Matte surfaces, that is, those that are dull or lusterless not glossy and shiny, are a current trend in packaging. But does packaging surface affect what consumers think about the product inside it? We focus on consumers' perception of packaged food products at the point of sale. Using three experiments, we show that food in matte packaging can be perceived as more natural. Notably, the effect of matte packaging only holds for rather artificial products. When matte packaging increases perceptions of product naturalness, consumers also expect the product to be tastier and are more likely to buy it.

Estudos de consolidação da informação na memória de trabalho visual mostram que, em tarefas de detecção de mudança, a localização do objeto memorizado perde importância após intervalos entre 900ms e 1500ms. No entanto, vários estudos têm mostrado que dicas retroativas baseadas na localização são eficientes para a recuperação da informação memorizada mesmo em intervalos que vão de 100ms a 6000ms. O presente estudo, teve como objetivo investigar o intervalo de decaimento da informação de localização na memória de trabalho visual, quando irrelevante para a tarefa, e verificar se o processo de seleção da informação na representação do binding é afetado pela localização. A apresentação dos itens e o registro das respostas foram realizados por meio do software E-prime 2.0. Os participantes realizaram tarefas de detecção de mudança para estímulos visuais definidos pela conjunção de cor e forma. Nos experimentos 1 (n=18) e 2 (n=18), a tarefa do participante foi memorizar uma cena com figuras coloridas e, depois de um intervalo de retenção (500ms e 1500ms), julgar se a cena teste continha exatamente as mesmas figuras da cena inicial. Nossa suposição nos experimentos 1 e 2, era de que a informação de localização permaneceria atrelada a representação do objeto por intervalo menor que 1500ms. No terceiro experimento (n=18) foi realizada uma tarefa semelhante, acrescida da apresentação de retrodica de cor. Nesse terceiro experimento, nossa suposição era de que o desempenho na seleção da informação na representação memorizada, seria em função da distância entre os itens nessa representação. Os dados obtidos foram analisados através de ANOVA em função do índice de discriminação (d) dos participantes nas condições manipuladas e do tempo de reação. Os dados obtidos nos dois primeiros experimentos indicam que a informação de localização não decaiu em um intervalo de 1500ms, e o desempenho dos sujeitos variou em função da carga de itens apresentados. O terceiro experimento indicou que o espaço continua a interferir na performance dos participantes, em intervalo maior, 2450ms, além disso, as dicas válidas auxiliaram no desempenho dos participantes, e a seleção da informação na representação ocorreu de modo diferente do esperado / Studies on information consolidation in visual work memory shows that, in change detection tasks, the location of the memorized object loses importance after intervals between 900ms and 1500ms. However, several studies have shown that retroactive location-cues are efficient in retrieving stored information, even at intervals ranging from 100ms to 6000ms. The present research aimed to investigate the decay interval of the location information in the visual work memory, when irrelevant to the task, and to verify if the process of selection of the information in the representation of the binding is affected by the location. The presentation of the items and the recording of the answers was performed by the software E-prime 2.0. Participants performed change detection tasks for visual stimuli defined by the conjunction of color and shape. In experiments 1 (n=18) and 2 (n=18), the participant\'s task was to memorize a scene with colored figures and, after a retention interval (500ms and 1500ms), judge whether the test scene contained exactly the same figures as the initial scene. Our assumption for experiments 1 and 2 was that location information would remain tied to the representation of the object by interval less than 1500ms. In the third experiment (n=18), a similar task was carried out, in addition to the presentation of a color cue. Our assumptions about this experiment was that the performance in selecting the information in the memorized representation would be in function of the distance between the items in that representation. The obtained data were analyzed through ANOVA according to the discrimination index (d\') of the participants in the manipulated conditions and the reaction time. The results in the first two experiments indicated that the location information did not decay in a range of 1500 ms, and the performance of the subjects varied according to the load of items presented. The third experiment pointed out that space continues to interfere with the performance of participants, in a larger interval, 2450 ms, in addition, valid cues improved the participants performance, and the selection of information in the representation occurred differently than expected

Predator avoidance behaviors are a critical defense mechanism that can increase the chances of survival for potential prey species. We tested the avoidance behavior of the freshwater amphipod, Gammerus sp., under two different chemical predation cues. The first was the presence of kairomone, which was derived from a species of fish, Gambusia affinis, that was fed a diet exclusively of amphipods. The second predation cue was potential alarm cue derived from macerated conspecific amphipods from the same population as the test species. Response variables included time spent moving after the introduction to the signal as well as the time spent in refuge. Movement of amphipods significantly decreased and time spent in refuge significantly increased when amphipods were exposed to alarm cue as compared to control organisms that received no exposure to predation cues. Exposure to the fish kairomone treatments significantly increased time spent in the refuge but did not significantly influence time spent moving during the trials. These results suggest that amphipods exhibit predator avoidance behavior primarily when there is evidence that an attack has occurred (evidenced by the death of conspecifics within the population), but will also demonstrate avoidance behaviors to a lesser degree when a predator is detected.

