Impaired learning in patients with closed-head injuries: An analysis of components of the acquisition process.

Several studies have already shown a deficit in learning ability following closed-head injury (CHI). Moreover, different learning curves have been claimed to characterize different head-injured subgroups (A. R. Luria, 1973). The present study separated the learning process into 2 different components: the number of new words added in each learning trial and the number of words omitted from trial to trial. The Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test was administered to 30 normal Ss and 30 CHI Ss. Analysis of the number of words recalled in each of the 5 learning trials showed that, relative to the CHI group, the control group recalled a greater number of words and exhibited a steeper learning curve. Further analysis revealed that the control group's steeper learning curve was a product of both a significantly greater increment of words in each trial and a significantly smaller number of words omitted from trial to trial. The clinical and theoretical implications of the distinction between addition and omission of information in the learning process are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Semantic priming after severe closed head trauma: Automatic and attentional processes.

The 2-process theory of semantic priming (J. H. Neely, 1977; M. I. Posner and C. R. Snyder, 1975) was used to determine the maintenance of automatic processes after severe closed head injury (CHI) and to determine whether processes that demand attention suffer a deficit. Ss with severe CHI (N?=?18,?>?2 yrs postinjury) and 18 matched control Ss completed a lexical decision task in which a category prime was followed by a target. Automatic and attentional priming were determined by orthogonally varying prime–target relatedness, expectancy, and stimulus onset asynchrony. Although the CHI Ss had slower reaction times (RTs) overall, there were no significant group differences in the magnitude of either the automatic or attentional component of semantic priming. The present results indicate the integrity of semantic processes and normal semantic priming in long-term patients with severe CHI. The results are discussed in relation to an attentional resource hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Long-term psychosocial adjustment following very severe closed head injury.

Examined the cognitive, psychological, and social functioning of 18 community-dwelling male patients who had experienced a severe closed head injury (CHI) at least 18 mo previously and still required contact with rehabilitation services. Results from Ss with CHI were compared with those from 27 normal control Ss. Information on Ss' behavior was also obtained from their significant others. Results show that Ss with CHI exhibited deficits in their cognitive and social functioning but showed no signs of emotional or psychiatric disturbance. Attempts to find a relationship between the cognitive impairment and social functioning of Ss with CHI were partially successful. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Remote memory: Recalling autobiographical and public events from across the lifespan.

Examined the recall of autobiographical (ATB) and public events across the lifespan among 24 middle-aged (40–55 yrs old) and 24 older (aged 65–75 yrs) individuals. Ss were asked to recall events from specific time periods across their lifespan. The 4 tasks differed in their nature of the episodes requested (ATB or public) and whether recall was word-cued or nonword-cued. Verification of public events was assessed archivally, while ATB events were verified by relatives of a subgroup of the Ss and reported events. Memory for public events decreased with increased age of Ss, but this effect generally did not occur for the recall of ATB events. Older Ss recalled an equal number of ATB episodes from all life segments, whereas recall of news events tended to decrease with remoteness of the episode. Findings suggest that generalizations regarding age or time-related deficiencies are unwarranted. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Major depression in patients with closed head injury.

Interviewed 120 patients with closed head injury (CHI) with regard to depressive symptoms at least 2 yrs after the date of injury. 92 Ss met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) criteria for major depressive disorder. Half of the depressed CHI Ss did not manifest depressive symptoms until at least 6 mo after being injured. Bipolar affective disorder and schizophrenia were uncommon following CHI. CHI patients may be at increased risk for development of major depressive disorder. CHI patients should be screened for depressive symptoms after they appear to have made a "full" recovery. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conscious and preconscious influences on recall: Another example of the restricting effects of awareness.

2 groups of 34 and 36 Ss were asked to recall a list of 27 words—10 associates to the word cheese, 10 unrelated words matched for frequency, 6 buffer words, and the stimulus word "Cheese," embedded in the center of the list. The pattern of recall was studied (a) before "Cheese" was recalled, (b) after "Cheese" was recalled, and (c) when "Cheese" was forgotten. As predicted, a significantly greater number of associates than control words were recalled before "Cheese" was recalled; after "Cheese" was recalled and when "Cheese" was forgotten, an equal number of associates and control words were recalled. Findings were substantially the same in the 2 groups of Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of expectancy timing and outcome consistency in expectancy-guided retrieval.

Two studies investigated how expectancy-timing and expectancy-outcome consistency affect expectancy-guided retrieval. Ss were given a student's grade report for later recall. During the retention interval, Ss' expectancies about the student's future performance (improve vs decline) were manipulated. The expectancy information was presented either at the beginning (T1), halfway through (T2), or at the end of the retention interval (T3). Ss then received outcome information, half consistent and half inconsistent with their expectancy. In both studies, T2 and T3 Ss showed evidence of expectancy-guided retrieval, recalling consistent information accurately but displaying expectancy-congruent distortion of inconsistent information. T1 Ss showed no evidence of expectancy-guided retrieval and accurately recalled both inconsistent and consistent information. Further analyses suggested that T1 Ss appeared to reprocess the original information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of sex stereotypes on children's exploration and memory: A competence versus performance distinction.

