Perceptual fluency as a cue for recognition judgments in amnesia.

This study investigated the extent to which amnesic patients use fluency of perceptual identification as a cue for recognition. Perceptual fluency was measured by having participants gradually unmask words before making recognition judgments. In Experiment 1, familiarity was the only possible basis for recognition because no words had been presented in the study phase. In Experiment 2, recollection provided an alternative basis for recognition because words had appeared in the study phase. Amnesic patients were as likely as normal controls to use perceptual fluency as a cue for recognition in Experiment 1 but were more likely than controls to do so in Experiment 2. For both groups, perceptual fluency affected judgments for studied and unstudied items to the same extent in Experiment 2. These findings suggest that amnesic patients do use perceptual fluency cues, but reliance on perceptual fluency does not necessarily elevate recognition accuracy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Encoding fluency is a cue used for judgments about learning.

The authors used paired-associate learning to investigate the hypothesis that the speed of generating an interactive image (encoding fluency) influenced 2 metacognitive judgments: judgments of learning (JOLs) and quality of encoding ratings (QUEs). Results from Experiments 1 and 2 indicated that latency of a keypress indicating successful image formation was negatively related to both JOLs and QUEs even though latency was unrelated to recall. Experiment 3 demonstrated that when concrete and abstract items were mixed in a single list, latency was related to concreteness, judgments, and recall. However, item concreteness and fluency influenced judgments independently of one another. These outcomes suggest an important role of encoding fluency in the formation of metacognitive judgments about learning and future recall. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in cue perception in a visual scene: Investigation of cue type.

Sex differences in spatial navigation indicate that women may focus on positional, landmark cues whereas men favor Euclidean, directional cues. Some studies have investigated sex differences in proximal and distal cue use; however, sex differences in gradient (i.e., graded features) and pinpoint (i.e., single, defined) cue perception remain unexamined. In the current experiments, paired photographs were presented in which the 2nd photograph showed the same scene with cues removed (Experiment 1) or isolated (Experiment 2) from the 1st photograph. In Experiment 1, women showed less disruption of task performance than men showed following cue removal but were slowest after proximal pinpoint cue removal. Male performance was slowed by distal gradient and proximal pinpoint cue removal. In Experiment 2, women were faster than men at identifying isolated proximal and distal pinpoint cues and were more accurate at identifying isolated distal gradient and distal pinpoint cues. Better pinpoint cue perception and memory in women indicates one possible mechanism underlying female preference for landmark-based navigation strategies. Findings also show that whereas men may preferentially rely on distal gradient cues they are not better at perceiving those cues than are women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A room with a cue: Personality judgments based on offices and bedrooms.

The authors articulate a model specifying links between (a) individuals and the physical environments they occupy and (b) the environments and observers' impressions of the occupants. Two studies examined the basic phenomena underlying this model: Interobserver consensus, observer accuracy, cue utilization, and cue validity. Observer ratings based purely on offices or bedrooms were compared with self- and peer ratings of occupants and with physical features of the environments. Findings, which varied slightly across contexts and traits, suggest that (a) personal environments elicit similar impressions from independent observers, (b) observer impressions show some accuracy, (c) observers rely on valid cues in the rooms to form impressions of occupants, and (d) sex and race stereotypes partially mediate observer consensus and accuracy. Consensus and accuracy correlations were generally stronger than those found in zero-acquaintance research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Semantic processing precedes affect retrieval: The neurological case for cognitive primacy in visual processing.

According to the affective primacy hypothesis, visual stimuli can be evaluated prior to and independent of object identification and semantic analysis (Zajonc, 1980, 2000). Our review concludes that the affective primacy hypothesis is, from the available evidence, not likely correct. Although people can react to objects that they cannot consciously identify, such affective reactions are dependent upon prior semantic analysis within the visual cortex. The authors propose that the features of objects must first be integrated, and then the objects themselves must be categorized and identified, all prior to affective analysis. Additionally, the authors offer a preliminary neurological analysis of the mere exposure and affective priming effects that is consistent with the claim that semantic analysis is needed to elicit these effects. In sum, the authors conclude that the brain must know what something is in order to know whether it is good or bad. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of the dorsomedial striatum in behavioral flexibility for response and visual cue discrimination learning.

These experiments examined the effects of dorsomedial striatal inactivation on the acquisition of a response and visual cue discrimination task, as well as a shift from a response to a visual cue discrimination, and vice versa. In Experiment 1, rats were tested on the response discrimination task followed by the visual cue discrimination task. In Experiment 2, the testing order was reversed. Infusions of 2% tetracaine did not impair acquisition of the response or visual cue discrimination but impaired performance when shifting from a response to a visual cue discrimination, and vice versa. Analysis of the errors revealed that the deficit was not due to perseveration of the previously learned strategy, but to an inability to maintain the new strategy. These results contrast with findings indicating that prelimbic inactivation impairs behavioral flexibility due to perseveration of a previously learned strategy. Thus, specific circuits in the prefrontal cortex and striatum may interact to enable behavioral flexibility, but each region may contribute to distinct processes that facilitate strategy switching. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of structure and component in judgments of visual similarity of Chinese characters.

