Showing papers in "European Journal of Cognitive Psychology in 1997"
TL;DR: In this paper, a common coding approach for the understanding of functional relationships between perception and action is discussed, and evidence from two types of induction tasks is reviewed: sensorimotor synchronisation and spatial compatibility tasks.
Abstract: A new framework for the understanding of functional relationships between perception and action is discussed. According to this framework, perceived events and planned actions share a common representational domain (common-coding approach). Supporting evidence from two classes of experimental paradigms is presented: induction paradigms and interference paradigms. Induction paradigms study how certain stimuli induce certain actions by virtue of similarity. Evidence from two types of induction tasks is reviewed: sensorimotor synchronisation and spatial compatibility tasks. Interference paradigms study the mutual interference between the perception of ongoing events and the preparation and control of ongoing action. Again, evidence from two types of such tasks is reviewed, implying interference in either direction. It is concluded that the evidence available supports the common coding principle. A further general principle emerging from these studies is the action effect principle that is, the principle that...
1,807 citations
TL;DR: The results are interpreted as supporting the fractionation of visuo-spatial working memory into a temporary visual cache for storing visual form and an inner scribe for temporary retention of spatial information.
Abstract: An experiment is reported which explored the possible dissociation between visual and spatial working memory in children. Children aged 5–6, 8–9 and 11–12 years were given a recognition memory test for visual patterns or for sequences of movements to targets. Memory for patterns was better than memory for movement sequences and this difference was largest in the eldest group, and larger in the middle group than in the younger group. In a contrasting condition, the same groups of children were tested using immediate recall rather than recognition. A similar advantage for visual pattern memory over movement sequence memory appeared, and again this difference became more prominent with the age of the children. The results are interpreted as supporting the fractionation of visuo-spatial working memory into a temporary visual cache for storing visual form and an inner scribe for temporary retention of spatial information.
317 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of friendship and collaboration on memory retrieval were investigated in two experiments and the results revealed that dyadic retrieval suffered compared to nominal group retrieval and that no such discrepancies were found for retrieval with cues produced by others.
Abstract: The effects of friendship and collaboration on memory retrieval were investigated in two experiments. The net negative effect of collaboration in memory retrieval and the effect of friendship were studied within a cueing framework. The aim of the study was to investigate the reduced cue effectiveness hypothesis. In Experiment 1, dyadic retrieval was compared to that of a nominal group (a pooled score from two individuals working individually). The task was to encode and retrieve 90 words individually or dyadically. The retrieval phase was supported by cues produced by others or produced by the participants themselves (individually or dyadically). In Experiment 2, friends were compared to non-friends in a memory retrieval phase. All participants retrieved alone in Experiment 2. The results of Experiment 1 revealed that dyadic retrieval suffered compared to nominal group retrieval and that no such discrepancies were found for retrieval with cues produced by others. In Experiment 2, friends could help each o...
62 citations
TL;DR: This article explored the role of memory systems in random sequencing and found that memory performance did not account for the effect of response set size, suggesting different aetiologies for these effects.
Abstract: To explicate the mechanisms which support attempts at random number production, two experiments explore the role of memory systems in random sequencing. In the first, subjects produced written random number sequences with two response vocabularies, and subjects were also required to estimate how often they had chosen particular values in their response set. Memory for responses was found to correlate with the quality of random generation, and sequences were less random with a larger response repertoire. However, memory performance did not account for the effect of response set size, suggesting different aetiologies for these effects. In a second experiment, subjects were given a concurrent memory load during random generation, and a concurrent task requiring avoidance of certain response values. Performance declined under dual-task conditions, and the avoidance requirement particularly impaired subjects' ability to inhibit prepotent responses. Findings are integrated into a view of random generation as a complex task with multiple performance constraints.
60 citations
TL;DR: Analyses of think-aloud protocols indicated that biomedical thinking was more prevalent in the ECG domain for experts versus less skilled subjects and in explanation versus diagnostic tasks, and biomedical knowledge was mainly invoked to evaluate possible diagnoses.
Abstract: The role of biomedical knowledge concerning underlying anatomy and pathophysiology in diagnosis has been the subject of considerable controversy in the study of medical expertise. The issue is examined in the present paper in the context of electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation. A study is reported of three levels of expertise in the diagnosis, explanation and recall of ECG traces varying in difficulty of diagnosis. Expertise effects were found in diagnostic accuracy and confidence and in incidental ECG trace recall following diagnosis. Analyses of think-aloud protocols indicated that biomedical thinking was more prevalent in the ECG domain for experts versus less skilled subjects and in explanation versus diagnostic tasks. Biomedical knowledge was mainly invoked to evaluate possible diagnoses.
