Lower region: a new cue for figure-ground assignment

Figure-ground assignment is an important visual process; humans recognize, attend to, and act on figures, not backgrounds. There are many visual cues for figure-ground assignment. A new cue to figure-ground assignment, called lower region, is presented: Regions in the lower portion of a stimulus array appear more figurelike than regions in the upper portion of the display. This phenomenon was explored, and it was demonstrated that the lower-region preference is not influenced by contrast, eye movements, or voluntary spatial attention. It was found that the lower region is defined relative to the stimulus display, linking the lower-region preference to pictorial depth perception cues. The results are discussed in terms of the environmental regularities that this new figure-ground cue may reflect.     

Use of the familiarity difference cue in inferential judgments

The familiarity difference cue has been regarded as a general cue for making inferential judgments (Honda, Abe, Matsuks, & Yamagishi in Memory and Cognition, 39(5), 851–863, 2011; Schwikert & Curran in Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143(6), 2341–2365, 2014). The current study tests a model of inference based on familiarity differences that encompasses the recognition heuristic (Goldstein & Gigerenzer, 1999, Goldstein & Gigerenzer in Psychological Review, 109(1), 75–90, 2002). In two studies, using a large pool of stimuli, participants rated their familiarity of cities and made choices on a typical city-size task. The data were fitted with the r-s model (Hilbig, Erdfelder, & Pohl in, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition, 37(4), 827–839, 2011), which was adapted to include familiarity differences. The results indicated that people used the familiarity difference cue because the participants ignored further knowledge in a substantial number of cases when the familiarity difference cue was available. An analysis of reaction-time data further indicated that the response times were shorter for heuristic judgments than for knowledge-only-based judgments. Furthermore, when knowledge was available, the response times were shorter when knowledge was congruent with a heuristic cue than when it was in conflict with it. Differences between the familiarity difference cue and the fluency heuristic (Schooler & Hertwig, 2005, Psychological Review, 112, 610–628) are discussed.     

Brightness contrast: a reinterpretation of compound cue and combined cue experiments with pigeons.

A group of three pigeons was trained on a 4-ply multiple schedule: a green color and a vertical line superimposed upon an achromatic background as positive stimuli, and a red color and a horizontal line on an achromatic background as negative stimuli. The pigeons were tested with the vertical line superimposed upon different achromatic background intensities, then with the vertical line superimposed upon different green background intensities, and finally with the vertical line and its training achromatic backgfound attenuated (and unattenuated) by a neutral density filter. The gradients peaked at the luminance of the achromatic background used during training and at the equivalent luminance for the green background when it was substituted for the achromatic background. The brightness contrast, not the background luminance, was the critical variable as the neutral density filter attenuated both the line and the background equally, leaving brightness contrast unchanged; there was no response decrement to this attenuated stimulus. Two other groups of three pigeons showed that they attended to line orientation as well as to brightness contrast. The brightness contrast hypothesis was extended to explain results of attention experiments and combined cue experiments which have used line stimuli in combinations with different backgrounds.     

Dominance as a function of cue similarity: A test of the intrinsic cue dominance model

A nonselective model postulating intrinsic cue dominance was tested in simultaneous discrimination tasks involving reversal on one dimension. In this procedure two dimensions are relevant throughout training; however, following initial discrimination training the reward contingency is reversed for one dimension but maintained for the other. Cue dominance was assessed following acquisition of reversal by the use of opposed-cues test trials, and was defined as a greater number of choices of the test compound containing the positive cue of the reversed dimension than of the test compound containing the positive cue of the maintained dimension. In Experiment I, brightness cues dominated orientation cues. In Experiment II, which employed two different sets of relevant cues, more disparate brightness cues dominated the orientation cues for one set and orientation cues dominated less disparate brightness cues for the other. From this, it was concluded that dominance is a function of relative cue similarity.     

Training new, nonnative speech contrasts: a comparison of the prototype and perceptual fading techniques

We trained unilingual adult Canadian francophone listeners to identify the English voiceless and voiced linguadental ("th") frictives, /theta/ and /delta/, using synthetic exemplars of each phoneme. Identification training with feedback improved listeners' abilities to identify both natural and synthetic tokens. These results show that training with appropriately selected prototype stimuli can produce a linguistically meaningful improvement in a listener's ability to identify new, nonnative speech sounds--both natural and synthetic. However, it is not yet clear whether such training with a single prototype can improve performance as effectively as the fading technique used by Jamieson and Morosan (1986), since prototype training produced only a moderate improvement in listeners' identifications of synthetic stimuli containing brief frication. Differences between the techniques may reflect the need for listeners to experience the appropriate types of intraphonemic and interphonemic variability during training. Such variability may help to define the category prototype by desensitizing the subjects to differences between exemplars of the same category and by sharpening sensitivity to differences between categories.     

