The Semantic Integration Between Two Subliminally Perceived Words Simultaneously Presented at Different Locations.

In the present study, we showed evidence of an integration between two unconscious semantic representations. In experiment 1, two masked Chinese words of the same or different categories ("orange apple" or "grape hammer") were simultaneously presented in the prime, followed by two Chinese words also of same or different categories in the target. We examined possible prime/target visual feature priming, semantic category priming and motor response priming effects. Moreover, two ISI intervals (53, 163 ms) between the prime and the target words were used to examine the positive and negative priming. The results revealed a negative motor response priming and a positive semantic category priming effect independent of the ISI when the target words were of the same category. Experiment 2 eliminated an alternative interpretation of the effect based on different number of category words changed across the prime and the target. Experiment 3 eliminated a potential confound of unequal numbers of trials for motor congruent and incongruent conditions in Experiment 1. Overall, these results indicated an integration between the meanings of the two subliminally perceived words in the prime. The difference between simultaneous and sequential presentations, and the reason why positive priming was not observed when the interval between the prime and the target was short were discussed in the context of unconscious semantic integration.

Unconscious Integration of Categorical Relationship of Two Subliminal Numbers in Comparison with "5".

Many studies have shown that the brain can process subliminal numerals, i.e., participants can categorize a subliminal number into two categories: greater than 5 or less than 5. In the context of many studies on the unconscious integration of multiple subliminal stimuli, the issue of whether multiple subliminal numbers can be integrated is contentious. The same-different task is regarded as a perfect tool to explore unconscious integration. In the two experiments reported, we used a same-different task in which a pair of masked prime numbers was followed by a pair of target numbers, and participants were asked to decide whether the two target numbers were on the same (both smaller or larger than 5) or different sides (one smaller, the other larger than 5) of 5 in magnitude. The results indicated that the prime numbers could be categorized unconsciously, which was reflected by the category priming effect, and that the unconscious category relationship of the two prime numbers could affect the judgment on the category relationship of the two target numbers, as reflected by the response priming effect. The duration of the prime-to-target interstimulus interval (ISI) was also manipulated, showing a positive compatibility effect (PCE) of category priming and a negative compatibility effect (NCE) of response priming no matter whether the ISI was short (50 ms) or long (150 ms). The NCE, which occurred when the prime-to-target ISI was relatively short in this study, contradicted the conventional view but was consistent with previous results of unconscious integration based on an attention modulation mechanism. Importantly, this study provided evidence for the still-under-debate issue of numerical information integration.

Two masked prime arrows simultaneously affect a response to a target: Revealing of an additive unconscious priming effect.

Since there are many sources of unconscious information in our minds, there is a possibility that multiple channels of unconscious information can affect a response at the same time. However, this question has been largely ignored by researchers. In the present study, we presented two opposite pointing arrows as the masked primes followed by a target arrow. The results suggested that the two directions in which the two prime arrows are pointing influenced the response to the target simultaneously and additively, that is, the overall priming effect caused by the two opposite pointing prime arrows was equal to the net effect of the individual congruent effect elicited by the same pointing prime arrow and the individual incongruent priming effect induced by the prime arrow poitning in the opposite direction. In addition, in Experiment 1, a biased delayed response to the target was observed when the target arrow and the opposite pointing prime arrow were closely positioned in space due to Gestalt continuity and closure grouping. According to these results, the "independent unconscious influence" and "reverse unconscious selection" hypotheses are proposed.

Multiple sources of unconscious-information processing affect a single response: independent unconscious priming effects.

At present there is little knowledge on whether and how multiple pieces of unconscious information can simultaneously affect a single conscious response. In the present study, we manipulated the congruency relation between a masked prime arrow and the target arrow, as well as that between masked flankers and the target arrow. The results demonstrated that the masked prime and flankers produced independent unconscious priming effects on the response to the target. In the process of studying the above phenomenon, two secondary findings were made. First, although the prime congruency effect was obtained, the flanker congruency effect was smaller when the flankers were displayed simultaneously with the target than when they were displayed sequentially before the target. This suggested that priming stimulation required enough time to be processed to a sufficient extent to produce an unconscious priming effect. Second, when the prime stimulus was removed, leaving only the flankers, the flanker priming effect increased, suggesting that the attention attracted to the prime and its conscious mask could also reduce the flanker congruency effect. These results observed across several experiments were replicated in one within-subjects experiment. We proposed an "independent unconscious influence hypothesis" for the phenomenon. This hypothesis was further integrated into a more comprehensive unconscious information processing model. The possible causes of the observed phenomena were discussed.

