Speeded Classification Paradigm Research Articles

A model for two-digit number processing based on a joint Garner and system factorial technology analysis.

As a vital part of our daily lives, number processing has received much attention in current cognitive research. Most adults perceive with ease the numerical magnitude of a two-digit number and also the individual magnitudes of the component digits, yet the relation between the 2 is poorly understood. Application to two-digit numbers of Garner's speeded classification paradigm (Experiment 1) and of system factorial technology (Experiment 2) jointly reveals phases of independent and of coactive processing within a well-defined time-course. A new model, the interactive race coactive model, explains various facets of two-digit number processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

The many faces of music: Attending to music and delight in the same music are governed by different rules of processing

Music generates manifold experiences in humans, some perceptual and some hedonic. Are these qualia governed by the same principles in processing? In particular, do the loudness and timbre of melodies combine to produce perception and likeability by the same rules of integration? In Experiment 1, we tested selective attention to loudness and timbre by applying Garner's speeded classification paradigm and found both to be perceptually integral dimensions. In Experiment 2, we tested liking for the same music by applying Norman Anderson's functional measurement model and found loudness and timbre to combine by an adding-type rule. In Experiment 3, we applied functional measurement for perception and found loudness and timbre to interact as in Experiment 1. These results show that people cannot or do not attend selectively or perceive separately any one music component, but that they nonetheless can isolate the components when they enjoy (or disenjoy) listening to music. We conclude that perception of the constituent components of a musical piece and the processing of the same components for liking are governed by different rules.

Processing dependencies of segmental and suprasegmental information: effects of emotion, lexical tone, and consonant variation

ABSTRACTHuman speech carries segmental (phonemic) as well as suprasegmental (non-phonemic) detail. The current study aims to determine the extent to which processing dependencies between segmental and suprasegmental cues are influenced by phonological and communicative relevance in the native language. In the present study, processing interactions between segmental (consonant) and two types of suprasegmental cues (lexical tone and emotion) were examined in Mandarin and English speakers using a speeded classification paradigm. Results revealed a distinct pattern of responses for each group: for both tone and emotion, Mandarin speakers demonstrated mutual and symmetrical processing dependencies. By contrast, English speakers exhibited reduced interference from suprasegmental tone variation on segmental processing than vice versa. However, English speakers exhibited greater interference from suprasegmental emotion judgements on segmental processing than vice versa. Results point to cross-linguistic differences in how suprasegmental cues are weighted and are discussed in terms of current models of the adult lexicon.

Half a century of research on Garner interference and the separability-integrality distinction.

Research in the allied domains of selective attention and perceptual independence has made great advances over the past 5 decades ensuing from the foundational ideas and research conceived by Wendell R. Garner. In particular, Garner's speeded classification paradigm has received considerable attention in psychology. The paradigm is widely used to inform research and theory in various domains of cognitive science. It was Garner who provided the consensual definition of the separable-integral partition of stimulus dimensions, delineating a set of converging operations sustaining the distinction. This distinction is a pillar of today's cognitive science. We review the key ideas, definitions, and findings along 2 paths of the evolution of Garnerian research: selective attention, with a focus on Garner interference and its relation to the Stroop effect, and divided attention, with focus on perceptual independence gauged by multivariate models of perception. The review tracks developments in a roughly chronological order. Our review is also integrative as we follow the evolution of a set of nascent ideas into the vast multifaceted enterprise that they comprise today. Finally, the review is also critical as we highlight problems, inconsistencies, and deviations from original intent in the various studies. (PsycINFO Database Record

Interdependent processing and encoding of speech and concurrent background noise.

Speech processing can often take place in adverse listening conditions that involve the mixing of speech and background noise. In this study, we investigated processing dependencies between background noise and indexical speech features, using a speeded classification paradigm (Garner, 1974; Exp. 1), and whether background noise is encoded and represented in memory for spoken words in a continuous recognition memory paradigm (Exp. 2). Whether or not the noise spectrally overlapped with the speech signal was also manipulated. The results of Experiment 1 indicated that background noise and indexical features of speech (gender, talker identity) cannot be completely segregated during processing, even when the two auditory streams are spectrally nonoverlapping. Perceptual interference was asymmetric, whereby irrelevant indexical feature variation in the speech signal slowed noise classification to a greater extent than irrelevant noise variation slowed speech classification. This asymmetry may stem from the fact that speech features have greater functional relevance to listeners, and are thus more difficult to selectively ignore than background noise. Experiment 2 revealed that a recognition cost for words embedded in different types of background noise on the first and second occurrences only emerged when the noise and the speech signal were spectrally overlapping. Together, these data suggest integral processing of speech and background noise, modulated by the level of processing and the spectral separation of the speech and noise.

