空间距离对视觉工作记忆巩固的影响

以往研究发现,个体对不同类型的视觉信息进行视觉工作记忆巩固的模式存在差异,如对于方向信息,一次只能有一个项目被巩固进入视觉工作记忆系统,而对于颜色信息,个体则可以一次巩固两个项目进入视觉工作记忆系统。但对于视觉信息的巩固模式是否会受其他因素的影响,目前仍然没有明确的定论。本研究将探讨视觉信息的巩固模式是否可能受到记忆项目空间距离因素的影响。研究采用变化觉察范式、序列-同时呈现操作及控制记忆项目呈现间距的方法,通过3个实验考察记忆项目之间的空间距离是否能够影响个体对颜色信息和方向信息的巩固模式。在三种空间距离水平上序列呈现或同时呈现两个记忆项目,实验结果一致发现记忆项目之间的空间距离会对视觉工作记忆巩固模式产生明显影响,个体在同时呈现条件下的正确率会随着空间距离的增大而降低。这些结果表明对同一类视觉信息进行巩固的过程中所存在的项目数量限制并不是固定的,个体可以采用序列模式或有限容量的并行模式对同一类信息进行巩固,巩固的模式可能与视觉空间注意的分配以及视觉信息所能获得的注意资源有关。     

Taboo words: The effect of emotion on memory for peripheral information

In three experiments, we examined memory for peripheral information that occurred in the same context as emotion-inducing information. In the first two experiments, participants studied either a sentence (Experiment 1) or a pair of words (Experiments 2A—2C) containing a neutral peripheral word, as well as a neutral, negative-valence, or taboo word, to induce an emotional response. At retrieval, the participants were asked to recall the neutral peripheral word from a sentence fragment or emotion-inducing word cue. In Experiment 3, we presented word pairs at encoding and tested memory with associative recognition. In all three experiments, memory for peripheral words was enhanced when it was encoded in the presence of emotionally arousing taboo words but not when it was encoded in the presence of words that were only negative in valence. These data are consistent with priority-binding theory (MacKay et al., 2004) and inconsistent with the attention-narrowing hypothesis (Easterbrook, 1959), as well as with object-based binding theory (Mather, 2007).     

Dual-task interference in perceptual category learning

The effect of a working-memory-demanding dual task on perceptual category learning was investigated. In Experiment 1, participants learned unidimensional rule-based or information integration category structures. In Experiment 2, participants learned a conjunctive rule-based category structure. In Experiment 1, unidimensional rule-based category learning was disrupted more by the dual working memory task than was information integration category learning. In addition, rule-based category learning differed qualitatively from information integration category learning in yielding a bimodal, rather than a normal, distribution of scores. Experiment 2 showed that rule-based learning can be disrupted by a dual working memory task even when both dimensions are relevant for optimal categorization. The results support the notion of at least two systems of category learning a hypothesis-testing system that seeks verbalizable rules and relies on working memory and selective attention, and an implicit system that is procedural-learning based and is essentially automatic.     

Magnifying effects on visual word recognition: a dynamic display for internet-based experiments

A visual presentation procedure is introduced that presents target words followed by a dynamic mask until recognition. This form of stimulus degradation prolongs the word recognition process. Differences in word recognition latencies—which are usually quite small—are magnified, and thus can be more easily observed. The results of two experiments on the Internet with a total of 141 participants establish the task’s ability to magnify differences in word recognition latencies stemming from word familiarity (Experiment 1) and word prototypicality (Experiment 2). Both factors interact with stimulus degradation, but at different presentation intervals; these results are discussed as evidence for comparing models of word recognition. The new procedure can be used for assessing individual differences, such as implicit motives and self-focused attention. Further applications are discussed.     

