Orientation priming of grasping decision for drawings of objects and blocks,and words

This study tested the influence of orientation priming on grasping decisions. Two groups of 20 healthy participants had to select a preferred grasping orientation (horizontal, vertical) based on drawings of everyday objects, geometric blocks or object names. Three priming conditions were used: congruent, incongruent and neutral. The facilitating effects of priming were observed in the grasping decision task for drawings of objects and blocks but not object names. The visual information about congruent orientation in the prime quickened participants’ responses but had no effect on response accuracy. The results are discussed in the context of the hypothesis that an object automatically potentiates grasping associated with it, and that the on-line visual information is necessary for grasping potentiation to occur. The possibility that the most frequent orientation of familiar objects might be included in object-action representation is also discussed.     

Redundancy effects in the perception and memory of visual objects

Is visual representation of an object affected by whether surrounding objects are identical to it, different from it, or absent? To address this question, we tested perceptual priming, visual short-term, and long-term memory for objects presented in isolation or with other objects. Experiment 1 used a priming procedure, where the prime display contained a single face, four identical faces, or four different faces. Subjects identified the gender of a subsequent probe face that either matched or mismatched with one of the prime faces. Priming was stronger when the prime was four identical faces than when it was a single face or four different faces. Experiments 2 and 3 asked subjects to encode four different objects presented on four displays. Holding memory load constant, visual memory was better when each of the four displays contained four duplicates of a single object, than when each display contained a single object. These results suggest that an object's perceptual and memory representations are enhanced when presented with identical objects, revealing redundancy effects in visual processing.     

汉语口语句子产生中句法启动效应的眼动研究

研究利用眼动技术考察了汉语口语句子产生中的句法启动效应及其眼动模式。实验采用双宾语句(主语+谓语+间接宾语+直接宾语)、介宾语句(主语+谓语+直接宾语+间接宾语)和简单句三种启动句类型,听觉呈现启动句后呈现图片要求被试用句子进行描述,目标句类型为双宾语句或介宾语句。结果发现,启动句类型影响了目标句的句法选择及对图片中不同客体的注视时间比率及注视顺序。无论产生的目标句是否与启动句句法结构一致,双宾语句启动下对间接宾语的客体注视时间比率更高,且更多地优先注视间接宾语,介宾语句启动下对直接宾语的客体注视时间比率更高且更多地优先注视直接宾语,而在简单句启动条件下,眼动注视模式则会受到所产生目标句句法结构的影响。行为结果和眼动指标都支持了两阶段理论中结构选择和内容计划两阶段的观点。     

Long-term retinotopic priming in object identification

An important result in perception research is that priming in an object naming task is invariant with translation and left-right reflection. A more sensitive object recognition paradigm was used in three experiments in order to investigate the extent to which priming of object identification is affected by changes in left-right orientation and position. In a prime phase, participants viewed consecutively presented object images. In a subsequent probe phase, participants identified familiar objects in rapid visual streams of nonobject distractors. In Experiment 1, images previously viewed in the same left-right orientation were primed more than images previously viewed in the opposite orientation (i.e., a left-right reflection). This reflection-sensitive priming was replicated in Experiment 2 using a brief (300-msec) prime exposure. In Experiment 3, when the retinal locations of prime and probe images matched, reflection-sensitive priming was also obtained, but when the retinal locations of prime and probe images differed, no reflection-sensitive priming was observed. These results suggest that a single prime exposure can produce long-term priming that is sensitive to left-right reflection, but that this priming is specific to a retinal location.     

Repetition priming and the haptic recognition of familiar and unfamiliar objects

In four experiments, we examined the haptic recognition of 3-D objects. In Experiment 1, blindfolded participants named everyday objects presented haptically in two blocks. There was significant priming of naming, but no cost of an object changing orientation between blocks. However, typical orientations of objects were recognized more quickly than nonstandard orientations. In Experiment 2, participants accurately performed an unannounced test of memory for orientation. The lack of orientation-specific priming in Experiment 1, therefore, was not because participants could not remember the orientation at which they had first felt an object. In Experiment 3, we examined haptic naming of objects that were primed either haptically or visually. Haptic priming was greater than visual priming, although significant cross-modal priming was also observed. In Experiment 4, we tested recognition memory for familiar and unfamiliar objects using an old-new recognition task. Objects were recognized best when they were presented in the same orientation in both blocks, suggesting that haptic object recognition is orientation sensitive. Photographs of the unfamiliar objects may be downloaded from www.psychonomic.org/archive.     

