Effects of processing fluency on comparative performance judgments

Research has shown that performance predictions are biased by the impact of processing fluency. However, existing data are inconclusive with regard to comparative judgments of performance. In five experiments, participants in an easy condition gave more favorable comparative judgments than participants in a difficult condition. Participants judged their performance more favorably if they named colors of non-color words rather than non-matching color words (Experiment 1), if they had to generate six words of a category rather than 12 words (Experiment 2), if they had to run in place for 15 s rather than 2 min (Experiment 3), but the latter result holds only true if participants were not active in sports (Experiment 4). When 67% of the items in a recognition test were old words, participants thought that their recognition performance was better than when 33% of the items were old words, although recognition performance did not differ between groups (Experiment 5). We discuss this result in the light of recent theories about effects of processing fluency on judgments.     

Probing Proctor's priming principle: the effect of simultaneous and sequential presentation on same-different judgments

Three explanations (internal noise, priming, relative frequency) of the fast-same effect were examined. The internal-noise principle, which predicts more errors as well as faster correct judgments on same pairs, was consistently confirmed even with sequential presentation. More elusive was priming, that is, the facilitation of encoding from letter repetition with sequential presentation. Priming was inhibited by the presence of intertrial letter repetition. The error data indicated that priming involves an increased efficiency in encoding (d'), as Proctor claimed, rather than a criterion shift (beta), as Krueger and Shapiro claimed. An alternative to the priming explanation, based on the greater susceptibility of simultaneous presentation to analytical processing, was tested and disconfirmed. Stimulus-set size did not affect the speed advantage for same pairs, thus disconfirming the relative-frequency explanation, according to which same judgments are faster because typically there are fewer unique same than different pairs.     

Anchoring effects on performance judgments

Three studies were conducted investigating the effects of irrelevant anchors on performance judgments. Both a lab and field study demonstrated that an alternative anchoring manipulation that did not involve an explicit comparative question had effects on performance judgments similar to a traditional anchoring manipulation. The final study examined whether the anchoring effects were more likely when the anchor was highly applicable to the final judgment. The results indicated that both highly applicable and low applicable anchors produced an anchoring effect, but the highly applicable anchors had a larger effect on performance judgments. Evidence was also found for asymmetrical anchoring effects. In two of the three studies, high anchors increased performance judgments relative to the control group, whereas low anchors were not significantly different from the control group.     

Introspection: Divided and Partly Eliminated

This paper will argue that there is no such thing as introspective access to judgments and decisions. It won't challenge the existence of introspective access to perceptual and imagistic states, nor to emotional feelings and bodily sensations. On the contrary, the model presented in Section 2 presumes such access. Hence introspection is here divided into two categories: introspection of propositional attitude events, on the one hand, and introspection of broadly perceptual events, on the other. I shall assume that the latter exists while arguing that the former doesn't (or not in the case of judgments and decisions, at least). Section 1 makes some preliminary points and distinctions, and outlines the scope of the argument. Section 2 presents and motivates the general model of introspection that predicts a divided result. Section 3 provides independent evidence for the conclusion that judgments and decisions aren't introspectable. Section 4 then replies to a number of objections to the argument, the most important of which is made from the perspective of so-called "dual systems theories" of belief formation and decision making. The upshot is a limited form of eliminativism about introspection, in respect of at least two core categories of propositional attitude.     

Predicting and postdicting the effects of word frequency on memory

In the experiments reported here, I replicate and extend recent results that reveal that judgments about the memorability of common and uncommon words differ qualitatively depending on whether they are made during study or elicited during a recognition test (Guttentag & Carroll, 1998). When assessing recognition ability for individual words, subjects predict superior performance for common words, but postdict better performance for uncommon words. This interaction suggests that subjects rely on different cues when making judgments during study than they do when making analogous judgments during the recognition test, and that the cues utilized during recognition lead judgments to be more accurate. The shift is then evident in later predictions Subjects who make postdictions consequently correctly predict superior recognition performance for uncommon words on a subsequent study list. When subjects are asked to make later predictions about recall performance, however, having made postdictions on a test of recognition does not mislead subjects into predicting superior recall performance for uncommon words.     

