RESPONSE LATENCIES IN CLASSIFICATION OF WORD—SHAPE PAIRS

The experiment examined classification times for the four word—shape pairs produced by combining the labels square and circle with the shapes square and circle . Times were obtained for each of the three possible 2:1 mappings of the four display pairs to the verbal responses ‘yes’ and ‘no’. These define three conditions in which the basis of the classification is respectively the shape , the label , or both the label and the shape . Classification times were significantly slower where both component displays were relevant for selection of the response. Moreover, under this condition, classification times for circle / circle and square / square were faster for the response ‘yes’ than for the response ‘no’, whereas this effect was reversed for the pairs square / circle and circle / square . The implications of these findings are discussed.