Semantic priming in the name retrieval of objects and famous faces

Researchers interested in face processing have recently debated whether access to the name of a known person occurs in parallel with retrieval of semantic‐biographical codes, rather than in a sequential fashion. Recently, Schweinberger, Burton, and Kelly (2001) took a failure to obtain a semantic context effect in a manual syllable judgment task on names of famous faces as support for this position. In two experiments, we compared the effects of visually presented categorically related prime words with either objects (e.g. prime: animal; target: dog) or faces of celebrities (e.g. prime: actor; target: Bruce Willis) as targets. Targets were either manually categorized with regard to the number of syllables (as in Schweinberger et al.), or they were overtly named. For neither objects nor faces was semantic priming obtained in syllable decisions; crucially, however, priming was obtained when objects and faces were overtly named. These results suggest that both face and object naming are susceptible to semantic context effects.     

Conceptual and physical object qualities contribute differently to motor affordances

Priming studies have demonstrated that an object’s intrinsic and extrinsic qualities (size, orientation) influence subsequent motor behavior thus suggesting that these object qualities ‘afford’ actions that are congruent with the prime. We present four experiments that aim to evaluate the relative effect of conceptual and physical object qualities on action priming. In Experiment 1 equally graspable known and unknown tools are presented as primes. In Experiment 2 the primes depict high versus low graspable unfamiliar tools, and in Experiments 3 and 4 we present simple graspable shapes versus high graspable unfamiliar or familiar tools respectively. In all experiments the (unrelated) task consists of a timed motor response to the direction of a centrally placed arrow that is superimposed on the prime. Whereas tool familiarity reveals no significant difference on reaction time (Exp 1), responses to high graspable unfamiliar tools (Exp 2) and simple graspable shapes (Exps 3 and 4) are significantly faster. We conclude that motor affordances are most readily determined by object qualities that depend on the object’s physical appearance provided by visual information. Conceptual information about the stimuli, such as semantic category or stored knowledge about its function and associated movements, does not appear to produce detectable effects of action priming in this paradigm.     

Orientation invariance in visual object priming depends on prime—target asynchrony

Two experiments are reported in which orientation effects on visual object recognition latency were examined. In Experiment 1, we assessed picture-naming performance as a function of image-plane stimulus orientation and found increasing response times with increased misorientation of the stimulus. In Experiment 2, we examined the repetition priming effect on the identification of upright targets as a function of prime orientation. With time delays of 100, 200, or 500 msec between the onset of the prime and that of the target (i.e., stimulus onset asynchrony [SOA]), the magnitude of the priming effect decreased with increasing misorientation of the prime. These results contrast with the orientationinvariant priming effects reported in some previous repetition priming studies. These investigations all used relatively long prime—target SOAs. Confirming the crucial role of the latter variable, Experiment 2 shows that the magnitude of the repetition priming effect is invariant across prime orientations with an SOA of 1,000 msec. The possible implications of the present observations with respect to the issue of orientation invariance versus dependency of the visual object recognition process are discussed.     

Orientation invariance in visual object priming depends on prime-target asynchrony

Two experiments are reported in which orientation effects on visual object recognition latency were examined. In Experiment 1, we assessed picture-naming performance as a function of image-plane stimulus orientation and found increasing response times with increased misorientation of the stimulus. In Experiment 2, we examined the repetition priming effect on the identification of upright targets as a function of prime orientation. With time delays of 100, 200, or 500 msec between the onset of the prime and that of the target (i.e., stimulus onset asynchrony [SOA]), the magnitude of the priming effect decreased with increasing misorientation of the prime. These results contrast with the orientation-invariant priming effects reported in some previous repetition priming studies. These investigations all used relatively long prime-target SOAs. Confirming the crucial role of the latter variable, Experiment 2 shows that the magnitude of the repetition priming effect is invariant across prime orientations with an SOA of 1,000 msec. The possible implications of the present observations with respect to the issue of orientation invariance versus dependency of the visual object recognition processare discussed.     

Perceptual priming is not a necessary consequence of semantic classification of pictures

Four experiments investigated how repetition priming of object recognition is affected by the task performed in the prime and test phases. In Experiment 1 object recognition was tested using both vocal naming and two different semantic decision tasks (whether or not objects were manufactured, and whether or not they would be found inside the house). Some aspects of the data were inconsistent with contemporary models of object recognition. Specifically, object priming was eliminated with some combinations of prime and test tasks, and there was no evidence of perceptual (as opposed to conceptual or response) priming in either semantic classification task, even though perceptual identification of the objects is required for at least one of these tasks. Experiment 2 showed that even when perceptual demands were increased by brief presentation, the inside task showed no perceptual priming. Experiment 3 showed that the inside task did not appear to be based on conceptual priming either, as it was not primed significantly when the prime decisions were made to object labels. Experiment 4 showed that visual sensitivity could be restored to the inside task following practice on the task, supporting the suggestion that a critical factor is whether the semantic category is preformed or must be computed. The results show that the visual representational processes revealed by object priming depend crucially on the task chosen.     

