Negative priming for spatial locations: Identity mismatching, not distractor inhibition.

Negative priming (NP) is commonly thought to occur because distractor inhibition is necessary for target selection (the distractor inhibition hypothesis). Contrary to this account, the selection of a target in the preceding trial is shown to be neither necessary (Exp 1) nor sufficient (Exps 2 and 3) for NP in a target localization task modeled after S. P. Tipper et al (see record 1991-00251-001). Exps 4 and 5 provide further evidence against the distractor inhibition hypothesis and support an alternative mismatching account: NP in the spatial selection task apparently results from a change in the symbol bound to a given location (D. Kahneman et al; see record 1992-37866-001), rather than a change in the status of that location from distractor to target (Tipper et al). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the nonselectivity of "selective" seeing: Contrasts between interference and priming in selective attention.

Increasing the physical distinction between targets and distractors can eliminate Stroop interference, which has prompted claims that noninterfering distractors are not identified (e.g., C. M. Francolini and H. E. Egeth; see record 1981-09390-001). However, such claims assumed that identification always produces interference. By using Francolini and Egeth's task of counting red items in arrays of red and black items, we found that noninterfering black digits produced identity-specific negative priming comparable to that produced by interfering red digits. This suggests that interfering and noninterfering distractors are both identified and then inhibited. A similar pattern of results is observed in a task of word naming for picture-word stimuli. The contrast between interference and priming measures of the distractor processing urges reconsideration of many data previously held as evidence that distractors can be completely filtered out. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of defining features on inhibition in a spatial localization task.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 24(6) of Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance (see record 2008-09897-001). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) main effects and interactions reported in the article were incorrect owing to an error in programming. Electronic mail requests for a table of corrected ANOVAs may be sent to psimone@scu.edu. Planned comparisons altered by the corrected analyses occur in the results of Experiments 2 and 4. The corrected results are presented in the erratum.] In selective attention tasks, inhibition appears to be limited to the reported feature of a stimulus, suggesting that reported features determine inhibition (S. P. Tipper, B. Weaver, & G. Houghton, see record 1995-20194-001). This article examines whether defining features can also determine inhibition when participants are required to make a cognitive search on the basis of a target feature (color or shape). In 2 spatial localization experiments in which a touch-sensitive monitor was used, results indicated that distractor inhibition depended on both defining and reported stimulus features. Two additional experiments examined the locus of discrepancy between these results and other findings (e.g., B. Milliken, S. R Tipper, & B. Weaver, see record 1994-35938-001). The researchers concluded that defining features can determine inhibition in a selective attention task involving spatial localization. However, defining-feature inhibition may depend on level of analysis of the stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Effect of defining features on inhibition in a spatial localization task": Correction to Simone et al (1998).

Reports an error in "Effect of defining features on inhibition in a spatial localization task" by Patricia M. Simone, Elizabeth A. Carlisle and Eileen B. McCormick (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 1998[Jun], Vol 24[3], 993-1005). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) main effects and interactions reported in the article were incorrect owing to an error in programming. Electronic mail requests for a table of corrected ANOVAs may be sent to psimone@scu.edu. Planned comparisons altered by the corrected analyses occur in the results of Experiments 2 and 4. The corrected results are presented in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1998-02354-022.) In selective attention tasks, inhibition appears to be limited to the reported feature of a stimulus, suggesting that reported features determine inhibition (S. P. Tipper, B. Weaver, & G. Houghton, see record 1995-20194-001). This article examines whether defining features can also determine inhibition when participants are required to make a cognitive search on the basis of a target feature (color or shape). In 2 spatial localization experiments in which a touch-sensitive monitor was used, results indicated that distractor inhibition depended on both defining and reported stimulus features. Two additional experiments examined the locus of discrepancy between these results and other findings (e.g., B. Milliken, S. R Tipper, & B. Weaver, see record 1994-35938-001). The researchers concluded that defining features can determine inhibition in a selective attention task involving spatial localization. However, defining-feature inhibition may depend on level of analysis of the stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Updating a cautionary tale of masked priming: Reply to Klapp (2005).

