Experiment 1a Research Articles

Priming effect of individual similarity and ensemble perception in visual search and working memory.

Perceptual priming is a well-known phenomenon showing that the repetition of an object's feature can facilitate subsequent detection of that item. Although the priming effect has been rigorously studied in visual search, less is known about its effect on working memory and it is unclear whether the repetition of similar features, and furthermore, ensemble perception created by a large set of similar features, can induce priming. In this study, we investigated the priming effects of individual similarity and ensemble perception in visual search and visual working memory (VWM). We replicated the classic perceptual priming effect (Experiment 1a) and found that visual search was enhanced when the current target had a similar color to the previous target (Experiment 1b), but not when the similar color had been shown as a distractor before (Experiment 1c). However, if the target and distractors of similar colors formed ensemble perception, the search efficiency was again promoted even when the current target shared the same color with the previous distractor (Experiment 1d). For VWM, repeating the ensembles of the target- and nontarget-color subsets did not significantly affect the memory capacity, while switching the two harmed the memory fidelity but not capacity (Experiment 2). We suggest different underlying mechanisms for priming in visual search and VWM: in the former, the perception history of individual similarity and stimuli ensemble exert their effects on through the priority map, by forming a gradient distribution of attentional weights that peak at the previous target feature and diminish as stimulus diverges from the previously selected one; while in the latter, perception history of memory ensemble may influence the deployment of existing memory resources across trials, thereby affecting the memory fidelity but not its capacity.

Adaptation of Gap Predictions in Filler-Gap Dependency Processing during Reading

Syntactic adaptation effects have been demonstrated for an expanding list of structure types, but the mechanism underlying this effect is still being explored. In the current work on filler-gap dependency processing, we examined whether exposing participants to a less common gap location—prepositional object (PO) gaps—altered their gap predictions, and whether these effects would transfer across tasks when this input was presented in a quasi-naturalistic way (i.e., by reading stories). In Experiment 1, we demonstrated that comprehenders dampened their direct object (DO) gap predictions following exposure to PO gaps. However, Experiments 2A and 2B suggest that these adaptation effects did not transfer when the quasi-naturalistic exposure phase was presented as a separate task (Experiment 2A) and when they also needed to generalize from a syntactic to a semantic measure of direct object gap predictions (i.e., filled gap vs. plausibility mismatch sentences; Experiment 2B). Overall, these experiments add filler-gap dependency processing, as well as the gap predictions associated with it, to the growing list of structures demonstrating adaptation effects, while also suggesting that this effect may be specific to a singular experimental task environment.

What is in an action? Preschool children predict that agents take previous paths and not previous goals.

Developmental science has experienced a vivid debate on whether young children prioritize goals over means in their prediction of others' actions. Influential developmental theories highlight the role of goal objects for action understanding. Yet, recent infant studies report evidence for the opposite. The empirical evidence is therefore inconclusive. The current study advanced this debate by assessing preschool children's verbal predictions of others' actions. In five experiments (N=302), we investigated whether preschool children and adults predict agents to move towards their previous goal (that is, show goal-related predictions) or predict agents to move along the same movement path that they pursued before. While Experiments 1a, 1b and 1c presented young children and adults with animated agents, Experiments 2a and 2b presented participants with human grasping action. An integrative analysis across experiments revealed that children were more likely to predict the agent to move along the same movement path, Z=-4.574, p ≤ 0.0001 (r=0.304). That is, preschool children were more likely to predict that agents would move along the same trajectory even though this action would lead to a new goal object. Thus, our findings suggest that young children's action prediction relies on the detection of spatial and movement information. Overall, we discuss our findings in terms of theoretical frameworks that conceive of action understanding as an umbrella term that comprises different forms and facets in which humans understand others' actions. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: We investigated whether preschool children predict agents to move towards their previous goal or to move along the same movement path that they pursued before. Unlike adults, preschool children predicted that agents would move along the same trajectory even though this action would lead to a new goal. Adults' goal-based predictions were affected from contextual details, whereas children systematically made path-based predictions. Young children's action prediction relies on the detection of spatial and movement information.

