Inhibition of return can be associated with object identity but not with object category

In this study, pre-schoolers and a comparison sample of fifth graders and high school students were presented with prediction tasks that varied by content of the base rate information (perceptual vs semantic) either presented alone (simple task) or accompanied by individuating data (complex task). Base rate choices, confidence scores, and explanations of the choices were registered. It is assumed that the presence of content effects in the processing of the base rates is in favour of a mental model account. Results indicated that pre-schoolers are able to build one-dimensional models with perceptual base rates in simple tasks. Fifth graders and high school students are able to build one-dimensional models with both types of content in simple tasks, as well as two-dimensional models in complex tasks. There is a local facilitation effect of semantic contents for fifth graders that disappears for high-school students. Consistency between subjects' choices, confidence scores and rationales depends on the subjects' grade, the number of sources involved, and the base rate content. Developmental trends are discussed in the light of previous research within formal, heuristic, and mental model approaches.     

内在锚与外在锚对锚定效应及其双加工机制的影响

通过2（外在锚类型：高锚VS低锚）×2（内在锚类型：有VS无）被试间设计,考察不同锚定信息来源：由外部世界提供的外在锚与个体自身内部产生的内在锚信息对锚定效应及其加工机制的影响。结果发现：（1）当内在锚不存在时,外在高低锚组的估计值有显著差异,当内在锚存在时此种差异变得不显著;（2）当内在锚存在时,外在高低锚组被试的答题反应时有显著差异,内在锚与外在锚一致时反应时比不一致时更快,当内在锚不存在时,此种差异变得不显著。实验结果表明,当锚定调整机制与选择通达机制同时存在时,前者更占优势;锚定信息一致性会影响不同加工机制的启动,一致的信息会激活选择通达机制,不一致的信息则会激活锚定调整机制。     

个体变量、材料变量对大学生创造性问题提出能力的影响

研究以139名大学生为被试,采用2(信息素养:高、低)×2(批判性思维倾向:强、弱)×2(信息量:高、低)×2(批判情境:有、无)四因素混合设计,考察个体变量和材料变量对创造性问题提出能力的影响。结果显示:(1)从个体变量看,批判性思维倾向在信息素养预测创造性问题提出能力时起调节作用;(2)从材料变量看,信息量高且含批判情境的材料对创造性问题提出能力有促进作用;(3)个体变量和材料变量在灵活性和独创性上存在交互作用。高信息素养或强批判性思维倾向的被试在含批判情境材料下灵活性、独创性表现更好;低信息素养或弱批判性思维倾向的学生在无批判情境材料下灵活性表现更好,在两种批判情境下独创性无显著差异。     

Conceptual structure and the structure of concepts: a distributed account of category-specific deficits

We present a new account of the fine-grained structure of semantic categories derived from neuropsychological, behavioral, and developmental data. The account places theoretical emphasis on the functions of the referents of concepts. We claim (i) that the distinctiveness of functional features correlated with perceptual features varies across semantic domains; and (ii) that category structure emerges from the complex interaction of these variables. The representational assumptions that follow from these claims make strong predictions about what types of semantic information are preserved in patients showing category-specific deficits following brain damage. These claims are illustrated with a connectionist simulation which, when damaged, shows patterns of preservation of distinctive and shared functional and perceptual information which varies across semantic domains. The data model both dissociations between knowledge for artifacts and for living things and recent neuropsychological evidence concerning the robustness of functional information in the representation of concepts.     

通货膨胀知觉的认知机制和影响因素

通货膨胀知觉是个体对通货膨胀的主观体验.通货膨胀知觉的认知机制主要体现在体验阶段和整合阶段.体验阶段主要涉及到个体对物价的感受性和记忆,整合阶段主要涉及到个体利用可得性启发式以及锚定和调整启发式完成对通货膨胀的最终估计.通货膨胀知觉的影响因素主要包括通货膨胀预期、框架效应、对价格公平性的认知、社会放大效应以及货币改革等.未来可以从通货膨胀知觉的信息加工方式、认知神经机制、跨文化研究以及具有较高生态效度的测量指标等方面进一步探讨.     

