Should I stay or should I go--cognitive conflict in multi-attribute signals probed with East and West German 'Ampelmännchen' traffic signs.
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 23717653.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0064712 and PMC identifier 3663810.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
In post-unification Germany, lingering conflicts between East and West Germans have found some unusual outlets, including a debate of the relative superiority of East and West German 'Ampelmännchen' pedestrian traffic signs. In our study, we probed the visual efficacy of East and West German Ampelmännchen signs with a Stroop-like conflict task. We found that the distinctive East German man-with-hat figures were more resistant to conflicting information, and in turn produced greater interference when used as distractors. These findings demonstrate Stroop-like effects for real-life objects, such as traffic signs, and underline the practical utility of an East German icon.
Medical subject headings
- Conflict, Psychological
- Pattern Recognition, Visual