Effects of maintenance rehearsal on human memory.

There has been a conflict among several theories of memory as to whether the duration of the rehearsal of an item is necessarily related to its long-term retention. This conflict has centered on the question of whether rote rehearsal intended solely to maintain an item in awareness will lead to an increase in long-term-memory performance for that item. This question has been addressed with a variety of paradigms and has been answered in several ways. A review of the literature suggests that the duration of maintenance rehearsal affects the memory trace chiefly by increasing self-coding (item information) and that, consequently, its effects tend to be more evident on recognition than on recall tests. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Retrieving for rehearsal: An analysis of active rehearsal in children's memory.

Two experiments with 96 2nd graders and 24 6th graders explored the operation of retrieval processes in Ss' active rehearsal strategies. Both experiments used free-recall tasks, in which Ss were given instructions in active rehearsal as well as supports that might facilitate the retrieval operation and thus enhance both rehearsal and recall performance. In Exp I, 2nd and 6th graders were given visual or auditory access to an 18-item stimulus-word list. Results show that, by providing 2nd graders with an opportunity to view previously presented words, rehearsal activity and recall increased substantially, whereas the performance of the 6th graders was not affected. In Exp II, presentation time and visual access to a similar 18-word list were manipulated for 2nd graders. Results show that the provision of extra time for an item enabled Ss to execute a more active rehearsal strategy. Extra time had only minimal effects on recall, except when it was combined with visual access to the items. Findings suggest that retrieval per se is not necessary for the beneficial effects of active rehearsal, if other procedures can be followed to permit the juxtaposition of several items in rehearsal. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using maintenance rehearsal to explore recognition memory.

We examined associative and item recognition using the maintenance rehearsal paradigm. Our intent was to control for mnemonic strategies; to produce a low, graded level of learning; and to provide evidence of the role of attention in long-term memory. An advantage for low-frequency words emerged in both associative and item recognition at very low levels of learning. This early emergence casts doubt on explanations based on the traditional concept of recollection. A comparison of false alarms supports a role for item information or the joint use of cues but not familiarity in producing associative false alarms. We may also have found a way to measure the amount of attention being paid to a to-be-learned item or pair, independently of memory performance on the attended item. This result may be an important step in determining whether coherent theories about the role of attention in long- and short-term memory can be created. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An experimental investigation of behavior rehearsal in assertive training.

Developed a standardized, semiautomated, behavior rehearsal treatment procedure, and compared 2 variations of this procedure, 1 with performance feedback and 1 without, with 2 control procedures, a placebo therapy, and a no-treatment condition, in training 42 undergraduates to be more assertive. Behavorial, self-report, and psychophysiological laboratory measures, as as an unobtrusive in vivo assertive test, revealed that the 2 behavior rehearsal procedures resulted in significantly greater improvements in assertive performance than did the control conditions. There was a nonsignificant tendency for behavior rehearsal coupled with performance feedback to show the strongest treatment effects. (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The serial process in visual search.

The conditions for serial search are described. A multiple target search methodology (Thornton & Gilden, 2007) is used to home in on the simplest target/distractor contrast that effectively mandates a serial scheduling of attentional resources. It is found that serial search is required when (a) targets and distractors are mirror twins, and (b) when the search elements lack the Gestalt property of intrinsic orientation. The finding is put into the context of Feature Integration Theory (Treisman & Gelade, 1980) that first identified the occasions of serial search to be important to object perception and understanding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavior rehearsal with modeling and coaching in assertion training.

Selected 33 nonassertive undergraduates from their scores on the Conflict Resolution Inventory and assigned them to 3 groups. Groups A and B received 2 sessions of training in refusing unreasonable requests. The training was a standardized, semiautomated, laboratory analogue of behavior rehearsal therapy, consisting of overt or covert response practice, symbolic verbal modeling, and therapist coaching. Control Group C was led to believe that the assessment procedures were a form of behavioral training. Groups A and B improved dramatically in their assertive-refusal behavior on self-report and behavioral laboratory measures compared to controls. Covert rehearsal tended to produce the greatest improvement. The experimental methodology employed is discussed as a promising approach to the evaluation and development of behavior rehearsal therapy. (20 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Oscillator-based memory for serial order.

A computational model of human memory for serial order is described (OSCillator-based Associative Recall [OSCAR]). In the model, successive list items become associated to successive states of a dynamic learning-context signal. Retrieval involves reinstatement of the learning context, successive states of which cue successive recalls. The model provides an integrated account of both item memory and order memory and allows the hierarchical representation of temporal order information. The model accounts for a wide range of serial order memory data, including differential item and order memory, transposition gradients, item similarity effects, the effects of item lag and separation in judgments of relative and absolute recency, probed serial recall data, distinctiveness effects, grouping effects at various temporal resolutions, longer term memory for serial order, list length effects, and the effects of vocabulary size on serial recall. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multimodal assessment of rehearsal treatments in an assertion training program.

