Spatial memory for objects and words.

Examined in 4 experiments whether spatial location information is more likely to be encoded with the memory representation of objects than of words. 16 objects or the 1-word verbal labels for each were studied on a matrix display, followed by a recall test and then a relocation test. In each experiment, an independent variable known to affect item recall was introduced to test whether spatial location memory would concomitantly vary for both objects and words. In Exp I, with 48 2nd graders, 48 5th graders, and 48 high school juniors and seniors, recall of both objects and words increased with age of the Ss. However, relocation accuracy increased for objects but not for words. In Exp II, with 64 4th graders and 64 high school juniors and seniors, visual imagery instructions generally improved memory for words without affecting relocation accuracy. In Exps III (with 56 undergraduates) and IV (with 80 adults, aged 26.2–52.3 yrs), prolonging the test delay diminished recall for objects and words. However, relocation accuracy decreased only for the objects. In each experiment, item memory was affected independently of location memory for words but not for objects. The results suggest that different processes are involved in encoding item and location information for words but not for objects. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Short-term implicit memory for words and nonwords.

A short-term implicit memory effect is reported and interpreted as arising within the word recognition system. In Experiment 1, repetition priming in lexical decision was determined for low-frequency words and pseudowords at lags of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, and 23 intervening items. For words, a large short-term priming component decayed rapidly but smoothly over the first 3 items (8 s) to a stable long-term value. For nonwords, priming dropped to the long-term value with a single intervening item. This Lag x Lexicality interaction was replicated with a naming task in Experiment 2 and with high-frequency words in Experiment 3. Word frequency affected long-term priming but not the size or decay rate of short-term priming, dissociating the two repetition effects. In Experiment 4, an old-new decision task was used to test explicit memory. Parallel word and nonword decay patterns were found, dissociating short-term priming from explicit working memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Encoding processes and memory organization: A model of the von Restorff effect.

The mechanisms underlying the improved recall of isolated events (von Restorff effect) were investigated. Participants studied lists of stimuli containing a physical and a semantic isolate while performing a physical task or a lexical decision task. The physical-task group showed a physical but not a semantic isolation effect (IE) in free recall, whereas the lexical-decision group displayed both types of IEs. The recall of the isolates was independent of that of the other words, and isolates were usually reported separately from other words in the list. Event-related potentials recorded at encoding predicted the recall of both types of isolates. In recognition tests, the IE was obtained only when the encoding context was reinstated. These results are consistent with a model of the IE that stresses the role of the encoding processes immediately following the presentation of distinctive events, and that postulates interactions between these processes and subsequent elaboration of the stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Source memory enhancement for emotional words.

The influence of emotional stimuli on source memory was investigated by using emotionally valenced words. The words were colored blue or yellow (Experiment 1) or surrounded by a blue or yellow frame (Experiment 2). Participants were asked to associate the words with the colors. In both experiments, emotionally valenced words elicited enhanced free recall compared with nonvalenced words; however, recognition memory was not affected. Source memory for the associated color was also enhanced for emotional words, suggesting that even memory for contextual information is benefited by emotional stimuli. This effect was not due to the ease of semantic clustering of emotional words because semantically related words were not associated with enhanced source memory, despite enhanced recall (Experiment 3). It is suggested that enhancement resulted from facilitated arousal or attention, which may act to increase organization processes important for source memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Encoding orientation and the remembering of schizophrenic young adults.

Schizophrenic memory following an experimenter-imposed encoding task was examined in a levels-of-processing framework. In Session 1, 17 schizophrenics (mean age 23.5 yrs), 17 nonschizophrenic psychiatric patients (mean age 24.3 yrs), and 17 normal college students (mean age 20.0 yrs) were required to make yes–no judgments about whether a probe word contained 2 letters, rhymed with a word, belonged to a conceptual category, or fitted into a sentence. In Session 2, they were required to produce an appropriate word for each question. The 3 groups recalled semantically processed words better than nonsemantically processed words and "yes" words better than "no" words and revealed similar recall and recognition patterns over the different levels of encodings. However, the schizophrenics' recall for "yes" words (Session 1) and for the self-generated words (Session 2) was inferior to that of normals. Theoretical implications are discussed. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sublexical components in implicit memory for novel words.

Five experiments with 280 university students investigated the role of sublexical components in implicit memory for novel words. Priming on an implicit word judgment task occurred consistently for nonwords formed out of familiar linguistic components (morphemes and syllables) but minimally for nonwords formed out of unfamiliar pseudosyllabic components. This effect was dissociable from explicit memory and insensitive to changes in the surface features of the stimuli. Moreover, it depended on unitization of stimulus components as opposed to priming of individual components. Results are interpreted in terms of the activation and integration of prior linguistic knowledge and as evidence against the role of new (perceptual or episodic) representations in implicit memory for new information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Encoding difficulty and memory enhancement for young and older readers.

