Mental model organization.

Previous research (G. A. Radvansky and R. T. Zacks; see record 1992-04153-001) has shown that the fan effect is mediated not by the number of nominal associations paired with a concept but by the number of mental models into which related concepts are organized. Specifically, newly learned "facts" about different objects in one location are integrated into a single mental model and no fan effect is produced, whereas facts about one object in different locations are not integrated and a fan effect is produced. In 6 experiments the authors investigated several factors' influence on location-based organization preferences. No impact on either article type (definite or indefinite) or object transportability was found. However, animate sentence subjects (people) reduced preference for location-based organizations. A clear person-based organization emerged by using locations that typically contain only a single person (e.g., phone booth) to make location-based situations less plausible. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The fan effect: New results and new theories.

The fan effect (J. R. Anderson, see record 1975-06644-001) has been attributed to interference among competing associations to a concept. Recently, it has been suggested that such effects might be due to multiple mental models (G. A. Radvansky, D. H. Spieler, & R. T. Zacks, see record 1993-16287-001) or suppression of concepts (M. C. Anderson & B. A. Spellman, see record 1995-16174-001); A. R. A. Conway & R. W. Engle, see record 1994-08314-001). It was found that the Adaptive Control of Thought—Rational (ACT-R) theory, which embodies associative interference, is consistent with the results of G. A. Radvansky et-al. and that there is no evidence for concept suppression in a new fan experiment. The ACT-R model provides good quantitative fits to the results, as shown in a variety of experiments. The 3 key concepts in these fits are (a) the associative strength between 2 concepts reflects the degree to which one concept predicts the other, (b) foils are rejected by retrieving mismatching facts; and (c) participants can adjust the relative weights they give to various cues in retrieval. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Network interference and number-fact retrieval: Evidence from children's alphaplication.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 46(2) of Canadian Journal of Psychology Revue Canadienne de Psychologie (see record 2007-10803-001). Figure 1 was inadvertently omitted. Reprints of this article, available from the authors, will include this figure.] Investigated the origins of several phenomena of number-fact retrieval by asking 45 children (aged 8 yrs 2 mo to 10 yrs 7 mo) to memorize alphaplication facts (arithmetic-like memory items composed of letters instead of numbers). Ss' performance in the task showed paralleled aspects of simple arithmetic performance. There was a strong performance advantage for tie over nontie problems on both reaction time (RT) and errors. Specific errors frequently involved operand-related answers. Correct RTs and error rates across problems were closely linked. Correct answers to poorly learned problems tended to be the most common error responses. Performance was not as good for problems that were introduced later in the learning sequence. Results support the network-interference approach to number-fact retrieval of J. I. Campbell and D. J. Graham (see record 1986-16912-001). (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modeling alphabetic retrieval: Rejoinder to Klahr (1994).

In D. Klahr's (see record 1994-24197-001) reply to J. Scharroo et al (see record 1994-24216-001), he ignored the basic critique on the hierarchy in the Klahr et al (see record 1984-05777-001) model of alphabetic retrieval. In this rejoinder, the modeling of alphabetic retrieval and the shape of response time curves with respect to the strong and weak tests and the alphabetic position effect is discussed. From discussion of these 2 points, it should be clear why Klahr did not deal with the main objections raised in Scharroo et al: (1) Klahr et al's (1983) response time curves did not show the predicted sawtooth shape and (2) there was no reason to assume an additional level (Level 1) in modeling alphabetic retrieval. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The fan effect: A tale of two theories.

This article addresses J. R. Anderson and L. M. Reder's (see record 1999-05245-004) account of the differential fan effect reported by G. A. Radvansky, D. H. Spieler, and R. T. Zacks (see record 1993-16287-001). The differential fan effect is the finding of greater interference with an increased number of associations under some conditions, but not others, in a within-subjects mixed-list recognition test. Anderson and Reder concluded that the differential fan effects can be adequately explained by assuming differences in the weights given to concepts in long-term memory. When a broader range of data is considered, this account is less well supported. Instead, it is better to assume that the organization of information into referential representations, such as situation models, has a meaningful influence on long-term memory retrieval. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cattell replies to Becker's "comments."

A reply to comments made by Becker (see record 1962-03097-001) regarding R. B. Cattel's original article (see record 1962-03095-001). The positive conceptual and experimental contributions of my paper appearing since his comments, he either misses or ignores, since they show: (a) that it was impossible for him to reach any intelligible conclusion on the theory without recognizing and developing the necessary corrections for attenuation and perturbation, and (b) that the facts which he says I must and do recognize are those chosen by Becker from experiments with older techniques. Science moves on, and the new facts which I present from technically more advanced designs show that the same factor simultaneously loads on the hypothesized markers for both the rating and the questionnaire factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Network interference and number-fact retrieval: Evidence from children's alphaplication": Erratum.