Interdependent processing of speech and background noise

Speech processing can often take place in listening conditions that involve the mixing of speech and background noise. This study used a speeded classification paradigm to investigate whether background noise is perceptually integrated with indexical (Exp. 1) and phonetic (Exp. 2) dimensions of the speech signal. In each experiment, English listeners classified words along one of two dimensions: noise (pure tone vs. white noise) or a speech dimension, either gender (male vs. female in Exp. 1a), talker identity (Sue vs. Carol in Exp. 1b), or phoneme (/p/ vs. /b/ in Exp. 2), while ignoring the other dimension, which could be held constant (control), co-vary (correlated), or vary randomly (orthogonal). The results indicated that background noise was not completely segregated from speech, even when the two auditory streams were spectrally non-overlapping. Perceptual interference was asymmetric, whereby irrelevant indexical and phonetic variation slowed noise classification to a greater extent than the reverse. This suggests that while context-specific information (e.g., noise) and within-signal speech features are coupled together, they are unevenly weighted during this early stage in processing. This asymmetry may stem from the fact that speech features have greater salience and are thus more difficult to selectively ignore than environmental noise.

Perceptual integration of indexical information in bilingual speech

The present research examines how different types of indexical information, namely talker information and the language being spoken, are perceptually integrated in bilingual speech. Using a speeded classification paradigm [Garner (1974)], variability in characteristics of the talker (gender in experiment 1 and specific talker in experiment 2) and in the language being spoken (Mandarin vs. English) was manipulated. Listeners from two different language backgrounds, English monolinguals and Mandarin-English bilinguals, were asked to classify short, meaningful sentences obtained from different Mandarin-English bilingual talkers on these indexical dimensions. Results for the gender-language classification (Exp. 1) showed a significant, symmetrical interference effect for both listener groups, indicating that gender information and language are processed in an integral manner. For talker-language classification (Exp. 2), language interfered more with talker than vice versa for the English monolinguals, but symmetrical interference was found for the Mandarin-English bilinguals. These results suggest both that talker-specificity is not fully segregated from language-specificity, and that bilinguals exhibit more balanced classification along various indexical dimensions of speech. Currently, follow-up studies investigate this talker-language dependency for bilingual listeners who do not speak Mandarin in order to disentangle the role of bilingualism versus language familiarity.

When emotion does and does not impair performance: A Garner theory of the emotional Stroop effect

It takes people longer to name the ink colour of emotion or threat words than that of neutral words, the emotional Stroop effect (ESE). In three experiments with normal and patient populations, we show that the ESE is a special case of a generic attention model and effect entailed in Garner's speeded classification paradigm. Guided by the Garner model we demonstrate that task-irrelevant dimensions that differ in salience can produce the ESE and mimic it with neutral stimuli. When each word appears in a constant colour, as mandated in the correlation condition of the Garner design, the ESE is eliminated. This important result is consistent with the attention account of the ESE. We conclude that when emotion stimuli appear in a random fashion they interfere with task performance. However, when emotion stimuli are correlated with features of the ongoing task they help task performance not least due to their extreme salience.

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.

Perceptual integrality of componential and configural information in faces

The relative contribution of componential and configural information to face perception is controversial. We addressed this issue in the present study by examining how componential information and configural information interact during face processing, using Garner's (1974) speeded classification paradigm. When classifying upright faces varying in components (eyes, nose, and mouth) and configural information (intereyes and nose-mouth spacing), observers could not selectively attend to components without being influenced by irrelevant variation in configural information, and vice versa, indicating that componential information and configural information are integral in upright face processing. Performance with inverted faces showed selective attention to components but not to configural information, implying dominance of componential information in processing inverted faces. When faces varied only in components, selective attention to different components was observed in upright and inverted faces, indicating that facial components are perceptually separable. These results provide strong evidence that integrality of componential and configural information, rather than the relative dominance of either, is the hallmark of upright face perception.

Processing dependencies between segmental and suprasegmental features in Mandarin Chinese

The aim of this study was to examine processing interactions between segmental (consonant, vowel) and suprasegmental (tone) dimensions of Mandarin Chinese. Using a speeded classification paradigm, processing interactions were examined between each pair of dimensions. Listeners were asked to attend to one dimension while ignoring the variation along another. Asymmetric interference effects were observed between segmental and suprasegmental dimensions, with segmental dimensions interfering more with tone classification than the reverse. Among the three dimensions, vowels exerted greater interference on consonants and tones than vice versa. Comparisons between each pair of dimensions revealed greater integrality between tone and vowel than between tone and consonant. Findings suggest that the direction and degree of interference between segmental and suprasegmental dimensions in spoken word recognition reflect differences in acoustic properties as well as other factors of an informational nature.

