Differential Eye Movements in Verbal and Nonverbal Search

In addition to “nonverbal search” for objects, modern life also necessitates “verbal search” for written words in variable configurations. We know less about how we locate words in novel spatial arrangements, as occurs on websites and menus, than when words are located in passages. In this study we leveraged eye tracking technology to examine the hypothesis that objects are simultaneously screened in parallel while words can only be found when each are directly foveated in serial fashion. Participants were provided with a cue (e.g. rabbit) and tasked with finding a thematically-related target (e.g. carrot) embedded within an array including a dozen distractors. The cues and arrays were comprised of object pictures on nonverbal trials, and of written words on verbal trials. In keeping with the well-established “picture superiority effect,” picture targets were identified more rapidly than word targets. Eye movement analysis showed that picture superiority was promoted by parallel viewing of objects, while words were viewed serially. Different factors influenced performance in each stimulus modality; lexical characteristics such as word frequency modulated viewing times during verbal search, while taxonomic category affected viewing times during nonverbal search. In addition to within-platform task conditions, performance was examined in cross-platform conditions where picture cues were followed by word arrays, and vice versa. Although taxonomically-related words did not capture gaze on verbal trials, they were viewed disproportionately when preceded by cross-platform picture cues. Our findings suggest that verbal and nonverbal search are associated with qualitatively different search strategies and forms of distraction, and cross-platform search incorporates characteristics of both.

Encoding and Encoding–Retrieval Interactions

Topics covered include the notion that there are no dedicated memory encoding processes as such; rather, encoding is equated with perception and comprehension. Studies by Craik, Moscovitch, and McDowd (1994), and by Challis, Velichkovsky, and Craik (1996) are described and their implications discussed. The differential sensitivity of retrieval tests (e.g., implicit/explicit) to different encoding operations is discussed in terms of test requirements for different types of information rather than as reflecting different memory systems. General principles of encoding are proposed; these include depth, elaboration, congruity, and distinctiveness. Memory-boosting procedures such as rehearsal, organization, retrieval as encoding, the generation effect, and subject-performed tasks are discussed and evaluated. Other topics described, illustrated, and discussed include the picture superiority effect, the self-reference effect, the effect of task difficulty on later memory, differential effects of divided attention at encoding and retrieval, and the concept of consolidation.

Worth a Thousand Words: The Study of Visual Gendered Self-Presentation on Twitter

The picture superiority effect suggests that a single photograph can communicate a significant amount of political information to voters. Accordingly, politicians must make strategic choices in their self-presentation, particularly when considering how to respond to gender-based stereotypes. Strategic stereotype theory suggests that politicians will either emphasize or rescind gender-based stereotypes depending on whether they believe them to be advantageous to their political image. While the literature on gendered self-presentation is largely confined to television advertising, there is a growing literature focused on the online environment. In this research note, we develop a methodological framework to assess gender-based stereotypes in a purely visual environment. We test the framework using photographs from the Twitter feeds of the main party leaders in the 2018 Ontario election. The note concludes by reflecting on the methodological challenges of examining gender in visual political content online.

The Picture Superiority Effect in Memory Detection: Modality Effects in the Concealed Information Test

The picture superiority effect is particularly relevant in the context of memory detection. In the current study, participants encoded crime-related details and concealed them in a Concealed Information Test (CIT). Items were encoded and tested verbally or pictorially. Both the pilot study (N=73) and the preregistered study (N=158) showed evidence for a picture superiority effect: Pictorially encoded items were easier to detect. We also found an interaction between encoding and testing: Items that were encoded and tested in the same modality were associated with better detection. Lastly, recognition of verbally encoded items could not be detected in a pictorial test. Our findings support the existence of picture superiority also when subjects conceal their knowledge. In applied scenarios, the modality of test items should be matched to the modality in which crime-related details were encoded. Furthermore, a pictorial CIT might fail to detect concealed knowledge if crime-related details were encoded verbally.

Listening to the Picture-Superiority Effect

The picture-superiority effect (PSE) refers to the finding that, all else being equal, pictures are remembered better than words ( Paivio & Csapo, 1973 ). Dual-coding theory (DCT; Paivio, 1991 ) is often used to explain the PSE. According to DCT, pictures are more likely to be encoded imaginally and verbally than words. In contrast, distinctiveness accounts attribute the PSE to pictures’ greater distinctiveness compared to words. Some distinctiveness accounts emphasize physical distinctiveness ( Mintzer & Snodgrass, 1999 ) while others emphasize conceptual distinctiveness ( Hamilton & Geraci, 2006 ). We attempt to distinguish among these accounts by testing for an auditory analog of picture superiority. Although this phenomenon, termed the auditory PSE, occurs in free recall ( Crutcher & Beer, 2011 ), we were unable to extend it to recognition across four experiments. We propose a new framework for understanding the PSE, wherein dual coding underpins the free-recall PSE, but conceptual distinctiveness underpins the recognition PSE.