The self-concept: Fact or artifact.

Research interest in the last 10 years has been sufficient enough so that it is now possible to ask whether the self is an objective reality or a nebulous abstraction. Assessment of the emipircal and theoretical foundations as well as the philosophical suggest that the self is an artifact which has been invented to explain experience. From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3HJ25L. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temporal organization of recall during posthypnotic amnesia.

Amnesia suggestions were administered to 35 undergraduates of low, medium, and high hypnotic susceptibility (the Stanford Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility—Form C) who had learned a word list while hypnotized. The method encouraged Ss to organize the words sequentially. Organization of recall was measured on recall trials conducted before, during, and after suggested amnesia. Highly hypnotizable Ss showed a breakdown in temporal organization during amnesia, followed by a recovery of this organization after the suggestion was canceled. Results suggest that posthypnotic amnesia involves a disruption in the contextual relationships among memory items. Findings are discussed in the context of models that construe memory as a network of modes representing concepts and associative links between them. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subjective and categorical organization of recall during posthypnotic amnesia.

Conducted 2 experiments to determine the fate of organization of recall during posthypnotic amnesia. In both studies, amnesia suggestions were administered to undergraduate Ss of low, medium, and high hypnotic susceptibility who had learned a word list by the method of free recall while they were hypnotized. In Exp I (n?=?44), words were unrelated to each other, and subjective organization was measured by raw and adjusted pair frequency. In Exp II (n?=–&59), words were drawn from various taxonomic categories, and category clustering was measured by repetition ratio, modified repetition ratio, and adjusted ratio of clustering. Results indicate that, compared to baseline levels, subjective organization and category clustering did not decrease reliably during the time the amnesia suggestion was in effect. Moreover, these aspects of strategic organization were not significantly correlated with the number of items recalled during amnesia. Both findings contrast with previous results concerning temporal organization of a word list memorized by the method of serial learning. Findings suggest that the disruption of retrieval processes in posthypnotic amnesia may be limited to certain organizational schemes. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spontaneous remission: Fact or artifact?

Suggests that the evidence that sufferers from nonpsychotic emotional disturbance generally recover without professional psychotherapy may be vitiated by contaminating artifacts and unvalidated assessment procedures. Improvement has not been found to be a function of the passage of time. Reported remission rates have varied from 37-78%, and no specific remission rate can be presumed as a comparison for the effects of treatment. Untreated patient groups in natural settings, because of selective factors, cannot be considered comparable to treated patient groups and cannot substitute for a controlled research design. Any adequate analysis of the course of treated and untreated psychological difficulties must take account of the fluctuation hypothesis, I.e., cyclical manifestations of severity arising from exogenous or endogenous factors. (3 P. Ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neonatal imitation: Fact or artifact?

Reports an unsuccessful attempt to replicate in Exp I with 11 infants (17–20 days old) the findings of A. N. Meltzoff and M. K. Moose (see record 1979-10716-001) who reported neonatal imitation of tongue protrusion and mouth opening. In Exp II with 16 infants (17–22 days old), a potential artifact of their procedure was assessed whereby variation in the experimenter's (E) determination of the onset of data recording might have been influenced by Ss' ongoing behavior with a pacifier held by E. No evidence of imitation was found. Results indicate that the type of mouth movement on a pacifier just prior to its removal (i.e., tongue pressure or passive release) was a reliable predictor of subsequent infant behavior and could have contributed to artifactually producing the results interpreted by Meltzoff and Moore as evidence of neonatal imitation. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hypnotic amnesia, disorganized recall, and inattention.

High susceptible (Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility) hypnotic and high and low susceptible nonhypnotic (controls) undergraduates learned a categorized word list to a stringent criterion. The hypnotic Ss were given an amnesia suggestion for the list, and the controls attempted to recall while simultaneously distracting themselves by counting backwards in writing (i.e., dual task). Clustering of recall was measured immediately before, during, and after the suggestion/dual task period. Ss in the 3 treatments who exhibited recall decrements during the suggestion/dual task period showed corresponding and equivalent breakdowns in clustering (i.e., disorganized recall) at this time. Findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the recall deficits and disorganized recall characteristic of hypnotic amnesia result from a failure to attend to the task of target recall during the suggestion period. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavior therapy better than placebo treatments: Fact or artifact?

N. Brody's (see record 1990-12934-001) comment on our meta-analysis (T. G. Bowers and G. A. Clum; see record 1989-16477-001) seems to suggest that the efficacy of behavior therapy has not been established relative to placebo control conditions, especially for "neurotic conditions." The comments appear directed at defending an earlier meta-analysis (Priouleau, Murdock, & Brody, 1983) that concluded that psychotherapy was not more efficacious than a placebo control. We agree with Brody regarding the need for increased use of the heteromethod approach and longer follow-up for psychotherapy studies. However, we do not agree that the 10 studies Brody selected do not support the effectiveness of behavior therapy relative to placebo controls. Although a set of 10 studies is probably too small to allow robust conclusions, we noted a median effect size of .63 for those studies of neurotic conditions, relative to a placebo control. These results were very similar to our overall findings from 69 studies. Furthermore, available follow-up data suggest moderate effect sizes exist for those studies. We also comment on the existence of Type I and Type II errors of inference in reviews and meta-analyses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between recall and recognition in amnesia: Effects of matching recognition between patients with amnesia and controls.