Assessing automaticity in audiovisual speech integration: evidence from the speeded classification task

The McGurk effect is usually presented as an example of fast, automatic, multisensory integration. We report a series of experiments designed to directly assess these claims. We used a syllabic version of the speeded classification paradigm, whereby response latencies to the first (target) syllable of spoken word-like stimuli are slowed down when the second (irrelevant) syllable varies from trial to trial. This interference effect is interpreted as a failure of selective attention to filter out the irrelevant syllable. In Experiment 1 we reproduced the syllabic interference effect with bimodal stimuli containing auditory as well as visual lip movement information, thus confirming the generalizability of the phenomenon. In subsequent experiments we were able to produce (Experiment 2) and to eliminate (Experiment 3) syllabic interference by introducing ‘illusory’ (McGurk) audiovisual stimuli in the irrelevant syllable, suggesting that audiovisual integration occurs prior to attentional selection in this paradigm.

Recalibrating the auditory system: a speed-accuracy analysis of intensity perception.

Recalibration in loudness perception refers to an adaptation-like change in relative responsiveness to auditory signals of different sound frequencies. Listening to relatively weak tones at one frequency and stronger tones at another makes the latter appear softer. The authors showed recalibration not only in magnitude estimates of loudness but also in simple response times (RTs) and choice RTs. RTs depend on sound intensity and may serve as surrogates for loudness. Most important, the speeded classification paradigm also provided measures of errors. RTs and errors can serve jointly to distinguish changes in sensitivity from changes in response criterion. The changes in choice RT under different recalibrating conditions were not accompanied by changes in error rates predicted by the speed-accuracy tade-off. These results lend support to the hypothesis that loudness recalibration does not result from shifting decisional criteria but instead reflects a change in the underlying representation of auditory intensity.

Perceptual independence of excitor and resonator properties in percussive instrument sounds

The perceptual independence of various sensory dimensions has been studied using a speeded classification paradigm developed by Garner. In this paradigm the speed of classification of items varied along one dimension is compared to the same classification when random variation along a second dimension is present. Perceptual interaction is inferred when performance in the latter is slower or worse compared to the former. Such interactions have been shown for simple dimensions such as pitch, loudness, and a spectral dimension of timbre. The present study tested the independence of complex dimensions with overlapping spectral and temporal characteristics. One dimension consisted of the hardness of a percussion mallet (excitor property) and the other of either xylophone bar density or tympani size (resonator properties). These complex source-related dimensions show evidence of interaction in both performance scores and reaction times. A greater independence is found when unrelated variation is introduced along a third dimension (striking force), although performance scores decrease globally. The results are discussed in terms of previously reported interactions among simple dimensions and interactions among complex source properties.

Circle size and diameter tilt: a new look at integrality and separability.

In six experiments using the speeded classification paradigm, we provide evidence that the ostensibly "separable" dimensions of size and orientation can produce patterns of either separability or asymmetric configurality, depending on the spatial arrangement of the stimuli. In all experiments, subjects classified large or small circles containing a single line in one of two possible orientations. When the line touched the circle's perimeter, thereby defining the diameter of the circle (Experiments 1-4), asymmetric configurality obtained: Variations in size interfered with classification by orientation, but variations in orientation did not interfere with classification by size, and redundancy gain was weak or absent. When the lines fell completely within (i.e., did not touch) the circles (Experiments 5 and 6), the results were consistent with separability: There was neither redundancy gain nor interference. Taken together, the results add to the growing body of evidence that classification of specific dimensional pairs as separable or integral may be less feasible than identifying the more general conditions that increase or decrease the psychological salience of dimensional structures and facilitate or interfere with selection of optimal processing strategies.

The encoding of rate and talker information during phonetic perception.

The acoustic structure of the speech signal is extremely variable due to a variety of contextual factors, including talker characteristics and speaking rate. To account for the listener's ability to adjust to this variability, speech researchers have posited the existence of talker and rate normalization processes. The current study examined how the perceptual system encoded information about talker and speaking rate during phonetic perception. Experiments 1-3 examined this question, using a speeded classification paradigm developed by Garner (1974). The results of these experiments indicated that decisions about phonemic identity were affected by both talker and rate information: irrelevant variation in either dimension interfered with phonemic classification. While rate classification was also affected by phoneme variation, talker classification was not. Experiment 4 examined the impact of talker and rate variation on the voicing boundary under different blocking conditions. The results indicated that talker characteristics influenced the voicing boundary when talker variation occurred within a block of trials only under certain conditions. Rate variation, however, influenced the voicing boundary regardless of whether or not there was rate variation within a block of trials. The findings from these experiments indicate that phoneme and the rate information are encoded in an integral manner during speech perception, while talker characteristics are encoded separately.

