Effects of cognitive effort and word distinctiveness on learning disabled and nondisabled readers' recall.

Explored the notion that differences in word recall between skilled and learning disabled (LD) readers are related to cognitive effort in 3 experiments. Ss were 12 skilled readers (mean age 13.6 yrs) and 12 LD readers (mean age 13.5 yrs) in Exp I, 12 skilled readers (mean age 12.20 yrs) and 12 LD readers (mean age 11.63 yrs) in Exp II, and 24 skilled readers (mean age 8.75 yrs) and 24 LD readers (mean age 8.55 yrs) in Exp III. Cognitive effort represents the mental input to which a limited-capacity attentional system expands to produce a response. Manipulation of primary task difficulty (anagram solutions) and subsequent performance on a secondary task (word recall of correctly solved anagrams) was used to infer cognitive effort. The primary task included manipulations of word list organization and task orientation instructions. In general, after a difficult primary task, secondary task performance was higher for skilled readers than it was for LD readers. Ability group interactions occurred for word list organization and task orientation instructions. It is suggested that the amount of cognitive effort that can be effectively expended to produce a distinctive memory trace is related to individual differences in attentional capacity. Specifically, skilled readers' encoded memory traces under high-effort conditions contained more distinct semantic information than did the traces of LD readers. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of word imagery on reading performance as a function of reader ability.

Conducted 3 experiments on the effects of word imagery, length, and frequency on reading difficulty. Ss were 27 8-10 yr old poor readers in Exp I, 24 8-11 yr old good readers in Exp II, and 10 poor and 10 good readers (mean age 9 yrs 6 mo) in Exp III. High frequency words were found to be easier to read for both good and poor readers. High-imagery words were easier to read for poor readers only. Word length had little effect on reading difficulty for either good or poor readers. The differential effect of word imagery on reading difficulty for good and poor readers is interpreted in terms of the types of reading strategy used--phonics for good readers and whole word reading for poor readers. When children are forced to learn to read words by a whole word method, word imagery predicts ease of learning for both good and poor readers. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recall of pleasant and unpleasant words in depressed subjects.

In Exp I, 20 clinically depressed inpatients (mean age 39.9 yrs), 20 nondepressed inpatients (mean age 42.65 yrs), and 20 nonpatients (mean age 44 yrs) were shown a word list containing pleasant and unpleasant words. One-half of Ss in each group were given free-recall instructions, the other half were asked to rate each word on a pleasantness scale prior to recall. Results show that only depressed Ss given free-recall instructions recalled more unpleasant words than pleasant words. In Exp II, 30 clinically depressed inpatients (mean age 39.33 yrs) were shown a word list consisting of either (1) pleasant and unpleasant words, (2) unpleasant words, or (3) pleasant words. Results show that only Ss receiving the mixed list recalled more unpleasant than pleasant words. Findings support the hypothesis that depressed Ss selectively process unpleasant words and that this processing is at the expense of attention to pleasant words. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attention and retrieval from long-term memory.

Conducted 9 experiments with 152 female volunteers (mean age 44.4 yrs) to investigate the disrupting effect of a secondary task on retrieval from long-term memory. Exps I–V studied the influence of concurrent card sorting or digit span on free recall or paired-associate learning of word lists. Exp VI explored recall probability using a recognition paradigm in which accuracy and latency could be measured simultaneously. Exp VII explored the latency effect with a semantic memory paradigm, and Exp VIII required Ss to make semantic category judgments while retaining sequences of 6 digits. Exp IX examined the effect of concurrent digital load on the rate of generating items from semantic categories. Overall findings reveal that a demanding concurrent task did not reduce the probability of retrieving an item from semantic or episodic memory. However, concurrent load during learning substantially effected recall performance. A concurrent task during retrieval did not have a clear effect on latency. The contrast between the pattern shown by errors and by that shown by latencies suggests that attempts to estimate the attentional demands of any task should be interpreted with considerable caution when based on a single measure, such as performance errors, performance latency, or a response to a probe RT signal. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development and validation of a behavioral peer-rating measure of depression.

