Semantic priming of person recognition: Categorial priming may be a weaker form of the associative priming effect

An interactive activation and competition account (Burton, Bruce, & Johnston, 1990) of the semantic priming effect in person recognition studies relies on the fact that primes and targets (people) have semantic information in common. However, recent investigations into the type of relationship needed to mediate the semantic priming effect have suggested that the prime and target must be close associates (e.g., Barry, Johnston, & Scanlan, 1998; Young, Flude, Hellawell, & Ellis, 1994). A review of these and similar papers suggests the possibility of a small but non-reliable effect based purely on categorial relationships. Experiment 1 provided evidence that when participants were asked to make a name familiarity decision it was possible to boost this small categorial effect when multiple (four) primes were presented prior to the target name. Results from Experiment 2 indicated that the categorial effect was not due to the particular presentation times of the primes. This boosted categorial effect was shown to cross domains (names to faces) in Experiment 3 and persist in Experiment 4 when the task involved naming the target face. The similarity of the pattern of results produced by the associative priming effect and this boosted categorial effect suggests that the two may be due to the same underlying mechanism in semantic memory.     

Book reviews

Miles, T. R., & Miles, E. (1990). Dyslexia: A hundred years on. Milton Keynes: Open University Press. pp. 214. ISBN 0-335-09541-0. £32.50 (hardback); ISBN 0-335-09540-2. £10.99 (paperback).

Altmann, G.T.M. (Ed.) (1990). Cognitive models of Speech processing: Psycholinguistic and computational perspectives. Cambridge, MA: Bradford Books/MIT Press. Pp. 552. ISBN 0-262-01117-4. £49.50.

Watt, R. (1991). Understanding vision. London: Academic Press. Pp. 301. ISBN 012-738501-0. £18.95.

Hunt, R.W.G. (1991). Measuring Colour (second edition). Chichester: Ellis Horwood. Pp. 313. ISBN 0-13-567686-X. £55.50.

Davidoff, J. (1991). Cognition through color. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Pp. 217. ISBN 0-262-04115-4. £24.95.     

Implicit Learning of an Invariant: Just Say No

Following exposure to 30 four-digit numbers containing an invariant “3”, subjects are found falsely to recognize novel four-digit numbers containing this invariant (positives) in preference to novel numbers that do not contain the invariant (negatives). Despite this false recognition, they are generally unable to report the rule relating test positives to the positives seen during the learning phase. This finding has been taken to show implicit learning of a rule. Two experiments are reported here which show that it is not necessary to learn this rule in order to perform at above-chance levels on this test. Most of the effect can be explained in terms of the rejection of particularly distinctive test items that are more prevalent in the test negatives. This rejection appears to be mediated by knowledge that is potentially explicit as opposed to implicit, and we present tentative evidence that it is rule-based as opposed to analogic.     

The Kids' Empathic Development Scale (KEDS): A multi‐dimensional measure of empathy in primary school‐aged children

Empathy is an essential building block for successful interpersonal relationships. Atypical empathic development is implicated in a range of developmental psychopathologies. However, assessment of empathy in children is constrained by a lack of suitable measurement instruments. This article outlines the development of the Kids' Empathic Development Scale (KEDS) designed to assess some of the core affective, cognitive and behavioural components of empathy concurrently. The KEDS assesses responses to picture scenarios depicting a range of individual and interpersonal situations differing in social complexity. Results from 220 children indicate the KEDS measures three related but distinct aspects of empathy that are also related to existing measures of empathy and cognitive development. Scores on the KEDS show age and some gender‐related differences in the expected direction.     

A Guide to Conducting a Meta-Analysis with Non-Independent Effect Sizes

Neuropsychology Review - Conventional meta-analytic procedures assume that effect sizes are independent. When effect sizes are not independent, conclusions based on these conventional procedures...