The word frequency effect in recognition memory versus repetition priming

The role of word frequency in recognition memory and repetition priming was investigated by using a manipulation of attention. In Experiment 1, the lexical decision task produced greater repetition priming for low-frequency words than for high-frequency words following either the attended or the unattended study condition. The recognition memory test, on the other hand, showed a low-frequency word advantage only following the attended study condition. Furthermore, this advantage was limited to the measure of recognition memory based on conscious recollection of the study episode. In Experiment 2, a speeded recognition memory test replicated the pattern obtained with the unspeeded recognition memory test in Experiment 1. These results argue against the view that the word frequency effects in recognition memory and repetition priming have the same origin. Instead, the results suggest that the word frequency effect in recognition memory has its locus in conscious recollection.     

Human movement-related brain potentials preceding voluntary movements in different arousal states monitored with skin potential level

The present study investigated the readiness potential (RP) preceding a brisk extension of the right middle finger during different arousal states as monitored by skin potential level (SPL). The late component of the readiness potential in the medium arousal state was significantly larger than those in the low and high arousal states. This finding indicates that the RP waveform may vary as a function of arousal states, suggesting the inverse U-shaped relationship proposed in studies of the contingent negative variation.     

Does the compatibility effect in the race Implicit Association Test reflect familiarity or affect?

In the Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998) involving race classification (white vs. black), an apparent compatibility effect is found between the “pleasant” attribute and the “white” category. This race IAT effect has been interpreted in terms of “implicit prejudice”—that is, more positive evaluation of whites than of blacks that is not open to consciousness. We suggested instead that the race IAT effect is better interpreted in terms of the salience asymmetry account proposed by Rothermund and Wentura (2004), whereby greater familiarity with the white category makes it more salient. Evidence that has been presented against the familiarity interpretation is considered, and alternative interpretations of findings related to the race IAT effect are discussed.     

Sequential learning and rule abstraction in Bengalese finches

The Bengalese finch (Lonchura striata var. domestica) is a species of songbird. Males sing courtship songs with complex note-to-note transition rules, while females discriminate these songs when choosing their mate. The present study uses serial reaction time (RT) to examine the characteristics of the Bengalese finches’ sequential behaviours beyond song production. The birds were trained to produce the sequence with an “A–B–A” structure. After the RT to each key position was determined to be stable, we tested the acquisition of the trained sequential response by presenting novel and random three-term sequences (random test). We also examined whether they could abstract the embedded rule in the trained sequence and apply it to the novel test sequence (abstract test). Additionally, we examined rule abstraction through example training by increasing the number of examples in baseline training from 1 to 5. When considered as (gender) groups, training with 5 examples resulted in no statistically significant differences in the abstract tests, while statistically significant differences were observed in the random tests, suggesting that the male birds learned the trained sequences and transferred the abstract structure they had learned during the training trials. Individual data indicated that males, as opposed to females, were likely to learn the motor pattern of the sequence. The results are consistent with observations that males learn to produce songs with complex sequential rules, whereas females do not.     

Cross cultural differences in unconscious knowledge

Previous studies have indicated cross cultural differences in conscious processes, such that Asians have a global preference and Westerners a more analytical one. We investigated whether these biases also apply to unconscious knowledge. In Experiment 1, Japanese and UK participants memorized strings of large (global) letters made out of small (local) letters. The strings constituted one sequence of letters at a global level and a different sequence at a local level. Implicit learning occurred at the global and not the local level for the Japanese but equally at both levels for the English. In Experiment 2, the Japanese preference for global over local processing persisted even when structure existed only at the local but not global level. In Experiment 3, Japanese and UK participants were asked to attend to just one of the levels, global or local. Now the cultural groups performed similarly, indicating that the bias largely reflects preference rather than ability (although the data left room for residual ability differences). In Experiment 4, the greater global advantage of Japanese rather English was confirmed for strings made of Japanese kana rather than Roman letters. That is, the cultural difference is not due to familiarity of the sequence elements. In sum, we show for the first time that cultural biases strongly affect the type of unconscious knowledge people acquire.     

