Showing papers in "Psychological Research-psychologische Forschung in 1983"

Short- and long-range processes in visual apparent movement.

Abstract: The minimum stimulus-onset asynchrony required for perception of beta apparent movement was measured with point stimuli separated by visual angles ranging from about 0.1· to 5· and viewing distance as a parameter. For each viewing distance, the threshold for beta movement was a monotonic function of the visual angle with a strong linear increase over angles less than 0.25· (short-range function) and a much weaker linear increase over angles greater than 1.5· (long-range). The short- and long-range functions were differentially affected by increase in viewing distance: the long-range function increased in slope, but the extrapolated zero-intercept was constant; the short-range function changed in intercept, but not in slope. The results provide strong evidence for separate short- and long-range processes in visual motion perception.

Acquisition of different types of locational information in cognitive maps: automatic or effortful processing?

Abstract: The question of whether the acquisition of a cognitive map of a large-scale environment requires central processing of locational information during locomotion was investigated in two experiments. In the first experiment, subjects who were instructed to learn different numbers of spatial relations traversed the same locomotion path one, three or five times. In a subsequent test phase they traversed the path once more, giving numerical estimates of directions and distances to reference points that had been designated along it. The effects of practice and information load indicated that the processing of locational information was effortful. The latencies and the accuracy of the estimates also suggested that the acquisition of information about the directions and crow-flight distances between the reference points required more central information processing than did the acquisition of information about the locomotion path. The amount of central processing capacity allocated to the acquisition of locational information did not, however, seem to be much affected by instructions to learn only a subset of spatial relations. This finding was substantiated by the results of the second experiment in which half of the subjects received no learning instructions.

Parallel processing of redundant targets in simple visual search tasks.

Abstract: This study is concerned with the parallel vs serial processing issue and the closely connected limited capacity vs unlimited capacity issue in simple visual search tasks. The results of four search experiments, two “go- no go” tasks, and two “yes-no” tasks are reported. Conditions of low and high target-noise similarity were used. In all four experiments a clear redundancy gain, that is a decrease in RTs with increasing number of simultaneously presented targets, was observed. This strongly suggests parallel processing of unlimited capacity in all four tasks. Further analysis of the data, in order to investigate whether artifacts could have caused the redundancy gains, indicated an unexpected difference between “go- no go” tasks and “yes-no” tasks. For the “go- no go” tasks, unlimited capacity parallel processing could be firmly established. No firm conclusion about the mode of processing in the “yes-no” tasks reported could be reached.

Perceptual categorization of color: A life-span study

Abstract: This experiment investigated developmental refinements in color categorization. Young children, young adults, and the elderly identified colors from the blue to green and from the green to yellow parts of the wavelength spectrum. Color-naming functions were derived for each observer, and crossover points and boundary widths between color categories were determined to measure classificatory consistency and perspicacity across age. The main results showed: (1) that crossover points between perceptual categories are invariant with age and (2) that a significant sharpening of color category boundaries occurs in early childhood, after which category boundary width remains stable throughout the balance of the life span. Perceptual development in color of this kind parallels development in speech perception and is considered in the context of other similarities of perceiving categorically in the two modalities. The findings are also discussed in terms of prominent theories of perceptual learning and development.

The effect of experimentally contrived experience on reasoning performance

Abstract: Recent research on reasoning has shown that problem content is highly effective in mediating responses. This has been interpreted as support for the idea that reasoning responses are a function of the subjects' prior experience. However, although compelling, this interpretation is based on indirect evidence. When differential responses are observed, consideration of the (thematic) contents employed often reveals that subjects would be expected to have had differential experience of these contents. Two experiments are reported here that test directly whether such differential responses are produced by subjects' experience. They made use of symbolic content on the Wason selection task, and manipulated subjects' prior experience of this via probability learning tasks. In both cases, this contrived experience was effective, although to some extent in different ways. In the first experiment, run on an on-line computer terminal, subjects selected significantly more cards on ‘false’ rules. In the second, which controlled for matching bias by using rules with systematically negated components, subjects selected significantly more FA and FC but fewer TA and TC on ‘false’ rules. In addition, relationships were found between card selections and speed of (probability) learning. In general, the results are seen as providing strong evidence for the role of experience in determining responses.

