Comparison of perceptual dimensions uncovered from infant-cry signals using the method of pair-comparisons and the semantic differential

Since infant cry sounds may provide caregivers with information concerning an infant's needs, several studies have examined the perceptual features of cry signals. This tradition is followed in the present study, which utilises two techniques; the method of pair-comparisons (coupled to INDSCAL) and the Semantic Differential (SD). In each case 24 infant cries (six each of pain, hunger, pleasure and birth) are used as stimuli. Data were collected from mothers; 39 rated each cry on 50 SD scales, and 26 provided ratings of similarity for every possible pairwise combination of cries. The similarity of the perceptual spaces described by the two techniques is demonstrated by a canonical analysis which compared the SD factor matrix with the INDSCAL dimension-weight matrix. Two of three possible common dimensions were uncovered. This similarity is also indicated by a standard multiple regression analysis by which the INDSCAL dimensions were described in terms of the SD scales. However, it appears the SD emphasised emotional characteristics of the cry signals whereas INDSCAL emphasised physical attributes.     

An eye fixation analysis of choice and judgment with multiattribute stimuli

The present paper examined the selection of processing heuristics for choice and judgment across a range of stimuli. Eye fixations were monitored while six subjects made choices or judgments of pairs of gambles, vacations, or gifts. Each stimulus was represented by three attributes that varied in the amount of dimensional interdependency. The two heuristics of interest were dimensional and holistic evaluation. Each manifested a characteristic pattern of eye fixations. Dimensional evaluation required alternating fixations from a single attribute of one stimulus to the same attribute of the other stimulus. Holistic evaluation was characterized by transitions from attribute to attribute within a single stimulus. The results demonstrated that when the stimulus attributes were either interdependent (gambles) or dissimilar (gifts), the processing heuristic was determined by stimulus characteristics. When the stimulus dimensions were neither interdependent nor dissimilar (vacations), the selection of a processing strategy was determined by the prescribed task. This study suggests that any global theory of choice or judgment must be validated over a wide range of stimuli.     

UNCERTAINTY OF COMPARATIVE JUDGEMENTS AND MULTIDIMENSIONAL STRUCTURE

An analysis of preferences with respect to silhouette drawings of nude females is presented. Systematic intransitivities were discovered. The dispersions of differences (comparatal dispersions) were shown to reflect the multidimensional structure of the stimuli, a finding expected on the basis of prior work. Difference ratings of these stimuli were analyzed by the TORSCA and INDSCAL procedures. The three stimulus dimensions all appeared in the multidimensional analyses.     

Repetition effects in choice reaction time to multidimensional stimuli

Ss classified as quickly as possible stimuli back-projected one at a time on a small screen by pressing one of two levers in response to each stimulus, according to the levels of a single specified binary stimulus dimension. Stimuli were rectangles varying in height alone, in width alone, or in both dimensions, in either a correlated or an orthogonal fashion. Stimuli followed responses by a fixed interval of 82, 580, or 1,080 msec. Response time was longer when both dimensions varied orthogonally than when only one dimension varied, indicating that Ss were unable to avoid perceiving the rectangle figures as wholes. Repeated stimuli were responded to more quickly than stimuli which were different from the immediately preceding stimulus in all conditions. With orthogonally combined dimensions, response time to stimulus repetitions was lowest, increased when the stimulus changed while the response was repeated, and increased still further when both the stimulus and the response changed. Increasing the time interval between stimuli decreased response time for nonrepetitions, while response time for repetitions was relatively unaffected. The results were discussed in terms of two models of serial choice reaction time.     

Parallel encoding within and between elementary stimulus dimensions

Human ability to encode simultaneously different dimensions of a visual display was tested, using an “erasure” technique to control the time for which the visual information remained available for processing. Three separate vocabularies of test item were employed, one varying in terms of color and two in terms of form attributes. Simultaneous presentation of color and form stimuli gave evidence of nearly perfect parallel encoding of both types of attribute. Form-form combinations, on the other hand, indicated only partially simultaneous encoding of the primary form dimensions involved. It was suggested that, while primary encoding of different stimulus dimensions is simultaneous, within the same dimension encoding of discrete stimulus elements may occur seriatim.     

