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)     

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)     

Fact retrieval in younger and older adults: The role of mental models.

Using a fan effect paradigm, three experiments tested whether younger and older adults differ in the retrieval of integrated and nonintegrated facts, where integration refers to the development of a mental model. Earlier work by G. A. Radvansky and R. T. Zacks (see record 1992-04153-001) had found that as long as facts can be integrated into a single mental model, young adults show no increase in retrieval time or error rates as the size of the subset of related facts increases (i.e., no fan effect). The present studies show a similar pattern for older adults. By contrast, and in confirmation of our previous findings on age differences and the fan effect (L. D. Gerard et al; see record 1991-32781-001), older adults show an exaggerated fan effect, at least in their error rates, on subsets of related facts not easily integrated into a single mental model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Disgust and spider phobia.

Twenty-four women with spider phobia and 45 nonphobic women completed the Disgust Questionnaire (DQ; R Rozin, A. E. Fallon, & R. Mandell; see record 1984-14781-001) and the Spider Phobia Questionnaire (SPQ; R. Klorman, T. C. Weerts, J. E. Hastings, B. G. Melamed, & R J. Lang; see record 1974-30308-001). Participants also underwent behavioral tests concerning disgust sensitivity and fear of spiders. Spider phobic women showed stronger disgust sensitivity than nonphobic women, and spiders were found to have a disgust evoking status that was related to participants' fear of spiders. The relationship between DQ and SPQ was independent of neuroticism and introversion. DQ scores were not associated with a global measure of phobic complaints (i.e., Fear Questionnaire; I. M. Marks & A. Mathews; see record 1980-26848-001). Results are consistent with a disease-avoidance model of spider phobia (G. Matchett & G. C. L. Davey; see record 1991-18606-001), which emphasizes the role of disgust in spider phobia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of convolution and matrix distributed memory systems for associative recall and recognition.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 92(4) of Psychological Review (see record 2008-10982-001). In this article, there were two erroneous sentences, one on page 284 and one on page 285. The sentences are corrected in the erratum.] Compares 2 closely related distributed memory models in terms of plausibility; arithmetic simplicity; economy of storage space; and ability to account for associative, similarity, and order data in recall and recognition. It is argued that the storage-retrieval system brought about by the convolution-correlation concept outlined by M. A. Eich (see record 1983-04922-001) and B. B. Murdock (see record 1983-04936-001) is neurally implausible, necessitates more complex analyses, and is less economical in storage space than is the matrix memory concept described by J. A. Anderson et al (see record 1978-22353-001). It is shown that the matrix model can easily account for associative symmetry–asymmetry data and for item similarity effects. Means and variances of operating strength for various recall and recognition situations, modeled by the matrix system, are presented, and it is shown how signal-to-noise ratios can be derived. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correction to Pike.

Reports an error in "Comparison of convolution and matrix distributed memory systems for associative recall and recognition" by Ray Pike (Psychological Review, 1984[Jul], Vol 91[3], 281-294). In this article, there were two erroneous sentences, one on page 284 and one on page 285. The sentences are corrected in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1984-27853-001.) Compares 2 closely related distributed memory models in terms of plausibility; arithmetic simplicity; economy of storage space; and ability to account for associative, similarity, and order data in recall and recognition. It is argued that the storage-retrieval system brought about by the convolution-correlation concept outlined by M. A. Eich (see record 1983-04922-001) and B. B. Murdock (see record 1983-04936-001) is neurally implausible, necessitates more complex analyses, and is less economical in storage space than is the matrix memory concept described by J. A. Anderson et al (see record 1978-22353-001). It is shown that the matrix model can easily account for associative symmetry-asymmetry data and for item similarity effects. Means and variances of operating strength for various recall and recognition situations, modeled by the matrix system, are presented, and it is shown how signal-to-noise ratios can be derived. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Process, not representation: Reply to Radavansky (1999).

