Behav. Sci., Volume 9, Issue 4 (April 2019) – 12 articles

Indices of heart rate variability (HRV) and electrodermal activity (EDA), in conjunction with machine learning models, were used to identify one of three tasks a subject is performing based on autonomic response elicited by the specific task. Using non-invasive measures to identify the task performed by a subject can help to provide individual monitoring and guidance to avoid the consequences of reduced performance due to fatigue or other stressors. In the present study, sixteen subjects were enrolled to undergo three tasks: The psychomotor vigilance task (PVT), an auditory working memory task (the n-back paradigm), and a visual search (ship search, SS). Electrocardiogram (ECG) (for HRV analysis) and EDA data were collected during the tests. For task-classification, we tested four machine learning classification tools: k-nearest neighbor classifier (KNN), support vector machines (SVM), decision trees, and discriminant analysis (DA). Leave-one-subject-out cross-validation was used to evaluate the performance of the constructed models to prevent overfitting. The most accurate models were the KNN (66%), linear SVM (62%), and linear DA (62%). The results of this study showed that it is possible to identify the task a subject is performing based on the subject’s autonomic reactions (from HRV and EDA). This information can be used to monitor individuals within a larger group to assist in reducing errors caused by uncoordinated or poor performance by allowing for automated tracking of and communication between individuals. Full article

At present, knowledge of physical and cognitive aspects is essential in the sporting context. Faced with this situation, the control and knowledge of emotions has a person on himself and on others, affects the sporting action. The aim of this work is to examine the relationship between emotional intelligence and the practice of physical activity. Through a systematic review in databases such as the Web of Science and Scopus that contain the terms of emotional intelligence along with the parameters of physical activity and sport. Twenty-four articles comprised the sample for further analysis. By way of conclusion it can be said that the main field of study of emotional intelligence related to the practice of physical activity is educational. Likewise, emotional intelligence is a determining factor in the improvement of sports competences. Full article

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship found between interpreting training and experience and the attentional network components: Alerting, orienting, and executive attention using the Attention Network Test (ANT). In the current study we tested three groups of interpreting students, translation students, and professional interpreters as specific forms of multilingual expertise. The student groups were tested longitudinally at the beginning and the end of their Master’s programme. The professional interpreters were tested only one point in time. The results showed different attention network dynamics for the interpreting students compared to the translation students regarding alertness and executive network. First, the interpreting students showed a higher conflict effect when the alert cue was presented as well as a reduced accuracy compared to translation students. Second, the interpreting training had less effect on alerting than the translation training. Finally, two student groups showed a faster response time in conflict effect than the professional interpreters. In contrast, the professional interpreters scored a higher accuracy than two-student groups specifically in an incongruent alert condition, which confirms that they used a different responding strategy. Full article

This research investigated the use of consumer neuroscience to improve and determine the effectiveness of action/emotion-based public health and social cause (HSC) advertisements. Action-based advertisements ask individuals to ‘do something’ such as ‘act’, ‘share’, make a ‘pledge’ or complete a ‘challenge’ on behalf of a brand, such as doing ‘something good, somewhere, for someone else’. Public health messages as noncommercial advertisements attempt to positively change behavioural intent or increase awareness. Australian health expenditure was $180.7 billion AUD (Australian dollars) in 2016/17 with $17 million AUD spent on government health campaigns. However, evaluation of health advertisement effectiveness has been difficult to determine. Few studies use neuroscience techniques with traditional market research methods. A 2-part study with an exploratory design was conducted using (1) electroencephalography (EEG) using a 64 channel EEG wet cap (n = 47); and (2) a Qualtrics online psychometric survey (n = 256). Participants were asked to make a donation before and after viewing 7 HSC digital/social media advertisements and logos (6 action/emotion-based; 1 control) to measure changes in behavioural intent. Attention is considered a key factor in determining advertising effectiveness. EEG results showed theta synchronisation (increase)/alpha desynchronisation (decrease) indicating attention with episodic memory encoding. sLORETA results displayed approach responses to action/emotion-based advertisements with left prefrontal and right parietal cortex activation. EEG and survey results showed the greatest liking for the ManUp action/emotion-based advertisement which used male facial expressions of raw emotion and vulnerability. ManUp also had the highest increased amount donated after viewing. Lower theta amplitude results for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) action/emotion-based advertisement indicated that novel (possessing distinct features) rather than attractive/conventional faces were more appealing, while the rapid presentation of faces was less effective. None of the highest peak amplitudes for each ad occurred when viewing brand logos within the advertisement. This research contributes to the academic consumer neuroscience, advertising effectiveness, and social media literature with the use of action/challenge/emotion-based marketing strategies, which remains limited, while demonstrating the value in combining EEG and neuroscientific techniques with traditional market research methods. The research provides a greater understanding of advertising effectiveness and changes in behavioural intent with managerial implications regarding the effective use of action/challenge/emotion-based HSC communications to potentially help save a life and reduce expenditure on ineffectual HSC marketing campaigns. Full article

