Abstract
Two experiments attempted to resolve a conflict in the literature about whether good patterns are encoded faster than poor patterns in speeded classification tasks. The results showed clear effects of goodness on the memory component of such tasks, but no effect on speed of encoding. The conflicts appear to be due in part to varying encoding requirements of different tasks.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Attneave, F. Symmetry, information, and memory for patterns.American Journal of Psychology, 1955,68, 209–222.
Bamber.D. Reaction times and error rates for “same”-“different” judgments of multidimensional stimuli.Perception & Psychophysics, 1969,6, 169–174.
Bear, G. Figural goodness and the predictability of figural elements.Perception & Psychophysics, 1973.13, 32–40.
Bell, H. H., &Handel, S. The role of pattern goodness in the reproduction of backward masked patterns.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 1976,2, 139–150.
Checkosky, S. F., &Whitlock, D. Effects of pattern goodness on recognition time in a memory search task.Journal qf Experimental Psychology, 1973,100, 341–348.
Clement, D. E. Uncertainty and latency of verbal naming responses as correlates of pattern goodness.Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1964,3, 150–157.
Clement, D. E., &Varnadoe, K. W. Pattern uncertainty and the discrimination of visual patterns.Perception & Psychophysics, 1967,2, 427–431.
Garner, W. R. The stimulus in information processing.American Psychologist, 1970,25, 350–358.
Garner, W. R.The processing of information and structure. Potomac City, Md: Erlbaum, 1974.
Garner, W. R., &Clement, D. E. Goodness of pattern and pattern uncertainty.Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1963,2, 446–452.
Garner, W. R., &Sutliff, D. The effect of goodness on encoding time in visual pattern discrimination.Perception & Psychophysics, 1974,16, 426–430.
Kornblum, S. Sequential effects in choice reaction time: A tutorial review. In S. Kornblum (Ed.)Attention and performance IV. New York: Academic Press, 1973.
Lockhead, G. R. Processing dimensional stimuli: A note.Psychological Review, 1972,79, 410–419.
Morton, J. Interaction of information in word recognition.Psychological Review, 1969,76, 165–178.
Neisser, U.Cognitive psychology. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1967.
Pomerantz, J. R., &Garner, W. R. Stimulus configuration in selective attention tasks.Perception & Psychophysics, 1973,14, 565–569.
Pomerantz, J. R., &Schwaitzberg, S. D. Grouping by proximity: Selective attention measures.Perception & Psychophysics, 1975,18, 355–361.
Sternberg, S. High-speed scanning in human memory.Science, 1966,153, 652–654.
Sternberg, S. Two operations in character recognition: Some evidence from reaction-time measurements.Perception & Psychophysics, 1967,2, 45–53.
Sternberg, S. The discovery of processing stages: Extensions of Donder’s method.Acta Psychologica, 1969,30, 276–315.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This paper is based on a portion of a doctoral dissertation submitted to Yale University.
This research was supported by Grant MH 14229 from the National Institute of Mental Health to Yale University.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pomerantz, J.R. Pattern goodness and speed of encoding. Memory & Cognition 5, 235–241 (1977). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03197367
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03197367