53 citations
TL;DR: This article found that under articulatory suppression, these differences were eliminated and suppressed digit span was equivalent across the languages and provided empirical support for the view that attributes cross-linguistic differences in digit span to variation in the articulatory duration of digit names and the rate of subvocal rehearsal between languages.
Abstract: Native speakers of six languages (Chinese, English, Finnish, Greek, Spanish and Swedish) were tested for digit span with and without articulatory suppression. The results showed that under control conditions Chinese speakers obtained a larger digit span than speakers of the remaining languages, who did not differ among themselves. However, under articulatory suppression, these differences were eliminated and suppressed digit span was equivalent across the languages. These findings provide empirical support for the view that attributes cross-linguistic differences in digit span to variation in the articulatory duration of digit names and the rate of subvocal rehearsal between languages.
48 citations
TL;DR: In two experiments, participants studied a set of words and at recognition were asked to give "remember" and "know" judgements for each recognised item, and they found it easier to describe their remember rather than their know responses, and a selection of each of these is given from one experiment.
Abstract: In two experiments, participants studied a set of words and at recognition were asked to give “remember” and “know” judgements for each recognised item. In addition, they were asked to describe as many of these experiences as possible during the period of the experiment. They found it easier to describe their remember rather than their know responses, and a selection of each of these is given from one experiment. Experiment 1 gave the participants a free rein at encoding, so that a wide selection of descriptive responses might be obtained. Experiment 2 manipulated levels of processing and showed that only remember responses reflected encoding level. These results offer additional information on phenomenal awareness in an experimental setting.
39 citations
TL;DR: In this article, three experiments were designed to test whether the cognitive salience of landmarks in a configuration can alter the mental scanning effect, but there was no evidence of such an alteration.
Abstract: When subjects mentally scan across visual images of spatial configurations, the “mental scanning effect” is said to occur when there is a linear relationship between distances scanned and scanning times. This effect has been documented in studies where configurations were learned perceptually, and also when mental images of spatial configurations were constructed from verbal descriptions. The scanning effect is generally taken to indicate that visual images incorporate the metric structure of represented objects or configurations in an analog fashion. This article reports three experiments designed to test whether the cognitive salience of landmarks in a configuration can alter the mental scanning effect. Three manipulations of landmark salience were used, but there was no evidence of such an alteration. The scanning times towards salient and non-salient landmarks were quite similar, and the experimental manipulations had no effect on the timedistance correlation coefficients. We conclude that the structu...
32 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, distinctiveness and personal familiarity were analysed as predictors of miss errors and false positives in a face recognition experiment, and the results imply that distinctiveness predicts MEs as a general property of the population of faces, whereas familiarity predicts FPs according to the idiosyncrasies of subjects.
Abstract: Distinctiveness of a face predicts both miss errors (MEs) and false positives (FPs) but correlations between these errors are low (e.g. Hancock, Burton, & Bruce, 1996). To investigate this, distinctiveness and personal familiarity were analysed as predictors of MEs and FPs in a face recognition experiment. Faces were assigned to three groups, which meant that each set were distractor faces for two different sets of targets. Mean ratings of distinctiveness predicted MEs, whereas familiarity predicted FPs only if individual ratings were used. The degree to which subjects were consistent in their ratings and performance over different faces was also considered. Good subject consistency was found on FPs when the subjects saw the same target faces. If subjects who had seen different target faces were compared, then the consistency of FPs was lower than the consistency of MEs. The results imply that distinctiveness predicts MEs as a general property of the population of faces, whereas familiarity predicts FPs according to the idiosyncrasies of subjects.
28 citations
TL;DR: This paper investigated the role of visuospatial attention in the relationship between perception and action and found that participants performed goaldirected hand movements in response to central or peripheral visual cues.
