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Claudia Menzel
Social, Environmental, and Economic Psychology, University of Koblenz-Landau, Germany

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Psychology
Published: 20 May 2021 in Frontiers in Psychology
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Nature experiences usually lead to restorative effects, such as positive affective states and reduced stress. Even watching nature compared to urban images, which are known to differ in several image properties that are processed at early stages, can lead to such effects. One potential pathway explaining how the visual input alone evokes restoration is that image properties processed at early stages in the visual system evoke positive associations. To study these automatic bottom-up processes and the role of lower-level visual processing involved in the restoring effects of nature, we conducted two studies. First, we analyzed nature and urban stimuli for a comprehensive set of image properties. Second, we investigated implicit associations in a dichotomous set of nature and urban images in three domains, namely, valence, mood, and stress restoration. To examine the role of lower-level processing in these associations, we also used stimuli that lacked the spatial information but retained certain image properties of the original photographs (i.e., phase-scrambled images). While original nature images were associated with “good,” “positive mood,” and “restoration,” urban images were associated with “bad” and “stress.” The results also showed that image properties differ between our nature and urban images and that they contribute to the implicit associations with valence, although spatial information and therefore recognition of the environment remained necessary for positive associations. Moreover, lower-level processed image properties seem to play no or only minor roles for associations with mood and stress restoration.

ACS Style

Claudia Menzel; Gerhard Reese. Implicit Associations With Nature and Urban Environments: Effects of Lower-Level Processed Image Properties. Frontiers in Psychology 2021, 12, 1 .

AMA Style

Claudia Menzel, Gerhard Reese. Implicit Associations With Nature and Urban Environments: Effects of Lower-Level Processed Image Properties. Frontiers in Psychology. 2021; 12 ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Claudia Menzel; Gerhard Reese. 2021. "Implicit Associations With Nature and Urban Environments: Effects of Lower-Level Processed Image Properties." Frontiers in Psychology 12, no. : 1.

Preprint content
Published: 03 May 2021
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Within society, problem awareness related to plastic pollution is high. Nevertheless, plastic production and consumption is constantly increasing. Plastic consumption expresses two sides of a coin: consumers appreciate plastic packaging for its practicability and other benefits, likewise they also experience concern especially related to pollution with waste and microplastic. In the current work, we systematically investigated valence- (Study 1; sample size [N] = 103) and risk- (Study 2; N = 105) related attitudes towards plastic packaging, plastic waste, and microplastic. Therefore, we measured participants’ attitudes implicitly and explicitly. By using single-category implicit association tests, we revealed that packaging and microplastic were automatically evaluated as ‘bad’ and neutral regarding risk, and waste as ‘bad’ and ‘risky’. Explicit responses in both studies highlighted an overall negative evaluation of all plastic forms. Thereby, packaging was rated as less ‘bad’, ‘unpleasant’, ‘unpractical’, and ‘risky’ (in general and for the environment) than waste and microplastic. The latter was evaluated as much riskier for human health than packaging and waste. Environmental risk ratings were generally very high. In comparison to other materials (paper, glass, metal), plastic was generally rated as worse and riskier. We conclude that attitudes related to plastic mirror high problem awareness and, therefore, plastic-reduction interventions should support consumers in acting according to their attitudes rather than addressing only awareness and attitude change.

ACS Style

Claudia Menzel; Julia Brom; Lea Marie Heidbreder. Explicitly and Implicitly Measured Valence and Risk Attitudes Towards Plastic Packaging, Plastic Waste, and Microplastic in a German Sample. 2021, 1 .

AMA Style

Claudia Menzel, Julia Brom, Lea Marie Heidbreder. Explicitly and Implicitly Measured Valence and Risk Attitudes Towards Plastic Packaging, Plastic Waste, and Microplastic in a German Sample. . 2021; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Claudia Menzel; Julia Brom; Lea Marie Heidbreder. 2021. "Explicitly and Implicitly Measured Valence and Risk Attitudes Towards Plastic Packaging, Plastic Waste, and Microplastic in a German Sample." , no. : 1.

