Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior
Published on: April 16, 2014
Effects of precuing horizontal and vertical dimensions on right-left prevalence
Robert W Proctor1, Iring Koch, Kim-Phuong L Vu
1Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, 703 Third Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. proctor@psych.purdue.edu
Abstract:
When stimuli and responses can be coded along horizontal and vertical dimensions simultaneously, a right-left prevalence effect is often obtained for which the advantage for a compatible mapping is larger on the horizontal dimension than on the vertical dimension. The present study investigated the role of preparatory processes in this right-left prevalence effect using a method in which the relevant dimension was cued at short and long intervals prior to presentation of the target stimulus. In three experiments, the right-left prevalence effect did not vary significantly in magnitude as a function of cue-target interval, suggesting that the effect is due primarily to relative salience of the horizontal and vertical codes, as determined by the task structure, and not to a greater ease of attending to the horizontal dimension.
Related Concept Videos
Lateralization
Cerebral Hemispheres
Prevalence and Incidence
Prevalence indicates the proportion of individuals in a population who have a specific disease or health condition at a...
Depth Perception and Spatial Vision

