Reproducibility of visual-field asymmetries: Nine replication studies investigating lateralization of visual information processing

Abstract

Numerous behavioral studies suggest that the processing of various types of visual stimuli and features may be more efficient in either the left or the right visual field. However, not all of these visual-field asymmetries (VFAs) have been observed consistently. Moreover, it is typically unclear whether a failure to observe a particular VFA can be ascribed to certain characteristics of the participants and stimuli, to a lack of statistical power, or to the actual absence of an effect. To increase our understanding of lateralization of visual information processing, we have taken a rigorous methodological and statistical approach to examine the reproducibility of various previously reported VFAs. We did so by performing (near-)exact replications of nine representative previous studies, aiming for sufficient power to detect the effects of interest, and taking into consideration all relevant dependent variables (reaction times and error rates). Following Bayesian analyses-on our data alone as well as on the combined evidence from the original and replication studies-we find precise and reliable evidence that support VFAs in the processing of faces, emotional expressions, global and local information, words, and in the distribution of spatial attention. In contrast, we find less convincing evidence for VFAs in processing of high and low spatial frequencies. Finally, we find no evidence for VFAs in categorical perception of color and shape oddballs, and in the judgments of categorical and coordinate spatial relations. We discuss our results in the light of their implications for theories of visual lateralization.

The depth and breadth of multiple perceptual asymmetries in right handers and non-right handers

“…A recent series of replications of classic visual half field studies reveals quite consistent rightward lateralisation for face and attentional processing and leftward lateralisation for lexical decision, in right handed samples (Brederoo, Nieuwenstein, Cornelissen, & Lorist, 2019). However, for data like ours, which compare asymmetries in right-and non-right handed groups, skew is a particular challenge.…”

Effects of Language on Visual Perception

“…One alternative is that the observed lateralization effect may stem from the left hemisphere being more specialized for categorical processing regardless of language [63,64]. The lateralization effect has also not always replicated [65,66], suggesting that it may be more fragile than originally thought, a critique that has also been levied against studies showing effects of labels on color memory [c.f. 67, 68] (see Outstanding Questions).…”

Assessing the reliability of an online behavioural laterality battery: A pre-registered study

“…Results from visual half-field and dichotic listening paradigms support the view that the left hemisphere plays the dominant role in language processing (Hugdahl, 2000;Ocklenburg & Güntürkün, 2018). By contrast, visual half-field paradigms indicate that the right hemisphere is involved in the processing of faces, global feature processing, and visuospatial attention (Brederoo, Nieuwenstein, Cornelissen, & Lorist, 2019). Below, we review how each paradigm has been implemented to study language lateralization and the detection of emotion in faces, and what is known about reliability and validity.…”