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Related Concept Videos

Decision Making01:20

Decision Making

Decision-making is a fundamental cognitive process that involves evaluating alternatives and selecting among them. This process can range from simple choices, such as deciding what to wear, to complex decisions, like choosing a major in college or a career path. The complexity of the decision often dictates the approach we use, which can be broadly categorized into two types: automatic and controlled decision-making.
Automatic decision-making is fast, intuitive, and relies on gut feelings...
Decision Making: Traditional Method01:14

Decision Making: Traditional Method

The process of hypothesis testing based on the traditional method includes calculating the critical value, testing the value of the test statistic using the sample data, and interpreting these values.
First, a specific claim about the population parameter is decided based on the research question and is stated in a simple form. Further, an opposing statement to this claim is also stated. These statements can act as null and alternative hypotheses, out of which a null hypothesis would be a...
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Decision Making: P-value Method

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First, a specific claim about the population parameter is proposed. The claim is based on the research question and is stated in a simple form. Further, an opposing statement to the claim  is also stated. These statements can act as null and alternative hypotheses:  a null hypothesis would be a neutral statement while the alternative hypothesis can have a...
Reason and Intuition01:37

Reason and Intuition

The human brain processes information for decision-making using one of two routes: an intuitive system and a rational system (Epstein, 1994; popularized by Kahneman, 2011 as System 1 and System 2, respectively). The intuitive system is quick, impulsive, and operates with minimal effort, relying on emotions or habits to provide cues for what to do next, while the rational system is logical, analytical, deliberate, and methodical. Research in neuropsychology suggests that the brain can only use...
Subliminal Perception01:15

Subliminal Perception

Subliminal perception refers to the processing of sensory information that occurs below the level of conscious awareness. Researchers study subliminal perception by presenting a stimulus, such as a word or image, very quickly, typically around 50 milliseconds. This rapid presentation is often followed by another stimulus, such as a pattern of dots or lines, which blocks further mental processing of the initial stimulus. As a result, if participants cannot identify the initial stimulus better...
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In order to make good decisions, we use our knowledge and our reasoning. Often, this knowledge and reasoning is sound and solid. However, sometimes, we are swayed by biases or by others manipulating a situation. For example, let’s say you and three friends wanted to rent a house and had a combined target budget of $1,600. The realtor shows you only very run-down houses for $1,600 and then shows you a very nice house for $2,000. Might you ask each person to pay more in rent to get the $2,000...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 28, 2026

Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment
06:48

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Published on: June 25, 2019

Emphasizing nonword decisions in word-decision performance.

C Darren Piercey1

  • 1Psychology Department, University of New Brunswick, Bag Service #45444, Fredericton, NB, Canada. piercey@unb.ca

Psychological Reports
|November 6, 2008
PubMed
Summary

Instructing participants to focus on nonwords in lexical decision tasks reduced reaction time differences between words and nonwords. This emphasis specifically impacted word identification speed, not nonword speed or accuracy.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Psycholinguistics
  • Experimental Psychology

Background:

  • Lexical decision tasks (LDTs) consistently show faster and more accurate responses to real words than nonwords.
  • Standard LDT instructions typically emphasize accurate word identification.
  • The influence of altered participant focus on LDT performance remains underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how instructing participants to prioritize nonword identification affects response times and accuracy in an LDT.
  • To determine if shifting emphasis from words to nonwords alters the typical LDT performance patterns.

Main Methods:

  • A total of 98 participants were assigned to either a Word Instruction or a Nonword Instruction condition.
  • Participants completed a lexical decision task under their assigned instructional set.
  • Reaction times and accuracy for word and nonword decisions were analyzed.

Main Results:

  • Shifting emphasis to nonword decisions significantly reduced the difference in mean reaction time between word and nonword responses.
  • Instructional manipulation specifically affected reaction times for word identification, not nonword identification.
  • No significant differences in accuracy were found between the conditions.

Conclusions:

  • Participant instructions can modulate performance dynamics in lexical decision tasks, particularly influencing word processing speed.
  • The finding that instruction manipulation affects word reaction times but not nonword reaction times warrants further investigation.
  • Future research should explore the cognitive mechanisms underlying this selective effect of attentional focus on word processing.