To examine the relationship between recall and recognition memory in amnesia, the authors conducted 2 experiments in which recognition memory was equated between patients with amnesia and control participants. It was then determined whether recall was also similar across groups. In Experiment 1, recognition was equated by providing amnesic patients with additional study exposures; in Experiment 2, recognition was equated by testing controls following a longer delay. These different methods of equating recognition across groups led to divergent results because amnesic patients' recall performance was lower than controls' recall performance in Experiment 1 but not in Experiment 2. These findings are accounted for by considering the differential contribution of recollection and familiarity to the performance of amnesic patients and controls in the 2 experiments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a theory of "hypnotic" behavior: Experimental analyses of suggested amnesia.

Suggestions of amnesia were given to 144 Ss in a 2 X 2 X 4 factorial experiment. The independent variables were: (1) spoken vs. recorded presentation of suggestions, (2) presence vs. absence of hypnotic induction, and (3) 3 types of suggestions for amnesia—authoritative ("You will not rememberp"), permissive ("Try to forget"), suggestions to simulate, and no suggestions. Variable 1 did not produce important differences in amnesic performance. Variable 2 significantly affected 1 of the 5 tests for amnesia, with the presence of hypnotic induction resulting in less amnesia. Variable 3 exerted the most powerful effect. Irrespective of the presence or absence of hypnotic induction, Ss differed on the tests for amnesia depending on which suggestion they were given. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Suggested amnesia and disorganized recall in hypnotic and task-motivated subjects.

Submitted 52 undergraduates to task motivation or hypnotic treatment. Ss were then given an amnesia suggestion for a previously learned list of categorized words. The number of words recalled and the extent to which they were recalled in clusters were compared before, during, and after lifting the amnesia suggestion. Results show that more hypnotic Ss than task-motivated Ss showed amnesia. Furthermore, hypnotic Ss, but not task-motivated Ss, showed less clustering during the suggestion than they did before or after the suggestion. The Ss who showed at least partial failure to recall during the suggestion were classified into 3 groups: (a) those who remembered but did not verbalize the words, (b) those who experienced amnesia as an effortful process involving distraction or forceful suppression, and (c) those who simply relaxed and experienced amnesia as an effortless process. A theoretical model is tentatively advanced to account for these data. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The incongruity effect in memory for generated targets: Fact or artifact?

Investigated the conditions under which the incongruity effect was obtained in the free recall of generated targets in 2 experiments using 80 undergraduates. In Exp I, Ss were free to generate a response of their own choosing, and the incongruity effect was obtained; in Exp II, the generated response was predetermined, and the incongruity effect disappeared. It is concluded that the incongruity effect is an artifact of idiosyncratic item selection effects. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of spaced repetitions on amnesia patients' recall and recognition performance.

This study examined the effects of repetition and spacing of repetitions on amnesia patients' recognition and recall of a list of words. Like controls, amnesia patients recognized items better when repetitions were spaced compared with when they were massed. This finding was attributed to the additional rehearsal that distributed presentations typically encourage. Amnesia patients also showed normal spacing effects in a recall task, suggesting that they were able to benefit from the variable encoding that spaced repetitions allow to establish additional retrieval cues. However, even though instructions to encode repeated items in a variable manner enhanced massed presentations to the point where spacing no longer produced an advantage for the normal controls, it did not have a similar effect for the amnesia patients. This led to the conclusion that amnesia patients cannot take advantage of strategically provided opportunities to enhance their variable encoding of interitem associations. Instead, it is suggested that the automatic activation of different aspects of items and interitem associations is responsible for the spacing effect in their recall. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Long-term memory in amnesia: Cued recall, recognition memory, and confidence ratings.

We explored what kind of information is acquired when amnesic patients are able to exhibit significant retention on tests of cued recall and recognition memory. Amnesic patients and control subjects attempted to learn sets of sentences. Memory for the last word in each sentence was tested after 1 hr in the case of the amnesic patients, or after 1 to 2 weeks in the case of (delayed) control subjects. Amnesic patients and (delayed) control subjects performed at similar levels on tests of cued recall and recognition memory. Amnesic patients were just as confident of their correct answers as were control subjects. Moreover, amnesic patients were no more disadvantaged than control subjects when they were cued indirectly by presenting paraphrases of the original sentences. These findings demonstrate that the residual knowledge retained by amnesic patients can be as flexible, as accessible to indirect cues, and as available to awareness as the knowledge retained by (delayed) control subjects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temporal sequencing during posthypnotic amnesia: A methodological critique.

