bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Confirmation and Matching Biases in Hypothesis Testing
Authors: Beattie Jane , Baron Jonathan
Published: September 2011

A number of investigators have claimed that subjects show confirmation bias on a variety of reasoning tasks. However, subjects who were classified as “confirming” had often selected evidence that could have falsified their hypothesis. In this study we present a novel task in which each piece of evidence is either falsifying or confirming, but not both. This task is similar in structure to Wason's (1966) 4-card task and its negated variant (Evans & Lynch, 1973); hence subjects were asked to perform these two tasks for comparison purposes. Some subjects also provided thinking-aloud protocols, allowing a test of the Johnson-Laird and Wason (1970) information processing model. Subjects were found who showed severe confirmation bias by selecting only evidence that could corroborate, but not falsify, their hypotheses. Several subjects even retained their hypotheses when presented with clearly falsifying evidence. The tendency to show confirmation bias was significantly greater in first-year undergraduates than in more educated subjects. A revised definition of confirmation bias is offered to clarify subjects’ reasons for their selections. In addition to evidence of confirmation bias, support was found for the matching bias model (Wason & Evans, 1975; Evans, 1977), emphasizing the need for sensitivity to individual differences.
Qualitatively Different Effects of Undetected and Unidentified Auditory Primes
Authors: Groeger J. A.
Published: September 2011

The suggestion that semantic activation can occur without conscious identification of the priming stimulus is still controversial. Many studies supporting such a contention, especially those where primes were auditorially presented, suffer from methodological shortcomings, frequently with regard to threshold measurement. In the study reported here 24 subjects underwent a considerably more rigorous thresholding procedure than has been usual, prior to engaging in a forced-choice sentence completion task. The results show that semantic priming operates when subjects were unable to detect the presence of primes and that phonological (but not semantic) priming operates when the primes were invariably detected but never correctly identified. The relevance of these qualitatively different effects of primes, as a function of the level at which they are presented, in discussed in the light of recent accounts of unconscious processing.
Editing Episodic Memory following the Identification of Error
Authors: Wilkes A. L. , Leatherbarrow M.
Published: September 2011

The editing of an episodic memory record in order to remove incorrect information embedded within naturalistic communications is an important though underinvestigated phenomenon. Experiment 1 deals with the recall and comprehension of a sequence of messages following the delayed identification of one of the messages as being incorrect. Two styles of correction were employed, and it was found that in neither case was the memory record edited effectively. Inferences based upon the old information continued to be drawn although subjects had clearly recalled that it had been subsequently corrected.

Experiment 2 showed that editing could be effective if the old information did not play a central role in the message sequence. It is concluded that the observed difficulties in editing arise when old information has to be excised from the episodic record; the uncontested insertion of new information retrospectively did not present the same difficulty.

Reading span was used to monitor subjects’ editing strategies, and from its association with performance measures it is concluded that contradictions in the memory record are not dealt with immediately but are resolved locally when comprehension is questioned. At this time inferences are drawn based upon the most recent version of the contradictory messages. This recency strategy breaks down when the old information provides a better fit to the question posed. Some implications of these findings for models of memory storage are discussed.
Developmental Dysgraphias
Authors: Temple Christine M.
Published: September 2011

Two cases of developmental dysgraphia are presented. These ten-year-old children are of at least average intelligence and vocabulary, with normal speech and no known neurological abnormality. Psycholinguistic investigations reveal that although performance for the two cases is quantitatively similar, there are marked qualitative differences: The majority of R.B.'s spelling errors are phonologically plausible, and she is better at spelling regular than irregular words. Non-word spelling is as good as word spelling. The pattern of spelling deficit is consistent with the label surface dysgraphia. A phonological route to spelling has developed in relative isolation from a lexical–semantic route to spelling. A.H.'s spelling contrasts in a number of ways with R.B.'s. Fewer than 1/5 of his spelling errors are phonologically plausible, and the spelling of regular words is no better than the spelling of irregular words. A.H. may have impaired development of the segmentation component of the phonological route and therefore be overreliant on an, albeit imperfect, lexical–semantic spelling route. Normal children at the same spelling level display patterns of performance similar to R.B. but differ quantitatively from A.H.
Suppression Effects in Rhyme Judgement Tasks
Authors: Johnston Rhona S. , McDermott Erica A.
Published: September 2011