The development of mental models for auditory events: Relational complexity and discrimination of pitch and duration

This experiment investigated relational complexity and relational shift in judgments of auditory patterns. Pitch and duration values were used to construct two‐note perceptually similar sequences (unary relations) and four‐note relationally similar sequences (binary relations). It was hypothesized that 5‐, 8‐ and 11‐year‐old children would perform unary level pitch and duration discrimination tasks accurately. Relational shift predicted a poorer performance of the younger age groups on binary relation tasks; relational primacy predicted no effect of age. Accuracy was operationalized as a discrimination index (DI: hit rate minus false alarm rate). Results supported relational shift: DI for all age groups exceeded chance on unary and binary relation tasks, with significantly poorer performance by all age groups on binary relation tasks. The 5‐years age group showed evidence of perceptual similarity. Relational complexity of auditory dimensions and tasks, and manipulation of domain specific musical knowledge in evaluating theories of relational processing, are discussed.     

Differential interference effects of negative emotional states on subsequent semantic and perceptual processing

Past studies have revealed that encountering negative events interferes with cognitive processing of subsequent stimuli. The present study investigates whether negative events affect semantic and perceptual processing differently. Presentation of negative pictures produced slower reaction times than neutral or positive pictures in tasks that require semantic processing, such as natural or man-made judgments about drawings of objects, commonness judgments about objects, and categorical judgments about pairs of words. In contrast, negative picture presentation did not slow down judgments in subsequent perceptual processing (e.g., color judgments about words, size judgments about objects). The subjective arousal level of negative pictures did not modulate the interference effects on semantic or perceptual processing. These findings indicate that encountering negative emotional events interferes with semantic processing of subsequent stimuli more strongly than perceptual processing, and that not all types of subsequent cognitive processing are impaired by negative events.     

Effect of modality-specific experience on visual and haptic judgment of orientation

Although the 'oblique effect' (poorer performance on oblique orientations as compared to performance on vertical and horizontal orientations) is generally understood as a strictly visual phenomenon, a haptic oblique effect occurs for blindfolded subjects required to set a stimulus rod by hand. Because oblique effects are often attributed to the observer's experience with a predominantly horizontal and vertical environment, we assessed the effect of visual and haptic experience by providing subjects with modality-specific inspection periods to familiarize them with the more poorly judged obliques. Oblique error was significantly reduced in magnitude for judgments made by the modality of experience, and for judgments made across modalities. Rate of improvement, consistency of transfer, and the subjective reports of subjects indicate that this haptic oblique effect is more strongly influenced by visual experience and imagery than by haptic experience. It need not be interpreted as an effect based on factors intrinsic to the haptic modality.     

Cognitive Domains of the Mood System

One possible outline of the interrelationship between mood and cognition makes use of a fourfold framework: mood-state introspections yield a report of the mood, mood-sensitive judgments are influenced by mood, metamood experiences include thoughts about the mood, and mood-related traits predict the likelihood of being in a mood. Three studies were conducted to investigate the relation between mood introspection and mood-sensitive judgment (e.g., mood-related changes in judgments about "objective" events such as belief in the probability of a nuclear war). These same studies also examined the metamood experiences and mood-related traits occurring simultaneously with the above moods and judgments. Judgment was mood-sensitive across all studies. Factor analysis of the various measures was supportive of the partial independence of the four domains. Mood introspection, mood-sensitive judgment, and mood-related traits appeared on separate factors. Metamood experience was factorially complex and was distributed across factors. Interrelations among the domains were described. The relevance of the framework for representing personality and psychopathology was discussed, as was the influence of mood on everyday judgments.     

