Analysis of the response rate to cognitive load

Analysis of the response rate to cognitive load, word type and valence of stimuli in masked
repetition priming and the effect on individual preferences
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Abstract
The working memory has a limited capacity to hold information. Therefore, through selective
attention, it is possible to filter relevant stimuli. In this research, an analysis was done to
investigate the response time in meaning tasks and cognitive tasks. Further research was also
done to examine the impact of the emotional valence of words to the response rate of the
participants. It was found that there was a higher response time in cognitive tasks as compared
to meaning tasks. It was also found that words that had a negative emotional valence had a faster
response rate. The hypothesis that individuals with anxiety responded faster to words with
negative valence while individuals who are happy responded more quickly to words with a
positive emotional valance was rejected

Introduction
Evidence-based research has shown that unconscious stimuli are not processed as fast as
conscious stimuli; however, it has a significant effect on conscious behavior. Deutsch and
Deutsch (1963) explain that the innate capacity of an individual to retain information in the
working memory is limited, which reflects limited conscious awareness. The mind is therefore
designed to have a selective attention filter which allows it to focus the attention to the desired
task and ignore the irrelevant stimuli. Merikle, Smilek, & Eastwood (2001), also explain that the
attention of an individual can be manipulated by presenting e appropriate stimulus or by
instructing the individual on where they should focus their attention
Priming is a psychological technique in which exposure to a specific stimulus influences
the individual’s response to subsequent or related stimuli (Neeley and Kahan (2001). It is an
unconscious method of activating a particular section of the brain which overall improves the
functionality. An example is showing an individual a blue piece of paper then directing them to a
fruit basket. They are more likely to identify blueberries first as compared to yellow bananas or
their favorite fruit. Bodner and Stalinsky (2008) explain that repetition priming is consistently
using the same stimulus in order to initiate a behavioral change. Semantic priming, on the other
hand, is when words are associated. An example is showing an individual a set of words in
uppercase and lower case. The individual will respond differently to the words. According to
Heyman et al. (2015), semantic activation is automatic; however, it can be modified to respond
to a specific stimulus. There are various factors that influence semantic activation. They include
the type of stimuli, the repetition rate of stimuli and the time of exposure to the stimulus.

Words that have different emotional valence tend to be processed in a different manner
from the regular type of words. According to Merikle, Smilek, & Eastwood (2001), additional
cognitive resources play a significant role in the processing of stimuli. In this experiment,
masked semantic priming was used when the primers appeared in upper case letters while the
participants of the study were shown similar words in lowercase for a condition that was related
or a different word for a condition that was unrelated (Bodner and Stalinsky, 2008). This is
another form of semantic priming; it is also called masked priming (Ortells, Kiefer, Castillo,
Megías, & Morillas, 2016). The primers used for this experiment were presented to the
participants below the threshold of conscious awareness (Heyman et al., 2015).
Individual differences may influence the emotional stimuli response. Apart from the
cognitive load and the stimulus type, another factor that affects the performance in cognitive
tasks is individual differences. Was, Woltz, & Hirsch (2019), explain that Some people tend to
respond more to specific stimuli as compared to other stimuli. There are scales that have been
designed to measure the effect of individual preferences on the performance of a cognitive task;
these scales were used in this research
It was hypothesized based on evidence-based research that emotional valence and
cognitive load could be modified to predict the performance of responses to stimuli. Based on
previous works by Merikle, Smilek, & Eastwood (2001), it was also hypotheses the individual
difference such as anxiety and happiness played a significant role in response to stimuli. Without
forgetting, it was also hypothesized based on previous research by Was, Woltz, & Hirsch (2019),
that priming for negative words would be stronger in individuals diagnosed with anxiety while
on the other hand, individuals diagnosed as happy will have stronger riming for positive words

