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Abstract: Novelty is a pivotal player in cognition, and its contribution to superior memory performance is a widely accepted convention. On the other hand, mnemonic advantages for familiar information are also well documented. Here, we examine the role of experimental distinctiveness as a potential explanation for these apparently conflicting findings. Across two experiments, we demonstrate that conceptual novelty, an unfamiliar combination of familiar constituents, is sensitive to its experimental proportions: Improved memory for novelty was observed when novel stimuli were relatively rare. Memory levels for familiar items, in contrast, were completely unaffected by experimental proportions, highlighting their insensitivity to list‐based distinctiveness. Finally, no mnemonic advantage for conceptual novelty over familiarity was observed even when novel stimuli were extremely rare at study. Together, these results imply that novel and familiar items are processed via partially distinct mechanisms, with (at least some facets of) novelty not providing a mnemonic advantage over familiarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored how product type and featured spokesperson affected (a) perceived congruence between a native ad and a social media platform and (b) level of acceptance of the native ad and, in turn, how congruence and acceptance influenced advertising outcomes. The findings revealed that congruence and acceptance positively influence attitude toward the ad, attitude toward the brand, purchase intention, and intention to engage in social media activity. Furthermore, the results showed that the native ad for a self-expressive product that featured a layperson generated the highest levels of congruency. This study also found that perceived congruence between product type and spokesperson moderated the effect of product type on advertising acceptance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses the research on the Influence of Sponsor-Event Congruence toward Brand Image, Attitudes toward the Brand and Purchase Intention. Having reviewed the literatures and arranged the hypotheses, the data has been gathered by distributing the questionnaire to 155 audiences at the Java Jazz Music Festival, firstly with convenience sampling and then snowballing sampling approach. The analysis of data was executed with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The result shows the sponsor-event congruence variable has a positive impact toward brand image and attitudes toward the brand sponsor. Brand Image also has a positive impact toward purchase intention; in contrary attitudes toward the brand do not have a positive purchase intention. With those results, to increase the sponsorship effectiveness, the role of congruency is very significant in the sponsorship event. Congruency is a key influencer to trigger the sponsorship effectiveness. Congruency between the event and the sponsor is able to boost up the brand image and bring out favorable attitudes towards the brand for the success of marketing communication programs, particularly sponsorship. In addition to it, image transfer gets higher due to the congruency existence (fit) between sponsor and event and directs the intention creation to buy sponsor brand product/service (purchase intention). In conclusion, sponsor-event congruence has effect on consumer responds toward sponsorship, either on the cognitive level, affective and also behavior.

The ability to use different sensory signals in conjunction confers numerous advantages on perception. Multisensory perception in adults is influenced by factors beyond low-level stimulus properties such as semantic congruency. Sensitivity to semantic relations has been shown to emerge early in development; however, less is known about whether implementation of these associations changes with development or whether development in the representations themselves might modulate their influence. Here, we used a Stroop-like paradigm that requires participants to identify an auditory stimulus while ignoring a visual stimulus. Prior research shows that in adults visual distractors have more impact on processing of auditory objects than vice versa; however, this pattern appears to be inverted early in development. We found that children from 8 years of age (and adults) gain a speed advantage from semantically congruent visual information and are disadvantaged by semantically incongruent visual information. At 6 years of age, children gain a speed advantage for semantically congruent visual information but are not disadvantaged by semantically incongruent visual information (as compared with semantically unrelated visual information). Both children and adults were influenced by associations between auditory and visual stimuli, which they had been exposed to on only 12 occasions during the learning phase of the study. Adults showed a significant speed advantage over children for well-established associations but showed no such advantage for newly acquired pairings. This suggests that the influence of semantic associations on multisensory processing does not change with age but rather these associations become more robust and, in turn, more influential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the value of cause-related marketing (CRM) effects by constructing a theoretical model within a social network site. This study aims to evaluate the effects of congruence, brand credibility, and cause brand familiarity within consumer sentiment with regard to a brand collaborating with a cause. A 2 × 2 × 2 factorial experiment design was implemented to investigate the significance of the relationship between consumer attitudes toward a brand, perceived motives, and intention to spread the campaign. The study proposed a two-stage moderated mediation model. The study generated significant results from three-way interactions among the key variables on attitude toward a brand. For participants who were exposed to familiar cause brands, there existed an interaction between congruence and credibility, such that in conditions of high credibility, congruence led to a significantly higher attitude toward the brand than incongruence. However, in conditions of low credibility, attitude toward the brand was very similar