Children's working memory: investigating performance limitations in complex span tasks

Three experiments investigated the roles of resource-sharing and intrinsic memory demands in complex working memory span performance in 7- and 9-year-olds. In Experiment 1, the processing complexity of arithmetic operations was varied under conditions in which processing times were equivalent. Memory span did not differ as a function of processing complexity. In Experiment 2, complex memory span was assessed under three conditions designed to vary both processing and intrinsic storage demands: mental arithmetic (significant attentional demands-requires storage), odd/even judgments (significant attentional demands-no storage required), and articulatory suppression (minimal attentional demands--no storage required). The highest memory spans were found in the articulatory suppression task. Span was at an intermediate level with arithmetic processing and was lowest for processing involving odd/even judgments. This difference in memory span for processing tasks involving arithmetic processing and odd/even judgments was eliminated in Experiment 3 when the pacing requirements of the arithmetic and odd/even processing tasks were equated. The results are consistent with the view that complex memory span performance is disrupted by processing activities that divert attentional resources from storage.     

知觉模糊度影响学习的延迟效应

基于迁移适当加工理论,采用连续识别任务范式,通过操纵字词和图片的模糊度来考察知觉模糊非流畅的延迟效应。结果发现：（1）模糊不流畅的材料学习判断值更低;（2） 知觉模糊程度对即时的再认成绩没有影响,但在延迟再认测试中流畅性较低的模糊材料成绩更好。该结果表明实验操纵方式所引发的编码过程和记忆测试所需的检索过程性质上相匹配,而且延迟测试时,知觉非流畅可以促进学习,说明该效应存在边界。     

On the unreliability of introspection

In his provocative and engaging new book, Perplexities of Consciousness, Eric Schwitzgebel makes a compelling case that introspection is unreliable in the sense that we are prone to ignorance and error in making introspective judgments about our own conscious experience. My aim in this commentary is to argue that Schwitzgebel’s thesis about the unreliability of introspection does not have the damaging implications that he claims it does for the prospects of a broadly Cartesian approach to epistemology.     

Ease-of-learning judgments are based on both processing fluency and beliefs

Processing fluency influences many types of judgments. Some metacognitive research suggests that the influence of processing fluency may be mediated by participants’ beliefs. The current study explores the influence of processing fluency and beliefs on ease-of-learning (EOL) judgments. In two experiments (Exp 1: n?=?94; Exp 2: n?=?146), participants made EOL judgments on 24 six-letter concrete nouns, presented in either a constant condition (high fluency) with upper-case letters (e.g., BUCKET) or an alternating condition (low fluency) with mixed upper- and lower-case letters (e.g., bUcKeT). After judging words individually, participants studied the words and completed a free recall test. Finally, participants indicated what condition they believed made the words more likely to be learned. Results show constant-condition words were judged as more likely to be learned than alternating condition words, but the difference varied with beliefs. Specifically, the difference was biggest when participants believed the constant condition made words more likely to be learned, followed by believing there was no difference, and then believing the alternating condition made words more likely to be learned. Thus, we showed that processing fluency has a direct effect on EOL judgments, but the effect is moderated by beliefs.     

Effects of Performance Context on Processing Speed and Performance Ratings

The present study demonstrated that the presence of evaluatively polarized context performances not only produces contrast and halo effects on judgments of a target performance, but also causes judgments to be made much faster. Processing speed and positive halo were highly correlated, supporting the notion that halo in performance ratings results from raters' recall and use of a single, general impression. Furthermore, regression analyses demonstrated that processing speed mediates the relationship between context and halo. The relationship between these findings, halo, processing speed, and general impressions, as well as implications for performance appraisals, are discussed.     

Deliberation versus intuition: Global versus local processing in judgment and choice

Decisions and judgments made after deliberation can differ from expert opinion and be more regretted over time than intuitive judgments and decisions. We investigated a possible underlying process of this phenomenon, namely global versus local processing style. We argue that deliberation induces a local processing style. This processing style narrows conceptual attention and can have detrimental effects on judgment and decision-making. Study 1 showed that intuitive judgments of quality of modern paintings were more accurate than were more deliberate, reasoned judgments. Study 2 showed that local versus global processing style is associated with accuracy of quality judgments of paintings, and Study 3 replicated this finding with an experimental manipulation of processing style. Finally, Study 4 showed that the effect of intuitive versus deliberative decision mode on quality judgments of poems is mediated by processing style.     

