Electrophysiological Correlates of Cognitive Activity, Event Related Slow-Potentials Developed during Solution of Anagrams
Abstract
Electroencephalographic (EEG) activity and time to solution were recorded for sixteen human subjects during a task requiring the solution of five letter anagrams. Solution achievement was signaled by depressing a microswitch. The sixty stimulus anagrams were selected from lists of abstractness and usage frequency to form four stimulus groups: (1) concrete/high frequency; (2) concrete/low frequency; (3) abstract/high frequency; (4) abstract/low frequency. Stimulus words were presented to subjects in a randomized order interspersed with a non-anagram recognition word (TANGO) or a blank screen (BLANK). Stimulus presentation was under computer control and displayed upon a computer CRT. Solution time was subjected to an analysis of variance. Abstractness and frequency were both significant. Abstractness had the greater effect upon solution time. There were no interaction effects. Concrete (low abstractness) anagrams were solved more quickly than abstract anagrams, with the effect of frequency of usage additive to solution times. This result was concluded to support, but not to confirm a parallel processing hypothesis: conscious processing concerned with anagram letter rearrangement, and simultaneous unconscious processing concerned with retrieval of possible solution words from long term memory.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1978
- Accession Number
- ADA059044
Entities
People
- Joseph W. Rigney
- Louis A. Williams
Organizations
- University of Southern California