TY - JOUR
T1 - The effect of the amount of information and its relevance on memory-based and stimulus-based judgments
AU - Schul, Yaacov
PY - 1986/7
Y1 - 1986/7
N2 - The study examines how the relevance and the amount of knowledge affect the time needed to make stimulus-based and memory-based judgments. Predictions about these effects are derived by considering the impact of these characteristics of stimulus information on the cognitive operations performed during the judgments. Results from two experiments indicate that (a) both types of judgments were facilitated when the information underlying the judgment was relevant; (b) the effect of the amount of information was more pronounced in stimulus-based than in memory-based judgments; and (c) the amount and relevance of the information interacted in determining the speed of both types of judgments. Experiment 2 further suggests that stimulus- and memory-based judgments were more extreme when they were based on three relevant traits than when based on a single relevant trait. This "set-size" effect did not occur, however, when the trait information was irrelevant. The analyses of the judgment responses and latencies make it unlikely that individuals ignored the stimulus information completely or utilized only part of it in making their memory-based judgments. Rather, it appears that in the present study the representation of the stimulus information was activated during memory-based judgments as a single unit and was utilized as the basis of the judgment. These findings are discussed in light of several alternative processing models of memory-based judgments.
AB - The study examines how the relevance and the amount of knowledge affect the time needed to make stimulus-based and memory-based judgments. Predictions about these effects are derived by considering the impact of these characteristics of stimulus information on the cognitive operations performed during the judgments. Results from two experiments indicate that (a) both types of judgments were facilitated when the information underlying the judgment was relevant; (b) the effect of the amount of information was more pronounced in stimulus-based than in memory-based judgments; and (c) the amount and relevance of the information interacted in determining the speed of both types of judgments. Experiment 2 further suggests that stimulus- and memory-based judgments were more extreme when they were based on three relevant traits than when based on a single relevant trait. This "set-size" effect did not occur, however, when the trait information was irrelevant. The analyses of the judgment responses and latencies make it unlikely that individuals ignored the stimulus information completely or utilized only part of it in making their memory-based judgments. Rather, it appears that in the present study the representation of the stimulus information was activated during memory-based judgments as a single unit and was utilized as the basis of the judgment. These findings are discussed in light of several alternative processing models of memory-based judgments.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=38249039614&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/0022-1031(86)90020-X
DO - 10.1016/0022-1031(86)90020-X
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AN - SCOPUS:38249039614
SN - 0022-1031
VL - 22
SP - 355
EP - 373
JO - Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
JF - Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
IS - 4
ER -