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)     

Thoughts beyond words: When language overshadows insight.

Four experiments examined whether verbalization can interfere with insight problem solving. In Exp 1, Ss were interrupted during problem solving and asked either to verbalize their strategies (retrospective verbalization) or engage in an unrelated activity (control). Ss in the retrospective verbalization condition were significantly less successful than control Ss at solving the problems. Exp 2 replicated the finding of Exp 1 and demonstrated that the control Ss' advantage was not due to any beneficial effect of the interruption. In Exp 3, concurrent, nondirective verbalization impaired the solving of insight problems but had no effect on noninsight problems. In Exp 4, the effect of concurrent verbalization on insight was maintained even when Ss were encouraged to consider alternative approaches. Together, these findings are consistent with the hypothesis that verbalization can result in the disruption of nonreportable processes that are critical to achieving insight solutions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sampling of similar and dissimilar comparison persons and objects as a function of the generality of attribution goal.

Conducted an information-search procedure in which Ss were asked to seek information regarding persons and objects in order to validate a given person or object cause. Four hypotheses were tested: When asked to validate a person cause, Ss are more likely to select distinctiveness information than target-object consensus information. When asked to validate an object cause, Ss are more likely to select target-object consensus information than distinctiveness information. As the generality of person inference increases, progressively dissimilar object comparisons are sought. As the generality of object inference increases, progressively dissimilar person comparisons are sought. In Exp I, 26 undergraduates read attitude statements and answered judgment goals or questions about the statement's generality or object inference. 52 undergraduates in Exp II completed a similar task. The first 3 hypotheses were supported in both Exp I and Exp II, whereas the 4th hypothesis received only mixed support in Exp I and was not supported in Exp II. Unlike Exp I, Exp II did not include cues suggesting the relevant type of information to be sought. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Analyse de la représentation typique de verbes de procès.

Studied the representational structure of process verbs among preschool children and adults. Three experiments were conducted with a total of 80 French preschool children (5–6 yrs) and 80 French university students. In Exp 1, Ss were presented with 12 verbs and were asked to speak a sentence using the verbs. Use of the verbs as a completed action or as a circumstance was recorded. In Exp 2, the Ss were asked to act out or to mark the action/circumstance of the verb on a drawing representing the verb in a sentence. In Exps 3 and 4, Ss were presented with a list of verbs and asked to indicate whether they represented finished actions or uncompleted actions/circumstances. The number of responses indicating a completed or an uncompleted action/circumstance was compared. (English abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Young children's (Homo sapiens) understanding of knowledge formation in themselves and others.

Three- and 4-yr-old children were tested for comprehension of knowledge formation. In Exp 1, 34 Ss watched as a surprise was hidden under 1 of 4 obscured cups. The experimenter then pointed to the cup. All children searched under the correct cup, but no 3-yr-olds (in contrast to most 4-yr-olds) could explain how they knew where to look. Ss then discriminated between simultaneous pointing by 2 adults, one who had hidden a surprise and one who had left the room before the surprise was hidden. Most 4-yr-olds (but no 3-yr-olds) showed clear discrimination between the adults. In Exp 2, 16 Ss were tested with procedures designed to make the source of their own knowledge more obvious, but this had no effect on performance. It is concluded that studies using very similar procedures with chimpanzees and rhesus macaques were measuring an ability (or inability) to understand how knowledge states form. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sequential attributional feedback and children's achievement behaviors.

Determined how the sequence of ability and effort attributional feedback influenced task motivation, attributions for success, self-efficacy, and skillful performance in 80 elementary school Ss (aged 8 yrs 2 mo to 10 yrs 5 mo) in 2 experiments. In Exp I, 40 Ss lacking subtraction skills received training and problem-solved over 4 sessions. During the problem solving, Group 1 (ability-ability) periodically received ability feedback; Group 2 (effort-effort) received little effort feedback; Group 3 (ability-effort) was given ability feedback during the 1st 2 sessions and effort feedback during the last 2; Group 4 (effort-ability) had this sequence reversed. In Exp II, 40 Ss (chosen with the same criteria as in Exp I) followed the same procedures except they were asked about their perceptions of success or failure following training. Results for both experiments show that Ss in Groups 1 and 3 developed higher ability attributions, self-efficacy, and subtraction skills compared with Ss in Groups 2 and 4. The sequence of attributional feedback did not differentially affect motivation, effort attributions, or perceptions of training successes. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of mood on self-appraisal of health status.

