Anticipation interval and age differences in verbal learning.

Age differences were demonstrated to be greater at the shorter anticipation interval than at the longer in 2 paired-associate studies. Earlier work had suggested that this age-pace interaction was not a true learning effect but a performance deficit due to the difficulty the older person has in responding rapidly. The 2nd study provided evidence that relatively few of the errors made by the old Ss at the fast pace could be attributed to insufficient time to emit a learned response. Even when Ss were permitted to take as much time as needed to respond, the age-pace interaction was found. Several possible explanations for such a learning deficit were noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A direct laboratory comparison of Pavlovian conditioning and traditional associative learning.

24 adult human Ss were presented with a learning task which combined salivary conditioning with traditional associative learning: paired-associate learning of a 50 word Russian-English vocabulary and serial motor learning of a sequence of 100 adjacent bolts. Conditioning proceeded best when Ss did not know they were being conditioned, while associative learning was reasonably effective when Ss knew what they were associating. The view is expressed that the present data support strongly the hypothesis that Pavlov's laws of conditioning are primarily laws of unconscious biological learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Associative interference in the paired-associate learning of remitted and nonremitted schizophrenics.

This experiment replicates a previous study which showed that recently hospitalized schizophrenics and normals did not differ in susceptibility to associative interference. 80 long-term schizophrenics were divided into remitted and nonremitted groups according to current mental status. The nonremitted Ss tended to exhibit more associative interference than either the remitted Ss or the normals in the previous study (.05     

Age differences in retention as a function of learning.

The hypothesis that observed age-related decrements in recall scores derive primarily from degree of acquisition rather than from retention deficits per se was investigated. 40 elderly and 30 young Ss learned 9 paired associates under equal learning opportunity, learning to criterion or overlearning conditions. Retention was measured at 20 min. and 1 wk. Elderly Ss learned less on equal exposure and required more trials to criterion, but once having learned the material retained it as well as young Ss. Trials beyond criterion did not enhance the retention scores of elderly Ss and may have introduced negative motivational factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparing objective and subjective learning curves: Judgments of learning exhibit increased underconfidence with practice.

When participants studied a list of paired associates for several study-test cycles, their judgments of learning (JOLs) exhibited relatively good calibration on the 1st cycle, with a slight overconfidence. However, a shift toward marked underconfidence occurred from the 2nd cycle on. This underconfidence-with-practice (UWP) effect was very robust across several experimental manipulations, such as feedback or no feedback regarding the correctness of the answer, self-paced versus fixed-rate presentation, different incentives for correct performance, magnitude and direction of associative relationships, and conditions producing different degrees of knowing. It was also observed both in item-by-item JOLs and in aggregate JOLs. The UWP effect also occurred for list learning and for the memory of action events. Several theoretical explanations for this counterintuitive effect are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Backward associations.

A review of the literature on backward associations in paired associate (PA) learning is presented, with an initial section being devoted to definitional and measurement problems. Similar to forward PA learning, backward learning was conceptualized as involving 2 processes: (1) stimulus learning and (2) backward associative learning. A review of the variables involved in backward learning and a discussion of the evidence for and against the Asch-Ebenholtz principle of associative symmetry follow. Finally, the role of backward associations in different verbal-learning situations is discussed with particular reference to transfer, retroactive and proactive inhibition, mediation, S-R similarity, and prefamiliarization. (2 p. ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temporal contexts: Filling the gap between episodic memory and associative learning.

People can create temporal contexts, or episodes, and stimuli that belong to the same context can later be used to retrieve the memory of other events that occurred at the same time. This can occur in the absence of direct contingency and contiguity between the events, which poses a challenge to associative theories of learning and memory. Because this is a learning and memory problem, we propose an integrated approach. Theories of temporal contexts developed in the memory tradition provide interesting predictions that we test using the methods of associative learning to assess their generality and applicability to different settings and dependent variables. In 4 experiments, the integration of these 2 areas allows us to show that (a) participants spontaneously create temporal contexts in the absence of explicit instructions; (b) cues can be used to retrieve an old temporal context and the information associated with other cues that were trained in that context; and (c) the memory of a retrieved temporal context can be updated with information from the current situation that does not fit well with the retrieved memory, thereby helping participants to best adapt their behavior to the future changes of the environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Examining the nature of impairment in visual paired associate learning in amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

