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Selective attention effects on recognition: the roles of list context and perceptual difficulty

Psychological Research volume 84, pages 1249–1268 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

Two recent studies reported superior recognition memory for items that were incongruent targets than for items that were congruent targets in a prior incidental study phase (Krebs et al. in Cereb Cortex (New York, NY) 25(3):833–843, 2015; Rosner et al. in Psychol Res 79(3):411–424, 2015). The present study examined this effect further by addressing two issues. First, we examined whether this effect is sensitive to the list context in which congruent and incongruent items are presented. In Experiment 1, this issue was addressed by manipulating the relative proportions of congruent and incongruent trials in the study phase. In Experiments 2A and 2B, the same issue was examined by contrasting randomly intermixed and blocked manipulations of congruency. The results of these experiments, as well as a trial-to-trial sequence analysis, demonstrate that the recognition advantage for incongruent over congruent items is robust and remarkably insensitive to list context. Second, we examined recognition of incongruent and congruent items relative to a single word baseline condition. Incongruent (Experiment 3A) and congruent (Experiment 3B) items were both better recognized than single word items, though this effect was substantially stronger for incongruent items. These results suggest that perceptual processing difficulty, rather than interference caused by different target and distractor identities on its own, contributes to the enhanced recognition of incongruent items. Together, the results demonstrate that processes that are sensitive to perceptual processing difficulty of items but largely insensitive to list context produce heightened recognition sensitivity for incongruent targets.

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Notes

  1. Preliminary analyses for both the study and test phases first examined whether the counterbalancing variable of block order for proportion congruent (high/low) impacted performance. For the study phase, there were no significant effects involving the counterbalancing factor in the analysis of naming RTs, but one higher order interaction involving the counterbalancing factor in the analysis of errors. This interaction appeared to be driven by a small shift in the magnitude of the trial type × block effect for the two block orders, but generally error rates were low in all conditions and higher for incongruent than congruent trials in all conditions. For d′ values in the test phase, there was one higher order interaction involving block order that appeared to be driven by a trend toward larger trial type effects in the second block of trials than the first block of trials, a trend that we have seen in several other studies.

  2. Preliminary analyses for both the study and test phases first examined whether the counterbalancing variable of block order impacted performance in the blocked condition. In Experiment 2A, no main effect of block order nor any interaction involving block order were significant in any of the analyses. In Experiment 2B, the only significant effect involving block order was a block order by trial type interaction in the analysis of d′ F(1, 22) = 5.291, p = 0.031, \(\eta _{{\text{p}}}^{2}\) = 0.184. This interaction appeared to be driven simply by better memory for the item type that was presented first and was, therefore, treated as a spurious one for the present purposes. The data for all subsequent analyses for both Experiments 2A and 2B were collapsed across the block order factor.

  3. In addition, in Experiment 2A the stimuli were presented on a 20-in. HP LCD monitor rather than a 24-in. BENQ LED monitor.

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Acknowledgements

Financial support for this study was provided in part by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant awarded to Bruce Milliken and an NSERC Doctoral Postgraduate Scholarship awarded to Hanae Davis.

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Author notes

  1. Tamara M. Rosner

    Present address: Centre for Teaching Support and Innovation, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

  2. Maria C. D’Angelo

    Present address: Delphia, Toronto, ON, Canada

Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S4L8, Canada

    Hanae Davis, Tamara M. Rosner, Maria C. D’Angelo, Ellen MacLellan & Bruce Milliken

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  1. Hanae Davis
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Correspondence to Hanae Davis.

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Appendices

Appendix A

Word lists used in Experiments 1 and 2.

(Experiment 3 used a different set of six lists comprising the same words).

Word List 1: ADULT, BLIND, BRIDE, BROOK, CABLE, CATCH, CHAIR, CHARM, CLEAN, CLIMB, COAST, CURVE, DAILY, DRIVE, DROVE, FANCY, FLASH, GLARE, GLOVE, GROUP, GUARD, GUIDE, IDEAL, JEWEL, JUICE, MAJOR, MONEY, MONTH, NOVEL, OLIVE, PILOT, PITCH, PURSE, RIVAL, SAUCE, SHEER, SHOCK, SHORT, SIGHT, SOLID, SPRAY, STAMP, START, STEEP, STERN, STORY, STRIP, SWIFT, TABLE, THROW, TITLE, TOTAL, TOWER, TRADE, TRUTH, UNCLE, WATCH, WATER, WHEEL, WORST.