Organisms living in aquatic environments are subject to a number of stressors from natural (temperature, predation, food availability) and anthropogenic origins (pesticides, metals, etc). Natural stressors may amplify the effects of contaminants and increase an organism’s sensitivity to them. Understanding the impact of these combined factors is therefore essential for the practical management of contaminants. This study sought to examine how predatory cues affect copper tolerance in the mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis. The influence of predatory cues on fish metabolic rate was also evaluated to gain insight on any interactive effects between the natural stressor and copper. Alarm cues, chemicals released into the water when prey are injured were obtained from humanely sacrificed G. affinis, and kairomones, passive cues released by predators, were obtained from adult bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus). Paired 96-h toxicity tests with copper and predatory cue and with copper alone were conducted to determine the influence of predatory cues on G. affinis sensitivity to the metal. In the presence of alarm cue neither G. affinis copper tolerance or metabolic rate was altered. At copper concentrations ranging from 0.25mg Cu/L - 0.50mg Cu/L kairomone presence had no influence on survival, while between 0.50mg Cu/L and 1.0mg Cu/L, kairomone presence increased survival. Kairomone had no significant effect on metabolic rate. The apparent antagonistic effect between kairomone and copper may have resulted from the presence of organic material from predator-derived cues or from potential changes in fish behavior. This study adds to the growing body of literature which illustrates the complexity of stressor interactions in aquatic systems.

For any speech category there are multiple sources of information (both acoustic and contextual) that are relevant to categorization. Complicating matters further, these sources of information are not always available simultaneously, but present themselves over the course of several hundred milliseconds. These features of spoken language complicate an already difficult task, and raise three important questions: 1) how do listeners weight different cues to the same speech category, 2) how do listeners integrate asynchronous information during speech perception and 3) how do listeners cope with contextual variability. While these questions have been explored, to varying degrees, with adults, there have been very few attempts to explore these questions from a developmental perspective. Furthermore, some of the more complex interactions between these factors remain uncharted territory even in the adult literature. For example, while adult listeners compensate for context when categorizing speech, and utilize acoustic cues as soon as they become available, we still do not know how this process is affected by context. This dissertation addresses these lingering issues by assessing 7-year-olds', 12-year-olds' and adults' perception of the /s-ʃ/ contrast (one that is influenced by multiple acoustic cues and context) using eye-tracking and the visual world paradigm. This work demonstrates that there is considerable development between 7 and 12 years of age for the /s-ʃ/ contrast in terms of real-time cue integration, cue-weighting and context compensation, and that development likely continues beyond these ages. In addition, the adult work demonstrates, for the first time, a pattern of real-time cue integration in which listeners' (both adult and child) buffer acoustic cues. Finally, several hypotheses are considered that may account for these findings, including the possibility that the unique developmental pattern of fricative perception may play an important role in understanding why adults buffer this contrast, and the implications of buffered speech perception are discussed.

No description available.

This study examined the motivational state associated with smoking craving specifically among women and the effect of deprivation and smoking status on the relationship between responses to appetitive cues. Utilizing both psychophysiological (startle EMG, skin conductance) and self-report measures, we compared cue reactivity to positive, neutral, aversive, smoking, and chocolate pictures among groups of 10 hr. smoking deprived smokers, non-deprived smokers, and non-smokers. Smokers responded to smoking cues similar to pleasant affect cues with more inhibited startle and high arousal, while responses from non-smoking females indicated a neutral state. However, deprivation also significantly increased startle responses to smoking cues when compared to non-deprived smokers. Furthermore, a closer look at skin conductance responses to aversive cues suggest that smoking status (deprived and non-deprived groups) significantly inhibited one?s ability to habituate to negative affect stimuli. When responses to chocolate cues were examined, psychophysiological and self-report data seemed to indicate that smoking deprivation influenced one's ability to attend to other appetitive/rewarding cues. Implications of these results on female smoking craving and sensitivity to appetitive cues are discussed.

No description available.

The present thesis deals with the determinants of good memory performance. A more specific objective of the thesis was to examine prerequisites for successful recall performance from the point of view of cue effectiveness. The concept of cue effectiveness was proposed as a superordinate construct underlying the act of remembering in general as well as,exceptional memory performance. It was argued that to the extent that effective cues are provided when retrieval is attempted, good recall would be obtained even without use of specific mnemonic systems. Two characteristics of cue effectiveness were assumed to determine the level of recall performance. First, a retrieval cue has to provide a compatible description of the information encoded, and second, an optimal cue is the one that also represents a distinctive description of that information. Provided that these two characteristics of cue effectiveness are fullfilled, successful recall was expected to occur. In order to optimize cue efficiency an experimental paradigm was introduced. The main feature of the self-generation paradigm is that, in contrast to traditional cued-recall experiments, subjects are provided with cues, which according to the individual's own conceptualization constitute an appropriate description of the previously encoded information. The four studies composing the empirical section of the thesis, demonstrated, first, that self-generated cues serve as extremely powerful retrieval aids. Secondly, it was demonstrated that compatibility and distinctiveness may be the cardinal concepts underlying the empirical phenomenon per se and the essence of the notion of cue effectiveness. Finally, it was proposed that the methodological contribution is of such a nature that it may apply successifully to more practical situations. / <p>Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Univ. 1986, härtill 4 uppsatser</p> / digitalisering@umu

Craving is a key element of the cannabis withdrawal syndrome that has been associated with continued use and relapse. Although cue-induced cannabis craving has been established in single laboratory sessions, procedures to sustain craving over multiple sessions are needed. The purpose of the present study was to determine if cue-induced craving responses could be elicited in the same subjects across multiple sessions. It was hypothesized that exposure to cannabis cues would produce more robust craving responses than exposure to neutral cues and that elicited craving responses will be sustained across multiple cue exposures. Five experimental cue exposure sessions (1 neutral and 4 cannabis) were conducted. Craving was assessed with the Marijuana Craving Questionnaire (MCQ) Short Form, Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Subject-Rated Physiological Questionnaire, blood pressure, and heart rate. Results revealed significant effects of initial cannabis cue exposure on VAS craving responses and Subject-Rated Physiological measures relative to the neutral cue exposure condition. No significant differences were found on MCQ composite scores or physiological measures. Craving responses following initial cannabis cue exposure were not maintained across sessions. There is a need for a better understanding of the factors that contribute to continued drug use despite quit attempts.