic quality and age. The benefit of biophilic environments on mood is paralleled by alterations in brain function, independent of age. Distinct theta subtypes may be differentially involved in positive and negative affect associated with biophilic environments.
TVirtual-reality exposure therapy for social anxiety and responsiveness to biofeedback on physiological arousal
Premkumar, P. (1), Heym, N. (2), Myers, J. (3), Formby, P. (2), Keleva, I. (3), Rahman, A. R. (4), Sumich, A. (2), Brown, D.(4)
(1) Division of Psychology, London South Bank University, (2) Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, (3) Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, (4) Department of Computer Science, Nottingham Trent University
We (Premkumar et al., 2021) previously found that self-guided Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) improves subjective and physiological arousal among individuals with Public Speaking Anxiety (PSA). This study aimed to understand how biofeedback could enhance awareness of and regulation of physiological arousal during self-guided VRET for social anxiety. Seventy-two individuals with high self-reported social anxiety were randomly allocated to either self-guided VRET+biofeedback (n=38; 25 completers) or self-guided VRET alone (n=35; 25 completers). Completers attended three hour- long VRET sessions over two consecutive weeks where they gave a 20-minute public speech in a virtual classroom. The self-guided VRET+biofeedback group additionally responded to biofeedback on heart rate and brain electrical activity, seen as a vertical red and blue bar respectively, during their public speech. These participants were advised to lower the bars accordingly. Participants also completed psychometric questionnaires on social anxiety after each session and one month later. Both groups showed an improvement in social anxiety from at end-of- treatment and one-month follow-up. The interaction between group and session suggested that the level of subjective arousal was consistently lower in sessions 2 and 3 for the self-guided VRET+biofeedback group, but more variable in the VRET alone group. The self-guided VRET+biofeedback group also showed a steady decline in heartrate across time during the first session alone. The self-guided VRET improves social anxiety. Furthermore, the biofeedback improves subjective and physiological arousal. The biofeedback during the self-guided VRET could be linked to enhanced emotional regulation and perceived control over the social threat.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Public attitudes in Europe towards Ukrainian and Afghan refugees
Miriam-Andreea Iordache (1)*, Dr. Alyson Blanchard (1)
(1) University of Salford
The year 2022 witnessed a major humanitarian crisis: the Russian invasion in Ukraine. The catastrophic event required people to flee from their homeland to find shelter as refugees in safer countries, mainly in Europe. Governments and citizens welcomed the Ukrainian refugees and tried to help as much as they could. Psychological theories are sought to explain why Afghan refugees, who were also required to leave their homes following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, received a rather negative reaction from the same European countries (De Coninck, 2022; Gorlick, 2021; Sagir, 2022). Based on Social Identity and related Theories, discrepancies between in-groups and out-groups can generate prejudice. Whilst Integrated Threat Theory (e.g., intergroup anxiety, values, and worldview beliefs; Stephan et al., 2000) has been found to relate to prejudice towards immigrants, the different reactions/behaviours towards Afghan and Ukrainian refugees have not been studied. The present study explores, using correlation and regression analyses, whether symbolic threat, intergroup anxiety, fear of war and fear of terrorism are differentially related to attitudes towards Afghan or Ukrainian refugees; and whether political orientation and source and confidence of war knowledge influences these relationships. Based on a cross- sectional survey design, the study aims to recruit 300-500 participants from Europe. The findings will potentially identify the importance of different causes of attitudes towards refugees. Hence, the results might be used to suggest new policies, interventions, and campaigns when it comes to aiding refugees settle in Europe.
Impact of Background Music on Emotion Perception and Sex Differences
Andrei D Barbanta (1), Ben Jennings(1)
(1) College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences Brunel University London Uxbridge, London, United Kingdom
Previous research has demonstrated emotional responses can be modulated by music, with typically classical music being employed in these studies. The current study investigated the effect of modern musical genres on the ratings of emotional video clips. The videos depicted scenarios that induce a positive, neutral or negatively valanced response in the viewer. Participants (n=166) were randomly assigned into one of three music groups (the music stimuli were pre-validated as positive neutral or negative), they were exposed to that music condition only throughout the experiment. The participants’ task was to rate 30 video clips (10 from each group: positive, neutral and negative), on a continuous subjective scale from extremely negative through to extremely positive. No sex differences for the neutral or negative videos was found for any background music type. However, a difference was found indicating that positive music enhanced the overall negativity when rating negatively valanced videos for women, but not men. The data may reflect a sex difference to soundtrack dissonance, where an out of context positive soundtrack (i.e., positive music coupled with negative visual stimuli) can result in a greater overall feeling of unease in the viewer.
