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The importance of temperature information in virtual training environments

  • Authors: Van Doorn, George , Symmons, Mark , Richardson, Barry
  • Date: 2009
  • Type: Text , Conference paper
  • Relation: SimTect 2009 Conference Proceedings p. 393-397
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  • Description: Thermal input is an important, but often unacknowledged, source of information in our interactions with the environment. Besides the extremes that alert us to discomfort and danger, even a small change in temperature adds to the richness of the haptic experience. Temperature assists us in establishing that we have made contact with a surface and it helps to determine what that surface might be. It is not yet clear how important or redundant that temperature information is, a question of particular importance to builders of virtual reality interfaces and environments. Indeed, it is possible that as an under-exploited channel, temperature could be used to code for other information not easily conveyed with current technologies. For example, temperature conveyed by Peltier tiles may intuitively code for hardness - and therefore material type - in simulations or teleremote applications. Temperature may also enhance the learning experience by increasing presence or immersion. The findings from several experiments are brought together to discuss the efficacy of adding temperature feedback to simulation applications. In the first, Peltier tiles are added to an exoskeleton device designed to provide kinaesthetic feedback when interacting in a virtual environment. The effects are explored in terms of useability and the potential to increase presence or realism of virtual objects. We also describe an experiment in which movement was either active or passive-guided. In the active condition the degree of "coldness" felt at the fingertip was reported as less intense than when movement was passive. It appears that intentionality of movement played some role in the attenuation of the stimulus. Other work suggests that the perception of temperature is not influenced by a simultaneously present colour. For example, perceiving cold is not enhanced when it is processed in conjunction with a blue colour. This article will review the relevant literature and, in conjunction with the data we have collected, establish whether introducing temperature to virtual training environments is advisable.

Floating sensations prior to sleep and out-of-body experiences

The effectiveness of an ecodrive course for heavy vehicle drivers

  • Authors: Symmons, Mark , Rose, Geoffrey , Van Doorn, George
  • Date: 2008
  • Type: Text , Conference paper
  • Relation: Proceedings of the Australasian Road Safety Research, Policing and Education Conference 2008 p. 1-8
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  • Description: Amongst other changes, ecodriving requires drivers to drive more smoothly – to “flow” the vehicle. In order to save fuel and reduce emissions drivers must operate at lower engine revolutions, change up gears as soon as possible, and anticipate traffic conditions and drive defensively. A field trial was conducted using a 30 km metropolitan circuit and B-double heavy vehicles. Compared to their pre-course measures, the trained group reduced their fuel consumption by an average of 27%, the number of gear changes by 29%, and the number of brake applications by 41%. Importantly, these gains were not offset by increases in the time taken to complete the circuit – indeed average speed increased slightly. Further, the benefits did not lose any strength 12 weeks after the training, at which point the pilot trial concluded – in fact for some variables the results continued to improve over time. The number of drivers participating in the trial was relatively small and some questions remain unanswered, including actual road safety implications, building a strong case for a larger trial.

The misperception of length in vision, haptics and audition

  • Authors: Howell, Jacqui , Symmons, Mark , Van Doorn, George
  • Date: 2012
  • Type: Text , Book
  • Relation: Haptics: Perception, Devices, Mobility, and Communication: International Conference, EuroHaptics. Part 1 2012 Vol. 7283
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  • Description: Participants felt, saw and heard stimuli travel over predetermined distances in three orientations – gravitational-vertical, radial and horizontal. On all trials participants were required to judge the length of the distance travelled. Judgments based on visual information over-estimated length in the radial direction, while those based on haptic information overestimated length in the gravitational-vertical direction. Length estimates based on auditory information were similar across the three orientations. A combined modality condition using visual, haptic and auditory information mimicked the vision condition. Results are interpreted in light of the horizontal-vertical illusion.

