概念内隐记忆中的注意促进效应

Swallow和Jiang (2010)最早发现, 编码时的目标探测会促进同时呈现的背景信息在随后记忆测验中的表现, 并将这一现象称为注意促进效应(Attentional Boost Effect, ABE)。随后研究发现这一现象并不会出现在概念内隐测验中, 由此提出目标探测主要促进的是背景信息的知觉加工, 而非语义加工。本研究通过3个实验, 操纵了对背景信息的编码加工类型(知觉加工或概念加工)。结果发现, 当与目标探测同时进行的是对背景信息的概念加工任务, 则ABE会出现在随后的概念内隐测验中。反之, 当对背景信息进行的是知觉加工任务时, 则ABE会出现在随后的知觉内隐测验而不是概念内隐测验中。这些结果表明, 目标探测既可能促进背景信息的知觉加工, 也可能促进背景信息的语义加工, 但只有在目标探测下背景信息的编码加工与随后内隐测验中所依赖的提取加工具有一致性, 才会产生ABE。     

Midazolam amnesia and conceptual processing in implicit memory

Prominent theories of implicit memory (D. Schacter, B. Church, & J. Treadwell, 1994) emphasize the dominant role of perceptual processing in mediating priming on perceptual implicit memory tests. Examinations of the effects of conceptual processing on perceptual implicit memory tests have produced ambiguous results. Although a number of investigations (e.g., J. Toth & R. Hunt, 1990) have demonstrated that variations in conceptual processing affect priming on perceptual implicit memory tests, these effects may arise because of the contaminating effects of explicit memory. The current experiment examined this controversy using midazolam, a benzodiazepine that produces a dense, albeit temporary, anterograde amnesia when injected prior to study. The experiment examined whether the effects of generation found on the implicit memory test of perceptual identification were affected by a midazolam injection prior to study. Results demonstrated that midazolam substantially diminished generation effects in free and cued recall, as well as overall performance on these tests, but had no detectable effect on the generation effect in perceptual identification.     

The effect of midazolam on implicit and explicit memory in category exemplar production and category cued recall

Transfer‐appropriate processing theory (Roediger, Weldon, & Challis, 1989) proposes that dissociations between performance on explicit and implicit memory tests arise because these tests often rely on different types of information processing (e.g., perceptual processing vs conceptual processing). This perspective predicts that implicit and explicit memory tasks that rely primarily on conceptual processing should show comparable results, not dissociations. Numerous studies have demonstrated such similarities. It is, however, possible that these results arise from explicit memory contamination of performance on implicit memory tasks. To address this issue, an experiment was conducted in which participants were administered the sedative midazolam prior to study. Midazolam is known to create a temporary, but dense, period of anterograde amnesia. The effects of blocking stimulus materials by semantic category at study and generation at study were investigated on category exemplar production and category‐cued recall. The results of this study demonstrated a dissociation of the effects of midazolam on category exemplar production and category‐cued recall. Specifically, midazolam reduced the effect of blocking stimulus materials in category‐cued recall, but not in category exemplar production. The differential effect of midazolam on explicit and implicit memory is at odds with transfer‐appropriate processing theory and suggests that theories of memory must distinguish the roles of different types of conceptual processing on implicit and explicit memory tests.     

Levels of processing and picture memory: the physical superiority effect

Six experiments studied the effect of physical orienting questions (e.g., "Is this angular?") and semantic orienting questions (e.g., "Is this edible?") on memory for unrelated pictures at stimulus durations ranging from 125-2,000 ms. Results ran contrary to the semantic superiority "rule of thumb," which is based primarily on verbal memory experiments. Physical questions were associated with better free recall and cued recall of a diverse set of visual scenes (Experiments 1, 2, and 4). This occurred both when general and highly specific semantic questions were used (Experiments 1 and 2). Similar results were obtained when more simplistic visual stimuli--photographs of single objects--were used (Experiments 5 and 6). As in the case of the semantic superiority effect with words, the physical superiority effect for pictures was eliminated or reversed when the same physical questions were repeated throughout the session (Experiments 4 and 6). Conflicts with results of previous levels of processing experiments with words and nonverbal stimuli (e.g., faces) are explained in terms of the sensory-semantic model (Nelson, Reed, & McEvoy, 1977). Implications for picture memory research and the levels of processing viewpoint are discussed.     

The picture-superiority effect in category-association tests

In two experiments we examined the picture-superiority effect in the framework of the transfer-appropriate processing approach recently advocated by Roediger, Weldon, and Challis (1989). For the first time conceptual implicit-memory task is used, i.e., category association. In Experiment 1, subjects study a mixed list of pictures and words and then receive either a category-association test or a category-cued recall test, followed by a recognition test. The results show that performance on category-cued recall, recognition, and category-association tests are better when the material is studied in picture format. In Experiment 2, we show that producing a sentence with the material studied (picture or word) eliminates the picture-superiority effect in the implicit test, but does not eliminate picture superiority in the category-cued recall test. These results suggest that conceptually driven processing plays a critical role in category association and explicit tests of memory. The results are discussed in the framework of the transfer-appropriate processing approach to memory.     

