Experimental arousal of achievement motivation in adolescent girls.

2 groups of female high school students (40 achievers and 40 underachievers, matched for IQ) were exposed to 2 experimental conditions (Neutral and Achievement Oriented) and 2 types of pictures (those depicting males and those depicting females). The overall effect of the experimental achievement arsousal conditions for all girls was nonsignificant. However, a highly significant 2nd-order interaction effect was obtained: the achievement motivation scores of achievers increased significantly in response to Achievement Oriented conditions when they produced stories to pictures of females but did not increase in response to pictures of males; by contrast, the achievement motivation scores of underachievers increased significantly in response to Achievement Oriented conditions when they produced stories to pictures of males but did not increase in response to pictures of females. (43 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moving shadows contribute to the corridor illusion in a chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes).

Previous studies have reported that backgrounds depicting linear perspective and texture gradients influence relative size discrimination in nonhuman animals (known as the “corridor illusion”), but research has not yet identified the other kinds of depth cues contributing to the corridor illusion. This study examined the effects of linear perspective and shadows on the responses of a chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) to the corridor illusion. The performance of the chimpanzee was worse when a smaller object was presented at the farther position on a background reflecting a linear perspective, implying that the corridor illusion was replicated in the chimpanzee (Imura, Tomonaga, & Yagi, 2008). The extent of the illusion changed as a function of the position of the shadows cast by the objects only when the shadows were moving in synchrony with the objects. These findings suggest that moving shadows and linear perspective contributed to the corridor illusion in a chimpanzee. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Semantic interference in a delayed naming task: Evidence for the response exclusion hypothesis.

In 2 experiments participants named pictures of common objects with superimposed distractor words. In one naming condition, the pictures and words were presented simultaneously on every trial, and participants produced the target response immediately. In the other naming condition, the presentation of the picture preceded the presentation of the distractor by 1,000 ms, and participants delayed production of their naming response until distractor word presentation. Within each naming condition, the distractor words were either semantic category coordinates of the target pictures or unrelated. Orthogonal to this manipulation of semantic relatedness, the frequency of the pictures' names was manipulated. The authors observed semantic interference effects in both the immediate and delayed naming conditions but a frequency effect only in the immediate naming condition. These data indicate that semantic interference can be observed when target picture naming latencies do not reflect the bottleneck at the level of lexical selection. In the context of other findings from the picture-word interference paradigm, the authors interpret these data as supporting the view that the semantic interference effect arises at a postlexical level of processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of background information on object identification.

Previous research using briefly presented displays has indicated that objects in a coherent scene are easier to identify than are objects in incoherent backgrounds. Of interest is whether the identification of the target object depends on the identification of the scene or the identification of other diagnostic objects in the scene. Experiment 1 indicated objects are more difficult to identify when located in an "episodically" inconsistent background even when the same diagnostic objects are present in both inconsistent and consistent backgrounds. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the degree to which noncued (cohort) objects are consistent with the target object has no effect on this object identification task. Experiment 3 showed consistent episodic background information facilitated object identification and inconsistent episodic background information did not interfere relative to "nonsense" backgrounds roughly equated on visual characteristics. Implications for models of scene perception are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distance-dependent processing of pictures and words.

A series of 8 experiments investigated the association between pictorial and verbal representations and the psychological distance of the referent objects from the observer. The results showed that people better process pictures that represent proximal objects and words that represent distal objects than pictures that represent distal objects and words that represent proximal objects. These results were obtained with various psychological distance dimensions (spatial, temporal, and social), different tasks (classification and categorization), and different measures (speed of processing and selective attention). The authors argue that differences in the processing of pictures and words emanate from the physical similarity of pictures, but not words, to the referents. Consequently, perceptual analysis is commonly applied to pictures but not to words. Pictures thus impart a sense of closeness to the referent objects and are preferably used to represent such objects, whereas words do not convey proximity and are preferably used to represent distal objects in space, time, and social perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of distinctive parts on recognition of depth-rotated objects by pigeons (Columba livia) and humans.