Skilled readers of Chinese participated in sorting and visual search experiments. The sorting results showed that under conditions of conflicting information about structure and component, subjective judgments of the visual similarity among characters were based on the characters' overall configurations (i.e., structures) rather than on the common components the characters possessed. In visual search, both structure and component contributed to the visual similarity reflected by the search efficiency. The steepest search slopes (thus the most similar target-distractor pairs) were found when the target and the distractor characters had the same structure and shared 1 common component, compared with when they had different structures and/or shared no common components. Results demonstrated that character structure plays a greater role in the visual similarity of Chinese characters than has been considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The primacy of affect.

Comments on the dispute between R. Zajonc (see record 1984-30610-001) and R. Lazarus (see record 1984-30606-001) over the primacy of affect, noting that one difference between them seems to involve the underlying model of causality. Zajonc may have assumed a linear model, Lazarus a nonlinear one. It is argued that this issue is connected to another—whether affect can be the actual cause of behavior. Based on previous research by others and the present author's behavioral observations of "Candid Camera" episodes, it is suggested that affective reactions may, under certain conditions, have a causal status equivalent to that of behavior and cognition. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The architecture of intuition: Fluency and affect determine intuitive judgments of semantic and visual coherence and judgments of grammaticality in artificial grammar learning.

People can intuitively detect whether a word triad has a common remote associate (coherent) or does not have one (incoherent) before and independently of actually retrieving the common associate. The authors argue that semantic coherence increases the processing fluency for coherent triads and that this increased fluency triggers a brief and subtle positive affect, which is the experiential basis of these intuitions. In a series of 11 experiments with 3 different fluency manipulations (figure-ground contrast, repeated exposure, and subliminal visual priming) and 3 different affect inductions (short-timed facial feedback, subliminal facial priming, and affect-laden word triads), high fluency and positive affect independently and additively increased the probability that triads would be judged as coherent, irrespective of actual coherence. The authors could equalize and even reverse coherence judgments (i.e., incoherent triads were judged to be coherent more frequently than were coherent triads). When explicitly instructed, participants were unable to correct their judgments for the influence of affect, although they were aware of the manipulation. The impact of fluency and affect was also generalized to intuitions of visual coherence and intuitions of grammaticality in an artificial grammar learning paradigm. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the primacy of cognition.

Replies to an article by R. B. Zajonc (see record 1984-30610-001) in which Zajonc differed greatly from the present author in his conceptualization of emotion and its relations with cognition, as well as in his evaluation of the evidence. The boundaries of emotion as a phenomenon and whether sensory preferences can be regarded as emotions are discussed, and the evidence Zajonc regards as supporting his claims for the independence of cognition and emotion and the primacy of emotion are analyzed. Finally, the indeterminancy of the issue of cognitive vs emotional primacy is emphasized. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the primacy of affect.

Discusses R. S. Lazarus's (see PA, Vols 69:11728 and 25:2812) challenge of the view that there are circumstances under which affect precedes cognition and that affective arousal that does not entail prior cognitive appraisal exists. His argument, however, is based entirely on an arbitrary definition of emotion that requires cognitive appraisal as a necessary precondition. To satisfy this concept of emotion, Lazarus has broadened the definition of cognitive appraisal to include even the most primitive forms of sensory excitation, thus obliterating all distinction among cognition, sensation, and perception. No empirical evidence is offered to document the principle of cognitive appraisal as a necessary precondition for emotional arousal. It is concluded that the contrasting view of an affective primacy and independence is derived from a series of findings and phenomena, including the existence of neuroanatomical structures allowing for independent affective process. (56 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of visual, vocal, and lexical cues on judgments of counselor qualities.

75 female and 55 male undergraduates rated Carl Rogers on a number of counseling-relevant dimensions. Experimental treatment groups received information via the visual, lexical, vocal, or vocal-lexical communication channels; a control, or reference, group received information via the nature visual-vocal-lexical channel. Lexical cue seemed particularly important in creating favorable impressions among females, but results were less clear-cut for males. When experimental Ss were later exposed to visual-vocal-lexical cues in combination (as control Ss had been earlier), they tended to rate Rogers as warmer and less distant than they had earlier on the basis of limited information. In some instances, however, ratings made with additional information were less favorable than those made partial information. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Grouping information for judgments.

Models of cue weighting in judgment have typically focused on how decision-makers weight cues individually. Here, the authors propose that people might recognize and weight groups of cues. They examine how judgments change when decision-makers focus on cues individually or as parts of groups. Several experiments demonstrate that people can spontaneously pack information into cue groups. Moreover, group-level weighting depends on how people assess similarity or how they think of categorical hierarchies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unresolved issues in honesty and integrity testing.

Comments on W. J. Camara and D. L. Schneider's (see record 1994-23870-001) summary of reports on integrity tests (ITs). It is argued that the construct of honesty or integrity remains vague and ill-defined. Evidence for the criterion validation of ITs is not very compelling. It seems unlikely that the present applications of ITs will ever meet established American Psychological Association ethical standards. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Why visual and vocal interview cues can affect interviewers' judgments and predict job performance.