for congruent brands and incongruent brands. In addition, the results showed that the effect of attitude toward a brand on behavioral intention was moderated by perceived altruistic motive. This study presents interesting implications for future CRM campaigns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of the present study was to identify whether children recognize the gender stereotypes prevalent within the increasingly popular princess, prince, and superhero characters. Interviews with 126 children from the northeast region of the Unites States (3–11 years old) indicated that children recognized the gender-typed personality traits of princesses, princes, and superheroes, with older children holding more gender-typed cognitions about the characters. Children's own-schemas (i.e., beliefs that apply to themselves) and superordinate schemas (i.e., include beliefs about others' preferences and behaviors) for the characters were mostly gender typed and congruent. Older children gender-typed princesses as for girls more than younger children, whereas older children considered superheroes to be for boys and girls more than younger children did. Older children also considered the characters to be for them less, potentially reducing the negative implications of exposure to gender-typed messages associated with the characters. Individual differences exist in children's perceptions of these fictional characters, with children's own androgyny being positively correlated with their perceptions of princesses' androgyny levels. Further, girls were more flexible in their stereotyping of princesses, noting they were “for girls and boys” more. The authors discuss the results' practical and theoretical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earlier research considered ethnic congruent versus incongruent music; this study extended earlier research by comparing the impacts of ethnic congruent music, ethnic incongruent music and restaurant background sounds on the dining experience. Additionally, it extends earlier research considering the impact on menu item selection and price expectations based on the impact of music/sound. Findings indicated music congruence effects along with baseline sounds should be considered by practitioners and researchers. Italian folk music increased Italian item selections compared to restaurant background sounds. Thai folk music was equal to background sounds for Thai items. Higher expected prices were apparent when listening to both Italian music and background sounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The origin of sorption hysteresis in the woodwater system is still under debate. In nanoporous-fluid systems, in general, hysteresis is explained as the manifestation of metastable states in a single pore-fluid system and that is further complicated by the pore connectivity. Cell walls are considered as micro-mesoporous materials and capillary condensation in the entire hygroscopic region is proposed as an alternative sorption mechanism. In the present work, the woods of Douglas-fir, aspen and western red cedar were in focus and the pore connectivity has been investigated by observing five experimentally generated hysteresis patterns comprised by up to 4th scanning curves at 25 and 40°C. Special attention was given to the congruency property from one pattern as it is known from the literature that deviation from this property can reveal the extent of pore connectivity. Consistent patterns were found for the species-temperature combinations. Further, the high extent of congruency property indicated the dominance of independent cell wall pores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Person recognition often involves integration of several cues. We asked if familiarity judgments for one cue were influenced by the congruency of pairings with other cues. In a learning phase, subjects studied audiovisual clips of faces, voices and names. A test phase presented uni-modal and bi-modal stimuli. For 10 subjects the bi-modal test stimuli were faces and voices, for 10 faces and names, and for 10 voices and names. In one set of blocks the target was the first modality, and in the other set it was the second. Targets in bi-modal stimuli were paired with either the same or a different identity in the second modality. Face/voice combinations showed congruency effects in reaction time but face/name and voice/name combinations did not. There was no difference between faces modulating target voices and voices modulating target faces. This is consistent with interactions between sensory representations before amodal stages of person recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The older adults group is highly heterogeneous, and its members do not always meet their recommended protein intake. We explored mealtime functionality as a basis for tailoring protein-enriched (PE) meal concepts to two senior consumer segments: 1) cosy socialisers , who eat mainly for cosiness and social interaction, and 2) physical nutritioners , who eat mainly for nutrients and physical needs. We hypothesised an increased ‘product–cluster fit’ when the functional meal associations are congruent to the clusters’ functional mealtime expectations. In a home-use test, participants ( N = 91, mean age 68.1 (y) ± 5.3 (SD), 42 cosy socialisers ) prepared and consumed three kale mash meal concepts once over three weeks: (1) a basic meal concept (without PE/tailoring), (2) a cosy meal concept (PE/tailored to mealtime expectations of cosy socialisers ), and (3) a physical meal concept (PE/tailored to mealtime expectations of physical nutritioners ). The participants reported their expectations and experiences with the recipes and dishes (e.g. expected liking; attractiveness recipe; actual liking; taste; smell; satisfaction). The results showed that the cosy meal concept was experienced as ‘traditional’ ( p < 0.05), whereas the physical meal concept was perceived as ‘healthy’ ( p < 0.05), ‘trendy’ ( p < 0.05), and ‘energising’ ( p < 0.09). Nonetheless, the cluster*meal concept effect did not reach statistical significance for any of the outcome variables, indicating a similar actual experience of the congruent and incongruent meal concepts. This study highlights for the first time both the potency and challenges of tailoring PE dishes to specific