Discussion
Summary of findings
The participants reported a high mean percent in both the pattern task ad the cognitive
load. The results of the two variables show an almost similar mean, which indicates that the
participants genuinely attempted both tasks with the same concentration. The findings of the
study suggest that the participant had a faster reaction in conditions that were related as
compared to conditions that were unrelated. The results also indicate that the participants had a
quicker reaction time in the cognitive load task as compared to the meaning task.
The most significant difference, however, was shown in the difference between the
negative and positive valence words. In the meaning task, there was a small difference between
the negative words of related and unrelated tasks. There was also a slight difference in the
meaning task of the positive related and posited unrelated works. In the cognitive load task, there
was a significant difference between the negative related words and the unrelated negative
words. there was also a considerable difference in the cognitive load of the positive related words
and unrelated positive words.
The word valence, and the task type also had a relationship. In the meaning task, there
was a low priming effect as compared to the load task. Also, in the meaning task, there was very
little difference between the negative and the positive valence. However, in the load task, there
was a significant difference between the positive and the negative valence.
The individual difference variables were analyzed to examine any possible correlation
with the priming effect. The two variables considered were anxiety and happiness. The findings
suggest that there was no significant difference in the two results despite the expected negative

correlation in participants diagnosed with anxiety. These findings, therefore, reject the
hypothesis that was previously stated
Relevance to literature
The findings of this research relate to previous research. According to Was, Woltz, &
Hirsch (2019), it is expected that the participants should have a longer response time in the
cognitive load task as compared to the meaning task. This is because the cognitive load task
requires more attention and focus from the brain thus resulting in a longer response time. In
addition, past research has shown that there is a significant correlation between negative related
words and unrelated negative words in a cognitive task. The findings of this research also present
the same results. The participants took a long time to respond to the unrelated negative words as
compared to the negatively related task.
The findings of this research are relevant to the previous models. Deutsch and Deutsch
(1963), explained that conscious awareness is limited and therefore, the capacity to hold
information in the working memory is limited. this phenomenon can be used to describe why in
the study conducted, some of the tasks took a long time to receive a response. The participant
was required to filter their attention and refocus on the relevant stimuli in order to give a
response to the task.
The findings of this study are also in line with the model developed by previous
researchers. Merikle, Smilek, and Eastwoood (2001) explain that the words that had a positive
valence were described differently from words that had a negative valence. The research has
shown that individuals respond fast to words that have a negative valence as compared to words

that have a positive valence. It is possible that the cognitive aspect of the brain affects the
response time to the various stimuli.
There was no significant difference between the individual variable in the performance of
the two tasks. Individuals who were diagnosed as happy or anxious reported similar results on
both tasks. This indicates that the emotional state of an individual does not affect the cognitive
aspect of the brain. These findings reject previous models that have been developed over the
years.
Limitations and future studies
The major limitation of this research is that there several hypotheses being tested. The
research would have been more effective if only one variable was being tested. More effort
would have been focused on analyzing one variable or concentrate on only the two tasks.
Another limitation of these results is that the impact of other variables was not considered. the
education level of the participants could have had a significant effect on the response rate. Other
factors such as the intelligence, gender, preferences also may have impacted the results that were
obtained
It is also possible that there was bias in the results that were collected. All the participants
claimed to be native English speakers. Further research should be done on participants who have
English as their second language. Alternatively, the study can be conducted in a different
language to determine if the same results would be obtained.
It is recommended that for future studies, research should be done to investigate the
mechanism behind the high response time of negative related words. In this research, the reaction
time for the negative related words in the cognitive task and the fastest response. It is expected

that the participant would respond faster to positive words. Further research needs to be done to
investigate this phenomenon
Conclusion
In conclusion, unconscious stimuli are not processed as quickly as conscious stimuli;
however, it has a significant impact on the behavior of an individual. Words that have a negative
valence tend to be processed faster than words with a positive valance. In addition, individual
differences such as happiness and sadness do not play a significant role in the cognitive behavior
of an individual.

References
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