Orientation-specific possibility priming for novel three-dimensional objects

Priming effects on the object possibility task, in which participants decide whether line drawings could or could not be possible three-dimensional objects, may be supported by the same processes and representations used in recognizing and identifying objects. Three experiments manipulating objects’ picture-plane orientation provided limited support for this hypothesis. Like old/new recognition performance, possibility priming declined as study-test orientation differences increased from 0° to 60°. However, while significant possibility priming was not observed for larger orientation differences, recognition performance continued to decline following 60°–180° orientation shifts. These results suggest that possibility priming and old/new recognition may rely on common viewpoint-specific representations but that access to these representations in the possibility test occurs only when study and test views are sufficiently similar (i.e., rotated less than 60°).     

The influence of task requirements on priming in object decision and matching

We argue that task requirements can be the determinant in generating different results in studies on visual object recognition. We investigated priming for novel visual objects in three implicit memory tasks. A study-test design was employed in which participants first viewed line drawings of unfamiliar objects and later made different decisions about structural aspects of the objects. Priming for both symmetric and asymmetric possible objects was observed in a task requiring a judgment of structural possibility. However, when the task was changed to one requiring a judgment of structural symmetry, only symmetric possible objects showed priming. Finally, in a matching task in which participants made a same-different judgment, only symmetric possible objects exhibited priming. These results suggest that an understanding of object representation will be most fruitful if it is based on careful analyses of both the task demands and their interaction(s) with encoding and retrieval processes.     

Orientation-specific possibility priming for novel three-dimensional objects.

Priming effects on the object possibility task, in which participants decide whether line drawings could or could not be possible three-dimensional objects, may be supported by the same processes and representations used in recognizing and identifying objects. Three experiments manipulating objects' picture-plane orientation provided limited support for this hypothesis. Like old/new recognition performance, possibility priming declined as study-test orientation differences increased from 0 degree to 60 degrees. However, while significant possibility priming was not observed for larger orientation differences, recognition performance continued to decline following 60 degrees-180 degrees orientation shifts. These results suggest that possibility priming and old/new recognition may rely on common viewpoint-specific representations but that access to these representations in the possibility test occurs only when study and test views are sufficiently similar (i.e., rotated less than 60 degrees).     

The potentiation of two components of the reach-to-grasp action during object categorisation in visual memory

Stimulus-Response Compatibility Effects have been reported for several components of the reach-to-grasp action during visual object recognition [Tucker, M., & Ellis, R. (1998). On the relations between seen objects and components of potential actions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 24, 830-846; Ellis, R., & Tucker, M. (2000). Micro-affordance: The potentiation of actions by seen objects. British Journal of Psychology, 91, 451-471; Tucker, M., & Ellis, R. (2001). The potentiation of grasp types during visual object categorization. Visual Cognition, 8, 769-800; Creem, S. H., & Proffitt, D. R. (2001). Grasping objects by their handles: A necessary interaction between cognition and action. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 27, 218-228; Craighero, L. Bello, A. Fadiga, L., & Rizzolatti, G. (2002). Hand action preparation influences the responses to hand pictures. Neuropsychologia, 40, 492-502]. The present study investigates compatibility effects for two elements of reach-to-grasp action during the visual mental imagery of objects-the compatibility of an object for grasping with a power and precision grasp, and the orientation of an object (left/right) for grasping by a particular hand (left/right). Experiment 1 provides further evidence for compatibility effects of a 'seen' object for grasping with a power and precision grasp. The experiment shows that compatibility effects are obtainable when an object is presented in an array of four objects and not just on its own. Experiment 2 provides evidence that compatibility effects of an object for grasping with a power and precision grasp can also be observed when participants make an action response to an object 700 ms after it has been removed from view. Experiment 3 investigates compatibility effects for the orientation of an object for grasping by a particular hand during visual mental imagery, but finds no evidence for such effects. The findings are discussed in relation to two arguments put forward to reconcile ecological and representational theories of visual object recognition.     

Investigating the effects of multiple primes: An analysis of theoretical mechanisms

Is the size of a semantic-priming effect a function of the strength of the semantic context? This issue was examined in four studies using a single categorically related prime as the weaker context and four categorically related primes as the stronger context. Results indicate that, independently of prime-target SOA, four primes provide a larger priming effect than a single prime in a lexical-decision task, but not in a naming task. These data provide further support for the argument that different mechanisms mediate priming in the two tasks. In particular, only the lexical-decision task appears to be susceptible to higher-level processes that can be influenced by the number of primes. Priming in a naming task appears to be driven by more automatic processes. Possible accounts of this multiple-prime advantage in lexical-decision tasks are considered.     

