Effects on pupil size of manual and verbal indicators of cognitive task fulfillment

A total of20 Ss attempted to generate images to concrete and abstract stimulus words while pupillary activity was continuously photographed. One group (N =5) was required to press a key when an image occurred, a second to describe the image, and a third to press a key as well as describe the image. No overt indicator was required of a fourth group. Results showed that greater dilation occurred during the imagery task than during a control period only in those conditions in which an overt response indicated task fulfillment. Consistent with earlier findings significantly greater dilation occurred to abstract than concrete stimulus words in the key press condition.     

Concreteness and relational effects on recall of adjective-noun pairs.

Extending previous research on the problem, we studied the effects of concreteness and relatedness of adjective-noun pairs on free recall, cued recall, and memory integration. Two experiments varied the attributes in paired associates lists or sentences. Consistent with predictions from dual coding theory and prior results with noun-noun pairs, both experiments showed that the effects of concreteness were strong and independent of relatedness in free recall and cued recall. The generally positive effects of relatedness were absent in the case of free recall of sentences. The two attributes also had independent (additive) effects on integrative memory as measured by conditionalized free recall of pairs. Integration as measured by the increment from free to cued recall occurred consistently only when pairs were high in both concreteness and relatedness. Explanations focused on dual coding and relational-distinctiveness processing theories as well as task variables that affect integration measures.     

Referential processing: Reciprocity and correlates of naming and imaging

To shed light on the referential processes that underlie mental translation between representations of objects and words, we studied the reciprocity and determinants of naming and imaging reaction times (RT). Ninety-six subjects pressed a key when they had covertly named 248 pictures or imaged to their names. Mean naming and imagery RTs for each item were correlated with one another, and with properties of names, images, and their interconnections suggested by prior research and dual coding theory. Imagery RTs correlated .56 (df = 246) with manual naming RTs and .58 with voicekey naming RTs from prior studies. A factor analysis of the RTs and of 31 item characteristics revealed 7 dimensions. Imagery and naming RTs loaded on a common referential factor that included variables related to both directions of processing (e.g., missing names and missing images). Naming RTs also loaded on a nonverbal-to-verbal factor that included such variables as number of different names, whereas imagery RTs loaded on a verbal-to-nonverbal factor that included such variables as rated consistency of imagery. The other factors were verbal familiarity, verbal complexity, nonverbal familiarity, and nonverbal complexity. The findings confirm the reciprocity of imaging and naming, and their relation to constructs associated with distinct phases of referential processing.     

Poetic comparisons: Psychological dimensions of metaphoric processing

A sample of 204 poetic metaphors was rated along 10 scales by 300 participants (30 different people for each of the scales). The scales were identical to ones previously used in a study involving ratings of artificially constructed metaphors, and were chosen on the basis of their relevance to current models of metaphor processing. Three major findings emerged. First, the overall pattern of findings was identical to the one obtained earlier using constructed metaphors, and aspects of it provided support for each major metaphor model without completely onfirming any one of them. Models that attribute an important role to perceptual like processes provided the most successful fit to the data. Second, all of the 10 scales were positively intercorrelated, although the correlations were generally moderate enough to permit independent experimental manipulations of the variables defined by the different scales. These results, too, are similar to those obtained earlier with constructed metaphors. Third, we identify and discuss some suggestive differences between the results of the two studies.     

Comparative judgments of animal intelligence and pleasantness

Symbolic comparisons of animal intelligence and pleasantness were investigated in five experiments using words and pictures as stimuli. Symbolic distance effects occurred in all experiments. Picture-word effects depended on the experimental design. Mean intelligence comparison reaction time (RT) did not differ for pictures and words when the pairs were presented to independent groups. With repeated measures, mean RT was faster for pictures than for words, but only on the second block of trials. This involved an asymmetrical transfer effect, so that word comparisons on the first trial block greatly facilitated picture comparisons on the second block, whereas picture comparisons did not facilitate subsequent word comparisons. Pleasantness comparisons showed a similar asymmetrical transfer pattern but differed from intelligence comparisons in that the mean RTs were faster with pictures than with words, even with an infinite item set and without prior exposure to the other class of material. The results are discussed in terms of dual coding and other models of symbolic comparisons.     

Symbolic comparisons of objects on color attributes

Symbolic comparisons of object brightness and color were investigated in two experiments using words and outline drawings as stimuli. Both experiments yielded orderly symbolic distance effects. Contrary to prediction, no reliable picture advantages emerged. For color comparison, individual differences in word fluency and color memory predicted decision time with word stimuli. These results contrast sharply with those of previous comparison studies involving concrete dimensions. The results are discussed in terms of dual-coding theory and the role of verbal mechanisms in memory for object color.     

Allan Paivio’s response to Delprato’s review of Mind and its evolution: A dual-coding theoretical approach

The Psychological Record -