Orthographic and phonological similarity were orthogonally manipulated in a rhyme judgement task. The effects were assessed of paced versus very rapid articulatory suppression on subjects’ ability to make rhyme judgements when pairs of words were presented either simultaneously or successively. It was found that there were consistent suppression effects on the accuracy of subjects’ judgements to visually similar non-rhyming pairs (e.g. “pint-tint”), visually dissimilar rhyming pairs (e.g. “fare–wear”) and visually similar rhyming pairs (e.g. “fall–tall), regardless of mode of presentation or speed of suppression. The size of the suppression effect was greatest for the visually similar non-rhyming word pairs. It was argued that subjects need to carry out a recheck for phonological similarity when word pairs are visually but not phonologically similar, and that encoding the words in articulatory form is particularly beneficial for making accurate rhyme judgements to such pairs.
Masked priming with graphemically related forms: Repetition or partial activation?
Authors: Forster K. I. , Davis C. , Schoknecht C. , Carter R.
Published: September 2011

Form-priming occurs when a prime that is graphemically similar to the target word facilitates processing of the target. In an activation model (such as Morton's logogen model), such an effect can be interpreted as a partial-activation effect. A prime that shares letters with the target must inevitably produce activation in the detectors for both the prime and the target. Alternatively, form-priming could be seen as a special case of repetition-priming, in which the prime actually accesses the entry for the target. It is shown that masked-priming effects in the lexical decision task can be obtained for graphemically related pairs such as bontrast-CONTRAST, but not for four-letter pairs such as bamp-CAMP. It is suggested that the priming effect is controlled by neighbourhood density, short words usually having many neighbours, long words having very few. This hypothesis is supported by the finding that form-priming does occur for four-letter words if the prime and target are drawn from low-density neighbourhoods. For a partial-activation theory, an inhibitory mechanism that is sensitive to the number of prime-neighbours is required to explain the results. Of the several versions of a repetition account considered, the “best match” hypothesis appears to be the most promising: this assumes that priming is limited to the stimulus that best matches the prime. It is also shown that prime-target pairs that are related in form and meaning (e.g. made-MAKE) produce the same priming effect as identical pairs, as predicted by a repetition account that assumes a common entry underlying both forms.
Syntactic structure and the garden path
Authors: Holmes V. M. , Kennedy A. , Murray W. S.
Published: September 2011

The experiment investigated locally ambiguous English sentences containing “complement” verbs such as believe, which can be followed either by a direct object or by a complement clause. These two sentence types were compared with unambiguous sentences in which the complement clause was introduced by the word that. Subjects processed numerous examples of these sentences in a word-by-word self-paced reading task. At the disambiguation point after the ambiguous noun phrase, longer reading times were obtained for reduced complement constructions compared with direct object sentences. Such an effect has been attributed to the operation of the parsing principle Minimal Attachment (Frazier and Rayner, 1982). This principle predicts that subjects assume falsely that the noun phrase after the complement verb in the reduced complement constructions is the direct object, resulting in the need for subsequent structural reanalysis. However, longer times in the disambiguating zone were also found for the unambiguous that complements. Thus, the complexity difference seems not to represent “garden-pathing” as a result of the operation of Minimal Attachment, but may instead reflect the extra complexity caused by having to handle two sets of clausal relations instead of just one.
Motion-detecting mechanisms: Dual input devices?
Authors: Moulden Bernard , Begg Helena
Published: September 2011

Displacement thresholds for luminance step edges were measured for a wide range of contrasts and mean luminances. Thresholds for extended edges (longer than about 0.5°) are determined not by contrast but rather by the amplitude (Lmax-Lmin) of the luminance change produced by the displacement. Arguing from the standpoint of the Marr-Ullman model of movement detection, we had expected that thresholds might be jointly determined by both contrast and amplitude. Using a range of edges of different lengths, we found that differential effects of luminance and contrast can be revealed: for short edges (less than about 0.5°) thresholds are influenced by both amplitude and contrast, while for more extensive edges only amplitude has an influence. The results are consistent with the properties of a mechanism that has two separate inputs, one from a spatial operator that is contrast-dependent and one from a temporal operator that is amplitude-dependent. The spatial operator is markedly sensitive to changes in edge extent, the temporal operator much less so. The output of the spatial operator saturates early as a function of contrast.
Reaction time and response dynamics
Authors: Carlton Les G. , Carlton Mary J. , Newell K. M.
Published: September 2011

The experiments reported were designed to examine the relationship between reaction time and the response dynamics of a finger-press task. Experiments 1 and 2 manipulated force duration and peak force level in both simple and choice reaction-time paradigms. Experiment 3 constrained both force duration and peak force, leading to independent changes in the rate of force production. The findings from all three experiments suggest that the rate of force production, rather than force duration, is the key response parameter determining reaction time. Reaction time decreased as an exponential function of rate of force production independent of force duration and peak force.
Exploring the Visuo-Spatial Scratch Pad
Authors: Morris Neil
Published: September 2011

