Steve Joordens

Publications of Steve Joordens

• The eyes know what you are thinking: eye movements as an objective measure of mind wandering.

  Authors: Sarah Uzzaman, Steve Joordens

  Consciousness and cognition. 12/2011; 20(4):1882-6.

  Paralleling the recent work by Reichle, Reineberg, and Schooler (2010), we explore the use of eye movements as an objective measure of mind wandering while participants performed a reading task.Paralleling the recent work by Reichle, Reineberg, and Schooler (2010), we explore the use of eye movements as an objective measure of mind wandering while participants performed a reading task. Participants were placed in a self-classified probe-caught mind wandering paradigm while their eye movements were recorded. They were randomly probed every 2-3 min and were required to indicate whether their mind had been wandering. The results show that eye movements were generally less complex when participants reported mind wandering episodes, with both duration and frequency of within-word regressions, for example, becoming significantly reduced. This is consistent with the theoretical claim that the cognitive processes that normally influence eye movements to enhance semantic processing during reading exert less control during mind wandering episodes.

• Assessing the effectiveness of a voluntary online discussion forum on improving students' course performance.

  Authors: Cho Kin Cheng, Dwayne E. Paré, Lisa-Marie Collimore, Steve Joordens

  Computers & Education. 01/2011; 56:253-261.

• The similarities (and familiarities) of pseudowords and extremely high-frequency words: examining a familiarity-based explanation of the pseudoword effect.

  Authors: Jason D Ozubko, Steve Joordens

  Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition. 11/2010; 37(1):123-39.

  The pseudoword effect is the finding that pseudowords (i.e., rare words or pronounceable nonwords) give rise to more hits and false alarms than words. Using the retrieving effectively from memoryThe pseudoword effect is the finding that pseudowords (i.e., rare words or pronounceable nonwords) give rise to more hits and false alarms than words. Using the retrieving effectively from memory (REM) model of recognition memory, we tested a familiarity-based account of the pseudoword effect: Specifically, the pseudoword effect arises because pseudowords lack distinctive semantic meanings. Because semantics can differentiate orthographically similar words (e.g., horse vs. house), by lacking distinctive semantics, pseudowords have greater interitem similarity than words, and hence more familiarity, which gives rise to the pseudoword effect. Across two sets of simulations, we demonstrate that this account explains the pseudoword effect in addition to accounting for why the pseudoword effect is absent when irregular nonwords are compared with words. Furthermore, our modeling efforts suggest a novel experiment that leads us to the discovery of a new concordant effect. Namely, extremely high-frequency words behave like pseudowords (giving rise to more hits and false alarms than high-frequency words) and also have less distinctive semantics than high-frequency words. We conclude that our work provides strong evidence in favor of the familiarity-based accounts of the pseudoword effect. We discuss the implications of our research with regard to various issues surrounding the pseudoword effect and REM model.

• Is looking older than one's actual age a sign of poor health?

  Authors: Stephen W Hwang, Mina Atia, Rosane Nisenbaum, Dwayne E Pare, Steve Joordens

  Journal of general internal medicine. 10/2010; 26(2):136-41.

  Physicians often begin the physical examination with an assessment of whether a patient looks older than his or her actual age. This practice suggests an implicit assumption that patients who appearPhysicians often begin the physical examination with an assessment of whether a patient looks older than his or her actual age. This practice suggests an implicit assumption that patients who appear older than their actual age are more likely to be in poor health. To determine the sensitivity and specificity of apparent age for the detection of poor health status. Cross-sectional. A total of 126 outpatients (ages 30-70) from four primary care clinics and one general internal medicine clinic at an academic medical institution. With the patient's actual age provided, physicians (n = 58 internal medicine residents and general internal medicine faculty) viewed patient photographs and assessed how old each patient looked. For each physician, we examined the sensitivity and specificity of the difference between how old the patient looked and the patient's actual age for the detection of poor health, defined using SF-12 physical health and mental health scores. Using the threshold of looking ≥ 5 years older than actual age and with poor health defined as an SF-12 score ≥ 2.0 SD below age group norms, median sensitivity was 29% (IQR, 19% to 35%), median specificity 82% (IQR, 77% to 88%), median positive likelihood ratio 1.7 (IQR, 1.3 to 2.2), and median negative likelihood ratio 0.9 (IQR, 0.8 to 0.9). Using the threshold of looking ≥ 10 years older than actual age, median sensitivity was 5% (IQR, 2% to 9%) and median specificity was 99% (IQR, 96% to 100%). The diagnostic value of apparent age depends on how many years older than his or her actual age a patient looks. A physician's assessment that a patient looks ≥ 10 years older than his or her actual age has very high specificity for the detection of poor health.