older consumers and underlines that an increased ‘product–cluster fit’ is not straightforwardly achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research investigating whether hearing a particular type of ethnic music will influence people to choose food from that same culture has found mixed results. Some studies found that when given a selection of different ethnic foods subjects were more likely to choose the food that was typical of the culture whose music was playing. Other studies have found no effect. The present study investigated the effect of instrumental Italian or Spanish music played in a university dining hall on the selection of either an Italian (chicken parmesan) or a Spanish (seafood paella) entrée. On two different nights both the Italian and Spanish entrée were available and students could select from those two entrees or other food choices. Italian music was played on one night and Spanish on another. The number of people who chose the two entrees was recorded on both nights. In addition, the hedonic ratings of the two entrees were obtained when either congruent or incongruent music was being played during the meal. On both nights more people chose the chicken parmesan than chose the seafood paella. However, there was a significant effect of the music on food choice. A significantly greater proportion of diners selected the paella over the chicken parmesan on the night when the Spanish music was played (34%) than on the night when the Italian music was played (17%). There was no effect of the type of music on liking for the food, possibly because the music was not as loud where diners were eating as where they ordered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning letter-speech sound correspondences is a major step in reading acquisition and is severely impaired in children with dyslexia. Up to now, it remains largely unknown how quickly neural networks adopt specific functions during audiovisual integration of linguistic information when prereading children learn letter-speech sound correspondences. Here, we simulated the process of learning letter-speech sound correspondences in 20 prereading children (6.13-7.17 years) at varying risk for dyslexia by training artificial letter-speech sound correspondences within a single experimental session. Subsequently, we acquired simultaneously event-related potentials (ERP) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans during implicit audiovisual presentation of trained and untrained pairs. Audiovisual integration of trained pairs correlated with individual learning rates in right superior temporal, left inferior temporal, and bilateral parietal areas and with phonological awareness in left temporal areas. In correspondence, a differential left-lateralized parietooccipitotemporal ERP at 400 ms for trained pairs correlated with learning achievement and familial risk. Finally, a late (650 ms) posterior negativity indicating audiovisual congruency of trained pairs was associated with increased fMRI activation in the left occipital cortex. Taken together, a short (<30 min) letter-speech sound training initializes audiovisual integration in neural systems that are responsible for processing linguistic information in proficient readers. To conclude, the ability to learn grapheme-phoneme correspondences, the familial history of reading disability, and phonological awareness of prereading children account for the degree of audiovisual integration in a distributed brain network. Such findings on emerging linguistic audiovisual integration could allow for distinguishing between children with typical and atypical reading development. Hum Brain Mapp 38:1038-1055, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information obtained from multiple sensory modalities, such as vision and touch, is integrated to yield a holistic percept. As a haptic approach usually involves cross-modal sensory experiences, it is necessary to develop an apparatus that can characterize how a biological system integrates visual-tactile sensory information as well as how a robotic device infers object information emanating from both vision and touch. In the present study, we develop a novel visual-tactile cross-modal integration stimulator that consists of an LED panel to present visual stimuli and a tactile stimulator with three degrees of freedom that can present tactile motion stimuli with arbitrary motion direction, speed, and indentation depth in the skin. The apparatus can present cross-modal stimuli in which the spatial locations of visual and tactile stimulations are perfectly aligned. We presented visual-tactile stimuli in which the visual and tactile directions were either congruent or incongruent, and human observers reported the perceived visual direction of motion. Results showed that perceived direction of visual motion can be biased by the direction of tactile motion when visual signals are weakened. The results also showed that the visual-tactile motion integration follows the rule of temporal congruency of multi-modal inputs, a fundamental property known for cross-modal integration.

Spatial representations are a result of multisensory information integration. More recent findings suggest that the multisensory information processing of a scene can be facilitated when paired with a semantically congruent auditory signal. This congruency effect was taken as evidence that audio-visual integration occurs for complex scenes. As navigation in our environment consists of a seamless integration of complex sceneries, a fundamental question arises: how is human landmark-based wayfinding affected by multimodality? In order to address this question, two experiments were conducted in a virtual environment. The first experiment compared wayfinding and landmark recognition performance in unimodal visual and acoustic landmarks. The second experiment focused on the congruency of multimodal landmark combinations and additionally assessed subject’s self-reported strategies (i.e. whether they focused on direction sequences or landmarks). We demonstrate (1) the equality of acoustic and visual landmarks and (2) the congruency effect for the recognition of landmarks. Additionally, the results point out that self-reported strategies play a role and are an under-investigated topic in human landmark-based wayfinding.