The size of fan effects is determined by processes at retrieval, not by whether or not information is represented as situations. Evidence contradicts G. A. Radvansky's (see record 1999-05245-005) claim that time to retrieve information from a situation does not depend on the number of elements in the situation. Moreover, Radvansky's principles for ascribing situational models to experiments appear to be post hoc ways of redescribing the data. On the other hand, the evidence does support the Adaptive Control of Thought—Rational (ACT-R) assumption that participants can adjust their attentional weightings and so produce differential fan effects. Moreover, the ACT-R theory of the fan effect is consistent with many other findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Component and pattern information in adaptive networks.

M. A. Gluck and G. H. Bower (see record 1989-00340-001) presented an adaptive network model of human classification in which associative weights are modified according to R. A. Rescorla and A. R. Wagner (1972) conditioning theory, a special case of the Widrow-Hoff/LMS learning rule. Presenting empirical data from a series of artificial medical classification tasks, we argued that the network model predicts results that were unanticipated, given prevailing alternative theories of category learning. We consider here some alternative interpretations of this data suggested by D. R. Shanks (see record 1990-27514-001) and argue that they are not sufficiently compelling when compared to the network model's treatment of the data from all the experiments presented in our earlier study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Not sop Rejoinder to Hartley on masking by continuous noise.

Argues that the results discussed by L. R. Hartley (see record 1981-07079-001) are consistent with the composite model of E. C. Poulton (see record 1979-32826-001). Continuous noise and articulatory suppression both appear to reduce proactive interference, presumably by masking the echoic storage of the words in working memory that are carried over from the previous list. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Existentialism and development.

Responds to comments made by G. Kose (see record 1993-25090-001), K. Sun (see record 1993-25097-001), and R. K. Meister (see record 1993-25094-001) on B. Vandenberg's (see record 1992-12211-001) article on epistemology and an existentialist consideration of development. Taking exception with Kose's definition of existentialism and Key's remarks on morality and cognitive developments, Vandenberg voices his agreement with Meister on having a developmental perspective on the concept of death. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

From agency/empowerment to embodied empowerment.

Comments on the agency papers by B. D. Slife (see record 1995-13451-001), M. Gergen (see record 1995-14294-001), R. N. Williams (see record 1995-12851-001), and G. S. Howard (see record 1995-13446-001). In response to these papers, M. S. Richardson states that the construct of agency/empowerment is replaced with embodied empowerment, the idea of which needs to be developed in a moral concept. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-help task forces revisited: A reply to Dr. Lowman.

Addresses comments by R. L. Lowman (see record 1994-34536-001) about G. M. Rosen's (see record 1993-42527-001) discussion of the American Psychological Association's response to self-help therapies. Instances of apparent misinformation regarding the origin of task forces or work groups, failure to endorse work group recommendations, and suppression of work group documents are clarified. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empirical data say it all.

Comments that after considering the responses of R. E. Boyatzis (see record 1994-27864-001) and D. C. McClelland (see record 1994-27871-001) and reviewing additional reports by these authors, the conclusions drawn by G. V. Barrett and R. L. Depinet's (see record 1992-03797-001) article on competence testing are reinforced. If McClelland's concept of competencies is to make a contribution to psychology, he must present empirical data to support his contention. Three sets of data are presented to illustrate this point. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding Paul Moxnes (1999).

P. Moxnes's (see record 1999-13879-001) model of deep roles is contrasted with alternative taxonomies of roles, including ones developed by F. Redl (1942), R. F. Bales (e.g., T. Parsons, R. F. Bales, & E. A. Shils, 1953), G. Polti (1977), and A. P. Hare (see record 1994-98134-000 and 1995-05269-001). Moxnes's analysis has implications for the development of roles in groups over time, but questions can be raised about the emphasis on individual roles (rather than their combination) and the automaticity of evaluation. As a new perspective on roles, Moxnes's work provides an opportunity to reassess past work to see how much variance has been left unaccounted for by studies of roles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validity is local.

