Contextual dependencies: influence on response latency.

The present experiments were designed to examine the influence of contextual stimuli on perceptual-motor performance. Experiment 1 revealed that contextual dependencies can develop for simple perceptual-motor tasks. Furthermore, the extent of the dependency is mediated in part by whether the contextual information is removed or replaced with alternative contextual information at the time of test. Data from Experiment 2 and 3 showed that manipulating the potency of incidental contextual stimuli results in a systematic decrement or increment in subsequent performance, depending on whether the contextual stimuli during the test were changed or reinstated. To date, such an orderly influence of contextual stimuli is more commonly demonstrated in the animal learning literature than with human experimentation.

[1]  P. Fitts,et al.  S-R compatibility: spatial characteristics of stimulus and response codes. , 1953, Journal of experimental psychology.

[2]  Steven M. Smith,et al.  Environmental context and human memory , 1978 .

[3]  A. Baddeley,et al.  Context-dependent memory in two natural environments: on land and underwater. , 1975 .

[4]  P. Balsam,et al.  Context and Learning , 1985 .

[5]  Timothy D. Lee.  Chapter 7 Transfer-Appropriate Processing: A Framework for Conceptualizing Practice Effects in Motor Learning , 1988 .

[6]  Endel Tulving,et al.  Encoding specificity and retrieval processes in episodic memory. , 1973 .

[7]  C H Shea,et al.  Contextual dependencies in motor skills , 1991, Memory & cognition.

[8]  Steven M. Smith.  Background Music and Context-Dependent Memory , 1985 .

[9]  G. Logan.  Automaticity, Resources, and Memory: Theoretical Controversies and Practical Implications , 1988, Human factors.

[10]  R. Bjork,et al.  Primary versus secondary rehearsal in imagined voices: Differential effects on recognition , 1980, Cognitive Psychology.

[11]  On the nature of movement representation in memory , 1985 .

[12]  Robert A. Bjork,et al.  On the puzzling relationship between environmental context and human memory. , 1989 .

[13]  T T Hirota,et al.  Encoding specificity principle in motor short-term memory for movement extent. , 1980, Journal of motor behavior.

[14]  D. Riccio,et al.  Memory retrieval deficits based upon altered contextual cues: a paradox. , 1984, Psychological bulletin.

[15]  D. Overton.  State-Dependent Learning Produced by Alcohol and Its Relevance to Alcoholism , 1972 .

[16]  J. R. Simon,et al.  CHOICE REACTION TIME AS A FUNCTION OF ANGULAR STIMULUS-RESPONSE CORRESPONDENCE AND AGE , 1963 .

[17]  J. Eich.  The cue-dependent nature of state-dependent retrieval , 1980, Memory & cognition.

[18]  L. Light,et al.  Effects of Changed Semantic Context on Recognition Memory , 1970 .

[19]  Steven M. Smith.  Environmental context—dependent memory. , 1988 .