This study investigates the relation between individual language ability and neural semantic processing abilities. Our aim was to explore whether high-level language ability would correlate to decreased activation in language-specific regions or rather increased activation in supporting language regions during processing of sentences. Moreover, we were interested if observed neural activation patterns are modulated by semantic incongruency similarly to previously observed changes upon syntactic congruency modulation. We investigated 27 healthy adults with a sentence reading task - which tapped language comprehension and inference, and modulated sentence congruency - employing functional magnetic resonance imaging. We assessed the relation between neural activation, congruency modulation, and test performance on a high-level language ability assessment with multiple regression analysis. Our results showed increased activation in the left-hemispheric angular gyrus extending to the temporal lobe related to high language ability. This effect was independent of semantic congruency, and no significant relation between language ability and incongruency modulation was observed. Furthermore, a significant increase of activation in the inferior frontal gyrus bilaterally when the sentences were incongruent, indicating that processing incongruent sentences was more demanding than processing congruent sentences and required increased activation in language regions. The correlation of high-level language ability with increased rather than decreased activation in the left angular gyrus, a region specific for language processing is opposed to what the neural efficiency hypothesis would predict. We can conclude that there is no evidence found for an interaction between semantic congruency related brain activation and high-level language performance, even though the semantic incongruent condition shows to be more demanding and evoking more neural activation.

Mental schemas exert top-down control on information processing; for instance by facilitating the storage of schema-related information. However, given capacity-limits and competition in neural network processing, schemas may additionally exert their effects by suppressing information with low momentary relevance. In particular, when existing schemas suffice to guide goal-directed behavior, this may actually reduce encoding of the redundant sensory input, in favor of gaining efficiency in task performance. The present experiment set out to test this schema-induced shallow encoding hypothesis. Our approach involved a memory task in which faces had to be coupled to homes. For half of the faces the responses could be guided by a pre-learned schema, for the other half of the faces such a schema was not available. Memory storage was compared between schema-congruent and schema-incongruent items. To characterize putative schema effects, memory was assessed both with regard to visual details and contextual aspects of each item. The depth of encoding was also assessed through an objective neural measure: the parietal old/new ERP effect. This ERP effect, observed between 500-800 ms post stimulus onset, is thought to reflect the extent of recollection: the retrieval of a vivid memory, including various contextual details from the learning episode. We found that schema-congruency induced substantial impairments in item memory and even larger ones in context memory. Furthermore, the parietal old/new ERP effect indicated higher recollection for the schema-incongruent than the schema-congruent memories. The combined findings indicate that, when goals can be achieved using existing schemas, this can hinder the in-depth processing of novel input, impairing the formation of perceptually detailed and contextually rich memory traces. Taking into account both current and previous findings, we suggest that schemas can both positively and negatively bias the processing of sensory input. An important determinant in this matter is likely related to momentary goals, such that mental schemas facilitate memory processing of goal-relevant input, but suppress processing of goal-irrelevant information.

In this study the effects of musical background on the emotional appraisal of film sequences was investigated. Four pairs of polar emotions defined in Plutchik’s model were used as basic emotional qualities: joy-sadness, anticipation-surprise, fear-anger, and trust disgust. In the preliminary study eight film sequences and eight music themes were selected as the best representatives of all eight Plutchik’s emotions. In the main experiment the participant judged the emotional qualities of film-music combinations on eight seven-point scales. Half of the combinations were congruent (e.g. joyful film - joyful music), and half were incongruent (e.g. joyful film - sad music). Results have shown that visual information (film) had greater effects on the emotion appraisal than auditory information (music). The modulation effects of music background depend on emotional qualities. In some incongruent combinations (joysadness) the modulations in the expected directions were obtained (e.g. joyful music reduces the sadness of a sad film), in some cases (anger-fear) no modulation effects were obtained, and in some cases (trust-disgust, anticipation-surprise) the modulation effects were in an unexpected direction (e.g. trustful music increased the appraisal of disgust of a disgusting film). These results suggest that the appraisals of conjoint effects of emotions depend on the medium (film masks the music) and emotional quality (three types of modulation effects).

