Abstracts 2005 - The Psychonomic Society

Saturday Noon Posters 4023–4029
L-vertex, and X-vertex angles. On each trial, subjects were first
shown two cylinders with a particular angle between them (e.g., 70º).
Subjects then decided which of two angles (one 5º greater than the
first and one 5º smaller) was physically closer to the first. By examining
the proportion of times the larger of the two angles was chosen,
it is possible to determine exactly where the category boundaries for
the coding of relative orientation occur during object perception.
Strikingly, the location of the category boundaries was highly dependent
on the type of angle tested, suggesting that the visual system is
making sharp distinctions between the different angle types.
(4023)
When Does a Picture Become Interesting? JODI L. DAVENPORT,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology—The gist of a picture is available
in the first 100 msec. However, an unusual or especially interesting
picture is likely to have a more detailed gist. Does additional
conceptual information influence memory? If so, when? Pictures in
the interesting condition were collected from the Most Emailed section
of the Yahoo! website and were matched with a control from the
same basic-level category. Experiment 1 tested short-term recognition
memory after RSVP at SOAs of 160 or 320 msec. Memory for interesting
and control pictures did not differ. Experiment 2 tested longer
term recognition memory after long RSVP sequences at SOAs of 750
or 2,000 msec. Interesting pictures were now remembered more accurately
than controls, suggesting that the meaning of a picture
evolves over time. Conceptual information that makes a picture more
interesting is available only with a longer look.
(4024)
Effects of Semantic Features on Processing of Words and Pictures.
IAN S. HARGREAVES, JAMIE POPE, & PENNY M. PEXMAN,
University of Calgary—In a feature-listing task, participants are able
to list many semantic features for some concrete nouns (e.g., lion) and
fewer for others (e.g., lime). Pexman, Holyk, and Monfils (2003) found
a number of features (NOF) effect, such that words with more features
produced faster processing in semantic tasks. In the present research, we
examined two issues: (1) whether particular types of features (functional,
distinctive, visual, etc.) are responsible for the NOF effect and
(2) whether NOF effects could be elicited using pictorial stimuli. Tasks
included semantic decisions about words and pictures, lexical decision,
and picture naming. Results showed that NOF effects were not attributable
to any particular feature type, except under conditions where
certain feature types were highly task relevant. Results are interpreted
as support for distributed representation of semantic information.
(4025)
The Time Course of Orientation Congruency Effects. MARKUS
GRAF, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences,
& SEBASTIAN HORN, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg—Planerotated
objects are recognized better when viewed in the same orientation
as a different object presented immediately before. Therefore, it has been
proposed that object recognition involves coordinate transformations—
that is, an adjustment of a perceptual coordinate system that aligns
memory and input representations (Graf, Kaping, & Bülthoff, 2005).
In the present study, we investigated the time course of the orientation
congruency effect. Two plane-rotated objects from different categories
were presented sequentially. The presentation time of the second
object was adjusted such that accuracy was about 50% correct.
The stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between the two objects was
50, 250, or 500 msec. Benefits for congruent orientations were found
for 50- and 250-msec SOAs but were absent for an SOA of 500 msec.
These results indicate that orientation congruency effects are relatively
short-lived. This may explain why orientation congruency effects
were absent in some previous experiments.
(4026)
The Oblique Effect in Drawing. ROBERT J. MILLER, SUNY, Brockport—In
88 museum paintings, Latto and Russell-Duff (2002) showed
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that artists used more horizontal and vertical lines than oblique lines.
They concluded that this was a reflection of the traditional “oblique
effect.” Alternative explanations, however, are that a quadrilateral
frame may induce such preferences and/or the fact that most of the
paintings were representational and the real world is more horizontal
and vertical than oblique. Sixty-three undergraduates drew two pictures,
one representational and the other abstract, on round sheets of
paper (eliminating any quadrilateral framing influence). Fewer oblique
than horizontal or vertical lines were used in representational drawings.
However, for the abstract pictures there was no difference among the
three orientations. Similar results occurred for line length. It was concluded
that the “oblique effect” reported by Latto and Russell-Duff
was, at least in part, a reflection of the subject matter of the paintings,
rather than of an inherent preference for horizontal and vertical lines.
(4027)
Stability of Aesthetic Preference for Art in Alzheimer’s Patients.
ANDREA R. HALPERN, Bucknell University, & MARGARET G.
O’CONNOR, JENNIFER LY, & MEREDITH HICKORY, Harvard
Medical School—Two studies explored the stability of preference orderings
of art postcards in three different styles over 2 weeks among
early-stage Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients and age-matched control
participants. Generally, both groups maintained about the same
ordering over sessions, despite above-chance recognition memory in
the controls and at-chance recognition memory in the patients. Among
patients, degree of dementia predicted less preference stability, and
memory and language performance predicted stability in styles in
which objects could be named, but not for the abstract style. Since
performance on a control task of size ordering pictures of objects was
nearly perfect for everyone, we conclude that AD patients have
enough visuospatial skills and aesthetic sense to respond to art in a
consistent way. However, impaired naming and memory may affect response
to some art styles.
(4028)
Do Members of Different Professions Have the Same Type of Imagery?
OLESSIA BLAJENKOVA & MARIA KOZHEVNIKOV, Rutgers
University, Newark (sponsored by Maria Kozhevnikov)—The
goal of this research was to investigate differences in imagery abilities
between various groups of professionals. Natural scientists, visual
artists, architects, and humanities professionals were administered
two types of visual imagery tests. Spatial imagery tests assessed participants’
abilities to process spatial relations and perform spatial
transformations, whereas object imagery tests assessed participants’
abilities to process the literal appearance, color, shape, brightness, and
texture of objects. The main distinction found was between scientists
and visual artists: Visual artists scored highest on object imagery and
lowest on spatial imagery tests, whereas scientists scored highest on
spatial imagery and lowest on object imagery tests. Our findings suggest
that even though both visual artists and scientists extensively use
visual imagery in their work, they do not have the same visual imagery
abilities and that they, in fact, tend to excel in only one type of imagery.
• PROSPECTIVE MEMORY •
(4029)
The Retrospective Component of Prospective Memory: Relationship
to Prospective Component Success. LIANNA R. BENNETT & DEB-
ORAH M. CLAWSON, Catholic University of America, & KATRINA
S. KARDIASMENOS, Catholic University of America & Washington
Neuropsychological Institute—Prospective memory, remembering to
carry out planned actions, consists of two components: prospective
(remembering to act at the correct time) and retrospective (remembering
the correct action). Both components were examined using the
“Virtual Week” board game. Unlike in previous experiments, on trials
in which participants failed to act, the experimenter prompted for
the retrospective component. The first prompt was nonspecific (“Is
there something you forgot to do recently?”). A second prompt in-