25 girls and 31 boys (aged 4–9 yrs) were presented with novel objects in 3 sex-labeled boxes and were given 6 min to explore the objects. Memory for information about the objects was tested 1 wk later. Results show that Ss tactually explored novel objects labeled for their own sex more than similar objects labeled for the other sex and remembered more detailed information about own-sex than other-sex objects. Furthermore, regardless of labeling condition, Ss recalled the sex-typed label applied by the experimenter to each object. As expected from the C. L. Martin and C. F. Halverson, Jr. (see record 1982-05576-001) schematic processing model, an incentive to remember did not improve recall in any labeling condition. The sex-typed labeling effects on exploration occurred primarily among the older children, whereas the effects on recall appeared among the younger and older boys and the younger girls. The results suggest that sex stereotypes restrict children's behavior by limiting their competence rather than their performance. Findings are discussed in relation to an earlier study by the 1st author and R. C. Endsley (see record 1983-32397-001). (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizational and retrieval processes in person memory: An examination of processing objectives, presentation format, and the possible role of self-generated retrieval cues.

Examined memory for behavioral information under conditions in which the number of target persons and the number of behaviors pertaining to each target person were simultaneously varied. 256 undergraduates recalled more of the behavioral information when given a general impression set than when given a memory set, when the information was presented blocked by person than when it was presented randomly, and when they were tested immediately rather than after a delay. Impression-set Ss recalled more behaviors per person than memory-set Ss when the information was presented in a blocked format. However, they recalled more individual target persons and more behaviors per person when the information was presented in a random format. Results suggest that the specific nature of processing objectives and the constraints imposed by presentation format need to be considered carefully in developing future theoretical models of person memory. The role of self-generated retrieval cues and the possibility that there are 2 conceptually distinct types of retrieval are discussed. (44 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Creating false memories: Remembering words not presented in lists.

Two experiments (modeled after J. Deese's 1959 study) revealed remarkable levels of false recall and false recognition in a list learning paradigm. In Exp 1, Ss studied lists of 12 words (e.g., bed, rest, awake); each list was composed of associates of 1 nonpresented word (e.g., sleep). On immediate free recall tests, the nonpresented associates were recalled 40% of the time and were later recognized with high confidence. In Exp 2, a false recall rate of 55% was obtained with an expanded set of lists, and on a later recognition test, Ss produced false alarms to these items at a rate comparable to the hit rate. The act of recall enhanced later remembering of both studied and nonstudied material. The results reveal a powerful illusion of memory: People remember events that never happened. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory and metamemory: A study of the feeling-of-knowing phenomenon in amnesic patients.

Tested accuracy of the feeling of knowing in 2 experiments, using 8 patients with Korsakoff's syndrome (mean age 54 yrs), 8 electroconvulsive shock therapy (ECT) patients (mean age 46.5 yrs), 4 Ss (mean age 47 yrs) with other causes of amnesia, 2 alcoholic control groups (7 Ss with a mean age of 47.6 yrs and 19 Ss with a mean age of 48.5 yrs), and 18 healthy controls (mean age 49 yrs). In Exp I, feeling-of-knowing accuracy for the answers to general information questions that could not be recalled was tested. Ss were asked to rank nonrecalled questions in terms of how likely they thought they would be to recognize the answers and were then given a recognition test for these items. Only Korsakoff's syndrome Ss were impaired in making feeling-of-knowing predictions. The other amnesic Ss were as accurate as control Ss in their feeling-of-knowing predictions. In Exp II, these findings were replicated in a sentence memory paradigm that tested newly learned information. Results show that impaired metamemory is not an obligatory feature of amnesia, because amnesia can occur without detectable metamemory deficits. The impaired metamemory exhibited by patients with Korsakoff's syndrome reflects a cognitive impairment that is not typically observed in other forms of amnesia. (50 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Deliberative and implemental mind-sets: Cognitive tuning toward congruous thoughts and information.

Study 1 established either deliberative mind-set by having Ss contemplate personal change decision or implemental mind-set by having Ss plan execution of intended personal project. Ss were subsequently requested to continue beginnings of 3 fairy tales, each describing a main character with a decisional conflict. Analysis revealed that deliberative mind-set Ss ascribed more deliberative and less implementational efforts to main characters than implemental mind-set Ss. In Study 2, Ss were asked to choose between different test materials. Either before or after making their decision, Ss were given information on deliberative and implementational thoughts unrelated to their task at hand. When asked to recall these thoughts, predecisional Ss recalled more deliberative and less implementational thoughts, whereas for postdecisional Ss the reverse was true. These findings suggest that deliberative and implemental mind-sets tune thought production and information processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of leading questions on prior memory: Evidence for the coexistence of inconsistent memory traces.

