Look At This Photograph: Brainwave Responses to Self-Relevant Stimuli
Location
D.P. Culp Center Ballroom
Start Date
4-5-2024 9:00 AM
End Date
4-5-2024 11:30 AM
Poster Number
132
Name of Project's Faculty Sponsor
Eric Sellers
Faculty Sponsor's Department
Psychology
Competition Type
Competitive
Type
Poster Presentation
Presentation Category
Science, Technology and Engineering
Abstract or Artist's Statement
The P300 event-related potential is a time-locked change in the brain’s electrical activity which is commonly observed in response to targets in an “oddball” task. During an oddball task, participants must discriminate between rare, task-relevant “target” stimuli and frequently occurring, task-irrelevant “standard” stimuli. Some variants of the oddball task include a third type of stimulus known as a “distractor” because it is not a target, but is physically novel or interesting in some other way. Previous literature has suggested an apparent P300 sensitivity to self-relevant information. Meaning, although the most robust P300s are usually observed in response to target stimuli, distractor stimuli that specifically relate to the participant’s life can elicit P300s that are comparable to targets. Although self-relevant distractors have been investigated, previous studies have not explored self-relevant targets. Furthermore, the effect of stimulus familiarity and sentiment in creating the self-relevant P300 remains unclear. To further explore these relationships, we asked participants to submit 10 photos, each of a particular category (e.g. footwear, plants), to be used as either targets or distractors in a given condition of an oddball task. Furthermore, we attempted to determine whether the effect of self-relevance on the P300 was the result of stimulus familiarity by allowing participants to learn a set of unique photos which would then be used as targets. Our analysis suggested that P300 amplitude elicited in response to self-relevant targets was statistically significantly greater than all other conditions. This effect was not correlated with the participants’ sentiment towards their own photos as assessed by the Revised Personal Involvement Inventory. In light of this, we suggest a generalized effect of self-relevance on the P300. Additionally, we suggest P300s from self-relevant targets are unique to an individual and cannot be induced in strangers via familiarity alone. Therefore, future research in biometric authentication using self-relevant P300s may be warranted. Broadly, the current study helps to elucidate how we are able to recognize self-relevant information in everyday life, such as when we identify our own car amongst many similar looking ones in a parking lot.
Look At This Photograph: Brainwave Responses to Self-Relevant Stimuli
D.P. Culp Center Ballroom
The P300 event-related potential is a time-locked change in the brain’s electrical activity which is commonly observed in response to targets in an “oddball” task. During an oddball task, participants must discriminate between rare, task-relevant “target” stimuli and frequently occurring, task-irrelevant “standard” stimuli. Some variants of the oddball task include a third type of stimulus known as a “distractor” because it is not a target, but is physically novel or interesting in some other way. Previous literature has suggested an apparent P300 sensitivity to self-relevant information. Meaning, although the most robust P300s are usually observed in response to target stimuli, distractor stimuli that specifically relate to the participant’s life can elicit P300s that are comparable to targets. Although self-relevant distractors have been investigated, previous studies have not explored self-relevant targets. Furthermore, the effect of stimulus familiarity and sentiment in creating the self-relevant P300 remains unclear. To further explore these relationships, we asked participants to submit 10 photos, each of a particular category (e.g. footwear, plants), to be used as either targets or distractors in a given condition of an oddball task. Furthermore, we attempted to determine whether the effect of self-relevance on the P300 was the result of stimulus familiarity by allowing participants to learn a set of unique photos which would then be used as targets. Our analysis suggested that P300 amplitude elicited in response to self-relevant targets was statistically significantly greater than all other conditions. This effect was not correlated with the participants’ sentiment towards their own photos as assessed by the Revised Personal Involvement Inventory. In light of this, we suggest a generalized effect of self-relevance on the P300. Additionally, we suggest P300s from self-relevant targets are unique to an individual and cannot be induced in strangers via familiarity alone. Therefore, future research in biometric authentication using self-relevant P300s may be warranted. Broadly, the current study helps to elucidate how we are able to recognize self-relevant information in everyday life, such as when we identify our own car amongst many similar looking ones in a parking lot.