Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology最新文献

The Emotional Oddball Paradigm (EOP) involves sequences of frequently presented standard stimuli and rare (mostly emotional) deviant stimuli. Presenting a highly arousing, emotionally negative deviant in a stream of neutral standard information is usually associated with a weaker recall rate (in a subsequent memory task) for stimuli that had been presented directly before the negative deviant (i.e., retrograde amnesia). This effect has often been explained by the arousal-biased competition (ABC) theory, which states that arousal biases attention towards salient stimuli and away from less salient stimuli. Therefore, the focus of the ABC theory is on the arousing effects of the deviant. However, there is also evidence showing that emotionally arousing positive deviants led to enhanced recall rates for stimuli preceding the deviant (Hurlemann et al., 2005; Exp. 1). In the present study we replicated the methods used in the aforementioned study from Hurlemann et al., but did neither find enhanced nor decreased recall performances for stimuli preceding positive deviants. We did, however, find weak evidence of poorer recall rates for stimuli preceding a negative deviant. The implications of these results for the ABC theory and the role of positive valence on memory are discussed.

Iconicity (the extent to which word forms resemble their meanings) is proposed to be based in universally accessible form mappings that depict/express sensory imagery. In the present study, we explored phonological structural features proposed to be characteristic of iconicity and subjective iconicity ratings in two large English and Spanish datasets (Hinojosa et al., 2021; Winter et al., 2024). Restricting analyses to words with good rating agreement across participants, we show that the distributions of iconicity ratings differ considerably between the two languages, with far fewer Spanish words rated as iconic. Multiple regression analyses showed that structural markedness significantly predicted iconicity ratings in both languages, although the relationship was weaker in Spanish. Highly rated English forms included many phonaesthemes, i.e., words with systematic sound-meaning mappings that can be iconic or non-iconic. Surprisingly, English and Spanish words rated higher in iconicity had larger phonological neighbourhoods despite comprising less frequently occurring phoneme sequences. In English, words rated as more iconic were also more likely to be polysemes (i.e., convey multiple, metaphorically-related meanings) than linked to a specific sensory meaning. Regression models revealed phonological/phonetic features, syllable structures and reduplications predicted significant proportions of variance in both English (33.3%) and Spanish iconicity ratings (50.8%), demonstrating both common and language specific mappings. While our findings support the qualified use of subjective ratings for cross-linguistic comparisons of iconicity, we recommend researchers control for systematicity and polysemy and consider using additional/alternative measures to exclude non-iconic forms.

Gestures can play a role in narrating emotionally valenced autobiographical events, particularly in second language use. We investigated how hand gestures, phenomenological experience, narrative details, and level of emotionality interact during autobiographical memory narration. Forty-one Turkish-speaking individuals (26 females; Mage = 21.12, SDage = 2.13) narrated emotional autobiographical events (2 in English, 2 in Turkish). Results indicated no effect of the second language on phenomenological ratings, level of emotionality, or narrative details. Representational gestures correlated with phenomenological characteristics and episodic details in nearly all narratives. The primary difference between first and second language use involved beat gestures, particularly in negative events. In the first language, they were linked to all details, while in the second language, they correlated only with the phenomenological characteristics. These findings suggest that representational gestures assist in scene construction in both languages for proficient speakers, while beat gestures emphasize details in the first language and enhance fluency in the second language.

This study examines the influence of commas and line breaks on attachment preferences in Spanish preverbal relative clauses with two potential antecedents (e.g., The colleague of the violinist who is a far-right supporter performed with the orchestra yesterday).Previous research in Spanish post-verbal relative clauses provided evidence that commas introduce an implicit prosodic boundary that encourages attachment to the higher determiner phrase (DP1, the colleague). Here, we assess the separate and combined effects of commas and line breaks in three offline studies in Spanish. First, we assess attachment preferences of sentences with relative clauses preceded by commas (i.e., appositive relative clauses) and without commas (i.e., restrictive relative clauses) in under-researched preverbal position. Then, we test whether line breaks could have the same effect as commas in determining attachment. Our findings suggest that only commas consistently and significantly impact attachment preferences favouring high attachment.

The degree to which face processing abilities inter-relate, and associate with general intelligence, remains a contentious issue. Furthermore, poorer face processing abilities may be a result of reduced social interest associated with higher levels of trait-autism, consistent with the social motivation theory of autism. However, the association between multiple dimensions of face processing (i.e., a general face factor) and trait-autism, specifically autistic-like nonverbal communication, has not been estimated. Consequently, we administered four face processing ability tests (assessing face detection, the perception and memory of face identity, and expression recognition), four cognitive ability tests, and the Autism Quotient to a sample of 253 general community adults. Based on latent variable modelling, we identified a general face processing ability factor (f), and it was positively associated with general intelligence (g; λ = .48). We conclude that face processing abilities may be a candidate ability within the Cattell-Horn-Carroll model of intelligence. Moreover, face memory was positively associated with g (β = .31). We discuss the possibility of developmental prosopagnosia, i.e., deficits in face memory, being diagnosed as a learning disability. Furthermore, autistic-like nonverbal communication was a significant, negative predictor (β = -.45) of f, and g was neither a mediator nor suppressor of the effect. Finally, the unique effect between autistic-like nonverbal communication difficulties and face processing abilities, independently of intelligence, was considered in line with the social motivation theory of autism.