Latté Art Influences both the Expected and Rated Value of Milk-Based Coffee Drinks

  • Authors: Van Doorn, George , Colonna-Dashwood, Maxwell , Hudd-Baillie, Reuben , Spence, Charles
  • Date: 2015
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Sensory Studies Vol. 30, no. 4 (2015), p. 305-315
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  • Description: The present study investigated whether consumers' expectations and perceptions concerning milk-based coffee drinks would be influenced by: (1) the presence/absence of latté art on the froth of the coffee, and (2) shape-taste symbolism (i.e., angular versus rounded shapes presented on the froth). An online survey conducted using photographs of cups of coffee revealed that the presence of latté art did indeed influence people's expectations concerning the value of the drink. Follow-up research revealed that people were willing to pay more for a milk-based coffee drink that had latté art as compared to a similar drink served without art. In a third experiment, an online survey revealed that an angular shape, relative to a more rounded shape, influenced people's expectations concerning the likability, bitterness and quality of the drink. A final experiment (Experiment 4) revealed that shape influenced people's perception of the quality and estimated price of the coffee. Taken together, the various results reported here demonstrate that the presence of latté art influences how much people expect, and are willing, to pay for a café latté. As such, adding art to, and the type of visual design on, a customer's drink should be considered by those serving café latté as an effective means of increasing value. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc..

Supraliminal vibrotactile stimulation does not facilitate visual vection

  • Authors: Van Doorn, George , Seno, Takeharu , Symmons, Mark
  • Date: 2012
  • Type: Text , Conference paper
  • Relation: The Seventh International Workshop on Haptic and Audio Interaction Design p. 21-23
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  • Description: The effect of supraliminal vibrotactile stimuli on the strength of vection (i.e., illusory self-motion) was assessed. An experiment showed that forward vection was weaker than backward vection, but vibrotactile stimuli (i.e., horizontal bar patterns simulating radial motion towards or away from the body) had no influence on vection. Others have examined illusory self-motion and vibrotactile stimuli, but not in a manner that pairs supraliminal vibrotactile stimuli with visual vection stimuli.

Attenuated self-tickle sensation even under trajectory perturbation

  • Authors: Van Doorn, George , Paton, Bryan , Howell, Jacqui , Hohwy, Jakob
  • Date: 2015
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Consciousness and Cognition Vol. 36, no. (2015), p. 147-153
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  • Description: The efference copy account of the tickle effect (i.e., our inability to tickle ourselves) predicts no tickle effect (i.e., an ability to tickle ourselves) when the trajectory of a tactile stimulus is perturbed relative to the associated movement, and there is evidence in support of this. The active inference account, however, predicts the tickle effect should survive trajectory perturbation. We test these accounts of the tickle effect under the hypothesis that previous findings are due to attentional modulation, and that the tickle effect will be found in a paradigm with no conscious attention directed to the trajectory perturbation. We thus expected to find support for active inference. Our first experiment confirms this hypothesis, while our second seeks to explain previous findings in terms of the modulation of the tickle sensation when there is awareness of, and different degrees of attention to, the spatial tactile and kinesthetic trajectories.

A reverse horizontal-vertical illusion? Auditory length perception and its relevance to virtual environments

  • Authors: Howell, Jacqui , Van Doorn, George , Symmons, Mark
  • Date: 2013
  • Type: Text , Conference paper
  • Relation: IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics. 13-16 October, 2013. p.257-260
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  • Description: The effect of a white noise stimulus on perceived length was investigated. In contrast to our expectations, stimulus lengths presented in the radial-vertical axis were underestimated relative to those presented in the horizontal axis. Surprisingly, differing stimulus lengths and exposure times had no influence on percentage error scores, suggesting that these factors play no role in what we are calling a 'reverse auditory horizontal-vertical illusion'. This article reviews the relevant literature and, in conjunction with the data we have collected, discusses the importance of stimulus frequency, a topic of importance to builders of virtual reality interfaces and environments.