To explore whether effects observed in human object recognition represent fundamental properties of visual perception that are general across species, the authors trained pigeons (Columba livia) and humans to discriminate between pictures of 3-dimensional objects that differed in shape. Novel pictures of the depth-rotated objects were then tested for recognition. Across conditions, the object pairs contained either 0, 1, 3, or 5 distinctive pails. Pigeons showed viewpoint dependence in all object-part conditions, and their performance declined systematically with degree of rotation from the nearest training view. Humans showed viewpoint invariance for novel rotations between the training views but viewpoint dependence for novel rotations outside the training views. For humans, but not pigeons, viewpoint dependence was weakest in the 1-part condition. The authors discuss the results in terms of structural and multiple-view models of object recognition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental changes in concept utilization among normal and retarded children.

Examined the concepts employed by 100 normal children in kindergarten-Grade 4 (Study 1), and by 48 retarded vs 48 normal children matched for mental ages ranging from 5 to 11 yrs (Study 2). Ss were required to select pairs of pictures from a large array of pictures depicting common objects and to explain the basis for their pairing responses. Factor analysis of the conceptual responses of normal Ss revealed factors for abstraction (nominal and functional concepts as opposed to perceptible concepts) and complimentarity ("go together" responses as opposed to similarity responses). Retarded Ss differed from normals primarily in their use of more complimentary and fewer similarity concepts. The developmental course of concept utilization for normals was characterized as a change from perceptible to nominal and functional concepts, while that for retarded Ss was characterized as a change from complimentary to similarity concepts. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Monkeys (Macaca mulatta) learn category matching in a nonidentical same-different task.

Same–different judgments of familiar objects and animals were investigated in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) in a task based on category matches rather than identity matches. 18 categories of familiar animals and objects were each composed of 12 color slides and were presented as pairs of slides. Ss indicated "same" or "different" on a response lever for reinforcement. On Same trials, 2 different views of the same object were presented, typically with differences in perspective, lighting, and background. On Different trials, 2 pictures of different objects were presented. Ss acquired the category discriminations and transferred their response judgments accurately to novel pictures from the categories. Transfer was better to objects with which the monkeys had actually interacted rather than those with which they did not interact. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age-related differences in recognition memory: Effects of materials and context change.

The study explored age-related differences in the effects of context change on recognition memory by presenting object names (Expt. 1A) or their pictures (Expt. 1B) on background scenes. Participants later attempted to recognize previously presented items on background scenes that were original, switched, blank, or new. Older adults recognized fewer word stimuli than did younger adults, and context effects were larger for older adults. With pictures, however, the age-related decrement was eliminated and context effects were reduced. The beneficial effect of context reinstatement in older adults occurs despite the finding that they are less able to recall or recognize such contexts (Experiment 2). Older adults can use context information in recognition memory at least as efficiently as younger adults when suitable materials and conditions are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Outstanding memories: The positive and negative effects of nudes on memory.

A picture of a nude isolated in a series of pictures of clothed models was quite memorable, but when compared with a clothed picture, the nude impaired memory for background picture details as well as pictures immediately following the nude (anterograde amnesia). Recall of details given picture-gist recall, as well as recognition of person details, were equivalent in the clothed and nude conditions. A clothed picture isolated in a series of nudes did not hurt memory for background information, nor did it produce anterograde amnesia. Apparently, distinctiveness supports good memory for the gist of the nude or clothed pictures. However, distinctiveness is not responsible for the anterograde amnesia and poor memory for background details found with nudes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transformations in the recognition of visual forms.