Heuristic processing of distinctiveness information in minority and majority influence

The role of distinctiveness information in majority and minority influence was studied. Students read a message containing strong or weak arguments advocated by a minority or majority source. The communicator's minority (majority) status was said to be either distinctive to the target topic or nondistinctive across topics. Major dependent variables were attitude judgments and cognitive responses. Across conditions, messages were processed systematically, and a majority communicator tended to be more persuasive than a minority communicator. Most importantly, high distinctiveness led to greater influence than low distinctiveness, and this effect was independent of argument strength and minority versus majority status. Theoretical and applied implications of these findings are discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The attribute priming effect in patients with Alzheimer's disease

Experiments with semantic priming (SP) paradigms have documented early hypopriming in patients with AD when concepts are used as primes and attribute concept features as targets, suggesting that concept attributes are vulnerable to damage very early in the disease course. The aims of this study were to confirm early priming reduction in the attribute condition in patients with AD and to determine which of several semantic indexes (such as the level of distinctiveness, correlation or feature dominance of concept features) best predicts the priming effect size in AD. We administered an SP attribute condition paradigm to 20 mildly demented patients with AD and to 10 NCs. We used concept–attribute pairs for which normative data of semantic indexes relative to both concept primes (i.e., number, type, mean level of dominance, distinctiveness and correlation of features constituting the concepts) and target features (i.e., level of feature dominance, correlation and distinctiveness) were available. Results showed that compared to NCs, the AD group obtained very reduced priming facilitation. Furthermore, the item regression analyses showed that the priming decrement in the AD group was predicted by the feature dominance of the target in the related pairs; that is, the lower the target feature dominance, the lower the priming effect elicited. These results confirmed hypopriming in the attribute condition from the very early phase of AD and support the view that attributes which are more salient for the identification of a given concept are also those most resistant to semantic memory degradation in AD pathology.     

The Semantics of Anchoring

Previous research has demonstrated that judgmental anchoring effects—the assimilation of a numeric estimate to a previously considered standard—are semantic in nature. They result because the semantic knowledge about the target object that is activated during the comparison with the anchor influences the absolute judgment. In addition to this semantic influence, the numeric anchor value itself may also yield an effect under specific conditions. The present research was designed to examine the relative strength of both mechanisms and explore their boundary conditions. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrate that semantic anchoring effects are more potent than purely numeric effects. Study 3 further suggests that purely numeric effects only operate if accessible semantic knowledge is inapplicable to the critical judgment so that semantic influences are incapacitated. The implications of these findings are discussed from the perspective of an integrative model which differentiates between two stages of anchoring. Whereas purely numeric influences appear to be limited to the stage of anchor selection, the actual comparison with the target involves more elaborate semantic processes.     

ASPECTS OF SCHEMATA AND SYNTAX IN FIFTH GRADE CHILDREN'S INFERENTIAL READING COMPREHENSION OF CAUSAL RELATIONS

Seventy‐five urban middle class fifth grade children of average and above average reading ability served as subjects in an experiment designed to determine the effects of passage content (schemata) and syntactic structure (clause order) on inferential comprehension of causal structures. Subjects were presented with twelve passages varying in semantic level (easy vs. hard, based on congruence with childhood schemata background) and clause order for the target causal structure (cause‐effect vs. effect‐cause). Subjects were asked to specify the implied meaning of the target structure. An analysis of variance for the randomized block factorial design yielded significant effects for subject variability and semantic content. Although the syntactic variable was not significant, proportions correct suggested a trend favoring the clause order of cause‐effect. An interaction between the variables was not confirmed. The findings are discussed in terms of the roles of schemata and syntax in an interactive model of reading.     

Access to semantic and episodic information from faces and voices: Does distinctiveness matter?

This study was aimed at investigating the role of stimulus distinctiveness on the retrieval of semantic and episodic information from familiar faces and voices. Distinctiveness of famous faces and voices was manipulated in order to assess its role as a potential underlying factor of face superiority. In line with previous findings, more semantic and episodic information was retrieved from faces than from voices. Semantic information was better retrieved from distinctive than from typical stimuli. Nevertheless, distinctiveness seemed to impact less than stimulus domain on the recall of semantic details. Indeed, more semantic information was retrieved from typical faces than from distinctive voices. The consistency of these results with current models of person recognition is discussed.     