Stimulus-set location does not affect orthogonal stimulus-response compatibility

In two-choice tasks for which stimuli and responses vary along orthogonal dimensions, one stimulus-response mapping typically yields better performance than another. For unimanual movement responses, the hand used to respond, hand posture (prone or supine), and response eccentricity influence this orthogonal stimulus-response compatibility (SRC) effect. All accounts of these phenomena attribute them to response-related processes. Two experiments examined whether manipulation of stimulus-set position along the dimension on which the stimuli varied influences orthogonal SRC in a manner similar to the way that response location does. The experiments differed in whether the stimulus dimension was vertical and the response dimension horizontal, or vice versa. In both experiments, an advantage of mapping up with right and down with left was evident for several response modes, and stimulus-set position had no influence on the orthogonal SRC effect. The lack of effect of stimulus-set position is in agreement with the emphasis that present accounts place on response-related processes. We favor a multiple asymmetric codes account, for which the present findings imply that the polarity of stimulus codes does not vary across task contexts although the polarity of response codes does.     

Influences on the Simon effect of prior practice with spatially incompatible mappings: Transfer within and between horizontal and vertical dimensions

The Simon effect refers to the fact that for tasks in which stimulus location is irrelevant and a nonspatial attribute is relevant, responses are typically faster when stimulus and response locations correspond than when they do not. Two experiments examined the influence of prior practice with an incompatible relevant spatial mapping on the Simon effect as a function of the dimension (vertical or horizontal) along which the stimuli and responses varied in practice and transfer sessions. With 72 practice trials, the Simon effect in the transfer session was eliminated only when the spatial dimension was horizontal for both practice and transfer. With 600 practice trials, the Simon effect was eliminated for all combinations of practice and transfer dimensions, with noncorresponding responses showing an advantage when the dimension was horizontal for both practice and transfer. Within-dimension transfer effects for the horizontal dimension after a small amount of practice can be attributed to reactivation of specific stimulus-response associations defined for the practice task. However, the between-dimension transfer effects evident after a larger amount of practice cannot be explained in this manner and suggest that the subjects acquired a general procedure of responding opposite to the stimulus location.     

Parallel processing in complex visual discrimination

In a “same-different” reaction time (RT) task pairs of stimuli varying along one or more dimensions are presented and S is required to indicate, as rapidly as possible, whether the stimuli are physically identical or different. This task was employed in three experiments investigating the processes by which multidimensional stimuli are discriminated. The results indicated that stimulus dimensions are compared in parallel; that the time required to interrogate a dimension varies randomly across trials and is dependent upon the time required to interrogate other dimensions present in test stimuli, and that comparisons terminate upon the detection of information sufficient for a correct response.     

Do features of stimuli influence IAT effects?

The Implicit Association Test (Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998) is a categorization task intended to measure the strength of associations between concepts. The present research investigated the influence of individual stimuli on IAT effects. Exploring implicit attitudes of East and West Germans, we systematically manipulated relatedness of target stimuli to the attribute dimension and, simultaneously, relatedness of attribute stimuli to the target dimension. Two experiments demonstrate the influence of stimulus associations as one source that drives IAT effects. Depending on the strength and the direction of these cross-category associations, the result was either stronger IAT effects or a decline of IAT effects. Implications for theoretical models as well as for the interpretation of IAT effects are discussed.     

Dimensions in the perception of architecture:I. Identification and interpretation of dimensions of similarity

Pairwise similarity-dissimilarity ratings of 20 slides of buildings representing major architectural styles were subjected to an INDSCAL analysis. Four major similarity dimensions were identified. Subsequently, the stimuli were rated on two batteries of scales: (1) collative and affective ratings, and (2) stylistic and technical ratings. Canonical correlations and redundancy indices revealed close relations between the multidimensional stimulus locations and the scale and factor spaces. The findings of the three experiments suggest that the four principal dimensions in the perception of architecture appear to be (1)Clarity, (2)Hedonic Tone/Arousal, (3) Uncertainty, and (4) Familiarity.     