Abstract: Three experiments investigated the role of visuospatial attention in the relationship between perception and action. Participants performed goaldirected hand movements in response to central or peripheral visual cues. Identification performance was measured for letters that were briefly presented at different locations and time delays relative to the beginning of movement preparation or execution. Letter identification in the plane of movement varied with concurrent motor planning complexity, but similar hemifield differences were obtained irrespective of whether or not directional planning was required (Experiment 1). Independent of movement direction, identification in the hemifield contralateral to the active hand improved relative to ipsilateral performance (Experiment 2). Peripheral movement cues induced holistic motor planning, but hemifield differences for probe identification persisted (Experiment 3). These results violate predictions of a premotor theory of attention (Rizzolatti, R iggio, & Sheli...
26 citations
TL;DR: The authors explored to what extent loci mnemonics can help learning from textual information and examined the extent and possible causes of the oral presentation effect (Cornoldi & De Beni, 1991); that is, the loci method is more useful when the presentation modality is oral rather than written.
Abstract: In this study, we explore to what extent loci mnemonics can help learning from textual information and examine the extent and possible causes of the oral presentation effect (Cornoldi & De Beni, 1991); that is, the loci method is more useful when the presentation modality is oral rather than written. The hypothesis presented is that the effect is due to selective interference between reading and visuo-spatial imagery in the use of loci mnemonics. We carried out three experiments, varying the modalities of presentation and of testing. In a series of sessions, subjects were trained in the use of loci mnemonics and verbal repetition, and were then tested for memory of texts presented in either a written or oral form. Our results showed that loci mnemonics can also enhance memory for texts when presentation time is controlled, if the modality of presentation is oral. This last result supports the selective interference explanation of the oral presentation effect.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compared the recency of sound-producing objects represented by spoken names, their typical sound, their written names, or their picture, and found that the largest recency was for spoken lists, intermediate for the sounds, and almost non-existent for print and pictures.
Abstract: Immediate serial recall performance was compared for sound-producing objects represented by (1) their spoken name, (2) their typical sound, (3) their written name or (4) their picture. R ecency was largest for the spoken lists, intermediate for the sounds, and almost non-existent for print and pictures. Experiment 2 used a speech or auditory non-speech suffix to investigate the nature of the recency effects. A spoken suffix interfered with recency of spoken material, but not with that of non-speech sounds; an auditory non-speech suffix did not interfere with speech or with non-speech. Taken together, these two experiments highlight the special status of spoken input as well as that of auditory information.
TL;DR: In this paper, three experiments were carried out to investigate what kind of representation is accessed during the search for the antecedent of a plural pronoun, and the results showed that antecedents for pronouns are found by consulting a discourse model of the text, and tha...
Abstract: Three experiments were carried out to investigate what kind of representation is accessed during the search for the antecedent of a plural pronoun. In the first two experiments, subjects read texts that contained two participants of different gender introduced by their proper names and, after finishing the texts, either a plural or a singular pronoun was presented. The subjects' task was to produce aloud a plausible continuation of the texts. The time between the presentation of the pronoun and the onset of the subjects' utterances was recorded. In the first experiment, the two participants were placed in the same or in different scenarios. In the second experiment, the two participants were presented in a conjoined noun phrase (John and Mary) or as subjects of different sentences (John... and Mary...). In the third experiment, the stimuli from Experiment 2 were used in a probe recognition task. The results showed that antecedents for pronouns are found by consulting a discourse model of the text, and tha...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors show that auditory imagery shares with visual imagery the capacity of allowing efficience in memory, by contrasting a condition in which auditory images were generated separately with a condition where they were generated in an integrated manner, where the integrated images were really created within the auditory modality or were based on visual images.
Abstract: The interactive imagery effect is one piece of evidence to indicate that mental imagery can enhance memory, but it largely has been studied only within the realm of modality-specific visual imagery. The present study demonstrates the possibility of an interactive imagery effect also being found in the auditory modality. The first experiment considered the basic question of whether an interactive auditory imagery effect can be obtained in memory, by contrasting a condition in which auditory images were generated separately with a condition where they were generated in an integrated manner. The second experiment involved a dual-task paradigm, using a concurrent auditory or visual task, to examine whether the integrated images were really created within the auditory modality or were based on visual images. The third experiment tested a possible explanation of the interactive auditory imagery effect. In general, our results show that auditory imagery shares with visual imagery the capacity of allowing efficie...
TL;DR: The authors explored the relationship among symbolisations of time, preferences for temporal metaphors along the dynamicstatic dimension and time estimations, assessed using the methods of production, verbal estimation and reproduction, all in a prospective paradigm.