Poster Presentations
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
Parental views about the role of play in child development and learning among Nigerian Parents in Nigeria and the United Kingdom
Ekimiebi Esiri (1)
(1) Division of Psychology, School of Applied Sciences, London South Bank University
Play has been recognized as a universal characteristic of childhood and a key pathway in early childhood development and learning (Wood,2008, Samuelson &Carlsson,2008). However, there are indications that play scholarship is dominated by a Euro-American world view (Pellegrini,2011; Chowdhury & Rivalland,2012) despite evidence of multiple understandings of play across cultures ( Roopnarine & Davidson,2015,Goncu &Vadeboncoeur,2017). The cultural dimension of play has created a need to research play through indigenous conceptualizations about play. Drawing from the concept of Developmental Niche (Super & Harkness,1986; Harkness & Super,1994), this study proposes to explore the cultural underpinnings of parental beliefs about the role of play among Nigerian parents in the UK and Nigeria and how their perceptions extend in the play behavior of their children. Based on a sequential mixed method approach, initial data will be collected through four focus groups run concurrently with Observations in Nigeria and the UK. Findings from this initial qualitative data will be expanded by data from a quantitative survey. Both individual and group differences are anticipated across the two groups of parents due to a common cultural heritage as well as the influence of the dominant culture in Nigeria and the UK. This study may highlight the importance of curating child development and play programs that incorporate cultural diversity to include under-represented cultures.
The Body-Ebbinghaus Illusion: Does Context Matter in Body Size Categorisation?
Marie Hansen(1), Dr Andrew Parton (1), and Dr Annie W-Y Chan (1)
(1) Department of Life Sciences, College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Division of Psychology, Brunel University London
We aim to investigate the impact of context on body size perception. Previous studies have primarily presented single-body stimuli in their body weight categorization tasks (Chan et al., 2021; Thaler et al., 2018), limited research has been conducted with groups of bodies. Here, using bodies instead of circles, we have modified the classic Ebbinghaus Illusion to test the impact of context, while varying across race and gender.
Methods: 164 participants completed a Body-Ebbinghaus task online, 160 stimuli: 2 (Context: underweight/obese) x 2 (Gender: male/female) x 2 (Race: black/white) x 4 (BMI: underweight/normal/overweight/obese). Participants were asked to judge the BMI category of the central bodies. Both percent accuracies and incorrect judgments (under-estimations/over-estimations) were analysed. Overall, participants’ performance was affected by context (surrounding bodies), they were more accurate with the BMI category of target/central bodies within the underweight context. Intriguingly, participants’ judgements were also modulated by race, gender, or BMI. Within the underweight context, better performance was observed for black male bodies. On the contrary, within the obese context, performance was better for white stimuli, and female bodies than male. Furthermore, a decision tree analysis showed that accuracy for normal bodies was improved by the underweight context. Our findings revealed that visual judgement of body size can be modulated by the context, and it is malleable depending on the gender and race of the stimuli.
Investigating body weight perception in adolescent and adult populations
Damian Kuczynski (1), Annie W-Y Chan Ph.D (1)
(1) Brunel University London, Centre for Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience
Recent research has primarily investigated body weight perception of self. Little is known regarding the impact of development and demographic factors on weight perception of others, in particular, whether visual perception of body weight varies across age, BMI category, gender, and ethnicity of the participants and stimuli. This study aimed to identify differences in accuracy and bias of BMI categorisation between adolescents (16 – 19 years) and adults (25+). 132 participants completed an online body categorization task, consisted of 120 body stimuli - a 2 (gender) x 3 (ethnicity) x 4 (BMI category). Participants made judgement on each image - underweight, normal, overweight, or obese. Percentages of correct, under- and over- estimations were analysed revealing a complex decision pattern for bodyweight categorization. Overall, adolescent participants were more accurate than older adults, but there was little impact of participant age on other factors. Both age groups showed an interaction between BMI and gender of stimuli, whereby participants were accurate at categorizing underweight male and obese female stimuli. Furthermore, decision tree analysis showed higher underestimation for overweight and obese males, suggesting that participants were more lenient to bigger males. However, we found higher percentage of overestimation for underweight females, suggesting that participants tended to normalize them. Our results suggest a misalignment between perceptual and BMI categories that is primarily driven by gender of the stimuli. Our findings also suggest that possibly most of the perceptual biases develop earlier in life.
