When symmetric and curved visual contour meet intentional instructions: Hedonic value and preference.

Symmetry and contour take part in shaping visual preference. However, less is known about their combined contribution to preference. We examined the hedonic tone and preference triggered by the interaction of symmetry and contour. Symmetric/curved, symmetric/sharp-angled, asymmetric/curved, and asymmetric/sharp-angled stimuli were presented in an implicit and explicit task. The implicit task consisted of an affective stimulus-response compatibility task where participants matched the stimuli with positive and negative valence response cues. The explicit task recorded liking ratings from the same stimuli. We used instructed mindset to induce participants to focus on symmetry or contour in different parts of the experimental session. We found an implicit compatibility of symmetry and curvature with positive hedonic tone. Explicit results showed preference for symmetry and curvature. In both tasks, symmetry and curvature showed a cumulative interaction, with a larger contribution of symmetry to the overall effect. While symmetric and asymmetric stimuli contributed to the implicit positive valence of symmetry, the effect of curvature was mainly caused by inclination towards curved contours rather than rejection of sharp-angled contours. We did not find any correlation between implicit and explicit measures, suggesting that they may involve different cognitive processing.

The effects of presentation time on preference for curvature of real objects and meaningless novel patterns.

Objects with curved contours are generally preferred to sharp-angled ones. In this study, we aim to determine whether different presentation times influence this preference. We used images of real objects (experiment 1) and meaningless novel patterns (experiment 2). Participants had to select one of two images from a contour pair, curved and sharp-angled versions of the same object/pattern. With real objects, the preference for curved versions was greatest when presented for 84 ms, and it faded when participants were given unlimited viewing time. Curved meaningless patterns were preferred when presented for 84 and 150 ms. However, in contrast to real objects, preference for meaningless patterns increased significantly in the unlimited viewing time condition. Participants discriminated poorly between the two versions (curved and sharp-angled) of the meaningless patterns in the 84- and 150-ms presentations (experiment 3). Therefore, in short times with meaningless patterns, participants selected mostly the curved version without being aware of the difference. In conclusion, presentation time, type of stimulus, and their interaction influence preference for curvature.

Aportaciones del estudio de la cognición implícita al ámbito de la psicología del consumidor: resultados y perspectivas / No disponible

Las herramientas provenientes de la psicología cognitiva han encontrado una vía de aplicación prometedora en el ámbito del branding y el comportamiento del consumidor. El presente artículo tiene como objetivo establecer sus posibles alcances. Con este fin, se realiza una revisión de los hallazgos más relevantes en cognición implícita relacionados a los procesos de evaluación y toma de decisiones. Asimismo, se discuten las posibles implicaciones de estos estudios para la investigación en publicidad subliminal y medidas implícitas de percepción de marca

The research from cognitive psychology has found a promising path of application in the field of branding and consumer behavior. In this paper, we review the most striking findings in implicit cognition that are relevant to the research on evaluations and decision making. In doing this, we expect to clarify the possible scope of cognitive psychology as a potential tool for research in consumer psychology. In particular, we discuss the possible implications of this line of research for the developing of two specific areas: subliminal advertising and implicit measures of brand perception

On the relationships between disgust and morality: a critical review / Sobre las relaciones entre repugnancia y moralidad: una revisión crítica

Background: Disgust is, at its core, an emotion that responds to cues of parasites and infection, likely to be evolved to protect human organism from the risk of disease. Interestingly, a growing body of research implicates disgust as an emotion central to human morality. The fact that disgust is associated with appraisals of moral transgressions and that this emotion influences moral judgments implies a remarkable puzzle: Why does an emotion that originally functions in the domain of infectious entities become such a good candidate to play the role of a moral arbiter? The aim of the present review is to clarify the nature of the relationship between disgust and morality. Method: First, we examine the relevant features of disgust in order to explore whether the phenomenology of disgust favors its implementation as a defensive mechanism against offensive social entities. Second, we critically review the most striking findings about the effects of disgust on moral judgments. Results: The revisited analysis of the literature strongly suggests a bidirectional causal link between disgust and moral cognition. Conclusions: We propose that the particular phenomenology of disgust (which involves a sense of offensiveness and rejection) favored the co-adaptation of this emotion to the moral domain (AU)

Antecedentes: la repugnancia es, en esencia, una emoción que surge ante la percepción de objetos potencialmente infecciosos, un mecanismo desarrollado para la protección física del organismo. Por otra parte, resulta interesante que diversos estudios sugieran que la repugnancia desempeña un rol fundamental en la moralidad humana. Así, el hecho que esta emoción se asocie a la valoración de transgresiones morales y que, eventualmente, pueda influir sobre los juicios morales resulta intrigante: ¿por qué una emoción relacionada con la protección del organismo contra agentes infecciosos ha extendido su dominio al ámbito moral? Método: en primer lugar, examinamos las características fundamentales de la repugnancia con el objetivo de analizar si su fenomenología intrínseca pudo favorecer el hecho que deviniera un mecanismo de defensa contra los agentes que resultan socialmente ofensivos. En segunda instancia, revisamos los hallazgos más relevantes en la investigación sobre la influencia de la repugnancia en los juicios morales. Resultados: el análisis crítico de la literatura sugiere la existencia de un vínculo causal bidireccional entre la repugnancia y la cognición moral. Conclusiones: sugerimos que la particular fenomenología de la repugnancia (que implica un sentimiento de ofensa y de rechazo) facilitó la co-adaptación de esta emoción al dominio moral (AU)

Resolviendo el puzzle de la atención visual: ¿hacia la desintegración del «homúnculo»? / Solving the puzzle of visual attention: towards the «homunculus» desintegration?

El estudio de la atención visual que ha revelado la naturaleza diversa de los mecanismos selectivos, ha dado lugar a distintos modelos teóricos, algunos de los cuales la entienden como un sistema de control supramodal, topando con el llamado "problema del homúnculo". Las teorías de selección para la acción constituyen una alternativa sin ese inconveniente, que concibe la atención como un fenómeno emergente de los sesgos selectivos del propio sistema visual para la programación y ejecución de la acción. Entre las múltiples cuestiones por resolver respecto a la atención visual, revisamos algunas que parecen ir esclareciéndose: la controversia sobre el lugar de selección, la naturaleza excitatoria / inhibitoria de la atención y la cuestión de las unidades de representación seleccionadas. Resulta prometedora la investigación de la atención en su dimensión temporal. En conjunto, los resultados experimentales sugieren una fragmentación del "homúnculo" o, quizás, un primer paso hacia su final desintegración (AU)

Research on visual attention, that has revealed the diverse nature of selection mechanisms, has given rise to different theoretical approaches, some of which understand attention as a supramodal control system, encountering the so-called «homunculus problem». Selection-for-action theories imply an alternative view without such trouble, conceiving attention like an emergent phenomenon from selective bias of the own visual system for the programming and execution of action. From among the numerous issues to be solved with regard to visual attention, we review a few that seem to be clarifying: the locus of selection controversy, the excitatory/inhibitory nature of attention, and the discussion about the representation units that are selected. Research on attention in temporal dimension seems promising. Altogether, the experimental results suggest a fragmentation of the homunculus or, perhaps, the first passage towards its final disintegration (AU)