Abstract: Krus and Fletcher (1986) reported that subjective preferences for either dynamic or static images of time, tapped by using Knapp's (1960) Time Metaphor Scale, predicted actual time estimations made by the subjects. Following on from this, we explored the relationships among (1) symbolisations of time, (2) preferences for temporal metaphors along the dynamicstatic dimension and (3) time estimations, assessed using the methods of production, verbal estimation and reproduction, all in a prospective paradigm. Forty subjects provided data on all of these variables. We report the following major findings. First, there is a clear average preference for dynamic images of time. Second, subjects who prefer dynamic images of time produce longer durations. We tentatively conclude that perception and conception of time are related.
TL;DR: This article found that those items remembered correctly as true were dated more accurately than items incorrectly remembered as true (false memories), however, even false memories that is, self-convincing lies were consistently dated better than chance.
Abstract: Two subjects kept records of everyday events and thoughts over a 5 month period. Each day both true and false records were created. Seven months later, the subjects attempted to recognise each diary entry and to judge whether it referred to a true or false record. The subjects also dated each entry believed to be true and provided various ratings, including the nature of memory awareness associated with the recognition judgement. Those items remembered correctly as true were dated more accurately than items incorrectly remembered as true (false memories). However, even false memories that is, self-convincing lies were consistently dated better than chance. Furthermore, events were dated more accurately than thoughts, and items that were recollectively experienced were associated with enhanced dating accuracy. These findings are at odds with the notion of temporal traces or tags and instead support the reconstructive nature of temporal knowledge in autobiographical memory.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared cognitive and motivational explanations of why a decision maker integrates a prior outcome with the expected outcomes of a current choice and found that the concreteness principle was supported.
Abstract: An experiment was conducted to contrast cognitive and motivational explanations of why a decision maker integrates a prior outcome with the expected outcomes of a current choice. Undergraduate students imagined that, on a fictitious day at a racetrack, they did not gamble in the prior race, that they gambled and won, or that they gambled and lost. Subjects rated in one session the likelihood of choosing to gamble in the current race. In another session, they rated how satisfied they would be with not gambling, with gambling and winning, and with gambling and losing, respectively. In support of a concreteness principle based on the assumption that cognitive effort is minimised, the results showed more integration of the prior outcome for descriptions of the bets which concretely integrated the prior outcomes with all the outcomes of the current choice than for descriptions which did not do that. A motivational explanation labelled the “loss-sensitivity principle” was also empirically supported in that, irr...
TL;DR: This paper investigated whether local context information affects unaware memory for complex patterns in two experiments using variants of an indirect memory measure in the form of complexity judgements and found that while aware memory, measured by recognition performance, was reduced by a change of context, indirect memory measures were not affected in this way.
Abstract: The question of whether local context information affects unaware memory for complex patterns was investigated in two experiments using variants of an indirect memory measure in the form of complexity judgements. Similar to the use of pleasantness ratings as an indirect memory measure where studied items are judged to be more pleasant than new items, previously studied patterns were expected to be perceived as less complex than new patterns. Contextual information was formed by placing line drawings of common objects around abstract patterns. The effect of context on indirect memory performance was assessed by comparing complexity judgements for patterns that retained their object surround between study and test with patterns that were re-paired with a different, but previously studied, object surround between study and test. Both experiments showed that while aware memory, measured by recognition performance, was reduced by a change of context, the indirect memory measures were not affected in this way. ...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared the predictive power of three estimates of speech rate in relation to auditory digit span for two distinct bilingual types across nine school grades (1-9).
Abstract: Bilinguals obtain larger digit spans in the language in which speech rate is fastest. This effect is generally interpreted as support for a central tenet of working memory theory, which proposes subvocal rehearsal rate as an influential determinant of memory span. Variation in the method of speech rate estimation, however, has been high, making comparison between studies difficult. In the present study, we compared the predictive power of three estimates of speech rate in relation to auditory digit span for two distinct bilingual types across nine school grades (1–9). One type spoke Swedish in the home and school (SS), the other spoke Finnish in the home and Swedish at school (FS). The results showed SS consistently obtained faster speech rates in Swedish, whereas FS obtained shorter articulation and numeral reading times in Swedish, as did grades 1–3 on a digit word reading task. However, FS grades 4–9 obtained equivalent digit word reading times between the languages. SS obtained a larger digit span in ...