Physical and cognitive dimensions in stimulus comparison

Two experiments were carried out using a same-different task with sets of four stimuli varying orthogonally in three dimensions. Sameness was defined by each of the three dimensions in turn, as well as by physical identity. Two types of dimensions, physical and cognitive, were studied. In Experiment 1, the numerals 6, 10, VI, and X, which vary in Length, System, and Name, were used. With simultaneous presentation, order of difficulty was from the physical dimension of Length to the cognitive dimension of Name. While overall difficulty was related to dimensional discriminability, internal evidence suggested that Name was not a dimension in the same sense as Length is, and that some stimulus pairs were simply easier to process than others, regardless of the response required (e.g., short stimulus pairs and Arabic numerals). With sequential presentation, Name was processed as fast as System, due largely to the fact that much faster responding occurred when an Arabic numeral was the second stimulus. Thus, with sequential presentation, Name provides a processing mechanism not provided by physical dimensions. In Experiment 2, the numerals 3, 4, 6, and 7, which vary in Magnitude, Oddness, and Curvilinearity, were used. The cognitive dimension of Magnitude was pro cessed most rapidly, and numerical distance between pairs of numbers dominated the results for “same” responses, regardless of the sameness rule used. Again, evidence was found for fast processing of some stimulus pairs (e.g., 3 4), regardless of the response required. Overall, these experiments are interpreted as indicating that cognitive factors such as stimulus familiarity may override aspects of physical discriminability with many dimensions and stimuli, that, even though a cognitive dimension can be used to generate a logically proper set of stimuli, it does not necessarily act as other, more physical dimensions do, and that clarification of the functional role of a dimension is more important than attempts to locate stages.     

Optional-shift behaviour in rats: A novel procedure for assessing attentional processes in discrimination learning

A novel, optional-shift procedure was used to assess changes in the attention paid to stimuli that occur over the course of discrimination learning. In Phase 1, rats were trained on a conditional instrumental discrimination using audiovisual stimulus compounds; one stimulus dimension (auditory or visual) was relevant to the solution of the discrimination, the other was irrelevant. In Phase 2, all animals received three sessions of training with novel audiovisual compounds where both dimensions were equally diagnostic. Results from probe test trials indicated that, during Phase 2, animals learnt most about cues belonging to the stimulus dimension that was relevant during Phase 1. These results suggest that over the course of discrimination learning there was an increase in the amount of attention paid to relevant stimuli and/or a decrease in the attention paid to irrelevant stimuli.     

Compensation versus halo: the unique relations between the fundamental dimensions of social judgment

Recent work on the relations between the two dimensions of social judgment, that is, warmth and competence, evidenced compensation such that a group seen more positively than another group on one dimension is seen less positively on the second. The authors examine the status of this compensatory relation by introducing a third dimension in the judgment context. Experiment 1 extends earlier work in a different population, comparing compensation as a function of whether warmth or competence is manipulated and competence or warmth is the unmanipulated dimension. Experiments 2 and 3 use healthiness as the unmanipulated dimension and reveal the presence of halo rather than compensation between warmth or competence on one hand and healthiness on the other. These findings suggest that compensation may not only stem from a concern for distributive justice but may also derive from the unique structural and functional relations between the two fundamental dimensions of social judgment.     

Optional-shift behaviour in rats: a novel procedure for assessing attentional processes in discrimination learning

A novel, optional-shift procedure was used to assess changes in the attention paid to stimuli that occur over the course of discrimination learning. In Phase 1, rats were trained on a conditional instrumental discrimination using audiovisual stimulus compounds; one stimulus dimension (auditory or visual) was relevant to the solution of the discrimination, the other was irrelevant. In Phase 2, all animals received three sessions of training with novel audiovisual compounds where both dimensions were equally diagnostic. Results from probe test trials indicated that, during Phase 2, animals learnt most about cues belonging to the stimulus dimension that was relevant during Phase 1. These results suggest that over the course of discrimination learning there was an increase in the amount of attention paid to relevant stimuli and/or a decrease in the attention paid to irrelevant stimuli.     