Putting adjustment back in the anchoring and adjustment heuristic: differential processing of self-generated and experimenter-provided anchors

People's estimates of uncertain quantities are commonly influenced by irrelevant values. These anchoring effects were originally explained as insufficient adjustment away from an initial anchor value. The existing literature provides little support for the postulated process of adjustment, however, and a consensus that none takes place seems to be emerging. We argue that this conclusion is premature, and we present evidence that insufficient adjustment produces anchoring effects when the anchors are self-generated. In Study 1, participants' verbal reports made reference to adjustment only from self-generated anchors. In Studies 2 and 3, participants induced to accept values by nodding their heads gave answers that were closer to an anchor (i.e., they adjusted less) than participants induced to deny values by shaking their heads—again, only when the anchor was self-generated. These results suggest it is time to reintroduce anchoring and adjustment as an explanation for some judgments under uncertainty.     

义符的类别一致性和家族大小影响形声字的语义加工

采用行为实验和眼动技术考察义符的类别一致性和家族大小对形声字语义加工的影响。结果发现：(1) 在一致性判断和视觉选择中均存在着字词水平的类别一致性效应, 义符同整字类别一致的字容易认知。(2) 义符的家族大小影响形声字的语义加工, 义符家族大, 汉语母语者对形声字的加工更容易采用形旁推理策略。(3) 义符家族的类别一致性影响形声字的语义加工。(4) 义符家族的类别一致性和家族大小效应受义符与整字的类别一致性调节。     

锚定效应的种类、影响因素及干预措施

锚定效应是指个体在不确定情境下的决策会受到初始无关锚影响致使其随后的数值估计偏向该锚的一种判断偏差现象。不同种类的锚定效应其影响因素和干预措施不同, 如影响传统锚定效应的有锚定信息特征、能力变量、情绪因素及个体差异性等, 基本锚定效应的主要影响因素有知识技能与时间压力, 自发锚定效应则受动机变量、认知因素及内部信念等影响。未来研究可深入挖掘认知加工机制、类比推理过程和开发DDS系统等来帮助减少各种锚定偏差。     

Exploring the effects of icon characteristics on user performance: the role of icon concreteness, complexity, and distinctiveness

Because icons, signs, and symbols are now widely used to communicate information, it is essential for system designers to know what makes them easy to use and interpret. The authors report a series of studies that examine characteristics considered central to icon usability. After quantifying the properties of icon concreteness, complexity, and discriminability, the authors assessed each property's effects on user performance when user experience, task demands, and presentation context were systematically varied. Findings indicated that the effects of icon concreteness were primarily associated with the initial grasp of meaning, whereas complexity effects were found to persist longer and to be associated with search efficacy. The effects of icon distinctiveness were complex, but distinctiveness was enhanced by using both semantic and visual contrasts. The implications of these findings for interface design are discussed.     

EFFECT OF STRUCTURAL CUEING AND DECISION TYPE FOR IMPROVING RETENTION OF TECHNICAL TEXT

This study investigated the effects of structural cueing (color or no color) and decision level (rote or semantic) on students' verbatim retention of technical prose. Structural cueing represented the assimilation of encoding hypothesis for improving memory, and decision tasks represented the distinctiveness of encoding hypothesis for promoting deep processing. Subjects read an article on a microcomputer monitor in which either color‐coding or white‐only print was used to represent the structural importance among ideas in each paragraph and then, subsequent to each paragraph, responded to either rote memory or semantic memory decision statements. Results of a free written recall measure using a two‐factor analysis of covariance, revealed significant differences between students' retention on decision type but no differences based on color cueing. That is, students who responded to semantic level decision statements recalled more of the text than those who responded to the rote level decision statements. The results supported the distinctiveness of encoding hypothesis for learning via the microcomputer but did not support the assimilation of encoding hypothesis.     

The other way around: Effects of causal attributions on estimates of consensus,distinctiveness, and consistency

It was hypothesized that the attributed cause of a given person's behavior will affect inferences about its generalizability over persons (consensus), stimuli (distinctiveness), and circumstances (consistency). Moreover, these effects were expected to parallel the effects of consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency information on causal attributions. Experiment 1 provided support for these predictions but also showed that attribution affected consensus judgments less than it affected judgments of distinctiveness and consistency, particularly when consensus was not the first characteristic estimated. Using a different set of stimulus materials and a different manipulation of attribution, Experiments 2 and 3 provided further evidence for the effects of attribution on inferences of consensus information. Experiment 3 indicated that the false consensus effect—actors' tendency to assume that the majority of people share their behavior—may be due to actors' tendency to attribute their behavior to situational factors. Implications of the present studies for biased estimates of consensus and the use of consensus and attribution as mediating variables are discussed.     