Feature accessibility in conceptual combination: Effects of context-induced relevance

In conceptual combinations such aspeeled apples, two kinds of features are potentially accessible: phrase features and noun features. Phrase features are true only of the phrase (e.g., “white”), whereas noun features are true of both the phrase and the head noun (e.g., “round”). When people comprehend such combinations, phrase features are verified more quickly and more accurately than noun features. We examine relevance as an explanation for this phrase feature superiority. If relevance is the critical factor, then contexts that explicitly make noun features relevant and phrase features irrelevant should reverse the phrase feature superiority (i.e., they should make noun features easier to verify than phrase features). Consistent with the relevance hypothesis, brief contexts that made noun features relevant also made those noun features more accessible than phrase features, and vice versa. We conclude that the phrase feature superiority effect is attributable to the discourse strategy of assigning relevance to modifiers in combinations, unless a context indicates otherwise.     

The effect of midazolam on implicit and explicit memory in category exemplar production and category cued recall

Transfer-appropriate processing theory (Roediger, Weldon, & Challis, 1989) proposes that dissociations between performance on explicit and implicit memory tests arise because these tests often rely on different types of information processing (e.g., perceptual processing vs conceptual processing). This perspective predicts that implicit and explicit memory tasks that rely primarily on conceptual processing should show comparable results, not dissociations. Numerous studies have demonstrated such similarities. It is, however, possible that these results arise from explicit memory contamination of performance on implicit memory tasks. To address this issue, an experiment was conducted in which participants were administered the sedative midazolam prior to study. Midazolam is known to create a temporary, but dense, period of anterograde amnesia. The effects of blocking stimulus materials by semantic category at study and generation at study were investigated on category exemplar production and category-cued recall. The results of this study demonstrated a dissociation of the effects of midazolam on category exemplar production and category-cued recall. Specifically, midazolam reduced the effect of blocking stimulus materials in category-cued recall, but not in category exemplar production. The differential effect of midazolam on explicit and implicit memory is at odds with transfer-appropriate processing theory and suggests that theories of memory must distinguish the roles of different types of conceptual processing on implicit and explicit memory tests.     

Agrammatic production of subject-verb agreement: the effect of conceptual number.

Three experiments tested the hypothesis that the deficit underlying agrammatic sentence production difficulties can be characterized as a limitation of computational resources and that these resources are not restricted to syntactic processing. This hypothesis was tested by eliciting subject-verb agreement errors in a sentence fragment completion paradigm. Sentence fragments were complex noun phrases, containing a subject (head) noun and a modifying prepositional phrase, containing a "local" noun. We varied the number of "tokens" a singular head noun referred to. Therefore, in one condition, grammatical and conceptual number of the head noun mismatched, whereas these numbers were the same in another condition. In Experiments 1 and 2, we observed an effect of this variable (i.e., more agreement errors when conceptual number was plural and grammatical number singular) in normal controls. Broca's aphasics, on the other hand, showed no effect. Experiment 3 consisted of a sentence/picture matching test. This test showed that the lack of effect with Broca's aphasics cannot be attributed to a comprehension deficit. We argue that these results are incompatible with the notion of a limitation in resources specific for syntactic processing. Instead, we interpret this as the result of a trade-off: Broca's aphasics lack computational resources to take into account both grammatical and conceptual information in morphosyntactic processing and rely on grammatical information only.     

汉语词汇产生中的义、音信息提取时间进程的ERP研究

摘 要 运用事件相关电位（ERP）技术考查了在汉语词汇产生过程中,语义提取和语音提取的时间进程。在实验过程中,给被试呈现一张图片,要求他们在小声进行图片命名之前,先基于语义信息（图上画的是物体还是动物）或语音信息（如图片名称是以字母s还是以y开头）完成一个双重选择任务。在一种情况下,反应手（左手或右手按键）由语义信息决定,是否反应（GO/NOGO）由语音信息决定;在另一种情况下,反应手由语音信息决定,是否反应由语义信息决定。结果发现,当是否反应由语义信息（动物/物体）决定时,N200的潜伏期是307ms;当是否反应由语音信息（如中文名称以S/Y开头）决定时,N200的潜伏期是447ms;两者之间存在显著的差异,即由语义信息引起的N200的潜伏期早于由语音信息引起的N200的潜伏期。结果表明,在汉语词汇产生过程中,语义提取先于语音提取。     