Category-selective attention modulates unconscious processes in the middle occipital gyrus.

Many studies have revealed the top-down modulation (spatial attention, attentional load, etc.) on unconscious processing. However, there is little research about how category-selective attention could modulate the unconscious processing. In the present study, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the results showed that category-selective attention modulated unconscious face/tool processing in the middle occipital gyrus (MOG). Interestingly, MOG effects were of opposed direction for face and tool processes. During unconscious face processing, activation in MOG decreased under the face-selective attention compared with tool-selective attention. This result was in line with the predictive coding theory. During unconscious tool processing, however, activation in MOG increased under the tool-selective attention compared with face-selective attention. The different effects might be ascribed to an interaction between top-down category-selective processes and bottom-up processes in the partial awareness level as proposed by Kouider, De Gardelle, Sackur, and Dupoux (2010). Specifically, we suppose an "excessive activation" hypothesis.

Differentiation of stages in joke comprehension: evidence from an ERP study.

This study aimed to investigate the mechanisms underlying joke comprehension using event-related potentials (ERPs). Fourteen healthy college students were presented with the context of a story without its joke or nonjoke ending, and then, when the story ending was presented, they were asked to make a funny/unfunny judgment about these endings. The behavioral results showed that there was no significant difference between funny and unfunny items, which meant that subjects could understand funny items as easily as unfunny ones. However, the ERP results showed that funny items initially elicited a more negative ERP deflection (N350-450) over frontocentral scalp regions. Dipole analysis localized the generators in the left temporal gyrus and the left medial frontal gyrus; it is suggested that these areas might be involved in detecting the incongruent element in joke comprehension. Between 600 and 800 ms, funny items subsequently elicited a more negative ERP deflection (N600-800) over frontocentral scalp regions and a more positive ERP deflection (P600-800) over posterior scalp regions. Dipole analysis localized the generator in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), an area involved in the breaking of mental set/expectation and the forming of novel associations. Finally, funny items elicited a more positive ERP deflection (P1250-1400) over anterior and posterior scalp regions. Dipole analysis localized the generators in the middle frontal gyrus and the fusiform gyrus, areas that might be related to the affective appreciation stage in joke process. Unlike that of Coulson and Kutas (2001), the present study might support the hypothesis of a three stage model of humor processing (humor detection, resolution of incongruity and humor appreciation).

The Unconscious Tug-of-War: Exploring the Effect of Stimulus Selection Bias on Creative Problem Solving with Multiple Unconscious Stimuli.

Objective: This study innovatively investigated the potential selection bias involved in processing multiple subliminal stimuli during creative problem-solving (CPS). It addresses the existing gap in specialized research on how the handling of multiple unconscious stimuli influences higher-order cognitive processes, particularly creativity. Methods: The study utilized a masked priming paradigm and a remote association task (RAT). Two experiments were conducted. Experiment 1 presented two stimuli simultaneously, with one being the correct answer, to examine whether there was a bias in the location of subliminal stimuli. In Experiment 2, two stimuli were presented sequentially, with one serving as the answer, to investigate whether there was a temporal bias in unconscious processing. Results: Our findings revealed that when solving easy RATs, subliminal stimuli presented on the left side had a negative priming effect compared to the right side. The results revealed that unconscious processing of subliminal stimuli enhanced performance on difficult CPS. Additionally, a temporal bias was observed, with more recent subliminal stimuli having a stronger effect than earlier stimuli. Conclusion: Unconscious processing can improve CPS, especially for difficult tasks, and there is a bias towards processing stimuli on the left and more recently presented stimuli. These findings contribute to our understanding of unconscious processing, particularly the processing of multiple subliminal stimuli in CPS, and provide insights into the biases that exist in unconscious processing.

The role of socioeconomic status in different trajectories of depressive symptoms in Chinese college freshmen.

The associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and depressive symptoms have been found in previous studies. However, the role of SES in different trajectories of depressive symptoms in Chinese college freshmen has not been discovered. The present study aims to identify how depressive symptom trajectories are related to SES during the first semester of freshman. Six hundred fifty-two Chinese college freshmen (64.9% female) were followed 4 times across 4 months. The Latent Growth Mixture Model (LGMM) was used to identify trajectories of depressive symptoms. Multinomial Logical Regression was used to identify the influence of family socioeconomic status (FSES), subjective socioeconomic status (SSS), and demographic variables on trajectories of depressive symptoms for freshmen. Results found that college freshmen's depressive symptoms gradually decreased during the four tests, F(2.758, 1795.383) = 52.642, p < 0.001, and there are three trajectories of depressive symptoms: normal group (Class 1, 73.1%), depression risk group (Class 2, 20.7%), and depression deterioration group (Class 3, 6.1%). The decline of SSS predicted increasing depressive symptoms. Age and left-behind experience have significant effects on trajectories of depressive symptoms. FSES, birthplace, and gender had no significant impact on trajectories of depressive symptoms. These results demonstrated that low SSS, age, and left-behind might be risk factors for the development of depressive symptoms.

The neural basis of breaking mental set: an event-related potential study.

Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded to explore the electrophysiological correlates of breaking mental set when subjects performed the Chinese character-generation task. A new experimental paradigm (learning-testing model) was adopted in order to make subjects find a solution actively by using a fixed way (Rep: repetition) or a new method (BMS: breaking mental set). Results showed that BMS elicited a more positive ERP deflection (P500-700) than did Rep between 500 and 700 ms after onset of the test stimuli. The P500-700 was possibly involved in the successful breaking of mental set and the initial forming of new associations during problem solving. Furthermore, BMS also elicited a more positive ERP deflection (P900-1300) than did Rep between 900 and 1,300 ms. The P900-1300 might reflect searching and generating a new character after breaking mental set.

Contextual Cueing Accelerated and Enhanced by Monetary Reward: Evidence From Event-Related Brain Potentials.

The vital role of reward in guiding visual attention has been supported by previous literatures. Here, we examined the motivational impact of monetary reward feedback stimuli on visual attention selection using an event-related potential (ERP) component called stimulus-preceding negativity (SPN) and a standard contextual cueing (CC) paradigm. It has been proposed that SPN reflects affective and motivational processing. We focused on whether incidentally learned context knowledge could be affected by reward. Both behavior and brain data demonstrated that contexts followed by reward feedback not only gave rise to faster implicit learning but also obtained a larger CC effect.

The impact of social comparison on the neural substrates of reward processing: an event-related potential study.

Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded to explore the electrophysiological correlates of reward processing in the social comparison context when subjects performed a simple number estimation task that entailed monetary rewards for correct answers. Three social comparison stimulus categories (three relative reward levels/self reward related to the other subject's) were mainly prepared: Self:Other=1:2 (Disadvantageous inequity condition); Self:Other=1:1 (Equity condition); and Self:Other=2:1 (Advantageous inequity condition). Results showed that: both Disadvantageous and Advantageous inequity elicited a more negative ERP deflection (N350-550) than did Equity between 350 and 550 ms, and the generators of N350-550 were localized near the parahippocampal gyrus and the medial frontal/anterior cingulate cortex, which might be related to monitor and control reward prediction error during reward processing. Then, Disadvantageous and Advantageous inequity both elicited a more late negative complex (LNC1 and LNC2) than did Equity between 550 and 750 ms. The generators of LNC1 and LNC2 were both localized near the caudate nucleus, which might be related to reward processing under social comparison.

The electrophysiological effect of working memory load on involuntary attention in an auditory-visual distraction paradigm: an ERP study.

Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were used to examine the electrophysiological effect of working memory (WM) load on involuntary attention caused by a task-irrelevant sound in an auditory-visual distraction paradigm. The different WM loads were manipulated by requiring subjects to remember the order of either three digits (low-load condition) or seven digits (high-load condition), and the irrelevant auditory stimuli consisted of repetitive standard sounds (80%) and environmental novel sounds (20%). We found that the difference waves (novel-minus-standard) showed significant MMN and Novelty-P3 components in the two WM load conditions. The amplitude of MMN increased with increasing the WM load, which indicated a more engaged change detection process under high-load condition. Then, the amplitude of Novelty-P3 was attenuated under high-load condition, which indicated a much reduced involuntary orienting of attention to novel sounds when increasing the WM load. These results indicated the top-down control of involuntary attention might be mainly active at the early change detection stage and the control of the later involuntary orienting of attention might be passive.