Bilingual problem size effect: an ERP study of multiplication verification and production in two languages.

The problem size effect (PSE) is defined by better performance solving small problems (e.g., 2x4) than large problems (e.g., 8x9). For monolinguals, the PSE is larger when problems are presented in unfamiliar formats (e.g., written words), reflecting increased processing difficulty. Bilinguals are typically faster and more accurate at retrieving multiplication facts in the language of learning (LA+) than in their other language (LA-). We hypothesized that the less familiar arithmetic language (i.e., LA-) would elicit larger PSEs than LA+. Here, fluent Spanish-English bilingual adults verified spoken multiplication problems presented in LA+ and LA- while event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded (Experiment 1A). To further promote language differences, we increased task difficulty by presenting problems at a faster pace (Experiment 1B) and requiring bilinguals to verbally produce solutions (Experiment 2). Language differences in performance were only observed for Experiment 2, where solutions were produced more slowly in LA- than LA+. In the ERPs, a PSE was driven by larger P300s for small than large solutions. A language effect was only observed under time pressure where LA- elicited a PSE at the 2nd operand. Additionally, the PSE was smaller for LA- at the solution. This suggests that categorizing multiplication facts is more effortful in LA-. In sum, very subtle language differences arise in fluent bilinguals when problems are more difficult, such as larger problems presented under time pressure in a weaker language. Critically, the effect of LA+ is at the level of response production and not access to the facts from memory.

False memories for ending of events.

Memories are not perfect recordings of the past and can be subject to systematic biases. Memory distortions are often caused by our experience of what typically happens in a given situation. However, it is unclear whether memory for events is biased by the knowledge that events usually have a predictable structure (a beginning, middle, and an end). Using video clips of everyday situations, we tested how interrupting events at unexpected time points affects memory of how those events ended. In four free recall experiments (1, 2, 4, and 5), we found that interrupting clips just before a salient piece of action was completed, resulted in the false recall of details about how the clip might have ended. We refer to this as "event extension." On the other hand, interrupting clips just after one scene had ended and a new scene started, resulted in omissions of details about the true ending of the clip (Experiments 4 and 5). We found that these effects were present, albeit attenuated, when testing memory shortly after watching the video clips compared to a week later (Experiments 5a and 5b). The event extension effect was not present when memory was tested with a recognition paradigm (Experiment 3). Overall, we conclude that when people watch videos that violate their expectations of typical event structure, they show a bias to later recall the videos as if they had ended at a predictable event boundary, exhibiting event extension or the omission of details depending on where the original video was interrupted. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Language comprehenders are sensitive to multiple states of semantically similar objects

The present research shows that language comprehenders are sensitive to multiple states of target and semantically related objects. In Experiments 1 to 2B, participants (total N = 273) read sentences that either implied a minimal change of an object’s state (e.g., “Jane chose a mango”) or a substantial change (e.g., “Jane stepped on a mango”) and then verified whether a subsequently pictured object was mentioned in the sentence. Crucially, the picture either showed the original/modified state of an object that was mentioned in the sentence (e.g., “mango” in Experiment 1) or not (e.g., “banana” in Experiments 2A and 2B). The results of Experiment 1 demonstrated that the objects in a modified state were verified faster when a sentence implied a substantial state-change rather than a minimal state-change. In contrast, the reverse was true for the objects in the original state. Importantly, verification latencies of pictures depicting original and modified states of an object in the substantial state-change condition were approximately similar, thus suggesting that language comprehenders maintain multiple representations of an object in different states. The results of Experiments 2A and 2B revealed that when participants had to indicate that a pictured object (e.g., banana) was not mentioned in the sentence, their verification latencies were slowed down when the sentence contained a semantically related item (e.g., mango) and described this item as being changed substantially by the action. However, these verification latencies varied continuously with the degree of change: the more dissimilar the states of a semantically related item, the less time participants needed to verify a pictured object. The results are discussed through the prism of theories emphasizing dynamic views of event cognition.

Experimental induction of state rumination: A study evaluating the efficacy of goal-cueing task in different experimental settings.

