2026年度嶺南認知科學會議

會議日程

3-min Short Presentations

Presenter: Martha Sin Ki LUK [Best Presentation Winner]

Title: Congruency Interference Effect in Movement Trajectory: Evidence from a Multi-Agent Virtual Reality Experiment

Abstract: Observing another person's movement can interfere with the simultaneous execution of one's own movement. Visuomotor interference has been reported as reduced precision and increased variability during movement execution, particularly when observing incongruent actions. However, little is known about how this effect manifests in continuous movement kinematics involving geometric trajectories, or how it unfolds in group contexts. This study addressed this gap by conducting a motion-capture experiment in a multi-agent virtual reality setting. Participants drew circles in the air while immersed in a virtual environment where one or two agents simultaneously drew either congruent or incongruent shapes. Opposite to our prediction, results revealed a congruency interference effect, with greater deviation from participants' own baseline in the congruent compared to incongruent condition. Results further revealed a social multiplicity effect, with greater deviation when observing two agents compared to one. However, no interaction effect was observed between congruency and the number of agents. The current finding can be interpreted within the framework of action-effect blindness, such that observing congruent actions inhibits agents’ sensory feedback in a stronger degree, resulting in distortion in the movement kinematics. The current study highlights that visuomotor interference is not limited to incongruent contexts, and that congruency-driven disruption represents a meaningful yet underexplored phenomenon.

Presenter: Eva Zhengaiwa LU [Best Presentation Winner]

Title: The Effect of Facial Features on the First Impressions of Friendliness

Abstract: First impressions based on faces occur involuntarily in daily lives, such that babyface features (round face, large eyes) increase perceived likability (Berry & McArthur, 1986). The Stereotype Content Model further suggests that approachability cues specifically heighten perceived warmth in social judgment (Fiske et al., 2002).  Yet, no research has directly evidenced a specific combination of eye size, eyebrow height, and face shape as “approachability” (big eyes, high eyebrows, round face) versus “threat” (small eyes, low eyebrows, long face) on friendliness ratings. Addressing this gap, the present study examined whether these facial features affect friendliness judgments. Sixty-two university students (aged 18–22 years) rated 20 computer generated faces with neutral expressions, which facial features processed with photoshop to have  approachability or threat features (10 approachability, 10 threat faces), on a 7-point Likert scale  (from 1 likely to be non-friendly to 7 likely to be friendly) in a within-subjects design. A paired samples t test showed that approachability faces were rated significantly higher (M=4.06, SD=1.06) than threat faces (M=3.17, SD=0.96), t(61)=5.70, p<.001, Cohen’s d=0.72. These results support the hypothesis that facial features associated with approachability increase perceived friendliness.  The findings suggest that automatic facial first impressions  may lead perceivers to form biased expectations about a person’s friendliness in initial encounters, based on their specific facial features (eye size, eyebrow height, face shape). These results imply that such feature-driven biases may extend beyond social setting, potentially influencing consequential real-word decisions such as job hiring decisions and legal judgments.

Presenter: Eunis Lok Yiu CHAN

Title: Investigating the Differential Effects of Background Sounds on Affective States

Abstract: Background music and white noise are frequently used by students and office workers to support concentration during cognitively demanding tasks. However, the effect of the types of background sound on attention remain unclear. In this study, we examined how three common background sound conditions-Silence, White Noise, and Instrumental Rock Music (all at 65 dB)-influence positive/negative affective states and selective attention in real-world environments. We also investigated whether extraversion moderates the relationship between background sound and attentional performance after controlling for affective change. Forty-eight adults (aged 18-40) completed a within-subjects Stroop color-word task under each sound condition to measure selective attention. Affective states were assessed using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) before and after each condition using rolling baselines. Extraversion was assessed as a potential moderator using the Mini-IPIP subscale. Results indicated that sound condition significantly influenced affective change. Specifically, both Silence and Instrumental Rock Music led to greater increases in positive affect and greater reductions in negative affect compared to White Noise. However, neither background sound condition nor affective changes significantly predicted Stroop task performance in terms of reaction time and accuracy. Furthermore, extraversion did not moderate the relationship between background sound and Stroop task performance after controlling for affective changes. These findings suggest that, under low-intensity and naturalistic listening conditions, momentary affective states exert a stronger influence on attentional efficiency than either the type of background sound or individual differences in extraversion. The results highlight the importance of considering affective responses when evaluating everyday environmental stimuli on cognitive performance.

Presenter: Yiming LIN

Title: The Influence of Agreeableness on Helping Intention Under Moderate Social Cost

Abstract: This quantitative study examined whether agreeableness predicts helping intention in moderate social-cost situations, where prosocial action requires noticeable effort and may disrupt personal convenience. Drawing on the Big Five framework and cost-reward perspectives on helping, the project focused on whether a stable interpersonal trait can sustain willingness to help when situational friction is present. Seventy-eight participants completed an anonymous cross-sectional questionnaire. Agreeableness was measured using a four-item Mini-IPIP subscale, and helping intention was assessed through ten researcher-designed scenarios representing moderate social costs. Reliability and validity analyses indicated that the measures were suitable for hypothesis testing, with strong internal consistency for helping intention and acceptable reliability for agreeableness. Descriptive results showed generally high helping intention and above-average agreeableness in the sample. Pearson correlation analysis revealed a significant positive association between agreeableness and helping intention, r = .534, p < .01. Linear regression further showed that agreeableness significantly predicted helping intention, B = 0.188, β = .534, p < .001, explaining 28.6% of the variance. Exploratory gender-based analyses suggested that the predictive relationship was positive for both male and female participants, but appeared stronger among females; however, this pattern should be interpreted cautiously because no formal interaction test was conducted. Overall, the findings support the hypothesis that agreeableness functions as a robust psychological driver of prosocial intention under moderate social cost. The study contributes to personality and prosocial behavior research by showing that interpersonal warmth, empathy, and cooperation may help individuals overcome situational inconvenience when deciding whether to assist others in everyday contexts and structured survey scenarios.

Presenter: Daniele ROMEO

Title: From encounter to memory: molecular dynamics of class-level recognition in cleaner wrasse

Abstract: Class-level recognition, whereby receivers learn signaller cues and associate them with class-specific information such as familiarity, guides partner choice in mutualisms, reduces costly misclassification, and supports community stability. Yet the molecular machinery enabling such recognition is poorly understood. The cleaner wrasse Labroides dimidiatus makes class-level recognition a central feature of its behavioural ecology. A single individual can engage in approximately 2,300 daily interactions with heterospecific clients, favouring the rapid assessment and categorisation of partners based on learned cues. To probe the molecular basis of this capacity, we coupled a familiar-unfamiliar two-choice social preference test with forebrain RNA-sequencing and H3K27ac profiling at 0, 30, and 120 min, linking behaviour, transcription, and chromatin state. Behaviourally, familiarisation reduced time spent near the familiar client. At the molecular level, transcriptomic profiles varied across time points, with early differences in genes related to synaptic release and chemosensory processes, followed by changes at 30 min in genes associated with GABAergic/homeostatic functions and, at 120 min, in genes linked to adhesion and dendritic spine remodelling, consistent with a temporally structured molecular response. Chromatin profiling revealed broad baseline accessibility with only modest between-condition differences and stronger within-condition temporal shifts, a pattern suggesting that chromatin supports, rather than drives, transcriptional change. Overall, this work offers a molecular framework for class-level recognition, linking fast circuit tuning to the subsequent stabilisation of social information.