Handedness and effector strength modulate a compatibility effect between stimulus size and response position with manual and vocal responses.

Humans respond more quickly with the left hand to a small stimulus, and with the right hand to a large stimulus, as compared to the reverse mapping (spatial-size association of response codes [SSARC] effect). We investigated the hypothesis that strength differences between the hands contribute to the origin of this effect. Therefore, 80 left-handers and 80 right-handers participated in two experiments. In Experiment 1, participants performed a manual choice-response task in which we manipulated the mapping between physical stimulus size and responding hand. In addition, we measured the strengths of participants' left and right effectors (i.e., finger, hand, and arm). In Experiment 2, we measured the SSARC effect in vocal responses of the same sample. There were four main results. First, participants' dominant effectors were stronger than their nondominant effectors. Second, the SSARC effect occurred in manual and vocal responses with similar size. Third, in both modalities, the SSARC effect was larger in right-handers than in left-handers. Finally, strength differences between effectors (fingers and hands) correlated with the size of the SSARC effect. In sum, results support the hypothesis that functional differences between the hands contribute to the origin of the SSARC effect. In addition, the results suggest that size-space associations have generalized across motor systems, and formed a modality-independent association. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The reciprocity of spatial-numerical associations of vocal response codes depends on stimulus mode.

Individuals make faster left responses to small/er numbers and faster right responses to large/r numbers than vice versa. This "spatial-numerical association of response codes" (SNARC) effect represents evidence for an overlap between the cognitive representations of number and space. Theories of the SNARC effect differ in whether they predict bidirectional S-R associations between number and space or not. We investigated the reciprocity of S-R priming effects between number and location in three experiments with vocal responses. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants completed a number-location task, with digits as stimuli and location words as responses, and a location-number task, with physical locations as stimuli and number words as responses. In addition, we varied the S-R mapping in each task. Results revealed a strong SNARC effect in the number-location task, but no reciprocal SNARC effect in the location-number task. In Experiment 3, we replaced physical location stimuli with location words and digit stimuli with number words. Results revealed a regular and a reciprocal SNARC effect of similar size. Reciprocal SNARC effects thus seem to emerge with verbal location stimuli and vocal responses, but not with physical location stimuli and vocal responses. The S-R associations underlying the SNARC effect with vocal responses thus appear bidirectional and symmetrical for some combinations of stimulus and response sets, but not for others. This has implications for theoretical accounts of the SNARC effect which need to explain how stimulus mode affects the emergence of reciprocal but not regular SNARC effects.

Exploring the response code in a compatibility effect between physical size and left/right responses: The hand is more important than location.

The spatial-size association of response codes (SSARC) effect refers to the finding of better performance with the left hand to small stimuli and with the right hand to large stimuli, as compared to the reverse mapping. In the present study, we investigated which response coding is responsible for the emergence of the SSARC effect. We observed a SSARC effect only with response selection between hands but not between fingers of one hand, indicating that the responses are coded relative to the body midline. Furthermore, we observed a SSARC effect with parallel arms but not with crossed arms, suggesting that both the anatomical side of the effector and its external spatial position contribute to the response code. However, using a reaching task as compared to keypresses, the SSARC effect followed the arms, suggesting that the crucial spatial response code refers more strongly to the anatomical side of the effector rather than to the external spatial response position. These findings document a strong influence of anatomically- or body-based coding on the SSARC effect, are at odds with the proposition of a generalized magnitude system that utilizes a common, external spatial metric, and point toward a categorical nature of response codes underlying the SSARC effect. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Associations between physical size and space are strongly asymmetrical.

The spatial-size association of response codes (SSARC) effect describes the phenomenon that left responses are faster and more accurate to small stimuli whereas right responses are faster and more accurate to large stimuli, as compared to the opposite mapping. The effect indicates associations between the mental representations of physical size and space. Importantly, the theoretical accounts of SSARC effects make different predictions about the reciprocity and/or symmetry of spatial-size associations. To investigate the reciprocity of SSARC effects, we compared compatibility effects in two verbal choice-response tasks: a size-location (typical SSARC) task and a location-size (reciprocal SSARC) task. In the size-location task, participants responded verbally to a small/large stimulus by saying "left"/"right". In the location-size task, participants responded verbally to a left-/right-side stimulus by saying "small"/"large". Participants completed both tasks with a compatible (small-left, large-right; left-small, right-large) and an incompatible (small-right, large-left; left-large, right-small) mapping. A regular SSARC effect emerged in the size-location task. However, no reciprocal SSARC effect emerged in the location-size task if outliers were excluded. If outliers were not excluded, small reciprocal SSARC effects occurred. Associations underlying the SSARC effect are thus strongly asymmetrical: Physical (stimulus) size can prime spatial responses much more strongly than spatial (stimulus) position can prime size-related responses. The finding of asymmetrical associations between size and space is in line with some theoretical accounts of the SSARC effect but at odds with others.