• Utilizing virtual reality to improve the ecological validity of clinical neuropsychology: an FMRI case study elucidating the neural basis of planning by comparing the Tower of London with a three-dimensional navigation task.

  Authors: Zachariah Campbell, Konstantine K Zakzanis, Diana Jovanovski, Steve Joordens, Richard Mraz, Simon J Graham

  Applied neuropsychology. 10/2009; 16(4):295-306.

  Virtual reality (VR) was used to create an ecologically valid spatial-navigation task in hand with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to articulate the neural basis of planning behavior. AVirtual reality (VR) was used to create an ecologically valid spatial-navigation task in hand with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to articulate the neural basis of planning behavior. A virtual version of a traditional planning measure, the Tower of London, was also developed to ascertain convergent and divergent validity in terms of planning behavior and functional neuroanatomy. This VR-fMRI case study experiment was performed at 3.0 Tesla on a young healthy male subject. The obtained image data suggest both convergent and divergent specificity between the two conditions in terms of location and overall intensity of activation. Overall, the present case study provides supportive evidence that the activity of various brain regions associated with planning tasks is largely modulated by the ecological validity of the measure being used. This finding may extend to all domains of inquiry in neuropsychological research and assessment when deductive conclusions are formulated on the results of neuropsychological test measures that could be considered contrived in nature.

• Turning the process-dissociation procedure inside-out: A new technique for understanding the relation between conscious and unconscious influences.

  Authors: Steve Joordens, Daryl E Wilson, Thomas M Spalek, Dwayne E Paré

  Consciousness and cognition. 10/2009;

  While there is now general agreement that memory gives rise to both conscious and unconscious influences, there remains disagreement concerning the process architecture underlying these distinctWhile there is now general agreement that memory gives rise to both conscious and unconscious influences, there remains disagreement concerning the process architecture underlying these distinct influences. Do they arise from independent underlying systems (e.g., Jacoby, 1991) or from systems that are interactive (e.g., Joordens & Merikle, 1993)? In the current paper we present a novel "inside-out" technique that can be used with the process-dissociation paradigm to arrive at more concrete conclusions concerning this central question and demonstrate this technique via a meta-analysis of currently published findings. Our results suggest that the data presented in these studies vary in ways most consistent with the assumption that conscious and unconscious influences behave independently.

• Modeling performance at the trial level within a diffusion framework: a simple yet powerful method for increasing efficiency via error detection and correction.

  Authors: Steve Joordens, C Darren Piercey, Rostam Azarbehi

  Canadian journal of experimental psychology = Revue canadienne de psychologie expérimentale. 07/2009; 63(2):81-93.

  When faced with a relatively novel task, it is reasonable to assume that increases in performance efficiency depend upon processing adjustments that occur in response to errant or suboptimalWhen faced with a relatively novel task, it is reasonable to assume that increases in performance efficiency depend upon processing adjustments that occur in response to errant or suboptimal performance. For such dynamic corrections to occur, the errors must first be noted, which can be challenging in contexts where no external feedback is provided. In the present article, the authors describe how a "double cross" error monitoring and correction process can be added to diffusion models of binary decision. The authors first outline the logick of our proposed error detection system, and then demonstrate that the addition of this double-cross process in the context of a simulation of lexical decision leads to more efficient responding. That is, with such a mechanism in place, the model was able to gradually respond more quickly and the distribution of errors became more consistent with human response patterns.

• Super Memory Bros.: Going from mirror patterns to concordant patterns via similarity enhancements.

  Authors: Jason D Ozubko, Steve Joordens

  Memory & cognition. 01/2009; 36(8):1391-402.