50 nonassertive undergraduate Ss participated in a study designed to assess the efficacy of several behavior rehearsal procedures in an assertion training program. In addition, 15 highly assertive undergraduates also participated in the pretest assessment, which included behavioral, cognitive, and physiological measures. Following pretest, the nonassertive Ss were randomly assigned to a no-treatment control group or to groups that received 2 sessions of behavior rehearsal, exaggerated rehearsal, role-reversal training, or a treatment consisting of a combination of behavior rehearsal, modeling, and coaching. Pretest results indicate that the nonassertive Ss were rated as responding less assertively in the behavioral role play test and also reported themselves as being more anxious than the assertive Ss. Posttest data indicate that the role-reversal group was the least effective treatment in modifying self-reports of assertion behavior, while the exaggerated-rehearsal and full-treatment groups demonstrated the largest gains on several measures. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Instructions, modeling, and rehearsal: Implications for training.

Studied the effects of instructions, modeling, and rehearsal in training 48 college students in empathic communication. Ss were assigned to 1 of 8 groups representing all possible factorial combinations of the variables which included instructions vs no instructions, modeling vs no modeling, and rehearsal vs no rehearsal. Training gains were assessed using written responses to the pre- and posttest administration of the Carkhuff Communication Index. Generalization effects were assessed using empathy ratings of a critical-incident interview. Analysis of written responses indicated that improvement in empathic communication occurred for all training groups. Specific instructions appeared to be a criticial factor in facilitating written performance. The interviews showed that a combination of training variables facilitated empathic responses during an interview more than each variable alone. Modeling seemed to be an effective procedure for the interview task. The instructional effect did not generalize very well. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of level of processing and rehearsal on frequency judgments.

Studied the effects of attention during encoding and rehearsal after initial encoding on frequency estimates in 3 experiments. Exp I found that varying the level of processing affected the linear increase in frequency estimates as a function of actual frequency, but varying processing after encoding with remember or forget cues had the greatest effects on the intercept of the function relating judged to actual frequency. Deeper levels of processing improved performance in a frequency discrimination task, whereas remember and forget cues had small effects on performance. In Exp II, materials that are easy to rehearse were compared with materials that are difficult to rehearse. Results were interpreted as evidence against a covert rehearsal explanation of slope effects in frequency estimation tasks because materials that are difficult to rehearse produced larger interactions between remember vs forget cues and frequency than materials that are easier to rehearse. In Exp III, an arithmetic task that was performed during word encoding affected the slope of the function relating judged to actual frequency, but the same task performed immediately after word presentation had no effect on frequency estimates. It is concluded that frequency is not stored automatically because attention during the initial stages of encoding affects it; however, attention devoted to processing after initial encoding does not affect the rate with which subjective frequency increases with repetitions. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Naming, rehearsal, and interstimulus interval effects in memory processing.

Recognition memory was tested for lists of 6 briefly (0.08 sec) presented pictures at different interstimulus intervals (ISI) of 0.08, 1, and 4 sec. Exp 1 showed a 16% performance increase (ISI effect) for increasing ISI for travel slide but not kaleidoscope pictures. Exp 2 showed that learning names for the kaleidoscope pictures then resulted in a substantial (20%) ISI effect, not attributable solely to the added exposure to the pictures. Exp 3 required names, color evaluations, or blank stares during list-memory presentations. Interviews established that the most effective memory strategy was chaining the names together, followed by repeating the most current name, and in turn followed by reliance on only the sensory experience. All groups in Exps 2 and 3, independent of ISI effects, showed U-shaped serial position functions. Rehearsal is shown to be nonessential and cannot be the general cause of the primacy effect of the serial position function. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

A production system theory of serial memory.

A theory is described that provides a detailed model of how people recall serial lists of items. This theory is based on the Adaptive Character of Thought-Rational (ACT-R) production system (J. R. Anderson, 1993). It assumes that serial lists are represented as hierarchical structures consisting of groups and items within groups. Declarative knowledge units encode the position of items and of groups within larger groups. Production rules use this positional information to organize the serial recall of a list of items. In ACT-R, memory access depends on a limited-capacity activation process, and errors can occur in the contents of recall because of a partial matching process. These limitations conspire in a number of ways to produce the limitations in immediate memory span. As the span increases, activation must be divided among more elements, activation decays more with longer recall times, and there are more opportunities for positional and acoustic confusions. The theory is shown to be capable of predicting both latency and error patterns in serial recall. It addresses effects of serial position, list length, delay, word length, positional confusion, acoustic confusion, and articulatory suppression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social skills training: Behavior rehearsal in groups and dating skills.

Minimal dating, identified as a significant target problem, generally has been thought to result from either conditioned anxiety or negative self-evaluations. In the present study, minimal dating was formulated as the result of a social skills deficit. In accord with this formulation, 2 direct skill-training programs involving behavior rehearsal with and without extrasession tasks were evaluated against attention-placebo and waiting-list controls. 48 college males reporting anxiety and shyness about meeting females were carefully screened and assigned to 1 of 2 groups included in each of 4 treatment conditions. Results indicate that 3 of the 4 skill-training groups showed significant (p     

Eye movements during parallel–serial visual search.