Describes the development and validation of the Peer Depression-Rating Scale, a list of 9 behaviors associated with depression rated in terms of how often S engaged in each behavior in the presence of the rater during the prior week. In Exp I, 11 indices of depressed behavior were rated by 60 undergraduates using a friend or relative of S. Findings resulted in the elimination of 2 items. In Exp II, 106 raters and 106 ratees (52 depressed outpatients [mean age 38.87 yrs]) participated. Results show that the 9-item scale had adequate internal consistency, criterion-related validity, and concurrent validity. Two item-factors (Dissatisfaction and Motor Retardation) were identified. Depressed outpatients had higher scale scores than nondepressed Ss. (4 ref) (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)     

Suffix interference in the recall of linguistically coherent speech.

In Exp 1, definitions of low-frequency words were presented for on-line written recall. Each definition was followed by a nonword speech suffix presented in the same voice as the definition, the same nonword presented in a different voice, or a tone. There was a significant reduction in the recall of the terminal words of the definitions in the speech suffix conditions compared with the tone control. This pattern was replicated in Exp 2, in which Ss did not begin their recall until the suffix item or tone was presented, although the magnitude of the suffix effect was reduced in this experiment. In Exp 3, the suffix effect was considerably reduced compared with the suffix effect found with the definitions presented in Exps 1 and 2. This pattern was replicated in Exp 4, in which Ss did not begin their recall of the story sentences until the speech suffix or tone was presented. Results suggest that auditory memory interference can take place for linguistically coherent speech, although the magnitude of the interference decreases as one increases the level of linguistic structure in the to-be-recalled materials. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory and metamemory: A study of the feeling-of-knowing phenomenon in amnesic patients.

Tested accuracy of the feeling of knowing in 2 experiments, using 8 patients with Korsakoff's syndrome (mean age 54 yrs), 8 electroconvulsive shock therapy (ECT) patients (mean age 46.5 yrs), 4 Ss (mean age 47 yrs) with other causes of amnesia, 2 alcoholic control groups (7 Ss with a mean age of 47.6 yrs and 19 Ss with a mean age of 48.5 yrs), and 18 healthy controls (mean age 49 yrs). In Exp I, feeling-of-knowing accuracy for the answers to general information questions that could not be recalled was tested. Ss were asked to rank nonrecalled questions in terms of how likely they thought they would be to recognize the answers and were then given a recognition test for these items. Only Korsakoff's syndrome Ss were impaired in making feeling-of-knowing predictions. The other amnesic Ss were as accurate as control Ss in their feeling-of-knowing predictions. In Exp II, these findings were replicated in a sentence memory paradigm that tested newly learned information. Results show that impaired metamemory is not an obligatory feature of amnesia, because amnesia can occur without detectable metamemory deficits. The impaired metamemory exhibited by patients with Korsakoff's syndrome reflects a cognitive impairment that is not typically observed in other forms of amnesia. (50 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Story and list recall tests as measures of verbal memory in a head-injured sample.

Memory components of story and list recall were derived for 48 head-injured patients (mean age 33.5 yrs) using regression techniques. Ss completed such measures as the Wechsler Memory Scale. General and verbal memory components, respectively, contributed the most variance to both story and list recall under both immediate and delayed conditions. Although they share substantial variance, list and story recall were not identical. Willingness to repeat oneself contributed to all types of recall, except delayed story recall. It was hypothesized that long-term storage contributed to immediate list recall ability, active semantic organization contributed to delayed list recall ability, and attentional fluctuations contributed to delayed story recall ability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The stimulus suffix effect and positional uncertainty.

Conducted 2 serial recall experiments with 68 undergraduates to determine if a stimulus suffix creates positional uncertainty that contributes to the suffix effect. In Exp 1, Ss recalled all or some of 8 auditorily presented letters. During recall, nontested letters were shown in position to reduce uncertainty about position. In Exp 2, nontested letters were not shown during recall. Despite differences between the 2 experiments, the serial position functions were almost identical. It is concluded that positional uncertainty is a component of the terminal suffix effect but not of preterminal suffix effects. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Voice-specific information and the 20-second delayed-suffix effect.