Task and contrast effects on performance with parafoval stimulus pairs

Abstract: The effect on both detection and identification of placing a non-target character to the foveal or peripheral side of the position of a parafoveally presented target character was examined in two experiments. The experiments found more interference with both tasks when the nontarget was peripheral to the target position, but only when the target and nontarget were both darker or brighter than the background. If one character was darker than the background, and the other was brighter, the asymmetry appeared in neither task. In Experiment 2, performance in both tasks was poorer when the two characters had the same features, but this effect was independent of both nontarget position and target-nontarget contrast. While these results are inconsistent with a feature-mixing explanation of the asymmetry, contrast-specific lateral inhibition can account for the phenomena.

The nature of processing early in picture perception

Abstract: The present study investigated the availability of information related to object identity and scene context during the initial stages of picture perception. Pictures were presented for 10, 30, 50, 75, 100, 150, 300, or 1000 ms and subjects were asked to determine if a probe was the portion of the scene which had appeared in that location. The probed sections had previously been rated on informativeness and high-, medium-, and low-rated areas were examined. Medium-informative sections were recognized better than high- or low-informative sections. A comparison of sections in the central and peripheral positions of the visual field indicated that medium-informative sections were recognized better in the periphery, while highly informative areas were recognized more accurately at central locations. These results are interpreted as supporting the concept that context develops prior to the identification of objects.

An evaluation of the “basic orthographic syllabic structure” in a phonologically shallow orthography

Abstract: The notion of a “Basic Orthographic Syllabic Structure” (BOSS) (Taft 1979a) was examined in the phonologically shallow orthography of Serbo-Croatian, which is a highly inflected language written in two alphabets — Roman and Cyrillic. Some characters are shared by both alphabets and retain the same pronunciation in each, some are unique to one alphabet, and some are ambiguous, i.e., receive different readings in the two alphabets. Thus, a letter string composed of common and ambiguous characters might be pronounced in one way if read in Roman and in a different way if read in Cyrillic. Lexical decisions were made on a set of words that met the following criteria: When written in Cyrillic, the nominative singular form of the word was phonologically ambiguous while the dative singular form of the word was unambiguous; when written in Roman, both grammatical forms of the word had only one possible pronunciation. Results indicated that the relation between the lexical decisions to the nominative singular and dative singular forms of the same word depended upon the alphabet in which the words were written. The BOSS perspective anticipates the same relationship between grammatical forms in both alphabets, since inflected forms of the same word must share the same BOSS and equivalent affixes must occur with the same frequency. In addition, the results showed that the number of ambiguous characters is a significant determinant of the decision latencies when no unique characters are present. The BOSS perspective was dismissed in favor of the view that the lexical representation of Serbo-Croatian words is phonological and not purely orthographic.

Processing of abstract and concrete nouns in a lateralized memory-search task

Abstract: In two related experiments the question was investigated whether the hypothesized bilateral representations of concrete nouns are equivalent or not. With different stimulus materials and display conditions the lateralization effect of abstract and concrete nouns in a lexical decision task (Day 1977) was replicated. In a lateralized memory-search task the memory-search rate for concrete nouns differed with respect to the visual fields of probe exposition whereas abstract nouns showed no slope difference. On the contrary abstract nouns yielded a intercept difference favoring the right visual field. For concrete nouns a visual field difference was not observed with respect to the intercept. These results corroborate the findings of Day (1977) and provide further information on right hemisphere language processing.

Figurative features and the construction of visual images.

Abstract: Within the framework of a featural approach to conceptual representations, “figurative features” were defined as cognitive entities reflecting the sensory properties of objects in the human mind. In conceptual hierarchies such as taxonomies, “primary concepts” were defined as the most abstract concepts which could still be characterized by their richness in figurative features. The present experiment demonstrated that when subjects were required to form visual images in response to nouns, imagery latencies were shorter to nouns designating primary concepts than to nouns designating either more abstract or more specific concepts. Furthermore, when subjects were subsequently presented with a pictured object and were asked to categorize it as illustrating or not the previously designated concept, it took less time to decide that the object corresponded to a primary concept than to either more abstract or more specific concepts. Subjects classified as high imagers had shorter imagery latencies than low imagers to all kinds of nouns, but decision times in the picture-categorization task did not significantly differ in both groups. These data are discussed in reference to current models of mental imagery.