Attenuating the visual suffix effect with color

In previous studies using a short-duration visual presentation (200-340 msec), presentation of a different colored suffix did not attenuate the visual suffix effect. In Experiment 1, color attenuated the suffix effect for a longer duration visual presentation (approximately 3-4 sec) during which the subject engaged in articulatory suppression to prevent auditory recoding. Experiments 2 and 3 confirmed that color does not attenuate the suffix effect for the short-duration presentations. In Experiment 4, recall of a long-duration presentation was not improved when the last digit was a different color, suggesting that the different color of the suffix improves recall by allowing the suffix to be excluded from visual short-term memory. The attenuation by color is consistent with the hypothesis that preattentive grouping governs the entry of information into visual short-term memory.     

Contrasting effects of repetition across tasks: Implications for understanding the nature of refractory behavior and models of semantic memory

We describe a patient (J.M.) who showed “refractory” behavior in picture—word matching tasks—that is, his performance became poorer when items were repeated. This contrasts with the facilitatory effects of repetition usually observed in normal participants. We show for the first time that there can be facilitatory effects of repetition on some tasks, even though refractory behavior is shown on the same items in other tasks. In particular, in Experiments 1 and 2, we demonstrate that J.M. showed contrasting effects of repetition across different components of the language system: There were facilitatory effects of repetition priming on lexical decision but refractory behavior on picture—word matching. In Experiments 3 and 4, we demonstrate that J.M. showed contrasting effects of repetition within the same system (semantic memory). His performance became refractory when items were repeated in picture—word matching (Experiment 3), but it was facilitated when items were repeated in superordinate categorization (Experiment 4). These contrasting patterns of facilitation and interference from repetition priming have implications for understanding the nature of refractory behavior and for constraining theoretical accounts of semantic memory.     

The effect of layout and pacing on learning from diagrams with unnecessary text

Although the presentation of extraneous (i.e., irrelevant or unnecessary) information hinders learning, it is unclear whether and how layout and pacing influence this effect. In two experiments, participants learned how the heart functions using four different layouts: a diagram presented without unnecessary text (diagram only), with unnecessary text separated from the diagram (separated) or integrated into the diagram (integrated), or with separated unnecessary text and the instruction to integrate (integration instruction). In Experiment 1, study time was self‐paced for half of the participants and system paced for the other half. There were no effects of layout and of pacing on learning, although system pacing was more effortful than self‐pacing. In Experiment 2, which was system paced and employed eye tracking, the integrated condition showed worse learning outcomes than the separated condition. Moreover, in the integrated condition, participants made more integration attempts between the unnecessary text and the diagram than in the separated condition.     

TRANSSACCADIC MEMORY AND INTEGRATION DURING REAL-WORLD OBJECT PERCEPTION

Abstract— What is the nature of the information that is preserved and combined across saccadic eye movements during the visual analysis of real-world objects? The two experiments reported investigated transsaccadic memory and transsaccadic integration, respectively In the critical condition, participants were presented with one set of contours from an object during one fixation and with a complementary set of contours during the next fixation In Experiment 1, participants could at best inconsistently detect contour changes across the saccade In Experiment 2, a change in visible contour had no influence on object identification. These results suggest that a veridical representation of object contour is neither consistently preserved nor integrated across a saccade.     

客体同维度特征的视觉工作记忆存储机制

客体理论认为视觉工作记忆的存储单位是客体, 人类能够把组成物体的所有特征整合成一个单元进行记忆, 不管这些特征是来自不同维度还是同一维度。然而同一维度多个特征可以被整合成客体记忆的结果只被少数研究证实, 大量研究发现同一维度的多个特征不能被整合记忆, 这形成了弱客体理论的基本观点。为了解决两大理论之间的争议, 本研究主要探究同维度特征能否被整合记忆。通过分析以往研究, 我们认为实验范式和物体意义两个因素可能是导致之前大部分研究没有发现维度内特征能够被整合记忆的原因。因此, 实验1采用回忆报告范式替代以往研究经常使用的变化觉察范式, 结果发现, 同一维度的多个特征难以被整合记忆。实验2以记忆无意义物体的特征为基线, 探究在记忆有意义物体的特征时是否可能将多个特征进行整合记忆。结果发现, 对于有意义物体的特征的记忆成绩并没有显著好于记忆无意义物体特征的成绩, 说明即使采用具有较强整合线索的有意义物体作为载体, 同一维度多个特征也难以被整合记忆。两个实验结果进一步支持了弱客体理论。     

