Page 1. RESEARCH Nancy Atkin BA(Hons), MEd, was Program Coordinator, Northern Division of General... more Page 1. RESEARCH Nancy Atkin BA(Hons), MEd, was Program Coordinator, Northern Division of General Practice. She is now Executive Officer, Medical Association for Prevention of War,Victoria. nancy.atkin@mapw.org.au Getting the message across ...
Summary: We examined drivers' perception of the ease and safety of cell phone use while drivi... more Summary: We examined drivers' perception of the ease and safety of cell phone use while driving before and after exposure to distraction in an experimental setting. During the study, each driver reflected on driving and task performance while engaged in conversation-like and arithmetic distraction tasks on a hands- free and hand-held cell phone. Hands-free phones were consistently rated easier to
... Keith Rayner, Sara C. Sereno, Mary F. Lesch, and Alexander Pollatsek ... in which phonologica... more ... Keith Rayner, Sara C. Sereno, Mary F. Lesch, and Alexander Pollatsek ... in which phonological codes play an early or dominant role in lexical access (eg, Daneman & Stainton, 1991; Perfetti, Bell, & Delancy, 1988; Pollatsek, Lesch, Morris, & Rayner, 1992; Van Orden, 1987; Van ...
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 1998
The role of assembled phonology in visual word recognition was investigated using a task in which... more The role of assembled phonology in visual word recognition was investigated using a task in which participants judged whether 2 words (e.g., PILLOW-BEAD) were semantically related. Of primary interest was whether it would be more difficult to respond "no" to "false homophones" (e.g., BEAD) of words (BED) that are semantically related to target words than to orthographic controls (BEND). (BEAD is a false homophone of BED because-EAD can be pronounced /epsilon d/.) In Experiment 1, there was an interference effect in the response time data, but not in the error data. These results were replicated in a 2nd experiment in which a parafoveal preview was provided for the 2nd word of the pair. A 3rd experiment ruled out explanations of the false homophone effect in terms of inconsistency in spelling-to-sound mappings or inadequate spelling knowledge. It is argued that assembled phonological representations activate meaning in visual word recognition.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 1993
An important issue in reading research is the role of phonology in visual word recognition. This ... more An important issue in reading research is the role of phonology in visual word recognition. This experiment demonstrated that naming time of a target word (e.g., nut) is facilitated more by a homophone of a semantic associate (e.g., beach) than by a visually similar control (e.g., bench). However, this priming effect from the homophone obtained only when the prime word was exposed for 50 ms and was followed by a pattern mask and not when it was exposed for 200 ms before the pattern mask. In contrast, the "appropriate" prime (e.g., beech) provided facilitation at both exposure durations. Because the priming was obtained with a stimulus onset asynchrony of 250 ms, these data provide support for Van Orden's (1987) verification model, which posits that meaning is accessed through the automatic activation of phonological information.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 1992
A major issue in reading is the extent to which phonological information is used in visual word p... more A major issue in reading is the extent to which phonological information is used in visual word perception. The present experiments demonstrated that phonological information acquired on 1 fixation from a word in the parafovea is used to help identify that word when it is later fixated. A homophone of a target word, when presented as a preview in the parafovea, facilitated processing of the target word seen on the next fixation more than a preview of a word matched with the homophone in visual similarity to the target word. This facilitation was observed both in the time to name an isolated target word and in the fixation time on the target word while silently reading a sentence; the preview was virtually never consciously identified in either task. Because the visual similarity of the preview to the target also plays a part in the facilitative effect on the preview, however, codes other than phonological codes are preserved across saccades.
To assess the effectiveness of a simulation-based participative and feedback approach to change d... more To assess the effectiveness of a simulation-based participative and feedback approach to change drivers' attitudes towards mobile phone use while driving. 30 experienced drivers were tested. Five scenarios were developed to test drivers' performance with and without a secondary mobile phone task on a medium-fidelity fixed base driving simulator. The treatment group received feedback in the form of video playback of their driving performance, while the control group did not receive any feedback. Attitudes towards mobile phone use were assessed by a questionnaire before, immediately after, and again one month following the experiment to determine the duration of feedback effects. All 30 drivers reported willingness to engage in driving and talking on a mobile phone in some situations. The results of the simulated driving test showed that a secondary mobile phone task significantly degraded driving performance. The treatment group showed significant attitude change towards mobile phone use while driving; the control group had no attitude change. At the one month follow-up, a continued benefit of feedback was reflected in driver attitudes in the treatment group. Participative driving using simulation is a useful tool to demonstrate driving performance degradation in dual task conditions. It was found that feedback in the form of simulation playback is effective in changing drivers' attitudes towards mobile phone use and that attitude change is maintained over a follow-up period of one month.
This study teased apart the effects of comprehensibility and complexity on older adults&a... more This study teased apart the effects of comprehensibility and complexity on older adults' comprehension of warning symbols by manipulating the relevance of additional information in further refining the meaning of the symbol. Symbols were systematically altered such that increased visual complexity (in the form of contextual cues) resulted in increased comprehensibility. One hundred older adults, aged 50-71 years, were tested on their comprehension of these symbols before and after training. High comprehensibility-complexity symbols were found to be better understood than low- or medium-comprehensibility-complexity symbols and the effectiveness of the contextual cues varied as a function of training. Therefore, the nature of additional detail determines whether increased complexity is detrimental or beneficial to older adults' comprehension - if the additional details provide 'cues to knowledge', older adults' comprehension improves as a result of the increased complexity. However, some cues may require training in order to be effective. Research suggests that older adults have greater difficulty in understanding more complex symbols. However, we found that when the complexity of symbols was increased through the addition of contextual cues, older adults' comprehension actually improved. Contextual cues aid older adults in making the connection between the symbol and its referent.
