Perceptual load affects change blindness in a real‐world interaction

Change blindness is the striking inability to detect seemingly obvious changes that occur between views of a scene. The current study assessed perceptual load as a factor that may affect change blindness for human faces. The study had participants (n = 103) interact with a researcher in a testing room that imposed low or high perceptual load. Midway through the conversation, the researcher was replaced by another person. Thirty‐nine percent of participants failed to detect the change. There was a significant effect of perceptual load, with greater change detection under low load (71%) than high load (52%). This research suggests that the perceptual load imposed by a task may have a significant effect on the likelihood of change blindness and ought to be considered in future research.     

Detecting drivers’ cognitive load from saccadic intrusion

In this paper, we have explored use of Saccadic Intrusion to detect drivers’ cognitive load and instantaneous perception of developing road hazards. Saccadic Intrusion is a type of eye gaze movement which was earlier found to be related to change in cognitive load. We have developed an algorithm to detect saccadic intrusion from a commercially available low-cost eye gaze tracker and conducted four user studies involving a driving simulator and cognitive and hazard perception tests. Our results show that average velocities of saccadic intrusion increases with increase in cognitive load and recording saccadic intrusion and eye blinks for 6 s duration can predict drivers’ instantaneous perception of developing road hazards.     

Retrospective coping strategies during sexual identity formation and current biopsychosocial stress

Background: Lesbian, gay men, and bisexual individuals (LGBs) often experience distress related to the recognition, self-acceptance, and disclosure of their sexual orientation. Objectives and Design: Retrospectively reported coping strategies enacted during sexual identity formation among LGBs were assessed in relation to current stress indices measured using environmental (frequency of perceived daily hassles), psychological (perceived distress), and biological (allostatic load [AL] levels representing physiological dysregulations) perspectives. Methods: Forty-six healthy LGBs between the ages of 18 and 45 (M = 23.91, SE = .80) participated. Questionnaires included the Ways of Coping Checklist adapted to disclosure milestones, Daily Hassles Inventory, and Perceived Stress Scale. AL was calculated using 21 biomarkers of neuroendocrine, immune, cardiovascular, and metabolic functioning. Results: Avoidance coping during sexual identity formation was positively associated with frequency of daily hassles (β = .598, p < .001), perceived stress (β = .361, p = .015), and AL (β = .405, p = .006). By contrast, seeking social support was negatively associated with perceived stress (β = –.598, p = .048). Conclusions: Emotion-focused coping strategies during LGB sexual identity development are associated with current indices of biopsychosocial stress.     

Magnitude processing and complex calculation is negatively impacted by mathematics anxiety while retrieval‐based simple calculation is not

Mathematics anxiety (MA) refers to the experience of negative affect when engaging in mathematical activity. According to Ashcraft and Kirk (2001), MA selectively affects calculation with high working memory (WM) demand. On the other hand, Maloney, Ansari, and Fugelsang (2011) claim that MA affects all mathematical activities, including even the most basic ones such as magnitude comparison. The two theories make opposing predictions on the negative effect of MA on magnitude processing and simple calculation that make minimal demands on WM. We propose that MA has a selective impact on mathematical problem solving that likely involves processing of magnitude representations. Based on our hypothesis, MA will impinge upon magnitude processing even though it makes minimal demand on WM, but will spare retrieval‐based, simple calculation, because it does not require magnitude processing. Our hypothesis can reconcile opposing predictions on the negative effect of MA on magnitude processing and simple calculation. In the present study, we observed a negative relationship between MA and performance on magnitude comparison and calculation with high but not low WM demand. These results demonstrate that MA has an impact on a wide range of mathematical performance, which depends on one's sense of magnitude, but spares over‐practiced, retrieval‐based calculation.     

Inflection and computational load in agrammatic speech

In this study we investigate the production of verb inflection in agrammatic aphasia. In a number of recent studies it has been argued that tense inflection is harder to produce for agrammatic individuals than agreement inflection. However, results are still inconclusive, at least for Dutch and German. Here, we report three experiments in which this matter is further investigated. Our first goal was to determine whether tense was indeed more difficult to produce than agreement. Also, we investigated whether error rates were influenced by computational load. The results for nine Dutch-speaking agrammatic participants generally indicated that tense was indeed harder to produce than agreement, but that for both types of inflection, the number of errors increased with computational load. Taking care of word order and inflection induced more errors than taking care of just inflection. These findings are discussed in relation to current processing and representational models of agrammatic production.     

知觉负载、注意定势与选择性注意

本研究采用Eriksen Flanker（侧抑制）范式,将当前任务区分为高、低知觉负载两种条件．并系统操纵边缘视野干扰项与中央靶子的不同加工层次关系,从而考察注意选择的知觉负载理论。实验一发现,高知觉负载情况下没有任何flanker冲突效应,而低知觉负载情况下既有知觉层次和反应层次的冲突效应,也有一致条件下的促进效应。实验二增加了一致条件试次的比例,从而操纵自上而下的注意定势,发现高、低知觉负载情况下都存在知觉冲突效应和一致条件下的促进效应。这些发现表明,对任务无关信息的加工既受到任务相关信息的知觉负载和剩余加工资源的分配的影响,也受到自上而下注意定势的影响;自下而上和自上而下过程相互作用,共同决定加工资源的分配和注意选择的认知阶段。     

Recognizing speech under a processing load: Dissociating energetic from informational factors

Effects of perceptual and cognitive loads on spoken-word recognition have so far largely escaped investigation. This study lays the foundations of a psycholinguistic approach to speech recognition in adverse conditions that draws upon the distinction between energetic masking, i.e., listening environments leading to signal degradation, and informational masking, i.e., listening environments leading to depletion of higher-order, domain-general processing resources, independent of signal degradation. We show that severe energetic masking, such as that produced by background speech or noise, curtails reliance on lexical-semantic knowledge and increases relative reliance on salient acoustic detail. In contrast, informational masking, induced by a resource-depleting competing task (divided attention or a memory load), results in the opposite pattern. Based on this clear dissociation, we propose a model of speech recognition that addresses not only the mapping between sensory input and lexical representations, as traditionally advocated, but also the way in which this mapping interfaces with general cognition and non-linguistic processes.     

认知负荷和控制性注意对工作记忆广度任务成绩的影响

通过stroop干扰实验严格筛选被试,考察了控制性注意能力不同的被试在加工部分认知负荷不同的工作记忆广度任务中的成绩。结果表明：任务复杂性和加工速度对工作记忆广度任务成绩有重要影响,任务越复杂或加工速度越快,被试的工作记忆广度任务成绩越低;在复杂的和加工速度快的工作记忆广度任务中,控制性注意能力高的被试成绩要好于控制性注意能力低的被试,但在简单的和加工速度慢的任务中两者成绩没有显著差异。