S1 (FriAM 1-65) - The Psychonomic Society

Papers 290–296 Sunday Morning
prioritization without capture is a top-down memory-based phenomenon
at least partially controlled by object identity and meaning.
8:20–8:35 (290)
Repetition Blindness for Rotated Objects: Viewpoint Invariance
and Viewpoint Dependence. WILLIAM G. HAYWARD, University
of Hong Kong, GUOMEI ZHOU, Sun Yat-Sen University, WAI-
FUNG MAN, University of Hong Kong, & IRINA M. HARRIS, University
of Sydney—In temporal streams of briefly presented stimuli,
observers often miss the repetition of an item, a finding termed repetition
blindness (RB). In four experiments, we examined the effects
of RB for objects that are rotated between presentations within the
stream. Experiment 1 used line drawings of familiar objects, and
found significant RB across all viewpoint conditions, with relatively
little variation in its magnitude. Experiments 2 and 3 used a similar
procedure but employed shaded images as stimuli and two different
axes of rotation; here, RB varied across viewpoints but was highest at
moderate rotations and lower at either large or small rotations. In Experiment
4, novel objects were used as stimuli, and the results showed
the same quadratic pattern of RB found in Experiments 2 and 3. Patterns
of RB in these experiments show the influences of both viewspecific
and view-invariant processes in object recognition.
8:40–8:55 (291)
Nonindependence of High and Low Spatial Frequencies in Picture
Memory. WILLIAM PERIA, REBECCA NICHOLS, & GEOFFREY R.
LOFTUS, University of Washington (read by Geoffrey R. Loftus)—
We considered the hypothesis that low and high spatial frequency information
in a naturalistic scene contribute independently to the representation
used for eventual recognition. This hypothesis failed in
two experiments wherein pictures containing only low spatial frequencies,
only high spatial frequencies, or all spatial frequencies (the
pixel sum of the low and high spatial frequency components) were
shown at varying durations in the study phase of a recognition test. Two
parameter-free tests, the log-duration parallel test and the reciprocalduration
additivity test, demonstrated independence failure. Specifically,
the data implied synergy: Access to the full range of spatial frequencies
produced better performance than would be expected on the
basis of the two individual frequency components combining independently.
A power function fit the data essentially perfectly, the two
parameters of which are “liftoff,” the minimum duration required for
any memory at all, and growth rate. The observed synergy is captured
in a lower-than-predicted-by-independence liftoff value.
9:00–9:15 (292)
Neural Correlates of Object–Spatial Visual Cognitive Style.
MICHAEL MOTES, University of Texas, Dallas, & MARIA KOZHEV-
NIKOV, George Mason University (read by Maria Kozhevnikov)—The
visual system processes object properties (such as shape and color) and
spatial properties (such as location and spatial relations) in distinct systems,
and this distinction extends to visual imagery and visual cognitive
style. We conducted an fMRI study to investigate the neural underpinning
of the individual differences in object versus spatial-visual
processing. Nine individuals with preferences for object imagery processing
(object visualizers) and eight individuals with preferences for
spatial processing (spatial visualizers) were scanned while working
through a visual processing task. Although the two groups showed
equivalent behavioral performance on the task, object visualizers
showed lower bilateral neural activity in lateral occipital complex and
lower right-lateralized neural activity in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
The data indicate that object visualizers showed greater objectprocessing
neural efficiency than the spatial visualizers, and that neural
efficiency can be considered a mediator of visual cognitive style.
9:20–9:35 (293)
Boundary Extension in the Auditory Domain. JOANNA L.
HUTCHISON, TIMOTHY L. HUBBARD, & G. ANDREW HILLIS,
Texas Christian University (read by Timothy L. Hubbard)—The pres-
45
ent experiments examined whether boundary extension occurred for
auditory stimuli. Participants heard a target excerpt from music or literature,
followed by a probe containing the same content but differing
in length; participants compared the length of the probe to the length
of the target. In Experiment 1, targets were relatively long, and a tendency
toward boundary restriction was observed. If longer auditory targets
are analogous to wide-angle pictures in studies on visual boundary
extension, then this result parallels that in the delay condition of
Intraub et al. (1992). Experiment 2 compared shorter (or “close-up”)
excerpts and medium (or “prototypical”) excerpts, and Experiment 3
compared longer (or “wide-angle”) excerpts and medium excerpts.
The results were consistent with Intraub et al.’s (1992) delay condition
results for visual boundary extension, converging on boundary extension
when relatively closer targets were presented, but boundary restriction
when relatively wider angle targets were presented.
9:40–9:55 (294)
Understanding Picture Understanding Through Art. HELMUT
LEDER, University of Vienna (sponsored by Irving Biederman)—Art
provides the prototypical stimulus for examining processes involved
in aesthetic perception. Recently, we proposed an informationprocessing
stage model explaining processes involved in aesthetic experiences,
particularly of modern art (Leder et al., 2004). Essential is
the processing stage of cognitive mastering, where it is claimed that
perceivers aim to understand what they see. Such understanding is
particularly relevant for abstract art, which by definition has no clear
content. With respect to our model, I present data from studies
wherein artworks varied in presentation time, whether they were accompanied
with elaborative or descriptive titles (Leder et al., 2006),
or whether extra information was presented regarding their stylistic
features (Belke et al., 2006). These variations enabled the examination
of the processes involved in acquiring meaning in the perception
of art. In addition, I present a discussion of how artworks might be
special and how they are suitable for investigating general higher
order perceptual processes.
Neural Mechanisms of Attention
Regency ABC, Sunday Morning, 10:00–12:00
Chaired by Glyn W. Humphreys, University of Birmingham
10:00–10:15 (295)
Distinct Neural Mechanisms Modulate Effects of Working Memory
and Priming on Visual Selection: Differential Responses in a Fronto-
Thalamic Network. GLYN W. HUMPHREYS, DAVID SOTO, & PIA
ROTSHTEIN, University of Birmingham—Visual selection can be
modulated both when items in working memory (WM) match a stimulus
in the field and also by implicit priming linked to stimulus repetition
across time. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging
(fMRI) to assess the neural correlates of these memory-based effects
on selection. We show, for the first time, opposite effects on the pattern
of activity in superior frontal gyrus, mid-temporal, and occipital
areas known to respond to the presence of stimulus repetitions.
Whereas the reappearance of a stimulus held in WM enhanced activity
in these regions, mere stimulus repetition elicited a suppressed response.
Furthermore, a fronto-thalamic network was uniquely sensitive
to the behavioral relevance of a match between the contents of
WM and the visual array, enhancing activity when the contents of WM
matched the critical target of selection. Effects on visual selection
from WM and implicit priming depend on distinct neural mechanisms.
10:20–10:35 (296)
Goal- and Stimulus-Driven Orienting in Patients With Parietal
Lesions. SARAH SHOMSTEIN, George Washington University, &
MARLENE BEHRMANN, Carnegie Mellon University—Recent
neuroimaging studies suggest that the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ)
mediates stimulus-driven attentional orienting, whereas the superior