Conducted 2 experiments with a total of 201 university students to investigate the nature of the delayed-suffix effect reported by M. J. Watkins and A. K. Todres (see record 1981-09636-001). In both experiments, Ss were presented lists of digits for serial recall. At the end of each list, either a tone or a voice reading aloud the word go was presented. The voice was either in the same voice that read the digits or in a different voice. Past research has indicated that the tone control produces the least interference, followed by the different-voice suffix, which in turn produces less interference than the same-voice suffix. The results of the present experiments indicate that when Ss were tested on immediate recall for the lists, the typical ordering of tone control, different-voice suffix, and same-voice suffix on recall at the last serial position was found. However, when there was a 20-sec filled interval between the last list item and the suffix, there was only a difference between the tone control and the same- and different-voice suffixes with no difference between the latter 2 conditions. In addition, Exp II failed to support a simple attentional account of the differential influence of voice in the immediate and delayed-recall conditions. It is concluded that the results support a perceptual tuning mechanism in which perceptual specificity decreases with the passage of time. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rotation of mental images and asymmetries in word recognition in disabled readers.

Two experiments with 72 right-handed children (9–11 yrs old) revealed marked dissimilarities in perceptual coding between impaired and fluent readers. In Exp I, 26 boys with reading disabilities and average intelligence were compared to 26 good readers on a test of visual–spatial, short-term memory. Both groups performed equally well in their spatial recall on transformed visual fields. However, poor readers coded the test stimuli differently, in a nonanalytic and synchronous fashion. In a follow-up experiment, 10 disabled readers compared with 10 good readers showed a lower right- over left-field advantage when reporting single words presented tachistoscopically. Taken together, results disconfirm the widely held ideas that poor readers are suffering from spatial disorientation, left–right confusion, mirror-image equivalence, or lack of cerebral dominance. Findings suggest that the perceptual "anormalies" often linked with reading disability may result from nonpathological variations in the structural operations used to encode visual information. This difference in the organization of encodings in visual memory may be related to asymmetries in brain functioning. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recognition and recall in amnesics.

Examined whether recall is disproportionately disrupted by amnesia compared with recognition, using 7 amnesics (mean age 51 yrs) without a history of alcoholism, 9 amnesic alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome patients (mean age 66 yrs), and 9 controls (mean age 53.2 yrs). It was postulated that if amnesia affects memory uniformly across different direct memory measures, recall of normal controls should not differ from the recall of amnesics when recognition scores of these 2 groups are equated. On the other hand, if recall is disproportionately disrupted, normal recall should be superior to amnesic recall even when recognition is equated. In the present study, amnesic recognition was equated with that of controls by providing amnesics with 8 sec of study time and normal Ss with 0.5 sec. Normal recall was superior to amnesic recall even when no differences were found in recognition. The results further specify the selective nature of amnesia. It is suggested that amnesia reflects a selective disruption of an aspect of memory critical to successful recall. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Disorganized recall during suggested amnesia: Fact not artifact.

In 3 experiments and a reanalysis of previous data, hypnotic and nonhypnotic Ss learned a 9-item categorized word list and were then given an amnesia suggestion for the list. Clustering of recall was measured on the recall trials immediately before the suggestion, during it, and after it was cancelled. In Exp I with 173 undergraduates, hypnotic Ss showed more amnesia than task-motivated Ss. However, partial nonrecallers in both of these treatments showed disorganized (i.e., less clustered) recall during the suggestion as compared to before it or after cancelling it. Exp II, with 100 university students, disconfirmed the hypothesis that the greater amnesia of hypnotic as compared to task-motivated Ss, was due to high levels of relaxation in the hypnotic Ss. Disorganization was again found in partial nonrecallers. The reanalysis of clustering data from previous experiments with 196 Ss demonstrated that the disorganization effect was not an artifact produced by reduced recall during the suggestion period, and Exp III (with 166 18–42 yr old Ss) indicated that Ss who followed instructions and faked partial amnesia when explicitly asked to do so (simulators) showed no disorganization effect. An inattention–encoding specificity hypothesis was developed to account for these findings. (23 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)     

The feeling of knowing experience in educable retarded children.

