Linguistic Mediation of Perceptual Adjustment in University Students

Claudio Antonio Carpio,Virginia Pacheco,Diana Valeria Barrios,Daniel García-Gallardo,Francisco Aguilar,María Guadalupe Montes

doi:10.32348/1852.4206.v13.n3.27985

Abstract

Students from different areas of academic training (Psychology vs. Optometry) completed a task in which they had to locate a "lost moving target" in a simulated forest on a computer screen. The effects of three independent variables were assessed: a) the type of trajectory of the moving target (regular and irregular), b) the time elapsed since the loss of visual contact with the moving target (delays of 1, 4 and 6 seconds), and c) administration / non administration of verbal consequences for localization responses. Results indicated that accuracy in localization responses was higher on 1) regular trajectories, 2) shortest delays, 3) verbal consequences condition, and 4) Optometry students. Findings are discussed in terms of the parameters of the task. Contributions of the academic training of the participants are discussed as a linguistic scenario in which differential modes of the contact with the environment’s mediation are learned.

Highlights

The basic performance variable considered in this study was the location response precision, measured in Standardized Error Units (SEU) consisting of areas of the screen with the same size as that occupied by the moving target (Little Red Riding Hood’s figure), so that the smaller the distance between the selected point and the actual location of Little Red Riding Hood, the greater the precision
The performance variable considered was the location response precision measured in Standardized Error Units (SEU) consisting of areas of the screen with the same size as that occupied by the moving target (Little Red Riding Hood’s figure)
Our results suggest that assuming that verbal consequences have, in an intrinsic way, "informative" properties, could be a serious mistake

Summary

Introduction

The basic performance variable considered in this study was the location response precision, measured in Standardized Error Units (SEU) consisting of areas of the screen with the same size as that occupied by the moving target (Little Red Riding Hood’s figure), so that the smaller the distance between the selected point and the actual location of Little Red Riding Hood, the greater the precision.

Objectives

Results

Conclusion