Kimberly Lewis Meidenbauer

Washington State University | WSU · Department of Psychology

Nature interactions have been demonstrated to produce reliable affective benefits. While adults demonstrate strong preferences for natural environments over urban ones, it is not clear whether these affective benefits result from exposure to nature stimuli per se, or result from viewing a highly preferred stimulus. In one set of studies (Study 1 an...

Neuroimaging research frequently demonstrates load-dependent activation in prefrontal and parietal cortex during working memory tasks such as the N-back. Most of this work has been conducted in fMRI, but functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is gaining traction as a less invasive and more flexible alternative to measuring cortical hemodynam...

Environmental neuroscience is a field which uses multiple scales of analysis to elucidate the ways in which the physical environment interacts with neural processing to affect behavior. One environment that is heavily studied by environmental neuroscientists is the natural environment and how interacting with more natural environments (e.g., a city...

Scale invariant neural dynamics are a relatively new but effective means of measuring changes in brain states as a result of varied cognitive load and task difficulty. This study tests whether scale invariance (as measured by the Hurst exponent, H) can be used with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to quantify cognitive load, paving the...

A lack of self-control has long been theorized to predict an individual's likelihood to engage in antisocial behaviors. However, existing definitions of self-control encompass multiple psychological constructs and lab-based measures of aggression have not allowed for the examination of aggression upon provocation where self-control is needed most....

Hostile attribution bias refers to the tendency to interpret social situations as intentionally hostile. While previous research has focused on its developmental origins and behavioral consequences, the underlying neural mechanisms remain underexplored. Here, we employed functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to investigate the neural correl...

Research has shown differences in pro-social and pro-environmental attitudes after exposure to different physical environments. It is unclear whether these perspective shifts are associated with changes in conscious thoughts and feelings about other people and the environment. In Study 1, we used a within-subject experiment to measure social and en...

This paper investigates empathic concern for nature using the EEG/ERP method. The assessment of empathic concern for nature is of much utility as it could give us greater insights into conservation behaviors. Research studies investigating the development of empathy in young children inform us about the interplay of affective and cognitive aspects...

This paper is a methodological and empirical contribution that reports on the results of an innovative on-line survey of streetscape preference. The ratings of experts and non-experts were compared to gauge the reliability of preference for views about streetscape quality. The goal was to evaluate the degree to which a set of streetscape design cha...

Objective: In this rapidly digitizing world, it is becoming ever more important to understand people's online behaviors in both scientific and consumer research settings. The current work tests the feasibility of inferring personality traits from mouse movement patterns as a cost-effective means of measuring individual characteristics. Method: M...

Scale invariant neural dynamics are a relatively new but effective means of measuring changes in brain states as a result of varied cognitive load and task difficulty. This study is the first to test whether scale invariance (as measured by the Hurst exponent, H ) can be used with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to quantify cognitive...

In this rapidly digitizing world, it is becoming ever more important to understand people’s online behaviors in both scientific and consumer research settings. A cost-effective way to gain a deeper understanding of these behaviors is to examine mouse movement patterns. This research explores the feasibility of inferring personality traits from thes...

Nature exposure, broadly defined, has been repeatedly shown to engender a more positive affective state. In this chapter, a detailed overview of the type of research that has been conducted in this field is provided, focusing on how the effects of nature differ by modality (i.e. nature walks, virtual reality, videos, and images) and by measurement...

Lack of self-control has been theorized to predict an individual’s likelihood to engage in antisocial behaviors such as impulsive aggression upon provocation, but existing measures have not allowed for the specific examination of costly, reactive aggression. We introduce a novel paradigm, the Retaliate or Carry-on: Reactive AGgression Experiment (R...

Neuroimaging research frequently demonstrates load-dependent activation in the prefrontal cortex during working memory tasks such as the N-back. Most of this work has been conducted in fMRI, but functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is gaining traction as a less invasive and more flexible alternative to measuring cortical hemodynamics. Few...

Individuals with KCNJ11 or ABCC8 mutations express over-activated KATP channels both in pancreatic beta cells as well as in the brain, and consequently exhibit a spectrum of neurodevelopmental difficulties. Even those with milder mutations exhibit more difficulty than sibling controls on a wide range of measures including executive functioning and...

Nature interactions have been demonstrated to produce reliable affective benefits. While adults demonstrate strong preferences for natural environments over urban ones, it is not clear whether these affective benefits result from exposure to nature stimuli per se, or result from viewing a highly preferred stimulus. In one set of studies (Study 1 an...

To assess environmental preferences in a wide age range of children, a tablet-based task was developed which can be used with children as young as 4-years-old. The current method uses images which have been rated on aesthetic preference in a separate adult sample to ensure that the nature and urban images shown are matched on aesthetics, allowing f...

Adults demonstrate aesthetic preferences for natural environments over urban ones. This preference has influenced theories like Biophilia to explain why nature is beneficial. While both adults and children show cognitive and affective benefits after nature exposure, it is unknown whether children demonstrate nature preferences. In the current study...

Adults demonstrate aesthetic preferences for natural environments over urban ones. This preference has influenced theories like Biophilia to explain why nature is beneficial. While both adults and children show cognitive and affective benefits after nature exposure, it is unknown whether children demonstrate nature preferences. In the current study...

Survival is dependent on sociality within groups which ensure sustenance and protection. From an early age, children show a natural tendency to sort people into groups and discriminate among them. The computations guiding evaluation of third‐party behaviors are complex, requiring integration of intent, consequences, and knowledge of group affiliati...

This developmental neuroscience study examined the electrophysiological responses (EEG and ERPs) associated with perspective taking and empathic concern in preschool children, as well as their relation to parental empathy dispositions and children's own prosocial behavior. Consistent with a body of previous studies using stimuli depicting somatic p...

Distinguishing between equity and equality is essential when making social and moral decisions, yet the related neurodevelopmental processes are unknown. Evaluations of contextually based third-party distributions incorporating recipient need and resource importance were examined in children and adolescents (N = 82; 8-16 years). Spatiotemporal neur...

Rumination has been shown to increase negative affect and is highly associated with increased duration of depressive episodes. Previous research has shown that enhanced elaborative processing of negative stimuli is often associated with depression and trait rumination. We hypothesized that engaging in rumination would result in sustained elaborativ...

Empathic impairment is one of the hallmarks of psychopathy, a personality dimension associated with poverty in affective reactions, lack of attachment to others, and a callous disregard for the feelings, rights, and welfare of others. Neuroscience research on the relation between empathy and psychopathy has predominately focused on the affective sh...

Human speech consists of a variety of articulated sounds that vary dynamically in spectral composition. We investigated the neural activity associated with the perception of two types of speech segments: (a) the period of rapid spectral transition occurring at the beginning of a stop-consonant vowel (CV) syllable and (b) the subsequent spectral ste...