Backward illusory line motion: Visual motion perception can be influenced by retrospective stimulation.

When a visual cue appears beside a horizontal line segment before the line appears, the illusory motion is perceived as a line extending from the side closest to the side farthest from the cue. This is known as illusory line motion (ILM). In Experiment 1, we presented the cue after the line onset and found that the line seemed to extend toward the side of the cue (backward ILM). In Experiment 2, we confirmed the robustness and replicability of the backward ILM. In Experiments 3 to 5, we investigated the role of endogenous and exogenous attention in the generation of backward ILM and found effects of attention, but not large enough to explain the backward ILM in Experiments 1 and 2. The current findings suggest that the direction of ILM depended on the temporal relation of whether the cue precedes or follows the stimulus appearance, and that attentional shift played a role in the perception of backward ILM.

The evasive truth: do mere exposures at the subliminal and supraliminal levels drive the illusory truth effect?

The subjective truth of a statement is boosted by mere exposure to itself or a part of itself. This phenomenon is referred to as the illusory truth effect. We examined whether subliminal pre-exposure to the statement topic would increase its subjective truth. In the exposure phase, participants observed the topic, which was presented supraliminally or subliminally. After the exposure phase, they rated the subjective truth of the statement. If unconscious processing contributed to the illusory truth effect, subliminal exposure to the topic would increase the subjective truth of the statement. On the other hand, if the illusory truth effect required conscious and controlled processing, increases in the subjective truth of a statement would be induced only by supraliminal exposure to the topic. The results showed that the illusory truth effect was not found in either supraliminal or subliminal groups. Our findings provide no reliable evidence that pre-exposure to the statement topic saliently promotes its subjective truth.

Preschool children aged 4 to 5 years show discomfort with trypophobic images.

The fear or disgust of clustered patterns, such as honeycomb or lotus seed pods, is known as trypophobia. A previous developmental study reported that 4-year-old children prefer neutral images over clustered images. However, whether those results indicated higher rating scores for trypophobic images has been controversial. In this study, we examined discomfort with trypophobic images in adults and children aged 4-9 years using an identical experimental procedure. A modified rating scale applicable for children was used that was based on the established Trypophobia Scale for adults. The participants were required to rate five trypophobic and five neutral images on four rating items (disgusting, fear, feel itchiness, and like) on a 4-point scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 4 (very much). The participants in all age groups indicated higher rate scores for trypophobic images than for neutral images in terms of 'disgust', 'fear', and 'feeling itchiness', whereas they indicated higher scores for neutral images than for trypophobic images in terms of 'like'. These results suggest that children aged 4-5 years have responses comparable to the responses of adults with respect to trypophobic and neutral images; thus, trypophobia appears to emerge at least by the age of 4-5 years.

Autonomous, bidding, credible, decentralized, ethical, and funded (ABCDEF) publishing.

Scientists write research articles, process ethics reviews, evaluate proposals and research, and seek funding. Several strategies have been proposed to optimize these operations and to decentralize access to research resources and opportunities. For instance, we previously proposed the trinity review method, combining registered reports with financing and research ethics assessments. However, previously proposed systems have a number of shortcomings, including how to implement them, e.g., who manages them, how incentives for reviewers are paid, etc. Various solutions have been proposed to address these issues, employing methods based on blockchain technologies, called "decentralized science (DeSci)". Decentralized approaches that exploit these developments offer potentially profound improvements to the troubled scientific ecosystem. Here, we propose a system that integrates ethics reviews, peer reviews, and funding in a decentralized manner, based on Web3 technology. This new method, named ABCDEF publishing, would enhance the speed, fairness, and transparency of scientific research and publishing.

Robustness of the aging effect of smiling against vertical facial orientation.

Background: Previous studies have shown that the association between smiling and youth is a misconception; smiling faces have been estimated to be older than neutral faces. Previous studies have indicated that this aging effect of smiling (AES) is due to eye wrinkles caused by the facial action of smiling. However, whether holistic processing for facial expressions is involved in AES has not been investigated. The present study aimed to clarify these issues. Methods: Participants were recruited to participate in an online experiment that had a 3 (facial expression: smiling/neutral/surprised) × 2 (facial orientation: upright/inverted) mixed design. Participants were presented with an upright or inverted face for each expression (neutral, smiling, and surprised) and were asked to estimate the individual's age. Results: In total, 104 participants were included in the analysis. The results show that smiling faces were estimated to be older than neutral faces, whereas there was no significant difference between upright and inverted faces. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that AES is not dependent on holistic processing.

Trinity review: integrating Registered Reports with research ethics and funding reviews.