Superiority of free recall to cued recall with “strong” cues

Abstract: Subjects encoded homographs (e.g., iron) in one of two contexts, produced by preceding them with words from two different categories to which the item belonged (e.g., items that were metals or utensils). Later, subjects were tested either under free-recall conditions, or with one or the other of the category names that were either congruous or incongruous with the original encoding of the targets. Recall with cues that were congruous with the encoding of the target produced performance superior to free recall, but free recall was superior to cued recall when the cues were not congruous with the original encoding. The results were interpreted within the encoding specificity framework, in particular as confirming the debated proposition that a cue strongly associated to a target item may be ineffective in promoting retrieval of the target if the relation was not encoded when the target was studied. Previous failures to confirm this prediction may have been due to inadequate manipulation of the encoding context in order to provide distinctive encodings.

The effect of temporal patterns of sound energy on the loudness of Intensity increment sounds

Abstract: This paper is on the perception of transient sounds whose sound energy has a global inbalance on the temporal dimension. From previous studies, the loudness of such sounds can be approximated by their mean energy level. Systematic deviations from this approximation were examined here. Intensity increment sounds consisting of two sound-pressure levels were used in all the experiments. In the first experiment, the stimulus sounds were of an equal duration (800 ms) and a nearly equal mean energy level (73.4 dBA). The loudness of these sounds was measured by magnitude estimation without assigned modulus. As a result, the sounds were louder when the level of the onset portion was higher or when the level difference within the sounds was smaller. No positive effects of the maximum level appeared. In the second experiment, the total duration of the stimulus sounds was varied from 400 ms to 1600 ms, and sounds including considerably long increments were also used. The conclusion of the first experiment was supported except when the increment duration or the whole duration was long. Finally, the loudness differences within increment sounds were estimated. Subjective ‘loudness differences’ were judged directly by the subjects and decided mostly by the level difference within the sounds. In conclusion, effects caused by the following physical variables were found: (1) onset level and (2) level difference within the sounds.

Effects of test-mask similarity on forward and backward masking of patterns by patterns.

Abstract: Effects of test-mask similarity on the masking function were examined in two experiments In Experiment 1, random bar patterns were used as test and mask stimuli Bars were oriented in 135° oblique direction in test stimuli, and in 135° or 45° oblique direction in mask stimuli The SOA was varied from 0 to 100 ms (backward masking) In Experiment 2, red and blue random dot patterns were used as both test and mask stimuli, with SOAs of −100 to 100 ms (forward and backward masking) The subject was asked to report the number of bars or dots as quickly as possible The results of four subjects in one experiment and five in the other indicated that masking effects were generally greater when the test and mask stimuli were the same in orientation or color than when they were different Slightly asymmetrical U-shaped functions were obtained both in the same and in different (orientation or color) conditions A two-factor model with a similarity-related symmetrical integration process and a similarity-unrelated asymmetrical interuption process was considered

Sentences before and after pictures: How do verbal specifications influence picture recognition?

Abstract: Certain aspects of verbal influences on picture recognition were investigated. Subjects were presented with a series of sentence-picture units. Two sentences referred to each of two objects (A and B) which were shown on a picture. One visually perceptible dimension of object A was verbally specified. Object B was verbally labeled but not specified. The two sentences were presented either before or after the corresponding picture. The recognition test was applied either to objects A or to objects B. Verbal specifications of A led to recognition shifts both for objects A and B. The verbal influence was also present when the sentences had been presented after the corresponding pictures. Conclusions about the process of understanding are drawn.

The role of colours in the formation of subjective contours

Abstract: A computer-driven colour television monitor with separate red, green and blue input channels is employed to measure the luminance-difference thresholds for the occurrence of subjective contours, when induction fields and background are of unequal colour. These thresholds are strongly dependent upon the size of the colour difference between the two fields. With increasing difference in colour between induction fields and background, the luminance-difference thresholds necessary to just obtain the subjective contour-effect increase. Various explanations are discussed. Chromatic aberration is not likely to be the main cause for this colour effect, although it has some detrimental influence. At the level of colour-coding mechanisms, lateral interactions between cones or Pi-mechanisms of the same type and interactions between opponent colour codes of the same type are considered. Finally, attention is given to possible psychological factors.

The array-size function in simple visual search tasks: a comparison between a "go- no go" and a "detection" task under conditions of low target-noise similarity.