TL;DR: Nyberg and Tulving as mentioned in this paper presented functional, developmental, psychopharmacological and neuropsychological evidence for each possible pairwise dissociation between episodic, semantic, procedural and procedural a...
Abstract: Nyberg and Tulving (1996) presented functional, developmental, psychopharmacological and neuropsychological evidence for each possible pairwise dissociation between episodic, semantic, procedural a...
TL;DR: In this paper, two experiments are described in which subjects reported, in each of the two tests, whether they consciously remembered the item's occurrence in the study list, or they knew it occurred in the test list because it was familiar in the experimental context.
Abstract: The Tulving-Wiseman law is an empirical law that describes the relation between successive tests of recognition and recall of the same set of individual subject-items. It relates the probability of recognising the recallable items to the probability of recognising all the items, regardless of whether they are recalled. The relation represents a moderate degree of dependency between the tests. Two experiments are described in which subjects reported, in each of the two tests, whether they consciously remembered the item's occurrence in the study list, or they knew it occurred in the study list because it was familiar in the experimental context. Analyses of the relation between recognition and recall within each reported state of awareness revealed a much greater dependency for remember responses, and less dependency for know responses, than that predicted by the TulvingWiseman law. These findings are discussed in relation to memory systems theory and contextual accounts of recognition failure.
TL;DR: In this paper, the accuracy with which observers judged the parity of pairs of rotated images in the two visual fields was determined from receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis of confidence ratings.
Abstract: The accuracy with which observers judged the parity of pairs of rotated images in the two visual fields was determined from receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis of confidence ratings. In one experiment, observers judged whether pairs of letters were of the same parity (that is, both normal or both backwards) or of different parities (one normal and one backwards). A small right visual field advantage in the observers' accuracy was found in this mental rotation task. In a second experiment, observers judged whether pairs of pictures were of the same parity or of different parities. Unlike the first experiment, no evidence of a consistent visual field advantage was found in this mental rotation task. The decision strategy adopted by the observers in making same-different judgements about rotated stimuli was examined. The symmetrical shape of the ROCs obtained was consistent with the adoption of the likelihood-ratio decision strategy, a result which supplemented previous evidence that this decisi...
TL;DR: The authors argued that converging evidence from dissociation studies and functional neuroimaging studies strongly indicates the existence of multiple human memory systems and that dissociation evidence constitutes one important source of support for separate memory systems.
Abstract: In his comment on Nyberg and Tulving's (1996) article, Shanks (this issue) argues that the dissociation evidence we presented for the multiple memory systems approach is weak. In this reply, we consider his comments, discuss some inconsistencies in his arguments, and note that he seems to have overlooked some of our points. We maintain our position that dissociation evidence constitutes one important source of support for separate memory systems, and we argue that converging evidence from dissociation studies and functional neuroimaging studies strongly indicates the existence of multiple human memory systems.
TL;DR: This paper investigated whether the types of questions used in flashbulb memory research, one of the main areas exploring subjective aspects of memory, produce similar response patterns when these questions are asked in different orders.
Abstract: There is a growing trend within memory research to explore people's subjective judgements about the qualities of their memories. The reliability of these measures is fundamental for the value of this research. Several possible problems have been highlighted by survey methodologists concerning the reliability of subjective judgements which we explore with respect to memory research. We report a large-scale (n = 4289) study that investigated whether the types of questions used in flashbulb memory research, one of the main areas exploring subjective aspects of memory, produce similar response patterns when these questions are asked in different orders. The large sample size allowed us to conclude that while small effects are present, they are not large enough to question the substantive conclusions from flashbulb memory research. However, several other techniques should be used to evaluate reliability and we urge care in interpreting responses to questions of this type.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: It is suggested that a truer interpretation of the evidence is that these types of memory are closely linked, and that the multiple memory systems view fails to account for a variety of findings.
Abstract: Nyberg and Tulving (1996) presented functional, developmental, psychopharmacological and neuropsychological evidence for each possible pairwise dissociation between episodic, semantic, procedural and PRS memory systems and concluded that these systems are therefore independent. I argue that this exercise is questionable on a number of grounds, and consider in detail the evidence that Nyberg and Tulving cite in favour of one particular dissociation, that between episodic and procedural memory. I suggest that a truer interpretation of the evidence is that these types of memory are closely linked, and that the multiple memory systems view fails to account for a variety of findings.