Preprint content
Published: 05 March 2021
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Nature can benefit human well-being and cognitive function. Merely watching images of nature compared to urban scenes, which differ in many lower-level processed properties, can have such effects, suggesting that solely the visual input evokes them. In the current series of studies with well-controlled stimuli, we investigated the role of lower- and higher-level processing on restorative effects evoked by nature and urban environments. Therefore, we used not only nature and urban photographs but also 1) versions that lack spatial information but retain certain image properties including those on regularity (i.e., phase-scrambled images), 2) line drawings that contain spatial information and thus allow for higher-level processing while lacking many diagnostic lower-level processed properties, and 3) words that lack any diagnostic image properties but allow higher cognitive processing and provide a mental image of the environment. We examined restorative effects after participants viewed either original, phase-scrambled, or line drawing versions of nature and urban images (Study 1), or nature- and urban-related words (Study 2). Although nature and urban scenes differed in several image properties, their differences did not lead to differences in perceived restoration when presented with phase-scrambled images. However, higher-level processing (i.e., recognizing the presented environment) led to pronounced restoration effects for nature compared to urban stimuli (original images, line drawings, and words). These findings have implications for current theories in the field (i.e., perceptual fluency account, attention restoration theory, and stress recovery theory).

ACS Style

Claudia Menzel; Gerhard Reese. Seeing nature from low to high levels: Mechanisms underlying the restorative effects of viewing nature images. 2021, 1 .

AMA Style

Claudia Menzel, Gerhard Reese. Seeing nature from low to high levels: Mechanisms underlying the restorative effects of viewing nature images. . 2021; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Claudia Menzel; Gerhard Reese. 2021. "Seeing nature from low to high levels: Mechanisms underlying the restorative effects of viewing nature images." , no. : 1.

Journal article
Published: 12 February 2021 in Sustainability
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Virtual nature experiences can improve physiological and psychological well-being. Although there is ample research on the positive effects of nature, both in virtual and physical settings, we know little about potential moderators of restoration effects in virtual reality settings. According to theories of needs and control beliefs, it is plausible to assume that control over one’s actions affects how people respond to nature experiences. In this virtual reality (VR) experiment, 64 participants either actively navigated through a VR landscape or they were navigated by the experimenter. We measured their perceived stress, mood, and vitality before and after the VR experience as well as the subjective restoration outcome and the perceived restorativeness of the landscape afterwards. Results revealed that participants’ positive affective states increased after the VR experience, regardless of control. There was a main effect such that participants reported lower stress after the VR experience; however, this was qualified by an interaction showing that this result was only the case in the no control condition. These results unexpectedly suggest that active VR experiences may be more stressful than passive ones, opening pathways for future research on how handling of and navigating in VR can attenuate the effects of virtual nature.

ACS Style

Gerhard Reese; Elias Kohler; Claudia Menzel. Restore or Get Restored: The Effect of Control on Stress Reduction and Restoration in Virtual Nature Settings. Sustainability 2021, 13, 1995 .

AMA Style

Gerhard Reese, Elias Kohler, Claudia Menzel. Restore or Get Restored: The Effect of Control on Stress Reduction and Restoration in Virtual Nature Settings. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (4):1995.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gerhard Reese; Elias Kohler; Claudia Menzel. 2021. "Restore or Get Restored: The Effect of Control on Stress Reduction and Restoration in Virtual Nature Settings." Sustainability 13, no. 4: 1995.

Preprint content
Published: 20 January 2021
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Shinrin-yoku or forest bathing refers to a therapeutic, immersive nature experience that aids to improve well-being. The goal of the current research was to compare the effects of a physical versus virtual nature experience on stress, affect, vitality, and restoration. Previous research suggested that an immersive nature experience – such as shinrin-yoku – can be beneficial for health, but direct comparisons between physical and virtual reality (VR) experiences are scarce. In the current study, fifty participants navigated self-paced through a forest scene that was either a physical forest or an immersive VR forest with the same characteristics as the physical one. Before and after the intervention, we measured positive and negative affect, subjective vitality, and perceived daily stress. After the intervention, we measured perceived restorative outcomes. Results revealed that both VR and physical nature experience resulted in expected effects on well-being indicators: Affect was more positive and less negative, subjective vitality increased slightly, and stress decreased slightly after both interventions. There were no significant differences between the two settings on any of the variables, but slightly stronger effect sizes over time within the physical condition. Overall, these findings suggest that immersive VR nature experiences can have restoration effects similar to physical nature experiences, suggesting intervention strategies when physical nature options are scarce.