Objective: Visual spatial learning is impaired in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) although the nature of this impairment is not clear. This study investigated the nature and magnitude of errors made by adults with amnestic MCI (aMCI) when learning pattern-location paired associations in a continuous manner. Method: Visual associate learning was measured using the Continuous Paired Associate Learning (CPAL) task in which 30 adults who met clinical criteria for aMCI and 30 matched controls were required to learn a set of associations between patterns and locations across increasing memory loads (two, four, six, and eight). Results: As hypothesized, the aMCI group made more total errors than controls for all memory loads above two. However, the rate of increase in errors with memory load in the aMCI group was approximately twice that for controls. Conclusions: In controls, errors on the CPAL task reflected almost exclusively difficulty in memory. In the aMCI group, errors on the CPAL reflected limitations in associative learning but also in short-term memory and response monitoring. These results suggest that impairments in specific aspects of executive function and working memory might contribute to poor performance on visual paired associate learning in aMCI. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Universal-based prevention of syndromal and subsyndromal social anxiety: A randomized controlled study.

This article reports results from a universal preventive program aimed at (a) reducing social anxiety and (b) preventing the development of syndromal social anxiety among a population-based sample of older children and young adolescents during a 1-year period. Pupils (N = 1,748) from 2 counties were cluster randomized to either an intervention or a control condition. In the intervention condition, the Norwegian Universal Preventive Program for Social Anxiety (NUPP-SA)—which educates pupils, parents/guardians, teachers/school staff, and county health workers—was administered. The results indicate that NUPP-SA had a significant specific intervention effect for reducing social anxiety in the total sample as well as among the syndromal subjects. Further, significantly fewer subjects from the intervention county developed syndromal social anxiety during the 1-year period, thus showing a prevention effect. The results demonstrate the value of an intervention specifically aimed at reducing social anxiety and preventing the development of syndromal social anxiety among young people. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of anxiety level and psychological stress on verbal learning.

"It was predicted that under neutral conditions high anxiety (high drive) Ss would exhibit a performance superior to that of low anxiety (low drive) Ss on a paired-associate learning task with minimal intratask interference but that under conditions of psychological stress (report of inadequate prior performance) high anxiety Ss, due to the greater arousal of interfering extratask responses, would no longer exhibit the superiority found under neutral conditions. Results indicated that while the high anxiety Ss under neutral instructions were significantly superior to the low anxious, as predicted, and the Ss operating under stress were inferior to their neutral controls, the predicted interaction between anxiety level and stress was not found." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Achievement growth in children with learning difficulties in mathematics: Findings of a two-year longitudinal study.

The reading and mathematics growth of 180 children was examined over 4 points, spanning 2nd and 3rd grades. Initially, 4 achievement groups were identified: difficulties in mathematics but not in reading (MD only), difficulties in mathematics as well as in reading (MD-RD), difficulties in reading hut not in mathematics (RD only), and normal achievement in mathematics and in reading. When IQ, income, ethnicity, and gender were held constant, the MD-only group grew at a faster rate in mathematics than did the MD-RD group. In reading, the RD-only and MD-RD groups grew at about the same rate. Reading abilities influence children's growth in mathematics, but mathematics abilities do not influence children's growth in reading. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rejoinder to Holland.

This comment is in response to James G. Holland's (see record 2005-11651-005) comment, "Cook's Tour de Farce," on the author's paper, "Superstition in the Skinnerian" (see record 1964-03363-001). It discusses Holland's claim that the author has misrepresented the Skinnerian viewpoint. The author suggests that his object is to point out what seems to be some distressing and quite unnecessary rigidities in the writings and practices of Skinnerians that act as artificial limitations on the exercise of their ingenuity, of which Skinnerians have always had more than their share. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

EPPS n Achievement and verbal paired-associates learning.

"In the present study, performance on two lists of verbal paired-associates learning materials is used to examine the role of n Achievement as a possible drive variable… . Ss high in EPPS n Achievement demonstrated significant superiority over low n Achievers in… verbal learning situations." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Vicarious reinforcement and imitative learning.

