The competition effect produced by noise with different similarities to the targets during same-different judgments

This research studies the role of response competition in the same-different judgments. Eriksen, O'Hara, and Eriksen (1982) interpreted the fast same effect within the framework of the continuous flow model and the response competition concept. They showed that an extraneous noise presented in the display could produce response competition. A noise incompatible to the response produced more interference to both the same and different judgments than the compatible noise or no-noise control condition. In the first two experiments of this research, the compatibility between the target and the noise was further implemented by the similarity between the targets and noise. In the first experiment, bars varying in length were used as the targets and noise. For same judgments, RT increased linearly as the incompatibility increased when the targets were small but not when they were large. In different judgments, the compatibility effect was not significant. This paradigm was further extended to multidimensional stimuli in the second experiment, by varying the stimuli on size and shape. For same judgments, the results of the asymmetric effect of the size of the noise and the targets in the first experiment were replicated. However, the consistent increasing effect by increasing the incompatibility between the noise and the targets was not obtained. For different judgments, the incompatibility effect was found when the targets differed on one dimension but not when they differed on both dimensions. Experiment 3 and 4 showed that the compatibility effect in different judgments was significant for the hard discrimination but not for the easy discrimination. Experiment 5A, 5B, and 6 utilized the variable criterion theory to further analyze the RT distributions and their derived processes. The results provided further evidence to support the explanation of same-different judgments with the continuous flow model and response competition concept.U of I OnlyETDs are only available to UIUC Users without author permissio