Laboratory Investigations of the Cognitive Mechanism of Suppression
Abstract
Our goal in this research was to further understand the cognitive mechanism of suppression. In our previous work (supported by AFOSR-89-0305), we found that less-skilled comprehenders are less efficient in suppressing inappropriate, irrelevant, or should-be-ignored information. For instance, less- skilled comprehenders are less efficient in suppressing the inappropriate meanings of ambiguous words (e.g., the playing card meaning of spade when they read the sentence He dug with the spade). Less-skilled comprehenders are also less efficient in suppressing the incorrect forms of homophones (e.g., the concept of patients when they read the sentence, He had a lot of patience.) Less-skilled comprehenders are less efficient in ignoring pictures while reading superimposed words, and they are less efficient in ignoring superimposed words while looking at pictures. Furthermore, less-skilled comprehenders inefficiency in suppressing irrelevant, inappropriate, or to-be-ignored information is not restricted to the language domain: Rather, less-skilled comprehenders are less efficient in suppressing typical-but-absent members of scenic arrays (e.g., a tractor in an array of objects typically found in a farm scene). We suggest that less-skilled comprehenders have less efficient suppression mechanisms. In the research we conducted while supported by AFOSR-91-0323, we discovered that the mechanism of suppression is under comprehenders' strategic control, and we discovered that the left cerebral hemisphere appears to be specialized for suppressing ambiguous words.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 15, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA264304
Entities
People
- Morton A. Gernsbacher
Organizations
- University of Oregon