ACS Style

Gerhard Reese; Jasmin Stahlberg; Claudia Menzel. Digital shinrin-yoku: Do nature experiences in virtual reality reduce stress and increase well-being as strongly as similar experiences in a physical forest? 2021, 1 .

AMA Style

Gerhard Reese, Jasmin Stahlberg, Claudia Menzel. Digital shinrin-yoku: Do nature experiences in virtual reality reduce stress and increase well-being as strongly as similar experiences in a physical forest? . 2021; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gerhard Reese; Jasmin Stahlberg; Claudia Menzel. 2021. "Digital shinrin-yoku: Do nature experiences in virtual reality reduce stress and increase well-being as strongly as similar experiences in a physical forest?" , no. : 1.

Preprint content
Published: 20 January 2021
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Virtual nature experiences can improve physiological and psychological well-being. While there is ample research on the positive effects of nature, both in virtual and physical settings, we know little about potential moderators of restoration effects in virtual reality settings. According to theories of needs and control beliefs, it is plausible to assume that control over one’s actions affects how people respond to nature experiences. In this Virtual Reality (VR) experiment, 64 participants could either actively navigate through a VR landscape or they were navigated by the experimenter. We measured their perceived stress, mood, and vitality before and after the VR experience, as well as subjective restoration outcome and perceived restorativeness of the landscape afterwards. Results revealed that participants’ positive affective states increased after the VR experience, regardless of control. There was also a main effect such that participants reported lower stress after the VR experience – however, qualified by an interaction showing that this was only the case in the “no control” condition. These results suggest that - unexpectedly - active VR experiences may be more stressful than passive ones, opening pathways for future research on how handling of and navigating in VR can attenuate effects of virtual nature.

ACS Style

Gerhard Reese; Elias Kohler; Claudia Menzel. Restore or get restored: The effect of control on stress reduction and restoration in virtual nature settings. 2021, 1 .

AMA Style

Gerhard Reese, Elias Kohler, Claudia Menzel. Restore or get restored: The effect of control on stress reduction and restoration in virtual nature settings. . 2021; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gerhard Reese; Elias Kohler; Claudia Menzel. 2021. "Restore or get restored: The effect of control on stress reduction and restoration in virtual nature settings." , no. : 1.

Preprint content
Published: 09 January 2021
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Nature experiences usually lead to restorative effects, such as positive affective states and reduced stress. Even watching nature compared to urban images, which are known to differ in several image properties that were processed at early stages, can lead to such effects. One potential pathway explaining how the visual input alone evokes restoration is that image properties processed at early stages in the visual system evoke positive associations. To study these automatic bottom-up processes and the role of lower-level visual processing involved in the restoring effects of nature, we conducted two studies. First, we analysed nature and urban stimuli for a comprehensive set of image properties. Second, we investigated implicit associations in a dichotomous set of nature and urban images in three domains, namely valence, mood, and stress restoration. To examine the role of lower-level processing in these associations, we also used stimuli that lacked the spatial information but retained certain image properties of the original photographs (i.e., phase-scrambled images). While original nature images were associated with ‘good’, ‘positive mood’, and ‘restoration’, urban images were associated with ‘bad’ and ‘stress’. The results also showed that image properties differ between our nature and urban images, and that they contribute to the implicit associations with valence, although spatial information and therefore recognition of the environment remained necessary for positive associations. Moreover, lower-level processed image properties seem to play no or only minor roles for associations with mood and stress restoration.

ACS Style

Claudia Menzel; Gerhard Reese. Implicit associations with nature and urban environments: Effects of lower-level processed image properties. 2021, 1 .

AMA Style

Claudia Menzel, Gerhard Reese. Implicit associations with nature and urban environments: Effects of lower-level processed image properties. . 2021; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Claudia Menzel; Gerhard Reese. 2021. "Implicit associations with nature and urban environments: Effects of lower-level processed image properties." , no. : 1.

Journal article
Published: 17 November 2020 in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
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Natural environments, compared to urban environments, usually lead to reduced stress and positive body appreciation. We assumed that walks through nature and urban environments affect self- and other-perceived stress and attractiveness levels. Therefore, we collected questionnaire data and took photographs of male participants’ faces before and after they took walks. In a second step, female participants rated the photographs. As expected, participants felt more restored and attractive, and less stressed after they walked in nature compared to an urban environment. A significant interaction of environment (nature, urban) and time (pre, post) indicated that the men were rated by the women as being more stressed after the urban walk. Other-rated attractiveness levels, however, were similar for both walks and time points. In sum, we showed that the rather stressful experience of a short-term urban walk mirrors in the face of men and is detectable by women.

