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Semantic processing of crowded stimuli?

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Abstract

Effects of semantic processing of crowded characters were investigated using numbers as stimuli. In an identification task, typical spacing effects in crowding were replicated. Using the same stimuli in a magnitude comparison task, a smaller effect of spacing was observed as well as an effect of response congruency. These effects were replicated in a second experiment with varying stimulus-onset asynchronies. In addition, decreasing performance with increasing onset-asynchrony (so-called type-B masking) for incongruent flankers indicates semantic processing of target and flankers. The data show that semantic processing takes place even in crowded stimuli. This argues strongly against common accounts of crowding in terms of early stimulus-driven impairments of processing.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Frank Gehring and Naoko Olsen for assistance with data collection. The project was supported by a grant from the Interdisciplinary Centre for Clinical Research “BIOMAT” within the Faculty of Medicine at the RWTH Aachen University (project VV Z52).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Media, Bauhaus-University of Weimar, Bauhausstr. 11, 99423, Weimar, Germany

    Anke Huckauf

  2. Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

    Andre Knops

  3. Institute of Psychology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Hans-Christoph Nuerk

  4. Section Neuropsychology, Department of Neurology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

    Klaus Willmes

  5. Interdisciplinary Centre for Clinical Research “BIOMAT”, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

    Klaus Willmes

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  1. Anke Huckauf
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  2. Andre Knops
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  3. Hans-Christoph Nuerk
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  4. Klaus Willmes
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Correspondence to Anke Huckauf.

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Huckauf, A., Knops, A., Nuerk, HC. et al. Semantic processing of crowded stimuli?. Psychological Research 72, 648–656 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-008-0171-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-008-0171-5

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