Effects of depth-of-processing and ageing on word-stem and word-fragment implicit memory tasks: Test of the lexical-processing hypothesis

The joint effects of depth-of-processing and age on repetition priming in implicit memory tests of word-fragment completion (WFC) and word-stem completion (WSC) were investigated. The experiment consisted of three study tasks (perceptual, lexical, and semantic) and four memory conditions: implicit (WSC and WFC) and explicit (WS cued recall and WF cued recall). In the WSC condition, semantic and lexical study processing produced equal priming, both superior to the perceptual study processing, whereas the WFC test showed equal priming for these three study conditions. This finding provides clear evidence, consistent with the lexical-processing hypothesis, that depth-of-processing in WSC priming reflects a lexical rather than a semantic process. It also provides support for the view that WSC and WFC involve different processes. However, there was no evidence of an age effect on either of these two implicit tasks. The data also revealed an overall significant effect of age and depth-of-processing, and an interaction between these variables on explicit cued recall tasks, indicating that older adults benefited less than younger ones from a deep encoding condition.     

Picture superiority in conceptual memory: Dissociative effects of encoding and retrieval tasks

We examined the role of encoding processes for picture superiority in explicit and conceptual-implicit memory. The nature of encoding instruction (naming or semantic categorization) yielded dissociative effects on picture and word memory on one explicit test, category-cued recall, and two conceptual-implicit tests, category-cued generation and category-cued verification. Category-cued recall was greater for pictures than for words following naming, but it did not differ for pictures and words following semantic categorization. Category-cued generation priming was greater for pictures than for words following naming, but it was greater for words than for pictures following semantic categorization. In contrast, category-cued verification priming did not differ for pictures and words following either naming or semantic categorization. Thus, picture superiority can be eliminated or reversed depending on the type of conceptual encoding task and conceptual-retrieval test.     

Environmental context effects in conceptual explicit and implicit memory

Previous research has found environmental context effects for both conceptual explicit and conceptual implicit memory (Parker, Gellatly, & Waterman, 1999). The research presented here challenges these findings on methodological grounds. Experiment 1 assessed the effects of context change on category-exemplar generation (conceptual implicit memory test) and category-cued recall (conceptual explicit memory test). Experiment 2 assessed the effects of context change on word association (conceptual implicit memory test) and word associate cued recall (conceptual explicit memory test). In both experiments, study-test changes in environmental context were found to influence performance only on tests of explicit memory. It is concluded that when retrieval cues across explicit and implicit tests are matched, and the probability of explicit contamination is reduced, then only conceptual explicit test performance is reduced by study-test changes in environmental context.     

感知觉加工与概念加工对联结记忆中图片优势效应的影响

本研究采用联结再认范式考察联结记忆中感知觉水平和概念加工程度对图片优势效应的影响。实验1通过呈现清晰或模糊的词语或图片对操纵了感知觉水平,结果发现只有在清晰条件下图片优势效应才会出现;实验2则在模糊条件下通过要求被试想象两个项目之间的关系操纵了概念加工程度,结果发现在有概念加工条件下,出现了图片优势效应。研究结果表明：（1）降低的感知觉水平会导致联结记忆中的图片优势效应消失;（2）对模糊项目对进行概念加工会使联结记忆中出现图片优势效应。     

Implicit memory for new associations: The pictorial influence

A series of experiments was conducted in order to show that implicit memory for new associations is not always dependent on semantic integrative processing during study. The material used in these experiments differed from traditional studies that employed pairs of unrelated words. Instead, targets (words in Exps. 1 and 2 and pictures in Exps. 3 and 4) were encoded in the context of an unrelated picture. The implicit tests used were word-stem completion (Exps. 1, 2, and 3) and picture-fragment identification (Exp. 4). The explicit test was word-stem cued recall (Exps. 1, 2, and 3) and picture-fragment cued recall (Exp 4). For implicit tests, context effects were not obtained using words as targets with a non-integrative semantic-elaboration encoding task (Exp. 1). When an integrative semantic-elaboration encoding task was used, a standard context effect emerged (Exp. 2) for implicit memory. Importantly, with pictures as targets, context effects appeared without integrative semantic encoding (Exps. 3 and 4). However, context effects were obtained for all conditions of cued recall. Results are discussed with regard to the concept of unitization.     