个体关于加工流畅性的信念对字体大小效应的影响

本研究考察个体关于加工流畅性的信念对学习判断(Judgment of learning, 简称JOL)的影响, 探讨字体大小效应的产生机制。研究通过两个实验分别考察个体关于“字体大小影响加工流畅性” (实验1)以及“加工流畅性影响记忆效果” (实验2)等信念对字体大小效应的影响。结果发现: 1)当人们相信大字体更流畅(实验1)或者越流畅越好记(实验2)时, 他们在大字体项目上的JOL值显著高于小字体项目上的JOL值; 2)当人们相信小字体更流畅(实验1)或者流畅性与记忆无关(实验2)时, 他们在大字体和小字体项目上的JOL值无显著差异, 字体大小效应消失。上述结果表明, 个体关于加工流畅性的信念是字体大小效应产生的重要原因, 是人们进行学习判断的重要线索。     

Counterfactual thinking facilitates behavioral intentions

People often ponder what might have been, and these counterfactual inferences have been linked to behavior regulation. Counterfactuals may enhance performance by either a content-specific pathway (via shift in behavioral intentions) and/or a content-neutral pathway (via mindsets or motivation). Three experiments provided new specification of the content-specific pathway. A sequential priming paradigm revealed that counterfactual judgments facilitated RTs to complete behavioral intention judgments relative to control judgments and to a no-judgment baseline (Experiment 1). This facilitation effect was found only for intention judgments that matched the information content of the counterfactual (Experiment 2) and only for intention judgments as opposed to a different judgment that nevertheless focused on the same information content (Experiment 3). These findings clarify the content-specific pathway by which counterfactuals influence behavior.     

Numerical order and quantity processing in number comparison

We investigated processing of numerical order information and its relation to mechanisms of numerical quantity processing. In two experiments, performance on a quantity-comparison task (e.g. 2 5; which is larger?) was compared with performance on a relative-order judgment task (e.g. 2 5; ascending or descending order?). The comparison task consistently produced the standard distance effect (faster judgments for far relative to close number pairs), but the distance effect was smaller for ascending (e.g. 2 5) compared to descending pairs (e.g. 5 2). The order task produced a pair-order effect (faster judgments for ascending pairs) and a reverse distance effect for consecutive pairs in ascending order. The reverse effect implies an order-specific process, such as serial search or direct recognition of order for successive numbers. Thus, numerical quantity and order judgments recruited different cognitive mechanisms. Nonetheless, the reduced distance effect for ascending pairs in the quantity task implies involvement of order-related processes in magnitude comparison. Accordingly, distance effects in the quantity-comparison task are not necessarily a process-pure measure of magnitude representation.     

Influence of Domain Knowledge on Monitoring Performance Across the Life Span

Two studies were conducted to investigate effects of domain knowledge on metacognitive monitoring across the life span in materials of different complexity. Participants from 4 age groups (3rd-grade children, adolescents, younger and older adults) were compared using an expert–novice paradigm. In Study 1, soccer experts’ and novices’ ease-of-learning judgments (EOLs), judgments of learning (JOLs), and confidence judgments (CJs) were contrasted when memorizing soccer-related word pairs. In Study 2, monitoring judgments (i.e., a rating of global comprehension, JOLs, and CJs) were collected in regards to a soccer-related narrative. The results of both approaches showed that experts’ better memory performance obtained in both studies was not always accompanied by advantages in monitoring performance. In Study 1, experts of all ages outperformed novices in monitoring accuracy. In Study 2, no benefits of expertise on monitoring were found; in children, novices even surpassed experts in monitoring quality. In both studies, the most consistent influence of previous domain knowledge on monitoring performance concerned more optimistic judgments of experts compared with novices, regardless of stimuli and recall format. In sum, our results document a twofold effect of expertise on monitoring. Although domain-specific knowledge enhances monitoring performance in some situations, more optimistic estimates, presumably due to the application of a familiarity heuristic, typically reduce experts’ monitoring accuracy.