1. |
- Bell, Raoul, et al.
(author)
-
The Effect of Cognitive Control on Different Types of Auditory Distraction
- 2017
-
In: Experimental psychology (Göttingen). - : Hogrefe Publishing Group. - 1618-3169 .- 2190-5142. ; 64:5, s. 359-368
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Deviant as well as changing auditory distractors interfere with short-term memory. According to the duplex model of auditory distraction, the deviation effect is caused by a shift of attention while the changing-state effect is due to obligatory order processing. This theory predicts that foreknowledge should reduce the deviation effect, but should have no effect on the changing-state effect. We compared the effect of foreknowledge on the two phenomena directly within the same experiment. In a pilot study, specific foreknowledge was impotent in reducing either the changing-state effect or the deviation effect, but it reduced disruption by sentential speech, suggesting that the effects of foreknowledge on auditory distraction may increase with the complexity of the stimulus material. Given the unexpected nature of this finding, we tested whether the same finding would be obtained in (a) a direct preregistered replication in Germany and (b) an additional replication with translated stimulus materials in Sweden.
|
|
2. |
- Elliott, Emily M., et al.
(author)
-
Auditory distraction can be studied online! A direct comparison between in-Person and online experimentation
- 2022
-
In: Journal of Cognitive Psychology. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2044-5911 .- 2044-592X. ; 34:3, s. 307-324
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Referring to the well-replicated finding that the presence of to-be-ignored sound disrupts short-term memory for serially-presented visual items, the irrelevant sound effect (ISE) is an important benchmark finding within cognitive psychology. The ISE has proven useful in evaluating the structure, function and development of short-term memory. This preregistered report focused on a methodological examination of the paradigm typically used to study the ISE and sought to determine whether the ISE can be reliably studied using the increasingly popular method of online testing. Comparing Psychology students tested online, in-person and participants from an online panel, results demonstrated successful reproduction of the key signature effects of auditory distraction (the changing-state effect and the steady-state effect), albeit smaller effects with the online panel. Our results confirmed the viability of online data collection for auditory distraction research and provided important insights for the accumulation and maintenance of high data quality in internet-based experimentation.
|
|
3. |
- Marsh, John E., et al.
(author)
-
Changing-State Irrelevant Speech Disrupts Visual–Verbal but Not Visual–Spatial Serial Recall
- 2024
-
In: Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory and Cognition. - : American Psychological Association. - 0278-7393 .- 1939-1285.
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In an influential article, Jones et al. (1995) provide evidence that auditory distraction by changing relative to repetitive auditory distracters (the changing-state effect) did not differ between a visual–verbal and visual–spatial serial recall task, providing evidence for an amodal mechanism for the representation of serial order in short-term memory that transcends modalities. This finding has been highly influential for theories of short-term memory and auditory distraction. However, evidence vis-à-vis the robustness of this result is sorely lacking. Here, two high-powered replications of Jones et al.’s (1995) crucial Experiment 4 were undertaken. In the first partial replication (n = 64), a fully within-participants design was adopted, wherein participants undertook both the visual–verbal and visual–spatial serial recall tasks under different irrelevant sound conditions, without a retention period. The second near-identical replication (n = 128), incorporated a retention period and implemented the task-modality manipulation as a between-participants factor, as per the original Jones et al. (1995; Experiment 4) study. In both experiments, the changing-state effect was observed for visual–verbal serial recall but not for visual–spatial serial recall. The results are consistent with modular and interference-based accounts of distraction and challenge some aspects of functional equivalence accounts.
|
|
4. |
- Marsh, John E., et al.
(author)
-
Emerging perspectives on distraction and task interruptions: metacognition, cognitive control and facilitation - part I
- 2024
-
In: Journal of Cognitive Psychology. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2044-5911 .- 2044-592X. ; 36:1, s. 1-7
-
Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Modern technology allows for the control of learning and work environments to an unprecedented degree. Therefore, the focus of research shifts from how learning and work performance are passively affected by environmental factors to how people actively shape their own learning and work experiences. This includes task-irrelevant stimuli and task interruptions. For instance, modern headphones allow one to switch between two modes: Active noise cancelling eliminates all background sounds while acoustic transparency allows certain signals to pass through the headphones, creating a customisable audio space. Modern devices also allow us to plan certain task interruptions (for example, by email alerts) in advance. This gives users unprecedented autonomy over their learning and work environments. However, increased control does not necessarily imply that these environments are free of distraction and interruptions. In fact, quite the opposite is true: Modern-day digital learning and work environments are full of distractions and interruptions. With users’ increased control over their learning and work environments, new research questions arise that emphasise the active role of the individual in shaping their own learning and work experiences:Are people capable of distinguishing between harmful and helpful task-irrelevant stimuli and activities?Can the harmful aspects of distractions and interruptions be brought under cognitive control?Are distraction and task interruptions always harmful or are they sometimes helpful? Within this Special Issue, we primarily focus on the following emerging trends in distraction and attention.
|
|
5. |
- Marsh, John E., et al.
(author)
-
Predictability and distraction : does the neural model represent postcategorical features?