Reprocessing as a recognition cue

The use of mental operations as recognition cues was investigated. Two experiments support the hypothesis that processing details are retained in memory and that a re-creation of those processing details can effectively cue recognition. Four subjects performed a mental arithmetic task that emphasized speed and accuracy while discouraging memorization of the numbers. Recognition was cued either by single numbers or by a pair of numbers that, when added, replicated an episode of the original task. Reprocessing an episode was the most effective recognition cue. Of the two single-number cues, the intermediate subtotals were recognized, whereas the numbers that had been physically displayed were not. The study suggests: (1) that the sequence of mental operations is retained in memory, (2) that reprocessing uses this trace to facilitate performance, and (3) that the detection of facilitated reprocessing aids recognition.     

The influence of cue unreliability on judgment in a multiple cue probability learning task

The effect of cue reliability was tested in a two-cue multiple-cue probability learning (MCPL) task. Subjects were 42 undergraduates. The cue validities were.78 and.37. Unreliability in a cue was defined as variability in multiple observations of that cue on a given trial. That variability was provided by adding random errors to the true value of the cue. One group was given consistent cues (i.e., the more valid cue was the more reliable cue), one group was given inconsistent cues, and the control group was given true scores. Cue reliability did not affect subjects' consistency or achievement, but did interact with the presence of outcome feedback. The subjective weights showed that subjects thought they weighted the more reliable cue more heavily regardless of the cue validities or their actual cue weightings. There were wide individual differences in performance, illustrating the need for an idiographic-statistical approach in studying decision making.     

Pitch as a phonemic cue

Three experiments that were designed to determine how pitch information is represented in auditory memory are reported. A same-different reaction time was used in all three experiments. Previous experiments have interpreted the finding of faster “same” responses to acoustically identical pairs than to pairs that are phonemically identical but acoustically distinct as indicating that there is a memory that preserves auditory information. It has been assumed that this can be used to match “same” pairs only if the formant frequencies of the members of the pair are the same. In the first experiment, the size of this matching advantage for pairs with identical formant frequencies was not altered when the members of the pair were on different pitches. This indicates that pitch is represented separately from the formants at the auditory level. The second and third experiments used a bigger pitch difference when the pairs were on a different pitch, which, for one of the stimulus sets, resulted in a change in vowel quality but not in the identity of the consonant. In the other stimulus set, both phonemes of the syllable remained the same when presented on different pitches. The matching advantage was reduced when the stimuli were on different pitches for both stimulus sets. This indicates that a difference in pitch can prevent matching at the auditory level under some circumstances. An additional finding, a reduced residual matching advantage when the syllable changes, indicates that at least a syllable-length representation is held in auditory memory. The results are discussed with respect to how the representation in auditory memory might be used in the perception of speech produced by different speakers.     

Explicit cue weighting in a prediction task

Two experiments were conducted to examine the strategies people use to determine the cue weights in a two-cue prediction task. In order to examine the subjects' strategies, half of the subjects in Experiment 1 were asked to state the weights explicitly for the two cues on each trial rather than directly estimating the criterion value. The subjects' estimates of the criterion were then calculated on the basis of the estimated weights. The results of Experiment 1 suggested that most subjects use a hypothesis-testing approach to determine cue weights. In addition, it appeared that most of the subjects randomly tested hypotheses about the relative importance of the cues, which did not prove to be an effective strategy. The results of Experiment 2 indicated that failure to learn the relative importance of the cues was not due to failure to test the appropriate cue weights at some point during the task, but to failure to test the hypothesized cue weights on enough trials to evaluate their adequacy sufficiently.     

All we need is a cue to remember: the effect of an extinction cue on renewal

In the present study, it was investigated by employing a human fear conditioning paradigm whether an extinction retrieval cue can attenuate renewal of conditioned responding after an extinction treatment procedure, and if so, what the precise role of such an extinction cue comprises. It was hypothesized that such a cue can attenuate renewal and would function as a safety signal capable of directly inhibiting the expectancy of an aversive outcome and conditioned skin conductance responding to a conditioned stimulus. The results demonstrated that the extinguished expectancy of an aversive outcome was renewed when the CS was presented outside the extinction context and that an extinction cue attenuated this effect. This extinction cue, however, only transferred its inhibitory properties to other, non-extinguished stimuli when there was no contextual switch. This safety signal function was not observed after a switch in context. Possible functions of the extinction cue and its application in extinction-based exposure treatments are discussed.     

