Item and associative recognition with precuing and postcuing

M. Duncan & B. B. Murdock (2000) compared precued and postcued item recognition and serial recall showing precued-postcued differences for item recognition but not for serial recall. Precuing and postcuing refer to 2 conditions in which the instructions as to the type of recall test following the presentation of short lists of items is given before or after the list presentation. This methodology was extended here to a paired-associate task. In 2 experiments, short lists of paired associates were presented followed by single-item, old-new, or intact-rearranged pair recognition tests; test type was precued or postcued. A fast or slow presentation rate was used to discourage or encourage mediators. TODAM2 (a theory of distributed associative memory) predicts that there should be little or no cuing differences regardless of whether subjects use mediators to remember the pairs. As predicted the recognition data were essentially identical for the precued and postcued conditions.     

Dissociating visual attention and effector selection in spatial precuing tasks

In this study the authors tested and rejected a recent proposal that response precuing effects depend on the spatial extent of the precues rather than on the number of response choices. Moreover, the authors tested and supported the hypothesis that the number of effectors in the response set is an important determinant of spatial precuing effects. Results of 4 experiments consistently showed that keypress responses generated a qualitatively different pattern of precuing effects than did pointing and detection responses. Together, the results establish a strong dissociation between planning pointing responses and planning keypress responses and suggest that precuing effects in 1-effector and multiple-effector visuomotor tasks are dominated by distinct and separate mechanisms, visual attention and effector selection, respectively.     

The picture superiority effect in associative recognition

The picture superiority effect has been well documented in tests of item recognition and recall. The present study shows that the picture superiority effect extends to associative recognition. In three experiments, students studied lists consisting of random pairs of concrete words and pairs of line drawings; then they discriminated between intact (old) and rearranged (new) pairs of words and pictures at test. The discrimination advantage for pictures over words was seen in a greater hit rate for intact picture pairs, but there was no difference in the false alarm rates for the two types of stimuli. That is, there was no mirror effect. The same pattern of results was found when the test pairs consisted of the verbal labels of the pictures shown at study (Experiment 4), indicating that the hit rate advantage for picture pairs represents an encoding benefit. The results have implications for theories of the picture superiority effect and models of associative recognition.     

Left and right visual field superiority for letter classification

Two letter classification experiments examine the hypothesis that lateral asymmetries in perceptual processing are sensitive to subtle changes in task demands. The first experiment reports a right visual field superiority for an easy letter classification, but a left field superiority for a difficult classification using the same population of stimuli. Experiment II demonstrates that the right field superiority can be reversed if the easy classification trials are embedded among more difficult trials. The implications of these results for theories of hemispheric localization are discussed.     

The superiority of the pair-comparisons method for scaling visual illusions

Twenty-one Ss scaled the Delboeuf illusion by the methods of pair comparisons, constant stimulus differences, reproduction, and pair reproduction. The method of pair comparisons was clearly superior on all indices of validity, reliability, and efficiency. Pair comparisons forces the S to discriminate between treatment levels and avoids motor responses. Es should consider using pair comparisons or related methods which share these advantages.     

The picture superiority effect in a cross-modality recognition task

Words and pictures were studied, and recognition tests were given in which each studied object was to be recognized in both word and picture format. The main dependent variable was the latency of the recognition decision. The purpose was to investigate the effects of study modality (word or picture), of congruence between study and test modalities, and of priming resulting from repeated testing. Experiments 1 and 2 used the same basic design, but the latter also varied retention interval. Experiment 3 added a manipulation of instructions to name studied objects, and Experiment 4 deviated from the others by presenting both picture and word referring to the same object together for study. The results showed that congruence between study and test modalities consistently facilitated recognition. Furthermore, items studied as pictures were more rapidly recognized than were items studied as words. With repeated testing, the second instance was affected by its predecessor, but the facilitating effect of picture-to-word priming exceeded that of word-to-picture priming. The findings suggest a two-stage recognition process, in which the first is based on perceptual familiarity and the second uses semantic links for a retrieval search. Common-code theories that grant privileged access to the semantic code for pictures or, alternatively, dual-code theories that assume mnemonic superiority for the image code are supported by the findings. Explanations of the picture superiority effect as resulting from dual encoding of pictures are not supported by the data.     

Right hemisphere superiority in the recognition of famous faces

Words and famous faces were tachistoscopically presented in bilateral view to normal right-handed subjects. A left visual field advantage was obtained for famous faces whether naming or recognition from an array was required and a right visual field advantage was obtained for words. While the finding of a left visual field advantage for the recognition of famous faces is consistent with studies of face recognition deficits in brain-damaged patients, a right visual field advantage for the recognition of famous faces has recently been reported in normal subjects. Possible explanations for this discrepancy are discussed.     

The initial capitalization superiority effect in German: evidence for a perceptual frequency variant of the orthographic cue hypothesis of visual word recognition

A perceptual frequency variant of the orthographic cue (OC) hypothesis (Peressotti, Cubelli, & Job, 2003) was tested in two perceptual identification experiments using the variable viewing position technique: German nouns and non-nouns that are most frequently perceived with or without initial letter capitalization, respectively, were tachistoscopically presented in upper-case, lower-case, or with initial capitalization. The results indicated that words were best recognized in the form they are most frequently perceived in, which suggests that during reading acquisition abstract as well as case- and item-specific OCs may be learned and used for recognition.     