Reports an error in "Network interference and number-fact retrieval: Evidence from children's alphaplication" by D. Jeffrey Graham and Jamie I. Campbell (Canadian Journal of Psychology Revue Canadienne de Psychologie, 1992[Mar], Vol 46[1], 65-91). Figure 1 was inadvertently omitted. Reprints of this article, available from the authors, will include this figure. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1992-42555-001.) Investigated the origins of several phenomena of number-fact retrieval by asking 45 children (aged 8 yrs 2 mo to 10 yrs 7 mo) to memorize alphaplication facts (arithmetic-like memory items composed of letters instead of numbers). Ss' performance in the task showed paralleled aspects of simple arithmetic performance. There was a strong performance advantage for tie over nontie problems on both reaction time (RT) and errors. Specific errors frequently involved operand-related answers. Correct RTs and error rates across problems were closely linked. Correct answers to poorly learned problems tended to be the most common error responses. Performance was not as good for problems that were introduced later in the learning sequence. Results support the network-interference approach to number-fact retrieval of J. I. Campbell and D. J. Graham (see record 1986-16912-001). (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Separable effects of factors on speed and accuracy: Memory scanning, lexical decision, and choice tasks.

Contends that experimental factors selectively influencing serial mental processes will have additive effects on RT and log percent correct. Further, if such factors have additive effects on RT in one experiment, they will also have additive effects in an experiment with different error rates. The contention is illustrated in a memory-scanning task reported by B. L. Lively (see record 1973-06015-001), a choice task reported by S. P. Shwartz et al (see record 1978-11552-001), and a lexical decision task reported by R. E. Schuberth et al (see record 1982-00388-001). Findings show that factors had additive effects on RT, only if they had additive effects on log percent correct, except for the speed-payoff condition in Lively's experiment. It is suggested that in this condition, the process durations were not stochastically independent. Four appendices illustrate the calculations. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential memory changes with age: Exact retrieval versus plausible inference.

Conducted 2 experiments on the use of direct retrieval and plausibility memory strategies in elderly and college-age adults. In Exp I, which used an episodic memory task, data were obtained from 49 65–80 yr old college alumni and from 58 college students who had served in a previous study by the 1st author (see record 1983-02731-001). Findings indicate that older Ss effectively used the plausibility strategy but performed more poorly than younger Ss when the direct retrieval strategy was required. Results of Exp II, using 18 college alumni (8 Ss aged 20–31 yrs, 10 Ss aged 64–75 yrs) with a semantic memory task, show that older Ss' accuracy was essentially undistinguishable from that of younger Ss as long as a plausibility judgment process produced the correct response. It is argued that careful inspection is a much more costly process for older adults than it is for young adults but that plausibility judgments and feature overlap processes are equally easy for both age groups. (44 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory integration and memory interference.

S. D. Moesser (see PA, Vol 56:3437; 1977) found that Ss presented with a nonsequential order of interrelating sentences did not show any evidence of having integrated these sentences into composite units. This type of presentation procedure also produces an interference effect that lessens the probability of retrieving information from the presented sentences. However, J. Bransford and J. Franks (see record 1972-24191-001) reported that Ss presented with a nonsequential order of interrelating sentences automatically integrate the partial ideas into holistic units. Bransford and Franks based their conclusions on the facts that (1) Ss were unable to identify the exact exemplars that were presented, and (2) Ss showed a bias in choosing more complex sentences as having been part of the acquisition corpus. Two experiments are reported here, which were conducted with 124 Newfoundland college students who participated in 1 of 2 encoding conditions while performing forced-choice or confidence recognition tasks. Results show that both the failure to identify presented exemplars and the tendency to choose more complex sentences in the test corpus were products of the retrieval interference effect. Findings fail to support the proposal that Ss will automatically integrate related ideas into composite units. (French abstract) (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Response to Ellis and McGuire: "Cost sharing and the demand for ambulatory mental health services".

Refutes R. P. Ellis and T. G. McGuire's (see record 1985-28860-001) argument that the results previously reported by the present authors (see record 1985-28870-001) support the proposition that mental health services exhibit greater response to insurance than do medical services from both logical and empirical perspectives. It is argued that Ellis and McGuire focused only on certain results when drawing their conclusions and that this deletion of facts presents a false picture of support for their argument. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Negative priming in a spatial localization task: Feature mismatching and distractor inhibition.

Negative priming has recently been demonstrated in tasks requiring spatial localization (S. P. Tipper et al; see record 1991-00251-001), supporting the notion that distractors are actively inhibited during selection. However, it has since been argued that this effect is caused by the appearance of mismatching identities at a single location (J. Park and N. Kanwisher; see record 1994-35939-001). The present studies show that negative priming in a spatial localization task can occur when the ignored distractor and subsequent target are identical. However, feature mismatches can also lead to negative priming. The argument is made that distractor inhibition and implicit retrieval of previously presented items together provide a better account of efficient sequential selective behavior than does either process alone. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age-linked declines in retrieving orthographic knowledge: Empirical, practical, and theoretical implications.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 14(1) of Psychology and Aging (see record 2008-09595-001). The article contained an error. In Table 1 on page 652, the values for rated spelling ability at age 20 and at current age were reversed for older and oldest adults. The corrected table is included in the erratum, with values that have been changed in bold.] This study developed and tested a Transmission Deficit hypothesis of how aging affects retrieval of orthographic knowledge. Young, older, and very old adults heard a tape-recorded series of difficult-to-spell words of high and low frequency, spoken slowly, clearly and repeatedly, and wrote down each word at their own pace. With perceptual errors and vocabulary differences factored out, misspellings increased with aging, especially for high-frequency words. In addition, data from a metamemory questionnaire indicated that the oldest adults were aware of their declining ability to spell. These findings were not due to general slowing, educational factors, hours per week spent reading, writing, or solving crossword puzzles, or age-linked declines in monitoring or detecting self-produced errors. However, the results fit Transmission Deficit predictions, and suggested an age-linked decline in retrieval of orthographic knowledge that resembles age-linked declines in spoken word retrieval observed in many other studies. Practical implications of this age-linked decline for conceptions of normal aging are noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aging, distraction, and the benefits of predictable location.

