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Arousing emoticons edit stream/bounce perception of objects moving past each other
Akihiko Gobara1,2, Naoto Yoshimura3, Yuki Yamada4
1Graduate School of Human-Environment Studies, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan. ackey0299@gmail.com.
Scientific Reports
|April 12, 2018
Summary
High-arousal emoticons, like angry ones, can influence how people perceive object interactions, making them seem to bounce rather than stream through each other. This effect is linked to arousal, not just emotion valence.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Cognitive Science
- Visual Perception
Background:
- The stream/bounce perception phenomenon describes how observers interpret the interaction of two objects moving towards each other.
- Understanding factors influencing this perception is key to understanding visual processing and interpretation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of emoticons on stream/bounce perception.
- To determine whether emotional valence or arousal of emoticons affects this visual phenomenon.
Main Methods:
- Five experiments were conducted presenting different emoticons alongside visual stimuli of interacting objects.
- Participants judged whether the objects streamed through or bounced off each other.
- Emoticon valence and arousal levels were controlled in subsequent experiments.
Main Results:
- An anger emoticon significantly biased perception towards a 'bounce' interpretation compared to neutral or smile emoticons.
- Higher arousal emoticons, regardless of valence, were found to influence stream/bounce perception.
- Attentional capture and response bias were ruled out as explanations for the observed effects.
Conclusions:
- Emoticon arousal, not valence, plays a crucial role in modulating stream/bounce perception.
- Highly arousing emoticons may evoke a mental imagery of collision, leading to bounce perception.
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