Investigated the effects of temporary mood on the self-perception of health status in 2 experiments, using 44 and 90 undergraduates, respectively. In Exp I, Ss viewed 1 of 2 videotapes designed to induce either positive or negative mood and were asked to imagine an illness-related scenario and to provide judgments concerning their health status. Positive-induction Ss judged their health more favorably than negative-induction Ss. In Exp II, Ss viewed 1 of 2 mood induction tapes, and some Ss were asked to imagine either an illness-related scenario or illness-unrelated scenario. A 3rd group was given no instructions. Data are consistent with the notion that negative mood can affect subjective appraisals of health by increasing the accessibility of illness-related memories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implicit learning of color-word associations using a Stroop paradigm.

Asked whether implicit learning occurs for novel nonverbal associations by presenting Ss with color names printed in incongruent colors; Ss were asked to name the color in which the word was printed. In Exp 1, each of 7 color words were associated with the same incongruent color across 6 blocks of trials, and then the color–word associations were abruptly changed. Both control Ss and patients with amnesia reduced their color-naming times across the 1st 6 trial blocks, and naming times increased when the color–word associations were changed. In Exp 2, similar results were obtained when neutral words were associated with colors. In Exp 3, it was found that naming times were not disrupted when an irrelevant dimension (typecase) was changed. Finally, in Exp 4, it was found that the effect persisted across a 5-min delay. These studies provide evidence that implicit learning occurs for nonverbal associations and is independent of the brain structures damaged in amnesia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Paired-associate learning and priming effects in amnesia: A neuropsychological study.

Conducted 4 experiments investigating the role of priming effects in paired-associate learning. Ss for all 4 experiments were 5 male and 3 female alcoholics (mean age 53.8 yrs; WAIS—R IQs 85–203) with Korsakoff syndrome. Control Ss were 26 male alcoholics (mean age 47.6 yrs). Exp I illustrated the distinction between the memory impairment of amnesic (Korsakoff) Ss and their intact priming ability. In Exp II, amnesic Ss showed good paired-associate learning for related word pairs but controls performed significantly better. Exp II also showed that the forgetting of related word pairs by amnesic Ss followed the same time course as the decay of word priming. Exp III showed that amnesic Ss were as good as controls at learning related word pairs when word-association tests were used. Exp IV showed that amnesic Ss exhibited normal priming when they were asked to free associate to words that were semantically related to previously presented words. Results indicate that both priming effects and paired-associate learning of related words depended on activation, a process that is preserved in amnesia. Activation is a transient phenomenon presumed to operate on and facilitate access to preexisting representations. (67 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of group identity on resource use in a simulated commons dilemma.

Used 172 undergraduates in 3 experiments to assess the effects of making salient either a superordinate (collective) or subordinate (differentiating) group identity in heterogeneous groups. In Exp I, 22 male and 36 female Ss were assigned to either a superordinate-group identity (small community resident behavior vs other areas) or a subordinate-group identity (behavior of young people vs elderly people) condition and were asked to perform a computer task individually; Ss were led to believe they were interacting with 5 other persons (2 real and 3 bogus Ss) in their group in accumulating as many points as possible while making the resource last as long as possible. Bogus feedback about group behavior was given. In Exp II, 29 male and 19 female Ss were told that the bogus Ss were economics majors and were asked to perform as in Exp I. In Exp III, the level of social-group identity for 40 male and 26 female Ss was manipulated by varying the common fate of the group members. Results of all 3 experiments show support for the hypothesis that individual restraint would be most likely when a superordinate group identity was made salient and under conditions in which feedback indicated that the common resource was being depleted. A sex-response difference found in Exp I was not sustained in subsequent experiments. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Pessimistic noise effects": The perception of reaction times in noise.

