Action-based and vision-based selection of input: Two sources of control

In the first part of this paper we review evidence suggesting that there exists a mechanism that selects input on the basis of its similarity to the required action. This response-based input selection differs from the more established space- and object-based input selection in that it is not constrained by the structure of the input. Our evidence suggests that the two-choice Stroop effect is caused by this response-based selection mechanism. By contrast, it is known that the flanker effect is determined by the space- and object- based selection mechanisms. We explore whether the conflict resolution of the Stroop and flanker tasks is different as well by embedding these two tasks in a PRP (Psychological Refractory Period) paradigm. We show that the Stroop and the PRP effects are additive whereas the flanker and the PRP effects are underadditive, suggesting that the processes in charge of the conflict resolution in the Stroop and the flanker tasks are indeed different. We discuss possible reasons for this difference, and discuss possible ways in which the response-based mechanism can be implemented in information processing models.     

The Role of Defense Mechanisms in Borderline and Antisocial Personalities

Fifty-eight adult male felons were given the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory (BDHI), and the Draw-a-Person Test (DAP) to test the relative sensitivity of subtlety or obviousness of items to response Sets. The inmates were randomly assigned to three response set groups: a fake-aggressive group, a fake-nonaggressive group, and a standard-instruction control group. The MMPIs were scored for five obvious and five subtle aggression or hostility research scales. The BDHI is a totally obvious test, whereas the DAP is a very subtle measure. A paradoxical relationship between response set and subtlety of the scales was hypothesized, such that the obvious scales could be successfully faked, hut the subtle scales would show scores in the opposite from the intended direction. It was found that the inmates did correctly manipulate the obvious scales, but the subtle scales did not consistently show the hypothesized trend. Possible reasons for this are discussed, including the nature of the scales used and characteristics of the population.     

Why Colour Primitivism?

Primitivism is the view that colors are sui generis properties of physical objects. The basic insight underlying primitivism is that colours are as we see them, i.e. they are categorical properties of physical objects—simple, monadic, constant, etc.—just like shapes. As such, they determine the content of colour experience. Accepting the premise that colours are sui generis properties of physical objects, this paper seeks to show that ascribing primitive properties to objects is, ipso facto, ascribing to objects irreducible dispositions to look coloured, and that anything that primitive redness can do, the non-reductive disposition to look red can do just as well. What makes primitivism suspect is not the commitment to sui generis properties, but instead the claim that colours are more than dispositions. Since, as I show, whatever primitivism appeals to for the purpose of arguing that colours are more than dispositions—objectivity, explanation, causation, phenomenology, constancy, etc.—can also be invoked by non-reductive dispositionalism, the feature that purportedly renders colours more than dispositions remains mysterious.     

Processing Evidence for the Grammatical Encoding of the Mass/Count Distinction in Mandarin Chinese

Journal of Psycholinguistic Research - Using the Visual World Paradigm, the current study aimed to explore whether the mass/count distinction is determined by syntax in Mandarin Chinese, focusing...     

Location specificity in response selection processes for visual stimuli

We used the psychological refractory period paradigm, in which participants respond to two successive tasks (T1 and T2). We created in T2 spatial and color Simon effects, known to be caused by response selection processes. Previous studies in which the spatial Simon effect was manipulated in T2 showed that this effect was underadditive, with stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between the targets for T1 and T2. In Experiment 1, we replicated these results with two versions of the spatial Simon effect. In contrast, in Experiment 2 we manipulated two versions of a color Simon effect, revealing an additive relation between the color Simon effect and SOA. These results suggest that the underadditivity obtained with the spatial Simon effect is due to its spatial nature, and that space may play a unique role in response selection processes.     

Encoding strategies in self-initiated visual working memory

During a typical day, visual working memory (VWM) is recruited to temporarily maintain visual information. Although individuals often memorize external visual information provided to them, on many other occasions they memorize information they have constructed themselves. The latter aspect of memory, which we term self-initiated WM, is prevalent in everyday behavior but has largely been overlooked in the research literature. In the present study we employed a modified change detection task in which participants constructed the displays they memorized, by selecting three or four abstract shapes or real-world objects and placing them at three or four locations in a circular display of eight locations. Half of the trials included identical targets that participants could select. The results demonstrated consistent strategies across participants. To enhance memory performance, participants reported selecting abstract shapes they could verbalize, but they preferred real-world objects with distinct visual features. Furthermore, participants constructed structured memory displays, most frequently based on the Gestalt organization cue of symmetry, and to a lesser extent on cues of proximity and similarity. When identical items were selected, participants mostly placed them in close proximity, demonstrating the construction of configurations based on the interaction between several Gestalt cues. The present results are consistent with recent findings in VWM, showing that memory for visual displays based on Gestalt organization cues can benefit VWM, suggesting that individuals have access to metacognitive knowledge on the benefit of structure in VWM. More generally, this study demonstrates how individuals interact with the world by actively structuring their surroundings to enhance performance.     

Primitivism and the Analogy between Colors and Values

The analogy between colors and values is strongly interlinked with the idea that these properties are by nature dispositions or response‐dependent properties. Indeed, that colors are essentially visible, and values are inherently motivational, cries out for a dispositional or a response‐dependent account. Recently, Primitivism has challenged the viability of the dispositional account of colors, taking the apple, for instance, to be “gloriously, perfectly, and primitively red.” Unsurprisingly, the attack on the dispositional account of colors has found a moral analogue in the view that values are sui generis irreducibly primitive properties. The question this article addresses is whether given Primitivism the analogy between colors and values is preserved; or in other words, whether Primitivism breaks the bond between the dispositional account and the analogy between colors and values.     

The role of central attention in retrieval from visual short-term memory

The role of central attention in visual short-term memory (VSTM) encoding and maintenance is well established, yet its role in retrieval has been largely unexplored. This study examined the involvement of central attention in retrieval from VSTM using a dual-task paradigm. Participants performed a color change-detection task. Set size varied between 1 and 3 items, and the memory sample was maintained for either a short or a long delay period. A secondary tone discrimination task was introduced at the end of the delay period, shortly before the appearance of a central probe, and occupied central attention while participants were searching within VSTM representations. Similarly to numerous previous studies, reaction time increased as a function of set size reflecting the occurrence of a capacity-limited memory search. When the color targets were maintained over a short delay, memory was searched for the most part without the involvement of central attention. However, with a longer delay period, the search relied entirely on the operation of central attention. Taken together, this study demonstrates that central attention is involved in retrieval from VSTM, but the extent of its involvement depends on the duration of the delay period. Future studies will determine whether the type of memory search (parallel or serial) carried out during retrieval depends on the nature of the attentional mechanism involved the task.