Bizarreness and Typicality Effects of Color on Object Recognition Memory

The bizarreness effect on object recognition is a strong phenomenon, but its influence has been inconsistent for bizarre object color. In this study, we manipulated three factors in separate experiments to determine whether a color bizarreness effect on object recognition memory would occur and, if not, why. Participants first saw (i.e., learned) object pictures that were either bizarrely or typically colored; they then completed a recognition memory test. In three experiments, we then manipulated (a) degree of color bizarreness (Experiment 1), (b) the orientation task (Experiment 2), and (c) additional demands for object identification (Experiment 3). In Experiment 1, we provided 49 undergraduate participants with object pictures whose colors were typical, moderately atypical, or bizarre and found no color bizarreness effect on recognition memory even for extremely bizarre colors. In Experiment 2, we manipulated the orientation task in that 28 young adult participants expressed their preferences for the pictures on a three-point scale while another 28 participants judged how natural the pictures were. Each orientation task group better recognized typically-colored rather than bizarrely-colored objects (typicality effect). In Experiment 3, we asked 27 young adults to identify the objects during the learning phase to ensure that they paid attention to the objects’ bizarre colors; recognition memory was then unaffected by either color bizarreness or typicality. Thus, despite a general bizarreness effect in recognition memory, bizarre colors are less likely to influence object recognition memory.

THE BIZARRENESS EFFECT AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

<p>The present study was conducted to examine the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and the likelihood of the bizarreness effect. Participants in the emotion condition were asked to rate the degree of strange feelings elicited by sentences and participants in the image condition were asked to rate the vividness of images elicited by sentences. The level of EI in participants was assessed with the J-ESCQ (Toyota, Morita & Takšić, 2007). EI was negatively correlated with the recall performance of bizarre sentences for participants in the emotion condition. Results indicate that differences in EI contribute to the likelihood of the bizarreness effect, and that EI suppresses the emotional arousal caused by bizarre sentences.</p>

THE BIZARRENESS EFFECT AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

<p>The present study was conducted to examine the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and the likelihood of the bizarreness effect. Participants in the emotion condition were asked to rate the degree of strange feelings elicited by sentences and participants in the image condition were asked to rate the vividness of images elicited by sentences. The level of EI in participants was assessed with the J-ESCQ (Toyota, Morita & Takšić, 2007). EI was negatively correlated with the recall performance of bizarre sentences for participants in the emotion condition. Results indicate that differences in EI contribute to the likelihood of the bizarreness effect, and that EI suppresses the emotional arousal caused by bizarre sentences.</p>