Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

This article discusses the utility of the Visually Degraded Stimulus Task developed in 1986 by Vokey, Baker, Hayman, and Jacoby. The program provides 30 line drawings that can be presented in complete form prior to receiving incomplete forms of the same or similar drawings In the incomplete form, a small percentage of a drawing can be added with each touch of the computer space bar. By this means the percentage of drawing required for identification can be obtained. In this article, difficulty levels of incomplete picture identification are provided for each drawing under conditions of no previous viewing (no prime), previous viewing in an alternate form (conceptual prime), and previous viewing of the same drawings (exact prime). Modifications to the microprocessor computer program are provided to increase its usefulness as a means of testing priming effects in visual memory. Program applications are provided for the study of memory and neuropsychology

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Elias

J. W.

(1979) A lifespan perspective on cerebral asymmetry and information processing with emphasis on the aging adult. In Ordy

J. M.

Brizze

K. R.

(Eds.), Sensory system and communication in the elderly (Aging, Vol. 10). New York: Raven. Pp. 187–201.

Kaplan

(1988) A process approach to neuropsychological assessment. In Boll

Bryant

B. K.

(Eds.), Clinical neuropsychology and brain function: Research, measurement, and practice. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Pp. 129–167.

Kosslyn

S. M.

(1988) Aspects of a cognitive neuroscience of mental imagery. Science, 240, 1621–1626.

Sigel

(1956) Nonparametric statistics. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Squire

L. R.

(1987) Memory and brain. New York: Oxford Univer. Press.

Tulving

Schacter

D. L.

(1990) Priming and human memory systems. Science, 247, 301–306.

Vokey

J. R.

Baker

J. G.

Hayman

Jacoby

L. L.

(1986) Perceptual identification of visually degraded stimuli. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers, 18, 1–9.

Warrington

E. K.

Taylor

A. M.

(1973) The contribution of the right parietal lobe to object recognition. Cortex, 9, 152–164.

Whitfield

K. E.

(1989) Young and old subject performance on pictorial priming and different feature types using the Visually Degraded Stimuli Task. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Texas Tech Univer, Lubbock.

An Analysis of Task Difficulty Using the Visually Degraded Stimulus Task

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References