Abstract/Results: | RESULTS:
This project represents the first piece of research to examine the possibility of the
electrocortical processing of remote staring detection. This was achieved by conducting
two experiments using different measures of electrocortical activity (ERP, EEG, etc),
skin conductance, and questionnaire data. Participants were isolated, and an automated,
double-blind, randomised and counterbalanced protocol was employed. Experiment one
involved a 2 x 2 design, where 20 participants were exposed to 48 repetitions of the
following stimuli: viewing a blank screen, a blank screen plus a remote stare, viewing a
face on the screen, and a face plus a remote stare. This experiment found that the addition
of a remote stare had no effect on the processing of a blank screen, but significantly
reduced the amplitude of the global processing of faces. There was no correlation
between these measures and questionnaire measures of private self-consciousness, social
anxiety and paranoia. Experiment two replicated the overall 2 x 2 design of experiment
one, but replaced the blank screen conditions with pictures of objects, resulting in 60
repetitions of the following: viewing an object on the screen, an object plus a remote
stare, viewing a face on the screen, and a face plus a remote stare. This experiment found
that the addition of a remote stare significantly increased the amplitude of the global
processing of faces and objects. There was no effect on skin conductance and no
correlation with the questionnaire measures. To summarise, this project suggests that
remote staring detection has a significant impact on the global processing of other
stimuli, but further experimentation is needed in order to understand the nature of this
effect.
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