RESUMO
We investigated whether learning effects influencing the Simon effect, such as those found when learning involves the spatial stimulus dimension, might be also found when learning tasks involve other nonspatial stimulus features, such as color, shape, and orientation. Experiment 1 focused on mutual influences between Simon tasks based on color and shape. The Simon task on color is affected by a previously performed Simon task on shape more than the latter is affected by a previously performed Simon task on color. We hypothesized that this difference depends on the difficulty of the tasks. Because orientation discrimination seems more difficult than both color and shape discrimination (Experiment 2), we predicted that a Simon task on orientation would be influenced by a Simon task on color or shape more than tasks on color or shape would be influenced by a task on orientation. Experiments 3 and 4 confirmed our hypothesis.
Assuntos
Aprendizagem por Discriminação , Mascaramento Perceptivo , Tempo de Reação , Adulto , Análise de Variância , Percepção de Cores/fisiologia , Humanos , Orientação/fisiologia , Reconhecimento Visual de Modelos/fisiologia , Mascaramento Perceptivo/fisiologia , Estimulação Luminosa , Desempenho Psicomotor/fisiologia , Adulto JovemRESUMO
The spatial Simon effect is often asymmetric, being greater on one side than on the other. To date, not much attention has been paid to these asymmetries, and explanations of the Simon effect do not take them into account. In the present article, we attempt to clarify the statistical implications of the asymmetries so as to provide a useful tool for future empirical investigation. Starting with examples from our laboratory and previous well-known studies, we point out the consequences of ignoring the asymmetries in the Simon effect. We suggest an alternative data analysis that might render the results clearer. Finally, through a comparison of left- and right-handed subjects, we demonstrate that asymmetries in the Simon effect are linked to the lateralization of processes involved in the Simon task--that is, attention and response selection. This approach provides a strong argument against collapsing data from the two sides to measure the Simon effect.