The Impact of Speed-Accuracy Instructions on Spatial Congruency Effects.

In many tasks humans can trade speed against accuracy. This variation of strategy has different consequences for congruency effects in different conflict tasks. Recently, Mittelstädt et al. (2022) suggested that these differences are related to the dynamics of congruency effects as assessed by delta plots. With increasing delta plots in the Eriksen flanker task congruency effects were larger under accuracy set, and with decreasing delta plots in the Simon task they were smaller. Here we tested the hypothesis for a single task, making use of the observation that for the Simon task delta plots decline when the irrelevant feature is presented first, but increase when the relevant feature leads. The differences between congruency effects under speed and accuracy instructions confirmed the hypothesized relation to the slope of delta plots. In fact, for similar delta plots in the compared speed-accuracy conditions, the relation should be a straightforward consequence of the shorter and longer reaction times with speed and accuracy set, respectively. However, when relevant and irrelevant features were presented simultaneously, congruency effects were stronger under speed set at all reaction times. For this condition, a supplementary model-based analysis with an extended leaky, competing accumulator model suggested a stronger and longer-lasting influence of the irrelevant stimulus feature. The congruency effects for reaction times were accompanied by congruency effects for error rates when delta plots were decreasing, but not when they were increasing.

Spatial-numerical associations of manual response codes are strongly asymmetrical.

The spatial-numerical association of response codes (SNARC) effect denotes the observation that humans respond faster and more accurately with a left-side response to smaller numbers and a right-side response to larger numbers, as compared to the opposite mapping. Existing accounts, such as the mental number line hypothesis or the polarity correspondence principle, differ in whether they assume symmetrical associations between numerical and spatial stimulus and response codes or not. In two experiments, we investigated the reciprocity of the SNARC effect in manual choice-response tasks with two conditions. In the number-location task, participants pressed a left or right key to a number stimulus (dots in Experiment 1, digits in Experiment 2). In the location-number task, participants made one or two consecutive keypresses with one hand to a left- or right-side stimulus. Both tasks were performed with a compatible (one-left, two-right; left-one, right-two) and an incompatible (one-right, two-left; left-two, right-one) mapping. In both experiments, results showed a strong compatibility effect in the number-location task, reflecting the typical SNARC effect. In contrast, in both experiments, there was no mapping effect in the location-number task when outliers were excluded. However, when outliers were not excluded, small reciprocal SNARC effects occurred in Experiment 2. Together, the findings suggest that priming of spatial responses by numerical stimuli is much stronger than priming of numerical responses by spatial stimuli. The results are consistent with some accounts of the SNARC effect (e.g., the mental number line hypothesis), but not with others (e.g., the polarity correspondence principle).

A color-related bias in offside judgments in professional soccer: A matter of figure-background contrast?

We investigated the impact of outfit colors on the frequency of offside judgments in soccer. In a recent laboratory study, observers made more offside judgments against forwards wearing the outfit of Schalke 04 (blue shirts, white shorts) than against forwards wearing the outfit of Borussia Dortmund (yellow shirts, black shorts), when figure-background luminance contrast was higher for the former team. Here, we investigated whether a similar effect is present in real matches of the German Bundesliga. Study 1 revealed a higher offside score for Schalke 04 than for Borussia Dortmund in matches between these clubs. Studies 2-4 showed higher offside scores for teams wearing a blue/white outfit, and lower offside scores for teams wearing a yellow/black outfit, in their matches against all other Bundesliga teams. Together, results suggest that more offside judgments are made against teams of higher salience, possibly induced by differences in figure-background contrast. Notably, this color-related bias occurred in our study even though a Video-Assistant Referee (VAR) supervised the (offside) decisions of the Assistant Referees.

Staggered Onsets of Processing Relevant and Irrelevant Stimulus Features Produce Different Dynamics of Congruency Effects.