Based on previous studies, the present four experiments (total N = 468) aimed at investigating the effectivity of rumination induction in different experimental settings. We were particularly interested in rumination in the context of individual goal achievement and tested whether an instruction that referred to unresolved goals had a direct observable effect on state rumination. For this purpose, participants were asked to identify, evaluate, and focus on a personally relevant goal that was previously unresolved and still bothered them. In Experiment 1a to 1c, we compared three different modifications of the unresolved condition with shortened instructions with the elaborated unresolved condition and an additional control condition that did not refer to goals. In general, the results were mixed, but basically confirmed the effectiveness of the method used. Finally, in Experiment 2, we compared the two most promising versions of the unresolved condition and, by adding a goal-related control condition, we examined which control condition was best suited to maximize effects related to state rumination in future research. Results of various mixed ANOVAs demonstrated that a shortened version (in terms of shortened audio instructions) of the unresolved condition could be used as well as the original unresolved condition to induce reliable state rumination. The significance of the effects obtained with this method for real-life applications as well as approaches for future research are discussed.

Automating weighing of faces and voices based on cue saliency in trustworthiness impressions

When encountering people, their faces are usually paired with their voices. We know that if the face looks familiar, and the voice is high-pitched, the first impression will be positive and trustworthy. But, how do we integrate these two multisensory physical attributes? Here, we explore 1) the automaticity of audiovisual integration in shaping first impressions of trustworthiness, and 2) the relative contribution of each modality in the final judgment. We find that, even though participants can focus their attention on one modality to judge trustworthiness, they fail to completely filter out the other modality for both faces (Experiment 1a) and voices (Experiment 1b). When asked to judge the person as a whole, people rely more on voices (Experiment 2) or faces (Experiment 3). We link this change to the distinctiveness of each cue in the stimulus set rather than a general property of the modality. Overall, we find that people weigh faces and voices automatically based on cue saliency when forming trustworthiness impressions.

The maluma/takete effect is late: No longitudinal evidence for shape sound symbolism in the first year.

The maluma/takete effect refers to an association between certain language sounds (e.g., /m/ and /o/) and round shapes, and other language sounds (e.g., /t/ and /i/) and spiky shapes. This is an example of sound symbolism and stands in opposition to arbitrariness of language. It is still unknown when sensitivity to sound symbolism emerges. In the present series of studies, we first confirmed that the classic maluma/takete effect would be observed in adults using our novel 3-D object stimuli (Experiments 1a and 1b). We then conducted the first longitudinal test of the maluma/takete effect, testing infants at 4-, 8- and 12-months of age (Experiment 2). Sensitivity to sound symbolism was measured with a looking time preference task, in which infants were shown images of a round and a spiky 3-D object while hearing either a round- or spiky-sounding nonword. We did not detect a significant difference in looking time based on nonword type. We also collected a series of individual difference measures including measures of vocabulary, movement ability and babbling. Analyses of these measures revealed that 12-month olds who babbled more showed a greater sensitivity to sound symbolism. Finally, in Experiment 3, we had parents take home round or spiky 3-D printed objects, to present to 7- to 8-month-old infants paired with either congruent or incongruent nonwords. This language experience had no effect on subsequent measures of sound symbolism sensitivity. Taken together these studies demonstrate that sound symbolism is elusive in the first year, and shed light on the mechanisms that may contribute to its eventual emergence.

Are consumers willing to co-create value when focal firms' suppliers are proactive in green innovation? A chain liability and green halo effect

PurposeBased on the chain liability and green halo effects, this study uses the perspective of multi-tier supply chain management to examine the impact mechanism and boundary conditions of suppliers' green innovation types on consumers' willingness to participate in value co-creation with focal firms from the perspective of multi-tier supply chain management.Design/methodology/approachUsing four situational experiments, 660 participants were recruited in Credamo, and SPSS 23.0 was used for data analysis. Experiments 1a and 1b verify the effect of suppliers' green innovation on consumers' willingness to participate in value co-creation with focal firms; experiment 2 examines the mediating effect of green sincerity perception; and experiment 3 explores the moderating effect of innovation proactiveness.FindingsThe results show that suppliers' green innovation efforts are more sincere when they are substantive (vs. symbolic), thereby generating higher value co-creation intentions. As a driving force, innovation proactiveness moderates the influence of suppliers' green innovation types on consumer's willingness to co-create value with focal firms.Originality/valueThis study enriches the literature on green supply chain management (GSCM) and consumers' willingness to co-create value. Furthermore, this study provides firms with practical guidance to improve marketing performance and green innovation practices through multilevel GSCM.