Comparison of brain mechanisms underlying the processing of Chinese characters and pseudo-characters: an event-related potential study.

Most Chinese characters are composed of a semantic radical on the left and a phonetic radical on the right. The semantic radical provides the semantic information; the phonetic radical provides information concerning the pronunciation of the whole character. The pseudo-characters in the study consisted of different sub-lexical parts of real Chinese characters and consequently they also had the semantic radical and the phonetic radical. But they were not readable and had no actual meaning. In order to investigate the spatiotemporal cortical activation patterns underlying the orthographic, phonological and semantic processing of Chinese characters, we used event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to explore the processing of Chinese characters and pseudo-characters when 14 healthy Chinese college students viewed the characters passively. Results showed that both Chinese characters and pseudo-characters elicited an evident negative potential peaking around 120 ms (N120), which appeared to reflect initial orthographic distinction and evaluation. Then, Chinese pseudo-characters elicited a more positive ERP deflection (P220) than did Chinese characters 200-250 ms after onset of the stimuli. It was similar to the recognition potential (RP) and might reflect the integration processes of phonological and semantic processing on the basis of early orthographic information. Dipole source analysis of the difference wave (pseudo-characters minus characters) indicated that a generator localized in the left temporal-occipital junction contributed to this effect, which was possibly related to phonological and perceptual-semantic information integration. Between 350-450 ms, a greater negativity (N360) in pseudo-characters as compared to characters was found over midline fronto-central scalp regions. Dipole analysis localized the generator of N360 in the right parahippocampal cortex. Therefore, the N360 might be an N400 component and reflect the higher-level semantic activation on the basis of orthographic, phonological and perceptual-semantic processing. La plupart des caractères chinois sont composés d'un radical sémantique à gauche et d'un radical phonétique à droite. Le radical sémantique peut fournir de l'information sémantique et le radical phonétique peut fournir de l'information concernant la prononciation du caractère entier. Les pseudo-caractères consistaient en différentes parties sous-lexicales des caractères chinois réels et, conséquemment, ils avaient aussi un radical sémantique et un radical phonétique. Mais ils ne pouvaient pas être lisibles et ils n'ont actuellement aucun sens. Afin d'étudier les patrons d'activation spatiotemporels corticaux sous-jacents aux traitements orthographique, phonologique et sémantique des caractères chinois, nous avons utilisé des Potentiels cérébraux reliés aux événements (PRE) pour explorer le traitement des caractères et des pseudo-caractères chinois auprès de 14 collégiens chinois visionnant les caractères passivement. Les résultats ont montré qu'à la fois les caractères et les pseudo-caractères chinois provoquaient un potentiel négatif évident atteignant un sommet autour de 120 ms (N120), ce qui apparaissait refléter la distinction et l'évaluation orthographiques initiales. Puis, les pseudo-caractères ont provoqué une déviation PRE plus positive (P220) que les caractères chinois entre 200 et 250 ms après l'apparition des stimuli. Ceci était similaire au PR (Potentiel de reconnaissance) et pouvait refléter les processus d'intégration des traitements phonologique et sémantique sur la base de l'information orthographique initiale. L'analyse dipôle de source de la différence de courbe (pseudo-caractères moins caractères) a indiqué qu'un générateur localisé dans la jonction temporo-occipitale gauche contribuait à cet effet, ce qui était possiblement relié à l'intégration de l'information phonologique et perceptuelle-sémantique. Entre 350 et 450 ms, une plus grande négativité (N360) fut observée pour les pseudo-caractères comparativement aux caractères des régions du scalp au-dessus des régions médianes fronto-centrales. L'analyse dipôle a localisé le générateur de N360 dans le cortex para-hippocampique droit. Ainsi, le N360 pourrait être une composante N400 et refléter une activation sémantique de haut niveau sur la base des traitements orthographique, phonologique et perceptuel-sémantique. La mayoría de los caracteres chinos están compuestos por un radical semántico a la izquierda y un radical fonético a la derecha. El radical semántico puede proporcionar información semántica y el radical fonético puede proporcionar información relacionada con la pronunciación del carácter entero. Los pseudo-caracteres consistieron en diferentes partes sub-léxicas de los caracteres reales chinos y como consecuencia, también tenían radicales semánticos y fonéticos. Pero éstos no se podían leer y tampoco tenían un significado real. Para investigar los patrones de la activación cortical espaciotemporal subyacentes de los procesamientos ortográfico, fonológico y semántico de los caracteres chinos, utilizamos potencial relacionado con eventos (ERPs) para explorar el procesamiento de caracteres chinos y pseudo-caracteres mientras que 14 sanos estudiantes chinos veían los caracteres de forma pasiva. Los resultados demostraron que ambos, caracteres y pseudo-caracteres chinos evocaban potenciales negativos con picos alrededor de los 120 ms (N120), lo cual parece reflejar distinción inicial ortográfica y evaluación. Además, los pseudo-caracteres chinos provocaban una desviación ERP más positiva (P220) en comparación con los caracteres chinos entre 200-250 ms después de la aparición de los estímulos. Esto fue parecido a RP (potenciales de reconocimiento) y puede reflejar un proceso de integración del procesamiento fonológico y semántico basado en la información ortográfica temprana. Un análisis dipolo de la fuente de la onda de diferencia (pseudo-caracteres menos caracteres) indicó que un generador localizado en el cruce temporal-occipital izquierdo contribuyó a este efecto, lo cual probablemente tuvo relación con la integración de la información fonológica y perceptivo-semántica. Se encontró mayor negatividad (N360) entre 350-450 ms, en pseudo-caracteres en comparación con los caracteres situada sobre las regiones de la línea media fronto-central craneal. Un análisis dipolo localizo un generador de N360 en el cortex parahipocampal derecho. Por tanto, el N360 podría ser un componente de N400 reflejando una activación semántica de más alto nivel basado en el procesamiento ortográfico, fonológico y perceptivo-semántico.

