Cue familiarity but not target retrievability enhances feeling-of-knowing judgments.

Two hypotheses concerning people's ability to predict later memory performance for unrecalled items were investigated. The target retrievability hypothesis states that feeling-of-knowing judgments (FKJs) are based on partial target information, and the cue familiarity hypothesis asserts that they are based on recognition of the cues. In Exps 1 and 2, Ss either generated or read the targets of paired associates. Half of the cues had been primed in a pleasantness-rating task. The generation manipulation increased recall but had no effect on FKJs. Cue priming had no effect on recall but increased FKJs. In Exp 3, using general information questions primed after the initial recall attempt, both cue and target priming increased FKJs. Exp 4, which remedied difficulties in Exp 3, showed no effect of target priming, whereas cue priming increased FKJs. The results favor the cue familiarity hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Auditory priming: Implicit and explicit memory for words and voices.

Five experiments explore priming effects on auditory identification and completion tasks as a function of semantic and nonsemantic encoding tasks and whether speaker's voice is same or different at study and test. Auditory priming was either unaffected by the study task manipulation (Exps 2, 4, and 5) or was less affected than was explicit memory (Exps 1 and 3). Study-to-test changes of speaker's voice had significant effects on priming when white noise masked target items on the identification test (Exps 1 and 2) or the stem-completion test (Exp 5). However, significant voice change effects were observed on priming of completion performance when stems were spoken clearly (Exps 3 and 4). Results are consistent with the idea that a presemantic auditory perceptual representation system plays an important role in the observed priming. Alternative explanations of the presence or absence of voice change effects under different task conditions are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Phonological priming in auditory word recognition.

Used a priming technique to test specific predictions regarding cohort activation in 3 experiments involving 170 undergraduates. Ss identified target words embedded in noise at different signal-to-noise ratios. The target words were either presented in isolation or preceded by a prime item that shared phonological information with the target. In Exp I, primes and targets were English words that shared 0, 1, 2, 3, or all phonemes from the beginning of the word. In Exp II, nonword primes preceded word targets and shared initial phonemes. In Exp III, word primes and word targets shared phonemes from the end of a word. Reliable phonological priming was observed in all experiments. Results of Exps I and II support the assumption of activation of lexical candidates based on word-initial information, as proposed in cohort theory; however, results of Exp III, which showed increased probability of correctly identifying targets that shared phonemes from the end of words, did not support the predictions derived from the theory. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An inhibition-based fan effect: Evidence for an active suppression mechanism in selective attention.

Tested an inhibition-based fan effect hypothesis, using a negative priming paradigm in Exps 1 and 2 and a short-term memory scanning paradigm in Exp 3. In Exp 1 (24 undergraduates) and Exp 2 (48 undergraduates), the time to name a letter (surrounded by 1–3 distractor letters) was longer when it had been a distractor on the previous display than in a control condition where the target letter had not been one of the distractors in the previous display. This negative priming effect attenuated as the number of distractors in the previous display increased. The juxtaposition of an irrelevancy with a relevancy heuristic supports the possible existence of a spreading inhibition counterpart of spreading activation. Several predictions based on this framework were confirmed among 3 undergraduates in a modified short-term memory scanning task in Exp 3. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of metaphor on processing style in a persuasion task: A motivational resonance model.

Previous research on metaphor and persuasion has suggested that metaphorical language elicits an assimilation effect wherein positive metaphors elicit positive attitudes toward the communication topic and negative metaphors elicit negative evaluations. The authors of this article propose that metaphorical content can increase or decrease motivation to systematically scrutinize a persuasive communication depending on the extent to which it "resonates" with the listener's preferences and interests. Consistent with this model, 2 experiments demonstrate that a sports metaphor increases message-relevant elaboration and sensitivity to argument strength among individuals who enjoy sports. Conversely, the sports metaphor reduces message-relevant elaboration and sensitivity to argument strength among individuals who dislike sports. Findings are discussed in the context of related research that suggests metaphor can serve alternative functions in a persuasive communication task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Orientation-dependent priming effects in the perception of biological motion.

In a serial 2-choice reaction time (RT) task, Ss discriminated between a biological motion walker and a similar distractor. The point-light walker appeared in 1 of 2 possible in-depth orientations: The figure was walking either to the right or to the left in the sagittal plane. Reliable priming effects were established in consecutive trials but only when priming and primed walkers had the same in-depth orientation. This orientation-dependent priming effect was not tempered when priming and primed figures had different directions of articulatory motion (Exps 1–6), different starting positions in the step cycle (Exp 2), different point-light localizations (Exp 3), or when the figures were translating (Exps 4–6). The data converge with neurophysiological findings that suggest that object recognition is accomplished by accessing high-level, orientation-dependent representations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Metaphorical interpretation: An investigation of the salience imbalance hypothesis.

