A test of dual coding theory for bilingual memory.

Presented 33 elementary teachers and 50 female community college students (all of whom varied in French-English bilingual dominance and experience) with (1) pictures to be labeled in English, (2) French words to be translated into English, and (3) English nouns to be copied as they were. Later, Ss were unexpectedly tested for recall. Results replicate and extend those of A. Paivio and W. E. Lambert (see record 1982-09020-001), demonstrating a 3.3:2.4:1 ratio of recall for images to translation equivalents to copying. Results support bilingual dual coding theory as proposed by Paivio and A. Desrochers (see record 1982-02758-001). (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A dual representation theory of posttraumatic stress disorder.

A cognitive theory of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is proposed that assumes traumas experienced after early childhood give rise to 2 sorts of memory, 1 verbally accessible and 1 automatically accessible through appropriate situational cues. These different types of memory are used to explain the complex phenomenology of PTSD, including the experiences of reliving the traumatic event and of emotionally processing the trauma. The theory considers 3 possible outcomes of the emotional processing of trauma, successful completion, chronic processing, and premature inhibition of processing. We discuss the implications of the theory for research design, clinical practice, and resolving contradictions in the empirical data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neural representation of objects in space: a dual coding account

I present evidence on the nature of object coding in the brain and discuss the implications of this coding for models of visual selective attention. Neuropsychological studies of task-based constraints on: (i) visual neglect; and (ii) reading and counting, reveal the existence of parallel forms of spatial representation for objects: within-object representations, where elements are coded as parts of objects, and between-object representations, where elements are coded as independent objects. Aside from these spatial codes for objects, however, the coding of visual space is limited. We are extremely poor at remembering small spatial displacements across eye movements, indicating (at best) impoverished coding of spatial position per se. Also, effects of element separation on spatial extinction can be eliminated by filling the space with an occluding object, indicating that spatial effects on visual selection are moderated by object coding. Overall, there are separate limits on visual processing reflecting: (i) the competition to code parts within objects; (ii) the small number of independent objects that can be coded in parallel; and (iii) task-based selection of whether within- or between-object codes determine behaviour. Between-object coding may be linked to the dorsal visual system while parallel coding of parts within objects takes place in the ventral system, although there may additionally be some dorsal involvement either when attention must be shifted within objects or when explicit spatial coding of parts is necessary for object identification.     

Impact of concreteness on comprehensibility, interest, and memory for text: Implications for dual coding theory and text design.

The comprehensibility, interestingness, familiarity, and memorability of concrete and abstract instructional text were investigated in 4 experiments. Exp 1 investigated relationships between ratings of concreteness, familiarity, interestingness, and comprehensibility in concrete and abstract sentences about historical figures. Exp 2 investigated the immediate and delayed recall of those sentences, and employed rating norms from Exp 1 as predictors of recall. Exps 3 and 4 replicated aspects of Exps 1 and 2 with paragraphs of varying length. Results indicated that concreteness (ease of imagery) was the variable overwhelmingly most related to comprehensibility and recall. Discussion evaluates dual coding theory vs schema theory in explaining the results, suggests guidelines for text design, and offers a new perspective on the "seductive details" phenomenon, suggesting that abstractions also pose problems for learners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A test of hue memory.

A hue memory test consisting of 20 chips from the Farnsworth-Munsell hue series (S is required to select a same-hued chip after brief exposure of each test chip) was developed. Test-retest reliabilities for two groups were .68 and .59. Item data and correlations with the Woods Color Aptitude Test and the ISCC CAT are presented. "Neither the present test nor Woods' test is a valid substitute for the ISCC CAT… . By itself, the present test is certainly valid as a test of hue memory since it is a direct test of immediate memory for hue dissociated from the factor of configuration." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A further test of the Thompson TAT rationale.

In comparing the responses of white Ss to the M-TAT and the T-TAT it was found that racial attitudes and prejudices were revealed in responses to the T-TAT pictures, and, where such attitudes existed, there seemed to be some impairment in projection. Color tended to make a difference in story content. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The repetition effect: A further test of the clarity-enhancement explanation.

Presented single letters with varying numbers of repeated brief exposures to a total of 21 undergraduates. After each presentation, the S classified the target letter as belonging to either the 1st or the 2nd half of the alphabet. In Exp I, the S knew that all presentations of a trial would have the same target letter. In Exp II, the S knew that a catch letter from the opposite half of the alphabet might be shown on each succeeding presentation. The S's discriminative ability, as assessed by the nonparametric index A', increased as a function of trial length in Exp I but not in Exp II. In neither experiment was response bias related to trial length. Data are interpreted as being incompatible with a clarity-enhancement explanation of repeated presentations. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The testing effect in recognition memory: A dual process account.

The testing effect, or the finding that taking an initial test improves subsequent memory performance, is a robust and reliable phenomenon--as long as the final test involves recall. Few studies have examined the effects of taking an initial recall test on final recognition performance, and results from these studies are equivocal. In 3 experiments, we attempt to demonstrate that initial testing can change the ways in which later recognition decisions are executed even when no difference can be detected in the recognition hit rates. Specifically, initial testing was shown to enhance later recollection but leave familiarity unchanged. This conclusion emerged from three dependent measures: source memory, exclusion performance, and remember/know judgments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spatial and verbal abilities in children's crossmodal recognition: A dual coding approach.

