Independent control of processing strategies for different locations in the visual field

doi:10.1016/S0301-0511(03)00109-1

Biological Psychology

Volume 64, Issues 1–2, October 2003, Pages 191-209

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0301-0511(03)00109-1 Get rights and content

Abstract

We investigated how the selection of information-processing strategies is organized. We contrasted three alternative ways in which strategies may be controlled: a centralized mechanism, a hemisphere-specific mechanism or a local mechanism. We built on the previous observation that the size of the noise-compatibility effect (flanker effect) is influenced by observers’ expectancies for compatible or incompatible arrays. In three experiments, we varied the probabilities of compatible or incompatible noise in different locations of the visual field. We found that observers can adapt their processing strategies, as indicated by changes in the size of the noise-compatibility effect, independently in the left and right hemifields. However, processing of midline stimuli is determined by the expectancies existing in the lateral locations. These data support the notion of a hemisphere- or location-specific selection of processing strategies and suggest that the strategy selection process is not unitary.

Section snippets

Experiment 1

The first experiment investigated the issue of central versus local control of processing strategy. To contrast these two hypotheses, we manipulated local noise probability while maintaining the overall probability of compatible and incompatible noise fixed across blocks. The stimulus array (formed by a target letter—H or S—flanked by four noise letters—also H or S) was randomly presented either at fixation, in the left visual field (LVF) or in the right visual field (RVF). These three

Experiment 2

In this experiment, the relative probabilities of compatible and incompatible noise in each hemifield are manipulated independently. This should allow us to distinguish between the explanations advanced to account for the results of Experiment 1. If the appropriate processing strategy is selected independently for each location, then the effect of noise-probability manipulations in one hemifield should not be influenced by noise-probability manipulations in the other hemifield. On the other

Experiment 3

The results of the first two experiments are consistent with the suggestion that the strategy selection for each hemisphere is independent of that for the contralateral hemisphere. However, as mentioned above, it is also possible that strategy selection can be carried out independently for any region in visual space, regardless of hemifield.

Experiment 3 represents an attempt to distinguish between these two possibilities. The relative probabilities of compatible and incompatible noise in the

General discussion

Taken together, the results of these three experiments support the hypothesis that the locus of strategic control in the noise-compatibility paradigm is at a hemispheric or at a local level, rather than at a more generalized level. The first experiment indicates that hemifield variations in the probabilities of compatible and incompatible noise influence performance even though the global probabilities do not change. This rules out the possibility that strategy selection is entirely under the

Acknowledgements

The research reported in this paper was submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for doctoral degree in psychology at Columbia University by Paul Corballis. The authors thank Alexander Epshteyn, Eileen Otero and Susan Ahn Park for their assistance in the collection of the data.

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Independent control of processing strategies for different locations in the visual field

Abstract

Section snippets

Experiment 1

Experiment 2

Experiment 3

General discussion

Acknowledgements

Cortex

Neuropsychologia

Neuropsychologia

Cognitive Psychology

Neuropsychologia

Neuropsychologia

Cognitive Psychology

Interhemispheric interaction affected by computational complexity

Neuropsychologia

Attention: some theoretical considerations

Psychological Review

Selective attention and the organization of visual information

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

Effects of noise letters upon the identification of a target letter in a non-search task

Perception and Psychophysics

Information processing in visual search: a continuous flow conception and experimental results

Perception and Psychophysics

Allocation of attention in the visual field

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance

Pre- and post-stimulus activation of response channels: a psychophysiological analysis

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance

Optimizing the use of information: strategic control of activation of responses

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General