Can you tickle yourself if you swap bodies with someone else?

  • Authors: Van Doorn, George , Hohwy, Jakob , Symmons, Mark
  • Date: 2014
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Consciousness and Cognition Vol. 23, no. (2014), p. 1-11
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  • Description: The effect of the body transfer illusion on the perceived strength of self- and externally-generated "tickle" sensations was investigated. As expected, externally generated movement produced significantly higher ratings of tickliness than those associated with self-generated movements. Surprisingly, the body transfer illusion had no influence on the ratings of tickliness, suggesting that highly surprising, and therefore hard to predict, experiences of body image and first-person perspective do not abolish the attenuation of tickle sensations. In addition, evidence was found that a version of the rubber hand illusion exists within the body transfer illusion. We situate our findings within the larger debate over sensory attenuation: (1) there is an attenuation of prediction errors that depends upon the context in which sensory input is predicted (i.e., efference copy), and (2) sensory attenuation is a necessary consequence of self-generated movement irrespective of context (i.e., active inference). The results support the notion of active inference.

Stress associated with commencing university : A comparison of metropolitan and rural and regional students

  • Authors: March, Evita , Van Doorn, George , Howell, Jacqui , Moore, Kathleen
  • Date: 2015
  • Type: Text , Conference paper
  • Relation: 7th Australian Rural and Remote Mental Health Symposium p. 27-38
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  • Description: Most people find times of transition stressful, such as commencing a new job or moving house. In this study, our aim was to investigate stress reported by students as they commenced university. Specifically, we aimed to investigate whether stress levels and perceived social support levels differed among students (i.e., metropolitan and rural and regional) who moved house to commence university and those who did not. Results from 551 students (144 males) indicated that 88% of all students rated the level of stress associated with commencing university as being above the mid-point on a 5-pt Likert scale. The stress of commencing university was higher among rural and regional students who left home to study than it was among metropolitan students who shifted house. In addition, the stress associated with moving house significantly predicted both metropolitan and rural and regional students’ ratings on the stress of commencing university. There were no group differences in perceptions of available social support when commencing university. Results of this study, especially for rural and regional students, are discussed in terms of student welfare, and ways to ameliorate the potential stress and depression associated with commencing university and shifting house.

Is J the new K? Initial letters and brand names

  • Authors: Van Doorn, George , Paton, Bryan , Spence, Charles
  • Date: 2016
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Brand Management Vol. 23, no. 6 (2016), p. 666-678
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  • Description: According to the marketing literature on sound symbolism, ‘‘K’’ is overrepresented as the initial letter in top brand names relative to the frequency with which it appears as the initial letter of words in the English dictionary. However, it is now 35 years since the original study on ‘the K-effect’ was published and there is, of course, a possibility that trends have changed during that time. Using the Top 200 company names from the Fortune 500 list, and comparing the initial letter-frequency to two benchmarks (i.e. the relative frequencies of first letters of words in the English dictionary and Card and Eckler’s (1975) derived letter-frequencies), our analyses (using conservative Bonferroni corrections) reveal, in fact, that A and J are overrepresented as initial letters in top company names, while S is underrepresented. We argue that the paucity of company names starting with the letter K, and the fact that K is thought to be unique, may reflect an opportunity for those starting new companies.

Capture of kinesthesis by a competing cutaneous input

  • Authors: Van Doorn, George , Hohwy, Jakob , Symmons, Mark
  • Date: 2012
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Attention, Perception & Psychophysics Vol. 74, no. 7 (2012), p. 1539-1551
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  • Description: In four experiments, blindfolded participants were presented with pairs of stimuli simultaneously, one to each index finger. Participants moved one index finger, which was presented with cutaneous and/or kinesthetic stimuli, and this movement caused a raised line to move underneath the other, stationary index finger in a yoked manner. The stimuli were 180 masculine rotations of each other (e.g., < and >), and thus when a < was traced with the moving finger, it caused a > to be felt at the stationary finger. When asked to report the experience, participants predominantly reported the cutaneous stimulus, seemingly being ignorant of the kinesthetic stimulus. This appears to be an intrahaptic capture phenomenon, which is of interest because it suggests that conflict between intrahaptic sensory stimuli can go unnoticed; sometimes we are unaware of how we moved, and sometimes we do not know what we touched. The results are interpreted in light of optimal integration, perceptual suppression, reafference suppression, and inattentional blindness.

