Determinants of right-left and top-bottom prevalence for two-dimensional spatial compatibility.
When stimulus and response sets vary along horizontal and vertical dimensions, the horizontal dimension is more dominant than the vertical one, an effect called right-left prevalence. Three accounts have been proposed that attribute the effect to a reduced ability to code vertical locations when horizontal codes are also present, the use of right-left effectors, or a difference in salience of the 2 dimensions. The accounts differ in terms of whether the ability to code and process the 2 dimensions is of limited capacity and whether the prevalence effect is a consequence of the effectors used for responding. The authors report 4 experiments that evaluated these issues. Results indicate that use of right-left effectors is important to the right-left prevalence effect because it increases the salience of the horizontal dimension. However, a top-bottom prevalence effect can be obtained if the vertical dimension is made more salient.
Vu
K P
KP
Department of Psychological  Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-1364, USA. kvu@psych.purdue.edu
Proctor
R W
RW
D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D011930:Reaction Time; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology*