Effects of training and set size on children's judgments of number and length.

When children are asked to compare 2 rows of dots in length or number, some respond consistently as if they were asked about number (i.e., with a number strategy) and some as if about length, regardless of what they are asked in fact. If such children are then trained to respond correctly to the kind of question on which they had made errors, they still do not differentiate the dimensions but instead make errors on the kind of question they had previously answered correctly. The choice of dimensional strategy is also determined by the number of dots in the sets and whether the session began with large or small sets. Findings from a study of 84 3-5yr olds are interpreted with reference to the distinction between having a strategy and attaching it to appropriate situations; apparently these strategies are applied out of bias rather than attachment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Estimating frequency of occurrence.

Various models have been proposed that attribute judgments of frequency of occurrence either to the direct coding of frequency information or to the estimation of frequency from characteristics of memory traces that are not direct frequency codes. We present three experiments that replicate and further explore a phenomenon that is significant in the distinction between direct and indirect models of frequency coding. The phenomenon is that deeper processing of stimulus material results in superior judgments of frequency for that material than does shallower processing. This effect is at least partly attributable to the number of associations that are generated by deep analysis. The results of the present experiments thereby implicate an indirect coding mechanism underlying frequency judgments. However, we also show that there is ample reason to suppose a contribution of a direct coding mechanism as well. The most reasonable view, therefore, is that multiple mechanisms are involved in the registration of frequency of occurrence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory accessibility and probability judgments: An experimental evaluation of the availability heuristic.

Consistent with A. Tversky and D. Kahneman's (1973, 1974) availability heuristic hypothesis, the current study found a negative correlation between recall latency for past events and the perceived future probability of similar events. Furthermore, when the relative accessibility of memories of positive and negative events was experimentally manipulated using the Velten mood-induction procedure, the perceived future probabilities of similar events also changed in a manner consistent with the availability heuristic account. Reductions in recall latencies resulting from the mood manipulations were, as predicted, related to increases in perceived probability, and vice versa. Partial correlations indicated that this association between the observed patterns of changes in recall latencies and probability judgments could not be accounted for by the existence of independent associations between each of these effects and the magnitude of mood change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptual grouping affects pitch judgments across time and frequency.

Pitch, the perceptual correlate of fundamental frequency (F0), plays an important role in speech, music, and animal vocalizations. Changes in F0 over time help define musical melodies and speech prosody, while comparisons of simultaneous F0 are important for musical harmony, and for segregating competing sound sources. This study compared listeners' ability to detect differences in F0 between pairs of sequential or simultaneous tones that were filtered into separate, nonoverlapping spectral regions. The timbre differences induced by filtering led to poor F0 discrimination in the sequential, but not the simultaneous, conditions. Temporal overlap of the two tones was not sufficient to produce good performance; instead performance appeared to depend on the two tones being integrated into the same perceptual object. The results confirm the difficulty of comparing the pitches of sequential sounds with different timbres and suggest that, for simultaneous sounds, pitch differences may be detected through a decrease in perceptual fusion rather than an explicit coding and comparison of the underlying F0s. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Constancy of absolute judgments of size by normals and schizophrenics.

A study of size constancy in absolute judgments of chronic schizophrenics and normals under conditions of minimal distance cues showed a significant and consistent underestimation by schizophrenic Ss. The apparently inconsistent results from other studies of size and temporal constancy in schizophrenics were discussed and a hypothesis advanced which related the various findings as a function of loss of reality contact. Schizophrenics in good contact show stable overconstancy. Acutely disturbed schizophrenics show a loss of perceptual stability. Chronic schizophrenics have re-established perceptual stability through autistic frames of reference. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of level of processing and rehearsal on frequency judgments.

Studied the effects of attention during encoding and rehearsal after initial encoding on frequency estimates in 3 experiments. Exp I found that varying the level of processing affected the linear increase in frequency estimates as a function of actual frequency, but varying processing after encoding with remember or forget cues had the greatest effects on the intercept of the function relating judged to actual frequency. Deeper levels of processing improved performance in a frequency discrimination task, whereas remember and forget cues had small effects on performance. In Exp II, materials that are easy to rehearse were compared with materials that are difficult to rehearse. Results were interpreted as evidence against a covert rehearsal explanation of slope effects in frequency estimation tasks because materials that are difficult to rehearse produced larger interactions between remember vs forget cues and frequency than materials that are easier to rehearse. In Exp III, an arithmetic task that was performed during word encoding affected the slope of the function relating judged to actual frequency, but the same task performed immediately after word presentation had no effect on frequency estimates. It is concluded that frequency is not stored automatically because attention during the initial stages of encoding affects it; however, attention devoted to processing after initial encoding does not affect the rate with which subjective frequency increases with repetitions. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Direct coding for frequency of occurrence.

Demonstrated, using an interference paradigm, that there is a place for a direct coding mechanism in a comprehensive theory of frequency coding. Ss were presented words whose frequency was judged later. Under one set of instructions, these words were coded in terms of numerical associates; under another set of instructions, the coding was governed by nonnumerical associates. The condition using numerical associates resulted in frequency estimations that were of lesser quality than those produced in the control condition. This effect, moreover, was a function of the encoding of the target words, not just their retrieval. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of virtual sample size on confidence and causal-strength judgments.

