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Visual Attention to Food Bank Posters: Insights from an Exploratory Eye-Tracking Study
This exploratory eye-tracking study investigates how the emotional content of food bank advertisements influences food donor perception and visual attention. It does so by addressing a gap in the literature on eye-tracking applications in food donation contexts and social neuroscience. Visual attention represents a fundamental behavioural precursor to decision-making, yet its role in charitable communications remains underexplored. The objective of this research was to investigate how the content of food bank advertisements is associated with the way that potential food donors perceive food bank posters on a cognitive level. This study adopted a social neuroscience approach, using the methodology of eye-tracking to examine the visual attention patterns that form while viewing food bank posters. Participants (N = 96) viewed four posters varying in their emotional appeal, i.e., positive, neutral, negative and cognitive dissonance, while their eye movements were being recorded. Results revealed the robust attentional prioritisation of generic pictorial content over specific organisational logos or abstract symbols across all metrics and posters with large effect sizes (r = 0.69–0.87). It was found that pictures captured participants’ attention three to seven times faster than logos and also received two to seven times more fixations. The poster carrying a negative appeal elicited the strongest pictorial advantage, consistent with the negativity bias in attention allocation. Exploratory analysis found no significant correlation between participants’ past charitable behaviour and visual attention patterns, thus suggesting that the Picture Superiority Effect operates universally, regardless of individual past charitable behaviours. This is the first eye-tracking study examining donor-facing food bank communications in Poland, contributing to social neuroscience approaches in prosocial behaviour research. Findings suggest charitable organisations should prioritise emotionally engaging pictures’ inclusion over logo prominence in their visual communications messaging.
Mentoring akademicki w naukach przyrodniczych: potrzeby, wyzwania, perspektywy
Mentoring akademicki odgrywa kluczową rolę w rozwoju młodych naukowców, zwłaszcza w naukach przyrodniczych, gdzie oprócz wiedzy teoretycznej niezbędne są również kompetencje praktyczne i umiejętności miękkie. W artykule przedstawiono definicje, formy i filary mentoringu oraz jego znaczenie dla rozwoju kariery akademickiej. Analizując literaturę przedmiotu oraz konkretne programy mentoringowe z kraju i zagranicy, autorzy identyfikują wyzwania stojące przed instytucjami akademickimi, takie jak brak formalnego wsparcia, niewystarczające kompetencje interpersonalne mentorów oraz ograniczone finansowanie. Wskazano również potencjał mentoringu sieciowego i interdyscyplinarnego w kształtowaniu innowacyjnych ścieżek kariery oraz podkreślono znaczenie jego instytucjonalizacji w środowisku akademickim.