Memory for text that required active construction (generation) on the part of the reader to comprehend some of the information was examined. (Letters were deleted from the words composing some of the idea units of the text). For both high school students and older adults, idea units that had letters deleted were remembered better than idea units with intact words on a cued-recall test. This pattern held for easier as well as for harder letter deletions. It was concluded that retention of textually presented information can be improved in older adults if the presentation format of the text induces or guides mental operations that support good encoding. Production-deficiency accounts and attentional/resource deficiency accounts of age-related memory decrements are discussed in light of the present results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Associative and editing processes in schizophrenic communication.

Investigated whether a schizophrenic speaker's inability to communicate results predominantly from his inability to produce normal associations or predominantly from his inability to edit his associations before emitting them. 12 male schizophrenics and 12 normal controls performed 2 speaker tasks, 1 which required both association-production and editing processes and 1 which required only an editing process. In the former task, for each stimulus array S had to produce a clue word which would distinguish a referent from a nonreferent, while in the latter task E provided 2 possible clues for each array and S had to select the better one. Controls communicated better than schizophrenics in both tasks, indicating that the schizophrenic speakers could not effectively edit their messages. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Encoding and external-storage effects on writing processes.

Across 4 experiments, undergraduate students viewed a 19-min videotape lecture about types of creativity and then wrote a compare-and-contrast essay for 25 min. In Exps 1 (immediate writing) and 2 (delayed writing), Ss either listened or took notes under 1 of 3 note-taking formats and then wrote with or without notes. In both experiments, Ss writing from their own notes (encoding plus external storage) composed more organized and lengthier essays than Ss writing without their notes (encoding only). Exps 3 and 4 examined the external-storage effect separately from the encoding effect. In delayed writing (Exp 4), Ss composing from provided notes wrote lengthier essays than Ss composing without notes. Results support the effects of external storage and encoding plus external storage on writing processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interference effects in schizophrenic short-term memory.

Presented 35 lists of 7 digits to 24 16-41 yr old schizophrenic patients and 24 16-39 yr old matched normal controls. Items in the different serial positions were probed randomly in a series of 7 recall trials for each list. Input interference resulting from interpolation of items between presentation and recall of the probed item was the same for both groups. Output interference resulting from interpolation of responses between presentation and recall was greater for schizophrenics than for normals. Significant differences in error patterns were also found. It is concluded that output interference is a major causative factor in the schizophrenic recall deficit. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Auditory priming: Implicit and explicit memory for words and voices.

Five experiments explore priming effects on auditory identification and completion tasks as a function of semantic and nonsemantic encoding tasks and whether speaker's voice is same or different at study and test. Auditory priming was either unaffected by the study task manipulation (Exps 2, 4, and 5) or was less affected than was explicit memory (Exps 1 and 3). Study-to-test changes of speaker's voice had significant effects on priming when white noise masked target items on the identification test (Exps 1 and 2) or the stem-completion test (Exp 5). However, significant voice change effects were observed on priming of completion performance when stems were spoken clearly (Exps 3 and 4). Results are consistent with the idea that a presemantic auditory perceptual representation system plays an important role in the observed priming. Alternative explanations of the presence or absence of voice change effects under different task conditions are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Encoding processes and attentional inhibition in directed forgetting.

Lexical decisions were used to evaluate whether forget (F)-cued prime words affect subsequent encoding of target words relative to remember (R)-cued prime words. In 3 experiments, R-cued primes were better recalled than F-cued primes. Targets that followed F-cued primes were responded to faster than targets that followed R-cued primes in same-case and different-case identity priming. Semantic printing occurred for targets that followed both types of memory-cued primes. However, response times were longer for both related and unrelated targets following R-cued primes relative to F-cued primes. These results indicate that R and F items are processed to similar levels of representation and inhibitory mechanisms do not attenuate encoding of F items. However, there is slower access to working memory for information that follows R-cued items. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Videotape self-confrontation of schizophrenic ego and thought processes.

Recent studies in videotape self-confrontation, analogous to previous research with primarily nonverbal techniques, suggested an ideal treatment vehicle for modifying disturbed ego and thought processes in schizophrenics. Posttest data on the Rorschach Prognostic Rating Scale indicated no change in the 15 male schizophrenics exposed to videotape self-confrontation when compared to 15 nonexposed schizophrenics and 15 normals exposed to self-confrontation. Normals unexpectedly did change on 2 of 3 dependent variable measures. The role of defense in the self-confrontation experience is discussed in relation to the need for more definitive research with videotape applications. (40 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Episodic encoding of voice attributes and recognition memory for spoken words.

Recognition memory for spoken words was investigated with a continuous recognition memory task. Independent variables were number of intervening words (lag) between initial and subsequent presentations of a word, total number of talkers in the stimulus set, and whether words were repeated in the same voice or a different voice. In Exp 1, recognition judgments were based on word identity alone. Same-voice repetitions were recognized more quickly and accurately than different-voice repetitions at all values of lag and at all levels of talker variability. In Exp 2, recognition judgments were based on both word identity and voice identity. Ss recognized repeated voices quite accurately. Gender of the talker affected voice recognition but not item recognition. These results suggest that detailed information about a talker's voice is retained in long-term memory representations of spoken words. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Short-term memory scanning in schizophrenic young adults.

