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  • Meta-analysis of social presence effects on stroop task performance
    Publication . Garcia-Marques, Teresa; Fernandes, Alexandre
    In this paper, we conducted a meta-analytic review to examine the impact of social presence on individuals’ performance on the Stroop task, shedding light on the cognitive processes underlying social facilitation. We followed PRISMA guidelines to identify and include 33 relevant studies in a multivariate random-effects meta-analysis. Our results show that social presence reliably modulates Stroop interference (a measure of cognitive control); specifically, participants exhibit lower Stroop interference when performing the task in the presence of others compared to performing it in isolation. We also found that the strength of the effect varies depending on the type of social presence: it is stronger with an attentive audience compared to an inattentive one, and null with an evaluative audience. Additionally, different features of the Stroop task itself moderate the effect; the effect is stronger for the classic version of the task compared to the semantic version, and for experiments that use mixed within-block trials compared to those with homogenous blocks. We also observed a negative relationship between the number of trials and the magnitude of the effect. Overall, these findings provide insights into the mechanisms by which the presence of others affects performance on the Stroop task, and how they align with social facilitation theories.
  • Deontic signs increase control monitoring: Evidence from a modified traffic flanker task
    Publication . Garcia-Marques, Teresa; Figueira, Pedro; Fernandes, Alexandre; Martins, João
    Deontic norms are expected to impose individuals’ control over their behavior. In this paper, we address such norms presented in trafc signs and test their infuence over executive control functions. For Experiment 1, we develop a trafc fanker task in which the typical neutral arrows are replaced with trafc prohibition/obligation signs. Experiment 2 isolated the deontic aspect of the signs using simple arrows on red, blue, and green backgrounds and either primed them to be interpreted as trafc signs or as elements of a gaming console controller. Results in both studies show evidence of controlling context interferences more efciently when dealing with deontic (trafc) signs than with simple arrows (Experiment 1) or with similar perceptive targets when primed with a deontic context than with a gaming context (Experiment 2). In both studies, obligation/blue signs mitigate fanker efects less than prohibition/red signs. Stimuli color afects the alertness of the cognitive system, with the color red being, by itself, a cue for increased control. Based on temporal analysis, we further discuss these results as evidence of an increase in proactive control that aims to prevent the occurrence of undesirable infuence.
  • Easy to process, hard to control: Transient and sustained processing fluency impairs cognitive control adjustments to conflict
    Publication . Oliveira, Gonçalo A; Remondes, Miguel; Garcia-Marques, Teresa
    Recent research suggests that the cognitive monitoring system of control could be using negative affective cues intrinsic to changes in information processing to initiate top-down regulatory mechanisms. Here, we propose that positive feelings of ease-of-processing could be picked up by the monitoring system as a cue indicating that control is not necessary, leading to maladaptive control adjustments. We simultaneously target control adjustments driven by task context and on a trial-by-trial level, macro-, and micro-adjustments. This hypothesis was tested using a Stroop-like task comprised trials varying in congruence and perceptual fluency. A pseudo randomisation procedure within different proportion of congruence conditions was used to maximise discrepancy and fluency effects. Results suggest that in a mostly congruent context participants committed more fast errors when incongruent trials were easy-to-read. Moreover, within the mostly incongruent condition, we also found more errors on incongruent trials after experiencing the facilitation effect of repeated congruent trials. These results suggest that transient and sustained feelings of processing fluency can downregulate control mechanisms, leading to failed adaptive adjustments to conflict
  • The other side of self-monitoring: Inhibition control in and out a social context
    Publication . Figueira, Pedro; Garcia-Marques, Teresa
    Although the Stroop effect depends on cognitive monitoring efficiency, it is not yet clear if the Self- Monitoring personality trait is related with such efficiency. Here we contrast two likely hypotheses. If we assume executive control functions to be more activated by individuals’ personality tendency to monitor their behavior, we should expect High Self-Monitors to reduce Stroop interference. However, if we assume that Self-Monitoring personality features are only monitoring social context features, it may be that High Self-monitors lack executive resources to perform a Stroop task depending on the nature of their social context. In two studies, we test these hypotheses creating a feeling of being in a social context through priming (Study 1) or by manipulating other’s presence (Study 2). In both studies we assessed High and Low Self-Monitor’s performance in a Stroop task. Results of both experiments show that while Low Self-Monitors perform better in social than in nonsocial contexts, High Self- Monitors perform worse in the social context. This pattern of results suggests monitoring activity of High Self-Monitors in the presence of others interferes with their cognitive performance in controlling Stroop interference.
  • Relative to what? Dynamic updating of fluency standards and between-participants illusions of truth
    Publication . Garcia-Marques, Teresa; Silva, Rita Rocha da; Mello, Joana José de; Hansen, Jochim
    Previous research has shown that fluency effects are driven by discrepancies between current and baseline fluency. Thus, illusions of truth associated with repetition (which increases statement fluency and its perceived truth-value relative to new statements) are less likely to occur when participants judge pure lists of either all-repeated or all-new statements and comparisons are between-participants, than when participants judge mixed lists and comparisons are within-participants. Still, there are demonstrations of between-participants illusions of truth in the literature. In this manuscript, we explain the emergence of between-participants truth effects in terms of hypothetical dynamic updating of fluency standards. The findings of two experiments provide evidence for this hypothesis by showing that between-participants truth effects occur most strongly for the first elements of the statement list but are reduced over time. The findings suggest that the dynamics of fluency experiences contribute to the truth effect and should be taken into account when investigating illusions of truth.
