Part-set cueing and lexical decisions: Testing an inhibitory account

Providing some elements of a studied set during testing (part-set cues) can impair memory for the remaining elements (noncues)—a counterintuitive effect that has recently been attributed to inhibition of noncues. To test for such inhibition using a lexical decision task, we manipulated semantic and episodic relationships, such that cues and noncues were related only semantically, only episodically, or both semantically and episodically. Results showed that part-set cueing evoked inhibition, slowing lexical decisions for noncues that were related to cues both semantically and episodically, consistent with previous results involving the retrieval practice paradigm. However, either type of relationship alone was insufficient to slow decisions, despite previous evidence of impaired memory in similar conditions when tested with other measures such as free recall. The latter results raise questions regarding the extent to which inhibition can account for cueing-induced impairment when cues and noncues are related only semantically or only episodically.     

空间选择性注意在上下视野间的转移

本实验研究空间选择性注意在上下视野间的转移及其是否受知觉空间的影响。实验采用Posner的位置线索化实验范式和两种深度线索背景,测量分辨任务的反应时(RTs)。实验发现:线索有效时的反应时比线索无效时的反应时短,而且线索对上视野刺激的反应时的影响较大。知觉空间中的深度线索对于注意在上下视野中转移没有显著影响。这些结果表明,空间选择性注意在上下视野转移存在不对称性,并且主要由物理空间决定。     

任务难度与部分线索效应

部分线索效应是指在学习一个词表后,呈现已学项目中的一部分作为回忆线索去回忆其他项目时,回忆效果反而不如没有线索组的效果好。研究通过三个实验探讨了不同任务难度的部分线索效应。结果表明：（1）在中文词表记忆中存在部分线索效应;（2）随着学习材料难度的提高由部分线索造成的提取成绩的削减量降低。这一研究结果支持了部分线索效应的策略破坏假说。     

眼睛注视线索提示效应: 内源性注意还是外源性注意?

采用改进的Posner视-空间线索提示范式, 对眼睛注视线索提示效应(eyes gaze cueing effect)的加工机制进行了探讨。实验一考察注视提示线索对空间Stroop效应的影响; 实验二考察注视提示线索对特征抽取和特征整合的影响。实验结果显示: 注视线索提示有效时的空间Stroop效应显著大于提示无效的情景; 在单一特征搜索与特征联合搜索任务中, 注视线索提示效应无差别。这说明, 注视线索通过在头脑里形成空间方位表征诱导注意转移; 注视线索通过影响特征抽取、而非特征整合阶段, 对客体加工产生易化。本研究支持注视线索提示效应属于内源性注意的观点。     

部分线索效应的认知抑制过程:情绪Stroop任务证据

采用部分线索效应经典范式与情绪Stroop任务相结合的范式,采取更为敏感的指标,对部分线索效应的认知抑制进程进行了考察,同时为提取抑制假说提供证据。结果发现,部分线索呈现后进行情绪Stroop任务,部分线索组反应时显著短于自由回忆组,提取结束后进行情绪Stroop任务,部分线索组和自由回忆组反应时差异不显著,提取未完成时,部分线索组反应时显著短于自由回忆组。结果提示,在以情绪词为实验材料的部分线索效应中,抑制在部分线索呈现之后即发生,提取未完成时,抑制持续存在,研究结果支持提取抑制假说,同时也对提取抑制假说做了一定补充,即抑制的持续时间受随后是否有提取任务调节。     

自我面孔对空间注意的调控：来自Posner空间线索范式的证据

利用Posner的空间线索范式,三个实验意在探寻自我面孔作为特殊的刺激对空间注意的调控作用。在实验一中,自我或者熟悉的面孔作为内源性线索出现在视野中央,通过朝左或者朝右来提示目标出现的位置。在实验二（小图）和实验三（大图）中,自我或熟悉的面孔与目标同时呈现,作为与任务无关的刺激出现在视野的左侧或右侧。实验一的结果发现,与熟悉的面孔相比较,自我面孔产生了更大的提示效应。这意味着当自我面孔与任务相关时,对提示位置易化优于熟悉的面孔。与之相反的是,在实验二和实验三中,自我面孔和熟悉的面孔同样捕获目标位置的空间注意。然而,研究并没有发现自我面孔与熟悉面孔在捕获注意上的差异。这一结果也许暗示着在注意捕获的过程中,面孔效应足够大而掩盖了自我效应的出现。这些发现表明自我面孔之所以是具有特殊性的刺激不仅受感知过程的影响,还依赖于与任务的关系。     

The Influence of Approach and Avoidance Behavior on Visual Selective Attention

Recent findings indicate that enactment of approach behavior broadens the focus of perceptual attention. The aim of the present study was to examine how approach and avoidance behavior influence visual selective attention. To achieve this, the authors combined approach and avoidance manipulations with a visual precueing task (local vs. global cues preceding either local or global targets). The authors hypothesized that participants with an enactment of approach behavior would show faster attentional orienting with compatible cue-target-relations than in incompatible trials. The results support that enactment of approach behavior leads to faster attentional orienting in compatible trials compared with incompatible trials. Although participants showed significant attentional learning effects across blocks, learning was not enhanced by approach and avoidance manipulations.     

Part-set cueing and the generation effect: An evaluation of a two-mechanism account of part-set cueing

The part-set cueing effect refers to paradoxical memory impairment often observed when elements from a set of items appear as ostensibly helpful retrieval cues during testing of memory for the set. We tested predictions of a two-mechanism account of part-set cueing—that, without enhanced relational processing, standard encoding leaves items susceptible to cueing-induced inhibition that persists after cues are removed; and that increasing item-specific encoding increases this persisting inhibition. Experiment 1 used antonym generation during study to increase item-specific encoding relative to standard encoding. Tests using item-specific probes revealed greater cueing-induced impairment for the generation condition, as predicted. However, when part-set cues were later removed, this impairment abated significantly in the generation condition and even disappeared in the standard-encoding condition—effects not predicted by the two-mechanism account, challenging its completeness. In Experiment 2, we ruled out an artifactual explanation of these results by replicating previously reported persisting impairment on free recall tests.     

The Effect of Informative and Uninformative Cueing of Attention on Feature Integration

In the present study, the authors observed the effect of informative and uninformative attentional cueing on visual search for targets that were defined by a simple feature or by conjunctions of features. Three different types of attentional cueing were tested in three experiments: peripheral informative cueing, peripheral uninformative cueing, and central informative cueing. Participants showed a greater effect of cueing in detecting a conjunction of features than in detecting unique features only when attention was oriented by either peripheral or central informative cueing. This differential cueing effect was not observed when attention was oriented by peripheral uninformative cueing. The results suggest that voluntarily oriented attention plays a more important role in feature integration than automatically oriented attention does. The results also pose limits on the generalizability of K. A. Briand's (1998) proposal regarding the role of automatically oriented attention in feature integration.