  When memory is contrasted for stimuli belonging to distinct stimulus classes, one of two patterns is observed: a mirror pattern, in which one stimulus gives rise to higher hits but lower false alarmsWhen memory is contrasted for stimuli belonging to distinct stimulus classes, one of two patterns is observed: a mirror pattern, in which one stimulus gives rise to higher hits but lower false alarms (e.g., the frequency-based mirror effect) or a concordant pattern, in which one stimulus class gives rise both to higher hits and to higher false alarms (e.g., the pseudoword effect). On the basis of the dual-process account proposed by Joordens and Hockley (2000), we predict that mirror patterns occur when one stimulus class is more familiar and less distinctive than another, whereas concordant patterns occur when one stimulus class is more familiar than another. We tested these assumptions within a video game paradigm using novel stimuli that allow manipulations in terms of distinctiveness and familiarity (via similarity). When more distinctive, less familiar items are contrasted with less distinctive, more familiar items, a mirror pattern is observed. Systematically enhancing the familiarity of stimuli transforms the mirror pattern to a concordant pattern as predicted. Although our stimuli differ considerably from those used in examinations of the frequency-based mirror effect and the pseudoword effect, the implications of our findings with respect to those phenomena are also discussed.

• Peering into large lectures: examining peer and expert mark agreement using peerScholar, an online peer assessment tool.

  Authors: Dwayne E. Paré, Steve Joordens

  J. Comp. Assisted Learning. 01/2008; 24:526-540.

• The mixed truth about frequency effects on free recall: effects of study list composition.

  Authors: Jason D Ozubko, Steve Joordens

  Psychonomic bulletin & review. 11/2007; 14(5):871-6.

  The mixed-list paradox is the finding that high-frequency words show a recall advantage in blocked lists, but that this advantage is reversed or nullified in mixed lists. We argue that this paradoxThe mixed-list paradox is the finding that high-frequency words show a recall advantage in blocked lists, but that this advantage is reversed or nullified in mixed lists. We argue that this paradox has been poorly defined. Specifically, researchers should investigate random and alternating lists separately. We examine blocked, random, and alternating lists in our experiment. We hypothesize that a low-frequency recall advantage could arise due to asymmetrically strong links between low- and high-frequency words. Supporting our hypothesis, a low-frequency recall advantage is observed in the random list, as is an asymmetry of association. In the alternating list, no recall advantage is observed, and neither is any asymmetry of association. Our results offer a clear challenge to future research to (1) consider the associations between word frequencies and (2) consider random and alternating lists separately.

• Selective attention versus selection for action: negative priming is not the result of distractors being unattended.

  Authors: Steve Joordens, Itanni Betancourt, Thomas M Spalek

  Perception & psychophysics. 08/2006; 68(6):890-6.

  Using a novel referent size-selection task, MacDonald, Joordens, and Seergobin (1999; MacDonald & Joordens, 2000) found that negative priming persisted even when participants were encouraged toUsing a novel referent size-selection task, MacDonald, Joordens, and Seergobin (1999; MacDonald & Joordens, 2000) found that negative priming persisted even when participants were encouraged to attend to distractors before selectively responding to targets. This finding suggested that negative priming is not caused by processes that operate on stimuli that are to be ignored in the traditional selective attention sense. Mackintosh, Mathews, and Holden's (2002) attempt to replicate the MacDonald et al. study resulted in the discovery of possible artifacts in the referent size-selection task, thereby making the implications with respect to the role of attention less clear. In the present study, we describe a different method for directing attention to distractors in a negative priming context, one that does not suffer from the same potential artifacts as the referent size-selection task. Our results are consistent with those found by MacDonald et al., in that negative priming persisted even when participants were explicitly encouraged to attend to distractors. Implications are discussed in the context of the related concepts of selective attention (e.g., Broadbent, 1965) versus selection for action (e.g., Allport, 1987).

• A clockwork orange: compensation opposing momentum in memory for location.

  Authors: Steve Joordens, Thomas M Spalek, Samira Razmy, Marc van Duijn

  Memory & cognition. 02/2004; 32(1):39-50.