One major source of exhaustion for researchers is the redundant paperwork of three different documents-research papers, ethics review applications, and research grant applications-for the same research plan. This is a wasteful and redundant process for researchers, and it has a more direct impact on the career development of early-career researchers. Here, we propose a trinity review system based on Registered Reports that integrates scientific, ethics, and research funding reviews. In our proposed trinity review system, scientific and ethics reviews are undertaken concurrently for a research protocol before running the study. After the protocol is approved in principle through these review processes, a funding review will take place, and the researchers will begin their research. Following the experiments or surveys, the scientific review will be conducted on a completed version of the paper again, including the results and discussions (i.e., the full paper), and the full paper will be published once it has passed the second review. This paper provides the brief process of the trinity review system and discusses the need for and benefits of the proposed system. Although the trinity review system only applies to a few appropriate disciplines, it helps improve reproducibility and integrity.

Development of a Japanese version of the Psychological Ownership Scale.

The present study addresses the need for a valid instrument for measuring dimensions of psychological ownership, including that of owned and non-owned objects, for use in the language and culture of Japan. Although the theory of psychological ownership has expanded self-extension theory, the most widely used scale of psychological ownership does not measure the extent to which one feels that it (the owned object) is a part of them. Thus, the present study aimed to develop a Japanese version of the Psychological Ownership Scale (POS-J) and examine its reliability and validity. Study 1 measured the POS-J of an owned object, finding the POS-J to have a two-factor structure (possession-self link and feeling of ownership) and its internal consistency and reliability to be adequate. Moreover, POS-J scores were positively correlated with perceived control and self-extension tendency, but not monetary value, indicating that conceptual validity was generally supported. To confirm whether the POS-J could be used for a non-owned object, Study 2 rephrased the expressions of item descriptions and examined the effect of imagining touching a non-owned object on the POS-J scores, showing that doing so increased the POS-J scores for the object. Our findings suggest that the POS-J is a reliable and valid measure of the psychological ownership of owned and non-owned objects for use in Japan.

The clone devaluation effect: does duplication of local facial features matter?

OBJECTIVE: The clone devaluation is a phenomenon reported by the latest paper in which eeriness is evoked when people observe individuals with the same face (clone faces) compared to those with different faces. There are two possibilities that explain the clone devaluation effect. One is that the same facial features that clone faces have (duplication of facial features) induce the clone devaluation effect. The other possibility is that duplication of identities between people with clone faces is important for the clone devaluation effect. We thus conducted an experiment to investigate whether the duplication of identities or of facial features induces the clone devaluation effect. RESULTS: Participants evaluated eeriness of scrambled clone faces and scrambled different faces using the paired comparison method. There was only a slight difference in subjective eeriness between scrambled clone faces and scrambled different faces. Therefore, this study suggests that the duplication of local facial features does not play a key role in inducing the clone devaluation effect.

The clone devaluation effect: A new uncanny phenomenon concerning facial identity.

Technological advances in robotics have already produced robots that are indistinguishable from human beings. This technology is overcoming the uncanny valley, which refers to the unpleasant feelings that arise from humanoid robots that are similar in appearance to real humans to some extent. If humanoid robots with the same appearance are mass-produced and become commonplace, we may encounter circumstances in which people or human-like products have faces with the exact same appearance in the future. This leads to the following question: what impressions do clones elicit? To respond to this question, we examined what impressions images of people with the same face (clone images) induce. In the six studies we conducted, we consistently reported that clone images elicited higher eeriness than individuals with different faces; we named this new phenomenon the clone devaluation effect. We found that the clone devaluation effect reflected the perceived improbability of facial duplication. Moreover, this phenomenon was related to distinguishableness of each face, the duplication of identity, the background scene in observing clone faces, and avoidance reactions based on disgust sensitivity. These findings suggest that the clone devaluation effect is a product of multiple processes related to memory, emotion, and face recognition systems.

No significant association of repeated messages with changes in health compliance in the COVID-19 pandemic: a registered report on the extended parallel process model.

When people are confronted with health proposals during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, it has been suggested that fear of COVID-19 can serve protective functions and ensure public health compliance. However, health proposal repetition and its perceived efficacy also influence the behavior intention toward the proposal, which has not yet been confirmed in the COVID-19 context. The present study examined whether the extended parallel process model (EPPM) could be generalized to a naturalistic context like the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, we explored how repetition of a health proposal is involved with the EPPM. In this study, two groups of participants were exposed to the same health proposal related to COVID-19, where one group was exposed once and another group twice. Participants then filled out a questionnaire consisting of items concerning behavior intention and adapted from the Risk Behavior Diagnosis Scale. Structural equation modeling was used to determine the multivariate associations between the variables. Although the results showed that behavior intention is predicted by perceived efficacy, no significant influence of perceived threat was detected. Furthermore, no significant effect of repetition was found toward either response efficacy or perceived susceptibility. These findings indicate that to promote health compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more efficient to focus on health proposals' perceived efficacy rather than the disease's perceived threat. For future health communication research, the present study suggests improved analysis strategies and repeated manipulation of messages.