Using videotaped interviews with 60 managers in utility companies, the authors found that a composite of vocal interview cues (pitch, pitch variability, speech rate, pauses, and amplitude variability) correlated with supervisory ratings of job performance (r?=?.18, p?r?=?.20, p?r?=?.20, p?r?=?.14, p?r?=?.21, p?     

Detecting the deceit of the motivated liar.

Hypothesized that senders who are highly motivated to lie successfully (vs those who are less highly motivated) would be more successful at controlling the verbal aspects of their communications but less successful at controlling the nonverbal aspects. In Study 1, 32 senders (16 male and 16 female undergraduates) randomly assigned to high vs low motivational conditions, answered 4 questions in front of 6 peers. They answered 2 of the questions truthfully and 2 deceptively. They were given time to plan in advance 1 truthful response and 1 deceptive response; the other responses were not planned. In Study 2, judges (64 undergraduates) rated the deceptiveness, spontaneity, and tenseness of the Study 1 messages in 1 of 4 conditions: verbal only, visual only, audio only (verbal plus vocal), and audiovisual. Consistent with the hypothesis, the lies of the highly motivated senders were less readily detected when only verbal cues were available but more readily detected in the conditions that included nonverbal cues. Lies that were planned were no more or less readily detected than lies that were not planned. However, planned responses—whether truthful or deceptive—were perceived as more deceptive, more tense, and less spontaneous by judges in both studies. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of visual exploration on judgments of whether a gap is crossable.

When observers look down into a gap in the ground plane, their judgments of the widest gap they can step across (gapmax) decrease as gap depth increases (Y. Jiang & L. S. Mark, 1994). This study investigated the possibility that Jiang and Mark's viewing conditions did not afford observers a sufficient opportunity to perform exploratory movements needed to detect information about gap width. Experiment 1 showed that the gap depth by gaze interaction disappeared only when restrictions were not imposed on observers' exploratory activities (eye, head, and body movements). Experiment 2 showed that observers tended to see the vertical surface as slanted away from them, which made the bottom of the surface appear farther away from them than the top. Only when observers were able to view the gap binocularly under conditions that did not restrict exploratory activity did their slant perception improve and their gapmax judgments no longer covary with gap depth. The data indicate that the exploratory movements of prospective actors are essential for the pickup of information about their action capabilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The use of visuomotor cues as a strategy for making perceptual judgments in a patient with visual form agnosia.

Accumulating evidence from human neuropsychological studies and from electrophysiological and behavioral work in the monkey is consistent with a recent proposal by M. A. Goodale and A. D. Milner (see record 1992-22553-001) that visual perception of the world is mediated by a ventral stream of visual processing projecting from striate to inferotemporal cortex whereas the visual control of skilled actions is mediated by a dorsal stream of visual processing projecting from striate to posterior parietal cortex. Compelling support for this view comes from work with a patient with visual form agnosia (DF), who cannot reliably report the size, orientation, and shape of different objects, yet can use this information to make accurate hand movements toward these same objects (for review see A. D. Milner & M. A. Goodale, 1995). Data demonstrate that DF is better able to discriminate between a square and a rectangle when she is required to reach out and pick up the designated target object than when she is required to verbally report the target's left/right position. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age-related decline in prospective memory: The roles of cue accessibility and cue sensitivity.

In two experiments the authors evaluated the hypothesis that age-related decline in prospective memory reflects momentary lapses of intention (MLIs), and explored two factors, cue sensitivity and accessibility, that may contribute to MLIs. MLIs were reliably greater than zero in Experiment 1, indicating that performance fluctuated over the course of the task. Analysis of the response latency data (RL) revealed that older adults demonstrated elevated RL for missed prospective cues and were much slower to respond correctly to prospective cues than younger adults. These findings indicate preserved cue sensitivity in later adulthood and an age-related decline in cue accessibility. Experiment 2 demonstrated that cue sensitivity did not result from an orienting response to the perceptual novelty associated with the prospective cues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Immediate and delayed primacy and recency effects in performance evaluation.

Serial position of a single poor or good performance was manipulated in a series of average performances to examine its effect on performance ratings. In Study 1, 333 undergraduate Ss viewed four videotaped lectures in one session. Overall performance ratings showed a recency effect when good performance occurred last. In Study 2, 208 Ss made observations over 4 days. The recency effect was significant when poor performance occurred last. Interpretation of results was based on (a) the attention decrement hypothesis, which suggests that recency effects result when Ss maintain attention, and (b) the finding of greater weighting of negative information in the selection interview (N. Schmitt, see PA, Vol 60:02009; see also E. C. Webster, 1982). Ratings of the single inconsistent performance indicated an assimilation effect. A recent poor or good inconsistent performance was rated more similarly to preceding average performance. A schema appears to bias inconsistent extreme performance toward the stable impression already established. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)