The effect of bilingualism on inhibition control is increasingly under ongoing exploration. The present study primarily investigated the effect of within bilingual factors (i.e., dominance types of Uyghur-Chinese bilinguals) on a Stimulus-Stimulus task (Flanker) and a Stimulus-Response task (Simon). We also compared the bilinguals’ performance on each type of cognitive control task in respect to a possible trade-off between speed and accuracy. The findings showed no explicit differences on performance in response time or accuracy among balanced, L1-dominant and L2-dominant bilinguals but balanced bilinguals demonstrated a significant speed-accuracy trade-off in the overall context switching between non-conflict and conflict trials in both cognitive control tasks where monitoring process is highly demanded. Additionally, all bilinguals across all language dominance types showed a trade-off strategy in inhibition during a Stimulus-Stimulus conflict (flanker task). This evidence indicates that the differences of within bilinguals in cognitive control could lie in the monitoring process, while for all bilinguals, inhibition during a Stimulus-Stimulus conflict could be a major component in the mechanism of bilingual language processing. Full article

Simple patterns often arise from complex systems. For example, human perception of similarity decays exponentially with perceptual distance. The ranking of word usage versus the frequency at which the words are used has a log-log slope of minus one. Recent advances in big data provide an opportunity to characterize the commonly observed patterns of behavior. Those observed regularities set the challenge of understanding the mechanistic processes that generate common behaviors. This article illustrates the problem with the recent big data analysis of collective memory. Collective memory follows a simple biexponential pattern of decay over time. An initial rapid decay is followed by a slower, longer lasting decay. Candia et al. successfully fit a two stage model of mechanistic process to that pattern. Although that fit is useful, this article emphasizes the need, in big data analyses, to consider a broad set of alternative causal explanations. In this case, the method of signal frequency analysis yields several simple alternative models that generate exactly the same observed pattern of collective memory decay. This article concludes that the full potential of big data analyses in the behavioral sciences will require better methods for developing alternative, empirically testable causal models. Full article

Cognitive representations and beliefs are what comprise an individual’s self-concept. A positive self-concept is related to and influences academic achievement, and the relationship between a domain-specific self-concept and achievement in the same domain is positive and strong. However, insufficient attention has been paid to these issues among multilingual children. More importantly, since instruction strongly contributes to the development of metacognition and executive functions (EFs), and since the bilingual advantage hypothesis holds that the constant management of multiple languages entails benefits for EF, we bring together these important issues in the present study. We examine the relationship between domain-specific self-concepts and standardized assessment of reading and spelling competences against the background of potential differences in self-concept between monolingual and multilingual German children. While between-group comparisons revealed no significant differences for self-concept nor reading competency, monolinguals outperformed multilinguals in spelling. Correlations between domain-specific self-concepts and academic achievement in reading comprehension, reading fluency, and spelling were positive and significant for both groups. Regardless of language background, children’s evaluations of their academic achievement (reading and spelling) were realistic. We argue, on a theoretical basis, that metacognition and EFs could facilitate a bilingual advantage and improve educational outcomes. Full article

Childhood obesity has adverse impacts on premature mortality and morbidity. Managing obesity could prevent premature mortality and several types of complications among high-risk groups. This study aimed to review and examine the effects of home-based interventions to treat and prevent childhood obesity. Three databases, i.e., PubMed, Scopus, and Science Direct, were included to extract articles related to the topic. The terms “childhood obesity”, “home-based intervention”, “parental program”, and “parental involvement” were used as the primary keywords. Appraisal of the systematic review was based on PRISMA formats. Of 1556 publications identified, 22 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were appropriate to conduct a meta-analysis. Overall, the home-based interventions reduced the body mass index (BMI) z-score by 36.99% (z = 36.99, p = 0.00). The data analysis indicated considerable heterogeneity among all interventions (Chi-square = 926.41, df = 22 (p < 0.000001), I² = 98%). The home-based intervention positively reduced BMI. Our findings could guide future meaningful home-based interventions to treat and prevent childhood obesity. Full article

Physical Education is an essential educational area to develop physical-healthy habits and motivational orientations, which are fundamental to guide the situation of future Physical Education teachers. These professionals will have a fundamental role in teaching different types of motivations, active lifestyles, and healthy habits in youths. For this reason, the objective of the study is to know the association between motivational climate, adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MD), and the practice of physical activity in future Physical Education teachers. A cross-sectional and nonexperimental study was carried out using a single measurement within a single group. The sample consisted of 775 university students from the cities of Andalusia (Spain). Motivational climate was evaluated through the Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire (PMCSQ-2), levels of physical activity were evaluated through the adolescent version of the Physical Activity Questionnaire (PAQ-A), and level of adherence to the MD was assessed through Mediterranean Diet Quality Index (KIDMED). On one hand, the healthy and self-improvement component promoted by physical activity favors an orientation focused on process and learning. Likewise, the competitive component is key to motivation focused on product and social recognition. In addition, future Physical Education teachers should pay special attention to the unequal recognition among members that physical activity can generate, in order to avoid personal disregard and social rejection. The ego climate is related to a high adherence to the MD. On the other hand, the future Physical Education teachers who manifest motivational processes based on fun and their own satisfaction have low levels of adherence to the MD. Full article

Obesity is a public health concern resulting in widespread personal, social, and economic burden. Many individuals with obesity report feeling unable to stop eating or to control their food intake (i.e., a loss of control over eating) despite their best efforts. Experiencing loss of control over eating predicts further eating pathology and is a key feature of binge eating. Mindfulness (i.e., awareness and acceptance of current thoughts, feelings, sensations, and surrounding events) has emerged as a potential strategy to treat such eating disorder behaviors, but it is not known whether there is merit in investigating this strategy to address binge eating in postmenopausal women with obesity. Thus, this study aimed to examine the relationships between binge eating and mindfulness in postmenopausal women with obesity seeking weight loss treatment. Participants (n = 101) were assessed with the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire, the Loss of Control over Eating Scale, the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, and the Langer Mindfulness Scale. Participants´ overall scores on both mindfulness scales were significantly and negatively correlated with binge eating frequency or the severity of loss of control over eating. Moreover, participants who reported fewer binge eating episodes were significantly more mindful than those who reported greater frequencies of binge eating episodes within the past 28 days. These findings suggest a merit in investigating the use of mindfulness-based therapies to treat binge eating in postmenopausal women with obesity. Full article

Gender norms and the co-occurrence of perpetration and victimization behaviors have been examined as key factors of female dating violence in offline contexts. However, these relationships have not been analyzed in digital environments. This is why the present study had a twofold objective: (1) exploring the co-occurrence nature of cyber dating abuse by examining to what extent victimization and perpetration overlap; (2) examining the associations between conformity to feminine gender norms and cyber dating abuse among female adults who are perpetrators or victims. The sample study included 1041 female university students (mean age = 20.51) from central Spain. The results indicated that 35.8% of the sample reported being a victim and a perpetrator of cyber dating abuse at the same time. Indeed, the hierarchical regression analyses revealed a close association between perpetration and victimization behaviors in both the direct and control forms of abuse examined. Our analyses did not reveal any significant associations between conformity to female gender norms and perpetration or victimization for any cyber dating abuse form examined. Our results are discussed in the light of previous research and after considering limitations, practical implications and future research directions. Full article

Human physical characteristics and their perception by the brain are under pressure by natural selection to optimize reproductive success. Men and women have different strategies to appear attractive and have different interests in identifying beauty in people. Nevertheless, men and women from all cultures agree on who is and who is not attractive, and throughout the world attractive people show greater acquisition of resources and greater reproductive success than others. The brain employs at least three modules, composed of interconnected brain regions, to judge facial attractiveness: one for identification, one for interpretation and one for valuing. Key elements that go into the judgment are age and health, as well as symmetry, averageness, face and body proportions, facial color and texture. These elements are all Costly Signals of reproductive fitness because they are difficult to fake. However, people deceive others using tricks such as coloring hair, cosmetics and clothing styles, while at the same time they also focus on detecting fakes. People may also deceive themselves, especially about their own attractiveness, and use self-signally actions to demonstrate to themselves their own true value. The neuroscience of beauty is best understood by considering the evolutionary pressures to maximize reproductive fitness. Full article