A series of four studies examines the relationship between the visuo-spatial scratch pad, the central executive and the articulatory loop. For this purpose a visuo-spatial memory task that does not have a large verbal component was developed. In Experiment 1 this task was used to demonstrate that the scratch pad, although functionally independent of the articulatory loop, is subject to interference from a tracking task. Experiment 2 examined the locus of interference of the tracking task with spatial memory. It was shown that interference is confined to the encoding phase; post presentation tracking does not disrupt visuo-spatial representation. Experiment 3 demonstrated that the tracking task employed requires some central executive resources. The final experiment examined the effect of a near-span consonant memory load on the spatial memory task. Disruption only occurred when the verbal load preceded, or was concurrent with, the spatial task. The results suggest that central executive resources are probably required to operate the scratch pad in most circumstances. However, minimal central capacity is required for maintenance rehersal.
The Representation of Depth in Children's Drawings of a Table
Authors: Lee Monica , Bremner Gavin
Published: September 2011

Willats (1977) analysed developments in the drawing of a table in terms of the projection system in which the table top was represented, and concluded that representation of depth in drawing goes through a series of discrete stages, each of which can be identified with a projection system. A partial replication of Willats’ study is presented here, using a much larger sample. The relationship between age and use of projection system found by Willats was in general supported. Not all the “stages” were found to be discrete, however, and an examination of the way in which the table tops were drawn shows that whilst the majority of older children appeared to use perspective, they did not use it correctly. A method is given by which tables that are drawn as if from a central viewpoint can be formally classified. It is concluded that development in the understanding of the representation of depth is not very closely linked to development in the use of projection systems.
Interpreting Elliptical Verb Phrases
Authors: Garnham Alan , Oakhill Jane
Published: September 2011

Elliptical verb phrases are anaphoric expressions whose correct interpretation depends on the exact form of the preceding text as well as its meaning. However, people are not very good at remembering surface details of what they read or hear, so how do they understand such expressions? One alternative to a linguistically based interpretation of elliptical verb phrases is to assign them meanings that are plausible, given general knowledge about the situation being described. In an experiment, subjects read passages in which context provided a plausible interpretation for an elliptical verb phrase that either was or was not at odds with the linguistically correct interpretation. There was a tendency for subjects to assign plausible, but incorrect, meanings to elliptical verb phrases. This tendency increased with the distance between the elliptical verb phrase and its antecedent. Incorrect interpretations were assigned slowly, and the speed of assignment increased with distance from the antecedent. These results suggest that people try to interpret elliptical verb phrases correctly, but that they are not always able to do so. Furthermore, they indicate that the intuition that elliptical verb phrases are easy to interpret is misleading. If text is to be comprehensible, speakers and writers must use such expressions with care.
Three-Dimensional Movement Trajectories in Fitts' Task: Implications for Control
Authors: MacKenzie C. L. , Marteniuk R. G. , Dugas C. , Liske D. , Eickmeier B.
Published: September 2011

According to Fitts (1954), movement time (MT) is a function of the combined effects of movement amplitude and target width (index of difficulty). Aiming movements with the same index of difficulty and MT may have different planning and control processes depending on the specific combination of movement amplitude and target size. Trajectories were evaluated for a broad range of amplitudes and target sizes. A three-dimensional motion recording system (WATSMART) monitored the position of a stylus during aiming movements. MT results replicated Fitts’ Law. Analysis of the resultant velocity profiles indicated the following significant effects: As amplitude of movement increased, so did the time to peak resultant velocity; peak resultant velocity increased slightly with target size, and to a greater extent with increases in the amplitude of movement; the time after peak resultant velocity was a function of both amplitude and target size. Resultant velocity profiles were normalized in the time domain to look for scalar relation in the trajectory shape. This revealed that: the resultant velocity profiles were not symmetrical; the proportion of time spent prior to and after peak speed was sensitive to target size only, i.e. as target size decreased, the profiles became more skewed to the right, indicating a longer decelerative phase; for a given target size, a family of curves might be defined and scaled on movement amplitude. These results suggest that a generalized program (base trajectory representation) exists for a given target width and is parameterized or scaled according to the amplitude of movement.
Word Shape as a Cue to the Identity of a Word: An Analysis of the Kučera and Francis (1967) Word List
Authors: Walker Peter
Published: September 2011

