Pictorial mnemonics for phonics.

Evaluated whether picture mnemonics help prereaders learn letter–sound associations in 2 experiments with 20 1st graders (Exp I), 30 preschoolers, and kindergartners (Exp II). Pictures integrating the associations were compared with disassociated pictures and with a no-picture control condition. Ss in the integrated-picture group learned 5 letter-sound associations (e.g., f, /f/), each represented by a picture whose shape included the letter (e.g., letter f drawn as the stem of a flower) and whose name (flower) began with the letter's sound. Ss in the disassociated-picture group learned letter–sound associations with pictures having the same names as the integrated pictures, but drawn differently—without letter shapes. Ss in the control group learned associations with picture names but no pictures. Prior to letter–sound training, all groups were taught how to segment the initial sounds of the picture names. Results reveal that Ss taught with integrated mnemonics learned more letter–sound associations and also more letter–picture associations than did the other 2 groups, which did not differ. Integrated pictures were effective because they linked 2 otherwise unconnected items in memory. It is concluded that the shape of letters included in pictures reminded learners of previously seen pictures with those shapes whose names began with the relevant letter sounds. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review, recitation, and memory monitoring.

Investigated memory monitoring during the learning of word lists in 110 undergraduates in 2 experiments. Both experiments used a procedure in which the list was presented twice prior to each recall with Ss predicting recall during either the 1st or 2nd presentation. Ss who predicted during the 2nd presentation had the opportunity to review the entire list prior to making their predictions. Results of both experiments suggest that successful monitoring to decide the items that are already encoded (e.g., assessment through covert recall) did not occur during presentation of material but was restricted to recall trials. Reviewing the list had no effect on prediction accuracy when the material was homogeneous (Exp I) but was effective with heterogeneous materials (Exp II). The data from Exp II also show modest learning-to-predict and learning-to-learn effects (i.e., improvement over lists) for Ss predicting recall on the 2nd presentation. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unsolicited interpretation and recall of interpersonal events.

Conducted 4 experiments with a total of 246 undergraduates to examine the variables that influence interpretations and cued recall of interpersonal events. In Exp I, Ss were given a set to empathize with or to be detached from a couple who were shown having an intimate discussion on videotape. The discussion culminated in either a seriously or a moderately negative outcome (SO or MO). A greater amount of attribution (AT) and more accurate recall were found for the empathy set vs the detached set. Greater AT was also found for SO vs MO conditions. In Exp II with a different videotaped event, an SO version and a set to remember the event led to more AT than did an MO version or no set, respectively. Memory-set Ss showed greater recall than no-memory set Ss. In Exp III, Ss given a set to anticipate interaction with 1 of the stimulus persons showed more AT and more accurate recall (R) than did Ss given no such set and an SO led to more AT than did an MO. In Exp IV, Ss given a set about the emotional condition of a stimulus person before observing the event exhibited greater AT and more accurate recall than did Ss given the same set after observing the event or Ss given no set at all. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimental study of unconscious influences: Ultrasound as a stimulus.

Used ultrasound as a stimulus to study its effects on behavior without S awareness. In Exp I evoked responses were elicited in 7 of 24 undergraduates by ultrasonic tones when Ss were reporting the presence of no stimulus. In Exp II with 20 male Ss, galvanic skin response conditioning to a compound stimulus made up of ultrasound and a red light resulted in shorter latencies to the compound stimulus than to the red light alone, during extinction. The differences did not appear among control Ss, supporting the occurrence of conditioning without awareness. In Exp III with 16 Ss, reaction-time performance was disrupted by providing ultrasound as an anticipatory cue for 1 of 2 lights over 150 trials and then reversing the ultrasound-light pairing. The ultrasound did not facilitate reaction time to the paired light during the 1st 150 trials, however. Results support learning without awareness, and the method is discussed as it might be extended to the study of unconscious influences and to clinical applications. (75 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reasoning and secondary reinforcement in 6–7-year-olds and 10–11-year-olds.

Conducted 2 experiments to investigate the 1st author's cognitive theory of secondary reinforcement effects, which predicts that Ss of a preoperational age (i.e., younger than 7 yrs) should not necessarily learn responses followed by a stimulus object previously instrumental in obtaining a reward, while Ss of a postoperational age should do so. Using 24 1st and 24 5th graders in 2 learning tasks, the prediction was confirmed. Furthermore, verbal responses indicated that the logical operations that presumably influenced the behavior of the older children actually did occur. In Exp II, using 28 2nd and 15 6th graders, the training task was simplified in order to try to facilitate logical reasoning, but the behavior of the younger Ss was not affected. It is concluded that secondary reinforcement of a stimulus–response associative type has yet to be demonstrated, and that secondary reinforcement of a cognitive type is heavily dependent on reasoning ability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extinction and retention of a classically conditioned flexor nerve response in acute spinal cat.

