Effects of precuing horizontal and vertical dimensions on right-left prevalence.
When stimuli and responses can be coded along horizontal and vertical dimensions simultaneously, a right-left prevalence effect is often obtained for which the advantage for a compatible mapping is larger on the horizontal dimension than on the vertical dimension. The present study investigated the role of preparatory processes in this right-left prevalence effect using a method in which the relevant dimension was cued at short and long intervals prior to presentation of the target stimulus. In three experiments, the right-left prevalence effect did not vary significantly in magnitude as a function of cue-target interval, suggesting that the effect is due primarily to relative salience of the horizontal and vertical codes, as determined by the task structure, and not to a greater ease of attending to the horizontal dimension.
Proctor
Robert W
RW
Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, 703 Third Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. proctor@psych.purdue.edu
Koch
Iring
I
Vu
Kim-Phuong L
KP
D003463:Cues; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D011584:Psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011930:Reaction Time; D013028:Space Perception; D014794:Visual Fields; D014796:Visual Perception