A word printed in lower-case letters has a characteristic shape as a result of the pattern created by its ascending, descending and neutral letters. The importance of word shape as a cue in word recognition, though debated for many years, has still to be satisfactorily resolved. On the assumption that the utility of a word's shape will depend on the extent to which it precludes all but a relative small set of candidate words, a promising approach to the issue compares reading performance for words with rare versus common shapes. As a prerequisite to this experimental approach, however, the distinctiveness of different word shapes needs to be determined. To this end, all of the three- to seven-letter words from the Kučera and Francis (1967) corpus were analysed. This revealed that although word shape in itself is rarely adequate to uniquely identify a word, when it is combined with knowledge of other orthographic features its potential utility is enhanced considerably. Examination of the distribution of letter types across letter positions within words revealed a potential source of information concerning word boundaries. It is suggested that this information may contribute to reading when, for example, the interword spacing is tight. The association of word-shape distinctiveness with a number of other word features is also reported.
Case Alternation Effect: Two Types of Word Recognition?
Authors: Kinoshita Sachiko
Published: September 2011

Two experiments were conducted to test Besner's (1983) claim that the lexical decision task involves a type of recognition mechanism that simply monitors the visual familiarity of the target without uniquely specifying the word. The experiments tested the combined effects of case alternation and decision type, and case alternation and word frequency in a lexical decision task and in a task requiring speeded decisions about the syntactic usage of target words. Contrary to Besner's proposal, case alternation did not affect word decisions more than nonword decisions in the lexical decision task. Further, the finding of additive effects of case alternation and word frequency in the two tasks was also at odds with the prediction derived from Besner's account. The discrepancy between the results obtained by Besner and the present lexical decision task was discussed in terms of different decision strategies, and it was suggested that under conditions of difficult word-nonword discrimination, the global visual familiarity of the target is not involved in making lexical decisions.
The Priming of Word Associations: A Levels-of-Processing Approach
Authors: de Groot Annette M. B.
Published: September 2011

Four experiments are reported in which the magnitude of the associative-priming effect is manipulated by varying both the experimental task and the conditions within a given task. The between-task manipulation involved a comparison of priming effects in length categorization on the one hand and lexical decision on the other. The within-task manipulation involved varying the type of letter strings presented as the nonword stimuli in lexical decisions. Pseudowords and two types of orthographically illegal letter strings—namely, consonant strings and random letter strings—served as nonwords. Finally, the effect of varying the proportion of pseudowords to illegal nonwords across four sets of experimental materials was investigated. On the whole, these within-and between-task manipulations turned out to be very effective ways of affecting the size of the associative-priming effect. Also, the size of the lexicality effect (the difference between the RTs to word and nonword stimuli) varied systematically with these within-and between-task manipulations. The results are discussed in relation to both Shulman and Davison's (1977) parallel-processing model and Balota and Chumbley's (1984) account of lexical decision.
Early Modulation of Visual Input: A Study of Attentional Strategies
Authors: Bonnel Anne-Marie , Possamaï Camille-Aimé , Schmitt Michel
Published: September 2011

Despite agreement among many attentional theories that processing resources are limited and allocated according to task demands, controversy continues about the locus of selectivity. Studies of spatial orientation of attention suggest an early effect. These results, however, can be explained instead by effects of decision processes. The present study avoids this difficulty by directly manipulating attention in a dual-task paradigm and by using SDT to dissociate sensory tuning from criterion shifts. Ten subjects judged whether two lines to the left of fixation were the same or different in length; they also judged two lines presented simultaneously to the right. In a given block of 64 trials, the subject was to allocate 80%, 50%, or 20% of attention to one pair of lines and the rest to the other. On every trial, the subject judged both pairs. Results showed that d′ increased from 0.77 with 20% allocation to 1.69 with 80%, indicating that sensitivity is modulated by attentional instructions. These results are predicted quantitatively by Luce's sample-size model.
The Influence of the Nature of Material and of Mental Operations on the Occurrence of the Bizarreness Effect
Authors: Cornoldi Cesare , Cavedon Adele , De Beni Rossana , Baldi Alvaro Pra
Published: September 2011

In the literature, a memory advantage for bizarre items over common ones has been found only in a few studies, especially with materials prepared ad hoc by the experimenter and with free recall rather than cued recall tests. These results contrast with the widespread conviction that bizarreness helps recall.

The present paper explores the role of some variables involved in the “bizarreness” effect: (1) It examines the typical self-generation procedure in which the subject is asked to create an interaction between a pair of nouns, as well as the case in which only one noun is given. Higher freedom in generating sentences appears to correspond to higher free recall of bizarre items. (2) It is shown that bizarre items must be distinguished from “unusual” ones, which have different effects on memory. (3) By contrasting groups instructed to use either imagery or verbal elaboration, it is shown that the bizarreness effect is linked to the use of imagery. Instructions to use imagery without the possibility of creating bizarre representations do not improve the recall of common items. (4) The classification of parts of sentences generated reveals that, under common instructions, one subject's choice of verb and noun is more likely to be shared by other subjects. This fact may explain the different effects found by previous research in cued and free recall. (5) The overestimation of the recallability of bizarre items appears less evident than in previous research, probably because subjects had direct experience of the difficulties met in generating bizarre images.
Skill in Map Reading and Memory for Maps
Authors: Gilhooly Kenneth J. , Wood Michael , Kinnear Paul R. , Green Caroline
Published: September 2011

Studies of expertise have typically shown that experts have better memory for materials from their fields than do novices. However, previous research on memory for maps has not shown the expected effect of expertise. The present study differed from previous studies by using contour maps as well as planimetric maps. In Experiment 1 the expected superiority in memory performance was found for skilled map readers when contour maps were used, but not when planimetric maps were used.