Used a between-group design to examine the effect of loud noise on a 2-choice discrete reaction task and the judgments Ss made about self-produced RTs under these conditions. In Exp I, 70 Ss (aged 26–39 yrs) completed a 2-choice RT task and a concurrent RT rating task of speed. White noise was presented to Ss in the experimental groups. RTs were unexpectedly faster in noise, but Ss used more "slow" categories in describing them. The effect was not apparent when the same RTs were rerated a 2nd time under instructions that indicated that they were random time intervals. Also, the effect was not apparent when a new group of 14 undergraduates in Exp II rated the original RT data, again in noise. Exp III showed that when asked to predict average RTs produced by a hypothetical S in noise, 30 uniformed Ss (aged 26–39 yrs) predicted slow RTs. Results are considered in the light of the hypothesis that pessimistic expectancies about likely effects of noise may be a factor influencing performance. (French abstract) (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Speeded tests of implicit knowledge.

Three experiments tested the hypothesis that implicit and explicit tasks involve distinct modes of processing. Ss observed rule-ordered letter strings and were asked either to memorize the strings or to try to discover the underlying rules. In Exp 1, they then made well-formedness judgments of novel strings under long-deadline and short-deadline conditions. Rule-discovery Ss, but not memory Ss, were impaired by the short deadline. In Exp 2, all Ss made "similarity" judgments of the novel strings instead of the traditional "rule-based" judgments; there were now no differences between the rule-discovery and memory groups. In Exp 3, Ss explicitly instructed in the rules were significantly more impaired under short deadlines than were memory Ss. An analysis of decision times to individual strings for the rule-trained vs memory groups also showed qualitative differences consistent with the implicit–explicit distinction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Negative priming without overt prime selection.

Investigated whether negative priming occurs in the absence of overt prime selection in 3 Exps using 16 college students with normal or corrected-to-normal vision as Ss. In Exp 1, Ss responded to a target item in the probe display only, instead of the usual procedure that requires Ss to also respond to 1 of the items in the prime display. In Exp 2, Ss were asked to choose the less bright of 2 probes displayed in the same color. The same procedure was used for Exp 3 except the distractor was removed from the probe display. The authors conclude that overt selection against a prime distractor in favor of a probe target is not necessary to observe negative priming. This result demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding concerning the procedure required to measure negative priming and presents an experimental procedure that is of considerable utility in evaluating theoretical accounts of negative priming. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of out-group cues in determining social identity.

Examined the role of out-group cues in determining social identity and guiding behavior in 2 experiments with 131 undergraduates. In Exp I, Ss were exposed to a cue either of an in-group (Ss' college), a relevant out-group (a rival college), or an irrelevant out-group (a baseball team). Ss examined a list of words and were later asked to recognize those they had seen from a larger list in which words related to the 3 groups were embedded. Results indicate that Ss made more false recognitions of in-group related words when a relevant out-group was salient than when an irrelevant out-group was salient. Exp II tested a behavioral implication of Exp I: Out-group salience increases adherence to an in-group norm. In the 1st phase of Exp II, Ss were divided into 2 groups and deliberated 2 civil suits. Ss' in-group favored the plaintiffs for both cases. Ss were divided into new groups for the 2nd phase, and the same procedure was followed. This time, however, the in-group favored the defendants. In the 3rd phase, Ss were exposed to a cue either of the out-group in Phase 1 or Phase 2. Ss' judgments for 2 new cases were biased in the direction of the norm of the in-group that was associated with the salient out-group. Ss favored the plaintiff (or defendant) when the 1st (or 2nd) out-group was salient. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in internal tempo and effects on the learning and remembering of event durations.

How changes in internal tempo may influence the learning and remembering of event durations were investigated in 4 experiments with 264 university students. In the 1st 2 experiments, stress or relaxation was induced in Ss after they had learned a set of environmental sounds. When unexpectedly asked to recognize (Exp 1) or reproduce (Exp 2) the sounds' durations, results indicated that relative to a control group, Ss in the stress condition misremembered the time spans as shorter than their actual duration, whereas the opposite pattern of results tended to occur in the relaxation group. Exps 3 and 4 further revealed that changes in internal tempo also influence those event rates to which one is most attuned. Findings are discussed in terms of an approach that emphasizes the reciprocal relationship between individuals and their temporal environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Visual specificity effects on word stem completion: Beyond transfer appropriate processing?