Visual attention amplifies response priming of pointing movements to color targets

We studied the influence of spatial visual attention on the time course of primed pointing movements. We measured pointing responses to color targets preceded by color stimuli priming either the same response as the target or the opposite response. The effects of visual attention at the prime and target locations were studied by varying both the cue-prime and prime-target intervals when presenting either exogenous attentional cues or, in a separate experiment, endogenous cues whose processing was a precondition for performing the task. Pointing trajectories revealed large priming effects in which pointing responses were first controlled by prime signals and then captured in midflight by target signals. Priming effects were strongly amplified when the relevant prime locations were visually attended at optimal cue-prime SOAs, with attention modulating the entire time course of the primed pointing movements. We propose that visual attention amplifies the earliest waves of visuomotor feedforward information, elicited in turn by primes and by targets.     

The negative priming effect: Inhibitory priming by ignored objects

A priming paradigm was employed to investigate the processing of an ignored object during selection of an attended object. Two issues were investigated: the level of internal representation achieved for the ignored object, and the subsequent fate of this representation. In Experiment 1 a prime display containing two superimposed objects was briefly presented. One second later a probe display was presented containing an object to be named. If the ignored object in the prime display was the same as the subsequent probe, naming latencies were impaired. This effect is termed negative priming. It suggests that internal representations of the ignored object may become associated with inhibition during selection. Thus, selection of a subsequent probe object requiring these inhibited representations is delayed. Experiment 2 replicated the negative priming effect with a shorter inter-stimulus interval. Experiment 3 examined the priming effects of both the ignored and the selected objects. The effect of both identity repetition and a categorical relationship between prime and probe stimuli were investigated. The data showed that for a stimulus selected from the prime display, naming of the same object in the probe display was facilitated. When the same stimulus was ignored in the prime display, however, naming of it in the probe display was again impaired (negative priming). That negative priming was also demonstrated with categorically related objects suggests that ignored objects achieve categorical levels of representation, and that the inhibition may be at this level.     

Levels and speed of processing effects on word analysis

Previous work on semantic priming effects has suggested that priming is contingent upon semantic analysis of the prime stimulus. In the present series of experiments, subjects in Grade 3, Grade 6, and college performed variants of a priming task in which semantic (lexical decision) as well as fast (case judgment) and slow (letter search) nonsemantic levels of processing were required for both prime and target stimuli. Contrary to a levels of processing hypothesis, context effects were not simple functions of the level at which the prime was processed. Priming effects were found with a slow nonsemantic prime task (letter search), but generally not with a fast nonsemantic analysis of the prime (case judgment). The form of the priming effect when the prime was processed semantically by a lexical decision depended on the relationship between prime and target processing: a switch from semantic prime processing to nonsemantic target processing produced Stroop-like interference, with other combinations of prime and target processing producing facilitation. By using a series of discrimination, focusing, and classification tasks in a Garner (1978) paradigm, it was possible to determine how subjects were processing the semantic and nonsemantic dimensions, and these perceptual strategies were compared across educational levels to account for the priming effects. Our results suggest that context effects need to be understood in terms of the speeds of processing of different codes of information inherent in words.     

A double dissociation between action and perception in the context of visual illusions: opposite effects of real and illusory size

The idea that there are two distinct cortical visual pathways, a dorsal action stream and a ventral perception stream, is supported by neuroimaging and neuropsychological evidence. Yet there is an ongoing debate as to whether or not the action system is resistant to pictorial illusions in healthy participants. In the present study, we disentangled the effects of real and illusory object size on action and perception by pitting real size against illusory size. In our task, two objects that differed slightly in length were placed within a version of the Ponzo illusion. Even though participants erroneously perceived the physically longer object as the shorter one (or vice versa), their grasping was remarkably tuned to the real size difference between the objects. These results provide the first demonstration of a double dissociation between action and perception in the context of visual illusions and together with previous findings converge on the idea that visually guided action and visual perception make use of different metrics and frames of reference.     

Time course of chord priming

The time course of chord priming was explored in four experiments. In chord priming, a chord (a typical combination of simultaneously sounded tones) primes other chords that are musically related. In the present study, the prime duration and the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between the prime chord and the chord to be judged were varied. Priming occurred at an SOA and prime duration as short as 50 msec, the shortest tested. When the prime duration was held constant at 50 msec, priming occurred at an SOA as long as 2,500 msec, the longest tested, and the magnitude of the priming effect did not diminish. To eliminate a possible role of sensory memory in maintaining the priming effect during the silence following the prime, a 250-msec noise mask was presented immediately following the 50-msec prime. The interpolated noise mask did not eliminate priming, thereby supporting the view that chord priming is the consequence of associative activation.