Three experiments examined the impact on reading time for younger and older adults in the absence vs. presence of distraction (marked by font type) in either fixed predictable locations (Experiments 1 and 2) or unpredictable locations (Experiment 3) . Consistent with earlier work (S. L. Connelly, L. Hasher, & R. T. Zacks; see record 1992-18667-001), older adults were markedly disrupted, relative to young adults, when distraction was present in unpredictable locations. When the location of distraction was fixed, however, the very large disadvantage that older adults otherwise experienced (slowed by as much as 46 s) diminished substantially (to as little as 2 s). Fixed location also eliminated the relatedness effect, by which older adults are especially susceptible to distraction from meaningfully related material. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reply from Sommer and Sommer.

Responds to comments by H. L. Garber (see record 1985-24145-001), E. Furchtgott (see record 1985-24143-001), G. S. Bernstein (see record 1985-24133-001), K. Heskin (see record 1985-24148-001), and K. B. Carsrud (see record 1985-24136-001) on issues raised by the authors (see record 1984-10654-001) on the validity of research findings reported in textbooks. The hazards of unquestioning acceptance of appealing preliminary results and the need to exercise professional judgment in interpreting results are stressed. It is argued that textbooks in such core areas as developmental and abnormal psychology should be conservative in the facts they publish. The use of replication as a means of establishing validity is advocated. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Misological or misconstrued? Rejoinder to Reynolds and Hynd.

Responds to critiques of their article (F. M. Gresham and K. A. Gansle; see record 1993-11574-001) by addressing misconceptions and misconstruals of facts presented in the original paper, specifically issues of reliability, treatment validity, and the medical model conception of behavior. Since neither C. Reynolds (see record 1993-11588-001) nor G. Hynd (see record 1993-11579-001) had anything to say about the dubious validity of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III-Revised (DSM-III-R), it is assumed that they agreed with the interpretations given. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Plausible models of alphabetic search: Reply to Scharroo, Leeuwenberg, Stalmeier, and Vos (1994).

D. Klahr et al (see record 1984-05777-001) proposed a model of the cognitive processes involved in alphabetic retrieval in terms of a 2-level hierarchy of forward-linked associations. J. Scharroo et al (see record 1994-24216-001) attempt to demonstrate that a simple associative model is more plausible, more parsimonious, and a better fit to the data than is the Klahr et al model. In this commentary the author argues that Scharroo et al misrepresent the way in which Klahr et al evaluated their model and that they fail to demonstrate the superiority of a simple associative model. In addition, it is suggested that a composite model that integrates the distinctive features of both models would advance understanding of the process of alphabetic retrieval. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Life-span differences in memory integration as a function of processing time.

K. Pezdek (see record 1981-03016-001) reported life-span differences in integration of semantically related pictures and sentences in memory; 6th-grade and high school Ss spontaneously integrated information across modalities, but 3rd graders and adults over 65 did not integrate this information. The present study extends these findings and tests the hypothesis that the 8-sec presentation rate in the previous study was not sufficient to allow the young children and older adults to perform integration processes in memory. Although 3rd graders and older adults (63–78 yrs) did not integrate pictures and sentences that were presented individually at an 8-sec rate, when the presentation rate was increased to 15 sec per item, cross-modality integration resulted. This result is interpreted to mean that the slower presentation rate was necessary for these Ss to actively rehearse different items together, and that this rehearsal strategy is necessary for integration of information in memory. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reemphasizing Martin and Terris's (1991a) "Predicting infrequent behavior: Clarifying the impact on false-positive rates."

High false-positive rates have been used to argue against the use of valid psychological tests, and this argument is typically adopted when base rates are low. S. L. Martin and W. Terris (see record 1991-28965-001) noted that this argument has merit in some situations but is generally inappropriate in the context of personnel selection. G. Ben-Shakhar and M. Bar-Hillel (see record 1993-23709-001) criticized Martin and Terris's article for a number of reasons. The present article demonstrates that each of these criticisms is either inappropriate or incorrect. Furthermore, the authors show that Ben-Shakhar and Bar-Hillel's article repeats the same error that was identified by Martin and Terris. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reply to Lantz.

Responds to criticism by C. E. Lantz (see record 1984-25697-001) regarding the present author's (see record 1983-13109-001) identification of Calvinism as a philosophy that impedes primary prevention efforts involving social change. The illness model of mental disorders is thought to be supportive of this philosophy. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)