Inferring causality assessments from predictive responses: cue interaction without cue competition

The authors criticize the use of participants' predictive responses during a learning phase as a measure of causal assessments. Simulations demonstrate that a general aim to minimize error as required in the prediction task will produce results in accordance with those observed, in particular apparent cue interaction effects. It is argued that measures estimated from prediction responses do not reflect causal ratings, but are side-effects of learning explained by adaptation in strategy to changes in presented cell frequencies. The results are reinterpreted to be in line with a causal model view, not requiring dual processes or cue competition of lower level associative processes.     

Age-related decline in prospective memory: the roles of cue accessibility and cue sensitivity.

In two experiments the authors evaluated the hypothesis that age-related decline in prospective memory reflects momentary lapses of intention (MLIs), and explored two factors, cue sensitivity and accessibility, that may contribute to MLIs. MLIs were reliably greater than zero in Experiment 1, indicating that performance fluctuated over the course of the task. Analysis of the response latency data (RL) revealed that older adults demonstrated elevated RL for missed prospective cues and were much slower to respond correctly to prospective cues than younger adults. These findings indicate preserved cue sensitivity in later adulthood and an age-related decline in cue accessibility. Experiment 2 demonstrated that cue sensitivity did not result from an orienting response to the perceptual novelty associated with the prospective cues.     

Acquisition of stimulus control while introducing new stimuli in fading.

After establishing discrimination between a red positive stimulus and a green negative stimulus, the lowest intensity colors that restricted all responding to the positive stimulus were determined. Then, two new white lines differing in terms of line orientation were each superimposed on one of the colors and were increased in intensity. Thereafter, the intensity of the colors was decreased and eventually eliminated. Probe stimuli consisting of the lines presented against dark backgrounds were presented before each change of stimulus intensity, and probe responding was used to assess the control acquired by various dimension of the new stimuli during the course of fading. The lines acquired control of responding while they were being introduced, and control was strengthened as the colors were attenuated. Such a locus of acquisition was attributed to the starting intensity of the original controlling stimuli and was explained in terms of stimulus blocking. Finally, using probes while introducing the new stimuli enhanced the acquisition of control by the new stimuli.     

Audience response as a heuristic cue in persuasion

Previous research on the persuasive impact of an overheard audience has yielded conflicting results. In this study, we attempted to understand such audience effects within the framework of the heuristic model of persuasion. Subjects listened to an audiotaped persuasive message that conveyed arguments of either high or low quality and that was responded to by either an enthusiastic or an unenthusiastic overheard audience. In addition, subject involvement (high vs. low) was varied. Consistent with predictions, the audience response cue influenced postmessage opinions only under low involvement; under high involvement, only argument quality affected persuasion. Analyses that took into account subjects' need for cognition supported the additional hypothesis that individuals lower in need for cognition would be more responsive to the audience manipulation under low involvement. Thought-listing data and regression analyses provided further support for the heuristic model.     

Positive and negative cue redundancy in multiple cue probability learning

In two separate experiments, 80 introductory psychology students completed a two-cue probability learning task in which cue intercorrelation was positive or negative and cue validities were positive or negative. Results indicated that Ss did not learn the negative validity tasks. In addition, there were no significant differences between groups in achievement due to cue intercorrelation within any one experiment. However, the positive redundancy groups were significantly more consistent in the employment of their decision strategy than the negative redundancy groups when cue validities were positive. The negative redundancy groups were superior to positive redundancy groups in matching; again, when cue validities were positive.     

Convergence as a cue to depth

A test that presents conflicting monocular and vergence cues to depth shows that approximately two-thirds of the population can use convergence as a cue to depth. The remaining one-third apparently cannot use this cue. These differences in the role of convergence in depth perception reflect individual differences in the neural mechanisms underlying depth perception.     

Choice in a "self-control" paradigm: effects of a fading procedure

Pigeons chose between an immediate 2-second reinforcer (access to grain) and a 6-second reinforcer delayed 6 seconds. The four pigeons in the control group were exposed to this condition initially. The four experimental subjects first received a condition where both reinforcers were delayed 6 seconds. The small reinforcer delay was then gradually reduced to zero over more than 11,000 trials. Control subjects almost never chose the large delayed reinforcer. Experimental subjects chose the large delayed reinforcer significantly more often. Two experimental subjects showed preference for the large reinforcer even when the consequences for pecking the two keys were switched. The results indicate that fading procedures can lead to increased “self-control” in pigeons in a choice between a large delayed reinforcer and a small immediate reinforcer.