Cognition and Psychophysiology
Individual Differences in a virtual Bassin Anticipation Timing Task (BATT)
Parkin, Lee (1)
(1) University of Nottingham
Coincidence Anticipation Timing Tasks have commonly been used to assess individual differences in spatial cognition (Sanders, 2011). Most notably the Bassin Anticipation Timing Task (Lafayette Instruments) has been used to assess a range of individual differences in performance, typically sex differences. However, this requires participants to come into the lab, as the BATT typically used a physical series of LED's illuminating in rapid succession to give the illusion of movement. The virtual BATT was thus developed in order to overcome this limitation and enable online testing. This experiment thus sought to verify the suitability of the virtual BATT, and also to examine individual differences in performance on the virtual BATT.
This experiment found performance differences across AQ score, with those scoring higher in AQ showing greater Constant Error (CE) compared to those of lower AQ scores, predominantly at lower speeds (0.46, 0.69mph), and greatest performance as speed increased (0.92mph) and then decreasing again as speed increased further (1.15mph). Conversely, those who scored lower in AQ showed no significant effect of target speed).
Melodic expectation and emotional processing: does musical sophistication matter?
Andrei-Denis Balog (1), Silvia Castellano (1), Elisa Carrus (1)
(1) Division of Psychology, School of Applied Sciences, London South Bank University
Music can elicit strong emotions and is known to influence other cognitive domains. For example, musical features like consonance/dissonance can influence the emotional processing of words, as reflected at the behavioural and neural level (N400) (Steinbeis and Koelsch, 2008). It is unclear whether these cross-domain effects can be explained by expectation, and what the role of individual differences like musical expertise is. The current study aimed to investigate the effects of melodic expectation on the emotional processing of words in participants with varying levels of musical sophistication. In an affective priming paradigm, melodically expected and unexpected melodies (primes) were presented with pleasant and unpleasant words (targets). Participants were asked to respond to the valence of words whilst their EEG was being recorded. The Gold-MSI (Mullensiefen et al. 2014) was used to assess musical sophistication; accuracy, reaction time (RT) and the N400 amplitude were also measured. Participants were significantly more accurate with pleasant compared to unpleasant words, with the latter also eliciting a larger N400; interestingly, there was a behavioural congruency effect, whereby participants were more accurate for congruous music-word pairs (e.g. expected/pleasant), than for incongruous pairs, suggesting an interaction between melodic expectation and word valence. However, this effect was not shown for RT or the N400. There was no significant effect of musical sophistication. These results suggest that melodic expectation may not tap into emotional processing like consonance/dissonance does, and that musical sophistication as an individual difference is worthy of a finer grained investigation in future.
The effects of acute cycling exercise on brain function
Tamara Dkaidek (1), Dr Andre Szameitat (1), Dr Daniel Bishop (1)
(1) Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, London
Our recent meta-analysis suggests that 20 minutes of moderate-intensity cycling is likely to elicit significant post-exercise executive function (EF) improvements. There is recent evidence for the augmentative effect of combined physical and cognitive activity on subsequent EF task performance. This study aims to investigate whether concurrent cycling and visual working memory task performance yields greater improvements in EF than either in isolation. The effect of moderate-intensity cycling and a visual foraging task (VFT) will be determined using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and eye-tracking. A connection has been established between successful foraging and EFs, where measurements of foraging ability connect to attentional flexibility and working memory. 24 young adults will complete EF tasks before and after 20 minutes of moderate-intensity cycling (60% V̇ O2max), a VFT, or both combined. EF task responses pre-and post-interventions will be compared using samples t-tests, followed by a MANOVA to compare conditions. Gaze tracking will be used to characterise participants’ gaze strategies, and if they predict post-intervention difference across conditions. To analyse fNIRS data, the raw rSO2 levels that are automatically recorded will be average d to produce an overall score. This score will be changed into a percentage of rSO2 change from baseline in order to compare the percentages between conditions. The Affect Grid will also be compared pre-and post-intervention. The findings of this study may inform real-world cycling interventions to enhance cognitive performance (e.g., before an exam).
