To assess automatic imitation of human and cyborg hand’s movements, and whether there is a relationship between automatic imitation and prosocial (socio-cognitive) behaviourThe title of your poster should highlight the research question(s)Humans have a tendency to involuntarily mimic the actions preformed by others (e.g. yawn when someone yawns): this is called AUTOMATIC imitation behaviour.Imitation is a form of self-other control, mediated by a circuitry of neural regions that include Mirror Neurons (i.e. special class of neurons that activates both when performing and observing someone performing a given action)AIM 1: To test participants (trait-level) automatic imitation tendencies with a variation of the stimulus-response compatibility paradigmImitation is a core mechanism for social interactions. Do humans have equal tendency to imitate actions performed either by other humans or by cyborgs?AIM 2: tested automatic imitation tendencies for biological (human) vs non-biological (cyborg) actions.Literature states that the correct functioning of mirroring mechanisms mediating imitation is relevant for the development of socio-cognitive skills, such as empathy and social attitudes.AIM 3: tested the relationship between magnitude of Automatic Imitation (tested in the S-R compatibility task) and self-reported Prosocialness (a socio-cognitive skill based on the ability to “read” people’s mind)The experimental task consisted of 3 conditions….CONGRUENT (I have to perform an action, and the hand displayed on the screen performs the same action. According to literature, if I have a well-functioning MNS – this should facilitate my response: I will be faster in pressing the button)NEUTRAL (I have to perform an action, and the hand displayed on the screen performs no action. This should not affect my response in any way)INCONGRUENT (I have to perform an action, and the hand displayed on the screen performs a similar but different action. Literature suggests that, if I have a well-functioning MNS, I should have an instinct to imitate that action. So this will interfere with my task – my brain must inhibit the automatic tendency to imitate the observed action and enforce the execution of the correct action for the task: this will take time and make my responses slower….For each of the 3 conditions above there are other 2 conditions…HUMAN HAND (the hand displayed in the screen is a real human hand, i.e. a biological stimulus).CYBORG HAND (the hand displayed in the screen is a cyborg hand, i.e. a non-biological stimulus)Finally, we have a correlational design where we test whether the magnitude of the automatic imitation effect correlates with the prosocialness level of the individual.The Predictor/Outcome Variables are:AUTOMATIC IMITATION (or CONGRUENCY) EFFECT. This is obtained by calculating the difference between mean RTs in Incongruent trials – mean RTs in Congruent trials, for each individual. It gives the magnitude of the imitation tendency (inhibition-facilitation effect) for each individual– According to literature, this is an indirect measure of the functioning of the individual’s MNS. – (note that a larger positive value indicates a stronger congruency/AI effect, since RTs Congruent should be faster than RTs Incongruent)PROSOCIALNESS SCORE. This is obtained from the Adult’s Prosocialness scale – scores from each questions of the scale are summed together leading to a final score for each individual. This indicates how much the individual behaves pro-socially on a series of common situationResearch posterThe coursework is a research poster. This consists of one-page visual illustration of a research work,which includes both graphics and text. The content of the research poster must be based on theresearch work you conducted during the seminar of the PSYC231 – Cognition and CognitiveNeuroscience module. The poster must include title (with author1 and affiliation), introduction (statingthe background and rationale of the research work), method (describing the method used to collectdata), results, discussion/conclusion (discussing the key findings of the study), and list of references(appropriately reported in APA style).Guidelines and support about how to make the poster are provided by your tutor throughout theseminarLOs of the research poster:• Understand how a theoretical question can be translated into a testable hypothesisand the restrictions that research methods place on scientific investigations.• Present research results succinctly and accurately in scientific poster format.Title of the Poster:Assessing automatic imitation for human and cyborg hands, and the relationship betweenimitation and prosocial behaviour• The topic is about Imitation and the development of socio-cognitive skills;and links to Mirror Neurons (MNs) and the Broken Mirror Neurons Theory (BMNT).