Can unconscious sequential integration of semantic information occur when the prime Chinese characters are displayed from left to right?

Recent studies have investigated whether conscious awareness is necessary for semantic integration. Although results have varied, simultaneous presentation of words have consistently led to greater semantic integration than sequential presentation in a single location. The current studies were designed to investigate whether the disadvantage of sequential presentation for unconscious semantic integration is specific to unfamiliar word-by-word presentation in one location or extends to the more natural reading conditions of viewing items sequentially from left to right. In Experiment 1, when the first three characters of Chinese idioms were presented simultaneously under masked conditions, performance on a separate two-alternative forced-choice recognition task was at chance level. Despite being unaware of the identity of prime characters, participants were faster to indicate that a subsequent item was a Chinese character when it was congruent with the beginning of the idiom, thus providing evidence of semantic integration. In contrast, when the three (Experiment 2) or two (Experiment 3) prime characters were presented sequentially in time from left to right, there was no evidence of semantic integration. These results indicate that unconscious semantic integration is more limited than previously reported, and may require simultaneous visual presentation.

Electrophysiological evidence of personal experiences in the great Sichuan earthquake impacting on selective attention.

Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were measured when 24 Chinese subjects performed the earthquake color-matching Stroop task. All of them have experienced the great Sichuan earthquake (5.12), with 12 subjects in each of Chengdu city and Chongqing city (different earthquake experiences) groups. The behavioral data showed that the earthquake Stroop task yielded robust the earthquake interference effect as indexed by longer RT for earthquake-related (Related) words than earthquake-unrelated (Unrelated) words only in the Chengdu group. Scalp ERP analysis also revealed the neurophysiological substrate of the interference effect: a greater positivity (P350-450) in Related words as compared to Unrelated words was found between 350 and 450 ms post-stimulus over fronto-central scalp regions in the Chengdu group, while the interference effect was not found in the Chongqing group. The P350-450 might reflect an earthquake experience interference, but also attention enhancing, effect of earthquake-related words. Dipole source analysis of the difference wave (Related-Unrelated) showed that a generator was localized in the parahippocampal gyrus, which was possibly associated with flashbulb memory (personal earthquake experience). The results indicated that different personal earthquake experiences might be critical in engaging the neural mechanisms that underlie the modulation of selective attention.

Automatic Inattention to Attractive Alternative Partners Helps Male Heterosexual Chinese College Students Maintain Romantic Relationships.