Two experiments (one using O and Q-like stimuli and the other using colored–oriented bars) investigated the oculomotor behavior accompanying parallel–serial visual search. Eye movements were recorded as participants searched for a target in 5- or 17-item displays. Results indicated the presence of parallel–serial search dichotomies and 2:1 ratios of negative to positive slopes in the number of saccades initiated during both search tasks. This saccade number measure also correlated highly with search times, accounting for up to 67% of the reaction time (RT) variability. Weak correlations between fixation durations and RTs suggest that this oculomotor measure may be related more to stimulus factors than to search processes. A third experiment compared free-eye and fixed-eye searches and found a small RT advantage when eye movements were prevented. Together these findings suggest that parallel–serial search dichotomies are reflected in oculomotor behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of frame-of-reference training and information configuration on memory organization and rating accuracy.

It was hypothesized that encoding conditions would substitute for, or neutralize, the effects of frame-of-reference (FOR) training on rating accuracy by encouraging or impeding the person organization of behavior in memory. Undergraduates (N?=?121) were trained with FOR or control procedures, observed videotaped manager performance in a blocked or a mixed order, rated the managers on 3 performance dimensions, and free-recalled target performance vignettes. FOR training and blocked information improved rating accuracy and led to person-based recall; however, person organization was uncorrelated with accuracy. Results are discussed in terms of R. S. Wyer and T. K. Srull's (1989) model of person memory and judgment from which it is proposed that memory organization for behaviors may be unnecessary for rating accuracy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A spatial modality effect in serial memory.

In 2 experiments, the authors tested whether the classical modality effect--that is, the stronger recency effect for auditory items relative to visual items--can be extended to the spatial domain. An order reconstruction task was undertaken with four types of material: visual-spatial, auditory-spatial, visual-verbal, and auditory-verbal. Similar serial position curves were obtained regardless of the nature of the to-be-remembered sequences, with the exception that a modality effect was found with spatial as well as with verbal materials. The results are discussed with regard to a number of models of short-term memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of memory training on the subjective memory functioning and mental health of older adults: A meta-analysis.

The effectiveness of memory training on the subjective memory functioning and mental health of older adults was examined in a meta-analysis. Effect sizes indicated that memory training led to improved subjective memory functioning (d++?=?.19), but the magnitude of the improvement was less than that obtained on objective memory measures (d++?=?.66) in the meta-analysis of P. Verhaeghen, A. Marcoen, and L. Goossens (1992). However, no differences in effectiveness were found among mnemonic training, expectancy modification, or placebo procedures such as unstructured practice. Improvement of subjective memory functioning was enhanced by including pretraining in skills such as the use of imagery and by including interventions to improve participants' attitudes toward the effects of aging on memory functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of working memory training on memory performance in old-old adults.

Memory impairments constitute an increasing objective and subjective problem with advancing age. The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of working memory training on memory performance. The authors trained a sample of 80-year-old adults twice weekly over a time period of 3 months. Participants were tested on 4 different memory measures before, immediately after, and 1 year after training completion. The authors found overall increased memory performance in the experimental group compared to an active control group immediately after training completion. This increase was especially pronounced in visual working memory performance and, to a smaller degree, also in visual episodic memory. No group differences were found 1 year after training completion. The results indicate that even in old?old adults, brain plasticity is strong enough to result in transfer effects, that is, performance increases in tasks that were not trained during the intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Retroactive interference effects of surprising reward omission on serial spatial memory.

Reward omission was used to produce retroactive interference in a serial delayed-alternation task. Rats were given forced choices in 3 T mazes presented in succession followed by free choices in which the alternate arm in each maze was rewarded. Nonreward during the delay between forced- and free-choice runs produced a decrement in performance (i.e., retroactive interference) in comparison to reward during the delay. Interference in retention of the first maze in a list occurred when the second maze contained surprising reward or omission (i.e., an outcome contrary to previous training in that maze) in comparison to expected reward or omission. In addition to producing retroactive interference, omission sometimes increased alternation in the maze in which it occurred. These results support a differential rehearsal hypothesis of spatial memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of adult age on primary and secondary memory search.

Conducted 2 experiments with 25 19–29 yr olds, 26 62–85 yr olds, 30 18–32 yr olds, and 30 61–81 yr olds to compare young and elderly adults on the ability to search lists of words stored in primary memory (PM) and in secondary memory (SM). Exp I indicated that age differences in search performance were greatest under SM conditions. Older Ss, unlike the younger ones, appeared biased toward responding that probe items were not members of the memory sets stored in SM. As a result of this apparent bias, older Ss committed a large number of errors on trials in which the probe was a member of the memorized list (i.e., positive probe trials) yet few errors on the trials in which the probe was not a member of the list ( i.e., negative probe trials). The responses of older Ss to negative probe trials were more rapid than were those to positive probe trials. In Exp II, this pattern of responding was examined. It is concluded that age differences were involved in the ability to encode memory sets and transfer them from PM to SM as well as in the ability to retrieve information from SM prior to conducting a memory search. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)