ACS Style

Claudia Menzel; Fiona Dennenmoser; Gerhard Reese. Feeling Stressed and Ugly? Leave the City and Visit Nature! An Experiment on Self-and Other-Perceived Stress and Attractiveness Levels. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2020, 17, 8519 .

AMA Style

Claudia Menzel, Fiona Dennenmoser, Gerhard Reese. Feeling Stressed and Ugly? Leave the City and Visit Nature! An Experiment on Self-and Other-Perceived Stress and Attractiveness Levels. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020; 17 (22):8519.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Claudia Menzel; Fiona Dennenmoser; Gerhard Reese. 2020. "Feeling Stressed and Ugly? Leave the City and Visit Nature! An Experiment on Self-and Other-Perceived Stress and Attractiveness Levels." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17, no. 22: 8519.

Review
Published: 06 March 2019 in Science of The Total Environment
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The excessive production and consumption of plastic has serious consequences on the environment and human health. The reduction of plastic has therefore become a major global challenge. As technical solutions might be insufficient to curb the problem, a perspective highlighting the impact of human behavior is needed. The current literature review provides an overview of the existing social-scientific literature on plastic, ranging from risk awareness, consumers' preferences, and predictors of usage behavior to political and psychological intervention strategies. By reviewing the literature, we aim to identify potential factors for future interventions to reduce plastic consumption. The 187 studies reviewed show that people much appreciate and routinely use plastic, despite a pronounced awareness of the associated problems. Habits, norms, and situational factors seem to be especially predictive for plastic consumption behavior. Both political and psychological interventions are potentially effective, although long-term effects are often uncertain. The review closes with implications for behavior-based solutions and future research, which should combine interdisciplinary approaches and take into account cultural differences.

ACS Style

Lea Marie Heidbreder; Isabella Bablok; Stefan Drews; Claudia Menzel. Tackling the plastic problem: A review on perceptions, behaviors, and interventions. Science of The Total Environment 2019, 668, 1077 -1093.

AMA Style

Lea Marie Heidbreder, Isabella Bablok, Stefan Drews, Claudia Menzel. Tackling the plastic problem: A review on perceptions, behaviors, and interventions. Science of The Total Environment. 2019; 668 ():1077-1093.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Lea Marie Heidbreder; Isabella Bablok; Stefan Drews; Claudia Menzel. 2019. "Tackling the plastic problem: A review on perceptions, behaviors, and interventions." Science of The Total Environment 668, no. : 1077-1093.

Journal article
Published: 01 July 2018 in Biological Psychology
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In complex abstract art, image composition (i.e., the artist’s deliberate arrangement of pictorial elements) is an important aesthetic feature. We investigated whether the human brain detects image composition in abstract artworks automatically (i.e., independently of the experimental task). To this aim, we studied whether a group of 20 original artworks elicited a visual mismatch negativity when contrasted with a group of 20 images that were composed of the same pictorial elements as the originals, but in shuffled arrangements, which destroy artistic composition. We used a passive oddball paradigm with parallel electroencephalogram recordings to investigate the detection of image type-specific properties. We observed significant deviant-standard differences for the shuffled and original images, respectively. Furthermore, for both types of images, differences in amplitudes correlated with the behavioral ratings of the images. In conclusion, we show that the human brain can detect composition-related image properties in visual artworks in an automatic fashion.

ACS Style

Claudia Menzel; Gyula Kovács; Catarina Amado; Gregor U. Hayn-Leichsenring; Christoph Redies. Visual mismatch negativity indicates automatic, task-independent detection of artistic image composition in abstract artworks. Biological Psychology 2018, 136, 76 -86.

AMA Style

Claudia Menzel, Gyula Kovács, Catarina Amado, Gregor U. Hayn-Leichsenring, Christoph Redies. Visual mismatch negativity indicates automatic, task-independent detection of artistic image composition in abstract artworks. Biological Psychology. 2018; 136 ():76-86.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Claudia Menzel; Gyula Kovács; Catarina Amado; Gregor U. Hayn-Leichsenring; Christoph Redies. 2018. "Visual mismatch negativity indicates automatic, task-independent detection of artistic image composition in abstract artworks." Biological Psychology 136, no. : 76-86.

