Cultural Dynamics of Narratives: Micro and Macro Implications of Narrative Transmission. Stories circulated in everyday conversations may have global implications by exerting a subtle cultural influence on social actions. Stories about martyrdom and wartime heroics, for instance, describe what goals a protagonist pursues in what way in what context. We propose that in communicating such stories people affirm and re-affirm for each other what they should do under what circumstances. The exchange ....Cultural Dynamics of Narratives: Micro and Macro Implications of Narrative Transmission. Stories circulated in everyday conversations may have global implications by exerting a subtle cultural influence on social actions. Stories about martyrdom and wartime heroics, for instance, describe what goals a protagonist pursues in what way in what context. We propose that in communicating such stories people affirm and re-affirm for each other what they should do under what circumstances. The exchange of these stories can result in the formation and transformation of a large-scale cultural grouping, which may have significant socio-political implications such as extremist terrorism and intercultural clashes. We test these propositions in experiments and computer simulations.Read moreRead less
The Formation and Maintenance of Stereotypes through Communication. Stereotypes are culturally shared beliefs about social groups. Although many stereotypes may be formed on the basis of hearsay, and often maintained through our everyday conversations, little is known about how they are formed, maintained, and transformed through interpersonal communications. This project examines this question with a view to developing a social psychological theory of how culturally shared beliefs may be formed ....The Formation and Maintenance of Stereotypes through Communication. Stereotypes are culturally shared beliefs about social groups. Although many stereotypes may be formed on the basis of hearsay, and often maintained through our everyday conversations, little is known about how they are formed, maintained, and transformed through interpersonal communications. This project examines this question with a view to developing a social psychological theory of how culturally shared beliefs may be formed, maintained, and transformed, especially when they can have undesirable consequences such as prejudice and discrimination.Read moreRead less
The Perception and Production of Timing in Speaking and Other Actions. The planned research seeks to develop a theoretical account of the mechanism that controls the initiation of spoken utterances and their unfolding in time, both when spoken in isolation and when spoken in rhythmic contexts. It uncovers the relationship between the perception of speech and its production, and also aims to discover whether the mechanism that controls speech timing is a general property of action or is unique t ....The Perception and Production of Timing in Speaking and Other Actions. The planned research seeks to develop a theoretical account of the mechanism that controls the initiation of spoken utterances and their unfolding in time, both when spoken in isolation and when spoken in rhythmic contexts. It uncovers the relationship between the perception of speech and its production, and also aims to discover whether the mechanism that controls speech timing is a general property of action or is unique to speech. This work has implications for our understanding of the on-line mechanisms that control speaking and other kinds of action, and thus our understanding of disorders of these human capabilities.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0347784
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$130,000.00
Summary
MOVEMENT & COMMUNICATION ANALYSIS LAB & PORTABLE AUDIENCE RESPONSE FACILITY. The equipment establishes an integrated movement analysis laboratory and audience response facility to support and extend ongoing collaborative research projects that investigate human visual and auditory communication through gestures of voice and body. This laboratory will allow recording and analysis of fine and gross motor activity in: caregiver-infant and therapist-client interaction; auditory-visual speech percept ....MOVEMENT & COMMUNICATION ANALYSIS LAB & PORTABLE AUDIENCE RESPONSE FACILITY. The equipment establishes an integrated movement analysis laboratory and audience response facility to support and extend ongoing collaborative research projects that investigate human visual and auditory communication through gestures of voice and body. This laboratory will allow recording and analysis of fine and gross motor activity in: caregiver-infant and therapist-client interaction; auditory-visual speech perception; audience reactions to gesture and dance. The audience response facility, a portable system of small keypads programmed to record discrete and continuous responses, brings precision to recording psychological responses in a naturalistic setting. The combined equipment allows concerted investigation of human communicative gesture.Read moreRead less
From Talking Heads to Thinking Heads: A Research Platform for Human Communication Science. In this project current Talking Head technology will be taken into the realm of a high-fidelity Thinking Head, with implications and applications for basic and applied research. Outcomes will bear on human-machine communication, telecommunications, e-commerce, and mobile phone technology; personalised aids for disabled users, the hearing impaired, the elderly, and children with learning difficulties, forei ....From Talking Heads to Thinking Heads: A Research Platform for Human Communication Science. In this project current Talking Head technology will be taken into the realm of a high-fidelity Thinking Head, with implications and applications for basic and applied research. Outcomes will bear on human-machine communication, telecommunications, e-commerce, and mobile phone technology; personalised aids for disabled users, the hearing impaired, the elderly, and children with learning difficulties, foreign language learning; and will facilitate the development of animation in new media, film, and games. In addition to output in scholarly journals, beta-versions of the Head will be made available, and public visibility for the project will be facilitated by the incorporation of high-profile installations and exhibitions.Read moreRead less
Establishing how head and face movement properties contribute to the perception of speech and identity. The proposed studies provide an extensive research program into audio-visual speech processing and person identification: key components of face-to-face communication. The likely impact and benefits of the project concern its contribution to perceptual theory (linking signal, brain and behaviour) and its practical implications: For determining the viability of multimodal biometric identificati ....Establishing how head and face movement properties contribute to the perception of speech and identity. The proposed studies provide an extensive research program into audio-visual speech processing and person identification: key components of face-to-face communication. The likely impact and benefits of the project concern its contribution to perceptual theory (linking signal, brain and behaviour) and its practical implications: For determining the viability of multimodal biometric identification procedures by assessing the distinctiveness and permanence of AV speech characteristics. In the development of a visual dubbing technique that has potential for communication in noisy environments (and for the deaf) and for the development of a morphable model for AV presentation that has application for both first and second language learning.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0210995
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$100,000.00
Summary
The Creation of an Eye Movement Recording Facility in Queensland. There are countless uses for technology that records visual behaviour; these include reading and cognitive psychology research, ergonomic design, web site usability testing, and evaluation of visual information (for example advertising or in ?virtual? environments). As such, recording eye movements has applications in pure and applied research, and in teaching demonstrations for students.