Background: Although differences in the results of the bone marrow stimulation technique between the knee and ankle have been reported, a detailed mechanism for those differences has not been clarified. The purpose of this study was to examine whether morphological differences between the knee and ankle joint affect the results of drilling as treatment for osteochondral defects in a rabbit model. Methods: Osteochondral defects were created at the knee and ankle joint in the rabbit. In the knee, osteochondral defects were created at the medial femoral condyle (MFC) and patellar groove (PG). At the ankle, defects were created in the talus at either a covered or uncovered area by the tibial plafond. After creating the osteochondral defect, drilling was performed. At 4, 8, and 12 weeks after surgery, repair of the osteochondral defects were evaluated histologically. The proliferation of rabbit chondrocytes and proteoglycan release of cartilage tissue in response to IL- 1β were analyzed in vitro in both joints. Results: At 8 weeks after surgery, hyaline cartilage repair was observed in defects at the covered area of the talus and the MFC. At 12 weeks, hyaline cartilage with a normal thickness was observed for the defect at the covered area of the talus, but not for the defect at the MFC. At 12 weeks, subchondral bone formation progressed and a normal contour of subchondral bone was observed on CT in the defect at the covered area of the talus. No significant differences in chondrocyte proliferation rate and proteoglycan release were detected between the knee and ankle in vitro. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that the covered areas of the talus show early and sufficient osteochondral repair compared to that of the knee and the uncovered areas of the talus. These results suggest that the congruent joint shows better subchondral repair prior to cartilage repair compared to that of the incongruent joint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternating between completing two simple tasks, as opposed to completing only one task, has been shown to produce costs to performance and changes to neural patterns of activity, effects which are augmented in old age. Cognitive conflict may arise from factors other than switching tasks, however. Sensorimotor congruency (whether stimulus-response mappings are the same or different for the two tasks) has been shown to behaviorally moderate switch costs in older, but not younger adults. In the current study, we used fMRI to investigate the neurobiological mechanisms of response-conflict congruency effects within a task switching paradigm in older ( N =75) and younger ( N =62) adults. Behaviorally, incongruency moderated age-related differences in switch costs. Neurally, switch costs were associated with greater activation in the dorsal attention network for older relative to younger adults. We also found that older adults recruited an additional set of brain areas in the ventral attention network to a greater extent than did younger adults to resolve congruency-related response-conflict. These results suggest both a network and an age-based dissociation between congruency and switch costs in task switching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perceiving emotion from multiple modalities enhances the perceptual sensitivity of an individual. This allows more accurate judgments of others' emotional states, which is crucial to appropriate social interactions. It is known that body expressions effectively convey emotional messages, although fewer studies have examined how this information is combined with the auditory cues. The present study used event-related potentials (ERP) to investigate the interaction between emotional body expressions and vocalizations. We also examined emotional congruency between auditory and visual information to determine how preceding visual context influences later auditory processing. Consistent with prior findings, a reduced N1 amplitude was observed in the audiovisual condition compared to an auditory-only condition. While this component was not sensitive to the modality congruency, the P2 was sensitive to the emotionally incompatible audiovisual pairs. Further, the direction of these congruency effects was different in terms of facilitation or suppression based on the preceding contexts. Overall, the results indicate a functionally dissociated mechanism underlying two stages of emotional processing whereby N1 is involved in cross-modal processing, whereas P2 is related to assessing a unifying perceptual content. These data also indicate that emotion integration can be affected by the specific emotion that is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial representations are a result of multisensory information integration. More recent findings suggest that the multisensory information processing of a scene can be facilitated when paired with a semantically congruent auditory signal. This congruency effect was taken as evidence that audio-visual integration occurs for complex scenes. As navigation in our environment consists of a seamless integration of complex sceneries, a fundamental question arises: how is human landmark-based wayfinding affected by multimodality? In order to address this question, two experiments were conducted in a virtual environment. The first experiment compared wayfinding and landmark recognition performance in unimodal visual and acoustic landmarks. The second experiment focused on the congruency of multimodal landmark combinations and additionally assessed subject's self-reported strategies (i.e., whether they focused on direction sequences or landmarks). We demonstrate (1) the equality of acoustic and visual landmarks and (2) the congruency effect for the recognition of landmarks. Additionally, the results point out that self-reported strategies play a role and are an under-investigated topic in human landmark-based wayfinding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse and discuss how sensory cues are preferred in relation to products, service and store image in a retail context and why retailers should consider the importance of congruence in a retail setting. Design/methodology/approach Four qualitative focus group discussions were conducted, following a semi-structured interview guide. A total of 24 participants discussed how and why a lighting department in an IKEA store in Sweden could be regarded as