Influence of auditory and audiovisual stimuli on the right–left prevalence effect

When auditory stimuli are used in two-dimensional spatial compatibility tasks, where the stimulus and response configurations vary along the horizontal and vertical dimensions simultaneously, a right–left prevalence effect occurs in which horizontal compatibility dominates over vertical compatibility. The right–left prevalence effects obtained with auditory stimuli are typically larger than that obtained with visual stimuli even though less attention should be demanded from the horizontal dimension in auditory processing. In the present study, we examined whether auditory or visual dominance occurs when the two-dimensional stimuli are audiovisual, as well as whether there will be cross-modal facilitation of response selection for the horizontal and vertical dimensions. We also examined whether there is an additional benefit of adding a pitch dimension to the auditory stimulus to facilitate vertical coding through use of the spatial-musical association of response codes (SMARC) effect, where pitch is coded in terms of height in space. In Experiment 1, we found a larger right–left prevalence effect for unimodal auditory than visual stimuli. Neutral, non-pitch coded, audiovisual stimuli did not result in cross-modal facilitation, but did show evidence of visual dominance. The right–left prevalence effect was eliminated in the presence of SMARC audiovisual stimuli, but the effect influenced horizontal rather than vertical coding. Experiment 2 showed that the influence of the pitch dimension was not in terms of influencing response selection on a trial-to-trial basis, but in terms of altering the salience of the task environment. Taken together, these findings indicate that in the absence of salient vertical cues, auditory and audiovisual stimuli tend to be coded along the horizontal dimension and vision tends to dominate audition in this two-dimensional spatial stimulus–response task.     

The effects of sequential presentation and spatial arrangements on the free classification of multidimensional stimuli

Subjects classified sets of eight stimuli, constructed from three binary dimensions, into discrete groups in any way they wished. The stimuli were presented either simultaneously (all atonce) or sequentially (one at a time). When stimuli were presented simultaneously, different spatial arrangements did not produce different classifications. When stimuli were presented sequentially, in some sequential orders the level of each dimension varied at a different position in the sequence. For these orders, Ss tended to use the two levels of the first dimension that varied to classify the stimuli into two groups. But, other orders in which the levels of all dimensions varied on the second stimulus did not influence Ss’ classification. A comparison of sequential and simultaneous presentation showed for sequential presentation: (a) a smaller number of classifications was made using the dimensional structure to classify the stimuli, and (b)of those classifications that were dimensional, fewer dimensions were used to classify the stimuli into groups.     

Do chickens (Gallus gallus f. domestica) decompose visual figures?

To investigate whether learning to discriminate between visual compound stimuli depends on decomposing them into constituting features, hens were first trained to discriminate four features (red, green, horizontal, vertical) from two dimensions (colour, line orientation). After acquisition, hens were trained with compound stimuli made up from these dimensions in two ways: a separable (line on a coloured background) stimulus and an integral one (coloured line). This compound training included a reversal of reinforcement of only one of the two dimensions (half-reversal). After having achieved the compound stimulus discrimination, a second dimensional training identical to the first was performed. Finally, in the second compound training the other dimension was reversed. Two major results were found: (1) an interaction between the dimension reversed and the type of compound stimulus: in compound training with colour reversal, separable compound stimuli were discriminated worse than integral compounds and vice versa in compound training with line orientation reversed. (2) Performance in the second compound training was worse than in the first one. The first result points to a similar mode of processing for separable and integral compounds, whereas the second result shows that the whole stimulus is psychologically superior to its constituting features. Experiment 2 repeated experiment 1 using line orientation stimuli of reversed line and background brightness. Nevertheless, the results were similar to experiment 1. Results are discussed in the framework of a configural exemplar theory of discrimination that assumes the representation of the whole stimulus situation combined with transfer based on a measure of overall similarity.