Strategic influences on recollection in the exclusion task: Electrophysiological evidence

One assumption underlying the use of the exclusion task as part of the process dissociation procedure is that studied items are successfully excluded only when they are recollected. The present study employed event-related potentials (ERPs) to demonstrate that successful exclusion does not necessarily require recollection. In two experiments, the study tasks for to-be-excluded items were identical, but the tasks employed withtarget items differed, giving better memory for these items in Experiment 1 than in Experiment 2. Successfully excluded items elicited the ERP signature for recollection—theleft parietal old/new effect—in Experiment 2 only. These findings indicate that the subjects adopted different retrieval strategies in the two experiments. It is suggested that they made more use of source information about to-be-excluded items in the second experiment than in the first.     

A severe capacity limit in the consolidation of orientation information into visual short-term memory

Previous research has suggested that two color patches can be consolidated into visual short-term memory (VSTM) via an unlimited parallel process. Here we examined whether the same unlimited-capacity parallel process occurs for two oriented grating patches. Participants viewed two gratings that were presented briefly and masked. In blocks of trials, the gratings were presented either simultaneously or sequentially. In Experiments 1 and 2, the presentation of the stimuli was followed by a location cue that indicated the grating on which to base one’s response. In Experiment 1, participants responded whether the target grating was oriented clockwise or counterclockwise with respect to vertical. In Experiment 2, participants indicated whether the target grating was oriented along one of the cardinal directions (vertical or horizontal) or was obliquely oriented. Finally, in Experiment 3, the location cue was replaced with a third grating that appeared at fixation, and participants indicated whether either of the two test gratings matched this probe. Despite the fact that these responses required fairly coarse coding of the orientation information, across all methods of responding we found superior performance for sequential over simultaneous presentations. These findings suggest that the consolidation of oriented gratings into VSTM is severely limited in capacity and differs from the consolidation of color information.     

长时记忆中文本目标信息的激活机制

选取138名大学生被试,采用移动窗口实时阅读技术和探测技术,探讨文本理解过程中长时记忆的目标信息激活的机制。实验1探讨在中文条件下目标焦点是否也启动长时记忆中目标信息的整合。结果表明在目标实现的条件下,目标句1可以作为目标启动句,激活进入长时记忆中的目标信息。实验2和3探讨长时记忆中目标信息的激活是自然实现的还是需要目标愈合信号启动激活,实验结果表明长时记忆中目标信息的激活需要目标愈合信号的启动。该研究结果总的表明:阅读过程长时记忆中目标信息的激活不需要与当前阅读信息发生共振,目标愈合情境是影响长时记忆目标信息通达的关键因素。     

The sensitivity of judgment-of-learning resolution to past test performance,new learning,and forgetting

When people judge their learning of items across study–test trials, their accuracy in discriminating between learned and unlearned items improves on the second trial. We examined the source of this improvement by estimating the contribution of three factors—memory for past test performance (MPT), new learning, and forgetting—to accuracy on trial 2. In Experiment 1, during an initial trial, participants studied paired associates, made a judgment of learning (JOL) for each one, and were tested. During the second trial, we manipulated two variables: when the JOL was made (either immediately before or after studying an item) and whether participants were told the outcome of the initial recall attempt on trial 1. In Experiment 2, the same procedure was used with a 1-week retention interval between study and test on trial 2. In both experiments, JOL resolution was higher on trial 2 than on trial 1. Fine-grained analyses of JOL magnitude and decomposition of resolution supported several conclusions. First, MPT contributed the most to boosts in JOL magnitude and improvements in resolution across trials. Second, JOLs and subsequent resolution were sensitive to new learning and forgetting, but only when participants’ judgments were made after study. Thus, JOLs appear to integrate information from multiple factors, and these factors jointly contribute to JOL resolution.     

