The general problem under investigation in this study is the extent to which an orienting activity exerts control over the encoding process. Two experiments are reported in which associative meaningfulness was varied under conditions of semantic and nonsemantic processing. Contrary to assumptions of exclusive encoding control by the orienting task, both experiments showed effects of meaningfulness following both semantic and nonsemantic processing tasks. The results are consistent with previous reports of nonsemantic structural effects following semantic processing. These data imply that the memory trace may contain more than just those features congruent with the orienting task and, consequently, that encoding must be conceptualized in terms of both process and structure.Recent theoretical analyses of the input stage of memory have seen a dramatic shift from the traditional focus on the contribution of stimulus structure toward an emphasis on processes (Craik & Tulving, 1975;Kolers, 1976). Memory performance is analyzed in terms of what was done to the stimulus rather than in terms of the properties of that stimulus. The contemporary emphasis follows axiomatically from the informationprocessing framework. Fundamental to the information-processing approach is the assumption that mere specification of the at-
This research investigates the applicability of theatrical lighting techniques that manipulate the appearance of the shape of an environment to architectural spaces. Two temporal twoalternative forced choice experiments were conducted. Participants viewed the interior of a white room when illuminated by one of four test lighting conditions , in which the luminance differences between the vertical and horizontal surfaces varied, as well as a reference uniform luminance condition. In the first experiment, participants were asked to report which of the two randomly-presented lighting conditions made the space appear wider. In the second experiment, they were asked to indicate which made the space appear taller. In both experiments, participants reported that the space appeared smaller (narrower and shorter) when it was illuminated by all of the non-uniform lighting conditions than the reference uniform lighting condition.
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