Bodily ownership and agency sensations in a natural state.

Our bodily sensation is a fundamental cue for our self-consciousness. Whereas experimental studies have uncovered characteristics of bodily sensation, these studies investigated bodily sensations through manipulating bodily sensations to be apart from one's own body and to be assigned to external, body-like objects. In order to capture our bodily sensation as it is, this questionnaire survey study explored the characteristics of bodily sensation using a large population-based sample (N = 580, comprising 20s to 70s age groups) without experimental manipulations. We focused on the sensations of ownership, the feeling of having a body part as one's own, and agency, the feeling of controlling a body part by oneself, in multiple body parts (the eyes, ears, hands, legs, nose, and mouth). The ownership and agency sensations were positively related to each other in each body part. Interestingly, the agency sensation of the hands and legs had a positive relationship with the ownership sensations of the other body parts. We also found the 60s age group had a unique internal configuration, assessed by the similarity of rating scores, of the body parts for each bodily sensation. Our findings revealed the existence of unique characteristics for bodily sensations in a natural state.

Changing health compliance through message repetition based on the extended parallel process model in the COVID-19 pandemic.

When people are confronted with health proposals during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, it has been suggested that fear of COVID-19 can serve protective functions and ensure public health compliance. However, health proposal repetition and its perceived efficacy also influence the behavior intention toward the proposal, which has not yet been confirmed in the COVID-19 context. The present study aims to examine whether the extended parallel process model (EPPM) can be generalized to a naturalistic context like the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, we will explore how repetition of a health proposal is involved with the EPPM. In this study, two groups of participants are exposed to the same health proposal related to COVID-19, where one group is exposed once and another group twice. They then fill out a questionnaire consisting of items concerning behavior intention and adapted from the Risk Behavior Diagnosis Scale. Structural equation modeling will be used to determine the multivariate associations between the variables. We predict that repetition of the health proposal will associate with response efficacy (i.e., a belief about the effectiveness of the health proposal in deterring the threat) and perceived susceptibility (i.e., a belief about the risk of experiencing the threat). It is also predicted that following the EPPM, behavior intention will associate with both perceived efficacy of the health proposal, which will underlie response efficacy, and perceived threat of COVID-19, which will underlie perceived susceptibility. We will discuss the process, based on the model, where health message repetition affects behavior intention during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Warning 'Don't spread' versus 'Don't be a spreader' to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is threatening not only health but also life worldwide. It is important to encourage citizens to voluntarily practise infection-prevention (IP) behaviours such as social distancing and self-restraint. Previous research on social cognition suggested that emphasizing self-identity is key to changing a person's behaviour. The present study investigated whether reminders that highlight self-identity would be effective in changing intention and behaviour related to the COVID-19 outbreak, and hypothesized that those who read reminders highlighting self-identity (Don't be a spreader) would change IP intention and behaviour better than those who read 'Don't spread' or no reminder. We conducted a two-wave survey of the same participants with a one-week interval, during which we assigned one of three reminder conditions to the participants: 'Don't spread' (spreading condition), 'Don't be a spreader' (spreader condition) and no reminder (control condition). Participants marked their responses to IP intentions and actual behaviours each week based on the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare guidelines. While the results did not show significant differences between the conditions, the post hoc analyses showed significant equivalence in either IP intentions or behavioural scores. We discussed the results from the perspective of the effect size, ceiling effects and ways of manipulation checks as future methods with more effective persuasive messaging. Following in-principle acceptance, the approved Stage 1 version of this manuscript was pre-registered on the OSF at https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/KZ5Y4. This pre-registration was performed prior to data collection and analysis.

A dataset for the perceived vulnerability to disease scale in Japan before the spread of COVID-19.

The COVID-19 outbreak is a worldwide medical and epidemiological catastrophe, and the number of psychological studies concerning COVID-19 is growing daily. Such studies need baseline data from before the COVID-19 outbreak for comparison, but such datasets have not yet been accumulated and shared. Here, we provide a dataset on the perceived vulnerability to disease scale for 1382 Japanese participants obtained through an online survey conducted in 2018 that will be useful for comparison with current or post-COVID-19 perceived vulnerability to disease data.

Your Face and Moves Seem Happier When I Smile.