more appealing than the traditional layout. Findings The findings indicate that congruency works as a mediator between a retail setting, sensory cues, products, service and store image. Consumers prefer, compare and categorize sensory cues in relation to the specific product in the department, the service offered by the firm and the store image. Originality/value A model is developed that conceptualizes congruency as a mediator in a retail setting, which provides an opportunity to further explore external influences on congruency in retail settings, both conceptually and empirically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the global market, consumers are exposed to multiple brand names in unfamiliar languages. Even meaningless words can trigger certain semantic associations. This phenomenon is known as sound symbolism, i.e., the direct link between a sound and a meaning. Sound symbolism helps consumers to form product expectations based on unfamiliar brand names. Product expectations can be also formed based on various elements of packaging design, including colours, shapes and materials. This study investigated the effects of unfamiliar brand names (“Asahi” vs. “Ramune”), package shapes (round vs. angular) and product types (muesli cookie vs. butter cookie) varied in perceived healthiness (low vs. high) on perceived product healthfulness, product evaluation, taste expectations and purchase intention. General health interest (GHI) was used as the moderating variable. The results showed that package shape and product type significantly influenced the perceived product healthfulness of the two experimental products. Brand name alone did not affect consumer responses. However, the congruent combination of product shape and brand name (round “Ramune” cookie) was preferred to incongruent combinations. Furthermore, the congruent combinations (“Ramune” butter cookie and “Asahi” muesli cookie) were expected to taste better and were more likely to be purchased compared to incongruent combinations. These results suggest that congruency between the type of product, brand name, and package design is important for creating a successful brand strategy. The study also showed that the effects of sound symbolism and congruency on perceived product healthfulness are more pronounced for consumers with low interest in healthy eating. However, further research is needed to generalise our results to other product groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple and efficient approach is reported to estimate the sparsest Tucker3 model for a considered linear dependent multiway data array using PARAFAC profiles. Employing the least possible number of non-zero core elements equal to the pseudo array rank of data, a better and easier interpretation of the data array is possible. The approach does not require any prior information. The type of rank deficiency, that is rank overlap or closure in different modes, and the Tucker3 core size can be determined from a congruency factor while running the algorithm. The replacement method (RM) of optimization is applied to determine the pattern (positions and values) of non-zero elements in the sparsest core of the Tucker3 model. Full rank and rank deficient simulated data sets in different conditions as well as an experimental 3D fluorescence data set from gold nanoparticle (AuNP) interaction with HIV genome are successfully used for evaluating the performance of the algorithm. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Face recognition usually takes place in a social context, where faces are surrounded by other stimuli. These can act as distracting flankers which impair recognition. Previous work has suggested that flankers expressing negative emotions distract more than positive ones. However, the various negative emotions differ in their relative impact and it is unclear whether all negative emotions are equally distracting. We investigated the impact of three negative (angry, fearful, sad) and one positive (happy) facial flanker conditions on target recognition in an emotion discrimination task. We examined the effect of the receiver's gender, and the impact of two different temporal delays between flanker and target onset, as stimulus onset asynchrony is assumed to affect distractor strength. Participants identified and rated the emotional intensity of target faces surrounded by either face (emotional and neutral) or non-face flankers. Target faces were presented either simultaneously with the flankers, or delayed by 300 ms. Contrary to our hypothesis, negative flankers did not exert stronger distraction effects than positive or neutral flankers. However, happy flankers reduced recognition performance. Results of a follow-up experiment with a balanced number of emotion categories (one positive, one negative and one neutral flanker condition) suggest that the distraction effect of emotional flankers depends on the composition of the emotion categories. Additionally, congruency effects were found to be valence-specific and overruled by threat stimuli. Females responded more quickly and rated targets in happy flankers as less intense. This indicates a gender difference in emotion processing, with greater sensitivity to facial flankers in women. Targets were rated as more intense when they were presented without a temporal delay, possibly due to a stronger flanker contrast. These three experiments show that an exceptional processing of threat-related flanker stimuli depends on emotion category composition, which should be considered a mediating factor when examining emotional context effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dominant taste sensations of three different types of chocolate gelati (milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and bittersweet chocolate) were determined using forty five trained panellists exposed to a silent reference condition and three music samples differing in hedonic ratings. The temporal dominance of sensations (TDS) method was used to measure temporal taste perceptions. The emotional states of panellists were measured after each gelati-music pairing using a scale specifically developed for this study. The TDS difference curves showed significant differences between gelati samples and music conditions (p < 0.05). Sweetness was perceived more dominant when neutral and liked music were played, while bitterness was more dominant for disliked music. A joint Canonical Variate Analysis (CVA) further explained the variability in sensory and emotion data. The first and second dimensions explained 78% of the variance, with the first dimension separating liked and disliked music and the second dimension separating liked music and silence. Gelati samples consumed while listening to liked and neutral music had positive scores, and were separated from those consumed under the disliked music condition along the first dimension. Liked music and disliked music were further correlated with positive and negative emotions respectively. Findings indicate that listening to music influenced the hedonic and sensory impressions of the gelati. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to empirically investigate the effect of music and visual congruency with a type of liquor in a bar. Specifically, it examines the effect of atmospheric elements’ congruency with wine on patrons’ liquor-ordering behavior and their expenditures. As most Koreans associate wine with French culture, French auditory and visual cues were used to investigate the effect of congruency. A total of 650 receipts from two different branches of a bar were collected for four weeks. The study found that in the visual congruence condition, the ratio of wine expenditure to the total expenditure of a table and the ratio of liquor expenditure to the total expenditure of a table increased. When the auditory congruence condition was implemented, the probability of ordering wine increased. There was no interaction effect. Implications based on the findings are discussed in the final section of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several congruency studies exist on agricultural-related issues, but studies on congruency for entertainment-education (EE) utilization for agricultural information dissemination is limited. Congruency among researchers, extension agents, and farmers on the use of EE for agricultural information dissemination was examined. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 161 respondents across respondent categories. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain data on respondents' perception and estimate of perception of other stakeholders to establish accuracy. Data were analyzed using Pearson product-moment correlation atp= 0.05. Results indicate congruence between researchers' perception and accuracy in establishing extension agents and farmers' opinion about media environment. A similar result was obtained for congruence between farmers' perception and other stakeholders' position on media environment. Congruence between extension agents, researchers, and farmers was accurate for infrastructural factors. Given the accurate predictions of each other's disposition to key variables, EE should be further exploited for agricultural information dissemination. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There has been limited research exploring the similarity of perception of friendship quality between children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their friends. In this study, 45 children with ASD participated together with their friends. Two levels of friendship quality congruency were investigated: reciprocity and mutuality. A high proportion of the friendships were reciprocated for both the mixed and non-mixed friendship groups. Nevertheless, students with ASD reported substantial differences in perceptions of their friendship quality as compared to their nominated friends. The findings of the present study mirrored those of previous research with typically developing children. Further study is required to systematically investigate the differences in friendship quality perceptions within friendship dyads for both typically developing children and those with ASD diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the relation between individual language ability and neural semantic processing abilities. Our aim was to explore whether high-level language ability would correlate to decreased activation in language-specific regions or rather increased activation in supporting language regions during processing of sentences. Moreover, we were interested if observed neural activation patterns are modulated by semantic incongruency similarly to previously observed changes upon syntactic congruency modulation. We investigated 27 healthy adults with a sentence reading task--which tapped language comprehension and inference, and modulated sentence congruency--employing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We assessed the relation between neural activation, congruency modulation, and test performance on a high-level language ability assessment with multiple regression analysis. Our results showed increased activation in the left-hemispheric angular gyrus extending to the temporal lobe related to high language ability. This effect was independent of semantic congruency, and no significant relation between language ability and incongruency modulation was observed. Furthermore, there was a significant increase of activation in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) bilaterally when the sentences were incongruent, indicating that processing incongruent sentences was more demanding than processing congruent sentences and required increased activation in language regions. The correlation of high-level language ability with increased rather than decreased activation in the left angular gyrus, a region specific for language processing, is opposed to what the neural efficiency hypothesis would predict. We can conclude that no evidence is found for an interaction between semantic congruency related brain activation and high-level language performance, even though the semantic incongruent condition shows to be more demanding and evoking more neural activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been shown that congruent food odors are enhanced by sweet taste, but not by sour or bitter taste. This raises questions regarding the underlying conditions of retronasal odor enhancement by taste. We speculate that a taste quality that signals the presence of “nutritive” or “beneficial” substances (e.g., sweet carbohydrate), as opposed to potentially harmful substances (e.g., toxins, spoilage), can enhance a congruent odor. This study aimed to investigate this possibility by testing two other taste qualities, saltiness and umami, which signal the presence of minerals