Conditioned adult male and female cats by pairing a mild electrical stimulus to the superficial peroneal sensory nerve (CS) with a stronger electrical stimulus to the ankle skin (UCS) of the same leg. Subsequent extinction was produced by presenting CS-alone trials. In Exp I (42 Ss), Ss given massed extinction trials showed response decrements to base levels, but Ss that received distributed extinction trials showed no decrements. In Exp II, .5-, 1-, 2-, 3-, or 4-hr intervals between acquisition and extinction produced no significant differences in the extinction data. In Exp III (20 Ss), Ss received extinction trials immediately or 30 min after acquisition trials, followed by 20 additional extinction trials 30 min later. Data indicated significant acquisition and extinction in the 10- and 20-acquisition trial groups. As in Exp II (35 Ss), varying the interval between acquisition and extinction did not produce any group differences in the extinction data. These results demonstrate that response increases produced by paired trials in the spinal preparation do not decay spontaneously over time and are not caused by sensitization effects. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Incidental learning, noun imagery-concreteness and direction of associations in paired-associate learning.

Examined the effect of imagery-concreteness pairs in incidental learning. In Exp. I with 96 undergraduates, intentional learning was superior to incidental learning. Recall of concrete-concrete noun pairs was significantly better than recall of all other pairs, while concrete-abstract and abstract-concrete nouns did not differ from each other but did differ from abstract-abstract recall. In Exp. II with 64 Ss, instructions to use imagery during the orientation task resulted in similar performance for incidental and intentional learning Ss. Concreteness yielded a greater effect on the stimulus side than on the response side of pairs, particularly for stimulus-response recall. Associative directionality had no reliable effects in either experiment. Results are discussed in terms of A. Paivio's conceptual peg hypothesis and 2-process theory of verbal and imaginal memory. (French summary) (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Isolation effects, free recall, and organization.

Studied the influence of isolated words upon free recall and clustering of categorized lists. For Exp. I with 104 undergraduates, the list contained 10 words from each of 4 conceptual categories and the category names, and for Exp. II with 96 Ss, 11 members of 4 categories and no names. Category members were presented in blocked or random order for 4 presentation-recall periods. Isolation effects occurred for random presentation with either category names or members as isolates. The superior recall of isolates was at the expense of other words in the list. Clustering of the categories with an isolate or for the over-all list was not affected by isolates, indicating that they did not influence the organization of the lists. Recall and clustering with block presentation were superior to random presentation. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cross-modal transfer in 6-month-old infants.

Investigated in 4 studies with 101 infants 25.5–32 wks of age the ability of Ss to transfer information about shape across modalities. Ss were familiarized either orally or tactually and then tested for visual recognition memory. In Exp I, Ss failed to show evidence of cross-modal transfer on any of the tasks (1 oral–visual, 2 tactual–visual). When familiarization times were increased from 30 to 60 sec in Exp II, Ss showed evidence of transfer on both tactual–visual tasks. Exp III eliminated the 5–7 sec delay that generally intervenes between the familiarization and test phase. Ss were permitted to retain the stimulus in their hand (or mouth) during the test phase while simultaneously viewing a novel stimulus and a duplicate of the familiar stimulus. This modification resulted in successful transfer on 1 of the 2 tactual–visual tasks. Ss did not show evidence of transfer on the oral–visual problem in any of these studies, despite evidence from Exp IV that they could visually discriminate the paired stimuli used in these tasks and that they showed recognition memory when familiarization and testing were both visual. Results suggest that, although cross-modal transfer of information about shape is present among 6-mo-olds, it is a less robust phenomenon than that seen in older infants. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Set, structure, and the recall of words.

Presented 40 adjective-noun pairs at the rate of 5 sec/pair to a total of 396 undergraduates in 2 experiments. In both experiments, groups of Ss were given, prior to the initial presentation, (a) either a set to remember the pairs or the nouns; (b) adjectives which were either repeated or varied from the 1st to the 2nd 20 pairs; and (c) pairs which either belonged or did not belong together (e.g., "brave army" vs. "sweet army"). When Ss were given the adjectives and asked to recall the correct nouns, results show that set for pairs, the repeat condition, and the belonging condition provided reliably higher recall scores. Also, the Set * Repeat * Belonging interaction was significant. When Ss were given a blank piece of paper and asked to recall only nouns, only the set for nouns produced higher recall scores. Results support the emphasis-congruence hypothesis in recall, i.e., when the material emphasized in learning is congruent with what is needed in recall, then there is better recall. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hypnotic amnesia as a strategic enactment: Breaching amnesia in highly susceptible subjects.