I know It's false, but I keep thinking as if it were true: A replication study of Johnson and Seifert's (1994) continued influence effect

False Information (FI) is a critical societal issue, made even more pressing by our inability to mitigate its influence through correction. Researchers Johnson and Seifert (1994, Experiment 1A) penned a seminal paper on this “Continued Influence Effect” (CIE), which they observed in English-speaking participants. In their experiments, one group read a text containing FI that was later retracted (FI group), while another read the same text without FI (control group). Interestingly, even after receiving corrections, participants who read the FI were more likely than their peers to form FI-related inferences about the text. To the best of our knowledge, this finding has never been successfully directly replicated. Given the current replicability crisis plaguing the human sciences, the influence of culture on CIE and the importance of Johnson and Seifert's paradigm in this literature, the reassessment of their findings within a non-English-speaking population appears crucial. The present research investigated the direct replicability of their study with a French-speaking sample, comparing the inferences drawn by an FI group (n = 21) to those made by a control group (n = 23). The results confirm those of the original study, supporting the validity of Johnson and Seifert's paradigm (1994) and extending its applicability to a French-speaking population.

Effects of delayed testing on decisions to stop learning

This study explores whether people’s preference to restrict to-be-learned material is influenced by memory test timing. In Experiments 1a and 2a, participants studied word lists. For control groups, lists were displayed in their entirety, whereas participants in other groups could stop the lists early. We investigated whether participants decided to terminate learning when they expected their free-recall memory to be tested after a short (Experiment 1a) or long (Experiment 2a) delay. Experiments 1b and 2b tested participants’ theoretical assumptions about learning termination. Participants who terminated learning recalled fewer words than those who saw all to-be-remembered materials. When the memory test immediately followed the learning phase, more than half of the participants decided to stop learning. However, when there was any time delay between learning and testing, only around a quarter of them decided to stop. Delayed testing can effectively discourage a maladaptive learning strategy of learning termination.

A conceptual-perceptual distinctiveness processing account of the superior recognition memory of pictures over environmental sounds.

Researchers have proposed a coarser or gist-based representation for sounds, whereas a more verbatim-based representation is retrieved from long-term memory to account for higher recognition performance for pictures. This study examined the mechanism for the recognition advantage for pictures. In Experiment 1A, pictures and sounds were presented in separate trials in a mixed list during the study phase and participants showed in a yes-no test, a higher proportion of correct responses for targets, exemplar foils categorically related to the target, and novel foils for pictures compared with sounds. In Experiment 1B, the picture recognition advantage was replicated in a two-alternative forced-choice test for the novel and exemplar foil conditions. For Experiment 2A, even when verbal labels (i.e., written labels) were presented for sounds during the study phase, a recognition advantage for pictures was shown for both targets and exemplar foils. Experiment 2B showed that the presence of written labels for sounds, during both the study and test phases did not eliminate the advantage of recognition of pictures in terms of correct rejection of exemplar foils. Finally, in two additional experiments, we examined whether the degree of similarity within pictures and sounds could account for the recognition advantage of pictures. The mean similarity rating for pictures was higher than the mean similarity rating for sounds in the exemplar test condition, whereas mean similarity rating for sounds was higher than pictures in the novel test condition. These results pose a challenge for some versions of distinctiveness accounts of the picture superiority effect. We propose a conceptual-perceptual distinctiveness processing account of recognition memory for pictures and sounds.

