Auditory negative priming in speeded reactions and temporal order judgements

Two experiments are reported that demonstrate negative priming for auditory stimuli. Reaction times and temporal order judgements were used as the dependent measures in Experiments 1 and 2, respectively. In Experiment 1, participants classified tones presented to one ear as wind or string instruments while ignoring tones presented to the other ear. The task was identical for both the prime and the subsequent probe presentations. Probe reactions were slower for previously ignored tones than for tones that had not occurred during the prime presentation. Probe reactions to previously attended tones were faster than reactions to nonrepeated tones. In Experiment 2, the probe reactions were replaced by temporal order judgements. The probability of accepting a tone as antecedent was lower for previously ignored primes than for new tones. No difference was observed between previously attended and new tones. The results are compatible with the conclusion that distractor inhibition is a necessary component of the processes that bring about observable negative priming phenomena.     

Development of memory for pattern and path: Further evidence for the fractionation of visuo-spatial memory

Evidence from a number of sources now suggests that the visuo-spatial sketchpad (VSSP) of working memory may be composed of two subsystems: one for maintaining visual information and the other for spatial information. In this paper we present three experiments that examine this fractionation using a developmental approach. In Experiment 1, 5-, 8-, and 10-year old children were presented with a visuo-spatial working memory task (the matrices task) with two presentation formats (static and dynamic). A developmental dissociation in performance was found for the static and dynamic conditions of both tasks, suggesting that the activation of separable subsystems of the VSSP is dependent upon a static/dynamic distinction in information content rather than a visual/spatial one. A highly similar pattern of performance was found for a mazes task with static and dynamic formats. However, one strategic activity, the use of simple verbal recoding, may also have been responsible for the observed pattern of performance in the matrices task. In Experiments 2 and 3 this was investigated using concurrent articulatory suppression. No evidence to support this notion was found, and it is therefore proposed that static and dynamic visuo-spatial information is maintained in working memory by separable subcomponents of the VSSP.     

Sources of Disagreement in Object Naming

Two experiments examined the processing of objects with low name agreement. Experiment I compared naming latencies for objects with three different types of name disagreement to those for matched control objects with very high name agreement. Objects with low name agreement due to abbreviations (e.g. phone) were named no more slowly than were control objects. Objects with multiple names (e.g. couch, sofa, settee) and objects often given incorrect names (e.g. spider for ant) took longer to name correctly than did matched controls. These results were confirmed in a second naming experiment using a revised set of high-name-agreement control stimuli. In Experiment 2, subjects carried out an object decision task using the revised stimulus set. Subjects could recognize objects with multiple names as quickly as those with high name agreement. Objects often given incorrect names were recognized by subjects more slowly than were high-agreement matched stimuli. The pattern of data suggests that the delay in naming latency due to the availability of more than one correct name arises after structural recognition. In contrast, the slowed naming of objects often misnamed would seem to originate from difficulties encountered at or before the structural stage of recognition.     

Musculoskeletal status and disability of MMPI profile subgroups among patients with low back pain

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) profiles of 205 male and 157 female patients with acute and chronic low back pain (LBP) were studied for replicable homogeneous subgroups using three cluster-analysis procedures. Two normal and three clinically elevated profile subgroups were identified. The two normal subgroups were characterized by relatively normal musculoskeletal condition and were least disabled, but they differed somewhat from each other in duration of pain, presence of physical abnormalities, and daily functioning. The third subgroup had the following characteristics: an elevated neurotic triad, greatest duration of symptoms, most abnormal physical findings, greatest limitation of motion, most pain complaints during physical examination, and the fewest number of intact functional activities. The fourth subgroup, with an elevated neurotic triad plus subclinical elevations on other scales, had somewhat less musculoskeletal impairment but had extensive work disability, financial compensation, and previous surgeries. The fifth and most pathologic profile subgroup surprisingly consisted largely of acute-pain patients whose musculoskeletal condition and daily functioning were similar to those of the normal subgroups. Patients in the three abnormal MMPI subgroups were exposed to more LBP physical-risk factors in the workplace. Implications for psychological treatment with these different profile types are discussed.