Feature processing and superiority of three-quarter views in face recognition

The specificity of face recognition is usually related to the hypothesis that it could be based mainly on global processing of the whole face. However, this does not mean that more analytic processes, like the local processing of some features, could not play a role in the recognition process in some circumstances. An experiment was conducted with 18 normal subjects in order to evaluate the role of analytic processes in the recognition of faces viewed from different angles. Makeup was applied to eyes and lips to enhance local processing (local cue). We found a positive effect of the makeup cue, which could be due to better recognition when the shape of eyes and lips are highlighted. Also, we found better recognition with left-sided views compared to right-sided views. Finally, the makeup effect was significant in left three-quarter views but not in right three-quarter views. If this effect is due to analytic processing of some facial features, it could be related to a left hemisphere operation.     

Attentional demands of processing shape in three-dimensional space: evidence from visual search and precuing paradigms.

The hypothesis that representation of projective shape is preattentive whereas representation of objective shape in three-dimensional space requires allocation of attention was tested in 2 visual search and 2 precuing experiments. In the visual search experiments, the slope for projective shape search was expected to approach 0 and that for objective shape search was expected to be a positive monotonic function of set size. In the precuing experiments, the effects of precuing were expected to be largely limited to the task requiring representation of objective shape. The overall pattern of results conformed to expectations. The findings are interpreted in the context of a model of shape-at-a-slant processing set out by Epstein and Lovitts (1985) and Epstein and Babler (1989, 1990).     

The word superiority effect in brief visual displays: Elimination by vocalization

A variation on the experiments of Reicher (1968) and Wheeler (1970) was performed to expose the difference between the perceptual processing of words and that of single letters that leads to the word superiority effect in brief visual displays. The innovation m the present experiment is the use of a 1.5-sec interval between stimulus offset and choice onset during which Ss were required to vocalize the stimulus. A visual noise mask was presented during this interval. A control group was run with the conditions of choice delay and vocalization requirement absent, i.e., they were tested under the conditions used by Reicher and Wheeler. For the control group, recognition accuracy for words was 6.1% greater than for letters, while for the experimental group, recognition accuracy for letters was 5.6% greater than for words.     

Effects of inferiority and superiority in groups on recognition memory and confidence

Summary Three dependent variables were derived from an extended Signal-Detection paradigm: memory performance, confidence level, and response-bias. In the assessment of memory items, S and 2 confederates were exposed periodically to fictitious results which implied inferiority or superiority of S. Memory performance was generally better in group situations than when the subject was alone. Within groups, inferiority motivated S to improve. Significant confidence differences between correct and false judgments and, if S judged falsely, a high susceptibility to cognitions about S's relative performance, led theoretically to a distinction between internal and external cues and to the assumption that S wished to avoid uncertainty. Response-bias was found to be independent of motivation and very close to expected stimulus occurrence. The reward/cost theory of Thibaut and Kelley accounts for the motivation engendered and is linked to some theoretical considerations about processing objectively classifiable stimuli in social context.

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Zusammenfassung Aus einem erweiterten Signal-Detection-Paradigma wurden 3 abhängige Variablen abgeleitet: Gedächtnisleistung, Sicherheitsniveau und Response-bias. Bei der Beurteilung von Gedächtnisaufgaben wurden einer Vp und 2 Mitwissern des Vl von Zeit zu Zeit fiktive Ergebnisse gezeigt, die entweder Unterlegenheit oder Überlegenheit der Vp induzierten. Verglichen mit einer Alleinsituation stieg die Gedächtnisleistung allgemein in Gruppensituationen. Innerhalb von Gruppensituationen wurde die Vp durch Unterlegenheit motiviert, sich zu verbessern. Signifikante Unterschiede in der Sicherheit zwischen richtigen und falschen Urteilen und hohe Beeinflußbarkeit durch Kognitionen über den relativen Leistungsstand der Vp bei Fehlerurteilen führte theoretisch zu einer Unterscheidung zwischen innerem und äußerem Aufschluß und zu der Annahme, daß die Vp Unsicherheit vermeiden will. Der gefundene Response-bias war unabhängig von Motivation und sehr nahe bei der Wahrscheinlichkeit des Auftretens der Reize. Die reward/cost Theorie von Thibaut und Kelley kann die erzeugte Motivation erklären und wird mit einigen theoretischen Überlegungen über die Verarbeitung objektiv definierbarer Reize im sozialen Kontext verknüpft.

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This research was supported by research grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft allotted to the Sonderforschungsbereich 24 at the University of Mannheim, West Germany. We are grateful to Mary Madden, Pauline Sadler, and Jennifer S. Sentance for their cooperation on the English translation.

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This article is partly based on a Diplom-thesis by the second author entitled Effekte von Überlegenheit und Unterlegenheit in Gruppen auf Gedächtnisleistung und Skalengebrauch.     

Size scaling in visual pattern recognition

Human visual recognition on the basis of shape but regardless of size was investigated by reaction time methods. For successive matching of random figures, reaction time increased linearly with the linear size ratio of stimulus pairs. For single-character classification, reaction time increased with divergence between cued size format and stimulus format such that for character nonrepetitions, the increment in latency was approximately proportional to the logarithm of the linear size ratio of the two formats. However, when reactions to character repetitions were faster than those to nonrepetitions, the repetition reaction time function was similar to that for successive matching of random figures. The results suggested two processes of size scaling: mental-image transformation and perceptual-scale transformation. Image transformation accounted for matching performance based on visual short-term memory, whereas scale transformation accounted for size invariance in recognition based on comparison against visual representations in long-term memory.