In this experiment, we replicated the effect of muscle engagement on perception such that the recognition of another's facial expressions was biased by the observer's facial muscular activity (Blaesi & Wilson, 2010). We extended this replication to show that such a modulatory effect is also observed for the recognition of dynamic bodily expressions. Via a multilab and within-subjects approach, we investigated the emotion recognition of point-light biological walkers, along with that of morphed face stimuli, while subjects were or were not holding a pen in their teeth. Under the "pen-in-the-teeth" condition, participants tended to lower their threshold of perception of happy expressions in facial stimuli compared to the "no-pen" condition, thus replicating the experiment by Blaesi and Wilson (2010). A similar effect was found for the biological motion stimuli such that participants lowered their threshold to perceive happy walkers in the pen-in-the-teeth condition compared to the no-pen condition. This pattern of results was also found in a second experiment in which the no-pen condition was replaced by a situation in which participants held a pen in their lips ("pen-in-lips" condition). These results suggested that facial muscular activity alters the recognition of not only facial expressions but also bodily expressions.

Trypophobia as an urbanized emotion: comparative research in ethnic minority regions of China.

Trypophobia is a strong emotion of disgust evoked by clusters of holes or round objects (e.g., lotus seed pod). It has become increasingly popular and been studied since 2010s, mainly in the West and Japan. Considering this, trypophobia might be a modern emotion, and hence urbanization possibly plays key roles in trypophobia. To address this issue, we compared the degree of trypophobia between urban and less urban people in China. In an experiment, we asked participants about their degree of discomfort from trypophobic images. The results showed that trypophobia occurred in both groups, although the effect size was larger in urban than less urban people. Moreover, post-experimental interviews and post-hoc analyses revealed that older people in less urban area did not experience as much trypophobia. Our findings suggest that trypophobia links to urbanization and age-related properties.

Spatial congruency bias in identifying objects is triggered by retinal position congruence: Examination using the Ternus-Pikler illusion.

When two different objects are sequentially presented at the same location, the viewer tends to misjudge them as identical (spatial congruency bias). The present study examined whether the spatial congruency bias would involve not only retinotopic but also non-retinotopic processing using the Ternus-Pikler illusion. In the experiments, two objects (central and peripheral) appeared in an initial frame. The target object was presented in the central area of the display, while the peripheral object was either on the left or right side of the target object. In the second frame, the target object was again presented in the central area, and the peripheral object was on the opposite side. Two kinds of inter-stimulus intervals were used. In the no-blank condition, the target object was perceived as stationary, and the peripheral object appeared to move to the opposite side. However, in the long-blank condition, the two objects were perceived to move together. Participants judged whether the target objects in the two frames were identical. As a result, the spatial congruency bias occurred irrespective of the ISI conditions. Our findings suggest that the spatial congruency bias is mainly based on retinotopic processing.

Boosting Immunity of the Registered Reports System in Psychology to the Pandemic.

In psychology, a Registered Reports system is key to preventing questionable research practices. Under this system, manuscripts, including their detailed protocols (i.e., hypothesis, experimental design, sample size, and methods of statistical analysis), are reviewed prior to data collection. If a protocol manuscript is accepted, publication of the full manuscript including the results and discussion is guaranteed in principle regardless of whether the collected data support the registered hypothesis. However, this assurance of publication might be broken under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: Begrudging withdrawal of an accepted protocol manuscript due to a difficulty to meet the deadline by compelling reasons (e.g., pandemic) has occurred. The present paper reports the first author's real-life experience related to the collapse of the assurance of publication in the Registered Reports system and discusses the disbenefits of this collapse. Furthermore, we propose the implementation of a journal section specific to protocol manuscripts as a solution to the crisis of the Registered Reports system.

Crowdsourcing visual perception experiments: a case of contrast threshold.

Crowdsourcing has commonly been used for psychological research but not for studies on sensory perception. A reason is that in online experiments, one cannot ensure that the rigorous settings required for the experimental environment are replicated. The present study examined the suitability of online experiments on basic visual perception, particularly the contrast threshold. We conducted similar visual experiments in the laboratory and online, employing three experimental conditions. The first was a laboratory experiment, where a small sample of participants (n = 24; laboratory condition) completed a task with 10 iterations. The other two conditions were online experiments: participants were either presented with a task without repetition of trials (n = 285; online non-repetition condition) or one with 10 iterations (n = 166; online repetition condition). The results showed significant equivalence in the contrast thresholds between the laboratory and online repetition conditions, although a substantial amount of data needed to be excluded from the analyses in the latter condition. The contrast threshold was significantly higher in the online non-repetition condition compared with the laboratory and online repetition conditions. To make crowdsourcing more suitable for investigating the contrast threshold, ways to reduce data wastage need to be formulated.