In Experiment 2, the main results of Experiment 1 were replicated, and, in addition, process tracing data were obtained during both study and test phases of contour map learning. Objective measures of attentional and retrieval focussing revealed almost no differences between the skilled and unskilled subjects. However, analyses of verbal protocols showed that the skilled subjects made more use of specialist schemata, whereas the unskilled subjects spent more time in reading place names. During recall, the skilled subjects made more use of both specialist and “lay” schemata, whereas the unskilled retrieved more place-name information.

The results are interpreted in terms of a schema-based approach to expertise.
Anxiety and the Allocation of Attention to Threat
Authors: MacLeod Colin , Mathews Andrew
Published: September 2011

Using a probe detection technique we have recently demonstrated that anxious subjects consistently deploy attention towards threat-related stimuli, whereas non-anxious controls tend to move attention away from such material (MacLeod, Mathews, & Tata, 1986).

The current study employed the same paradigm but attempted to distinguish the role of trait and state anxiety by testing high- and low-trait students when state anxiety was relatively low (12 weeks before a major examination) and again when it was relatively high (one week before this examination). High-trait subjects alone tended to shift attention towards generally threatening material on both test occasions. Results for examination-related stimuli were more complex. Increased proximity to the examination was associated with an increase in attentional bias towards such threat stimuli in high-trait subjects, but with increased attentional avoidance of such stimuli in low-trait subjects. It is suggested that the attentional response to currently relevant stress-related stimuli may be associated with neither trait nor state anxiety alone, but with an interactive function involving both these variables. These results are discussed in relation to existing models of emotion and cognition, and alternative interpretations of the findings are considered.
Semantic Priming without Awareness: Some Methodological Considerations and Replications
Authors: Kemp-Wheeler S. M. , Hill A. B.
Published: September 2011

Previous studies of subliminal semantic priming effects are considered. The distinction between subjective and objective detection thresholds proposed by Cheesman and Merikle (1984) is accepted, and it is concluded that no convincing evidence has been adduced to support or deny the existence of semantic priming effects at or below objective threshold. New criteria for the assessment of objective thresholds are proposed, and four experiments are reported in each of which pattern-masked primes were presented 10% below objective threshold. The first three experiments presented primes, mask, and targets binocularly; the fourth used dichoptic presentation. Data were analysed using both conventional F ratios and the quasi F ratio advocated by Clark (1973). Results showed that significant subliminal semantic priming effects occurred in each experiment when conventional F ratios were used, and significant effects occurred in all but the first experiment when quasi F was used. Binocular and dichoptic presentation of stimuli gave semantic priming effects whose magnitudes did not differ significantly. It is concluded that semantic priming effects can be obtained below objective detection threshold. It is also concluded that replication with different participants and different stimuli is preferable to the use of quasi F ratios in investigations where verbal stimuli are used.
Spatial Coding in the Processing of Anaphor by Good and Poor Readers: Evidence from Eye Movement Analyses
Authors: Murray Wayne S. , Kennedy Alan
Published: September 2011

An experiment that examined the way in which young readers deployed eye movements while reading sentences and while answering questions containing either a pronominal or noun anaphor is reported. To evaluate the possible causal role played by differences in inspection strategies between readers of above- and below-average reading skill, a third“age control” group of younger children was also tested. This group was matched on absolute reading ability with the less skilled group of older children, and on relative reading ability (i.e. reading quotient) with the more skilled group. Differences in inspection strategy were apparent between the groups of good and poor readers. Good readers launched more selective reinspections, whereas the poorer readers were more inclined to engage in“backtracking” and appeared to make less use of the displayed text. In every case there was a marked similarity in the behaviour of the good readers and the“age controls”. These results suggest that the ability to code the spatial location of words in a sentence, and, where necessary, to use this information to launch accurately targetted selective reinspections of previously read text, plays a crucial role in the development of skilled reading performance.
The Interaction of Word Frequency and Stimulus Quality in the Lexical Decision Task: Now you See It, Now you Don't
Authors: Wilding J. M.
Published: September 2011