Word List 2: AGENT, ANGLE, BASIS, BIRTH, BREAD, BREAK, BRICK, CABIN, CHILL, CHOKE, CIGAR, CLASS, CLERK, COUNT, CRASH, CREEK, EMPTY, EVENT, EXTRA, FLOOR, FRONT, FROWN, GLASS, GLEAM, KNOCK, LIGHT, MAGIC, MATCH, MOTOR, MOVIE, NOBLE, OFFER, PARTY, PEACH, PHONE, PIANO, PROOF, PUPIL, RADIO, RANCH, SCORE, SHAPE, SHIRT, SLIDE, SLOPE, SMART, SPEED, STAKE, STATE, STRAW, SWEAR, TODAY, TOUGH, TRACE, TRAIN, UPPER, VALUE, VOICE, WORLD, WOUND.

Word List 3: ANKLE, ASIDE, BATHE, BENCH, BLANK, BRAND, CANDY, CHAIN, CHASE, CHEER, CHEST, CHIEF, CLAIM, CLOUD, CRAWL, DELAY, DREAM, FAINT, FEVER, FLAME, GUESS, HEART, HONEY, HORSE, INNER, ISSUE, LAUGH, LEAST, LIMIT, LUNCH, MIGHT, MOUTH, MUSIC, NERVE, NURSE, OCEAN, ONION, OWNER, PAINT, PLANE, PLANK, POUND, PRESS, PRIZE, RANGE, ROUND, SCALE, SHAME, SLEEP, SPOON, STOOP, STUDY, STUFF, TASTE, TENSE, TOAST, TREAT, TRICK, TWIST, YIELD.

Word List 4: BLAZE, BLOCK, BLOOM, BRAIN, BRUSH, BUNCH, CHEEK, CHILD, CLIFF, COURT, CROWN, CRUMB, DRAIN, DRESS, EARTH, ELBOW, FLOUR, GLORY, GRASS, HURRY, JELLY, JUDGE, LINEN, ORDER, OTHER, PAUSE, PENNY, PLANT, PORCH, PRIDE, PRINT, QUOTE, REBEL, RIGHT, ROUGH, SCENE, SERVE, SHAKE, SHARE, SHARP, SHEET, SHELL, SKIRT, SPELL, SPOIL, SPOKE, STAGE, STALK, STEEL, STICK, STOLE, STONE, SUGAR, TEETH, TIMER, TRACK, TRAIL, TRUNK, WAGON, WHILE.

Word List 5: ACTOR, BOAST, CLOCK, CORAL, COVER, CRACK, CROSS, DEPTH, DOUBT, ELECT, FENCE, FLOAT, FLUSH, FRAME, FRUIT, GRADE, GRAIN, GRASP, GRIEF, GUEST, KNIFE, LEMON, LEVEL, MIDST, NOISE, OPERA, ORGAN, PASTE, PEARL, PIECE, POINT, PRICE, QUICK, QUIET, REACH, RIVER, ROUTE, SALAD, SATIN, SCARE, SCENT, SHIFT, SHINE, SHORE, SLICE, SMALL, SMELL, SPACE, SPLIT, STAND, STEAL, STILL, STOCK, STORE, SWEET, SWING, THING, TROOP, TRUCK, WHIRL.

Word List 6: ALARM, APPLE, BOARD, BOUND, BRIEF, BURST, CHECK, CLOTH, COACH, CROWD, CRUSH, DANCE, DRIFT, DRINK, EQUAL, FIELD, FORCE, GRANT, GROAN, HOTEL, HOUSE, LAYER, LEAVE, LOCAL, METAL, MODEL, MORAL, NIGHT, PAPER, PLAIN, PLATE, POISE, ROAST, SAINT, SENSE, SHADE, SHOUT, SHRUG, SMILE, SMOKE, SOUND, SPORT, STAFF, STARE, STEAM, STORM, STOVE, STYLE, SWEAT, THUMB, TOUCH, TRUST, UNDER, VISIT, WASTE, WHEAT, WOMAN, WRECK, WRIST, YOUTH.