  • Dispositional beliefs regarding “affect as information” determine the perception of persuasive self-efficacy
    Publication . Garcia-Marques, Teresa; Loureiro, Filipe
    Abstract: In this paper, we approach the relationship between believing that affect informs about the validity of a claim and believing that one persuasive strategy will be more or less efficient in changing one’s own attitude. In one study, participants were asked to select from a set of features of a persuasive context those they perceived to have more persuasive power. Results showed that these selections were clearly clustered in two groups, suggesting that individuals tend to select either more cognitive features or more experiential affective features. Individual measures regarding participants’ need for cognition and faith in intuition did not explain the tendency to select more one type of cluster or another, but this selection was determined by how much people generally believe that affect informs about the validity or goodness of a claim.
  • More than meets the gut: A prototype analysis of the lay conceptions of intuition and analysis
    Publication . Loureiro, Filipe; Garcia-Marques, Teresa; Wegener, Duane T.
    Using a prototype approach, we assessed people’s lay conceptions of intuition and analysis. Open-ended descriptions of intuition and analysis were generated by participants (Study 1) and resulting exemplars were sorted into features subsequently rated in centrality by independent participants (Study 2). Feature centrality was validated by showing that participants were quicker and more accurate in classifying central (as compared to peripheral) features (Study 3). Centrality ratings suggested a single-factor structure describing analysis but revealed that participants held lay conceptions of intuition as involving two different types of processes: (1) as an automatic, affective, and non-logical processing, and (2) as a holistic processing that can assist in problem-solving. Additional analyses showed that the centrality ratings of intuition’s facets were predicted by participants’ self-reported intuitive style, suggesting intuition is differently perceived by intuitive and non-intuitive people. We discuss the implications of these results for the study of intuition and analysis.
  • Dominance and competence face to face: Dissociations obtained with a reverse correlation approach
    Publication . Oliveira, Manuel; Garcia-Marques, Teresa; Dotsch, Ron; Garcia-Marques, Leonel
    The article explores whether the traits representing the dimensions underlying the structure of facial and non-facial impressions are similarly mapped in the face space. Two studies examine whether the trustworthiness-bydominance and the warmth-by-competence two-dimensional models overlap in face perception. In Study 1 (N = 200), we used a reverse-correlation task to obtain classification images (CIs) reflecting how each dimension is mapped onto a face. Results show that the similarity between CIs was higher between warmth and trustworthiness than between competence and dominance. In Study 2 (N = 31) the evaluations of each CI on each social dimension show a higher dissociation between dominance and competence than between trustworthiness and warmth. These results, obtained at both perceptual and judgment levels, suggest that there is only a partial correspondence between the two models that seems to be driven by the relationship that the competence and dominance dimensions establish with valence
  • Supplemental material for a meta-analytical review of the familiarity temporal effect : testing assumptions of the attentional and the fluency-attributional accounts
    Publication . Fernandes, Alexandre C.; Garcia-Marques, Teresa
    The current meta-analysis accumulates empirical findings for the familiarity temporal effect (FTE) in duration judgments (the duration of more familiar stimuli is judged to be longer than that of less familiar stimuli). It brings together data from 2 separate literatures: time perception and processing fluency. In doing so, this review offers more and stronger evidence for testing the reliability of the effect; it defines the relevant moderators for addressing the validity of the 2 main explanations for the FTE: the attentional and the fluency-attributional hypotheses. The analysis (random effect model) of a total of 128 experiments (N 3,338) showed that the effect of familiarity on perceived short durations (seconds) is highly reliable (g .52); the same (or a similar) effect also occurs for other fluency manipulations (g .51). The analysis supports assumptions generated by both the attentional and the fluency-misattributional explanations, suggesting that more research is needed to understand their possible dynamic relationship. Hence, this meta-analysis provides important guidance for future research with regard to time estimates. Public Significance Statement The present meta-analysis reviews evidence showing that more familiar stimuli are judged to have a longer duration than less familiar stimuli, showing this effect to have high reliability. In doing so, it brings together evidence provided by two separate literatures, time perception and processing fluency, to confront two alternative explanations: a) familiarity frees attentional resources to the temporal features of the stimulus, or b) the ease with which the stimulus is processed influences its perceived duration. Results support assumptions generated by both explanations, and future research should address how they relate.
  • Perceptual anchoring effects: Evidence of response bias and a change in estimates sensitivity
    Publication . Garcia-Marques, Teresa; Fernandes, Alexandre
    Introduction: People’s estimates of perceptual quantities are commonly biased by the contextual presence of other quantities (like numbers). In this study, we address assimilation anchoring effects (approximation of real quantities to contextual quantities) that occur for visually displayed proportions, defining a new methodological setting for the effect. Method: Similar to classic approaches, we asked participants across several trials whether the display contained a feature in a proportion higher or lower than “a randomly selected value” (relative judgments), and then estimated the feature proportions (absolute judgments). Across all trials, we presented seven anchors ranging from .20 to .80, each with a visually displayed representation of the same seven proportions (49 judgments in total). This allowed for a psychophysical approach to individual estimates and signal detection indexes, providing new insights into how the anchoring effect is generated in this setting. Results: Our findings suggest that anchoring effects occur both as a bias (changes in response criteria) and as a change in the ability to discriminate stimuli (affecting sensitivity indexes). Moreover, anchors modulate the level of stimuli features for which estimates were more uncertain. Finally, our results indicate that anchor effects occur immediately in the first phase of the two-phase paradigm, leading to the availability of values for supporting absolute estimates. Conclusion: By using a psychophysical approach to the anchoring effects, for the first time, we could clarify that this effect is the result of both bias and changes in the ability to discriminate quantity