The commentary by S. T. Klapp (see record 2005-09704-010) on our recent article (A. Lleras & J. T. Enns, [see record 2004-21166-001]) proposes that the empirical finding of negative compatibility in masked priming be attributed to 2 distinct theoretical constructs: (a) perceptual priming through object updating, as described in our article, and (b) nonperceptual priming based on inhibited unconscious response tendencies. The authors argue that this 2nd construct is not supported by either the new data the authors report or the extant literature. Instead, the negative compatibility effect in masked priming is influenced by perceptual interactions among stimuli that appear in the same spatial location, and the authors believe it is this process that deserves further systematic study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spatial negative priming without mismatching: Comment on Park and Kanwisher (1994).

In spatial selective attention tasks, response time to locate a target is often longer when the target appears in a location that was recently occupied by an ignored distractor. It has been assumed that this "negative priming" effect occurs because internal representations associated with the distractor are inhibited during selection of the prime display target. In contrast, J. Park and N. Kanwisher (1994) have argued recently that spatial negative priming arises from mismatches between properties of the ignored distractor and subsequent probe target. In this article, 3 separate experiments demonstrate that negative priming can occur when the prime distractor and probe target are identical. Such effects are contrary to Park and Kanwisher's (1994) mismatching account of negative priming but congenial with an object-based inhibition mechanism of selection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attentional persistence for features of hierarchical patterns.

Priming for perceptual wholes and parts was examined in 4 experiments involving patterns arranged in a spatial hierarchy (D. Navon, see record 1978-11488-001). Previous studies have demonstrated "level-specific priming" across successive trials for these patterns (L. C. Robertson et al, see record 80:40200; L. M. Ward, see record 69:02582), and studies in neuropsychology have shown an absence of this priming effect in patient groups with parietal damage (R. Rafal & L. M. Robertson, 1995). The present experiments demonstrate that level-specific priming is linked to the spatial frequency differences between global and local forms in hierarchical patterns. They also show that level-specific priming is present even when the stimulus as a whole changes location. The effects last for up to 3 sec without diminution and are not affected by changes in color, polarity, or contrast. These findings are discussed as they relate to spatial attention, object perception, and memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Movement and visual attention: The spotlight metaphor breaks down.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 15(4) of Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance (see record 2008-10696-001). In this article, the display durations were incorrect and should be doubled to give the correct figures. The display durations are corrected in the erratum.] The interfering effects of distractor letters are known to diminish with increasing distance from the target letter (B. A. Eriksen and C. W. Eriksen, see record 1975-02247-001). This result is held to support spotlight models in which visual attention can only be assigned to contiguous regions of the visual field. However, the result is also consistent with the rival claim that attention is assigned to perceptual groups. Four experiments show that grouping of target and distractors by common motion can have more influence than their proximity. Distant distractor letters that move with a target letter produce more interference than static distractors that are nearer the target. Near distractors are equally ineffective if the target is static while they move. These results imply that attention is directed to perceptual groups whose components may be spatially dispersed. The spotlight metaphor seems inappropriate for visual attention in a dynamic environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Not to be and then to be: Visual representation of ignored unfamiliar faces.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 26(6) of Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance (see record 2007-17426-001). Beena Khurana was listed as the sole author in the original article. Dr. Khurana has indicated that the following names should have been included as authors: W. Carter Smith and Margaret T. Baker. The correct citation for the article should be Khurana, B., Smith, W. O, & Baker, M. T. (2000). Not to be and then to be: Visual representation of ignored unfamiliar faces. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 26, 246-263. The author note should include the following information: Experiments 1-4 made up a first-year graduate research project that was funded by a Cornell University Sage Graduate Fellowship to W. Carter Smith.] Negative priming, the increase in response time and/or errors to targets previously encountered as distractors, is explained by inhibitory mechanisms that block the access of distractor representations to response systems. The processing of unfamiliar human faces was investigated using negative priming. Observers viewed a row of faces to decide whether 2 target faces were the same or different. Response latencies were longer when 1 or both targets had appeared as distractors on the immediately preceding trial—evidence that never-before seen faces are represented and require inhibition. Response latencies were shorter when face targets had appeared as distractors, either corrupted with high-frequency noise or contrast inverted-evidence that representations are facilitated. Finally, response latencies remained unaltered when face targets had appeared as upside-down distractors—evidence that not all distractor representations afford response priming. The visual system indeed represents ignored unfamiliar faces, but blocks these representations only if they vie with targets for the control of action. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implicit learning of unique and ambiguous serial transitions in the presence and absence of a distractor task.

