Automated facial expression analysis of participants self-criticising via the two-chair technique: exploring facial behavioral markers of self-criticism.

Introduction: As self-rating scales are prone to many measurement distortions, there is a growing call for more objective measures based on physiological or behavioural indicators. Self-criticism is one of the major transdiagnostic factor of all mental disorders therefore it is important to be able to distinguish what are the characteristic facial features of self-criticizing. To the best of our knowledge, there has been no automated facial emotion expression analysis of participants self-criticising via the two-chair technique. The aim of this study was to detect which action units of facial expressions were significantly more often present in participants performing self-criticism using the two-chair technique. The broader goal was to contribute to the scientific knowledge on objective behavioural descriptions of self-criticism and to provide an additional diagnostic means to the existing self-rating scales by exploring facial behavioral markers of self-criticism. Methods: The non-clinical sample consisted of 80 participants (20 men and 60 women) aged 19 years to 57 years (M = 23.86; SD = 5.98). In the analysis we used iMotions's Affectiva AFFDEX module (Version 8.1) to classify the participants' actions units from the self-criticising videos. For the statistical analysis we used a multilevel model to account for the repeated-measures design. Results: Based on the significant results the self-critical facial expression may therefore comprise the following action units: Dimpler, Lip Press, Eye Closure, Jaw Drop, and Outer Brow Raise, which are related to contempt, fear, and embarrassment or shame; and Eye Closure and Eye Widen (in rapid sequence Blink), which are a sign that highly negative stimuli are being emotionally processed. Discussion: The research study need to be further analysed using clinical samples to compare the results.

Applications of graph theory to the analysis of fNIRS data in hyperscanning paradigms.

Hyperscanning is a promising tool for investigating the neurobiological underpinning of social interactions and affective bonds. Recently, graph theory measures, such as modularity, have been proposed for estimating the global synchronization between brains. This paper proposes the bootstrap modularity test as a way of determining whether a pair of brains is coactivated. This test is illustrated as a screening tool in an application to fNIRS data collected from the prefrontal cortex and temporoparietal junction of five dyads composed of a teacher and a preschooler while performing an interaction task. In this application, graph hub centrality measures identify that the dyad's synchronization is critically explained by the relation between teacher's language and number processing and the child's phonological processing. The analysis of these metrics may provide further insights into the neurobiological underpinnings of interaction, such as in educational contexts.

A New Statistical Approach for fNIRS Hyperscanning to Predict Brain Activity of Preschoolers' Using Teacher's.

Hyperscanning studies using functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) have been performed to understand the neural mechanisms underlying human-human interactions. In this study, we propose a novel methodological approach that is developed for fNIRS multi-brain analysis. Our method uses support vector regression (SVR) to predict one brain activity time series using another as the predictor. We applied the proposed methodology to explore the teacher-student interaction, which plays a critical role in the formal learning process. In an illustrative application, we collected fNIRS data of the teacher and preschoolers' dyads performing an interaction task. The teacher explained to the child how to add two numbers in the context of a game. The Prefrontal cortex and temporal-parietal junction of both teacher and student were recorded. A multivariate regression model was built for each channel in each dyad, with the student's signal as the response variable and the teacher's ones as the predictors. We compared the predictions of SVR with the conventional ordinary least square (OLS) predictor. The results predicted by the SVR model were statistically significantly correlated with the actual test data at least one channel-pair for all dyads. Overall, 29/90 channel-pairs across the five dyads (18 channels 5 dyads = 90 channel-pairs) presented significant signal predictions withthe SVR approach. The conventional OLS resulted in only 4 out of 90 valid predictions. These results demonstrated that the SVR could be used to perform channel-wise predictions across individuals, and the teachers' cortical activity can be used to predict the student brain hemodynamic response.

Storytelling increases oxytocin and positive emotions and decreases cortisol and pain in hospitalized children.

Storytelling is a distinctive human characteristic that may have played a fundamental role in humans' ability to bond and navigate challenging social settings throughout our evolution. However, the potential impact of storytelling on regulating physiological and psychological functions has received little attention. We investigated whether listening to narratives from a storyteller can provide beneficial effects for children admitted to intensive care units. Biomarkers (oxytocin and cortisol), pain scores, and psycholinguistic associations were collected immediately before and after storytelling and an active control intervention (solving riddles that also involved social interaction but lacked the immersive narrative aspect). Compared with the control group, children in the storytelling group showed a marked increase in oxytocin combined with a decrease in cortisol in saliva after the 30-min intervention. They also reported less pain and used more positive lexical markers when describing their time in hospital. Our findings provide a psychophysiological basis for the short-term benefits of storytelling and suggest that a simple and inexpensive intervention may help alleviate the physical and psychological pain of hospitalized children on the day of the intervention.