Conducted 3 experiments in which Ss were required to learn to recognize 4 flexible plastic shapes photographed on different backgrounds from different angles. Slides were designated as either prototypes (photographed from overhead on a black background), cued (photographed from many angles on a definite background, e.g., a chair), or uncued (the cued photographs placed on a black background). Ss were 80 undergraduates in Exp I, 80 16-24 yr olds in Exp II, and 43 undergraduates in Exp III. Variables investigated were (a) order, amount, and type of training (prototype, cued, or uncued); (b) type of training instructions (Ss were told either that there were 4 classes of objects or 4 objects viewed from various backgrounds); and (c) presence or absence of context in training or testing (background which gave cues to transformation). Results indicate that (a) type of training had a significant effect on performance; (b) the presentation of uncued test slides before cued ones decreased performance on the cued slides, while cued slides presented first facilitated performance on the uncued slides; and (c) the presence of context in training significantly increased rates of pattern learning and success in recognizing new material. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Young children associate novel words with complex objects rather than salient parts.

How do children learn associations between novel words and complex perceptual displays? Using a visual preference procedure, the authors tested 12- and 19-month-olds to see whether the infants would associate a novel word with a complex 2-part object or with either of that object's parts, both of which were potentially objects in their own right and 1 of which was highly salient to infants. At both ages, children's visual fixation times during test were greater to the entire complex object than to the salient part (Experiment 1) or to the less salient part (Experiment 2)--when the original label was requested. Looking times to the objects were equal if a new label was requested or if neutral audio was used during training (Experiment 3). Thus, from 12 months of age, infants associate words with whole objects, even those that could potentially be construed as 2 separate objects and even if 1 of the parts is salient. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Binding, relational memory, and recall of naturalistic events: A developmental perspective.

This research was an investigation of children's performance on a task that requires memory binding. In Experiments 1 and 2, 4-year-olds, 6-year-olds, and adults viewed complex pictures and were tested on memory for isolated parts in the pictures and on the part combinations (combination condition). The results suggested improvement in memory for the combinations between the ages of 4 and 6 years but not in memory for the isolated parts. In Experiments 2 and 3, the authors also examined the developmental relationship between performance in the combination condition and free recall of a naturalistic event, finding preliminary evidence that performance on a memory task that requires binding is positively related to performance in episodic memory. (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)     

Amygdala Activation to Sad Pictures During High-Field (4 Tesla) Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Fear-related processing in the amygdala has been well documented, but its role in signaling other emotions remains controversial. The authors recovered signal loss in the amygdala at high-field strength using an inward spiral pulse sequence and probed its response to pictures varying in their degree of portrayed sadness. These pictures were presented as intermittent task-irrelevant distractors during a concurrent visual oddball task. Relative to neutral distractors, sad distractors elicited greater activation along ventral brain regions, including the amygdala, fusiform gyrus, and inferior frontal gyrus. In contrast, oddball targets engaged dorsal sectors of frontal, parietal, and cingulate cortices. The amygdala's role in emotional evaluation thus extends to images of grief and despair as well as to those depicting violence and threat. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental and population comparisons of taxonomic and thematic organization in free recall.

Assessed taxonomic and thematic clustering in free recall in 240 7- and 10-yr-olds from Black and White and low- and middle-SES backgrounds. Materials were pictures that were cross classifiable by taxonomic and thematic categories. A free study condition, in which Ss studied the pictures any way they wished, tested the hypothesis that taxonomic clustering would increase with age and thematic clustering would decrease with age. This condition also tested A. R. Jensen's (see record 1969-09740-001) prediction of population differences in clustering and recall. Two conditions were also included that determined whether constraining Ss to sort taxonomically or thematically during the study period would raise recall and clustering. Results for the free study condition indicate that recall and taxonomic clustering increased with age but thematic clustering was low for both ages. This pattern of performance did not vary with ethnicity or SES. The constrained taxonomic condition raised taxonomic clustering for all children but had no effect on recall for either age group. The constrained thematic condition generally raised thematic clustering for all Ss, but the beneficial effect of the constrained thematic condition on recall was limited to the 10-yr-olds. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Loss of emotional experience after traumatic brain injury: Findings with the startle probe procedure.