Abstract: In research on visual search within a single eye fixation, a number of different tasks are used and referred to interchangeably. In a previous study, we showed that there are differences between “go- no go” tasks and “yes-no” tasks, and we introduced a tentative model in order to explain these differences. In the present study a “go- no go” task and a “detection” task are compared under conditions which are as equal as possible. Traditional views of the visual search process predict no essential differences between the two tasks. The tentative model predicts a steeper slope of the array-size function in the “detection” task than in the “go- no go” task and predicts that this difference in slopes is stable with practice. The results obtained appeared in accordance with the predictions of the tentative model. This result supports the point of view that response-related factors strongly contribute to the slope of the array-size function. The data are not in accord with predictions following from Estes' (1972) interactive channels model.

Facilitative and suppressive effects of punishment on the reaction time in humans under various conditions.

Abstract: The effects of brief shock as the punishing stimulus during a simple or choice reaction time task (SRT or CRT) and the change in skin resistance during a key-pressing response were investigated under various conditions. A slowing of the SRT and CRT occurred similarly during the shock phase under both the response-contingent and response-independent shock conditions. After the elimination of shock, the suppressive effect of contingent shock was still observed but an effect for independent shock disappeared at once (experiment 1). A facilitation of a punished response could be demonstrated under the discriminative punishment condition in which the unpunished response was available, although the CRT for the punished response showed an eventual slowdown as punishment trials progressed. By contrast, the unpunished response showed a slowdown of the CRT throughout the punishment period. Consequently, both the CRTs for the punished and the unpunished responses indicated similarly high values in the late stage of punishment. The removal of shock brought about a completely different trend for both types of responses; a suppression of the punished response was maintained but the CRT for the unpunished response recovered to the baseline level immediately (experiment 2). These results were explained by two distinct effects of punishment: a nonspecific emotionalizing effect arising from the punishment situation itself and a specific reaction to the punished response stemming from response-shock contingencies. The former effect could be easily affected by giving a pseudo-instruction in advance (experiments 3 and 4). Changes in skin resistance were mainly dependent upon the response-shock contingencies, but they did not parallel changes in the CRT for the punished response. The autonomic response rose and diminished prior to changes in overt behavior.

Subjective representation of velocity in verbs of motion

Abstract: The subjective representation of velocity in verbs of motion was investigated in a pair comparison experiment. A measurement theoretic formulation in terms of an interval order is shown to describe the data appropriately. The influence of verb context is tested and found to be different for verbs of high and low velocity.

The influence of perceptual grouping on the tilt illusion.

Abstract: Three experiments investigated the occurrence of the tilt illusion with surrounds whose orientation could be defined by perceptual grouping of their pattern elements. Line segments were arranged so as to produce a perceived organization which, if represented by a continuous grating, would induce a shift in the apparent vertical of a central test field. A larger illusion was obtained when the elements were horizontal (Experiment 1), than when they were themselves oriented so as to produce an effect opposite to that of the perceived global structure (Experiment 2). An effect was also found for a surround pattern with a continuous horizontal physical orientation, but a perceived structure appropriate to induce a tilt illusion. The illusion may therefore be influenced by processes at a higher level than has generally been proposed.

Operation-correlated heart-rate responses.

Abstract: Heart-rate responses were averaged before and after repeated operations on a keyboard related to clerical work. Decelerations were found in periods interpreted as being dominated by an internal focus of attention (e.g., decision-making, processing of internally stored information); acceleration could be attributed to an external focus of attention (as during search for new information).

Contrast summation in dichoptic vision

Abstract: Two sinusoidal gratings equal in contrast and either equal or different in spatial frequency, orientation and spatial phase were presented dichoptically. At low contrast, the subjects perceived a fused image of the gratings, no matter how different the spatial frequencies or orientations on the gratings were. Dichoptic contrast summation of a pair of gratings was compared with physical contrast summation. The ratio between contrast perceived in dichoptic summation versus physical summation of a pair of gratings depends on the difference in spatial frequency and orientation between the two: it approaches 1 if the spatial frequency of the two gratings differs by more than 1 octave or their orientation by more than 10 degrees, and is otherwise lower than 1. Information about the spatial phase of the two monocular inputs is preserved at the level where dichoptic summation takes place.