• This topic is relevant for Cognitive Psychology and Neuroscience, as well as ClinicalPsychology, and includes some “myth-busting”.2.3 General guidanceThe assessment consists of the preparation of a research poster, which you will have to submitonline through Turnitin. There is no oral presentation of the poster, so marks will be based only onthe quality of the poster itself.The poster must be uploaded on Turnitin (CANVAS) to avoid penalties, even if your tutor asks you tosend it to him/her through other means (e.g., by email).The assessment is compulsory. You do not need to pass it in order to pass the PSYC231 Cognitionand Cognitive Neuroscience module. However, if you fail the module, you will be required to retakeprogress. TheThe word limit for the poster is max 500 words. The title and the reference list section are notincluded in the word count. It is your responsibility to ensure that you follow the word limit. There ispenalty for exceeding the word limit. A 5% total will be deducted automatically from your markirrespective of the number of words exceeding the word limit.Below you can see the marking criteria for the poster.AssessmentcriteriaTitle Is the title of the poster the right size to be readable, informative, and concise?The title is the right size (around 72pt), concise, and informative.Introduction: Does the introduction identify the key problem, issue or topic, and providesrationale and research question(s)/hypotheses of the research, in a clear and concise way?Provides an excellent, straight-to-point theoretical background to the topic, which clearly allows the reader to easily understand the rationale for the study AND researchquestions/hypotheses are provided, stating the key details with no unnecessaryinformation.Method:Does the method provide the key information of the method in a concise/schematic way, with the aid of graphic information (e.g. stimulus images) and other visual aids, including: key demographic information about the participants/population of interest/sample and sample size Design of the research and method of Analysis Materials and procedureused to collect the data :The method, including method of analysis, is outlined in an excellent, concise waythat is appropriate to a poster presentation (i.e. making use of appropriate visual aids).Results Are the results presented with the use of clear, appropriate and accuratemethods (i.e. either tables or figures) AND is the descriptive/inferential statisticsreported relevant and accurate (i.e. clearly relate to the research question/hypotheses) and presented in APA format?Data are clearly presented, in the most appropriate way, and in correct APA format.Tables and/or figures are accurate, clearly presented, and appropriate and use APAformatting. The statistics reported is accurate, relevant and, appropriate, and written inAPA style. It is clear from the poster precisely the link between results and researchquestion/hypothesis and which comparisons/analyses reach statistical significance without need of any verbal explanation.Discussion Does the discussion include a clear and concise summary of the currentresults in a way that provides a direct answer to the research question(s) outlined in the introduction, and concisely consider the theoretical implications of the results?Includes an excellent, concise summary of the current results and discusses what they mean in terms of the research question/hypothesis in an excellent manner. Clearlyprovides an answer to the research question(s) posed. Implications of the researchdiscussed in an excellent manner (i.e. concise and precisely appropriate).Sources and ReferencingAre references cited correctly in the reference section and in text?Correctly cited in full accordance with APA referencing style and no errors or omissions. All references are correctly cited in text. All studies in text cited in the reference section andvice versa.Overall Clarity, Readability and StructureIs the overall content of the poster clear,readable and well-balanced (i.e. appropriate choice of colour for background and text; appropriate font size and type of text and headings/sub-headings;appropriate amount of white space) and follows a logical visual flow and writing style is clear with good spelling, punctuation and grammar) and appropriate to a poster(i.e.concise, straight to the point)?Poster is perfectly clear, readable and very well-balanced, due to excellent use of all of the following format features, which make the poster stand out- colour – text font- headings/sub-headings – white space Has a logical visual flow throughout the poster Uses an excellent academic writing style, highly concise and straight to the point, which would be seen in areal conference’s poster presentationResources :https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/what-is-autismGorilla experimenthttps://research.sc/participant/login/dynamic/DFF7B2E9-652C-4863-AFD5-921FFE277EF7