Experimentos y Psicología Soviética: una antítesis metodológica equivocada / Experimentos e psicologia soviética: uma antítese metodológica equivocada / Experiments and soviet psychology: a mistaken methodological antithesis

Este trabalho apresenta-se como um ensaio teórico dedicado a enfatizar as bases ontológicas e epistemológicas da Psicologia Soviética para delimitar suas necessárias propriedades metodológicas. Acentuamos o risco anunciado para o campo da Psicologia Histórico-Cultural quando cedemos ao equívoco de esvaziar os sentidos atribuídos por Vigotski e pelos integrantes de seu Círculo ao Método Genético-Experimental à organização metodológica no campo das pesquisas em Psicologia. Por isso, propõe-se como objetivo deste trabalho o resgate da ênfase sobre as dimensões de experimentação no âmbito da organização da psicologia soviética com o intuito de desvendar seu impacto a esse respeito no campo das produções brasileiras, na interface entre a Psicologia e a Educação. Esse cuidado evita que contribuamos com a manutenção de um projeto teórico e político que anunciamos combater. Pretende-se contribuir com a compreensão de que as atividades de experimentação não se opõem às dimensões da crítica no interior do Materialismo Histórico-Dialético, ao contrário, são, muitas vezes, requeridas por ele.

Este estudio se presenta como ensayo teórico dedicado a enfatizar las bases ontológicas y epistemológicas de la Psicología Soviética para delimitar sus necesarias propriedades metodológicas. Destacamos el riesgo anunciado para el campo de la Psicología Histórico-Cultural cuando cedemos al equívoco de vaciar los sentidos atribuidos por Vygotsky y por los integrantes de su Círculo al Método Genético-Experimental a la organización metodológica en el campo de las investigaciones en Psicología. Por eso, se propone como objetivo de este estudio el rescate del énfasis sobre las dimensiones de experimentación en el ámbito de la organización de la psicología soviética con el intuito de descubrir su impacto a este respeto en el campo de las producciones brasileñas, en interfaz entre la Psicología y la Educación. Este cuidado evita que contribuyamos con la manutención de un proyecto teórico y político que anunciamos combatir. Se pretende contribuir con la comprensión de que las actividades de experimentación no se oponen a las dimensiones de la crítica en el interior del Materialismo Histórico-Dialéctico, al contrario, son, muchas veces, requeridas por él.

This work presents itself as a theoretical essay dedicated to emphasizing the ontological and epistemological Soviet Psychology bases to delimit its necessary methodological properties. We accentuate the risk announced for the field of Historical-Cultural Psychology when we give in to the mistake of emptying the meanings attributed by Vigotski and by the members of his Circle to the Genetic-Experimental Method to the methodological organization in the in Psychology research field. Therefore, the aim of this work is to recover the emphasis about the dimensions of experimentation within the organization of Soviet psychology in order to unveil its impact in this regard in the Brazilian productions field, at the interface between Psychology and Education. This care prevents us from contributing to the maintenance of a theoretical and political project that we announce to be fighting. It is intended to contribute to the understanding that the experimentation activities do not oppose the dimensions of criticism within Historical-Dialectical Materialism, on the contrary, they are often required by it.

From the Laboratory to the Classroom: The Potential of Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy in Educational Neuroscience.

Paralleling two decades of growth in the emergent field known as educational neuroscience is an increasing concern that educational practices and programs should be evidence-based, however, the idea that neuroscience could potentially influence education is controversial. One of the criticisms, regarding applications of the findings produced in this discipline, concerns the artificiality of neuroscientific experiments and the oversimplified nature of the tests used to investigate cognitive processes in educational contexts. The simulations may not account for all of the variables present in real classroom activities. In this study, we aim to get a step closer to the formation of data-supported classroom methodologies by employing functional near-infrared spectroscopy in various experimental paradigms. First, we present two hyperscanning scenarios designed to explore realistic interdisciplinary contexts, i.e., the classroom. In a third paradigm, we present a case study of a single student evaluated with functional near-infrared spectroscopy and mobile eye-tracking glasses. These three experiments are performed to provide proofs of concept for the application of functional near-infrared spectroscopy in scenarios that more closely resemble authentic classroom routines and daily activities. The goal of our study is to explore the potential of this technique in hopes that it offers insights in experimental design to investigate teaching-learning processes during teacher-student interactions.