Can automatic picture processing influence word judgments?

Evaluated the influence of automatic semantic processing of pictures on word judgments in 2 experiments with 100 undergraduates. Picture-word analogs of the Stroop task were employed. In Exp I, Ss were required to make a semantic category judgment about the word; in Exp II, they were simply to respond yes or no to whether the word was "dog." Taken together, results indicate that (a) perceptual factors such as lateral masking influenced responding in these types of tasks and their contributions must be partialed out from the effects of semantic factors, (b) picture processing facilitated word processing but only in a restricted set of circumstances, and (c) background pictures incompatible with the correct response interfered with word judgments. The facilitation observed was attributed to the effects automatic picture processing had on an initial input process, while the interference appeared to arise at a response selection and execution stage. Results suggest that the semantic nature of automatic picture processing is at least somewhat different from that of automatic word processing. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).