23 research outputs found
Automatic Priming Effects for New Associations in Lexical Decision and Perceptual Identification
Information storage in semantic memory was investigated by looking at
automatic priming effects for new associations in two experiments. In
the study phase word pairs were presented in a paired-associate learning
task. Lexical decision and perceptual identification were used t
False memories and lexical decision: even twelve primes do not cause long-term semantic priming
Semantic priming effects are usually obtained only if the prime is
presented shortly before the target stimulus. Recent evidence obtained
with the so-called false memory paradigm suggests, however, that in both
explicit and implicit memory tasks semantic relations between words can
result in long-lasting effects when multiple 'primes' are presented. The
aim of the present study was to investigate whether these effects would
generalize to lexical decision. In four experiments we showed that even
as many as twelve primes do not cause long-term semantic priming. In all
experiments, however, a repetition priming effect was obtained. The
present results are consistent with a number of other results showing
that semantic information plays a minimal role in long-term priming in
visual word recognition
Number-induced shifts in spatial attention: A replication study
In a spatial attention paradigm, Fischer, Castel, Dodd, & Pratt (2003) showed that merely perceiving a number shifted attention according to the magnitude of the number. Low numbers shifted attention to the left and high numbers shifted attention to the right. This suggests that numbers are represented by the mental number line - a spatial image schema that is ordered from left to right with increasing magnitude. In six experiments, we used the spatial attention paradigm of Fischer et al. to investigate if and when such mental representations are activated. Participants detected visual targets that were preceded by low and high numbers. Between experiments we manipulated how participants processed the number. Participants either merely perceived the number, as in the experiments by Fisher et al., processed the number's parity, or processed the number's magnitude. Our results provide little support for the idea that numbers shift spatial attention. Only in one of the two experiments in which participants processed number magnitude did participants respond faster to targets in congruent locations (left for low magnitudes and right for high magnitudes) than in incongruent locations. In the other five experiments number magnitude did not affect spatial attention. This shows, in contrast to Fischer et al.'s results, that the mental number line is not activated automatically but at best only when it is contextually relevant. Furthermore, these results suggest that image schemas in general may be context dependent rather than fundamental to mental concepts
Evidence for long-term cross-language repetition priming in conceptual implicit memory tasks
Previous studies have failed to find evidence for long-term
cross-language repetition priming (e.g., presentation of the English
word frog does not facilitate responding to its Dutch translation
equivalent kikker on a later presentation). The present study tested the
hypothesis that failure to find cross-language repetition priming in
previous studies was due to the use of tasks that rely primarily on
lexical or orthographic processing of the stimuli instead of conceptual
processing. Consistent with this hypothesis we obtained reliable
cross-language repetition priming when conceptual implicit memory tasks
were used. The present results support theories of bilingual memory that
assume shared conceptual representations for translation equivalents
Does pizza prime coin? Perceptual priming in lexical decision and pronunciation.
In 6 experiments the authors investigated priming for perceptually
related word pairs (i.e., words that refer to objects with the same
shape such as pizza-coin), trying to replicate earlier findings by R.
Schreuder et al (see record 1985-06198-001) while avoiding some of the
methodological problems that were present in that study. University
students participated in the experiments. Under standard conditions no
perceptual priming was obtained. However, in all experiments priming for
associated pairs was found. Only after activation tasks that focused on
perceptual features was priming for perceptually related word pairs
found in pronunciation. Perceptual priming was also obtained in lexical
decision after activation tasks, but only when strong associates were
not presented in the experiment. The results show that priming for
perceptually related word pairs is not a general finding
Alignment effects in beer mugs: Automatic action activation or response competition?
Responses to objects with a graspable handle are faster when the response hand and handle orientation are aligned (e.g., a key press with the right hand is required and the object handle is oriented to the right) than when they are not aligned. This effect could be explained by automatic activation of specific motor programs when an object is viewed. Alternatively, the effect could be explained by competition at the response level. Participants performed a reach-and-grasp or reach-and-button-press action with their left or right hand in response to the color of a beer mug. The alignment effect did not vary as a function of the type of action. In addition, the alignment effect disappeared in a go/no-go version of the task. The same results were obtained when participants made upright/inverted decisions, so that object shape was task-relevant. Our results indicate that alignment effects are not due to automatic motor activation of the left or right limb
The effect of grasp compatibility in go/no-go and two-choice tasks.
The grasp compatibility effect has been put forward as evidence for the automatic involvement of the motor system during mental object representation. In three experiments, participants responded to object pictures or names by grasping cylinders using a precision or power grasp. In a two-choice task in which both grasps were used, we obtained grasp compatibility effects, but in a go/no-go task, in which only one grasp was used, there was no effect. These results indicate that the effect depends on the availability of response choice, in the present case, different size grasps. This suggests that grasp compatibility effects are better explained by coding of the stimulus and response on the same dimension, size, rather than automatic activation of a motor action towards the object
A sharp image or a sharp knife: norms for the modality-exclusivity of 774 concept-property items
According to recent embodied cognition theories, mental concepts are represented by modality-specific sensory-motor systems. Much of the evidence for modality-specificity in conceptual processing comes from the property-verification task. When applying this and other tasks, it is important to select items based on their modality-exclusivity. We collected modality ratings for a set of 387 properties, each of which was paired with two different concepts, yielding a total of 774 concept-property items. For each item, participants rated the degree to which the property could be experienced through five perceptual modalities (vision, audition, touch, smell, and taste). Based on these ratings, we computed a measure of modality exclusivity, the degree to which a property is perceived exclusively through one sensory modality. In this paper, we briefly sketch the theoretical background of conceptual knowledge, discuss the use of the property-verification task in cognitive research, provide our norms and statistics, and validate the norms in a memory experiment. We conclude that our norms are important for researchers studying modality-specific effects in conceptual processing