Heterosexual individuals may possess evolved psychological mechanisms that help protect their ongoing romantic relationships against external threats from other attractive individuals. The current study used love priming and a dot-probe task to examine the attentional bias associated with long-term relationship maintenance by comparing between 52 single heterosexual men and 57 heterosexual men in exclusive romantic relationships, in the Chinese context. The results showed that single men responded to love priming with greatly increased attention to and difficulty disengaging from attractive women, whereas committed men were largely inattentive to attractive alternatives irrespective of the situation. The present findings provide evidence on the domain of relationship maintenance from a Chinese cultural context, and suggest that Chinese men protect an ongoing relationship by being automatically inattentive in early-stage attentional processing to attractive women who could serve as attractive alternatives.

Romantic Love and Attentional Biases Toward Attractive Alternatives and Rivals: Long-Term Relationship Maintenance Among Female Chinese College Students.

Studies about heterosexual individuals' long-term relationship maintenance have indicated that committed individuals possess evolved psychological mechanisms that help protect their ongoing romantic relationships against threats from attractive others during early stage attentional processing when mating-related motivation is activated. In this study, two experiments tested the relationship maintenance mechanism among committed female college students in the Chinese cultural context under different love priming conditions. Committed Chinese women displayed inattention to attractive alternatives in positive love-scenario priming (Study 1: 114 female undergraduates, age range = 18-26 years), subliminal semantic love priming (Study 2: 110 female undergraduates, age range = 18-25 years), and baseline conditions (Studies 1 and 2). Those with high levels of chronic jealousy showed significantly increased attention to and difficulty disengaging attention from attractive rivals when subliminally primed with love. This provides further evidence, from an Eastern cultural context, for the existence of attentional biases toward attractive alternatives and rivals in early stage attentional processes for relationship maintenance. This research also illustrates the important role of romantic love in maintaining long-term romantic relationships.

Enhanced Formation of Solvent-Shared Ion Pairs in Aqueous Calcium Perchlorate Solution toward Saturated Concentration or Deep Supercooling Temperature and Its Effects on the Water Structure.

As a candidate of Martian salts, calcium perchlorate [Ca(ClO4)2] has the potential to stabilize liquid water on the Martian surface because of its hygroscopicity and low freezing temperature when forming aqueous solution. These two properties of electrolytes in general have been suggested to result from the specific cation-anion-water interaction (ion pairing) that interrupts the structure of solvent water. To investigate how this concentration-dependent and temperature-dependent ion pairing process in aqueous Ca(ClO4)2 solution leads to its high hygroscopic property and the extreme low eutectic temperature, we have conducted two sets of experiments. First, the effects of concentration on aqueous calcium perchlorate from 3 to 7.86 m on ion pairing were investigated using Raman spectroscopy. Deconvolution of the Raman symmetric stretching band (ν1) of ClO4- showed the enhanced formation of solvent-shared ion pairs upon increasing salt concentration at room temperature. We have confirmed that the low tendency of forming contact ion pairs in concentrated solution contributes to the high hygroscopicity of the salt. Second, the near eutectic samples were studied as a function of temperature by both combined differential scanning calorimetry-Raman spectroscopic experiments and in situ X-ray diffraction. The number of solvent-shared ion pairs was found to increase with decreasing temperature when cooled below the temperature of maximum density of the solution, driven by a change in water toward an ice-like structure in the supercooled regime. The massive presence of solvent-shared ion pairs in turn limits the development of the long-range order in the tetrahedral networks of water molecules, which is responsible for the extremely low eutectic point and deep supercooling effects observed in the Ca(ClO4)2-H2O system.

Contextual Cueing Effect in Spatial Layout Defined by Binocular Disparity.

Repeated visual context induces higher search efficiency, revealing a contextual cueing effect, which depends on the association between the target and its visual context. In this study, participants performed a visual search task where search items were presented with depth information defined by binocular disparity. When the 3-dimensional (3D) configurations were repeated over blocks, the contextual cueing effect was obtained (Experiment 1). When depth information was in chaos over repeated configurations, visual search was not facilitated and the contextual cueing effect largely crippled (Experiment 2). However, when we made the search items within a tiny random displacement in the 2-dimentional (2D) plane but maintained the depth information constant, the contextual cueing was preserved (Experiment 3). We concluded that the contextual cueing effect was robust in the context provided by 3D space with stereoscopic information, and more importantly, the visual system prioritized stereoscopic information in learning of spatial information when depth information was available.