The predictive power of sensory processing sensitivity and self- compassion on psychological well-being in adults
Kiran Garcha (1)
(1) Brunel University London
Sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) refers to an individual’s cognitive processing ability and arousal levels in response to internal and external stimuli (e.g., lights, sounds, smells, aesthetics, hunger, pain). Individuals with high SPS may be more likely to experience anxiety and depression when accompanied with other factors such as childhood trauma or neglect. Self-compassion is defined as the ability to hold one’s feelings from negative life experiences with a sense of warmth, connection, and concern. Self-compassion as a tool can help to develop emotional resilience and improve well-being. This study aimed to explore the relationship between SPS and self-compassion, and examine the predictive power of SPS and self-compassion together on psychological well-being in adults. Method: A quantitative, correlational online study was conducted with 129 participants (86 females, 42 males, 1 non-binary; aged 21-70, M = 44.2, SD = 9.42). The outcome variable was psychological well-being measured by the Psychological Well-Being questionnaire. The predictor variables were SPS and self-compassion, measured by the Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS) and the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), respectively. Following a descriptive, correlational, and multiple regression analyses, a positive significant correlation was observed between SPS and self-compassion. Both SPS and self-compassion were positive predictors of psychological well-being in the sample population. As self-compassion can be improved through practice, such as mindfulness, it may improve psychological well-being and serve as a protective factor in individuals with high SPS.
Assessment of cognitive load using multimodal physiological sensors
Mohammad Ahmadi (1), Sabrina Lenzoni (2), Marzieh Ahmadi Najafabadi (3), Alexander L. Sumich (2), Burkhard Wünsche (4), Mark Billinghurst (5)
(1) Empathic Computing Lab, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand, (2) Sabrina Lenzoni, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK, (3) Marzieh Ahmadi Najafabadi, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, (4) Burkhard Wünsche, School of Computer Science, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand, (5) Mark Billinghurst, Empathic Computing Lab, Auckland Bioengineering Institute, Auckland, New Zealand
As tasks become more difficult, they place greater load on cognitive resources, increasing the chance of errors. Physiological response under high cognitive load may represent an objective measure of mental toughness. The current study pilots a multimodal, physiological assessment of cognitive load (CL) during a Sternberg’s memory task that varies in difficulty. The task difficulty level is controlled by the number of letters used in the task (i.e., 4, 5, 6, and 7 letter non-semantic words). Several physiological responses were assessed as a function of CL, including pupil dilation, galvanic skin response (GSR), heart rate (HR), and electroencephalography (EEG). Two patterns of physiological change were identified. The first showed a linear relationship to CL and was reflected in pupil dilation and Delta HR. The second showed a non-linear pattern. For example, alpha activity increased with CL between 4 and 6 letter words, and then dropped sharply with 7-letter words. Similarly, GSR decreases as the number of letters in words increases, until 7-letter words, which was no different from 4 letter words. Future work will investigate the relationship between these physiological patterns and psychometric assessments (e.g., mental toughness) and explore performance in Virtual Reality (VR) training applications.
Psychological Intervention
Positive Psychological Capital’s Mediating Effect Between Job Crafting and Creativity at Work
Nuray Turan (1,2) Maria Karanika-Murray (1,3), Alexander Sumich (1,4)
(1) Nottingham Trent University (NTU), (2) Karamanoglu Mehmet Bey University, Turkey, (3) University of Leicester School of Business, (4) Auckland University of Technology AUT
In recent times, creativity, positive attitudes and behaviors, transformations in the way of doing job are among the trend research topics at the context of working life. These recent developments in the field of occupational psychology have led to a renewed interest in specifically Positive Psychological Capital (PsyCap), Job Crafting (JC) and Creativity (C). However, it is important to understand the factors that impact on creativity in today’s knowledge work. We have good evidence for the role of Psy cap (as an environmental resource) and job crafting (as an individual resource). But we do not know much about the mechanisms of how Psy cap and job crafting impact on creativity. Until now, little importance has been given to the directly interaction variables.
Therefore, we focused on examining the mediating effect of PsyCap between JC and C. We proposed a mediation model that examines the effect of PsyCap in the relationship between JC and C. We collected the data from 250 employees from the UK (United Kingdom) and used quantitative analysis method, applied the SPSS PROCESS (Model 4) to test for mediation using linear regression. tested the data using the SPSS PROCESS (Model 4) modelling. JC had a direct positive effect on C as well as an indirect effect that was mediated by PsychCap. We foresee the result of this research to reveal an important role of PsyCap as a mediating for employee creativity development at the work. The findings will provide important implications for the creativity literatüre for theory. Also, we extended theoretically previous studies by incorporating PsyCap's mediation effect between JC and C. On the other hand, the study’s findings may raise awareness of the impact of psychological experiences at work on the design of a job, on employee initiative, and on relationships at work for practice. Additionally, the findings will give ideas to create new methods in the development of creativity in practice.