Proposes that hypnotically amnesic Ss maintain control over their memory processes but often fail to breach amnesia because to do so would conflict with their self-presentation as deeply hypnotized. Two experiments, with 16 undergraduates, demonstrated that highly susceptible hypnotically amnesic Ss could be easily induced to recall all of the "forgotten" target items by defining successful recall as supportive of rather than as inconsistent with a self-presentation as deeply hypnotized. In the 1st part of Exp I, all Ss showed amnesia despite repeated demands to recall honestly. In the 2nd part of Exp I, Ss were led to believe that they possessed a "hidden part" to their mind that remained aware of the target items covered by the amnesia suggestion. Each S recalled all of the forgotten items when the experimenter contacted their hidden part. Exp II replicated this effect and also demonstrated that the characteristics of Ss' hidden reports were a function of the instructions they received and did not reflect the operation of a dissociated cognitive subsystem that subconsciously held the forgotten items. Findings are inconsistent with traditional theorizing about hypnosis, but offer strong support for the hypothesis that hypnotic amnesia is a strategic enactment under the S's voluntary control. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Output interference in long-term memory.

Reports 2 experiments, with 70 and 140 undergraduates, concerning the role of output interference on the recall of organized material. Groups of Ss received blocked presentation of a 49-item list consisting of 7 items in each of 7 categories. At recall, the category name served as the retrieval cue. In Exp. I, a 20-sec recall interval was allowed for each category and 10 Ss were assigned to each group. In Exp. II, this interval was increased to 90 sec. and 20 Ss were assigned to each group. Results of both studies indicate that the number of words recalled from a category is dependent on the position of the category in the output sequence. In general, the earlier a category appears in the output sequence, the greater the number of words recalled from that category. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Specificity of process, response, and stimulus in behavioral bioassays.

Reported 3 experiments which studied aspects of the behavioral specificity of the "biochemical transfer" phenomenon. In Exp I, using 120 common goldfish, an acquisition extract facilitated acquisition but not extinction, while an extinction extract facilitated extinction but not acquisition. In Exp II, using 60 Ss from Exp I and 20 additional Ss, brain extracts facilitated an avoidance response only if they originated in donors that made that same response; extracts from donors that did not respond, although exposed to identical stimuli, did not modify recipient behavior. In Exp III, the biochemical transfer effect was found to be stimulus specific in 48 large and 111 small Ss. Results suggest that the extracts in question are behavior specific and do not generally affect behavior in a global excitatory or global inhibitory way. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Response prevention and extinction of escape behavior: Duration, frequency, similarity, and retraining variables in rats.

Describes 3 experiments in which a total of 158 female hooded rats received escape training, response prevention, and then regular extinction. Following training, Ss in Exp I received 1 response-prevention trial lasting 0, 120, 240, or 400 sec, or multiple trials (6, 12, or 20) lasting 20 sec each. Extinction was faster as prevention duration or frequency increased. At each duration, extinction was faster following multiple- than following single-prevention trials. In Exp II Ss received "prevention" in the original escape situation or in similar or dissimilar situations. Extinction was faster as prevention and training situations increased in similarity. To evaluate the persistence of prevention effects, in Exp III Ss received shock retraining between prevention and regular extinction. Retraining attenuated but did not eradicate the effects of prevention. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conservation level and category clustering.

Conducted 2 experiments with 180 elementary and junior high school students to test the hypothesis that category recall is related to the quantity conservation of mass, weight, and volume. The predicted association between conservation level and category recall was observed. In Exp I conservation level was varied with word lists. Main effects of both these variables on recall and category clustering scores appeared. Systematic developmental trends in clustering for the high- but not for the low-associative word list were revealed in post hoc analyses. In Exp II, the Ss' organizational bases were studied under a procedure in which the Ss were allowed first to study a stimulus word and then to select a syntagmatic, a paradigmatic, a category inclusive, or an unrelated response word as a mediator to help them remember the stimulus word. Analyses performed on response selections and response selections in relation to recall revealed that Ss who conserved volume showed the highest tendency to select category inclusive responses. It is suggested that more mature Ss are more likely both to select and use superordinate information as an encoding device. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory processes and evoked potentials.