Explored the determinants of perceptual specificity effects (PSEs) in visual word-stem completion. 256 undergraduates participated in 4 experiments. In Exp 1, Ss completed a stem completion task after a number-search task in study-condition and -case phases. Ss were assessed for their awareness of the study-task relationship and compliance with instructions. In Exp 2, retrieval instructions and study task were manipulated within Ss and between 4 study-test blocks. Ss in Exp 3 completed study-test blocks with unintentional test instructions as in Exp 2. In Exp 4, retention interval, and study-task and -case were manipulated within the Ss. In Exp 1, PSEs on the stem completion task depended on perceptual encoding when Ss' awareness of the study-test relationship was limited. In Exps 2–4, these effects depended on semantic encoding. PSEs after short retention intervals were independent of encoding task. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A featural analysis of preschoolers' counting knowledge.

Investigated preschoolers' knowledge of counting principles by examining their ability to discriminate between features that are essential for correct counting and features that are typically present but unessential. The standard counting procedure was analyzed into 1 essential feature, word/object correspondence (WOC), and 4 optional features: counting adjacent objects consecutively, pointing once to each object, starting at an end of a row, and proceeding in a left to right direction. In Exp I, 10 3-, 10 4-, and 10 5-yr-olds were asked to judge a puppet's counting that either violated the essential or unessential features or that conformed to the standard correct procedure. Ss who knew the WOC principle presumably would reject counts that violated it more often than counts that conformed to it. Each S's skill in counting rows of objects also was assessed. In Exp II, 16 3-yr-olds completed a similar task but were able to see an adult model perform the task before judging. Skill in executing the standard counting procedure preceded knowledge of the underlying principle. Four- and 5-yr-olds knew that WOC was essential, although a high percentage of them did not know that other typical features were unessential. An analysis of probable environmental input and of the features' utility in separating already-counted from to-be-counted objects is proposed to account for the relative probabilities that Ss knew that each of the 5 features of standard counting was essential or optional. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How demonstrated comprehension can get muddled in production.

The discourse skills of 31 low-income and 30 middle-income kindergarten children (mean ages 5 yrs 2 mo and 5 yrs 4 mo) from the same classrooms were examined in 2 experiments. In each experiment a nonverbal demonstration of comprehension of the discourse material was assured before Ss were asked to express that same material verbally to another child. In Exp I, Ss were read stories that they acted out with props. When comprehension was assured they were asked to paraphrase the story to another. In Exp II, Ss were either shown or instructed verbally how to open an attractive box. When comprehension was assured they were asked to teach the "trick" to a blindfolded adult. Results from both experiments indicate that although it took the low-income Ss somewhat longer to comprehend the information, the greatest difference between the groups was in the ability to communicate information that they already knew. Low-income Ss produced less relevant information on both tasks, although this did not appear to be related to linguistic complexity or sheer output. (26 ref) (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)     

Processing of information in iconic memory: Differences between nonretarded and retarded subjects.

Compared iconic memory processes of 17 undergraduates and 18 retarded Ss (primarily aged 18–28 yrs; IQ 56–77) in 4 experiments. In Exp I, a partial report paradigm was used in which 6 retarded and 6 undergraduate Ss were presented 6 pictures under 4 intervals (0–500 msec). In Exp II, using 5 Ss in each group the same procedure as in Exp I was used but letters as well as pictures were included. Results show that although overall performance for retarded Ss was poor, they did better with letters than with pictures—a reverse of the finding with undergraduate Ss. In Exp III, 2 retarded Ss were given extended practice and incentive to perform well. Asymptote was reached in 10 days but never equaled performance of unpracticed undergraduates. In Exp IV, using 5 Ss in each group, information load was varied from 1 to 4 items, and a masking stimulus was used to interrupt processing following 6 intervals that lasted up to 250 msec. Results show that (1) there are quantitative differences between intelligence groups in iconic capacity; (2) retarded Ss process information more slowly, a difference that increases with increasing information load; and (3) there are substantive structural differences in iconic memory of retarded and nonretarded Ss. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)