Free to See the Big Picture: Autonomy Increases Abstractness of Action Identification

People sometimes feel autonomous—free to choose and able to control their actions; at other times, they feel restricted in what they can do and what the outcome will be. Based on Action Identification Theory, the present work examines whether autonomy influences how abstractly actions are represented. In 6 studies, high (vs. low) autonomy increased abstractness of action identification. Participants selected more abstract (vs. concrete) redescriptions of actions when they imagined wanting (vs. having) to perform these actions (Experiments 1a–1b), when autonomy was varied via situation descriptions (Experiments 2a–2b), via memory content (Experiment 3), and in an ecological setting (Study 4). Finding that high (vs. low) autonomy increased abstractness of action identification constitutes an extension of Action Identification Theory to incorporate social determinants.

Severity and deservedness determine signalled trustworthiness in third party punishment.

Studies on third-party punishment (TPP) have shown it promotes cooperation and prosocial behaviour, albeit at a cost to the punisher. Contrary to the view that such punishment is entirely altruistic, recent research suggests that punishers gain reputational benefits from third-party punishing in the form of increased trustworthiness. Nevertheless, both how the signal is determined and the honesty of the signalling function of TPP have not been fully examined. Here we present the results of four experiments (n = 1695, prolific.co) in which we examined how TPP signalling varies as a function of its deservedness and severity. Experiments 1A and 1B use incentivized economic game paradigms to show how deservedness, impacts the trustworthiness signalled by the punisher. Experiment 2A expands on traditional dichotomous punishment decisions to show how signalled trustworthiness depends on different levels of TPP severity. Experiment 2B isolates the signalling effectiveness of severity by decoupling it from the corresponding incurred cost to punish and examines its impact on signalled trustworthiness. Overall, we found that punishment signalling is sensitive to deservedness and severity but not independent of other factors such as the cost to punish.

Correction to Civile et al. (2023).

Reports an error in "Modulating perceptual learning indexed by the face inversion effect: Simulating the application of transcranial direct current stimulation using the MKM model" by Ciro Civile, Rossy McLaren, Charlotte Forrest, Anna Cooke and Ian P. L. McLaren (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Learning and Cognition, 2023[Jul], Vol 49[3], 139-150). The article is being made available open access under the CC-BY license under the Jisc/ APA Read and Publish agreement. The correct copyright is "© 2023 The Author(s)" and the CC-BY license disclaimer is below. The online version of this article has been corrected. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2023-90030-001). We report here two large studies investigating the effects of an established transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) procedure on perceptual learning as indexed by the face inversion effect. Experiments 1a and 1b (n = 128) examined the harmful generalization from Thatcherized faces to normal faces by directly comparing the size of the inversion effect for normal faces when presented intermixed with Thatcherized faces (Experiment 1a) versus that obtained when normal faces were presented intermixed with checkerboards (Experiment 1b). The results from the sham/control tDCS groups provide the first direct evidence in the literature showing how Thatcherized faces generalize onto normal ones producing a reduced inversion effect compared to when normal faces are presented with stimuli (e.g., checkerboards) that do not generalize significantly to normal faces. In the anodal tDCS groups, this effect was reversed, with a larger inversion effect recorded for normal faces in Experiment 1a versus that found in Experiment 1b. Further analyses within each experiment confirmed that the anodal tDCS procedure can enhance the inversion effect for normal faces in circumstances where harmful generalization would otherwise be produced by the Thatcherized faces (Experiment 1a). We also demonstrated our standard reduction in the inversion effect for normal faces consequent on the application of tDCS when presented intermixed with stimuli that do not generalize onto them. We interpret our results in terms of simulations using the MKM model of perceptual and associative learning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Transition between habits and goal-directed actions in the renewal effect.