Three experiments investigated the effects of task load, time of secondary task onset, and response-stimulus time interval on direct and indirect measures of learning in the M. J. Nissen and P. Bullemer (see record 1987-13436-001) task. Exp 1 demonstrated that both unique and ambiguous serial transitions can be learned in the absence and presence of an attentional distractor task. Exp 2 showed that the time of secondary task onset affects the degree to which unique and ambiguous serial transitions are learned. Exp 3 demonstrated that the learning of a sequential transition is affected by the length of the time interval between the response to a stimulus and the presentation of the next stimulus. The findings replicate and extend results reported by A. Cohen et al (see record 1990-08941-001) and provide important empirical constraints for a process model of implicit serial learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children do show negative priming: Further evidence for early development of an intact selective control mechanism.

Reactions to stimuli that were shortly before presented as distractors are usually slowed down; this phenomenon is known as negative priming. Negative priming is an accepted index for tapping into selective control mechanisms. Although this effect is well established for adults, it has been claimed that children do not show negative priming. Recently, however, V. E. Pritchard and E. Neumann (see record 2004-11032-006) challenged this view and concluded that selective control mechanisms are already fully developed in young children. The authors of the present study analyzed differences between older studies, in which no negative priming had been observed, and the Pritchard and Neumann (2004) study. In sum, the present study yielded further evidence for an intact selective control mechanism in young children. The authors also linked this empirical finding to the broader literature on negative priming by a direct comparison with an adult sample. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Negative priming in patients with Parkinson's disease: Evidence for a role of the striatum in inhibitory attentional processes.

Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and normal controls (NCs) performed a negative priming task. NCs displayed the normal pattern of negative priming in that relative to a control condition they were slower to identify a target within a stimulus array when it had been a distractor in the previous array. PD patients did not display any evidence of negative priming. In contrast, both PD patients and NCs displayed statistically the same level of spatial priming and response repetition cost. Regression analyses indicated that although symptom severity, symptom characteristics, and global cognitive functioning were not reliable predictors of negative priming or spatial priming in PD patients, greater symptom severity and poorer global cognitive functioning were associated with less response repetition cost. The possible role of the striatum in negative priming, spatial priming, and response repetition cost is discussed (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Movement and visual attention: The spotlight metaphor breaks down": Correction to Driver and Baylis.

Reports an error in "Movement and visual attention: The spotlight metaphor breaks down" by Jon Driver and Gordon C. Baylis (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 1989[Aug], Vol 15[3], 448-456). In this article, the display durations were incorrect and should be doubled to give the correct figures. The display durations are corrected in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1990-00258-001.) The interfering effects of distractor letters are known to diminish with increasing distance from the target letter (B. A. Eriksen and C. W. Eriksen, see record 1975-02247-001). This result is held to support spotlight models in which visual attention can only be assigned to contiguous regions of the visual field. However, the result is also consistent with the rival claim that attention is assigned to perceptual groups. Four experiments show that grouping of target and distractors by common motion can have more influence than their proximity. Distant distractor letters that move with a target letter produce more interference than static distractors that are nearer the target. Near distractors are equally ineffective if the target is static while they move. These results imply that attention is directed to perceptual groups whose components may be spatially dispersed. The spotlight metaphor seems inappropriate for visual attention in a dynamic environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implications for psychology: Reply to comments.

Replies to the comments of D. E. Leary (see record 1986-07955-001), S. A. Mulaik (see record 1986-07961-001), D. N. Robinson (see record 1986-07966-001), and W. L. Stroud (see record 1986-07976-001) on the earlier presentation of the present authors (see record 1984-00037-001) about the new philosophy of science. The present authors are pleased with what they have been able to communicate and discuss what they feel has been misunderstood. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The fan effect: New results and new theories.