Depth and Motion in Object Completion

Models of illusory and occluded contour and surface completion have focused on static spatial relations in planar surfaces. We consider several findings indicating that depth and motion play important roles in object completion. In one set of studies, effects of depth separation were studied in a speeded classification paradigm in which surface pieces were oriented in parallel or convergent (intersecting) planes. Subjects' task was to respond “parallel” or “convergent” on each trial. It was hypothesised that object completion would facilitate performance, and that depth separation of the two visible areas would disrupt completion. Speed and accuracy were reliably reduced when object parts were separated in depth via stereoscopic information. In a second series of studies a speeded classification paradigm was used to test perception of illusory figures from edges specified solely by motion (accretion-deletion of texture). The aim of a third study was to test occluded object completion where the visible parts of the object were not simultaneously present, but revealed over time. Results showed reliable object completion effects when certain spatial and temporal relationships held among object parts. We discuss three elements of a revised theoretical model suggested by these results: (1) edge inputs to boundary completion processes need not be luminance edges—they may also be motion-specified edges; (2) the criterion of relatability governing edge interpolation processes must include depth relations as well as planar ones; (3) the criterion of relatability must be reformulated in terms of spatiotemporal, rather than merely spatial, relationships. Particulars of a new model that meets these conditions are briefly described.

The separability of space and time: Dimensional interaction in the memory trace

The speeded-classification paradigm, adapted from the study of perceptual interactions, was used to examine interactions among features of the short-term memory trace. In each of four experiments, a trial began with the presentation of a pair of stimuli, each member of which occurred either first or second in time and above or below a fixation point. One of the two stimuli was then presented again, and the task was to classify its prior temporal (Experiments 1 and 3) or spatial (Experiments 2 and 4) position. The main question of interest asked whether subjects could selectively attend to one of these occurrence dimensions while ignoring irrelevant variation along the other. The results suggested that whereas subjects can selectively ignore temporal or spatial variation when no recall of the irrelevant dimensions value is required, they suffer interference when values on both dimensions must be remembered. The obtained patterns of interference are consistent with postperceptual interactions of the spatial and temporal components of the memory trace.

Integration of segmental and tonal information in speech perception: a cross-linguistic study

For speakers of a tone language, a close functional association exists between segmental structure and F 0 contour (i.e., tone) in speech because both dimensions are needed to identify words. Using the speeded classification paradigm, which does not require lexical access, we examined the hypothesis that segmental and tonal dimensions are perceptually more strongly integrated for speakers of a tone language (Mandarin Chinese) than for speakers of a nontone language (English). In four classification tasks, requiring attention to one dimension (either segmental or tonal) of CV syllables while ignoring the other, both subject groups showed strong perceptual integrality (i.e., interference from orthogonal variation in the unattended dimension). The Chinese subjects showed significantly more integrality than the English subjects in only one of the four tasks. After correcting for the fact that subjects took longer to respond to tonal distinctions than to segmental distinctions, we interpreted the results as suggesting that Chinese and English listeners both show an underlying processing asymmetry between consonants and tones in CV syllables, whereas only Chinese listeners show such an asymmetry between vowels and tones (vowels being more integral with tones than vice versa ). This may be a reflection of specific language experience.

Integration of segmental and tonal information in speech perception: A cross-linguistic study

For speakers of a tone language, a close functional association exists between segmental structure and F0 contour (i.e., tone) in speech because both dimensions are needed to identify words. Using the speeded classification paradigm, which does not require lexical access, the hypothesis that segmental and tonal dimensions are perceptually more strongly integrated for speakers of a tone language (Mandarin Chinese) than for speakers of a nontone language (English) was examined. In four classification tasks, requiring attention to one dimension (either segmental or tonal) of CV syllables while ignoring the other, both subject groups showed strong interference from orthogonal variation in the unattended dimension. The Chinese subjects showed significantly more interference than the English subjects in only one of the four tasks (vowel classification with irrelevant tonal variation). These findings thus provide only weak evidence of differences between Chinese and English speakers in the perceptual integrality of segments and tones. [Work supported by NICHD.]