Previous studies have found that memory can be altered by leading questions that presuppose information inconsistent with originally presented memory materials. This phenomenon was examined to determine if memory disruption was due to the alteration of original memory by new inconsistent information. Also examined was the variation in this effect with the centrality of target materials. 48 undergraduates read high- and low-importance sentence targets embedded in texts, recalled the texts, were questioned about the materials, and later participated in a recognition task. Presented questions contained presuppositions that were consistent, inconsistent, or neutral with regard to targets. Recognition items were original targets, and foils were congruent with inconsistent question presuppositions. Inconsistent presuppositions did not produce significantly lower target hits than neutral presuppositions, but they did increase foil false alarms relative to neutrals, suggesting that both original and inconsistent new material coexisted in memory at recognition. Recognition results did not vary with the importance of the target material. False alarm rates following inconsistent presuppositions were higher among Ss who had previously failed to recall target information than for Ss recalling targets. This suggested that Ss may tag inconsistent information as false if original traces are retrievable at question time. (French abstract) (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attribution difficulty and memory for attribution-relevant information.

Compared the processing and retrieval of attribution-relevant information when the attributional inference is easy or difficult to make. Ss attributed behavioral events to the person or to the situation, based on several items of context information. Each context sentence implied either the person or the entity as causal agent. When the attributional inference was difficult to make (an equal number of context sentences implied actor and entity as the causal agent), Ss recalled more of the behavioral events, recalled more context sentences, and were less confident in their attributions than when the attributional inference was easy to make (most context sentences implied the same causal agent). Ss also recalled context information that was implicationally incongruent with the majority of the other context sentences with a higher probability than when that same information was implicationally congruent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Quantitative and qualitative effects of repetition on learning from technical text.

Conducted 3 experiments with 147 undergraduate Ss to test predictions related to the effect of repetition, levels, categorization, and processing strategy on retention. Ss listened to a taped lecture on the topic of exposure meters for 35-mm cameras and were tested after 1, 2, or 3 presentations. Combined results indicate the influence of a repetition effect, in which the amount of correctly recalled information increased with repetition; no repetition effect was observed, however, when Ss were given an advance organizer prior to the 1st presentation. Also observed was a levels effect, in which structurally important information was remembered better than unimportant information, an effect that increased with repetition. In addition, a category effect was demonstrated, whereby functionally important information was remembered better than unimportant information, with increased effect following repetition. Primacy and recency were observed to be strong predictors of recall on the 1st presentation, while structural importance was a strong predictor of recall on the 3rd presentation, suggesting that repetition produces both a quantitative increase in amount learned and qualitative change in the reader's processing strategy. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Event memory: The effects of processing objectives and time delay on memory for action sequences.

Tested a general model of information processing proposed by the present 1st author and T. K. Srull (1980, 1984) that conceptualizes the memorial representations of events that result from different types of goal-directed cognition. 248 undergraduates read a passage describing events that took place at a cocktail party. They were told either to form an impression, to empathize with the writer, or to remember the information presented. The stimulus passage contained 2 target events described chronologically or in reverse order that were presented together or were separated. After a short or long delay, Ss recalled the information they read in the order it came to mind. Ss were given the individual event actions and told to place them in the order they were presented. The target events were more likely to be recalled together and in chronological order when Ss had learned about them with either an impression formation or an empathy objective. Orderings of these actions were affected by task objectives only after a long delay. Ss with an empathy objective were most likely to recall the last target event presented before the 1st one after a long delay, whereas Ss with an impression objective were least likely to do so. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's recall of television material: Effects of presentation mode and adult labeling.

Preschoolers, kindergartners, and 3rd and 4th graders viewed an edited prosocial cartoon in 1 of 4 viewing conditions that changed program features and introduced viewing information to aid recognition and structuring of central plot information. Older Ss recalled more total information; Ss who had viewed with an experimenter recalled more material than did Ss in other viewing conditions. Visual presentation enhanced central recall. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Facilitation of social interaction through deindividuation of the target.

Hypothesized that actors want their perception of a target to be consistent with the type of interaction they expect. It was predicted that Ss expecting to aggress would deindividuate their target through the selective recall of deindividuating information. Conversely, Ss expecting a prosocial interaction should individuate the target. Further, angry Ss should deindividuate the individual who angered them. 124 male undergraduates were either angered or not angered by an experimental confederate and then given the opportunity to either shock, reward, or have no interaction with him. Ss recalled information about the confederate either prior to or after the learning task. Ss expecting to aggress deindividuated the target, whereas Ss expecting a prosocial interaction individuated him. Angry Ss deindividuated the target; nonangry Ss did not. Since the selective recall of information occurred prior to the interaction, the deindividuation (individuation) was aimed at facilitating future behavior rather than justifying it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pictures, imagery, and retarded children's prose learning.

96 10–16 yr old educable mental retardates were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 experimental conditions to listen to a 20-sentence story: Picture Ss viewed illustrations of the story, imagery Ss were instructed to generate mental pictures of the story, repetition control Ss heard each sentence of the story twice, and control Ss simply listened to the story once. Planned comparisons revealed that picture Ss recalled more story information than did Ss in all other groups. Differences among the other conditions, age by conditions interactions, and age differences per se were not statistically significant. A number of theoretically and practically interesting issues are discussed in the context of recent prose learning findings with normal children. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)