The authors investigated whether confidence in causal judgments varies with virtual sample size--the frequency of cases in which the outcome is (a) absent before the introduction of a generative cause or (b) present before the introduction of a preventive cause. Participants were asked to evaluate the influence of various candidate causes on an outcome as well as to rate their confidence in those judgments. They were presented with information on the relative frequencies of the outcome given the presence and absence of various candidate causes. These relative frequencies, sample size, and the direction of the causal influence (generative vs. preventive) were manipulated. It was found that both virtual and actual sample size affected confidence. Further, confidence affected estimates of strength, but confidence and strength are dissociable. The results enable a consistent explanation of the puzzling previous finding that observed causal-strength ratings often deviated from the predictions of both of the 2 dominant models of causal strength. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of information, subject age, and instructional set on predictive judgments.

Examined the effects of 3 variables on the accuracy of 120 male undergraduate judges to predict behavior. Variables were: (a) no information about the Ss whose behavior was to be predicted, biographical information, and information considered relevant to the behavior; (b) S age, with Ss being 1 child and 2 adults; and (c) no instructions, and instructions oriented toward furnishing a set regarding how to predict. Significant differences were found between the 2 levels of S age and also among the 3 levels of information. The effect of instruction approached significance. There were some additive effects apparent when all 3 variables were considered at 1 time. (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evidence for auditory temporal distinctiveness: Modality effects in order and frequency judgments.

Two new, long-lasting phenomena involving modality of stimulus presentation are documented. In one series of experiments we investigated effects of modality of presentation on order judgments. Order judgments for auditory words were more accurate than order judgments for visual words at both the beginning and the end of lists, and the auditory advantage increased with the temporal separation of the successive items. A second series of experiments investigated effects of modality on estimates of presentation frequency. Frequency estimates of repeated auditory words exceeded frequency estimates of repeated visual words. The auditory advantage increased with frequency of presentation, and this advantage was not affected by the retention interval. These various effects were taken as support for a temporal coding assumption, that auditory presentation produces a more accurate encoding of time of presentation than does visual presentation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adult age differences in recognition memory and frequency judgments for planned versus performed activities.

24 young (18.25–27.92 yrs old) and 24 elderly (62.75–80.42 yrs old) adults received a series of tasks (e.g., card sorting, arithmetic) that were planned for performance and subsequently performed with varying frequencies under intentional- and incidental-memory conditions to investigate age differences in active memory. Following the series of tasks, Ss estimated the frequencies with which task activities had been both performed and planned. Recognition-memory scores derived from performance-judgment scores revealed a significant age deficit in Ss' identification of those activities that had been performed earlier. However, memory was unaffected by intentionality at each age level. Results imply a modest age deficit for encoding rehearsal-independent, episodic events, but no age differences were found for reality monitoring: Elderly Ss were as proficient as young Ss in discriminating between planning and performance of an activity in terms of absolute frequency-judgment scores. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neighborhood size and neighborhood frequency effects in word recognition.

What are the effects of a word's orthographic neighborhood on the word recognition process? S. Andrews (1989) reported that large neighborhoods facilitate lexical access (the neighborhood size effect). J. Grainger, J. K. O'Regan, A. M. Jacobs, & J. Segui (1989) reported that higher frequency neighbors inhibit lexical access (the "neighborhood frequency effect"). Because neighborhood size and neighborhood frequency typically covary (words with large neighborhoods will usually possess higher frequency neighbors), these findings would seem to contradict one another. In the present study, 6 experiments on the effects of neighborhood size and neighborhood frequency indicated that, at least for low-frequency words, large neighborhoods do facilitate processing. However, the existence of higher frequency neighbors seems to facilitate rather than inhibit processing. The implications of these findings for serial and parallel models of lexical access are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of inferential set, outcome intent, and outcome severity on children's moral judgments.

38 1st, 2nd, and 6th graders read stories about aggressive acts that resulted in either mild or severe physically harmful outcomes that were perpetrated either accidentally or with mild or severe negative outcome intent. The inferential sets of Ss in the value-maintenance, situation-matching, and no-set conditions were manipulated, respectively, by telling Ss that they were going to play a game with or babysit and watch the "transgressor" or by telling them nothing about an interaction with the transgressor. Although younger Ss differentiated their moral judgments according to outcome intent, older Ss were uniformly harsh toward transgressors who intended to produce either mild or severe outcomes. Older Ss assigned blame on the basis of the intent to hurt and the foreseeability of harm, regardless of the degree of harm intended. Younger Ss regarded intentions with respect to severity as important, perhaps because of their greater rule orientation and concern with parental approval. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Averaging correlation coefficients: Influence of heterogeneity and set size.