This application proposes to purchase ey ....The Creation of an Eye Movement Recording Facility in Queensland. There are countless uses for technology that records visual behaviour; these include reading and cognitive psychology research, ergonomic design, web site usability testing, and evaluation of visual information (for example advertising or in ?virtual? environments). As such, recording eye movements has applications in pure and applied research, and in teaching demonstrations for students.
This application proposes to purchase eye movement recording equipment to form a dedicated and truly collaborative facility to measure visual behaviour. The facility would be unique in Australia and would be invaluable to both further understand visual/cognitive processes and how individuals interact with their environments.Read moreRead less
Expecting the Unexpected: Learning Complex Temporal and Rhythmic Relations. Music is one of the most accessible routes to experience, and to learn about, cultures other than our own. A new implicit method for learning complex rhythm and underlying metre promotes inter-group understanding and communication. We hypothesize that implicit learning (IL) of unfamiliar complex metres through music generalizes to spoken language built on similar metres; IL facilitates segmentation of previously unfamili ....Expecting the Unexpected: Learning Complex Temporal and Rhythmic Relations. Music is one of the most accessible routes to experience, and to learn about, cultures other than our own. A new implicit method for learning complex rhythm and underlying metre promotes inter-group understanding and communication. We hypothesize that implicit learning (IL) of unfamiliar complex metres through music generalizes to spoken language built on similar metres; IL facilitates segmentation of previously unfamiliar spoken language and enhances recognition of English spoken with the stress pattern of a 'foreign' metre. Future intervention programs based on implicit learning of temporal relations will benefit people with reading difficulties or timing problems characteristic of cerebellar and basal ganglia patients.Read moreRead less
The nature of self-recognition: novel approaches to vexing questions. Mirror self-recognition has often been interpreted as evidence for the presence of some form of self-concept/awareness. Children from age 2 onwards investigate their own bodies after seeing a novel mark on their heads in the mirror (surreptitiously placed in their hair by the experimenter). Younger children and most animals do not respond to their images in such a way (instead, for example, treating it as another individual). ....The nature of self-recognition: novel approaches to vexing questions. Mirror self-recognition has often been interpreted as evidence for the presence of some form of self-concept/awareness. Children from age 2 onwards investigate their own bodies after seeing a novel mark on their heads in the mirror (surreptitiously placed in their hair by the experimenter). Younger children and most animals do not respond to their images in such a way (instead, for example, treating it as another individual). The present experiments probe the nature of self-recognition using novel digital video technology rather than mirrors. This technology allows us to manipulate the contingency and appearance of the image. Five studies investigate the performance of 2 to 4-year-old children, autistic children, chimpanzees and dolphins to determine whether they recognize themselves and what underwrites their performance on the tasks. The innovative use of modern technology is expected to answer some of the most persistent questions in psychology.
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Probing cross modal interactions in the perception of object motion and self-motion. How the brain integrates information from the different senses is not yet understood. This project aims first, to uncover how the brain integrates sound and visual information when perceiving moving objects and second, to probe more complex sensory interactions between sound, vision, and our vestibular senses when perceiving self-motion. This project will expand Australia's knowledge base, strengthen collabora ....Probing cross modal interactions in the perception of object motion and self-motion. How the brain integrates information from the different senses is not yet understood. This project aims first, to uncover how the brain integrates sound and visual information when perceiving moving objects and second, to probe more complex sensory interactions between sound, vision, and our vestibular senses when perceiving self-motion. This project will expand Australia's knowledge base, strengthen collaborative ties between Australia and Japan, and provide unique training opportunities for Australian and Japanese students. Publication of research in top-ranking journals will further promote Australian science abroad. Results will lead to improvements in the design of human-machine interfaces in both industry and entertainment.Read moreRead less