Attention shifts and the Simon effect: a failure to replicate Stoffer (1991)

The Simon effect refers to the intrusion of an irrelevant spatial dimension in the selection of a response to a stimulus. Recently, Stoffer (1991) proposed a specific role for attention orienting in the Simon effect. According to Stoffer, attentional shifts from an initial fixation point to a stimulus location are associated with the generation of a spatial code which specifies the position of the stimulus in relation to the last attended location. This spatial code forms the basis for the Simon effect because it is used to specify the selection of the right or left response. Three experiments were performed to examine further the attention-shift hypothesis forwarded by Stoffer. Experiment 1 was an attempt to replicate Stoffer (1991), but failed to do so. Experiments 2 and 3 were designed to optimize conditions for replicating crucial aspects of Stoffer's findings, but also failed to yield support for the attention-shift account.     

MONITORING CONSCIOUS RECOLLECTION VIA THE ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY OF THE BRAIN

Abstract— Although another person's experience of recollection cannot be observed directly, we have found that the underlying operations can be monitored using noninvasive electrophysiological techniques. Results from two experiments showed that brain potentials elicited 500 to 900 ms after the onset of visually presented words vary systematically in amplitude with manipulations that influence the extent to which subjects engage in recollective processing. These brain potentials can thus be construed as correlates of the subjective experience of recollection     

Strategic factors in a lexical-decision task: Evidence for automatic and attention-driven processes

The present study examined strategic factors in a semantic-priming, lexical-decision task. The first experiment demonstrated that the greater the proportion of related word-word pairs to unrelated word-word pairs, the greater the amount of facilitation, a result which is consistent with others reported in the literature. The second experiment demonstrated that this strategic factor apparently requires that sufficient time (at least several hundred milliseconds) be available for the processing of the priming word, and thus is probably caused by attention-driven processes. The third experiment replicated and extended the results of the first two studies by demonstrating that prime-target stimulus onset asynchrony is an important limiting factor in determining whether such proportion-induced strategic factors are involved in word-recognition processes, even when no other aspect or variable of the procedure changes. The results are discussed in the context of Posner and Snyder’s (1975a) two-process model of word recognition.     

SKED systems: Paper tape,Tennecomp, and OS/8

The SKED system has been developed at different levels of complexity and power for differing hardware configurations. The simplest of these, and the least expensive, is the paper-tape SKED system. Some of the drawbacks associated with the use of paper tape are absent in the Tennecomp magnetic tape cartridge system. Users with mass storage capabilities can make use of the OS/8 operating system (copyright DEC) to speed up all aspects of the SKED system (especially editing, compilation, and loading of programs), and take advantage of a file-oriented system structure for data storage and analysis.     

Perceptions of communication,cohesion, and adaptability in families of adolescents with and without learning handicaps

Adaptability, cohesion, and communication patterns were studied in 30 families of learning-handicapped adolescents and 30 families of nonhandicapped adolescents. Parent and adolescent perspectives on each of these variables were solicited. The results indicated that adolescents in each of these groups had similar perspectives on adaptability, cohesion, and communication. The parents of the learning-handicapped adolescents, however, felt that their families were less cohesive and had lower levels of communication about problems than did their offspring. When levels of communication were related to adaptability and cohesion, it was evident for both groups that the families with high reported cohesiveness had the most positive communication patterns. Additionally, adolescents rated their families higher on communication if they also perceived a greater amount of flexibility in adaptation.     

Spatiotopic and retinotopic components of iconic memory

Summary Recently, there has been considerable interest in whether information in iconic memory is stored in retinotopic or spatiotopic coordinates. The present experiment examined the issue using a masking paradigm. In one set of conditions, subjects maintained fixation while a row of four letters appeared for 19 ms, centered about three degrees to the right of fixation. After a 153 ms ISI, the letters were followed by a blank field (no mask), a mask in the same position as the letters, or a mask displaced three degrees to the right of the letters. In a second set of conditions, the stimuli were the same but subjects were asked to shift fixation from the fixation point to the middle of the letter row during the interval between the letters and the mask. Subjects' eye movements were monitored in all conditions. Accuracy of report for the letters was lowered only with the mask over the letters with the no-eye-movement conditions and in both masking conditions with the eye movements. The results suggest that the icon includes two components, one that is retinotopic and one that is spatiotopic.