Silver and Dunlap (1987) recently investigated two methods for averaging correlations: (a) simple average of rs, and (b) average of Fisher's z transformations of r backtransformed to r. The latter method was found to be less positively biased than the simple average of rs was negatively biased. The current study extends these results by demonstrating that the z-transformation method is less susceptible to heterogeneity in the correlations that are averaged, but that the absolute magnitude of bias in the two approaches becomes similar as set size increases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Precuing target location in a variable set size "nonsearch" task: Dissociating search-based and interference-based explanations for set size effects.

If a target's location is validly cued before a variable set size display, then an effect of set size on detection would indicate distractor interference rather than search. Observers performed a 1-, 3-, or 5-item detection task (indicate the presence or absence of a realistic target in the context of conceptually consistent distractors) under conditions of valid or neutral spatial precuing. Results from Experiment 1, and a replication blocking cue condition (Experiment 2), indicated set size effects in the cued target-present, but not target-absent, data. Experiment 3 determined that this interference was not due to a semantic relationship between target and distractors, and Experiment 4 used a preview paradigm to argue against distractor onsets as a source of interference. Experiment 5 eliminated this interference-based set size effect by having observers preposition their eyes over the cued location in the detection scene. Findings provide evidence for a set size effect in the absence of search and suggest that distractors may systematically diminish a visual preparatory priming advantage normally benefiting target-present detection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

More accurate size contrast judgments in the Ebbinghaus Illusion by a remote culture.

The Ebbinghaus (Titchener) illusion was examined in a remote culture (Himba) with no words for geometric shapes. The illusion was experienced less strongly by Himba compared with English participants, leading to more accurate size contrast judgments in the Himba. The study included two conditions of inducing stimuli. The illusion was weaker when the inducing stimuli were dissimilar (diamonds) to the target (circle) compared with when they were similar (circles). However, the illusion was weakened to the same extent in both cultures. It is argued that the more accurate size judgments of the Himba derive from their tendency to prioritize the analysis of local details in visual processing of multiple objects, and not from their impoverished naming. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Visual marking: Dissociating effects of new and old set size.

Visual marking makes it possible to ignore old items during search. In a typical study, old items are previewed 1 s before adding an equal number of new items, one of which is the target. Previewing half of the items reduces the search slope relating response time (RT) to overall set size by half. However, this manipulation sometimes only reduces overall RT but not search slope (Experiment 1). By orthogonally varying the numbers of old and new items, Experiment 2 shows that old and new set sizes interactively affect visual marking. Given a constant new set size, the size of the old set has negligible effect on RT. However, increasing the new set size reduces the preview benefit in overall RT. Experiment 3 shows that this reduction may be restricted to paradigms that use temporal segregation cues. Studies should vary old and new set size orthogonally to avoid missing a visual marking effect where one may be present. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

An evaluation of the total similarity principle: Effects of similarity on frequency judgments.

Memory models that embody the total similarity principle (e.g., G. Gillund and R. Shiffrin, see PA, Vol 71:8340; D. Hintzman, see PA, Vol 76:10832; B. Murdock, see PA, Vol 69:4936; and R. Ratcliff, see PA, Vol 77:18992) assume that frequency judgments reflect the total similarity of a test item to stimuli that have been studied. In 4 experiments, Ss estimated the frequencies of target words that had been presented in the context of varying numbers of semantically similar words. In a 5th experiment, Ss made forced-choice relative frequency judgments. The results of these experiments supported 1 prediction of total similarity models: Presenting similar words will increase rather than decrease frequency judgments of target words. However, a 2nd prediction of these models was not supported. In particular, similar-word presentations had no effect on the judged frequencies of target words that had not been shown. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring adolescent smoking expectancies by incorporating judgments about the expected time of occurrence of smoking outcomes.

French and English Canadian adolescents completed a smoking expectancy questionnaire and 2 measures of current smoking status. Multiple regression revealed that beliefs about the expected time of occurrence of smoking outcomes explained unique variance in current smoking after controlling for judgments about the probability and desirability of these outcomes. In addition, the relationship between the perceived probability of the general costs of smoking and current smoking was moderated by beliefs about the expected time of occurrence of these costs. There was no relationship between perceived probability of general costs and smoking for adolescents who expected the costs to occur far in the future, whereas there was a significant negative relationship between these 2 variables for adolescents who expected the costs to occur soon after smoking. The authors' results suggest that it may be possible to increase the concurrent validity of traditional smoking expectancy measures by incorporating expected-time-of-occurrence judgments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Serial position and set size in short-term memory: The time course of recognition.

Subjects viewed sequentially presented lists of 3–6 words, which were followed by a recognition probe. Memory retrieval speed (dynamics) and strength were measured in an interruption speed–accuracy trade-off (SAT) procedure and a collateral reaction time (RT) procedure. In SAT, item strengths depended on serial position, but only two retrieval speeds were observed: a fast rate for the last item in the study list (a case of immediate repetition between study and test) and a slow rate for all other items that was independent of serial position and set size. Serial-position-dependent strengths and set-size-dependent criterion shifts accounted for standard RT patterns that have been taken as evidence for serial scanning in short-term memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)