Subjective pictorial information and visual search

The effects of a combination of variables previously studied in ordinary and dichotic immediate memory were examined in bisensory memory, wherein the visual and auditory modalities were employed. These variables. combined in a factorial design. were: (1) type of material; (2) rate of presentation of material; (3) order of recall for a modality. either first or second; (4) locus of instructions about order of report; and (5) overall differences in memory for each modality. The variables of instruction, order of report, and nature of materials yielded effects in the bisensory situation similar to those reported for the dichotic and ordinary immediate memory situations. On the other hand. interference effects due to the combination of materials in the two channels were practically nonexistent. Additionally, when the modalities were stimulated simultaneously each displayed curves predictable from data obtained when it was explored independently of the other modality.     

Capturing the noonday demon: development and validation of the State Boredom Inventory

For centuries, scholars have positioned state boredom as an impediment to organizational productivity and performance given its unpleasant and distracting qualities. However, research on state boredom has been impeded by a lack of definitional consensus and measurement issues. In this article, we sought to advance organizational research on state boredom by developing the State Boredom Inventory (SBI), an 11-item measure grounded in a theoretically derived definition of state boredom. Across five studies using 10 independent samples, we develop the SBI and provide validity evidence for our measure, including content validity and convergent and discriminant validity. Our data support the conceptualization of state boredom as a higher-order multidimensional construct with three underlying dimensions: disengagement, unpleasant low arousal, and inattention.     

Audiotactile interactions in temporal perception

In the present review, we focus on how commonalities in the ontogenetic development of the auditory and tactile sensory systems may inform the interplay between these signals in the temporal domain. In particular, we describe the results of behavioral studies that have investigated temporal resolution (in temporal order, synchrony/asynchrony, and simultaneity judgment tasks), as well as temporal numerosity perception, and similarities in the perception of frequency across touch and hearing. The evidence reviewed here highlights features of audiotactile temporal perception that are distinctive from those seen for other pairings of sensory modalities. For instance, audiotactile interactions are characterized in certain tasks (e.g., temporal numerosity judgments) by a more balanced reciprocal influence than are other modality pairings. Moreover, relative spatial position plays a different role in the temporal order and temporal recalibration processes for audiotactile stimulus pairings than for other modality pairings. The effect exerted by both the spatial arrangement of stimuli and attention on temporal order judgments is described. Moreover, a number of audiotactile interactions occurring during sensory-motor synchronization are highlighted. We also look at the audiotactile perception of rhythm and how it may be affected by musical training. The differences emerging from this body of research highlight the need for more extensive investigation into audiotactile temporal interactions. We conclude with a brief overview of some of the key issues deserving of further research in this area.     

Crossmodal correspondences: A tutorial review

In many everyday situations, our senses are bombarded by many different unisensory signals at any given time. To gain the most veridical, and least variable, estimate of environmental stimuli/properties, we need to combine the individual noisy unisensory perceptual estimates that refer to the same object, while keeping those estimates belonging to different objects or events separate. How, though, does the brain “know” which stimuli to combine? Traditionally, researchers interested in the crossmodal binding problem have focused on the roles that spatial and temporal factors play in modulating multisensory integration. However, crossmodal correspondences between various unisensory features (such as between auditory pitch and visual size) may provide yet another important means of constraining the crossmodal binding problem. A large body of research now shows that people exhibit consistent crossmodal correspondences between many stimulus features in different sensory modalities. For example, people consistently match high-pitched sounds with small, bright objects that are located high up in space. The literature reviewed here supports the view that crossmodal correspondences need to be considered alongside semantic and spatiotemporal congruency, among the key constraints that help our brains solve the crossmodal binding problem.     

Playing shooter and driving videogames improves top-down guidance in visual search

Playing action videogames is known to improve visual spatial attention and related skills. Here, we showed that playing action videogames also improves classic visual search, as well as the ability to locate targets in a dual search that mimics certain aspects of an action videogame. In Experiment 1A, first-person shooter (FPS) videogame players were faster than nonplayers in both feature search and conjunction search, and in Experiment 1B, they were faster and more accurate in a peripheral search and identification task while simultaneously performing a central search. In Experiment 2, we showed that 10 h of play could improve the performance of nonplayers on each of these tasks. Three different genres of videogames were used for training: two action games and a 3-D puzzle game. Participants who played an action game (either an FPS or a driving game) achieved greater gains on all search tasks than did those who trained using the puzzle game. Feature searches were faster after playing an action videogame, suggesting that players developed a better target template to guide search in a top-down manner. The results of the dual search suggest that, in addition to enhancing the ability to divide attention, playing an action game improves the top-down guidance of attention to possible target locations. The results have practical implications for the development of training tools to improve perceptual and cognitive skills.     

Crossmodal links between vision and touch in covert endogenous spatial attention

The authors report a series of 6 experiments investigating crossmodal links between vision and touch in covert endogenous spatial attention. When participants were informed that visual and tactile targets were more likely on 1 side than the other, speeded discrimination responses (continuous vs. pulsed, Experiments 1 and 2; or up vs. down, Experiment 3) for targets in both modalities were significantly faster on the expected side, even though target modality was entirely unpredictable. When participants expected a target on a particular side in just one modality, corresponding shifts of covert attention also took place in the other modality, as evidenced by faster elevation judgments on that side (Experiment 4). Larger attentional effects were found when directing visual and tactile attention to the same position rather than to different positions (Experiment 5). A final study with crossed hands revealed that these visuotactile links in spatial attention apply to common positions in external space.     

How color enhances visual memory for natural scenes

We offer a framework for understanding how color operates to improve visual memory for images of the natural environment, and we present an extensive data set that quantifies the contribution of color in the encoding and recognition phases. Using a continuous recognition task with colored and monochrome gray-scale images of natural scenes at short exposure durations, we found that color enhances recognition memory by conferring an advantage during encoding and by strengthening the encoding-specificity effect. Furthermore, because the pattern of performance was similar at all exposure durations, and because form and color are processed in different areas of cortex, the results imply that color must be bound as an integral part of the representation at the earliest stages of processing.     

When does visual perceptual grouping affect multisensory integration?

Several studies have shown that the direction in which a visual apparent motion stream moves can influence the perceived direction of an auditory apparent motion stream (an effect known as crossmodal dynamic capture). However, little is known about the role that intramodal perceptual grouping processes play in the multisensory integration of motion information. The present study was designed to investigate the time course of any modulation of the cross-modal dynamic capture effect by the nature of the perceptual grouping taking place within vision. Participants were required to judge the direction of an auditory apparent motion stream while trying to ignore visual apparent motion streams presented in a variety of different configurations. Our results demonstrate that the cross-modal dynamic capture effect was influenced more by visual perceptual grouping when the conditions for intramodal perceptual grouping were set up prior to the presentation of the audiovisual apparent motion stimuli. However, no such modulation occurred when the visual perceptual grouping manipulation was established at the same time as or after the presentation of the audiovisual stimuli. These results highlight the importance of the unimodal perceptual organization of sensory information to the manifestation of multisensory integration.