Appendix B

Recollection and familiarity analyses.

Separate contributions of recollection and familiarity to recognition were evaluated using the independence remember–know (IRK) procedure for each experiment (Yonelinas, 2002; Yonelinas & Jacoby, 1995). The IRK procedure estimates the contribution of recollection by the proportion of trials in which participants make “remember” (R) responses, and estimates the contribution of familiarity by the proportion of trials in which participants make “know” (K) responses, given that a remember response is not made (1-R). These estimates of recollection and familiarity were computed separately for hits and false alarms, and statistical analyses were conducted on the hit minus false alarm difference scores, which are displayed in Tables 6 and 7.

Table 6 Estimates for recollection and familiarity based on the independence remember–know procedure for Experiment 1
Full size table
Table 7 Estimates of recollection and familiarity for Experiments 2A and 2B
Full size table

Experiment 1

To evaluate differences in recollection and familiarity, the hits minus false alarm difference scores were submitted to two separate two-tailed paired sample t tests, comparing across trial types. The analysis on the estimates of recollection revealed a significant effect of trial type, t(47) = 4.384, p < 0.001, d = 0.633, with higher estimates for incongruent (0.305) than congruent trials (0.240). The analysis on the estimates of familiarity revealed a marginal effect of trial type, t(47) = 1.761, p = 0.085, d = 0.254, with a numerical trend toward higher estimates for incongruent (0.321) than congruent trials (0.286) (Table 8).

Table 8 Estimates of recollection and familiarity for Experiments 3A and 3B
Full size table

Experiment 2

To evaluate differences in recollection and familiarity, the hits minus false alarm difference scores were submitted to two separate mixed-factor ANOVAs, with list type as a between-subjects factor and trial type as a within-subject factor.

Experiment 2A

The analysis on the estimates of recollection revealed a significant main effect of trial type, F(1, 46) = 11.329, p = 0.001, \(\eta _{{\text{p}}}^{2}\) = 0.198, reflecting higher recollection estimates for targets on incongruent (0.323) than congruent (0.278) trials. Neither the main effect of list type nor its interaction with trial type reached significance. The analysis on the familiarity estimates revealed a main effect of trial type, F(1, 46) = 4.44, p = 0.041, \(\eta _{{\text{p}}}^{2}\) = 0.088, reflecting higher familiarity estimates for targets on incongruent (0.290) than congruent (0.252) trials. A main effect of list type was also observed, F(1, 46) = 6.411, p = 0.015, \(\eta _{{\text{p}}}^{2}\) = 0.122, indicating familiarity estimates were higher in the mixed (0.318) than blocked (0.223) condition. The interaction between trial type and list type was not significant.

Experiment 2B

The analysis on recollection estimates revealed an effect of trial type that approached significance, F(1, 46) = 3.32, p = 0.075, \(\eta _{{\text{p}}}^{2}\) = 0.067, with numerically higher estimates for incongruent (0.380) than congruent trials (0.344). No other analyses on the recollection or familiarity estimates yielded significant effects, all p’s > 0.10.

Experiment 3

To evaluate differences in recollection and familiarity, the hits minus false alarm difference scores were submitted to two separate two-tailed paired sample t tests, comparing across trial types.

Experiment 3A

The two analyses revealed higher estimates for incongruent than for single word trials both for recollection, t(47) = 3.913, p < 0.001, d = 0.565 (0.348 vs. 0.274), and familiarity, t(47) = 3.058, p = 0.004, d = 0.441 (0.288 vs. 0.217).

Experiment 3B

The analysis on recollection estimates was not significant, t(47) < 1. The analysis on familiarity estimates revealed an effect of trial type, t(47) = 3.617, p < 0.001, d = 0.522, with higher familiarity estimates for congruent (0.303) than for single word trials (0.241).

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Davis, H., Rosner, T.M., D’Angelo, M.C. et al. Selective attention effects on recognition: the roles of list context and perceptual difficulty. Psychological Research 84, 1249–1268 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-019-01153-x

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