Three experiments with rats explored whether previously extinguished goal-directed and habitual responding recover with the same status using an ABA renewal preparation. In Experiments 1a and 1b, a lever-press response was minimally (four sessions) or extensively (16 sessions) trained in one context (Context A) and extinguished in another context (Context B). Then, outcome devaluation took place in either Context A or Context B in which a food pellet reinforcing the response was paired with lithium chloride (LiCl) for devalued groups and with saline for a control group. Finally, renewal of the extinguished response was tested in both Contexts A and B. We confirmed that both minimally and extensively trained responses renewed as goal-directed action regardless of the context in which devaluation took place. This finding was replicated in Experiment 2 even after more extended acquisition training (32 sessions). However, another group that received outcome devaluation before but not after extinction training showed habitual performance during extinction training as well as in a subsequent renewal test. Experiment 3 replicated these results and confirmed that renewal of goal direction for rats that received extinction training immediately prior to outcome devaluation was not an artifact of consecutive LiCl exposures over a short period of time in Experiments 1 and 2, using a more reliable devaluation protocol. Overall, the present results extend previous findings suggesting that actions and habits renew with the same status by returning to the original context after extinction. The most critical finding is the differential effects of pre- and postextinction devaluation on the expression of habitual behavior; extinction prior to devaluation may convert a habitual performance into a goal-directed action. This novel finding is discussed in relation to recent studies that identified several factors contributing to a transition from habitual to goal-directed control of instrumental behavior. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The impact of distractor relevance on the strength and timing of cognitive control: Evidence from delta plots and diffusion model analyses.

In the present study, we examined how the relevance of potentially distracting information modulates the interplay of target and distractor processing in conflict tasks. Specifically, we manipulated the degree to which distracting information is relevant for performing the overall task by varying the proportion of trials in which a response to the distractor(s) (Experiments 1a and 1b: location in a Simon task; Experiment 2: flankers in an Eriksen flanker task) instead of to the target was required. Across all experiments, the congruency effect on mean RT was larger with the increasing relevance of the distractor(s). Critically, the slopes of the delta plot were more strongly increasing when the distractors were potentially relevant (as opposed to completely irrelevant), suggesting that cognitive control affects the timing of suppressing distractor-based activation. In addition, delta plot and diffusion model analyses revealed that the strength of suppressing distractor processing and the efficiency of target processing were enhanced when the distractors were less relevant. Overall, the present study dissociated multiple and time-dependent adjustments of control processes (i.e., target processing enhancement plus timing and strength of distractor suppression) in environments that encourage either a more stable or more flexible processing mode. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Integration and suppression interact in binocular vision.

Contingent on stereo compatibility, two images presented dichoptically can lead to either binocular integration, thus generating stable stereopsis, or interocular suppression that induces binocular rivalry with bistable perception that alternates between the two images. The relationship between binocular integration and interocular suppression concerns how our brain processes binocular inputs to form unified visual awareness but remains unclear. Here, a series of psychophysical experiments were conducted to address this question, revealing that these collaborative and competitive binocular interactions are interconnected and would mediate one another according to their strength. Specifically, Experiments 1a and 1b showed that the presence of binocular rivalry inhibited peripheral stereopsis, significantly elevating the stereo threshold, with higher elevation resulting from increasing rivalry contrast. Experiments 2a and 2b showed that existing stereopsis with increasing binocular disparity balanced the dynamics of peripheral binocular rivalry, rendering more equivalent eye dominance. Based on these interactions, we suggest that binocular integration and interocular suppression may mediate one another through an overlapping mechanism for regulating eye dominance, with strong stereo percepts tending to reduce eye dominance and strong rivalry tending to increase eye dominance.

Exploring the roles of distinctiveness and performance anticipation in the Attentional Boost Effect

ABSTRACT We tested the validity of two alternative accounts of the Attentional Boost Effect (ABE) – the finding that words associated with to-be-responded targets are recognized better than words associated with to-be-ignored distractors. The distinctiveness hypothesis assumes that, during recognition, participants probe their memories for distinctive information confirming that a word was studied (e.g., “I remember having pressed the spacebar, so I must have studied the word”). This strategy cannot be used in a between-subjects condition in which participants cannot appreciate the differences between target – and distractor-paired words. In agreement, Experiments 1A and 1B found that the ABE was significant in a within-subjects design, whereas it was eliminated in a between-subjects design. On the other hand, the performance anticipation hypothesis assumes that, during the study phase, participants anticipate the need of responding to a subset of target-paired words: this would create a persistent performance anticipation that would prevent them from effectively encoding distractor-paired words. In contrast with this account, we found that, when blocks of five distractor trials were regularly alternated with blocks of five target trials in Experiment 2, recognition accuracy decreased linearly in both conditions. Overall, these results suggest that distinctiveness, but not performance anticipation, might underlie the ABE.