The fan effect (J. R. Anderson, see record 1975-06644-001) has been attributed to interference among competing associations to a concept. Recently, it has been suggested that such effects might be due to multiple mental models (G. A. Radvansky, D. H. Spieler, & R. T. Zacks, see record 1993-16287-001) or suppression of concepts (M. C. Anderson & B. A. Spellman, see record 1995-16174-001); A. R. A. Conway & R. W. Engle, see record 1994-08314-001). It was found that the Adaptive Control of Thought—Rational (ACT-R) theory, which embodies associative interference, is consistent with the results of G. A. Radvansky et-al. and that there is no evidence for concept suppression in a new fan experiment. The ACT-R model provides good quantitative fits to the results, as shown in a variety of experiments. The 3 key concepts in these fits are (a) the associative strength between 2 concepts reflects the degree to which one concept predicts the other, (b) foils are rejected by retrieving mismatching facts; and (c) participants can adjust the relative weights they give to various cues in retrieval. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Manipulating the shape of distance effects in visual curve tracing: Further evidence for the zoom lens model.

Reexamined the predictive power of the zoom lens curve tracing model in the research of P. A. McCormick and P. Jolicoeur (see record 1992-07800-001) by selectively manipulating distractor proximity in 4 conditions and regressing the predictions of the model on human response time. 12 university students participated. The model was compared with 2 other curve tracing models: pixel by pixel tracing and the bipartite receptive field operator of Jolicoeur et al (see record 1992-15217-001). Results provide strong support for McCormick and Jolicoeur's visual attention based zoom lens operator. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Negative priming for spatial location?

Examined negative priming for spatial location in 2 studies. Study 1 involved combinations of target, distractor, or both, across prime and probe, being presented once to each S in a negative priming for spatial location procedure. Specifically, stimuli were presented using an oscilloscope controlled by a computer system, and the fixation display appeared immediately after a foot pedal was depressed. After 500 msec, the prime array was added to the fixation display until the S responded (depressing the key corresponding to the location of the target). In the 1st Exp, the procedure was examined across a number of Ss (12 university students; aged 20–30 yrs). In the 2nd Exp, the procedure was tested over repeated sessions with 1 S (university student; aged 23 yrs) on consecutive days. Study 2 verified the results in 13 university students. The findings suggest that negative priming in the spatial location procedure may be more closely related to inhibition of return, or to the automatic attraction of attention by new objects, than to the concepts of distractor inhibition, episodic retrieval, and feature mismatch which have traditionally been used to explain negative priming for spatial location. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Structural analysis of oligosaccharide-alditols released by reductive beta-elimination from oviducal mucins of Rana dalmatina

An episodic retrieval account of negative priming (Neill, 1997; Neill & Valdes, 1992) was evaluated in three experiments. During practice, regular word pairs were presented to subjects differing numbers of times. The subjects named specific target words while they ignored specific distractor words. Following a 5-min retention interval, memory for practice was revealed: Test responses for target words exhibited positive priming that increased with increases in the number of times that the words had been attended. Test responses for distractor words exhibited either positive priming (Experiment 1) or negative priming (Experiments 2-3) that also increased with increases in the number of times that the words had been ignored. The type of priming that distractors exhibited was determined by several contextual similarities between the practice environment, in which distractors were ignored initially, and the test environments, in which they were processed subsequently. Negative priming that spanned a 5-min interval, increased with increases in the number of times that a distractor was ignored, and was sensitive to contextual changes indicated that the direction of the effect was temporally backward because the test probe cued memory for earlier processing of the priming stimulus when the distractor had been ignored.     

On computational evidence for different types of spatial relations encoding: Reply to Cook et al. (1995).

Computational models in psychology play an increasingly important role in characterizing theoretical distinctions, understanding empirical results, and formulating new predictions. However, the proper use of models is subject to debate and interpretation, as Cook, Früh, and Landis (see record 1995-31404-001) have demonstrated in a critique of neural network simulations reported by Kosslyn, Chabris, Marsolek, and Koenig (see record 1992-37420-001). These simulation results supported a distinction between two types of spatial relations encoding. Cook et al argue that Kosslyn et al's models did not process "spatial" representations and that input–output correlations rather than properties of spatial relations encoding processes explain the performance of the models. This article provides conceptual and analytic rebuttals of those criticisms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)