Reviews research on memory and evoked potentials (EPs) and presents new experimental data in which a storage component of the EP was identified. In Exp I, Ss performed information-processing operations on number and letter comparison tasks under 16 conditions varying stimulus, position, and relevance while EEGs were taken. In Exp II, 52 Ss were tested for short-term recall under the same 16 conditions. From Exp I, an EP storage component with a poststimulus maximum about 250 msec was found to be related to the storage of stimulus information in short-term memory. The storage component results led to a memory prediction that was substantiated in Exp II. Recall was not as closely related to 2 other, orthogonal EP components (P??? and CNV). Retrieval from and storage in short-term memory are discussed. Memory scanning rate derived from P??? latency changes with memory set size are faster than, but comparable to, RT estimates. An EP experiment dealing with levels of processing and memory is discussed, and a schematic model of some aspects of EPs that may be related to memory processes is presented. (French abstract) (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Copying and reproducing pictures in relation to subjects' operative levels.

Past Piagetian memory research has established that Ss' operative levels influence their recall of operatively derived stimuli. To determine the locus of operative influence, children from Grades 1–5 with immature, transitional, or mature concepts of verticality were asked to copy and/or to reproduce verticality stimuli. Stimuli were either operatively advanced (a vertical tree on a hillside) or primitive (a tipped tree). Memory was tested immediately (Exp I, 96 Ss), 1 wk (Exp II, 168 Ss), or 5 mo (Exp III, 46 Ss) after the initial viewing. In each study there was a significant relationship between operative level and performance on the operatively advanced stimulus only. For the tipped stimulus, more distortion was evident in memory than in copy drawings. Contrary to predictions, however, there was no difference between distortion in copy and memory drawings for the straight stimulus regardless of Ss' operative levels. Results suggest that progressive distortion increases over time but that regressive distortion occurs before the stimulus is removed from sight. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of preparatory information about sensations, threat of pain, and attention on cold pressor distress.

Three experiments with 170 male undergraduates investigated pain experience conceptualized as a combination of stimulus sensations (e.g., aching) and emotional distress. In Exp I, less distress was reported to cold pressor stimulation by Ss first told about stimulus sensations than by Ss who were uninformed or were told about symptoms of bodily arousal (e.g., tension). Adding a pain warning to sensation information blocked distress reduction, presumably by eliciting an emotional interpretation of the stimulus. In Exp II, Ss attending only to hand sensations reported less distress than Ss attending to their bodies. This decrease in the power of the stimulus to provoke emotion is presumably mediated by a schema of hand sensations formed by attention. In Exp III, Ss attending to hand sensations early in the immersion and distracting themselves later reported the same low levels of distress as did Ss who attended to hand sensations throughout. Ss distracted throughout and Ss attending to hand sensations later showed no distress reduction. Therefore, stimulus schematization must precede distress reduction. (64 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The reward value of light increment under supranormal and subnormal arousal.

2 Experiments, with 80 male Wistar rats each, studied the effects of methamphetamine and pentobarbital, respectively, on the reward value of light increment, alternating training days with test days to separate learning effects from performance effects. During the 1st wk. of Exp. I, if injected on training days with saline solution, Ss trained with light increment performed more responses on test days than Ss trained without light increment but, if injected with methamphetamine, Ss trained with light increment performed fewer responses. During the 2nd wk., training with light increment became relatively more effective for those trained under 2 or 3 mg/kg of methamphetamine but less effective in Ss with 0 or 1 mg/kg. In Exp. II, the difference in number of test-day responses between Ss trained with and without light increment decreased when pentobarbital injections (5, 10, 15, or 20 mg/kg) were administered on training days. In both experiments, more responses were performed on training days by Ss receiving light increments, and the number of responses varied inversely with doses of drugs. Results complement previous findings and indicating that the reward value of an indifferent stimulus depends on an interaction between the arousal value of the stimulus and arousal level of the organism. (French summary) (18 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hypnotic susceptibility and performance on various attention-specific cognitive tasks.

In 2 experiments, 52 undergraduates were administered the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A, and were divided into groups with high and low hypnotic susceptibility (HS). In Exp I (32 Ss), time-to-location of a target in a visual search was assessed. For this task, the letter Z was embedded within either straight- or round-form letters. Results indicate that Ss of high HS were significantly faster than those of low HS in locating the embedded letter. Exp II (20 Ss) investigated performance on single- and double-digit arithmetic problems as a function of HS level. Ss were presented with addition problems and asked to complete them within 60 sec. Ss of high HS completed a significantly greater number of double- but not single-digit problems within this time than did Ss of low HS. Results are discussed in terms of the 2 groups' differing strategies or operations in the performance of cognitive tasks. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)