Two experiments are reported that examined the joint effects of word frequency and stimulus quality in the context of a lexical decision task. In the first experiment the interval between response to a stimulus and onset of the next stimulus was 0.8 sec, and the effect of the two factors was additive. In the second this interval was 3.3 sec, and the effect of reducing stimulus quality was greater for infrequent words than for frequent words. This is similar to the result of Norris (1984). The inability of current models of word recognition to explain this finding is discussed.
Division of Attention: The Single-Channel Hypothesis Revisited
Authors: Gladstones William H. , Regan Michael A. , Lee Robert B.
Published: September 2011

Two experiments are reported in which subjects performed two forced-paced serial reaction time tasks separately and together at their maximum sustainable rates of information processing. Experiment 1 investigated the effects on the relationship between single- and dual-task performance of using tasks with the same or different input and output modality characteristics; an additional condition tested the effects on this relationship of using tasks with higher S–R compatibility. Experiment 2 investigated the effects on the relationship between single- and dual-task performance of varying information load (number of S–R alternatives). No significant differences were found in subjects’ capacities to process information in single- and dual-task conditions. This finding was unaffected by: (a) the absolute information levels of the tasks, (b) whether inputs and/or outputs involved the same or different modalities, or (c) the level of S–R compatibility. The data from both experiments provide strong support for the single-channel hypothesis.
Relationship between Rate of Preparation for, and Processing of, an Event Requiring a Choice Response
Authors: Maylor E. A. , Rabbitt P. M. A.
Published: September 2011

It is known that alcohol increases the time taken to identify signals and to make responses to them, but it is not known whether it also slows the rate of preparation for such events. These two performance parameters are not necessarily related, as age affects the former but not the latter. Twenty subjects participated in a 4-choice reaction time experiment in which they received no alcohol (NA) in the first session and either no alcohol (10 subjects) or 0.8 ml alcohol (A) per kg body weight (10 subjects) in the second session. In each session there were 300 practice trials, followed by 400 experimental trials at each one of five Response–Stimulus Intervals (RSI: 50, 100, 200, 400, and 800 msec). There was a significant effect of alcohol such that the reduction in response time from the first to the second session was 39 msec larger for the NA/NA group than for the NA/A group. Response time decreased significantly with increasing RSI, but there was no interaction between the effect of alcohol and RSI. Thus, alcohol slows the processing of an event requiring a choice response; however, like age and individual differences, but unlike practice, alcohol has no effect on the rate of preparation for that event. In addition, an analysis of what happened before and after an error revealed that practice and increasing RSI produce real improvements in performance rather than shifts in the tradeoff between speed and accuracy, whereas alcohol produces a real impairment. It is concluded that the relationship between the rate of preparation for, and processing of, a stimulus is not simple, as one factor (practice) influences both rates, whereas other factors (alcohol, individual differences, and age) influence the rate of processing only.
Covert Attention and Eye Movements during Reading
Authors: Inhoff Albrecht Werner , Pollatsek Alexander , Posner Michael I. , Rayner Keith
Published: September 2011

Eye movements were monitored during the reading of spatially transformed text in order to examine covert attentional processes in reading. In some conditions, the sequence of letters within a word was congruent with (i.e. in the same direction as) the sequence of words in the sentence; in other conditions the direction of letters within words and the direction of words in the sentence were incongruent. In addition, the window of visible text was varied so that in some conditions only the fixated word (and all preceding words) were visible, whereas in other conditions the fixated word and the succeeding word were both visible. Readers were able to extract more parafoveal information from text when the words themselves were normal than when the letters within the words were transformed. However, with practice, readers were able to use some parafoveal information even when the words were transformed. The most important finding was that the congruity of the word and letter order had no reliable effect on the ability to extract parafoveal information and influenced reading performance only when the words themselves were normal. We conclude that covert attention in reading is not a letter-by-letter scan that sweeps across the page, but either an asymmetric spotlight held constant on each fixation or a shifting of an attentional spotlight extending across multiletter units (possibly words) with the direction of shifts of attention closely coupled to the direction of eye movements.
On the Role of Outline Shape and Word-Specific Visual Pattern in the Identification of Function Words: None
Authors: Besner Derek
Published: September 2011

A common assumption in the reading literature is that function words are often identified wholly or in part on the basis of outline shape and/or word-specific visual pattern. This assumption was examined in three perceptual identification experiments, a speeded oral reading experiment, and in a lexical decision task where the visual pattern of function words and control items (content words, non-words and control strings) was systematically distorted by Case Alternation. In all five experiments distortion failed to impair performance more on functors than on various control items. This result is argued to be inconsistent with the view that outline shape and word-specific visual pattern typically play a role in the identification of isolated function words.