- 2014
-
In: PsyCh Journal. - : Wiley. - 2046-0260 .- 2046-0252. ; 3:1, s. 58-71
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Two experiments examined the role of predictability within the elements of a task-irrelevant auditory sequence on the disruption produced to visual-verbal serial recall. Experiment 1 showed that participants did not benefit from having a long-term representation of the irrelevant sequence: A highly predictable, canonical sequence (“1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9”) produced as much disruption as a repeated random sequence (which was the same on each trial) and an unpredictable, random sequence (which differed on each trial), as compared with quiet. In line with this finding, there was also no difference between a predictable canonical and an unpredictable random sequence in Experiment 2. However, a deviant within the predictable, canonical sequence (“1 2 3 4 5 5 7 8 9”) produced greater disruption than a deviant within an unpredictable, random sequence (“4 8 2 9 5 5 7 3 1”). This effect was confined to early trials within the block. The results showed that long-term knowledge about the order of the individual elements in the sequence did not help attenuate the effect of auditory distraction on serial recall. Nevertheless, attentional capture was amplified when a deviant violated a well-known, canonical sequence, providing evidence that the neural model represents postcategorical sequential information.
|
|
6. |
- ODonnell, Michael, et al.
(author)
-
Registered Replication Report: Dijksterhuis and van Knippenberg (1998)
- 2018
-
In: Perspectives on Psychological Science. - : SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD. - 1745-6916 .- 1745-6924. ; 13:2, s. 268-294
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Dijksterhuis and van Knippenberg (1998) reported that participants primed with a category associated with intelligence (professor) subsequently performed 13% better on a trivia test than participants primed with a category associated with a lack of intelligence (soccer hooligans). In two unpublished replications of this study designed to verify the appropriate testing procedures, Dijksterhuis, van Knippenberg, and Holland observed a smaller difference between conditions (2%-3%) as well as a gender difference: Men showed the effect (9.3% and 7.6%), but women did not (0.3% and -0.3%). The procedure used in those replications served as the basis for this multilab Registered Replication Report. A total of 40 laboratories collected data for this project, and 23 of these laboratories met all inclusion criteria. Here we report the meta-analytic results for those 23 direct replications (total N = 4,493), which tested whether performance on a 30-item general-knowledge trivia task differed between these two priming conditions (results of supplementary analyses of the data from all 40 labs, N = 6,454, are also reported). We observed no overall difference in trivia performance between participants primed with the professor category and those primed with the hooligan category (0.14%) and no moderation by gender.
|
|
7. |
- Richardson, Beth H., et al.
(author)
-
The Advantage of Low and Medium Attractiveness for Facial Composite Production from Modern Forensic Systems
- 2020
-
In: Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition. - : Elsevier. - 2211-3681 .- 2211-369X. ; 9:3, s. 381-395
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Recognition following long delays is superior for highly attractive and highly unattractive faces (cf. medium-attractive faces). In the current work, we investigated participants’ ability to recreate from memory faces of low, medium, and high physical attractiveness. In Experiment 1, participants constructed composites of familiar (celebrity) faces using the holistic EvoFIT system. When controlling for other variables that may influence face recognition (memorability, familiarity, likeability, and age), correct naming and ratings of likeness were superior for composites of low attractiveness targets. Experiment 2 replicated this design using the feature-based PRO-fit system, revealing superiority (by composite naming and ratings of likeness) for medium attractiveness. In Experiment 3, participants constructed composites of unfamiliar faces after a forensically relevant delay of 1 day. Using ratings of likeness as a measure of composite effectiveness, these same effects were observed for EvoFIT and PRO-fit. The work demonstrates the importance of attractiveness for method of composite face construction.
|
|
8. |
- Röer, Jan Philipp, et al.
(author)
-
A Multilingual Preregistered Replication of the Semantic Mismatch Effect on Serial Recall
- 2022
-
In: Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory and Cognition. - : American Psychological Association (APA). - 0278-7393 .- 1939-1285. ; 48:7, s. 966-974
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Visual-verbal serial recall is disrupted when task-irrelevant background speech has to be ignored. Contrary to previous suggestion, it has recently been shown that the magnitude of disruption may be accentuated by the semantic properties of the irrelevant speech. Sentences ending with unexpected words that did not match the preceding semantic context were more disruptive than sentences ending with expected words. This particular instantiation of a deviation effect has been termed the semantic mismatch effect. To establish a new phenomenon, it is necessary to show that the effect can be inde-pendently replicated and does not depend on speciï¬c boundary conditions such as the language of the stimulus material. Here we report a preregistered replication of the semantic mismatch effect in which we examined the effect of unexpected words in 4 different languages (English, French, German, and Swedish) across 4 different laboratories. Participants performed a serial recall task while ignoring sen-tences with expected or unexpected words that were recorded using text-to-speech software. Independent of language, sentences ending with unexpected words were more disruptive than sentences ending with expected words. In line with previous results, there was no evidence of habituation of the semantic mismatch effect in the form of a decrease in disruption with repeated exposure to the occur-rence of unexpected words. The successful replication and extension of the effect to different languages indicates the expression of a general and robust mechanism that reacts to violations of expectancies based on the semantic content of the irrelevant speech.
|
|