Facial expression recognition influences approach-avoidance behaviors, but can these behaviors affect facial expression recognition? We conducted psychophysical experiments using virtual reality to investigate this reverse causal relationship. Participants responded to static 3D face stimuli generated by morphing expressions between happy and angry in Experiments 1 and 3. For Experiment 2, happy-fearful morphed stimuli were employed. Participants either approached, avoided, or were approached or avoided by the face. The results showed that participants recognized the face as angrier when they avoided it rather than when it avoided them (Experiment 1); as happy when approaching and fearful when avoiding, irrespective of who acted (Experiment 2); and as angrier when the face approached them rather than when they approached it if both parties were physically close (Experiment 3). These findings suggest that approach-avoidance behavior influences facial expression recognition. We posit that unconscious learning rooted in biological instincts creates this connection.

In the present study, two perceptual experiments were conducted with semantic differential method to clarify the affective properties of motorcycle riders and non-riders for acceleration sounds of sports-type motorcycles. In Experiment 1, the impressions of the sounds recorded under rapid and slow acceleration conditions were rated by university students. In Experiment 2, the impressions of the acceleration sounds were rated by motorcycle riders and non-riders. The results showed that the impression space for the engine sounds were illustrated by the principal components of roughness and activity. The rapid acceleration sounds were perceived more active than slow acceleration sounds and the riders were more sensitive for the activity than the non-riders. The roughness was almost consistent for the same motorcycles. Two psychophysical models of roughness and dissonance were tested to estimate the perceptual roughness of riders. The results showed that the dissonance matched to the impressions, rather than the psychophysical roughness.

Bathing has various beneficial effects, including immune function strengthening, muscle fatigue recovery, and sweating function recovery. Furthermore, full-body bathing exerts a particularly significant thermal effect. In recent years, bathtubs equipped with a circulating bath water system have been developed as a means of increasing this thermal effect. However, few studies have investigated the thermal effect of bathing while running hot water over the neck and shoulders using a circulating bath water system. Thus, this study examined the thermal effect of circulating bath water running onto the neck and shoulders, and compared the effects with those of plain hot water bathing. Core body temperature and sweat rate were significantly increased using the circulating bath water system compared with bathing in plain hot water. Our findings suggest that circulating bath water on the neck and shoulders provides a strong thermal effect.

Conflicting evidence exists regarding the analgesic effects of massage therapy - a non-pharmacological intervention. This single-masked, randomized controlled trial, performed using a crossover design, aimed to examine the effects of local effleurage massage on pain sensitivity and emotions. Cold pain stimulus was used to evaluate stimuli to the hands of 35 healthy women. Massage effects were evaluated using pain threshold, pain tolerance, pain intensity, salivary α-amylase values, and the psychological scale Profile of Mood States (POMS). Pain tolerance was significantly longer under massage than control conditions (p < 0.05). Moreover, pain intensity exhibited a possible trend toward significance under massage conditions compared to the control conditions (p = 0.054). Psychological evaluation using the POMS also revealed a significant difference between the pre-experimental values and massage conditions values in the depression-dejection subscale (p < 0.05). These findings indicate that effleurage massage could serve as a temporary and useful anti-nociceptive strategy for patients with pain.

Kikumoto et al., 2021 investigated the impact of car seat lever-grip positions on Kansei evaluation ratings, specifically “Can be manipulated with one hand,” and found notable gender differences. Females preferred a narrower range of lever-grip positions compared to males, though their preferences overlapped. This study explored the use of electromyography (EMG) to explain Kansei rating differences related to lever-grip position and gender. EMG was measured from four muscles. Random forest regression identified that the EMG integral (iEMG) was able to predict Kansei ratings with gender-specific patterns. Multilevel modeling showed that lever-grip position, but not participant body-height, had a significant impact on iEMG, with low-Kansei-rated lever-grip positions corresponding to higher muscle loads. The findings suggest that iEMG are a valuable predictor for designing car seat levers, particularly under strict design constraints, offering insights for more ergonomically sound and Kansei-oriented vehicle design.

The demand for the customization of tactile sensations in rotary encoders is increasing to align with individual user preferences. In light of this objective, this study aimed to construct a tactile inference model that considers individuality with the goal of regulating targeted factor perceptions. An experimental evaluation was performed involving 17 participants to assess the tactile sensations of rotary encoders across 50 parameter settings, utilizing 30 adjective pairs. A comprehensive factor analysis of the experimental data revealed the extraction of four key factors. Subsequently, an inference model tailored to each participant was developed using neural networks and transfer-learning techniques. Furthermore, through the application of personalized tactile inference models adjusted for individual participants, we showcase the potential of selectively influencing impressions of specific factors by manipulating various physical parameters.

We investigated the effects of the silhouette and design details on the perceived sense of high quality for pajamas. Pajama images with various dimensions and details were created through apparel simulation and evaluated for their sense of high quality using the semantic differential method on a seven-point scale. It was found that adding piping to pajamas led to a sense of high quality and the placement of a pocket affected the sense of high quality. In addition, samples with patterns having smaller body width, shoulder width, sleeve width, pant length, and hip circumference than the standard pattern with little wrinkling tended to be perceived as being of higher quality. The identified characteristics of high-quality pajama silhouettes and details provide valuable insights for manufacturers.