Fig. 1.

An extensive region of dorsal mPFC was obtained from the contrast of impression formation > sequencing and is displayed on a sagittal (x = −6) slice of subjects’ mean normalized brain (Panel A). Analysis of the parameter estimates associated with trial types revealed main effects of both orienting task (impression formation vs sequencing) and statement diagnosticity (diagnostic vs nondiagnostic), as well as a significant two-way interaction. Specifically, for trials encountered as part of the impression formation task (left set of bars), no difference was observed between diagnostic and nondiagnostic statements. In contrast, for trials encountered as part of the sequencing task (right set of bars), a significant effect of diagnosticity was observed. Qualitatively similar results were obtained in regions-of-interest defined in earlier research on the neural basis of impression formation: Mitchell et al. (2004; Panel B) and Mitchell et al. (2005; Panel C).