Response time (RT) distributions obtained from 3 word recognition experiments were analyzed by fitting an ex-Gaussian function to the empirical data to determine the main effects and interactive influences of word frequency, repetition, and lexicality on the nature of the underlying distributions. The ex-Gaussian analysis allows one to determine if a manipulation simply shifts the response time (RT) distribution, produces a skewing of the RT distribution, or both. In contrast to naming performance, the lexical decision results indicated that the main effects and interactions of word frequency, repetition, and lexicality primarily reflect increased skewing of the RT distributions, as opposed to simple shifts of the RT distributions. The implications of the results were interpreted within a hybrid 2-stage model of lexical decision performance. One of the most robust, and probably least surprising, empirical observations in the word recognition literature is that the frequency of exposure to a word modulates the ease with which that word is processed in the future. This phenomenon is reflected in both the word-frequency effect in which extant word-frequency counts (e.g., Kucera & Francis, 1967, norms) predict lexical decision and naming

Although it is generally accepted that the spread of a response time (RT) distribution increases with the mean, the precise nature of this relation remains relatively unexplored. The authors show that in several descriptive RT distributions, the standard deviation increases linearly with the mean. Results from a wide range of tasks from different experimental paradigms support a linear relation between RT mean and RT standard deviation. Both R. Ratcliff’s (1978) diffusion model and G. D. Logan’s (1988) instance theory of automatization provide explanations for this linear relation. The authors identify and discuss 3 specific boundary conditions for the linear law to hold. The law constrains RT models and supports the use of the coefficient of variation to (a) compare variability while controlling for differences in baseline speed of processing and (b) assess whether changes in performance with practice are due to quantitative speedup or qualitative reorganization.

Owing to the rapid growth of Internet technologies, website designs and online advertisements with pop-up animations have affected and will continue to affect millions of people. Our understanding of the effectiveness and the impact of online advertisements on consumers is still limited from a theoretical perspective, and the empirical evidence continues to be scant. This paper synthesizes and integrates several lab-controlled experiments conducted over an eight-year period (from 1996 to 2003) on the impacts of pop-up animations in the web environment. Human visual attention literature is used to emphasize human cognitive characteristics that prevent or enable us to behave in certain ways when there is animation in our vision field. These studies, together, addressed the following research questions: (1) as a non-primary information source, does animation decrease viewers ' information seeking performance? (2) if so, do location and timing of pop-up animation matter? and, (3) as viewers ’ familiarity with online advertisements increases, do those early animation effects diminish over years? The studies also validate the applicability of visual attention theories in the web environment and have significant practical implications for online advertising strategies for both marketers and content providers.

The authors bring together approaches from cognitive and individual differences psychology to model characteristics of reaction time distributions beyond measures of central tendency. Ex-Gaussian distributions and a diffusion model approach are used to describe individuals ’ reaction time data. The authors identified common latent factors for each of the 3 ex-Gaussian parameters and for 3 parameters central to the diffusion model using structural equation modeling for a battery of choice reaction tasks. These factors had differential relations to criterion constructs. Parameters reflecting the tail of the distribution (i.e., � in the ex-Gaussian and drift rate in the diffusion model) were the strongest unique predictors of working memory, reasoning, and psychometric speed. Theories of controlled attention and binding are discussed as potential theoretical explanations.

Human-computer interaction in the large is an interdisciplinary area which attracts researchers, educators, and practioners from many differenf fields. Human-computer interaction studies a human and a machine in communication, it draws from supporting knowledge on both the machine and the human side. This paper is related to the human side of human-computer interaction and focuses on animations. The growing use of animation in Web pages testifies to the increasing ease with which such multimedia features can be created. This trend shows a commitment to animation that is often unmatched by the skill of the implementers. The paper presents a set of guidelines and tips to help designers prepare better and more effective Web sites. These guidelines are drawn from an extensive literature survey. 1.

Research results from a previous study show that animation as non-primary information significantly reduces information-seeking performance in a web-based environment (Zhang, 1999, 2000). Furthermore, in a different study, Zhang (2000 finds that animation on the left side of a screen has a higher negative impact on task performance than animation on the right side; animation also has different impact on task performance depending on its onset timing. This paper reports an investigation on whether animation's location and timing impacts have changed over the years, as the Web has become a commodity and people are more used to animated online advertisements on the Web. The results from four experiments during the 1999-2003 period indicate that (1) animation as non-primary information still significantly affects information-seeking performance in almost all animated conditions, (2) animation retains the significant main effect on side: the left side has higher negative impact than the right side, (3) animation retains the significant main effect on onset timing, although (4) animation's onset timing effects have changed slightly over the years. We discuss the effects from a theoretical perspective as well as the practical implications for website designers and online advertisers in the design of effective webpages with animated online advertisements.

task-irrelevant stimulus attribute affects

This article reinvestigates the claim by P. Verhaeghen, J. Cerella, and C. Basak (2004) that the focus of attention in working memory can be expanded from 1 to 4 items through practice. Using a modified version of Verhaeghen et al.’s n-back paradigm, Experiments 1 and 3 show that a signature of a one-item focus, the time cost for switching between items in working memory, persists over practice. Verhaeghen et al. reported a shift over practice from a step function to a linear slope of reaction times over set size and argued that it reflects the expansion of the focus. With an improved counterbalancing scheme, a continuously increasing slope was found even without practice in Experiment 2. The results question the hypothesis that the focus is expanded through practice. They are in line with predictions from a model that distinguishes a one-item focus from a direct-access region holding about 4 items.

doi:10.3758/MC.37.8.1088 A task-irrelevant stimulus attribute affects perception and short-term memory JIE HUANG

Abstract: Owing to the rapid growth of Internet technologies, Web site design, and online advertisements, pop-up animations have affected and will continue to affect millions of people. Our understanding of the effectiveness and the impact of online advertisements on consumers is still limited from a theoretical perspective, and the empirical evidence continues to be scant. This paper synthesizes and integrates several lab-controlled experiments conducted by the author over an eightyear period (from 1996 to 2003) on the impact of pop-up animations in the Web environment. Human visual attention literature is used to emphasize human cognitive characteristics that prevent or enable us to behave in certain ways when there is animation in our vision field. These studies, together, address the following research questions: (1) As a non-primary information source, does animation decrease viewers ’ information-seeking performance? (2) If so, do location and timing of pop-up animation matter? (3) As viewers ’ familiarity with online advertisements increases, do those early animation effects diminish over years? The studies also validate the applicability of visual attention theories in the Web environment and have significant practical implications for online advertising strategies, both for marketers and content providers.