The dynamics of congruency effects in conflict tasks can be analyzed by means of delta plots which depict the reaction-time differences between incongruent and congruent conditions across the quantiles of the reaction-time distributions. Delta plots exhibit a variety of different shapes. Here we test the hypothesis that staggered onsets of processing task-relevant and task-irrelevant features for response selection (together with a declining influence of the irrelevant feature) produce such variety. For this purpose, staggered onsets were implemented in two extensions of the Leaky, Competing Accumulator model. We show the cardinal capability of these models to produce different shapes of delta plots with different assumptions about temporal offsets between processing relevant and irrelevant stimulus features. Applying the models to experimental data, we first show that they can reproduce the delta plots observed with a conflict task with stimulus size as the irrelevant feature. For this task congruency effects are delayed and appear only at longer reaction times. Second, we fit the models to the results of two new Simon-task experiments with an experimentally controlled temporal offset in addition to the internal one. The experimentally induced variations of the shape of delta plots for this task could be reasonably well fitted by one of the two models that assumed an early start of response selection as soon as either the relevant or the irrelevant stimulus feature becomes available. We conclude that delta plots are crucially shaped by staggered onsets of processing relevant and irrelevant features for response selection.

The Nature of Associations between Physical Stimulus Size and Left-Right Response Codes.

In two-choice response tasks, participants respond faster and more accurate with the left hand to a small stimulus and with the right hand to a large stimulus as compared to the reverse assignment. This compatibility effect suggests the existence of associations between cognitive codes of physical stimulus size and cognitive codes of left/right responses. Here, we explore the nature of associations between stimulus-size codes and left/right response codes by using more levels of stimulus size than in our previous studies. For example, the strengths of the associations between stimulus-size codes and response codes might either change gradually when stimulus size changes, or the strength of associations might change in a more discrete fashion (i.e., associations switch at a particular size level). In Experiment 1, participants responded to stimulus color with a left/right keypress, and physical stimulus size had ten levels with 5 mm steps. Results showed correspondence effects for the smallest and the largest stimulus size only. In Experiment 2, physical stimulus size had six levels with 10 mm steps. Results showed (similar) correspondence effects for the smallest and some intermediate stimulus-size levels. In sum, the results point towards a discrete, or categorical, relationship between cognitive codes of stimulus size and left/right response codes. This pattern of results is consistent with an account of the correspondence effect in terms of the polarity correspondence principle.

Relative, not absolute, stimulus size is responsible for a correspondence effect between physical stimulus size and left/right responses.

Recent studies have demonstrated a novel compatibility (or correspondence) effect between physical stimulus size and horizontally aligned responses: Left-hand responses are shorter and more accurate to a small stimulus, compared to a large stimulus, whereas the opposite is true for right-hand responses. The present study investigated whether relative or absolute size is responsible for the effect. If relative size was important, a particular stimulus would elicit faster left-hand responses if the other stimuli in the set were larger, but the same stimulus would elicit a faster right-hand response if the other stimuli in the set were smaller. In terms of two-visual-systems theory, our study explores whether "vision for perception" (i.e., the ventral system) or "vision for action" (i.e., the dorsal system) dominates the processing of stimulus size in our task. In two experiments, participants performed a discrimination task in which they responded to stimulus color (Experiment 1) or to stimulus shape (Experiment 2) with their left/right hand. Stimulus size varied as an irrelevant stimulus feature, thus leading to corresponding (small-left; large-right) and non-corresponding (small-right; large-left) conditions. Moreover, a set of smaller stimuli and a set of larger stimuli, with both sets sharing an intermediately sized stimulus, were used in different conditions. The consistently significant two-way interaction between stimulus size and response location demonstrated the presence of the correspondence effect. The three-way interaction between stimulus size, response location, and stimulus set, however, was never significant. The results suggest that participants are inadvertently classifying stimuli according to relative size in a context-specific manner.

Mapping effects in choice-response and go/no-go variants of the lexical decision task: A case for polarity correspondence.

Previous research has shown that responses to words are faster and more accurate in the go/no-go version of the lexical decision task (LDT) than in the choice-response version. This finding has been attributed to reduced response-selection demands in the go/no-go task. Here, we test an alternative account assuming similar response-selection demands in the two tasks, but an additional impact of polarity correspondence between stimuli and responses in the go/no-go task. Positive and negative polarities have been described as a frequent characteristic of binary stimulus and response dimensions. Only for the go/no-go version of the LDT, an apparent polarity difference between go and no-go responses exists, with go responses having the same polarity as words and no-go responses the same polarity as nonwords. Thus, compared with the choice-response LDT, in the go/no-go LDT, go responses to words should be facilitated by polarity correspondence, and go responses to nonwords should be inhibited by polarity noncorrespondence. In this study, each participant performed a go/no-go LDT and a choice-response LDT. Responses to words were faster and more accurate than responses to nonwords, and-consistent with the alternative account-this difference was larger in the go/no-go LDT than in the choice-response LDT. An analysis of performance by means of sequential-sampling models that take into account a decaying influence of irrelevant stimulus features supported the effect of polarity correspondence in the go/no-go LDT. This analysis suggested an effect in the choice-response LDT as well, though of a smaller size and a faster decay.