A project aiming to examine individual differences in response to cognitive-perceptual training
Dominic Roe (1)
(1) University of Sheffield
In a broad range of disciplines not limited to sport, skilled anticipation is a major component of expertise. The ability to extrapolate sensory information and predict what will happen next in a time constrained environment gives an individual extra time to assess a situation and respond in a suitable way. Compared to novices, expert athletes possess a wide range of perceptual cognitive skills, the availability of these cues and the time they become available in a display will directly influence performance (Causer & Williams, 2013; Simonton, 2014; Ericsson, 2017). The sensorimotor system is thought to facilitate this skill (Muraskin, 2015) and is typically investigated using EEG, where changes in oscillatory activity of mu frequency bands reflect sensorimotor activity. A number of studies indicate that this skill may be improved with training (Milazzo, Farrow & Fournier, 2016). However, it is unclear how sensorimotor activity changes during training between individuals; longitudinal data is needed to assess the temporal precedence of neurophysiology and action anticipation performance. This poster presents a research project that will examine changes in anticipatory accuracy and EEG brain activation patterns during a tennis anticipation task; changes will be assessed post training of anticipatory-perceptual skill. The results of this project have potential implications to inform on how anticipatory skill develops and the underlying neural mechanisms associated with this development. The results also have potential implications for theories of action understanding and cognitive anticipation including situation awareness.
Laughter Yoga for improving mental health in higher education staff: a randomised controlled trial
Eden Morley (1)
(1) University of Nottingham
In this research, the feasibility and efficacy of an online psychosocial intervention known as Laughter Yoga (LY) was assessed for improving poor mental health in higher education staff at Coventry University during the COVID-19 pandemic. As online interventions do not breach COVID-19 violations they may provide crucial support and maintain social interactions. A two-arm randomised-control trial of LY was conducted with participants receiving 1x 45 minutes sessions of online LY for 4-weeks through the online platform Zoom. Depression, anxiety, stress and insomnia were measured at baseline, mid-intervention, post-intervention and 4-week follow-up. Diurnal measures (immediately after awakening, 30 minutes after awakening, midday and before bed) of salivary cortisol were also obtained at baseline, mid-intervention, post-intervention, 4-week follow-up and immediately before and after sessions one and four. Focus groups were also run following the completion of the study for those who took part in the LY sessions. Depression and anxiety were significantly different between the groups post-intervention (p = .022 and p = .041 respectively). No statistical significance was found for stress or insomnia at post-intervention or follow-up. Cortisol outcomes revealed no statistically significant acute or chronic differences between wait-list control (WLC) and Laughter Yoga (LY). Conclusion: Laughter Yoga for improving mental health in higher education staff may present some short-term benefits associated with depression, anxiety, stress, and insomnia. However, due to small sample size and no direct statistically significant differences between those who received the intervention and those in the wait-list control, further research is required.
Healthy body, healthy mind: exploring the mental health implications of comprehensive sex education
Tristin Agtarap (1), Lora Adair (1)
(1) Brunel University London, Department of Life Sciences, Division of Psychology
With the intent to address sex education policies and practices, researchers outline the benefits associated with medically correct and comprehensive sex education programs. However, most research within sex education highlights positive behaviour change (i.e., increased condom use). To address this gap, we employed a qualitative survey methodology to explore people’s perceptions of the mental health benefits of comprehensive sex education. Participants (N=267) responded to multiple-choice and open-response items in an online survey. Here, we present the results of a thematic analysis of responses to the open-ended question, “Do you believe that medically accurate sex education and STD prevention interventions could improve a person’s mental health and well-being?”. Overall, two superordinate and nine subordinate themes were identified in the data set. Most of our participants (N = 241) believed comprehensive sex education and/or STD prevention interventions would improve mental health and well-being. The superordinate theme of 'psychological functioning and well-being' reflects participants’ belief that sex education normalises and destigmatises diverse sexual experiences and can reduce negative emotions about sex. The superordinate theme of 'knowledge' captures patterns in responses wherein participants reflected on the benefits of knowledge, including facilitation of safety, confidence, and improved decision-making. By-and-large, our participants reported that a healthy body leads to a healthy mind. Participants wanted more from their sexual education experiences and felt that improved sexual education curricula would enhance their own - and others’ - psychological health and wellness.