Shape distortion impaired function words less than controls in perceptual identification, but impaired function and content words equally in speeded naming and lexical decision. These contrasting effects of shape distortion are discussed in terms of a distinction between the uptake of information (lexical access) and phenomenal perception.
Early Motion Processes and the Kinetic Depth Effect
Authors: Mather George
Published: September 2011

It has been known for over 30 years that motion information alone is sufficient to yield a vivid impression of three-dimensional object structure. For example, a computer simulation of a transparent sphere, the surface of which is randomly speckled with dots, gives no impression of depth when presented as a stationary pattern on a visual display. As soon as the sphere is made to rotate in a series of discrete steps or frames, its 3-D structure becomes apparent. Three experiments are described which use this stimulus, and find that depth perception in these conditions depends crucially on the spatial and temporal properties of the display:

1. Depth is seen reliably only for between-frame rotations of less than 15°, using two-frame and four-frame sequences.

2. Parametric observations using a wide range of frame durations and inter-frame intervals reveal that depth is seen only for inter-frame intervals below 80 msec and is optimal when the stimulus can be sampled at intervals of about 40–60 msec.

3. Monoptic presentation of two frames of the stimulus is sufficient to yield depth, but the impression is destroyed by dichoptic presentation.

These data are in close agreement with the observed limits of direction perception in experiments using “short-range” stimuli. It is concluded that depth perception in the motion display used in these experiments depends on the outputs of low-level or “short-range” motion detectors.
Mental Representations of Spatial and Nonspatial Relations
Authors: McNamara Timothy P. , LeSueur L. Lynn
Published: September 2011

Four experiments investigated the representation and integration in memory of spatial and nonspatial relations. Subjects learned two-dimensional spatial arrays in which critical pairs of object names were semantically related (Experiment 1), semantically and episodically related (Experiment 2), or just episodically related (Experiments 3a and 3b). Episodic relatedness was established in a paired-associate learning task that preceded array learning. After learning an array, subjects participated in two tasks: item recognition, in which the measure of interest was priming; and distance estimation. Priming in item recognition was sensitive to the Euclidean distance between object names and, for neighbouring locations, to nonspatial relations. Errors in distance estimations varied as a function of distance but were unaffected by nonspatial relations. These and other results indicated that nonspatial relations influenced the probability of encoding spatial relations between locations but did not lead to distorted spatial memories.
Preferred Tempo in the Learning of a Gross Cyclical Action
Authors: van Emmerik R. E. A. , den Brinker B. P. L. M. , Vereijken B. , Whiting H. T. A.
Published: September 2011

Seventy-five subjects, randomly assigned to one of five training conditions, were required to learn to make large-amplitude, high-tempo, fluent movements on a so-called ski-simulator over a period of four days. Subjects trained under different tempo conditions. In four of the conditions the tempo was prescribed (“preferred”, high, low, or increasing), augmented feedback being provided to enable subjects to stay on “target”. “Preferred” tempo was based on the weight of the subject and was derived from a regression equation based on previous empirical research. In a fifth condition, subjects trained on “discovery learning” principles, i.e. without the tempo being prescribed. The results obtained on the three parameters (amplitude, frequency, and fluency) during the daily test sessions (in which the tempo was not prescribed) formed the data for the analyses.

A learning effect was apparent on all three parameters over the four-day training period. Subjects who trained under the high or the low prescribed tempos, however, were shown to produce significantly smaller amplitude movements than subjects who trained under the other three conditions. Training under the low-tempo condition was also shown to have disadvantageous effects on the parameters tempo and fluency. It was concluded that, for these kinds of action, training at a high or a low tempo—and particularly the latter—has undesirable effects. Such disadvantageous effects, however, were shown to be avoidable if training is begun with the “preferred” tempo of the subject and increased successively by 7% over days.
S–R Compatibilities Depend on Eccentricity of Responding Hand
Authors: Michaels Claire F.
Published: September 2011

Bauer and Miller (1982) demonstrated that when responding on the body midline with the right hand, subjects react faster when the pairing between horizontally oriented stimuli (an X to the left or right of fixation) and vertically oriented responses (an up or down finger movement) is left–down, right–up (“anti-clockwise”) but when responding with the left hand, the converse pairing was faster. The present experiments tested whether those preferences held for responses other than on the body midline. Unimanual reaction times for clockwise and anti-clockwise S–R pairings were determined for both hands at the midline and 30 and 60 cm to the left or right. Hand position determined both the direction and extent of the compatibility preference; at eccentric positions the right hand preferred clockwise pairings and the left anticlockwise, the converse of that found by Bauer and Miller. The results extend Bauer and Miller's finding, raise problems for theories of S–R compatibility, and further reveal that the state of the action system “sets up” perception.
The Role of Angles in Inducing Misalignment in the Poggendorff Figure
Authors: Hotopf W. H. N. , Hibberd M. C.
Published: September 2011