In studies by F. J. Evans and J. F. Kihlstrom, (1973, 1975, 1979), using the susceptibility-scale paradigm, high susceptibles (HSs) were less likely than low susceptibles (LSs) to recall the events of the hypnotic session in temporal sequence (i.e., temporal disorganization effect) following an amnesia suggestion. The primary measure of recall order was the rank-order correlation (rho scores) between the presentation order and the recall order of hypnotic experiences computed for each S. Following a suggestion for posthypnotic amnesia, HSs usually obtained lower rho scores than LSs. This research is critically examined, noting methodological shortcomings associated with the susceptibility-scale paradigm, inconsistent findings, and failures to replicate. Two studies are described that found no relationship between susceptibility level and rho scores. These null results held true for Ss who recalled new information after cancellation of the amnesia suggestion (reversers) as well as for those who did not recall new information (nonreversers). Nevertheless, the authors have replicated previous work on differential recall of the 1st item. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A suggested principle of complementarity for psychology: In theory, not method.

A distinction between the Copenhagen Interpretation and complementarity is underscored, with the former based on methodological effects (i.e., disturbance) and the latter on nonmechanical theoretical understandings of empirical findings. Psychology cannot have a Copenhagen Interpretation per se because it lacks clear experimental data comparable to the wave-vs-particle findings on the nature of light. Psychology's problems do not stem from method but from the uncertain and confusing grounds that predicate its theories. Physikos, Bios, Socius, and Logos are presented as complementary grounds for theoretical explanation. It is advised that a theorist try to stay within just 1 ground at a time, although he or she can then shift to a complementary ground to explain the same target without being inconsistent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory organization during children's repeated recall.

Presented a list of categorically related words to 20 2nd graders and 20 6th graders in a memory test. Multiple recall tests followed the initial presentation of words so that changes in memory organization could be assessed over recall attempts. Ss in both grades remembered many new words on later recall trials that they had not remembered on Trial 1. The proportions of new words recalled and the retrieval characteristics of these words were similar in both grades. Younger Ss, however, forgot many words during repeated recall, and older Ss did not. Different patterns of forgetting were correlated with different types of organizational strategies. Second graders recalled words in a sequential, rote manner with few transformations or rearrangements of words. Sixth graders, on the other hand, actively constructed larger categories or chunks of words over recall attempts. The spontaneous reconstruction of remembered information by 6th graders is interpreted as a manifestation of constructive memory-monitoring skills. Some potential advantages of a repeated recall paradigm for developmental research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

CHARM is not enough: Comments on Eich's model of cued recall.

Comments on the claim of J. M. Eich (see record 1983-04922-001) that the proposed composite holographic associative recall model (CHARM) provides a good account of the empirical findings by the present authors (see record 1973-20189-001) that are associated with the levels-of-processing approach to the study of memory. It is asserted that although CHARM simulates the results of several relevant studies, it does so by making assumptions different from those embodied in levels of processing. In particular, Eich's central assumption that well-remembered events are characterized by high levels of similarity between the target item and its context is questioned. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects on recall of hypnotic induction, motivational suggestions, and suggested regression: A methodological and experimental analysis.

90 Ss were assessed for recall of syllables (learned 2 mo. previously) under 1 of 9 experimental conditions in a 3 X 3 factorial design. The 3 levels of the 1st independent variable were: hypnotic induction, eyes closed; no induction, eyes closed; and no induction, eyes open. The 3 levels of the 2nd independent variable were: recall without suggestions; recall with motivational suggestions; and recall with suggestions to regress to the time of original learning. Recall was not affected by the independent variables or their interaction. A comparable number of Ss in each of the 9 experimental groups testified postexperimentally that, during the experiment, they had imagined, felt, and believed they were back in the original learning situation. (30 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Novelty monitoring, metacognition, and control in a composite holographic associative recall model: Implications for Korsakoff amnesia.

This article stems from a technical problem in composite-trace distributed models of human memory and particularly in the Composite Holographic Associative Recall Memory model. Briefly, the composite trace (used as a central construct in such models) can become catastrophically out of control. To solve the problem, a prestorage novelty–familiarity monitor and a simple control procedure need to be implemented. Eight lines of experimental evidence converge on the idea that output from such a novelty–familiarity monitor underlies people's metacognitive judgments of feeling of knowing. Breakdown of the monitoring-control mechanisms produces Korsakoff-like symptoms in the model. Impairments in feeling-of-knowing judgments and the failure to release from proactive inhibition, both characteristic of Korsakoff amnesia, are thus attributed to a monitoring-control failure rather than to deficits in the basic memory system. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)