Journal article
Published: 01 July 2018 in Acta Psychologica
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We studied low-level image properties of face photographs and analyzed whether they change with different emotional expressions displayed by an individual. Differences in image properties were measured in three databases that depicted a total of 167 individuals. Face images were used either in their original form, cut to a standard format or superimposed with a mask. Image properties analyzed were: brightness, redness, yellowness, contrast, spectral slope, overall power and relative power in low, medium and high spatial frequencies. Results showed that image properties differed significantly between expressions within each individual image set. Further, specific facial expressions corresponded to patterns of image properties that were consistent across all three databases. In order to experimentally validate our findings, we equalized the luminance histograms and spectral slopes of three images from a given individual who showed two expressions. Participants were significantly slower in matching the expression in an equalized compared to an original image triad. Thus, existing differences in these image properties (i.e., spectral slope, brightness or contrast) facilitate emotion detection in particular sets of face images.

ACS Style

Claudia Menzel; Christoph Redies; Gregor U. Hayn-Leichsenring. Low-level image properties in facial expressions. Acta Psychologica 2018, 188, 74 -83.

AMA Style

Claudia Menzel, Christoph Redies, Gregor U. Hayn-Leichsenring. Low-level image properties in facial expressions. Acta Psychologica. 2018; 188 ():74-83.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Claudia Menzel; Christoph Redies; Gregor U. Hayn-Leichsenring. 2018. "Low-level image properties in facial expressions." Acta Psychologica 188, no. : 74-83.

Chapter
Published: 02 June 2018 in Psychologie und Nachhaltigkeit
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Nachhaltige Entwicklung ist per Definition eine Gruppenangelegenheit, da Nachhaltigkeit nur durch gemeinsame Anstrengungen erreicht werden kann. In diesem Beitrag wird beschrieben, welchen Einfluss soziale Identität – das „Wir“ in jeder und jedem von uns – auf nachhaltiges Verhalten hat. Konkret beschreiben die AutorInnen Grundlagen der Theorie der sozialen Identität und erläutern anhand dieser, inwiefern unsere Fähigkeit, uns in Gruppen zu organisieren, zu nachhaltigem Verhalten beitragen kann. Sie fokussieren dabei unter anderem darauf, wie wir als Gruppen wirksam agieren können und legen damit dar, wie soziale Gruppen als Vehikel für sozialen und ökologischen Wandel genutzt werden können.

ACS Style

Gerhard Reese; Karen Hamann; Claudia Menzel; Stefan Drews. Soziale Identität und nachhaltiges Verhalten. Psychologie und Nachhaltigkeit 2018, 47 -54.

AMA Style

Gerhard Reese, Karen Hamann, Claudia Menzel, Stefan Drews. Soziale Identität und nachhaltiges Verhalten. Psychologie und Nachhaltigkeit. 2018; ():47-54.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gerhard Reese; Karen Hamann; Claudia Menzel; Stefan Drews. 2018. "Soziale Identität und nachhaltiges Verhalten." Psychologie und Nachhaltigkeit , no. : 47-54.

Journal article
Published: 01 May 2018 in i-Perception
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ACS Style

Kana Schwabe; Claudia Menzel; Caitlin Mullin; Johan Wagemans; Christoph Redies. Gist Perception of Image Composition in Abstract Artworks. i-Perception 2018, 9, 1 .

AMA Style

Kana Schwabe, Claudia Menzel, Caitlin Mullin, Johan Wagemans, Christoph Redies. Gist Perception of Image Composition in Abstract Artworks. i-Perception. 2018; 9 (3):1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kana Schwabe; Claudia Menzel; Caitlin Mullin; Johan Wagemans; Christoph Redies. 2018. "Gist Perception of Image Composition in Abstract Artworks." i-Perception 9, no. 3: 1.