When knowledge matters—differential effects of available knowledge in standard and basic anchoring tasks

The present research examines whether anchoring effects—the assimilation of a numeric estimate towards a previously considered standard—depend on judges' available knowledge in the target domain. Based on previous research, I distinguish two types of anchoring effects. Standard anchoring is obtained if judges are explicitly asked to compare the anchor to the target. Basic anchoring results if the accessibility of the anchor is increased prior to judgments about the target. I expected that only basic but not standard anchoring is reduced by providing judges with judgment‐relevant knowledge. Using a standard versus basic anchoring paradigm, 112 participants were confronted with a high versus low anchor before estimating the average price of a German midsize car. Prior to this task, participants were provided with information about prices of cars (relevant knowledge) versus kitchens (irrelevant knowledge). Results demonstrate that this knowledge only influenced the magnitude of basic but not standard anchoring effects. This finding demonstrates that knowledge has differential effects in different types of anchoring. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parentification and Psychological Adjustment: Locus of Control as a Moderating Variable

Childhood parentification has been associated with both positive and negative psychosocial outcomes. While divergent effects of parentification have been documented, few studies have attempted to identify variables that may impact the relationship between parentification and later adjustment. In the present study, internal locus of control, a variable associated with positive adjustment, was hypothesized as a potential moderating variable in the relationship between parentification and outcome. Using an undergraduate sample, internal locus of control was found to significantly moderate the relationship between childhood parentification and current ratings of depression and happiness. Theoretical rationales for the findings are discussed.     

Exploring the additive effects of stimulus quality and word frequency: The influence of local and list-wide prime relatedness

Stimulus quality and word frequency produce additive effects in lexical decision performance, whereas the semantic priming effect interacts with both stimulus quality and word frequency effects. This pattern places important constraints on models of visual word recognition. In Experiment 1, all three variables were investigated within a single speeded pronunciation study. The results indicated that the joint effects of stimulus quality and word frequency were dependent upon prime relatedness. In particular, an additive effect of stimulus quality and word frequency was found after related primes, and an interactive effect was found after unrelated primes. It was hypothesized that this pattern reflects an adaptive reliance on related prime information within the experimental context. In Experiment 2, related primes were eliminated from the list, and the interactive effects of stimulus quality and word frequency found following unrelated primes in Experiment 1 reverted to additive effects for the same unrelated prime conditions. The results are supportive of a flexible lexical processor that adapts to both local prime information and global list-wide context.     

Behavioral and neural analyses of connotative meaning: Word classes and rating scales

Behavioral (semantic differential) and neural (Evoked Potentials, EPs) responses were related to connotative meaning. The approach was based on Osgood's semantic analyses and dimensions of Evaluation (E), Potency (P), and Activity (A). The experimental variables were (1) the semantic class of the stimulus word (E+, E-, P+, P-, A+, A-) and (2) the dimension of the semantic scale (E, P, A) which the subject used to rate the stimulus words. These variables were experimentally combined such that on each trial the subject used a designated semantic scale to judge a specified stimulus word while brain activity was recorded. Using multivariate analyses, the effects on the EPs of stimulus word class, scale dimension, and their interaction were analyzed. The EP effects of stimulus word class were similar whether the subjects were merely saying the words or rating the words on a variety of semantic scales. Different EPs were found for six word classes, three semantic scale dimensions, and the 18 groups formed by their combination. The success rates in EP identification of (1) word class and (2) scale dimension did not depend on whether these two kinds of semantic variables involved the same or different semantic dimensions. The two kinds of semantic effects in EPs were largely independent. The behavioral data supported Osgood's results and showed that our subjects were appropriately processing the semantic information. The common analyses of data from all subjects suggest the universality of the connotative EP effects across individuals. This parallels, at the neural level, the universality of the connotative dimensions found at the behavioral level by semantic differential ratings. The EP effects imply that the neural representation of meaning is similar in different individuals.