Conducted 2 experiments to study the relative importance of visuospatial (VSAs) and verbal referential abilities (VRAs) to 184 English-speaking children's (aged 4 yrs 11 mo to 8 yrs) crossmodal performance under imagery, naming, and control instructions. Using the Minnesota Paper Form(s) Board Test Revised, imagery instructions induced Ss to implement a visual imagery strategy that depended primarily on VSA, whereas naming instructions promoted use of a naming strategy that depended relatively more on VRA. No instructions resulted in use of a verbal/naming strategy similar to that used by naming Ss. (French abstract) (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)     

A further test of the general monitoring skill hypothesis.

This study tested the general monitoring skill hypothesis, which states that skilled adult learners monitor their comprehension using domain-general metacognitive knowledge in addition to domain-specific knowledge. College students completed 8 tests of fluid and crystallized ability. The 8 tests yielded 3 performance components, whereas measures of monitoring yielded 2 principal components. These findings supported 2 main conclusions: Monitoring scores are correlated across multiple domains, and individuals may possess separate general monitoring skills for fluid and crystallized tasks. The authors also examined the degree to which modular, information-encapsulation, and domain-general theories of cognition accommodated these findings. Domain-general theories, such as the general monitoring skill hypothesis, provided the best explanation of the data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rigidity in the retarded: A further test of the Lewin-Kounin formulation.

Groups of younger and older familial retardates from 2 institutions and a group of normals were compared on 3 of Kounin's measures of rigidity. The general findings were inconsistent with the Lewin-Kounin rigidity formulation and the results reported by Kounin. The differences obtained between the groups investigated here are discussed in terms of a number of cognitive and motivational factors which have been advanced to explain differences in performance between normals and retardates of the same MA. (30 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Faculty teaching goals: A test of Holland's theory.

Tested J. L. Holland's (1966, 1973) theory relating personality, vocational choice, and academic environment in a hexagonal matrix. 1,140 faculty members rated the importance of 16 factors in the areas of character and intellectual and vocational development. Results suggest that disciplinary differences among Holland's proposed environmental groups are generally (a) congruent with the postulated characteristics of the respective environments, (b) consistent across different kinds of colleges and universities, and (c) similar to the order of psychological resemblances defined by Holland's hexagonal model. Implications for reseach on faculty activities are discussed. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A resource exchange theory approach to interpersonal interactions: A test of Foa's theory.

Employed U. G. Foa and E. B. Foa's (1974) resource exchange theory to examine the types and patterns of exchanges involved in 57 college students' interpersonal interactions. Two judgment tasks were used to test both the functional and structural aspects of this theory. The dimensions of particularism and concreteness were hypothesized to underlie the 6 resource categories of love, status, information, money, goods, and services. In addition, resources perceived to be in the same category were expected to be exchanged with a higher probability than resources in different categories. Support for both the structural and the functional relations among the resource categories was consistent not with the initial classification of the behaviors used to represent the 6 resource categories but with the meaning associated with the behaviors. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Word-association commonality: A standardized test and a theory.

The Verdun association list (VAL) is a word-association test with stimulus words selected to elicit a high frequency of common responses among normal adults. Commonality, reaction time, and response stability measures are incorporated in the test. Standardization was based on 2 independent, representative metropolitan samples of normal employed adults—575 Ss in all. Validation groups consisted of (1) 2 independent samples each comprising 100 working and 100 nonworking hospitalized mental patients; (2) all 15 psychiatric patients, some working and some not, who attended the night treatment center of a general hospital over a 2-mo period, and (3) the 44 Canadian Army volunteers at 1 induction session at a recruitment center who were rejected as unfit for military service on various nonphysical grounds. The high agreement between cut-off scores and all external criteria suggested that the VAL could be effective in a wide variety of industrial, clinical, and experimental settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Induction of depressed mood: A test of opponent-process theory.

To test whether R. L. Solomon's (see record 1980-26727-001) opponent-process theory of acquired motivation can be applied to the induction of depressed mood, 100 female undergraduates completed the Depression Adjective Check Lists before, during, and after a depression-induction procedure or 1 of 2 control conditions. Results are not totally consistent with the opponent-process interpretation, suggesting that this model may not be applicable to depressed mood. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A capacity theory of comprehension: Individual differences in working memory.

A theory of the way working memory capacity constrains comprehension proposes that both processing and storage are mediated by activation and that the total amount of activation available in working memory varies among individuals. Individual differences in working memory capacity for language can account for qualitative and quantitative differences among college-age adults in several aspects of language comprehension. One aspect is syntactic modularity: The larger capacity of some individuals permits interaction among syntactic and pragmatic information, so that their syntactic processes are not informationally encapsulated. Another aspect is syntactic ambiguity: The larger capacity of some individuals permits them to maintain multiple interpretations. The theory is instantiated as a production system model in which the amount of activation available to the model affects how it adapts to the transient computational and storage demands that occur in comprehension. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)