FAQ
about NimStim:
1.
Was this data compiled from studies with children as well as adults?
The
card sorting task presented in the poster was collected with children as well
as adults courtesy of Daniel Pine¹s laboratory at NIMH and BJ Casey¹s
laboratory at the Sackler Institute of Cornell Medical School. This task
validated the set as a whole. However, the labeling task (which provides
individual numbers for each face) was performed with adults only (N = 70)
courtesy of James Tanaka¹s laboratory at Oberlin College. We are just about to complete data collection
for test-retest reliability. This
manuscript is in preparation.
2.
How did the participants rate the data?
Subjects
were presented with labels, as well as the option ³unknown².
3.
How were the pictures obtained?
Actors
receiving their MA in Drama at NYU¹s Tisch Program were shown examples of
facial expressions to get an idea of our aims & then asked to pose each
facial expression. Muscles were adjusted until the desired expression was
achieved.
4.
What are the ethnicities of each model?
European-American:1,
2 ,5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33,
34, 35, 36
Latino-American:
3, 37
African-American:11,
12, 13, 14, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43
Asian-American:15,
16, 17, 18, 19, 45
5.
Have these face expressions been validated?
Yes
- validation data can be found in this spreadsheet. (Right click and choose
"save as".)
6.
Some of the models look like people in the media. Is that possible?
Yes
– these models are professional actors and thus, might be recognized by
subjects. For confidentiality reasons, we cannot reveal individual
identities. However, any time you
find that subjects have a strong to any actor, you should consider removing
that actor from your paradigm.
7.
Some faces are not very good stimuli.
This
is true. All stimuli were included
in this set so investigators can use the stimuli as they see fit. Use the spreadsheet to guide your
usage.
"Development of the MacBrain Face Stimulus Set was overseen by Nim Tottenham and supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research
Network on Early Experience and Brain Development. Please contact Nim Tottenham at tott0006@tc.umn.edu for more information concerning the stimulus
set.”
2 copies of manuscripts resulting from use of the NimStim face stimulus set should be sent to the Network at:
Children's Hospital Boston
DMC Lab of Cognitive Neuroscience
1 Autumn Street, Mailbox #713
Office AU621
Boston, MA 02215-5365