Journal article
Published: 01 October 2017 in Brain and Cognition
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The presence of noise usually impairs the processing of a stimulus. Here, we studied the effects of noise on face processing and show, for the first time, that adaptation to noise patterns has beneficial effects on face perception. We used noiseless faces that were either surrounded by random noise or presented on a uniform background as stimuli. In addition, the faces were either preceded by noise adaptors or not. Moreover, we varied the statistics of the noise so that its spectral slope either matched that of the faces or it was steeper or shallower. Results of parallel ERP recordings showed that the background noise reduces the amplitude of the face-evoked N170, indicating less intensive face processing. Adaptation to a noise pattern, however, led to reduced P1 and enhanced N170 amplitudes as well as to a better behavioral performance in two of the three noise conditions. This effect was also augmented by the presence of background noise around the target stimuli. Additionally, the spectral slope of the noise pattern affected the size of the P1, N170 and P2 amplitudes. We reason that the observed effects are due to the selective adaptation of noise-sensitive neurons present in the face-processing cortical areas, which may enhance the signal-to-noise-ratio.

ACS Style

Claudia Menzel; Gregor U. Hayn-Leichsenring; Christoph Redies; Kornél Németh; Gyula Kovács. When noise is beneficial for sensory encoding: Noise adaptation can improve face processing. Brain and Cognition 2017, 117, 73 -83.

AMA Style

Claudia Menzel, Gregor U. Hayn-Leichsenring, Christoph Redies, Kornél Németh, Gyula Kovács. When noise is beneficial for sensory encoding: Noise adaptation can improve face processing. Brain and Cognition. 2017; 117 ():73-83.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Claudia Menzel; Gregor U. Hayn-Leichsenring; Christoph Redies; Kornél Németh; Gyula Kovács. 2017. "When noise is beneficial for sensory encoding: Noise adaptation can improve face processing." Brain and Cognition 117, no. : 73-83.

Meeting abstract
Published: 01 September 2015 in Journal of Vision
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Visual adaptation and spatial frequency content are known to have an effect on face processing. The slope in the log-log plots of the Fourier power spectrum of an image is a relative measure for the energy in low and high spatial frequencies. To investigate whether adaptation to noise with different image statistics as compared to a target face affects face processing differentially, we studied the effect of different Fourier power spectrum slopes in an adaptation paradigm. We used a gray image as a control, and noise images with five different slopes in the Fourier power spectrum. These possessed either the same slope as the face images (matching condition), two different steeper slopes (lower spatial frequencies enhanced) or two different shallower slopes (higher spatial frequencies enhanced). In a block design, participants were first adapted to noise images with one of the five slopes (or a gray image) for three minutes, followed by trials, in which an oval cut-out face appeared on a noise (or gray) image that remained on the screen. We measured event-related potentials (ERPs) for the faces while participants performed an age categorization task. ERP results showed that adaptation to noise images compared to the uniform gray control condition enhances face processing. This was evident by an increase of the N170 and a decrease of the P200 component amplitudes in all noise conditions when compared to the gray condition. Moreover, in the P200 time window, adaptation to shallower slopes increased the signal-to-noise ratio more than to steeper slopes, with the matching condition yielding to intermediate results. In conclusion, our data suggest that adaptation to noise images, especially with enhanced high spatial frequencies, facilitates the neural processing of faces. Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2015

ACS Style

Claudia Menzel; Gregor Hayn-Leichsenring; Christoph Redies; Gyula Kovacs. Noise can be good: Visual adaptation to noise with different Fourier power spectrum characteristics affects the electrophysiological correlates of face processing. Journal of Vision 2015, 15, 1198 -1198.

AMA Style

Claudia Menzel, Gregor Hayn-Leichsenring, Christoph Redies, Gyula Kovacs. Noise can be good: Visual adaptation to noise with different Fourier power spectrum characteristics affects the electrophysiological correlates of face processing. Journal of Vision. 2015; 15 (12):1198-1198.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Claudia Menzel; Gregor Hayn-Leichsenring; Christoph Redies; Gyula Kovacs. 2015. "Noise can be good: Visual adaptation to noise with different Fourier power spectrum characteristics affects the electrophysiological correlates of face processing." Journal of Vision 15, no. 12: 1198-1198.