Responds to critiques by G. S. Howard (see record 1990-13709-001) and R. Hogan and R. A. Nicholson (see record 1989-00097-001) of J. Kagan's (see record 1989-01454-001) discussion of validity in self-report measurement of personality. The main contention is whether the meaning and validity of a personality construct based only on self-report data are preserved in other theoretical and empirical contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ambiguity and connectionist networks: Still settling into a solution: Comment on Joordens and Besner (1994).

Empirical results (e.g., see G. Kellas, F. R. Ferraro, & G. B. Simpson, 1988; M. L. Millis & S. B. Button, see record 1989-31854-001) suggest that readers perform lexical decisions faster for words with many meanings than for words with only one meaning. S. Joordens and D. Besner (see record 1995-07873-001) attempted to simulate this effect with a connectionist model but found that their network only produced an ambiguity advantage when its error rate was unacceptably high. In this commentary 3 issues relevant to an understanding of the implications of Joordens and Besner's findings are discussed: the reliability of the empirical data, the manner in which readers (and networks) make lexical decisions, and the effects of certain algorithmic and architectural factors on network performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Making interpretable forgetting comparisons: Explicit versus hidden assumptions.

G. R. Loftus (see record 1986-05498-001), R. S. Bogartz (see record 1990-09037-001), and others have questioned forgetting comparisons based on tests of interaction between retention and a second variable. A method for comparing forgetting between conditions on the basis of an article by N. H. Anderson (1963) is presented here. The shape method compares the underlying "shapes" of the performance curves. Anderson's shape method is outlined for memory studies, and its inherent assumptions are stated. A statistical test is developed to apply the shape method to realistic situations in which zero retention interval or asymptotic performance data are not available. A power analysis varied the memory curve shape, sample size, and standard deviation and demonstrated the method's ability to detect shape differences. Application to a recent study claiming a forgetting difference yielded the opposite conclusion. Theoretical and practical limitations of Loftus's and Bogartz's methods are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

List-strength effect: II. Theoretical mechanisms.

R. Ratcliff et al (see record 1990-13916-001) examined the list-strength effect: the effect of strengthening (or weakening) some list items upon memory for other list items. The list-strength effect was missing or negative in recognition, missing or positive in cued recall, and large and positive in free recall. We show that a large number of current models fail to predict these findings. A variant of the SAM model of G. Gillund and R. M. Shiffrin (see record 1984-08340-001), involving a differentiation hypothesis, can handle the data. A variant of MINERVA 2 (D. Hintzman [see PA, Vols 74:6242 and 76:10832] 1986, 1988) comes close but has some problems. Successful variants of a variety of composite and network models were not found (e.g., D. H. Ackley et al [see PA, Vol 73:7981]; J. A. Anderson, 1972 [see PA, Vol 51:10424]). The results suggest constraints on the future development of such models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Muscarinic cholinergic neuromodulation reduces proactive interference between stored odor memories during associative learning in rats.

Previous electrophysiological studies and computational modeling suggest the hypothesis that cholinergic neuromodulation may reduce olfactory associative interference during learning (M. E. Hasselmo et al [see record 1992-38176-001]; M. E. Hasselmo and J. M. Bower [see record 1993-40370-001]). These results provide behavioral evidence supporting this hypothesis. A simultaneous discrimination task required learning a baseline odor pair (A+B–) and then, under the influence of scopolamine, a novel odor pair (A–C+) with an overlapping component (A) versus a novel odor pair (D+E–) with no overlapping component. As predicted by the model, rats that received scopolamine (0.50 and 0.25 mg/kg) were more impaired at acquiring overlapping than nonoverlapping odor pairs relative to their performance under normal saline or methylscopolamine. These results support the prediction that the physiological effects of acetylcholine can reduce interference between stored odor memories during associative learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)