Abstract
The purpose of the present experiment was to evaluate the effects of visual stimulus intensity, visual degradation, stimulus-response compatibility, and practice on vocalization latency in a letter-naming task. By means of a factorial design, 12 college students each received all treatment combinations across each of 3 days. Analysis of variance showed that each of the four manipulations had a significant effect on mean letter-naming time, but no two-factor or higher order interaction was significant. Error rate was affected only by degradation. Using the logic of the additive factor method, the data are consistent with Sanders’ (1983) four-stage model of visual character identification in which recognition intensity, degradation, compatibility, and practice affect serial stages corresponding to preprocessing, feature extraction, response choice, and motor adjustment operations. When the less restrictive assumptions of McClelland’s (1979) cascade model are applied, the data permit the inference of multiple processes and support the conclusion that at least three hypothetical components represent information processing in the task.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Donders, F. C (1869). Over de snelheid van psychische processe. Onderzoekingen in her Physiologish Laboratorium der Utrechtsche Hoogeshool, 1868–1869, Tweede Reeks, II, 922–120. In W G. Koster (Ed. and Trans.),Attention and performance, II. Amsterdam: North Holland, 1969 (Reprinted fromActa Psychologica, 1969,30, 412–431.)
Eriksen, C. W., &Schultz, D. W. (1979). Information processing in visual search: A continuous flow conception and experimental results.Perception & Psychophysics,25, 249–263.
Frowein, H. W. (1981).Selective drug effects on human inforrnation processing. Soesterberg, The Netherlands: Institute for Perception TNO.
Frowein, H. W., Gaillard, A. W., &Varev, C. A. (1982). EP components, visual processing stages and the effects of a barbiturate.Biological Psychology,13, 239–249.
Garner, W. R. (1974).The processing of information and structure Potomac, MD: Erlbaum
Grice, G. R., Nullmeyer, R., &Spiker, V. A. (1982). Human reaction time: Toward a general theory.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,111, 135–153.
Hochhaus, L., Carver, S., &Brown, J R (1983) Control of CRT intensity via Apple II software.Behavior Research Methods & Instrumentation,15, 594–597.
McClelland, J. L. (1979). On the time relations of mental processes: An examination of systems of processes in cascade.Psychological Review,86, 287–330
Ostle, B, (1963).Statistics in research (2nd ed.). Ames. Iowa State University Press.
Pachella, R. G. (1974). The interpretation of reaction time in information processing. In B. Kantowitz (Ed.),Tutorials in performance and cognition (pp. 41–82) Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Price, J. M. (1979). Software timing for 6500 series microcomputersBehavior Research Methods & Instrumentation,11, 568–571
Reed, A. V (1979). Microcomputer display timing: Problems and solutions.Behavior Research Methods & Instrumentation,11, 572–576.
Salthouse, T A. (1981). Converging evidence for information-processing stages: A comparative-influence stage-analysis methodActa Psychologica,47, 39–61.
Sanders, A F. (1970). Some variables affecting the relation between relative signal frequency and CRTActa Psychologica,33, 45–55.
Sanders, A. F. (1977). Structural and functional aspects of the reaction process. In S. Dornie (Ed.),Attention and performance, VIII (pp. 3–25). Hillsdale, NJ. Erlbaum.
Sanders, A. F. (1980). Stage analysis of reaction processes In G. E Stelmach & J. Requin (Eds.),Tutorials tn motor behavior (pp. 331–354). Amsterdam: North-Holland.
Sanders, A. F. (1983). Towards a model of stress and human performance.Acta Psychologica,53, 61–97
Schweikert, R. (1983). Latent network theory: Scheduling of processes in sentence verification and the Stroop effect.Journal of Erperimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition,9, 353–383.
Shwartz, S. P., Pomerantz, J. R., &Egeth, H. E., (1977). State and process limitations in information processing. An additive factors analysis.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance,3, 402–410.
Stanovich, K. E., &Pachella, R. G., (1977). Encoding, stimulus-response compatibility, and stages of processing.Journal of Erperimental Psychology Human Perception and Performance,3, 411–421.
Sternberg, S. (1967). Two operations m character recognition: Some evidence from reaction time measurements.Perception & Psychophysics,2, 45–53.
Sternberg, S. (1969). On the discovery of processing stages: Some extensions of Donder’s method.Acta Psychologica,30, 276–315.
Taylor, D. A. (1976). Stage analysis of reaction time.Psychological Bulletin,83. 161–191.
Tharp, V. K., Rundell, O. H., Lester, B. K., &Williams, H. L. (1974). Alcohol and information processing.Psychopharmacologia,40, 33–52.
Turvey.M. (1973). On peripheral and central processes in vision: Inferences from an information-processing analysis of masking with patterned stimuli.Psychological Review,80, 1–52.
Vaughn, G. M., &Corballis, M. C. (1969). Beyond tests of significance: Estimating strength of effects in selected ANOVA designs.Psychological Bulletin,72, 204–213.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Everett, B.L., Hochhaus, L. & Brown, J.R. Letter-naming as a function of intensity, degradation, S-R compatibility, and practice. Perception & Psychophysics 37, 467–470 (1985). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03202879
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03202879