ABSTRACT
Visual field differences in a recognition memory task were investigated. A pair of letters (the “memory stimulus,” or MS) was presented to the center of the subject’s visual field. After various retention intervals, a test stimulus (TS) was presented to either of the visual fields. The subjects decided as rapidly as possible if the two letters in the TS had the same names as the two letters in the MS. The relationship between visual field of presentation and decision time wa was correlated with the subject’s Verbal Scholastic Aptitude Test (VSAT) score. This correlation was strongest when the MS and TS had the same names, but different cases. Under these conditions, subjects with low VSAT scores (below 500) tended to respond faster to the TS if it were presented to the right visual field, whereas subjects with high VSAT scores tended to respond faster if it were presented to the left. In a subsequent experiment, subjects were evaluated on various subtests of verbal abilities, and the vocabulary sub-score was found to be the best predictor of the type of visual field effects found both in a letter matching task, as above, and in a similar task using nonsense figures.