Used the Sternberg item-recognition procedure to investigate the process of short-term memory scanning and recognition of common English words in 16 schizophrenics, 16 nonschizophrenic psychiatric patients, and 16 normals (college students). The S was required to respond as quickly and accurately as possible to whether a probe word matched the word or words shown a few seconds earlier. Results show that the 3 groups' response latencies increased at approximately equal rates as the memory set size increased, but the overall response latencies of both patient groups were profoundly slower than normals. All 3 groups revealed a significant serial position effect and a logarithmic reaction time function for the positive probe. No single model of the scanning strategy appears to fit straight-forwardly to the present data. It is concluded that the schizophrenics' short-term memory scanning was intact, and their slowness in response is, therefore, to be understood in terms of some dysfunction in their stimulus encoding, response selection, and/or response execution. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recognizing identical versus similar categorically related common objects: Further evidence for degraded gist representations in amnesia.

Studies have shown lower false recognition of semantically related lure words in patients with global amnesia than in matched controls. This pattern has been interpreted as suggesting that medial temporal and diencephalic structures that are damaged in amnesia and that contribute to veridical memory also contribute to false recognition. It has been argued that whereas controls form and retain a well-organized representation of the semantic gist of studied items, patients with amnesia can retain only a degraded gist representation. However, these studies are subject to an alternative interpretation involving greater source confusions in controls. The authors used a categorized-pictures paradigm to test recognition under conditions in which source confusions were unlikely to occur. Relative to controls, patients with amnesia showed reduced false recognition of categorically related pictorial lures, thereby supporting the notion of degraded gist representations in amnesia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A factor-analytic study of schizophrenic thought processes.

A sample of 99 chronic, paranoid schizophrenic men was given a battery of tests consisting of the Holtzman Inkblot Technique (HIT), Gorham's Proverbs Test (both clinical and multiple-choice versions), Moran's word-meaning tests, and Rapaport's modification of the Gelb-Goldstein-Weigl-Scheerer Object Sorting Test. A total of 42 variables, including age, education, and length of illness, were intercorrelated and factor analyzed to determine the nature of dimensions underlying the perceptual-cognitive functioning of schizophrenics. The 8 orthogonal factors obtained were defined as follows: verbal ability, integrated ideation, stimulus sensitivity, pathological verbalization, conceptual autism, concreteness in proverbs, inkblot residual, sexual concern. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spatial working memory deficits in the relatives of schizophrenic patients

BACKGROUND: Studies in nonhuman primates provide evidence that intact spatial working memory depends on the integrity of specific areas in the prefrontal cortex. Patients with schizophrenia have been shown to be impaired on spatial working memory tasks. Relatives of schizophrenic patients show a range of cognitive deficits in the absence of clinical symptoms (eg, thought disorder, eye tracking dysfunctions). We predicted that a significant proportion of relatives of schizophrenic patients would show deficits in working memory as measured by a delayed response task. METHODS: In experiment 1, we tested 18 schizophrenic patients, 15 first-degree relatives of schizophrenic patients, and 18 normal control subjects on an oculomotor delayed response task. In experiment 2, we assessed the performance of another group of 12 first-degree relatives of schizophrenic patients and 16 different normal control subjects on a visual-manual delayed response task. RESULTS: Relatives of schizophrenic patients showed significant deficits in working memory on both the oculomotor and visual-manual delayed response tasks. CONCLUSIONS: Some relatives of schizophrenic patients are impaired on tasks that tap spatial working memory and that implicate the prefrontal system. The delayed response paradigm may be useful in elucidating the multidimensionality of the schizophrenic phenotype.     

Surface form typicality and asymmetric transfer in episodic memory for spoken words.

A series of experiments was conducted to determine whether the typicality of the surface form of speech would affect memory retention of spoken words. For each surface characteristic studied, a continuous recognition-memory task was used in which listeners based recognition judgments on word identity alone. For "typical" items, repetition benefits did not depend on whether the surface forms of the 1st and 2nd occurrences matched or mismatched. For "atypical" items, a larger repetition benefit occurred when the surface forms of the 2 occurrences matched. These results suggest that episodic memory for spoken words may be directly related to the perceived typicality of particular surface characteristics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of retrieval in schizophrenic memory deficit.

To distinguish between information that is unavailable or inaccessible in the schizophrenic's memory store, 48 schizophrenics and 48 normals learned 3 lists of categorized words. The lists were either cued or not cued at recall. Demographic and pretest measures validated the diagnosis of schizophrenia and indicated no significant differences between the experimental groups on age, education, intelligence, or categorizing ability. Results indicate that under conditions where the input did not exceed the limits of immediate memory span, schizophrenic memory deficit could be explained in terms of an "inaccessibility" of items due to a retrieval dysfunction. Under conditions where input exceeded these limits, the recall analysis was suggestive of an "unavailability" of items in the memory store. It is concluded that schizophrenics suffer deficits throughout the information processing system rather than at any specific stage. The locus of breakdown was dependent on the task demands of the experimental situation. (French summary) (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)