Implicit phonetic symbolism in voicing of consonants and visual lightness using Garner's speeded classification task

The present study examines implicit phonetic symbolism which posits that arbitrary linguistic sound is related to certain aspects of characteristics of other modalities, such as color, touch, or emotion. In consonant discrimination and lightness discrimination using Garner's speeded classification paradigm, spoken sounds (voiced/voiceless consonants) and lightness of visual stimuli (black/white squares) were systematically varied to assess cross-modal interactions. Congruent audio-visual pairs (voiced consonants and black, and between voiceless consonants and white) facilitated consonant discrimination. In lightness discrimination, no congruent facilitation or congruence effect was observed. These results indicated that cross-modal interactions in implicit phonetic symbolism can be found in correlations between linguistic spoken sounds and visual lightness.     

Dynamic adaptation to history of trial difficulty explains the effect of congruency proportion on masked priming

In reaction time research, there has been an increasing appreciation that response-initiation processes are sensitive to recent experience and, in particular, the difficulty of previous trials. From this perspective, the authors propose an explanation for a perplexing property of masked priming: Although primes are not consciously identified, facilitation of target processing by a related prime is magnified in a block containing a high proportion of related primes and a low proportion of unrelated primes relative to a block containing the opposite mix (Bodner & Masson, 2001). In the present study, this phenomenon is explored with a parity (even/odd) decision task in which a prime (e.g., 2) precedes a target that can be either congruent (e.g., 4) or incongruent (e.g., 3). It is shown that the effect of congruence proportion with masked primes cannot be explained in terms of the blockwise prime-target contingency. Specifically, with masked primes, there is no congruency disadvantage in a block containing a high proportion of incongruent primes, but there is a congruency advantage when the block contains an equal proportion of congruent and incongruent primes. In qualitative contrast, visible primes are sensitive to the blockwise prime-target contingency. The authors explain the relatedness proportion effect found with masked primes in terms of a model according to which response-initiation processes adapt to the statistical structure of the environment, specifically the difficulty of recent trials. This account is supported with an analysis at the level of individual trials using the linear mixed effects model.     

Visual similarity effects on masked priming

We investigated the role of the visual similarity of masked primes to targets in a lexical decision experiment. In the primes, some letters in the target (e.g., A in ABANDON) had either visually similar letters (e.g., H), dissimilar letters (D), visually similar digits (4), or dissimilar digits (6) substituted for them. The similarities of the digits and letters to the base letter were equated and verified in a two-alternative forced choice (2AFC) perceptual identification task. Using targets presented in lowercase (e.g., abandon) and primes presented in uppercase, visually similar digit primes (e.g., 484NDON) produced more priming than did visually dissimilar digit primes (676NDON), but little difference was found between the visually similar and dissimilar letter primes (HRHNDON vs. DWDNDON). These results were explained in terms of task-driven competition between the target letter and the visually similar letter.     

Additive and interactive effects of word frequency and masked repetition in the lexical decision task

In previous studies, additive effects of masked repetition and word frequency on lexical decision latency have been reported. This additive pattern was replicated in Experiment 1 with the use of lowfrequency words (range, 1–7 per million) selected at random. In contrast, in Experiment 2, in which low-frequency words known to be familiar to the subjects were used, the masked repetition priming effect was greater for low-frequency than for high-frequency words. It is suggested that the absence of an interaction between masked repetition and frequency observed in previous studies and in the present Experiment 1 was due to the fact that very-low-frequency words often have an unstable representation in the subjects’ lexicon and, consequently, sometimes fail to produce repetition priming effects in full.     

Personality Dysfunction and the Management of Chronic Medical Illness: A Community Health Sample

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of personality disorders on perceived health status, self-efficacy for management of the chronic illness, and physician perception of patient health. A total of 607 patients with self-identified chronicillness(es) volunteered to participate in the study. Out of this sample, 147 had collaborative physician data indicating a chronic illness. The final sample was 143 due to incomplete data. Results suggested that maladaptive personality characteristics, as measured by the Short-Form of the Coolidge Axis II Inventory (SCATI), were related to a number of important factors that influence self-management of chronic illnesses. When the personality constellations were broken into 3 groups (normal, subclinical, and clinical) significant differences were found on the 3 groups of dependent variables (Subjective Health, Self-Efficacy, Physician Appraisal) for the different personality disorders. These data provide useful information on several factors that influence effective disease management. Clinical implications and directions for future research are provided.