and protein. The study also examined the possible occurrence of saltiness and umami enhancement by odors and factors that may affect both taste and odor enhancement. Over five sessions, subjects rated (1) intensities of saltiness, bitterness, umami, and specific odor of tastants (NaCl, MSG, MPG, caffeine), odorants (chicken, soy sauce odor), and all possible binary mixtures, (2) degree of liking/disliking of the odorants in the absence and presence of the tastants, (3) degree of congruency of odorants alone and with tastants, and (4) degree of perceptual similarity between tastants and odorants. Results showed that saltiness and umami enhanced chicken and soy sauce odor intensities, but the odors did not enhance saltiness and umami intensities. Importantly, the degree of odor enhancement was highly correlated with the degree of taste–odor congruency, but less so with the degree of perceptual similarity between taste and odor. These findings confirm our hypotheses that the quality of taste dictates the ability to enhance food odors and that the degree of taste–odor congruency can modulate the degree of odor enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers an alternative reading of the Abbé Sieyès and the modern ‘nation-state’ problématique. I argue that the subject/object that is constituted in the early days of modernity is the incomplete society: an impossible-possibility ideal of congruency of population, authority and space. I suggest reading this ideal of congruency as a fantasy in that it offers a certain ‘fullness to come’, the promise of jouissance that can never be attained and is thus constantly re-envisioned and reinvoked. Drawing on discourse-analytical and psychoanalytical tools I explain the logic of fantasy before analysing Sieyès’ What is the Third Estate?, as I show how he critiques and fragments the old model of the state and how his reading of the nation is fantasmatic, a continuous project towards impossible congruency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children learn the words for above- below relations earlier than for left- right relations, despite treating these equally well in a simple visual categorization task. Even as adults-conflicts in congruency, such as when a stimulus is depicted in a spatially incongruent manner with respect to salient global cues-can be challenging. Here we investigated the neural correlates of encoding and maintaining in working memory above- below and left- right relational planes in 12 adults using magnetoencephalography in order to discover whether above- below relations are represented by the brain differently than left- right relations. Adults performed perfectly on the task behaviorally, so any differences in neural activity were attributed to the stimuli's cognitive attributes. In comparing above- below to left- right relations during stimulus encoding, we found the greatest differences in neural activity in areas associated with space and movement. In comparing congruent to incongruent trials, we found the greatest differential activity in premotor areas. For both contrasts, brain areas involved in the encoding phase were also involved in the maintenance phase, which provides evidence that those brain areas are particularly important in representing the relational planes or congruency types throughout the trial. When comparing neural activity associated with the relational planes during working memory, additional right posterior areas were implicated, whereas the congruent-incongruent contrast implicated additional bilateral frontal and temporal areas. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis left- right relations are represented differently than above- below relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lexical phrases (e.g., collocations and idioms) have in recent years attracted a fair amount of interest in the fields of SLA and language pedagogy. However, there is still a shortage of empirical studies of instructional methods and techniques. The present study focuses on the deliberate memorization of L2 phrases and tests the effectiveness of two proposals for how to help learners accurately recall the lexical composition of L2 phrases. EFL learners ( N = 65) studied a list of 32 figurative verb + noun-phrase expressions (e.g., turn the tide ) glossed in L1. In one condition, they were only instructed to study the list. In a second, they were additionally instructed to identify phrases whose verb is non-congruent with the L1 translation. In a third, the instruction was to identify phrases that alliterate. The 32 phrases included roughly equal numbers of congruent and alliterative ones. It was hypothesized that the extra instructions would cause learners to pay closer attention to the verbs in the phrases and that this would result in better recall. Comparisons of pre- to post-test gains suggest that the instruction to look out for alliteration enhances retention, whereas the instruction to compare with L1 does not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates whether congruency (+/– literal translation equivalent), collocate–node relationship (adjective–noun, verb–noun, phrasal-verb–noun collocations), and word length influence the learning burden of EFL learners’ learning collocations at the initial stage of form–meaning mapping. Eighteen collocations were selected on the basis of a pretest. They were divided into 9 congruent and 9 incongruent collocations and into 6 verb–noun collocations, 6 phrasal-verb–noun collocations and 6 adjective–noun collocations. Forty-one EFL learners (first language: Dutch) were asked to read a word list containing the 18 target collocations, their translation and a sample sentence and to complete four online exercises, in which the 18 collocations were presented twice. Learning gains were measured at three levels of sensitivity: form recall test 1, form recall test 2 (+ clue), form recognition test. Although mixed findings were revealed, all factors seemed to affect the learning difficultly of the collocations. Incongruent collocations appeared to be more difficult to recall than congruent ones. Adjective–noun collocations were better recalled and recognized than (phrasal) verb–noun collocations. Depending on the posttest, participants’ vocabulary size and word length of the individual constituents making up the collocation also affected the learning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]