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R N Wilton

Publications and source records attributed to R N Wilton.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

The representation of objects and their attributes in memory: evidence concerning memory for location.

The general principle is advanced that different attributes of objects (e.g. shape and colour) are more readily associated when they are attributes of the same object than when they are attributes of different objects. Previous studies provide support for the principle, for they have shown that a shape is more readily associated with its own colour than, for example, with the colour of its background. In the present experiments, the principle was applied to the attributes of shape and location. In four experiments it was shown that a shape was more readily associated with its own location than with the location of another object. Differences in contiguity between the presentation of the shape and the location with which the shape was to be associated were controlled for, as were other factors. The results were interpreted as providing support for the general principle stated above. It was suggested that the general principle could be explained by supposing that memory is propositional in format.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

The mediation of paired associate recall by representations of properties ascribed to objects in perception and imagination.

Any perceived or imagined object will have various properties: for example, it may be of a particular size, shape, and colour. In this paper it is argued that when two objects are perceived or imagined to be interacting, they are likely, as a result, to have properties that may, in part, mediate paired associate recall. In Experiments 1 and 2 it was shown that if the object to be named in recall has properties that are the same as the object named by the cue, then recall is greater than when the properties differ. In Experiment 3 it was shown that if the object to be named in recall has properties that are relevant to a relation between the two objects, then recall is enhanced, as compared with conditions in which this is not the case. In discussion, it is argued that, by means similar to those operating in these experiments, a representation of properties may contribute to recall in experiments in which subjects use interactive imagery.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

The recency effect in the perception of ambiguous figures.

After a failure to obtain a recency effect in the perception of ambiguous figures three experiments were carried out to determine the conditions which govern the effect. It was found that the duration of the stimulus which precedes the ambiguous figure (the most recent stimulus) was important. Also of importance was the interval between the next-to-most-recent stimulus and the ambiguous figure. The effect of manipulating these variables was such that sometimes no recency effect was obtained, implying that their state is sometimes critical for the effect. Variations in the duration of the ambiguous stimulus did not cause the recency effect to vary. Recommendations are made for the demonstration of a reliable recency effect.

Cues↗
PubMed1978

Explaining imaginal inference by operations in a propositional format.

Solving problems by imaginal inference often seems inefficient for an organism that is manipulating propositions. One explanation for the apparent inefficiency is that the problems are being solved not in propositional format by operations in an analogue format. Imaginal inference might then be the most efficient method compatible with the limitations inherent in the analogue format. In the present paper an alternative rationale is given for the use of imaginal inference by explaining how the processes involved in mental problem solving are related to those in perception: it is suggested that the mechanisms used in problem solving have evolved from a perceptual system in which hypotheses about events in the sensory field are generated from an internal representation of the world. This thesis denies that perception is passive and suggests that originally for perception. Acceptance of the thesis implies that the capabilities of a propositional format in problem solving would be limited. This limitation could account for the apparently inefficient use of that format in imaginal inference.

Biological Evolution↗