Postural responses to cute animal pictures: The effect of image size
Affective stimuli are known to induce not only physiological but also postural changes. However, previous studies have reported inconsistent results regarding forward leaning responses to pleasant stimuli, possibly due to confounding variables. This study addressed this issue using cute animal pictu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Acta Psychologica |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825005682 |
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| author | Nonoka Nakamura Akihiko Gobara Hiroshi Nittono |
| author_facet | Nonoka Nakamura Akihiko Gobara Hiroshi Nittono |
| author_sort | Nonoka Nakamura |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Affective stimuli are known to induce not only physiological but also postural changes. However, previous studies have reported inconsistent results regarding forward leaning responses to pleasant stimuli, possibly due to confounding variables. This study addressed this issue using cute animal pictures, positive stimuli associated with approach motivation. Forty-one university students were asked to stand on a force plate while viewing animal pictures presented in large or small size, with instructions to imagine interacting with the animals. The results showed that pleasant pictures were rated cuter than neutral or unpleasant pictures. Participants' center of pressure (COP) shifted forward for pleasant pictures and backward for unpleasant pictures. Larger pictures produced more posterior shift in the COP than small pictures for unpleasant and neutral images, while pleasant pictures showed no difference by size. This study demonstrates that forward leaning responses to positive visual stimuli occur when the stimuli have motivational values and that picture valence and size interactively influence postural changes. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-777a17d24ed04b51a8f5f41c273ea0bd |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 0001-6918 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Acta Psychologica |
| spelling | doaj-art-777a17d24ed04b51a8f5f41c273ea0bd2025-07-23T05:23:09ZengElsevierActa Psychologica0001-69182025-08-01258105255Postural responses to cute animal pictures: The effect of image sizeNonoka Nakamura0Akihiko Gobara1Hiroshi Nittono2Corresponding authors at: Graduate School of Human Sciences, The University of Osaka, 1-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.; The University of Osaka, JapanThe University of Osaka, JapanCorresponding authors at: Graduate School of Human Sciences, The University of Osaka, 1-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.; The University of Osaka, JapanAffective stimuli are known to induce not only physiological but also postural changes. However, previous studies have reported inconsistent results regarding forward leaning responses to pleasant stimuli, possibly due to confounding variables. This study addressed this issue using cute animal pictures, positive stimuli associated with approach motivation. Forty-one university students were asked to stand on a force plate while viewing animal pictures presented in large or small size, with instructions to imagine interacting with the animals. The results showed that pleasant pictures were rated cuter than neutral or unpleasant pictures. Participants' center of pressure (COP) shifted forward for pleasant pictures and backward for unpleasant pictures. Larger pictures produced more posterior shift in the COP than small pictures for unpleasant and neutral images, while pleasant pictures showed no difference by size. This study demonstrates that forward leaning responses to positive visual stimuli occur when the stimuli have motivational values and that picture valence and size interactively influence postural changes.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825005682PosturographyCenter of pressureCutenessApproach motivationAffective pictures |
| spellingShingle | Nonoka Nakamura Akihiko Gobara Hiroshi Nittono Postural responses to cute animal pictures: The effect of image size Acta Psychologica Posturography Center of pressure Cuteness Approach motivation Affective pictures |
| title | Postural responses to cute animal pictures: The effect of image size |
| title_full | Postural responses to cute animal pictures: The effect of image size |
| title_fullStr | Postural responses to cute animal pictures: The effect of image size |
| title_full_unstemmed | Postural responses to cute animal pictures: The effect of image size |
| title_short | Postural responses to cute animal pictures: The effect of image size |
| title_sort | postural responses to cute animal pictures the effect of image size |
| topic | Posturography Center of pressure Cuteness Approach motivation Affective pictures |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825005682 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nonokanakamura posturalresponsestocuteanimalpicturestheeffectofimagesize AT akihikogobara posturalresponsestocuteanimalpicturestheeffectofimagesize AT hiroshinittono posturalresponsestocuteanimalpicturestheeffectofimagesize |