Levels-of-processing effects on conceptual automatic memory

This study aimed to provide converging evidence for the conceptual processing effect on conceptual priming that involved automatic retrieval. Two experiments examined whether the levels-of-processing manipulation affects the conceptual priming effect in the speeded category-production task and the relation between the magnitude of conceptual priming and the level of participants’ awareness of the study–test relationship. In the implicit category-production task, participants were required to respond to the category name with the first corresponding category member to come to mind, whereas in the explicit category-cue recall task, participants were instructed to use the category name as a cue to recall the studied word. Response speed was emphasised for all participants. The results, based on response times, suggest that the implicit groups did not shift to a conscious retrieval strategy after the practice trial. The magnitude of priming was also not related to participants’ test-awareness. Furthermore, both conceptual implicit and explicit tests were sensitive to the levels-of-processing manipulation after considering the problems of both conscious contamination and diminished lexical processing. Using a purer measure of conceptual implicit memory, this study replicated the previous findings of the levels-of-processing effect on the conceptual implicit test.     

The fate of originally presented surface information following recall errors in sentence memory tasks

Pictures are remembered better than their names. This picture superiority effect in episodic memory has been attributed either to the greater sensory distinctiveness of pictures or to their greater conceptual distinctiveness. Weldon and Coyote (1996) tested the conceptual distinctiveness hypothesis by comparing how well pictures as opposed to words primed in two conceptual implicit memory tasks (category production and word association). They found no picture superiority in priming and concluded that the basis of the picture superiority effect must then be pictures' greater sensory distinctiveness. Using the same logic, we compared how well pictures as opposed to words primed in a perceptual implicit memory task (picture and word fragment identification). The sensory distinctiveness theory would predict that pictures should prime picture fragment identification better than words prime word fragment identification, a result we call the picture superiority in within-form priming. Across three experiments which manipulated the encoding task at study, only one showed picture superiority in within-form priming. In contrast, in all three experiments there was robust picture superiority in recall, and exposure to pictures and words at study and test produced independent effects in which both study and test exposure to pictures was more effective for recall than exposure to words. We consider how these results might be reconciled by differences in retrieval demands between recall and fragment identification.     

A dissociation between two implicit conceptual tests supports the distinction between types of conceptual processing

Subjects studied words in a classification task (to what categories does it belong?) or in a production task (producing associates to the word) and then completed one of two implicit memory tests—category association or free association. The classification study task and the category-association test emphasize categorical relations between concepts, and the production study task and the free-association test draw on associative relations. As predicted by the transfer-appropriate processing principle, priming in the category-association test was larger for words studied under the classification task than for those studied under the production task, whereas the opposite was true in the free-association test. This crossover dissociation is the first obtained between two implicit conceptual tests, and it provides support for the claim that it is necessary to distinguish between different types of conceptual processing.     

Component processes of conceptual priming and associative cued recall: the roles of preexisting representation and depth of processing

The authors investigated depth-of-processing effects on conceptual priming by comparing incidental (implicit) and intentional (explicit) tests of word association. In Experiment 1, depth of processing at study influenced priming of weak and medium associates but not of strong associates. In Experiment 2, depth of processing influenced priming of weak associates but not of compound phrases (e.g., coathanger), whose preexperimental association strength matched that of weak associates. In Experiment 3, the same pattern persisted when study was auditory and test was visual, ensuring that priming was conceptual and not perceptual. In all experiments, in matched intentional tests, depth-of-processing effects occurred for all association strengths and for both phrases and associates, suggesting that the incidental tests were uncontaminated by voluntary retrieval, because they showed depth-of-processing effects only for some materials and not others, within the same participants and tests. Because depth-of-processing effects on involuntary free-association priming depend on the presence versus absence of a cohesive preexperimental representation, the memory-systems and conceptual/perceptual processing approaches to memory-test dissociations require modification to account for component processes of conceptual priming.     

Involuntary aware memory enhances priming on a conceptual implicit memory task

This study investigated the role of involuntary aware memory (phenomenological awareness of the study episode) on a conceptual implicit memory task. Subjects studied words under levels of processing conditions (LOP: nonsemantic vs. semantic) and then received a category exemplar generation priming task. Subjects were either aware or unaware of the study test relationship. Subjects who were study test aware showed more priming for semantic study than subjects who were study test unaware, thus producing an LOP dissociation between them. The findings suggest that involuntary aware memory can enhance performance on conceptual implicit memory tasks, thus having theoretical implications for implicit and explicit memory.     

A reevaluation of semantic versus nonsemantic processing in implicit memory

A number of investigations have purported to demonstrate that semantic processing does not produce a memorial advantage over nonsemantic processing on implicit tests, as contrasted with the typical advantage of semantic over nonsemantic processing on explicit tests. A review of 166 outcomes from 38 studies that have manipulated processing on implicit tests reveals that on 131 occasions (79%), priming was greater following semantic than it was following nonsemantic processing. This difference was found in both perceptual and conceptual implicit memory tests, as well as in within- and between-subjects designs. It suggests that implicit tests reflect the involvement of both conceptual and perceptual processes. Although explicit contamination may account for some of the processing difference in implicit tests, the pervasiveness of the phenomenon, especially in perceptual implicit tests, makes it an unlikely account for the entire effect.