Stimulus-response compatibility refers to the finding that certain mappings of stimuli to responses produce faster and more accurate responding than do others. The present volume surveys compatibility research which falls into four broad categories: (a) mental representation and coding (b) neurophysiological mechanisms (c) motor performance (d) human factors applications. The major findings and models within each of the categories are summarized, and an integrated perspective is provided. The research indicates that compatibility effects reflect basic cognitive processes that bear on a range of issues in cognitive science and that have applied implications for human factors specialists.
Understanding of the factors that influence stimulus-response (S-R) compatibility and determine when and how compatibility effects will arise is a necessary foundation for appropriately applying compatibility principles in design and for evaluating the relative compatibility of alternative designs. Summarizing the state of contemporary knowledge regarding determinants of compatibility, Stimulus-Response Compatibility Principles: Data, Theory, and Application provides thorough, up-to-date coverage of basic and applied research coupled with an emphasis on relating this knowledge to specific design guidelines. Examining a broad range of theoretical and applied issues from the compatibility perspective, the authors review basic research devoted to theoretical issues concerning S-R compatibility in particular and the relation between perception and action more generally. They cover effects of different S-R mappings in simple and complex tasks, factors that influence response-selection efficiency, correspondence effects of irrelevant stimulus information, compatibility effects for multiple and orthogonal dimensions, consequences of mixing mappings and tasks, practice and transfer effects, compatibility effects in multiple-task performance, and direction of motion stereotypes. The authors provide a thorough treatment of alternative views, contrasting and comparing their strengths and weaknesses. They provide guidelines that incorporate current knowledge about compatibility effects. Previous books on S-R compatibility have been edited works that contained detailed descriptions of the findings of various research programs across the world. Consequently, those books do not provide a cohesive overview of the range of research on compatibility effects, and the treatments they provide are not easy to comprehend by individuals who lack a background in the area. Making information accessible to a broad range of researchers and practitioners, this text organizes, summarizes, and integrates the vast amount of knowledge concerning S-R compatibility.
Insights on the cognitive processes behind the flexibility of human behavior that enables us to adapt to differing demands and changing circumstances Human beings perform thousands of tasks each day, often in close succession or interleaved with each other, and "task switching" has become a buzz word. The precondition for calling something a task is the existence of an intention to perform it, in contrast to, e.g., producing unintended motor sequences. The very idea of task switching implies that the flexibility of human behavior requires cognitive control processes that can "re-configure" the task set (taken to broadly refer a specific configuration of representational elements and processing operations) in order to adapt to changing intentions, respond to novel or unexpected circumstances, and deal with problem solving situations. Understanding the functional mechanisms underlying cognitive control of task sets is therefore the holy grail of cognitive psychology - coveted but not easily attainable. The aim of this compilation is to provide both state-of-the art focused reviews on currently intensely debated topics and empirical contributions on outstanding current issues in task switching research. Topics covered include: o The role of cue processing in task switching o Task switching methodology o Episodic memory processes involved in cognitive control o Response inhibition in task switching o The processing of task-irrelevant stimuli o The multitasking mind
This book is the fruit of a study group on perception and action that worked at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research (ZiP) of the University of Bielefeld, FRG in the academic year 1984-1985. We express our gratitude to the ZiF for hosting the group and for providing fmancial and organizational support for its scientific activities, including a meeting of the authors of the present volume that took place at the ZiF in July 1986. This is/ the study group's last common product, and it took considerable time to give the book its fmal shape. Most of the editing was done while one of us (0. N.) was a Fellow at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NlAS) during the academic year 1987-1988. Thanks are due to NIAS for its generous support. We also thank all our friends and colleagues who contributed to the book.
Attention: Theory and Practice provides a balance between a readable overview of attention and an emphasis on how theories and paradigms for the study of attention have developed. The book highlights the important issues and major findings while giving sufficient details of experimental studies, models, and theories so that results and conclusions are easy to follow and evaluate. Rather than brushing over tricky technical details, the authors explain them clearly, giving readers the benefit of understanding the motivation for and techniques of the experiments in order to allow readers to think through results, models, and theories for themselves. Attention is an accessible text for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in psychology, as well as an important resource for researchers and practitioners interested in gaining an overview of the field of attention.
Addresses key issues concerning the relationship between linguistic and non-linguistic processes, which will be of great interest to researchers and students in the area of language processing.
The economic analysis of the digital economy has been a rapidly developing research area for more than a decade. Through authoritative examination by leading scholars, this Handbook takes a closer look at particular industries, business practices, and policy issues associated with the digital industry. The volume offers an up-to-date account of key topics, discusses open questions, and provides guidance for future research. It offers a blend of theoretical and empirical works that are central to understanding the digital economy. The chapters are presented in four sections, corresponding with four broad themes: 1) infrastructure, standards, and platforms; 2) the transformation of selling, encompassing both the transformation of traditional selling and new, widespread application of tools such as auctions; 3) user-generated content; and 4) threats in the new digital environment. The first section covers infrastructure, standards, and various platform industries that rely heavily on recent developments in electronic data storage and transmission, including software, video games, payment systems, mobile telecommunications, and B2B commerce. The second section takes account of the reduced costs of online retailing that threatens offline retailers, widespread availability of information as it affects pricing and advertising, digital technology as it allows the widespread employment of novel price and non-price strategies (bundling, price discrimination), and auctions, as well as better tar. The third section addresses the emergent phenomenon of user-generated content on the Internet, including the functioning of social networks and open source. Finally, the fourth section discusses threats arising from digitization and the Internet, namely digital piracy, privacy and internet security concerns.
