Abstract
Semantic and perceptual size decision times for pictorial and verbal material were analyzed in the context of a unitary memory model and several dual memory models. Experiment 1 involved a same-different categorical judgment task. The results showed that picture-picture response latencies were 185 msec faster than the corresponding word-word latencies, and word-picture and picture-word latencies equaled the mean of these two extremes. Similarity of subcategory for “same” judgments led to faster decision latency for all presentation conditions. Additionally, a linear relationship was found between picture-picture and word-word latencies for individual item pairs. Experiment 2 involved a comparison of pictures and words across a. categorical judgment and a size judgment task. Pictures produced faster decision latencies in both tasks, and the latency diflerence between pictures and words was comparable across tasks. These data fit the predictions of a unitary memory model. Several variants of a dual memory model are rejected and those which fit the data require assumptions about storage and/or transfer time values which result in a functional regression to the unitary memory model.
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This research was supported in part by funds provided by the Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, which is funded in part by the National Institute of Education, U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
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Pellegrino, J.W., Rosinski, R.R., Chiesi, H.L. et al. Picture-word differences in decision latency: An analysis of single and dual memory models. Memory & Cognition 5, 383–396 (1977). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03197377
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03197377