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Visual and sensorimotor contributions to the esthetic appraisal of body form, motion, and emotion
No full textRecent neuroscience studies indicate that the visual processing of human bodies relies on a cortical network comprising different sensorimotor regions (extrastriate body area [EBA], superior temporal sulcus [STS], parietal cortex [PC], and premotor cortex [PM]). These regions seem to be specifically involved in the processing of morphological (form) and dynamic (movement) cues of the body. Importantly, the integrated activity within the network dedicated to body processing seems to underpin the unified perception of the body and its movements via simulation-like mechanisms ("cold embodiment"). Studies also suggest that regions within the body-related network are involved in the esthetic appreciation of human bodies together with a variety of cortical and subcortical regions associated to the emotional reward coding of stimuli (e.g., the amygdala for fear/disgust and the nucleus accumbens, the insula, and the cingulate cortex for pleasure reward), which may drive a form of "hot embodiment." Thus, the esthetic evaluation of human bodies may rely upon a large cortico-subcortical network. Here we review evidence concerning the role of specific sensorimotor cortical and subcortical regions in the perception of beauty and attractiveness of the body. We conclude that exploring the way in which visual, sensorimotor, affective, and multisensory information in art and ecological life in general perturb our body representations is crucial for understanding the neural foundations of esthetic body appreciation
Does apraxia support spatial and kinematic ormirror neuron approaches to social interaction? A commentary on Binder et al. (2017)
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Competence-based social status modulates affective evaluation and dyadic motor coordination
No full textStatus is a key social dimension among human societies and is often conferred to those individuals that are perceived as more competent and skilled, especially in small groups. Previous findings suggest that status modulates several aspects of social cognition. However, little is known about the influence of social status on online dyadic motor coordination. In a first experiment (N = 26), participants were engaged in an interactive game with two fake players. We manipulated the scores achieved by the fake players so that one of them would rank first (high status) and the other would rank last (low status). Before and after the manipulation we measured participant’s implicit affective evaluation of the two players with a modified version of the Affective Misattribution Procedure (AMP) and explicit ratings of attractiveness, competence, intelligence and dominance after the manipulation. We found a decrease from the first to the second AMP session in the evaluation of the low status player, which was also rated as less competent and intelligent than the high status one, confirming the effectiveness of our manipulation. In a second experiment (N = 16), we tested the influence of social status on motor coordination by asking participants to synchronize with the two players (in a within-subjects design) to perform imitative or complementary reach-to grasp movements. Main results indicate that, only during complementary actions, participants achieved a better performance when interacting with the low status player compared to the high one suggesting that competence-based hierarchical status plays a role in interpersonal coordination
Contextual and social variables modulate aesthetic appreciation of bodily and abstract art stimuli
No full textDespite the increasing interest in the plasticity of aesthetic appreciation, we know comparatively little about the role of individuals' cultural (e.g. the appreciators' expertise) and of social emotional-cognitive (e.g. the social influence of people perceived as warm or competent) variables in modulating the appreciation process. In two experiments we investigated 1) whether people with different art-expertise are influenced differently by contextual (i.e. stimuli primed as art) and social (i.e. stimuli rated as beautiful by art-critics) information and 2) whether acknowledging the judgment of a person perceived as warm or as competent has a different influence on individuals' aesthetic appreciation of art works. Warmth and competence are two social dimensions of fundamental importance for categorizing others as in-group or out-group (Fiske, Cuddy, Glick, & Xu, 2002). We found that insinuating that the observed works were pieces of art, highly appreciated by art critics, lead expert participants to judge the stimuli as more beautiful in comparison to when the very same stimuli were not preceded by any manipulation. Moreover, we found that both art-experts and non-experts rated the stimuli as more beautiful when they believed it to be highly appreciated by people perceived as warm vs people perceived as competent. These results provide novel information on the plasticity of aesthetics and pave the way to understanding how tastes and preferences in the domain of aesthetics can be influence
Social status shapes affective evaluation and dyadic motor interactions
No full textInterpersonal behaviours in human societies are deeply influenced by the hierarchical position (e.g. status) each agent occupies. Previous findings suggest that social status modulates different aspects of social cognition (e.g. attention, imitation and action perception). However, little is known about whether social status influences online dyadic motor interactions. In a first behavioural experiment (N = 26), we tested the effectiveness of a new status-inducing procedure (i.e. an interactive game with two fake players). Players’ status was induced by manipulating the achieved scores of the two fake players so that one of them would rank first (high status) and the other would rank last (low status). Before and after the manipulation we measured participant’s implicit affective evaluation of the two players with a modified version of the Affective Misattribution Procedure (AMP) and collected explicit ratings of the two players’ attractiveness, competence, intelligence and dominance after the manipulation. Testifying the effectiveness of our manipulation, we found a decrease from the first to the second AMP session associated to the low status player which was also rated as less competent and intelligent than the high status one. In a second kinematic experiment, we tested the effects of social status on motor interactions by asking participants to synchronize with the two players (in a within-subjects design) to perform imitative or complementary reach-to grasp movements. Preliminary results indicate that, only during complementary actions, participants achieved a better performance when interacting with the low status player compared to the high one suggesting that hierarchical status plays a role in interpersonal coordination
Space Weather or the solar variability effects on the terrestrial environment: the Italian activities
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