The authors used affective modulation of the eyeblink startle response to examine the impact of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on emotional reactions to pictures. Participants were 13 individuals with severe TBI and 24 controls. Participants were presented with pictures that differed in affective valence (e.g., mutilated bodies, erotic couples, and household objects) while the eyeblink startle response to an acoustic probe was measured. Startle amplitude was used to assess valence of emotional response, and startle latency was used to index interest in the pictures. Subjective ratings of the affect and arousal elicited by the various pictures were also obtained. TBI impaired startle potentiation to unpleasant pictures but not startle attenuation to pleasant pictures. Further, subjective ratings indicated that TBI participants found unpleasant pictures less arousing than did controls. The results are consistent with recent evidence of differential impairment in negative versus positive emotions after TBI and are discussed in relation to 2 competing explanations of startle modulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prefrontal and parietal regions are involved in naming of objects seen from unusual viewpoints.

Object naming is commonly used for demonstrating semantic memory abilities, known to be affected in normal aging. Yet, neuropsychological assessments of older people do not reflect irregularities. The authors used a test with 2 levels of naming complexity by 2 kinds of stimuli: common objects pictured from a conventional viewpoint (usual condition) or from an unconventional viewpoint (unusual condition). The authors studied naming performance with 129 healthy participants, aged 20-85 years. For the usual stimuli, the success rate was high (90.9%), with no reduction in performance until 65 years of age. However, for the unusual stimuli, there was a marked reduction in performance with age. Brain activity was studied on 11 healthy young participants (20-30 years of age) using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The usual condition activated brain regions associated with visual perception, language, and memory. Additional brain regions associated with semantic searching and decision making were obtained in the unusual condition in the prefrontal cortex (Brodmann's area [BA] 9 and BA 47) and anterior cingulate (BA 32). The results suggest that the poor naming performance for unusual-viewed objects in older people might be related to the shrinkage of frontal gray matter with age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Categorizing chairs and naming pears: category differences in object processing as a function of task and priming

Four experiments are reported examining the locus of structural similarity effects in picture recognition and naming with normal subjects. Subjects carried out superordinate categorization and naming tasks with picture and word forms of clothing, furniture, fruit, and vegetable exemplars. The main findings were as follows: (1) Responses to pictures of fruit and vegetables ("structurally similar" objects) were slowed relative to pictures of clothing and furniture ("structurally dissimilar" objects). This structural similarity difference was greater for picture naming than for superordinate categorization of pictures. (2) Structural similarity effects in picture naming were reduced by repetition priming. Repetition priming effects were equivalent from picture and word naming as prime tasks. (3) However, superordinate categorization of the prime did not produce the structural similarity effects on priming found for picture naming. Furthermore, such priming effects did not arise for picture or word categorization or for reading picture names as target tasks. It is proposed that structural similarity effects on priming object processing are located in processes mapping semantic representations of pictures to name representations required to select names for objects. Visually based competition between fruit and vegetables produces competition in name selection, which is reduced by priming the mappings between semantic and name representations.     

Visual Search for Object Orientation Can Be Modulated by Canonical Orientation.

The authors studied the influence of canonical orientation on visual search for object orientation. Displays consisted of pictures of animals whose axis of elongation was either vertical or tilted in their canonical orientation. Target orientation could be either congruent or incongruent with the object's canonical orientation. In Experiment 1, vertical canonical targets were detected faster when they were tilted (incongruent) than when they were vertical (congruent). This search asymmetry was reversed for tilted canonical targets. The effect of canonical orientation was partially preserved when objects were high-pass filtered, but it was eliminated when they were low-pass filtered, rendering them as unfamiliar shapes (Experiment 2). The effect of canonical orientation was also eliminated by inverting the objects (Experiment 3) and in a patient with visual agnosia (Experiment 4). These results indicate that orientation search with familiar objects can be modulated by canonical orientation, and they indicate a top-down influence on orientation processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)