Investigated the validity of one aspect of the similarity theory of metaphorical processing, the salience imbalance hypothesis. This hypothesis states that metaphorical interpretation is related to the relative salience of attributes shared within and across the domains of the topic and vehicle. Exp I, with 54 6th graders and 22 university students, established that salience imbalance was directly related to metaphorical interpretation. Exp II, with 24 undergraduates, sought to determine whether salience imbalance was critical to metaphorical interpretation. Data indicate that salience imbalance generally enhanced metaphorical interpretation but was not a necessity. Examples of such instances are provided. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Categorization and metaphor understanding.

S. Glucksberg and B. Keysar (see record 1990-14310-001) have proposed a class-inclusion model of metaphor comprehension. This theory suggests that metaphors are not understood as implicit similes but are seen as class-inclusion statements in which the topic of a metaphor is assigned to a diagnostic, ad hoc category, whereas the metaphor's vehicle is a prototypical member of that category. The author claims that verbal metaphors are not simply instantiations of temporary, ad hoc categories but reflect preexisting conceptual mappings in long-term memory that are metaphorically structured. Various evidence from cognitive linguistics, philosophy, and psychology are described in support of this claim. Evidence is also presented that supports, contrary to Glucksberg and Keysar's position, the role of tacit conceptual metaphors in the comprehension of verbal metaphors in discourse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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)     

Effects of semantic priming on visual encoding of pictures.

We investigated the effects of semantic priming on initial encoding of briefly presented pictures of objects and scenes. Pictures in 4 experiments were presented for varying durations and were followed immediately by a mask. In Exps 1 and 2, pictures of simple objects were either preceded or not preceded by the object's category name (e.g., dog). In Exp 1 we measured immediate object identification; in Exp 2 we measured delayed old/new recognition in which targets and distractors were from the same categories. In Exp 3 naturalistic scenes were either preceded or not preceded by the scene's category name (e.g., supermarket). We measured delayed recognition in which targets and distractors were described by the same category names. In Exps 1–3, performance was better for primed than for unprimed pictures. Exp 4 was similar to Exp 2 in that we measured delayed recognition for simple objects. As in Exps 1–3, a prime that preceded the object improved subsequent memory performance for the object. However, a prime that followed the object did not affect subsequent performance. Together, these results imply that priming leads to more efficient information acquisition. We offer a picture-processing model that accounts for these results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of inhibition of return on voluntary and visually guided saccades.

Four experiments examined the effects of exogenously and endogenously activated inhibition of return (IOR) on endogenously generated and visually guided saccades. In Exps 1–3, 37 Ss responded to a peripheral target by making either a prosaccade (toward the target) or an antisaccade (toward the field opposite the target). Results of Exps 1 and 3 suggest that when IOR is activated by a peripheral precue, it functions as a location tagging mechanism that inhibits detection of signals at the tagged location; thus, IOR cannot simply be a motor alternation bias. Exp 2 showed that IOR could be generated by the execution of an endogenous saccade. Unlike Exp 1, however, IOR was manifest only in the prosaccade task. Exp 4, in which 24 Ss made endogenous saccades in response to a central arrow target, provided some evidence that IOR can influence the latency of endogenously generated saccades to the precued location. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Negative priming without overt prime selection.

Investigated whether negative priming occurs in the absence of overt prime selection in 3 Exps using 16 college students with normal or corrected-to-normal vision as Ss. In Exp 1, Ss responded to a target item in the probe display only, instead of the usual procedure that requires Ss to also respond to 1 of the items in the prime display. In Exp 2, Ss were asked to choose the less bright of 2 probes displayed in the same color. The same procedure was used for Exp 3 except the distractor was removed from the probe display. The authors conclude that overt selection against a prime distractor in favor of a probe target is not necessary to observe negative priming. This result demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding concerning the procedure required to measure negative priming and presents an experimental procedure that is of considerable utility in evaluating theoretical accounts of negative priming. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Roles of object-file review and type priming in visual identification within and across eye fixations.

Dynamic visual identification was investigated in 4 experiments. In Exps 1 and 2, 2 perceptual objects (2 frames, each containing a letter or 1 containing a letter and the other a plus sign) were previewed in the periphery. A saccade brought these objects to central vision. During the saccade the display was changed so that 1 frame contained a letter and the other a plus sign, and the S identified the letter by naming it aloud as rapidly as possible. In Exp 3, the retinal events of Exps 1 and 2 were simulated. In Exp 4, both the preview and the target were presented centrally within a single fixation. In all experiments both object specific and nonspecific preview benefits were observed. These results support a theory in which the preview benefits observed during visual identification arise from 2 processes, object file review and type priming. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The locus of inhibition in the priming of static objects: Object token versus location.