The Pepsi paradox : A review

  • Authors: Van Doorn, George , Miloyan, Beyon
  • Date: 2018
  • Type: Text , Journal article , Review
  • Relation: Food Quality and Preference Vol. 65, no. (2018), p. 194-197
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  • Description: The Pepsi Paradox refers to the observation that Pepsi is preferred to Coke in blind taste tests, despite Coke being regarded as the more successful brand. We begin by describing the origins of the Pepsi Paradox. We then outline a neural hypothesis for why it occurs. Next, we carefully assess the published behavioural studies related to the Pepsi Paradox, and on people's ability to distinguish colas by taste. We conclude that the existing research has failed to provide sufficient evidence for the existence of the Pepsi Paradox. In fact, there does not even seem to be a consistent taste preference for either beverage in the reviewed studies.

Using traditional horizontal-vertical illusion figures and single lines to directly compare haptics and vision

  • Authors: Howell, Jacqui , Symmons, Mark , Van Doorn, George
  • Date: 2013
  • Type: Text , Conference paper
  • Relation: World Haptics Conference (WHC), 2013 p. 673-676
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  • Description: The horizontal-vertical illusion (HVI) is the tendency for a vertical line to be perceived as longer than a horizontal line of the same length. The HVI is commonly reported and investigated as a visual phenomenon. It has, however been found to occur haptically. The comparatively small number of haptic HVI papers paired with varied stimuli and measures make it problematic to directly compare visual and haptic forms of the illusion. The current paper reports a study in which the visual and haptic HVIs were directly compared. Three sets of stimuli were used in an attempt to resolve previous limitations: L-figures, inverted T-figures, and separated horizontal and vertical lines. These stimuli were presented in two lengths: 3 and 9 cm. The dependent variable was percentage error between the horizontal and vertical - no error represents an absence of illusion. As expected, inverted T-figures produced an illusion significantly stronger than both the L-figures and single lines, which did not differ from each other. Stimuli of 9 cm produced stronger illusions than those that measured 3 cm, and stimulus size interacted with modality. The consequences of these findings for earlier research are discussed and suggestions are offered as to what causes this and other illusions.

Cloninger's personality dimensions and ADHD : A meta-analytic review

  • Authors: Gomez, Rapson , Van Doorn, George , Watson, Shaun , Gomez, Andre , Stavropoulos, Vasileios
  • Date: 2017
  • Type: Text , Journal article , Review
  • Relation: Personality and Individual Differences Vol. 107, no. (2017), p. 219-227
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  • Description: A meta-analysis of up to 20 datasets is reported that examined the relationships between Cloninger's personality dimensions and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Cloninger's model comprises four temperament (Novelty-Seeking, Harm-Avoidance, Reward Dependence, and Persistence) and three character (Self-Directedness, Cooperation, and Self-Transcendence) dimensions. Major findings were that all personality dimensions, except Self-Transcendence, were significantly associated with ADHD. These associations had different directions and magnitudes of relationship with ADHD. The associations were especially strong for Novelty-Seeking and Self-Directedness, being positive for Novelty-Seeking and negative for Self-Directedness. In addition, the association between ADHD and Persistence was moderated by age (stronger in children than adults) and source (stronger in clinical samples than community samples). Further, the association between harm avoidance and ADHD was moderated by age (strong and significant in adults, but not significant in children). Findings are discussed in relation to past work and the different strengths of the associations found between Cloninger's personality dimensions and ADHD, developmental differences in these relationships, implications for theoretical models of ADHD, the influence of biological and environmental factors in the expression of ADHD, implications for treatment and diagnosis, and the underlying processes for the relationships between personality and ADHD. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd

