Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Causes of Similarity-Dissimilarity Effect01:26

Causes of Similarity-Dissimilarity Effect

The similarity-dissimilarity effect, a fundamental concept in social psychology, explains how interpersonal similarities and differences influence attraction and social interactions. This effect is supported by three key psychological perspectives: balance theory, social comparison theory, and consensual validation.Balance Theory and Cognitive ConsistencyBalance theory, developed by Fritz Heider, posits that individuals seek cognitive consistency in their relationships. When two people share...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Processing letters in words at different levels.

Memory & cognition·2011
Same author

Limiting lexical activation limits perceptual priming in masked word identification.

Canadian journal of experimental psychology = Revue canadienne de psychologie experimentale·1998
Same author

Episodic effects on the visual comparison of letters in words.

Perception & psychophysics·1992
Same author

Whole and part comparisons of words and nonwords.

Memory & cognition·1986
Same author

Evidence against the computation of abstract letter identities in visual processing.

Canadian journal of psychology·1985
Same author

Orthographic and lexical processing of visual letter strings.

Canadian journal of psychology·1982

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Comparing the Frequency Effect Between the Lexical Decision and Naming Tasks in Chinese
08:08

Comparing the Frequency Effect Between the Lexical Decision and Naming Tasks in Chinese

Published on: April 1, 2016

Familiarity effects and word unitization in visual comparison tasks.

H H Marmurek

    Memory & Cognition
    |July 1, 1989
    PubMed
    Summary

    Familiar words are identified faster than non-words, a familiarity effect that is more pronounced in simultaneous tasks. This suggests facilitated encoding due to activated cognitive units, not just perceptual unitization.

    Area of Science:

    • Cognitive Psychology
    • Experimental Psychology
    • Human Information Processing

    Background:

    • The recognition of familiar stimuli is often faster than novel ones.
    • Previous research suggests a 'familiarity effect' in word recognition tasks.
    • Understanding the cognitive mechanisms underlying this effect is crucial.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To investigate the magnitude of the familiarity effect in different visual matching tasks.
    • To differentiate between perceptual unitization and facilitated encoding as explanations for the familiarity effect.
    • To explore the role of cognitive units in rapid word identification.

    Main Methods:

    • Participants performed simultaneous and sequential visual matching tasks.
    • Tasks involved decisions about the identity of word and non-word stimuli.

    More Related Videos

    Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects
    07:36

    Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

    Published on: November 30, 2018

    A Two-interval Forced-choice Task for Multisensory Comparisons
    07:13

    A Two-interval Forced-choice Task for Multisensory Comparisons

    Published on: November 9, 2018

    Related Experiment Videos

    Last Updated: Jul 18, 2026

    Comparing the Frequency Effect Between the Lexical Decision and Naming Tasks in Chinese
    08:08

    Comparing the Frequency Effect Between the Lexical Decision and Naming Tasks in Chinese

    Published on: April 1, 2016

    Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects
    07:36

    Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

    Published on: November 30, 2018

    A Two-interval Forced-choice Task for Multisensory Comparisons
    07:13

    A Two-interval Forced-choice Task for Multisensory Comparisons

    Published on: November 9, 2018

  • Reaction times and accuracy were measured to assess decision speed.

    • Main Results:

    • Decisions for identical words were faster than for identical non-words.
    • The familiarity effect was larger in the simultaneous matching task compared to the sequential task.
    • Word matching was slower than matching a single letter to a location within a word.

    Conclusions:

    • The findings rule out a simple perceptual unitization account of the familiarity effect.
    • The familiarity effect is better explained by facilitated encoding via activated holistic cognitive units.
    • This highlights the role of memory and cognitive representations in efficient visual processing.