Watching diagnoses develop: Eye movements reveal symptom processing during diagnostic reasoning

verfasst von

Agnes Scholz, Josef F. Krems, Georg Jahn

Abstract

Finding a probable explanation for observed symptoms is a highly complex task that draws on information retrieval from memory. Recent research suggests that observed symptoms are interpreted in a way that maximizes coherence for a single likely explanation. This becomes particularly clear if symptom sequences support more than one explanation. However, there are no existing process data available that allow coherence maximization to be traced in ambiguous diagnostic situations, where critical information has to be retrieved from memory. In this experiment, we applied memory indexing, an eye-tracking method that affords rich time-course information concerning memory-based cognitive processing during higher order thinking, to reveal symptom processing and the preferred interpretation of symptom sequences. Participants first learned information about causes and symptoms presented in spatial frames. Gaze allocation to emptied spatial frames during symptom processing and during the diagnostic response reflected the subjective status of hypotheses held in memory and the preferred interpretation of ambiguous symptoms. Memory indexing traced how the diagnostic decision developed and revealed instances of hypothesis change and biases in symptom processing. Memory indexing thus provided direct online evidence for coherence maximization in processing ambiguous information.

Organisationseinheit(en)

Institut für Psychologie

Externe Organisation(en)

Technische Universität Chemnitz

Typ

Artikel

Journal

Psychonomic Bulletin and Review

Band

24

Seiten

1398-1412

Anzahl der Seiten

15

ISSN

1069-9384

Publikationsdatum

2017

Publikationsstatus

Veröffentlicht

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Experimentelle und kognitive Psychologie, Pädagogische und Entwicklungspsychologie, Geisteswissenschaftliche Fächer (sonstige)

Elektronische Version(en)

https://doi.org/10.3758/S13423-017-1294-8 (Zugang: Unbekannt)