Cutaneous inputs yield judgments of line length that are equal to, or better than, those based on kinesthetic inputs

Visual and haptic influence on perception of stimulus size

  • Authors: Van Doorn, George , Richardson, Barry , Wuillemin, Dianne , Symmons, Mark
  • Date: 2010
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Attention, Perception & Psychophysics Vol. 72, no. 3 (2010), p. 813-822
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  • Description: In six experiments, subjects judged the sizes of squares that were presented visually and/or haptically, in unimodal or bimodal conditions. We were interested in which mode most affected size judgments in the bimodal condition when the squares presented to each mode actually differed in size. Three factors varied: whether haptic exploration was passive or active, whether the choice set from which the subjects selected their responses was visual or haptic, and whether cutaneous information was provided in addition to kinesthetic information. To match the task for each mode, visual presentations consisted of a cursor that moved along a square pathway to correspond to the haptic experience of successive segments revealed during exploration. We found that the visual influence on size judgments was greater than the influence of haptics when the haptic experience involved only kinesthesis, passive movement, and a visual choice set. However, when cutaneous input was added to kinesthetic information, size judgments were most influenced by the haptic mode. The results support hypotheses of sensory integration, rather than capture of one sense by the other.

Research note: Induced out-of-body experiences are associated with a sensation of leaving the body

  • Authors: De Foe, Alexander , Van Doorn, George , Symmons, Mark
  • Date: 2012
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Australian Journal of Parapsychology Vol. 12, no. 2 (2012), p. 177-185
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  • Description: Individuals who have had an out-of-body experience (OBE) report that the centre of their awareness appears to, temporarily, shift to a location that is spatially distinct from the location of their physical body. Research suggests that some OBErs report a sensation of leaving their physical body prior to their OBEs, while others instead report spontaneously finding themselves outside of their body. The present study evaluated data collected from 194 participants who claimed to have had an OBE. Instances of spontaneous and autonomously induced OBEs were considered. Binary Logistic Regression identified one item that predicted whether a participant was more likely to have had an induced, rather than a spontaneous, OBE: whether a participant had experienced a sensation of leaving their physical body prior to the OBE.

Auditory hallucinations predict likelihood of out-of-body experience

  • Authors: De Foe, Alexander , Van Doorn, George , Symmons, Mark
  • Date: 2012
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Australian Journal of Parapsychology Vol. 12, no. 1 (2012), p. 59-68
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  • Description: An Out of Body Experience (OBE) occurs when the centre of a person's awareness appears to temporarily occupy a position which is spatially remote from their body. Prior research suggests that fantasy proneness factors are predictors of OBE likelihood, specifically prior auditory, visual, and kinaesthetic hallucinations. Three hundred and seventy participants completed an online questionnaire investigating variables that, potentially, contributed to their OBEs. Binary Logistic Regression identified one item that predicted whether or not a person had experienced an OBE: whether a participant had, or had not, previously experienced an auditory hallucination.

Biases in visuo-haptic matching of curvature

  • Authors: Van Doorn, George , Symmons, Mark
  • Date: 2013
  • Type: Text , Conference paper
  • Relation: World Haptics Conference (WHC), 2013
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  • Description: Haptic perception is mediated by tactile (skin-surface stimulation) and kinesthetic (perception of movement indicating limb position) inputs. In a recognition experiment, participants were asked to match stimuli of different curvatures to those in a visual choice set. They used tactile-only information, kinesthesis-only information, and a combination of both. Movements were either self-generated or passively-guided. The experiment showed that judgements based on self-generated kinesthetic information were more accurate than those based on tactile-only information.