Page 1. RESEARCH Nancy Atkin BA(Hons), MEd, was Program Coordinator, Northern Division of General... more Page 1. RESEARCH Nancy Atkin BA(Hons), MEd, was Program Coordinator, Northern Division of General Practice. She is now Executive Officer, Medical Association for Prevention of War,Victoria. nancy.atkin@mapw.org.au Getting the message across ...
Summary: We examined drivers' perception of the ease and safety of cell phone use while drivi... more Summary: We examined drivers' perception of the ease and safety of cell phone use while driving before and after exposure to distraction in an experimental setting. During the study, each driver reflected on driving and task performance while engaged in conversation-like and arithmetic distraction tasks on a hands- free and hand-held cell phone. Hands-free phones were consistently rated easier to
... Keith Rayner, Sara C. Sereno, Mary F. Lesch, and Alexander Pollatsek ... in which phonologica... more ... Keith Rayner, Sara C. Sereno, Mary F. Lesch, and Alexander Pollatsek ... in which phonological codes play an early or dominant role in lexical access (eg, Daneman & Stainton, 1991; Perfetti, Bell, & Delancy, 1988; Pollatsek, Lesch, Morris, & Rayner, 1992; Van Orden, 1987; Van ...
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 1998
The role of assembled phonology in visual word recognition was investigated using a task in which... more The role of assembled phonology in visual word recognition was investigated using a task in which participants judged whether 2 words (e.g., PILLOW-BEAD) were semantically related. Of primary interest was whether it would be more difficult to respond "no" to "false homophones" (e.g., BEAD) of words (BED) that are semantically related to target words than to orthographic controls (BEND). (BEAD is a false homophone of BED because-EAD can be pronounced /epsilon d/.) In Experiment 1, there was an interference effect in the response time data, but not in the error data. These results were replicated in a 2nd experiment in which a parafoveal preview was provided for the 2nd word of the pair. A 3rd experiment ruled out explanations of the false homophone effect in terms of inconsistency in spelling-to-sound mappings or inadequate spelling knowledge. It is argued that assembled phonological representations activate meaning in visual word recognition.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 1993
An important issue in reading research is the role of phonology in visual word recognition. This ... more An important issue in reading research is the role of phonology in visual word recognition. This experiment demonstrated that naming time of a target word (e.g., nut) is facilitated more by a homophone of a semantic associate (e.g., beach) than by a visually similar control (e.g., bench). However, this priming effect from the homophone obtained only when the prime word was exposed for 50 ms and was followed by a pattern mask and not when it was exposed for 200 ms before the pattern mask. In contrast, the "appropriate" prime (e.g., beech) provided facilitation at both exposure durations. Because the priming was obtained with a stimulus onset asynchrony of 250 ms, these data provide support for Van Orden's (1987) verification model, which posits that meaning is accessed through the automatic activation of phonological information.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 1992
A major issue in reading is the extent to which phonological information is used in visual word p... more A major issue in reading is the extent to which phonological information is used in visual word perception. The present experiments demonstrated that phonological information acquired on 1 fixation from a word in the parafovea is used to help identify that word when it is later fixated. A homophone of a target word, when presented as a preview in the parafovea, facilitated processing of the target word seen on the next fixation more than a preview of a word matched with the homophone in visual similarity to the target word. This facilitation was observed both in the time to name an isolated target word and in the fixation time on the target word while silently reading a sentence; the preview was virtually never consciously identified in either task. Because the visual similarity of the preview to the target also plays a part in the facilitative effect on the preview, however, codes other than phonological codes are preserved across saccades.
To assess the effectiveness of a simulation-based participative and feedback approach to change d... more To assess the effectiveness of a simulation-based participative and feedback approach to change drivers' attitudes towards mobile phone use while driving. 30 experienced drivers were tested. Five scenarios were developed to test drivers' performance with and without a secondary mobile phone task on a medium-fidelity fixed base driving simulator. The treatment group received feedback in the form of video playback of their driving performance, while the control group did not receive any feedback. Attitudes towards mobile phone use were assessed by a questionnaire before, immediately after, and again one month following the experiment to determine the duration of feedback effects. All 30 drivers reported willingness to engage in driving and talking on a mobile phone in some situations. The results of the simulated driving test showed that a secondary mobile phone task significantly degraded driving performance. The treatment group showed significant attitude change towards mobile phone use while driving; the control group had no attitude change. At the one month follow-up, a continued benefit of feedback was reflected in driver attitudes in the treatment group. Participative driving using simulation is a useful tool to demonstrate driving performance degradation in dual task conditions. It was found that feedback in the form of simulation playback is effective in changing drivers' attitudes towards mobile phone use and that attitude change is maintained over a follow-up period of one month.
This study teased apart the effects of comprehensibility and complexity on older adults&a... more This study teased apart the effects of comprehensibility and complexity on older adults' comprehension of warning symbols by manipulating the relevance of additional information in further refining the meaning of the symbol. Symbols were systematically altered such that increased visual complexity (in the form of contextual cues) resulted in increased comprehensibility. One hundred older adults, aged 50-71 years, were tested on their comprehension of these symbols before and after training. High comprehensibility-complexity symbols were found to be better understood than low- or medium-comprehensibility-complexity symbols and the effectiveness of the contextual cues varied as a function of training. Therefore, the nature of additional detail determines whether increased complexity is detrimental or beneficial to older adults' comprehension - if the additional details provide 'cues to knowledge', older adults' comprehension improves as a result of the increased complexity. However, some cues may require training in order to be effective. Research suggests that older adults have greater difficulty in understanding more complex symbols. However, we found that when the complexity of symbols was increased through the addition of contextual cues, older adults' comprehension actually improved. Contextual cues aid older adults in making the connection between the symbol and its referent.
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