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Updated: Jun 6, 2026
07:21
Automated Interactive Video Playback for Studies of Animal Communication
Published on: February 9, 2011
The wolfpack effect. Perception of animacy irresistibly influences interactive behavior.
Tao Gao1, Gregory McCarthy, Brian J Scholl
1Department of Psychology, Yale University, Box 208205, New Haven, CT 06520-8205, USA. tao.gao@yale.edu
Psychological Science
|November 17, 2010
Summary
The wolfpack effect shows how the human visual system perceives simple shapes as alive and pursuing when they consistently orient toward a target. This implicit social cue influences visual performance and behavior, even in non-interactive tasks.
Area of Science:
- Visual perception
- Cognitive psychology
- Human-computer interaction
Background:
- The human visual system is highly sensitive to perceived animacy.
- Previous research focused on the causes of perceived animacy.
- Understanding how perceived animacy influences behavior is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- Introduce and investigate the "wolfpack effect."
- Determine the impact of the wolfpack effect on visual performance and interactive behavior.
- Explore the wolfpack effect as a novel social cue to perceived animacy.
Main Methods:
- Presenting visual displays with randomly moving, oriented shapes (darts or discs with "eyes").
- These shapes consistently oriented toward a central moving disc.
- Assessing observer performance in interactive tasks and their behavioral choices.
Main Results:
- The wolfpack effect was observed when shapes consistently oriented toward a moving disc.
- This effect impaired performance in interactive tasks, including pursuit detection.
- Observers selectively avoided these shapes and showed altered interactive behavior.
Conclusions:
- The wolfpack effect is a novel social cue that elicits perceived animacy.
- Perceived animacy, even from simple shapes, implicitly and irresistibly shapes visual performance.
- The study demonstrates the effects of perceived animacy on behavior, not just its causes.
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