We report six experiments that examine the relationship between visuospatial and analogical reasoning. In Experiments 1-3b, participants completed a series of spatial assessments and analogical reasoning tasks. In Experiment 2, participants were assigned to one of three training conditions that involved analogical reasoning. One group visualized the elements in each scenario (visualization training), a second group identified the spatial relationships in each scenario (spatial training), and a third group identified the corresponding elements between two scenarios (analogy training). Participants completed pre- and post-tests, wherein they solved various analogy problems; Experiments 3a-4b were similar but did not include an analogy training condition. In Experiments 1-3b, a positive relationship between visuospatial and analogical reasoning was observed (regardless of the perceptibility of the analogy's spatial relations), as participants who performed better on the spatial measures also demonstrated better analogical reasoning. Furthermore, in Experiments 2 and 4b, spatial training led to greater posttest performance than the visualization training, but this outcome was not observed in Experiments 3a-4a. A combined analysis (Experiments 2-4b), however, revealed a small, but reliable advantage of spatial over visualization training. These findings suggest that strategies that encourage spatial reasoning might better aid analogical learning and reasoning than strategies that encourage visualization.

The "font size effect" has rarely been studied in the context of valence judgments. In this paper, we aimed to determine whether the font size of neutral words could influence their perceived positivity. We conducted four experiments. In the first two experiments, the words appeared in the participants' peripersonal space (i.e., the area immediately surrounding the body, where one can easily act). The first experiment showed that words in size 36 were judged more positively than words in size 18. The second experiment showed that words in size 18 were judged more positively than words in size 9 and more positively than they were in Experiment 1. In the third and fourth experiments, the words appeared in the participants' extrapersonal space (i.e., space beyond the reach of the body). The results of the third experiment showed that words in size 36 were judged more positively than those in size 18. The fourth experiment revealed that words in size 72 were judged more positively than those in size 36. However, words in size 36 in this experiment were judged less positively than those in size 36 in Experiment 3. Finally, neutral words in sizes 18 and 36 in Experiment 1 (peripersonal space) were judged more positively than in Experiment 3 (extrapersonal space). Taken together, these results support the idea that valence is influenced by the relative contrast between competing sizes rather than by an inherent size-related valence and the space in which they appear.

In dual tasks, with a visual-manual choice reaction time task in Task 1 and a go/no-go task in Task 2, not responding to Task 2 can have adverse effects on Task 1 performance, as demonstrated by no-go backward crosstalk effects (no-go BCE). Here, the response inhibition required to not respond to Task 2 spills over and slows response execution in Task 1. Over three experiments, we investigated whether the prospect of reward, which is a potent cognitive control modulator, influences no-go BCE. In Experiment 1, reward for fast and accurate responses in both tasks was modulated as a within-subject factor, and in Experiments 2 and 3, as a between-subject factor. The results revealed three major insights. In all three experiments, reward led to faster Task 1 and Task 2 performance. Second, despite this speeding, the no-go BCE was not modulated by reward. Finally, the reward led to more errors in Task 2 no-go trials. These results reveal a reward-induced bias for action, suggesting better preparedness to respond and, consequently, larger commission errors in Task 2 no-go trials. The absence of a reward-based modulation of the no-go BCE indicates that the reward-induced bias for action does not necessarily translate into larger response inhibition. These findings point towards the complex interactions between reward and inhibitory control and shed light on the potentials and limitations of reward-based modulation of dual-task interference.

When we hear someone speak, we do not just hear 'a voice'. If the voice is unfamiliar, we form an often complex first impression by inferring various characteristics about the person. If the voice is familiar, at least to some degree, we may be able to recognise and identify the person to whom the voice belongs. Even though first impression formation and identity recognition can thus be seen as being situatied at two opposing ends of a 'familiarity continuum', first impressions and identity recognition functionally serve the same purpose: making sense of who another person is. Theories and empirical work examining impression formation and identity perception from voices have, however, developed largely in isolation from one another, with relatively limited cross-talk. In this paper, I will review some recent findings from the literature on first impression formation from unfamiliar voices and voice identity learning and recognition from familiar(ised) voices. I will ask how impression perception and identity perception may interact and interface with one another along this 'familiarity continuum' between completely unfamiliar and very familiar voices, trying to bring together these two literatures. Specifically, I will consider what happens to first impressions when we become increasingly familiar with a person, whether first impressions might have an impact on how (well) voices can be learned and recognised, and when and how identity recognition might take over from ad-hoc impression formation.

Despite extensive research across various modalities, the precise mechanisms of sensory attenuation (SA) remain debated. Specifically, it remains unclear to what extent SA is influenced by stimulus predictability alone, as opposed to the distinct impact of self-generated actions. Forward models suggest that efference copies of motor commands enable the brain to predict and distinguish anticipated changes in self-initiated sensory input. Predictive processing proposes that predictions about upcoming changes in sensory input are not solely based on efference copies, but rather generated in the form of a generative model integrating external, contextual factors, as well. This study investigated the underlying mechanisms of SA in the tactile domain, specifically examining self-initiation and temporal predictions within a virtual reality (VR) framework. This setup allowed for precise control over sensory feedback in response to movement. Participants (N = 33) engaged in an active condition, moving their hands to elicit a virtual touch. Importantly, visual perception was modified in VR, so that participants touched their rendered-but not physical-hands. The virtual touch triggered the test vibrations on a touch controller (intensities: 0.2, 0.35, 0.5, 0.65, 0.8; in arbitrary units.), the intensity of which was then compared to that of a standard stimulus (intensity: 0.5). In the passive condition, vibrations were presented without movement and were preceded by a visual cue. Further, test vibrations appeared either immediately or after a variable onset delay (700-800ms). Our results revealed a significant effect of the factor "onset delay" on perceived vibration intensity. In addition, we observed interactions between the factors "agency" and "test vibration intensity" and between the factors "agency" and "onset delay," with attenuation effects for immediate vibrations at high intensities and enhancement effects for delayed vibrations at low intensities. These findings emphasize the impact of external, contextual factors and support the notion of a broader, attention-oriented predictive mechanism for the perception of self-initiated stimuli.