The present experiment was designed to study the influence of response-consequences to the model on the imitative learning of aggression. Nursery school children were assigned randomly to 1 of the following groups: aggressive model-rewarded; aggressive model-punished; a control group shown highly expressive but nonaggressive models; and a 2nd control group which had no exposure to models. The children were then tested for the incidence of postexposure imitative and nonimitative aggressive responses. Children who witnessed the aggressive model rewarded showed more imitative aggression and preferred to emulate the successful aggressor than children in the aggressive model-punished group who both failed to reproduce his behavior and rejected him as a model for emulation. Control over aggression was vicariously transmitted to boys by the administration of aversive stimuli to the model, and to girls by the presentation of incompatible prosocial examples of behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cook's Tour de Farce.

Comments on an article by John Oliver Cook entitled, 'Superstition' in the Skinnerian (see record 1964-03363-001). The article made the commenter question what exactly a "Skinnerian" is. Apparently, a Skinnerian is one who has theories but does not know it, in contrast to Cook, who is aware of his own as well as other people's theories. Cook reveals the Skinnerian to be inordinately fond of classical paired-associate learning, and convinced beyond all reason that rote paired-associate learning is the best educational procedure. Cook further exposes the Skinnerian theory that only the fingers learn (overt responses assumed essential and covert responses useless). The commenter compares the Skinnerian discussed in Cook's paper to a book by Skinner (see record 1954-05139-000) in which Skinner strongly strongly advocated prompts in programmed instruction. The commenter concludes that the "devout Skinnerian" is a science-fiction character. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of stimulus frequency on subsequent recall of backward associates.

Previous research has shown that increased Thorndike-Lorge frequency (F) of stimulus-terms leads to poorer paired-associate learning (PAL), while increased F-level of response-terms facilitates PAL. Therefore, if a word pair is learned in the order A-B, then later tested in reverse (B-A), there are two possibilities. (1) Error level could be the same on the reverse test, implying that performance on the A-B learning trials determined the strength of the B-A association. (2) Error level on the reverse test could revert to what it would have been if the B-A pair had been learned originally. In the present study the experimental group learned A-B word pairs and was tested on corresponding B-A versions. Results showed that, for the experimental group, the relationship between errors and F-level of the A-terms shifted dramatically between the last A-B trial and B-A test trial. On the B-A test trial, this group performed in a manner comparable to that of a control group trained on B-A throughout. Thus, for pairs which differed in F-level of their stimulus-terms, relative performance during the A-B learning trials was not a crucial factor in later B-A performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Test-anxiety and blame-assignment in grade school children.

"… an attempt was made to measure the relationship between test-anxiety in elementary school children and the propensity for self-blame assignment in regard to the experience of failure in a test situation… . The general hypothesis… was that in a failure situation, high test-anxious S's assign blame for a failure to themselves to a greater extent than do non-test-anxious S's… . The overall results… tend to support the hypothesis, but with qualifications that… change the perspective… of test-anxiety and blame assignment." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Serial learning. conditionability, and the choice of an independent measure of anxiety.

A stylus maze task and various conditioning procedures were undertaken by a group of 168 psychopathic Ss thought to be characterized by abnormal anxiety reactions. Ratings of anxiety were obtained and cardiovascular responses to the maze task were measured. Serial learning and cardiovascular responsiveness were negatively related (p     

Mediation and associative facilitation in neurotic, psychotic, and normal subjects.

The present investigation is a replication of previous work (see 30: 555; 27: 4925) utilizing Veterans Administration medical and psychiatric patients instead of college Ss. The previous findings indicated that associative relationship facilitates verbal learning. Ss learned 2 sets of syllable-word paired associates; ? of the pairs on the 2nd list had response terms which were associates of their responses to words on the 1st list. Although the responses of all Ss showed the effects of associative facilitation, this was more true for nonpsychotics. The results are discussed in terms of understanding the thinking of schizophrenics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anxiety and verbal learning.

3 groups, differing in anxiety, learned 2 different types of paired-associate materials and then half of each anxiety group were tested under "immediate" and half under "delay" conditions of intertrial spacing. The first 2 groups were college students selected from extreme scorers on the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale and the third group was composed of hospitalized anxious patients. "Among the students, the high and low groups, tested under both delay and immediate conditions, showed no significant differences in their learning of the word-associate material. With the more novel and difficult false equations, however, the high anxiety Ss learned significantly less over all and showed a somewhat slower rate of learning from trial to trial. Among the patients, those tested under the delay condition performed about as well as the high-anxiety students, while those under the immediate condition learned a lesser amount both of the word and equation materials." 19 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)