Research article
Published: 02 April 2015 in PLOS ONE
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We investigated whether low-level processed image properties that are shared by natural scenes and artworks – but not veridical face photographs – affect the perception of facial attractiveness and age. Specifically, we considered the slope of the radially averaged Fourier power spectrum in a log-log plot. This slope is a measure of the distribution of special frequency power in an image. Images of natural scenes and artworks possess – compared to face images – a relatively shallow slope (i.e., increased high spatial frequency power). Since aesthetic perception might be based on the efficient processing of images with natural scene statistics, we assumed that the perception of facial attractiveness might also be affected by these properties. We calculated Fourier slope and other beauty-associated measurements in face images and correlated them with ratings of attractiveness and age of the depicted persons (Study 1). We found that Fourier slope – in contrast to the other tested image properties – did not predict attractiveness ratings when we controlled for age. In Study 2A, we overlaid face images with random-phase patterns with different statistics. Patterns with a slope similar to those in natural scenes and artworks resulted in lower attractiveness and higher age ratings. In Studies 2B and 2C, we directly manipulated the Fourier slope of face images and found that images with shallower slopes were rated as more attractive. Additionally, attractiveness of unaltered faces was affected by the Fourier slope of a random-phase background (Study 3). Faces in front of backgrounds with statistics similar to natural scenes and faces were rated as more attractive. We conclude that facial attractiveness ratings are affected by specific image properties. An explanation might be the efficient coding hypothesis.

ACS Style

Claudia Menzel; Gregor U. Hayn-Leichsenring; Oliver Langner; Holger Wiese; Christoph Redies. Fourier Power Spectrum Characteristics of Face Photographs: Attractiveness Perception Depends on Low-Level Image Properties. PLOS ONE 2015, 10, e0122801 .

AMA Style

Claudia Menzel, Gregor U. Hayn-Leichsenring, Oliver Langner, Holger Wiese, Christoph Redies. Fourier Power Spectrum Characteristics of Face Photographs: Attractiveness Perception Depends on Low-Level Image Properties. PLOS ONE. 2015; 10 (4):e0122801.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Claudia Menzel; Gregor U. Hayn-Leichsenring; Oliver Langner; Holger Wiese; Christoph Redies. 2015. "Fourier Power Spectrum Characteristics of Face Photographs: Attractiveness Perception Depends on Low-Level Image Properties." PLOS ONE 10, no. 4: e0122801.

Journal article
Published: 10 May 2013 in International Journal of Primatology
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Researchers have described apparently self-medicative behaviors for a variety of nonhuman species including birds and primates. Wild chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas have been observed to swallow rough leaves without chewing, a behavior proposed to be self-medicative and to aid control of intestinal parasites. Researchers have hypothesized that the presence of hairs on the leaf surface elicits the behavior. We investigated the acquisition and the underlying mechanisms of leaf swallowing. We provided 42 captive great apes (24 chimpanzees, six bonobos, six gorillas, and six orangutans) with both rough-surfaced and hairless plants. None of the subjects had previously been observed to engage in leaf swallowing behavior and were therefore assumed naïve. Two chimpanzees and one bonobo swallowed rough-surfaced leaves spontaneously without chewing them. In a social setup six more chimpanzees acquired the behavior. None of the gorillas or orangutans showed leaf swallowing. Because this behavior occurred in naïve individuals, we conclude that it is part of the behavioral repertoire of chimpanzees and bonobos. Social learning is thus not strictly required for the acquisition of leaf swallowing, but it may still facilitate its expression. The fact that apes always chewed leaves of hairless control plants before swallowing, i.e., normal feeding behavior, indicates that the surface structure of leaves is indeed a determinant for initiating leaf swallowing in apes where it occurs.

ACS Style

Claudia Menzel; Andrew Fowler; Claudio Tennie; Josep Call. Leaf Surface Roughness Elicits Leaf Swallowing Behavior in Captive Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and Bonobos (P. paniscus), but not in Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) or Orangutans (Pongo abelii). International Journal of Primatology 2013, 34, 533 -553.

AMA Style

Claudia Menzel, Andrew Fowler, Claudio Tennie, Josep Call. Leaf Surface Roughness Elicits Leaf Swallowing Behavior in Captive Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and Bonobos (P. paniscus), but not in Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) or Orangutans (Pongo abelii). International Journal of Primatology. 2013; 34 (3):533-553.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Claudia Menzel; Andrew Fowler; Claudio Tennie; Josep Call. 2013. "Leaf Surface Roughness Elicits Leaf Swallowing Behavior in Captive Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and Bonobos (P. paniscus), but not in Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) or Orangutans (Pongo abelii)." International Journal of Primatology 34, no. 3: 533-553.