  Libet, Gleason, Wright, and Pearl's (1983; Libet, 1985) influential work using a clock-watching task suggests that voluntary actions are initiated in motor cortex prior to the point where theLibet, Gleason, Wright, and Pearl's (1983; Libet, 1985) influential work using a clock-watching task suggests that voluntary actions are initiated in motor cortex prior to the point where the participant claims to have initiated that action. Joordens, van Duijn, and Spalek (2002) showed that a bias exists in this task with respect to the participants' reports of initiation times. Joordens et al. assumed that this bias was primarily due to motion cues that are very much like those used to elicit phenomena such as representational momentum. In the present Experiment 1, it is demonstrated that this bias disappears when a mouse-click response is used in place of a temporal-order judgment. This finding, however, is actually more confusing than clarifying given that the procedural parallels with representational momentum are still present and should be supporting a bias. In the three subsequent experiments the view that a bias is indeed present, but that it is opposed by an opposite-acting compensation process, is proposed and tested. Implications for both representational momentum and for the general use of clock-watching tasks (e.g., Libet et al., 1983) are highlighted.

• Negate priming and multiple repetition: a reply to Grison and Strayer (2001).

  Authors: W Trammell Neill, Steve Joordens

  Perception & psychophysics. 07/2002; 64(5):855-60; discussion 861-5.

  Strayer and colleagues (Grison & Strayer, 2001; Malley & Strayer 1995; Strayer & Grison, 1999) have reported experiments in which negative priming by ignored stimuli occurred onlyfor stimuli thatStrayer and colleagues (Grison & Strayer, 2001; Malley & Strayer 1995; Strayer & Grison, 1999) have reported experiments in which negative priming by ignored stimuli occurred onlyfor stimuli that were repeatedly sampledfrom small sets. These results were argued to be inconsistent with episodic/mismatch accounts of negative priming. We show here that a dependence of negative priming on multiple repetition is wholly consistent with such theories. Furthermore, we argue that the inhibitory theory proposed by Strayer and colleagues cannot account for major findings regarding negative priming and that anomalies in the data reported by Grison and Strayer are more parsimoniously explained by episodic/mismatch accounts.

• When timing the mind one should also mind the timing: biases in the measurement of voluntary actions.

  Authors: Steve Joordens, Marc van Duijn, Thomas M Spalek

  Consciousness and cognition. 07/2002; 11(2):231-40; discussion 308-13.

  Trevena and Miller (2002, this issue) provide further evidence that readiness potentials occur in the brain prior to the time that participants claim to have initiated a voluntary movement, aTrevena and Miller (2002, this issue) provide further evidence that readiness potentials occur in the brain prior to the time that participants claim to have initiated a voluntary movement, a contention originally forwarded by Libet, Gleason, Wright, and Pearl (1983). In their examination of this issue, though, aspects of their data lead them to question whether their measurement of the initiation of a voluntary movement was accurate. The current article addresses this concern by providing a direct analysis of biases in this task. This was done by asking participants to make subjective timing decisions regarding a stimulus that could be measured objectively. Our findings suggest that their timing task was indeed biased such that participants' tend to report events as happening approximately 70 ms later than they actually happened. Implications for the original Libet et al. claims are discussed.

• Featuring old/new recognition: The two faces of the pseudoword effect

  Authors: Steve Joordens, Jason D. Ozubko, Marty W. Niewiadomski

  Journal of Memory and Language.

  In his analysis of the pseudoword effect, [Greene, R.L. (2004). Recognition memory for pseudowords. Journal of Memory and Language, 50, 259–267.] suggests nonwords can feel more familiar that wordsIn his analysis of the pseudoword effect, [Greene, R.L. (2004). Recognition memory for pseudowords. Journal of Memory and Language, 50, 259–267.] suggests nonwords can feel more familiar that words in a recognition context if the orthographic features of the nonword match well with the features of the items presented at study. One possible account he mentions relies on two assumptions: (1) that items are matched to study only on the basis of the features the item affords, and (2) that the tendency to say old to a test item is proportional to the extent of featural overlap with study items. We find strong support for these assumptions with respect to accounting for the pseudoword effect observed in false alarms. However, our findings also suggest that the pseudoword effect on hits, when observed, reflects a different set of underlying processes, that appear more in line with the discrepancy-attribution notions of [Whittlesea, W.A., & Williams, L.D. (1998). Why do strangers feel familiar, but friends do not? A discrepancy-attribution account of feelings of familiarity. Acta Psychologica, 98, 141–165; Whittlesea, W.A., & Williams, L.D. (2000). The source of feelings of familiarity: The discrepancy-attribution hypothesis. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 26, 547–565.].