Much experimental evidence has been put forward against the idea that angles are necessary for the occurrence of the Poggendorff illusion. We show that five separate alignment illusions can be demonstrated in the Poggendorff figure according to its orientation, length of the parallels, and so on. In one of these (angle-caused misalignment) angles are a necessary component. The main source of the belief that angles are not necessary is the alignment illusion (attraction-caused misalignment), which is due to the action of the distant parallel on the transversal that does not abut it. We show finally that it is unlikely that the angle-caused misalignment illusion is due to a change in the apparent size of the angle.
Error, Falsification and Scientific Inference: An Experimental Investigation
Authors: Gorman Michael E.
Published: September 2011

This paper reports the results of four experiments designed to test the methodological falsificationist's assumption that replication is sufficient to prevent the possibility of error from being used to immunize hypotheses against disconfirmation. The first three experiments compare the performance of subjects on tasks that simulate scientific reasoning under two conditions: (1) where there is a 0–20% possibility of error in experimental results, but no actual error; and (2) a control condition.

All experiments used Wason's 2–4–6 task, in which subjects propose triples and are told whether each corresponds to a rule. In Experiment 1, subjects in the possible-error condition proposed significantly more triples than control subjects. Experiment 2 added colour and letter dimensions to the 2–4–6 task; possible-error subjects proposed significantly more triples and replicated the same triple more often than control subjects. Experiment 3 made replication more difficult by limiting the number of experiments subjects could perform and by altering the rule to make the results of the current trial dependent on previous ones. Control subjects solved this problem significantly more often than possible-error subjects.

Experiment 4 was run in a manner very similar to Experiment 1, except that an actual 20% error condition was added. Subjects in this condition solved the rule significantly less often than subjects in other conditions, and also took more time and replicated more often. Implications of these results for the methodological falsificationist's position are discussed.
Modality Effects in Delayed Free Recall and Recognition: Visual is Better than Auditory
Authors: Penney Catherine G.
Published: September 2011

During presentation of auditory and visual lists of words, different groups of subjects generated words that either rhymed with the presented words or that were associates. Immediately after list presentation, subjects recalled either the presented or the generated words. After presentation and test of all lists, a final free recall test and a recognition test were given. Visual presentation generally produced higher recall and recognition than did auditory presentation for both encoding conditions. The results are not consistent with explanations of modality effects in terms of echoic memory or greater temporal distinctiveness of auditory items. The results are more in line with the separate-streams hypothesis, which argues for different kinds of input processing for auditory and visual items.
To “See” or Not to “See”: That is the Selection Task
Authors: Griggs Richard A.
Published: September 2011

The present series of experiments examined a recent hypothesis by Margolis (1987) to explain the poor performance usually obtained on Wason's four-card selection task. According to Margolis, the difficulty stems mainly from scenario ambiguity in which the context is misperceived, and partially from semantic ambiguity in which the meaning of the if … then rule is misinterpreted. Reliable facilitation on an abstract version of the task was observed when these two ambiguities were eliminated. In order to observe the facilitation, however, the consequent part of the rule had to be phrased to prevent matching. These findings are discussed in terms of Evans's heuristic and analytic processing model of reasoning and Cheng and Holyoak's pragmatic reasoning schemas theory.
Evaluation of Evidence for Sufficiency, for Necessity, and for Necessity-and-Sufficiency
Authors: O'Brien David P. , Davidson George M.
Published: September 2011

We report two experiments with 120 undergraduate subjects. The tasks presented clearly articulated hypotheses concerning necessity, sufficiency, and necessity-and-sufficiency, together with possible combinations of treatment conditions, and required subjects to judge whether, according to the hypotheses, the relevant outcomes will occur, will not occur, or might occur. The patterns of responses reveal how subjects understand the extensions of the concepts, i.e. what each hypothesis permits, requires, and excludes. Only necessity-and-sufficiency hypotheses generally led to logically adequate responses, and the most typical error for both necessity hypotheses and sufficiency hypotheses was to treat them as extensionally equivalent to necessity-and-sufficiency. This error tendency was more evident for necessity than for sufficiency hypotheses. Further, although responses to both necessity hypotheses and sufficiency hypotheses were affected by the complexity of the hypothesized conditions, responses to necessity-and-sufficiency hypotheses were not. We argue that the results are not a function of a response bias but reflect differences in the way the hypotheses are understood. Implications for the causal attribution literature are discussed.