Combining the Post-Cue Task and the Perceptual Identification Task to Assess Parallel Activation and Mutual Facilitation of Related Primes and Targets

Abstract

Recent theories assume a mutual facilitation in case of semantic overlap for concepts being activated simultaneously. We provide evidence for this claim using a semantic priming paradigm. To test for mutual facilitation of related concepts, a perceptual identification task was employed, presenting prime-target pairs briefly and masked, with an SOA of 0 ms (i.e., prime and target were presented concurrently, one above the other). Participants were instructed to identify the target. In Experiment 1, a cue defining the target was presented at stimulus onset, whereas in Experiment 2 the cue was not presented before the offset of stimuli. Accordingly, in Experiment 2, a post-cue task was merged with the perceptual identification task. We obtained significant semantic priming effects in both experiments. This result is compatible with the view that two concepts can both be activated in parallel and can mutually facilitate each other if they are related.

Effects of related decorative pictures on learning and metacognition

“…The positive effect of related pictures regarding knowledge manifested itself in better memory in Experiment 1 and in better metacognitive monitoring in Experiment 2. Therefore, the findings of both experiments are in line with both basic research on effects of relatedness (Davelaar et al, 2006;Scherer & Wentura, 2018) and applied research on learning with text and pictures (see Bartsch & Cobern, 2003;Schneider et al, 2018) suggesting that semantic relatedness improves memory and learning outcomes. This convergence is remarkable as, until now, these lines of research were largely unconnected.…”

“…Increasing evidence suggests that related decorative pictures have different effects on learning from text compared to seductive illustrations and explanatory illustrations. For related decorative pictures, a positive effect on knowledge acquisition (and possibly transfer) might arise that is caused by spreading activation processes and a resulting mutual facilitation of related concepts (Davelaar et al, 2006;Kowialiewski et al, 2021;Scherer & Wentura, 2018). Therefore, we expect a higher percentage of correct responses to knowledge items if participants learn from text with related decorative pictures compared to a condition with the same text but without pictures (Hypothesis 1).…”

“…Spreading activation theories (e.g., Anderson, 1976Anderson, , 1983Anderson, , 1993 imply that, in semantic networks, activation can spread back and forth between related concepts. Thereby, related concepts mutually reactivate each other (Kowialiewski et al, 2021;Scherer & Wentura, 2018;Schmitz et al, 2014;Schmitz & Wentura, 2012; see also Rohr & Wentura, 2022). This leads to an automatic maintenance of related information in working memory and better performance in working memory tasks (Davelaar et al, 2005(Davelaar et al, , 2006Scherer & Wentura, 2018, Experiment 2).…”

“…Consequently, the pictures were only weakly related to the text. One explanation for the positive effects is thus automatic mutual facilitation of the representations of related materials based on spreading activation processes (Davelaar et al, 2006;Scherer & Wentura, 2018). Following this assumption, activation can spread back and forth among related concepts once they are active in working memory.…”

How Emotion Relates to Language and Cognition, Seen Through the Lens of Evaluative Priming Paradigms

“…As parallel-distributed models assume that there is a transition from the prime pattern to the target pattern (which is faster if concepts are related), the prime representation should no longer be accessible after this transition. Scherer and Wentura ( 2018 ) directly tested the assumption of parallel activation using a post-cue priming task (i.e., a cue following a brief and masked presentation of two words indicates which of the two words has to be identified). Results were in line with the assumption of parallel activation, suggesting that parallel-distributed models might also not be suitable to explain the activations underlying evaluative priming effects.…”