Effects of repeated testing in a pen-and-paper test of selective attention (FAIR-2).

The FAIR-2 ('Frankfurter Aufmerksamkeitsinventar') is a pen-and-paper test of visual attention in which participants have to search for targets among distractors. For similar pen-and-paper tests of attention (e.g., d2), the repetition of the test causes large improvements in performance that threaten both its (retest) reliability and validity. We investigated the size and possible sources of practice effects in the FAIR-2 in three experiments. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants were tested twice using the original FAIR-2. We compared how performance changed after 2 weeks (Experiment 1) or 3 months (Experiment 2), when the test was repeated (complete repetition), or when targets and distractors changed their roles (test reversal). For Experiment 3, we used self-constructed versions of the FAIR that allowed for a third neutral condition (complete alternation) without any stimulus overlap between the two tests. The complete repetition condition produced strong performance gains (25-35%) that persisted for 3 months. For the complete-alternation condition, we observed small to moderate improvements, suggesting that stimulus-independent learning had occurred in session 1. Finally, performance did not differ between test reversal and complete alternation, therefore, suggesting that improvements in target processing had caused the large improvements in the complete-repetition condition.

Of Time Gals and Mega Men: Empirical Findings on Gender Differences in Digital Game Genre Preferences and the Accuracy of Respective Gender Stereotypes.

We investigated the accuracy of gender stereotypes regarding digital game genre preferences. In Study 1, 484 female and male participants rated their preference for 17 game genres (gender differences). In Study 2, another sample of 226 participants rated the extent to which the same genres were presumably preferred by women or men (gender stereotypes). We then compared the results of both studies in order to determine the accuracy of the gender stereotypes. Study 1 revealed actual gender differences for most genres-mostly of moderate size. Study 2 revealed substantial gender stereotypes about genre preferences. When comparing the results from both studies, we found that gender stereotypes were accurate in direction for most genres. However, they were, to some degree, inaccurate in size: For most genres, gender stereotypes overestimated the actual gender difference with a moderate mean effect size.

The impact of team preferences on soccer offside judgments in laypersons: a quasi-experimental study.

The present study uses a quasi-experimental design to investigate the impact of team preferences on the accuracy of offside judgments. In Experiments 1 and 2, supporters of two German soccer clubs (i.e., Borussia Dortmund and FC Schalke 04) judged offsides in artificial scenes from a match between the clubs. We expected that supporters of both clubs would less frequently report the offside position of a forward from the preferred team. The results of Experiment 1 partly confirmed the predictions. Both groups reported the offside position of a yellow forward less frequently than that of a blue forward, and this effect was much larger for supporters of Borussia Dortmund than for supporters of Schalke 04. The difference between groups could be attributed to team preferences. The weaker effect of team preference in supporters of Schalke 04 was attributed to an unexpected perceptual effect that increased the accuracy of offside judgments for blue forwards in both groups. Experiments 2 and 3 showed the presumed effect of team preferences and the perceptual effect, respectively, in isolation. In summary, the results of our experiments provide evidence for (a) an effect of team preferences and (b) an effect of shirt-background contrast on offside judgments in soccer.

Automaticity of facial attractiveness perception and sex-specific mating strategies.

The current literature shows mixed results regarding whether the perception of facial attractiveness is automatic, i.e. that it operates independently from attentional resources. We argue that an evolutionary perspective on mating strategies provides a comprehensive account of the findings. In two studies, we used the locus-of-slack logic in a psychological refractory period paradigm. Task 1 was a speeded judgment of tone pitch (low vs. high), and Task 2 was a speeded judgment of whether a face was attractive or unattractive on two difficulty levels. Male and female participants judged the attractiveness of opposite-sex faces (Study 1, n = 73) or same-sex faces (Study 2, n = 94) in this paradigm. Results indicate that men do not need attentional resources when processing female faces (Study 1), but require attentional resources when processing same-sex faces (Study 2). In contrast, women need attentional resources to process the attractiveness of opposite as well as same-sex faces.

To respond or not to respond? A model-based comparison between the processing of go, nogo, and neutral stimuli.