A single-system interpretation of dissociations between recognition and categorization in a task involving object-like stimuli

In previous research (Reed, Squire, Patalano, Smith, & Jonides, 1999), amnesic patients performed at near normal levels in a categorization task involving stimuli with discrete features, but showed impaired recall of the features. These results were taken as evidence of the existence of separate memory systems for categorization and recall/recognition. The present research addresses a single-system account of this dissociation. In Experiment 1, results closely matching the dissociation pattern were obtained when normal participants' classification and recognition performance was tested either immediately or after a week delay. In addition, formal modeling of the data suggested that participants use only a few of the dimensions in the categorization task, whereas they must use many dimensions in the cued-recall task. In Experiment 2, we found that many participants could perform the categorization task without any exposure to the training sequence. These results suggest that different memory demands across the two tasks may be responsible for the observed dissociation—separate memory systems are not necessarily involved.     

Body part representations in verbal semantics

Embodied theories of language propose that word meaning is inextricably tied to—grounded in—mental representations of perceptual, motor, and affective experiences of the world. The four experiments described in this article demonstrate that accessing the meanings of action verbs like smile, punch, and kick requires language understanders to activate modality-specific cognitive representations responsible for performing and perceiving those same actions. The main task used is a word-image matching task, where participants see an action verb and an image depicting an action. Their task is to decide as quickly as possible whether the verb and the image depict the same action. Of critical interest is participants’ behavior when the verb and image do not match, in which case the two actions can use the same effector or different effectors. In Experiment 1, we found that participants took significantly longer to reject a verb-image pair when the actions depicted by the image and denoted by the verb used the same effector than when they used different effectors. Experiment 2 yielded the same result when the order of presentation was reversed, replicating the effect in Cantonese. Experiment 3 replicated the effect in English with a verb-verb near-synonym task, and in Experiment 4, we once again replicated the effect with learners of English as a second language. This robust interference effect, whereby a shared effector slows discrimination, shows that language understanders activate effector-specific neurocognitive representations during both picture perception and action word understanding.     

Audio-visual integration of emotional cues in song

We examined whether facial expressions of performers influence the emotional connotations of sung materials, and whether attention is implicated in audio-visual integration of affective cues. In Experiment 1, participants judged the emotional valence of audio-visual presentations of sung intervals. Performances were edited such that auditory and visual information conveyed congruent or incongruent affective connotations. In the single-task condition, participants judged the emotional connotation of sung intervals. In the dual-task condition, participants judged the emotional connotation of intervals while performing a secondary task. Judgements were influenced by melodic cues and facial expressions and the effects were undiminished by the secondary task. Experiment 2 involved identical conditions but participants were instructed to base judgements on auditory information alone. Again, facial expressions influenced judgements and the effect was undiminished by the secondary task. The results suggest that visual aspects of music performance are automatically and preattentively registered and integrated with auditory cues.     

Remember judgments and the constraint of direct experience

The most direct assessment of episodic memory is provided by Remember versus Know judgments of recalled or recognised items. We investigate whether Remember judgments reflect episodic memories as a re-experience of formerly experienced events (mental time travel). If they do, they must obey the direct experience constraint: only directly experienced events can be re-experienced but not when the event is known through indirectly conveyed information. In two Experiments participants saw simple events in Power Point, e.g. a car exploding. In the direct experience condition these events were directly perceived. In three further conditions information about the object (particular car), the kind of event (explosion), or both were verbally conveyed. After controlling for a potential encoding specificity effect in Experiment 1, the frequency of Remember judgments was twice as high in the direct experience condition than in the other three conditions. This suggests that Remember judgments are—at least to some degree—subject to the direct experience constraint.     

社会场景下联合表征的整合机制

人们在交互过程中会同时表征自我和他人相关的信息,形成社会性联合表征.然而,自我和他人相关信息是以整合还是分离的形式存在,这一问题尚未厘清.本研究以工作记忆蓬佐错觉为指标展开了探讨.实验中要求两名被试分别记忆部分构成蓬佐错觉的线段并回忆.结果发现,竞争和合作场景下的个体不仅表征了他人相关的信息,还将其和自身相关的信息进行了整合,形成工作记忆蓬佐错觉效应,表明社会交互条件下会自动整合成社会性共同表征.