Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 6, 2026
07:08
Investigating Object Representations in the Macaque Dorsal Visual Stream Using Single-unit Recordings
Published on: August 1, 2018
8.8K
Reversing the affordance effect: negative stimulus-response compatibility observed with images of graspable objects
1Department of Cognitive Science and Psychology, New Bulgarian University, 21, Montevideo Street, 1618, Sofia, Bulgaria, kiril.kostov@yahoo.com.
Cognitive Processing
|August 3, 2015
Summary
Object handle orientation affects response times, but this study found a reversed affordance effect. This suggests Simon effects stem from automatic attention, while affordances involve controlled attention.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Human-Computer Interaction
Background:
- Object affordances influence response times, but the underlying mechanisms (motoric vs. attentional) are debated.
- The Simon effect, a related phenomenon, is often attributed to attentional mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the interplay between object affordances and attentional mechanisms in response time.
- To differentiate between motoric affordance and Simon effect accounts.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments using bimanual responses to grayscale images of frying pans and saucepans.
- Manipulation of handle orientation (leftward/rightward) and exogenous attentional cues (colored markers).
- Analysis of stimulus-response compatibility effects.
Main Results:
- Consistent Simon effects were observed based on attentional cues.
- A reversed affordance effect (negative stimulus-response compatibility) was found for handle orientation.
- This reversed effect persisted even without colored markers.
Conclusions:
- Findings support attentional mechanisms for Simon effects and controlled, endogenous attention for affordances.
- A top-down attentional account can explain the observed reversal of affordance effects.
- Task characteristics critically influence the interplay between affordances and attention.