The inhibition witnessed in the negative priming effect has been accounted for by positing an object file containing both identity and location information. In the present study, 4 experiments with 31 human Ss replicate the negative priming effect and, using new dual-target conditions where Ss respond to the target first perceived on a 2-target forced-choice probe trial, suggest that location alone could account for the observed inhibition. Exp 1 establishes a reaction time (RT) baseline for the new dual-target conditions, whereas Exps 2 and 3 replicate previously found single-target effects under dual-target conditions. Exp 4 allows a concurrent determination of the inhibition accruing to both the target and distractor. The results are discussed relative to the likely existence of different kinds of inhibition which reveal themselves as a function of task demands. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does implicit memory extend to legal and illegal nonwords?

In 4 experiments, implicit and explicit memory for words and nonwords were compared. In Exps 1–2 memory for words and legal nonwords (e.g., kers) was assessed with an identification (implicit) and a recognition (explicit) memory task: Robust priming was obtained for both words and nonwords, and the priming effects dissociated from explicit memory following a levels-of-processing manipulation (Exp 1) and following a study-test modality shift (Exp 2). In Exp 3, priming for legal and illegal nonwords (e.g., xyks) was observed on an identification task, and the effects dissociated from explicit memory following a levels-of-processing manipulation. Finally, in Exp 4, significant inhibitory priming for legal nonwords was observed when a lexical-decision task was used. Results suggest that implicit memory can extend to legal and illegal nonwords. Implications for theories of implicit memory are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Priming effects in semantic classification tasks.

Six experiments were conducted on priming in semantic classification tasks that allow free play between perceptual and semantic processes. Priming was greatest when words were repeated on the same semantic task at study and test but was absent when repeated words were classified on different semantic tasks (size and man-made; Exp 1). Thus, merely repeating perceptual information is not sufficient to produce priming. Priming was obtained, however, when items on the same semantic task were repeated in different formats (words and pictures; Exp 2). Consistent with stage models of single-word reading, priming was obtained when a semantic classification task was followed by a word form task (i.e., lexical classification or naming) but not when it was preceded by the word form task (Exps 3 and 4). Priming was also found across lexical tasks that both involve the word form (Exp 5) and across classification tasks that refer to the same semantic domain (overall size and relative dimensions; Exp 6). Results suggest that priming is determined by the overlap in the component processes of the study and test tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The fate of repetition effects when recognition approaches chance.

Examined whether repetition priming effects remain above baseline when explicit recognition is reduced to chance or near chance levels by forgetting. Ss studied a set of words, and memory was tested explicitly by yes/no (Exps 1 and 3) or forced-choice recognition (Exp 3) after a 20-min delay filled with an interfering task. Memory was then tested implicitly by perceptual identification (Exp 3) or lexical decision (Exps 1 and 2) for words seen only at study, at recognition, or both. In all experiments, recognition d' was about 0.75, and repetition effects remained above baseline and constant across conditions. At delays of 24 hrs (Exp 4) yes/no recognition fell to near chance (d'?     

Salience, feature perturbations and localization errors on targets and location standards.

Examined the concept of salience (ease of localization) in 4 experiments, using 43 undergraduates. A test of the relative salience of stimuli used in Exps 2–4 was conducted in Exp 1. Exp 2 showed that a designated target (an H or a column of Hs) was used as the standard against which the designated standard for localization (a line end) was judged when the former was more salient than the latter. Exp 3 showed that thin lines similar to those in Exp 2 were judged as shorter than they were, which suggests a mislocalization toward fixation. In Exp 4, when standards covered the entire display background, a single H (but not columns of Hs) was mislocalized toward fixation. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Semantic priming and Stroop-like interference in word-naming tasks.

Three studies with 72 undergraduates examined why a semantic relation between relevant and irrelevant stimulus components facilitates performance in priming tasks but seems to inhibit performance in Stroop-like tasks. In a series of word-naming tasks, the effect of number of semantic domains (varied concomitantly with number of response alternatives) was examined by presenting to Ss an identical set of stimuli either blocked or mixed. Exp I showed that blocked presentation yielded Stroop-like interference, whereas mixed presentation yielded semantic facilitation. Exps II and III showed that the word–word variant of the Stroop task and the word-naming variant of the semantic priming task belonged to 1 family of tasks. Both tasks showed a facilitation effect when the prime was related to the target and an interference effect when the prime was a member of the response set. In the Stroop task, response competition outweighed facilitation; in the priming task, semantic facilitation outweighed response competition. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)