Please join us for talks by visiting fellow Dr Niels Hansen on 'oxytocin and music' followed by PhD candidate Matt Cabanag on 'situational analysis and cognitive load'.  Title: Does oxytocin underlie the evolution of joint music making? Speaker: Dr Niels Hansen (Co Authors: Carolyn Ee, Peter Vuust & Peter Keller)
Abstract: Given the prominence of joint music making in sports, war, and religion, evolutionary biologists have proposed an adaptive function of music-induced social cohesion. The neuropeptide oxytocin involved in pair bonding, parental caregiving, social memory, and interpersonal coordination may underlie these effects. While we previously demonstrated that intranasal oxytocin increases sensorimotor synchronization with an unresponsive human partner, the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled follow-up study presented here aimed to investigate underlying mechanisms. Treatment effects were present with high levels of task difficulty and when participants believed they were drumming with a human partner. Inconsistency with previous results, however, raises concerns and candidate explanations which will be presented and discussed.
 Title: Techniques for Agent Transparency: Exploring the Balance Between Situational Awareness and Cognitive Load Speaker: Matt Cabanag
Abstract: It has long been recognised that there is an inherent tension between the beneficial effects of transparency and cognitive effort. Transparency improves trust and situational awareness (SA) but at the expense of increasing cognitive load. This presents a dilemma for human-computer interface designers, as adding more and more transparency layers has diminishing returns, and may actually become detrimental to the user. This project will explore the relationship between a user's SA, cognitive load, and trust. It will also explore the effectiveness of specific transparency layers within a set of common tasks and situations to inform best practices in transparency. We thank you for your continued attendance at the MMM's. Let's keep the momentum going. MARCS staff and students are reminded that all meetings and workshops have an important role in building and maintaining the sense of community which is central to the success of MARCS as a cooperative and energetic research institute. Your attendance is both welcomed and expected. The zoom ID is: 627 146 998. Link to zoom https://uws.zoom.us/j/627146998 |