We analyzed the processing of go, nogo, and neutral stimuli by means of the interactions that arise when two stimuli are presented in temporal proximity. In Experiment 1, we tested four leaky, competing accumulator models of a flanker task with go and nogo targets and go, nogo, and neutral flankers. The models differed in whether they included a nogo-response code and thus a covert nogo response or not. Nogo flankers produced similar response conflict as incompatible go flankers, supporting a model with a nogo-response code. The best-fitting model had higher thresholds for nogo than for go responses and stronger lateral-inhibition gain between go-response and nogo-response codes than between go-response codes. We further explored the validity of the models by testing their predicted sequential effects in Experiments 2A and 2B. Consistent with the best-fitting model, RTs to a go signal were longer after a nogo signal than after a (different) go signal when the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) was long enough for responses to first signals (i.e., ≥ 1 s). However, when the SOA was too short for first-signal responses (i.e., ≤ 0.5 s) this difference was slightly reversed. This pattern of results was consistent with predictions of the best-fitting model after a change of the lateral-inhibition gain. We conclude that nogo stimuli and go stimuli are processed in qualitatively the same way and different from neutral stimuli but may differ in quantitative and strategically adjustable processing characteristics such as response thresholds and lateral inhibition. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Do left-handers outperform right-handers in paper-and-pencil tests of attention?

The present study investigated the impact of the dominant hand on performance in two paper-and-pencil tests of visual selective attention (d2-R; FAIR-2). We hypothesized that preview benefits (i.e., preprocessing of stimuli located to the right of the currently fixated item) could improve test performance of left-handers as compared to right-handers because using the right hand could prevent preview benefits simply by covering subsequent stimuli. A group of left-handed students (n = 86) and a group of right-handed students (n = 90) completed both the test d2-R and the test FAIR-2 with their dominant (writing) hand. Results showed that left-handed participants outperformed right-handers in both tests. Hence, when the results of left-handers are to be compared to right-handers or to normative data (which are dominated by right-handers), the impact of preview benefits on left-hander performance should be taken into account.

Response requirements affect offside judgments in football (soccer).

Judging offside in football represents a typical go-nogo task (offside-raising the flag, no offside-no response). Nevertheless, several studies involved two-choice tasks (e.g. offside-press key A, no offside-press key B) to investigate potential sources of errors in offside situations. While go-nogo and choice-response tasks are commonly used in experimental psychology, response preferences may differ between the two tasks. Therefore, we investigated the impact of response requirements on offside judgments in a sample of male participants without experience in professional refereeing. Each participant judged displays of potential offside situations in a go-nogo condition and in a two-choice condition. The results show that response requirements affected the response bias of the participants and suggest that go-nogo requirements increase the preference for the positive response (i.e. the offside response) as compared to the two-choice task. We discuss both methodological and theoretical implications of this finding.

Compatibility between object size and response side in grasping: the left hand prefers smaller objects, the right hand prefers larger objects.

It has been proposed that the brain processes quantities such as space, size, number, and other magnitudes using a common neural metric, and that this common representation system reflects a direct link to motor control, because the integration of spatial, temporal, and other quantity-related information is fundamental for sensorimotor transformation processes. In the present study, we examined compatibility effects between physical stimulus size and spatial (response) location during a sensorimotor task. Participants reached and grasped for a small or large object with either their non-dominant left or their dominant right hand. Our results revealed that participants initiated left hand movements faster when grasping the small cube compared to the large cube, whereas they initiated right hand movements faster when grasping the large cube compared to the small cube. Moreover, the compatibility effect influenced the timing of grip aperture kinematics. These findings indicate that the interaction between object size and response hand affects the planning of grasping movements and supports the notion of a strong link between the cognitive representation of (object) size, spatial (response) parameters, and sensorimotor control.

Response Preparation With Reliable Cues Decreases Response Competition in the Flanker Task.

We tested the hypothesis that selective response preparation, based on reliable response cues, reduces response conflict in an Eriksen flanker task. Previous studies of this issue produced inconclusive results because presenting an always valid response cue before the stimulus display turns a choice-response task into a simple-response task, in which full processing of the actual stimulus display is no longer necessary. We conducted two experiments in which we matched stimulus processing in conditions without cues and with reliable cues as far as possible. In both experiments, we presented a nogo target stimulus in 25% of the trials. The different cueing conditions were presented in separate blocks in Experiment 1 but mixed within blocks in Experiment 2. The most important result was the reduction of response conflict as induced by incompatible flanker stimuli in both experiments with reliable response cues. This finding supports the notion of a negative preparation-interference relationship.