Required 50 educable retarded children to predict their recognition accuracy when recall failed. Ss were divided into 3 ability levels: (a) old Ss (mean CA 13.25 yrs, mean MA 10.5 yrs), (b) medium Ss (mean CA 11.25 yrs, mean MA 8.75 yrs), and (c) young Ss (mean CA 9 yrs 5 mo, mean MA 6 yrs 9 mo). Results indicate that old and medium Ss could reliably predict their recognition accuracy, suggesting sensitivity to their own feeling of knowing experience, but that the young Ss showed no evidence of this sensitivity. Even though the young Ss had difficulty predicting their recognition accuracy in advance they were able to estimate the success or failure of their responses after they had occurred. Results are discussed in terms of the complexity of the metamemory judgment required, and the advisability of evaluating metamemorial knowledge across several situations is emphasized. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A word-frequency cohort effect in young versus elderly adults' memory for words.

72 undergraduates and 72 elderly Ss (mean age 73.6 yrs) were tested for recall of 4 types of word lists that varied in terms of word frequency and datedness. "Popular" words had high frequency in both E. L. Thorndike's (1921) and H. Kucera and N. W. Francis's (1967) norms; "dated" words had high frequency in 1921 but low present-day frequency; "contemporary" words had low frequency in 1921 but high present-day frequency; "rare" words had low frequency in both norms. In both the sorting-recall and the standard multitrial free-recall tasks, the older Ss' pattern of list recall differed from that of the younger Ss. For older Ss, the feature of early high frequency promoted better recall (in the popular and dated lists) than did present-day high frequency (i.e., the contemporary list was recalled as poorly as the rare list). Results suggest a word-frequency cohort effect and indicate that high-frequency words from one's youth are particularly memorable, especially for elderly individuals. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Episodic spatial memory in adulthood.

Two experiments examined age-related differences in memory for spatial location information in a museum exhibit (Exp 1) and in a secretarial office (Exp 2). In Exp 1, Ss were the visitors to the exhibit (N?=?302, 15–74 yrs of age), and memory was assessed using a map test. In Exp 2, Ss were 64 young adults (M?=?21.2 yrs) and 32 older adults (M?=?71.2 yrs), and memory was assessed using both a map test and a relocation test. The relocation test required Ss to replace the to-be-remembered targets where they appeared at study. Exp 1 showed an age-related decline in spatial memory performance, and it placed the onset of this decline in the 6th decade of life. Exp 2 showed an age-related decline on both tests, but age effects were smaller on the relocation test than on the map test, and when Ss knew that spatial memory would be tested than when they were not informed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The suffix effect and preattentive unit-formation in visual short-term memory.

Tested immediate ordered recall of digits from visual short-term memory (STM) using a long-exposure visual presentation during which Ss spoke aloud. 24 college students served in each of 3 experiments. A to-be-ignored digit placed to the right of the visual presentation, called a suffix, impaired recall approximately 1 digit, suggesting that the suffix could not be excluded from visual STM. The suffix effect was attenuated when the suffix was segregated from the to-be-recalled digits by Gestalt principles of grouping, suggesting that a segregated suffix could be excluded from visual STM. Results indicate that the visual field is organized into units preattentively according to Gestalt principles of grouping and that when a unit (such as a string of digits) is selected, the entire unit enters visual STM. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age differences in memory for item and source information.

Investigated the effects of normal aging on source amnesia in 2 experiments. In Exp I, 31 young adults (mean age 19.4 yrs) and 30 older adults (mean age 69.2 yrs) were taught real facts about Canada. One week later they were asked to recall the facts and remember where they had learned them. Findings show that the older people exhibited greater amounts of forgetting of the source of their knowledge. Exp II, which used 24 young adults (mean age 23.3 yrs) and 24 older adults (mean age 69.7 yrs), confirmed the findings of Exp I using made up facts. It is suggested that the finding of source amnesia in older, normal people has implications for theories of amnesia and, possibly, for theories of frontal lobe functions. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)