Instruction and modality effects on children's television attention and comprehension.

80 5- and 9-yr-olds viewed a TV program containing segments emphasizing visual, auditory, or audiovisual information. Half of the Ss were instructed to remember for later testing, and the other half to watch for entertainment. Results show that instructions increased visual orientation and cued recall in younger Ss, and free and cued recall were enhanced in older Ss. Visual orientation and recall of auditory content were positively correlated at both ages, but the association was significantly stronger in younger Ss. It is concluded that even 5-yr-olds are capable of modifying their TV viewing behavior in response to task demands. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of rounding on memory for numbers in addition problems.

Recall and recognition of the sums of addition problems were tested using rounded or exact numbers. In Exp 1, 53 Ss were instructed to remember five-digit sums. Recall and recognition were greater for rounded than for exact numbers. In Exp 2, 60 Ss were informed at test to recall only the first two digits. Again, rounded numbers were better remembered. In Exp 3, half of the 72 Ss were informed in advance that they would be tested on only the first two digits. The rounding effect persisted in recognition for these Ss. The advantage for rounded numbers is attributed to less difficult processing requirements which makes more time available for memory processes. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The next-in-line effect: Encoding or retrieval deficit?

The phenomenon that people cannot remember what happens when they are next-in-line to perform was investigated in 2 experiments with 144 undergraduates to determine whether this memory deficit reflects a failure to encode or an inability to retrieve preperformance events. In Exp I, 96 Ss participated in 4 memory trials; in each trial, half the Ss were called on to read words, and the other half merely listened. Before each trial, Ss were told whether they would be readers or listeners and the order in which numbers would be called. Thus, readers could anticipate precisely when they would be called on to perform. After hearing the 28 words in random order, all Ss wrote down the recalled words on cued or noncued sheets. Although the semantic cues strongly facilitated access to memories, they did not moderate the next-in-line effect. In Exp II, Ss were told—either before or after performing—to make a special effort to remember preperformance events. If instructed afterward, Ss displayed the usual memory deficit. If instructed beforehand, they reversed the deficit and showed a superior preperformance recall. It is concluded that the next-in-line effect is a failure at encoding, not at retrieval. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Serial position effects in implicit and explicit tests of memory.

The effects of serial position at study on implicit and explicit tests of memory were investigated. Both primacy and recency effects were observed in implicit tests of word-stem completion. These effects, however, were transient. No serial position effects were found in the 2nd half of testing (Exps 1 and 3) or when testing followed a 1-min, filled delay (Exp 2). Serial position effects were also examined on explicit tests of cued recall. When performance on explicit cued recall was below ceiling levels, a primacy effect persisted throughout testing (Exp 3). Similarly, in explicit tests of free recall, primacy effects were consistently observed, both with immediate testing (Exps 1 and 3) and when testing followed a filled delay (Exp 2). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Picture cues and exhaustive search facilitate very young children's memory for location.

Conducted 3 experiments to examine the effects of picture cues and exhaustive search on very young children's memory for the location of hidden objects. In Exp I, 64 2-yr-olds' performance was examined with control and exhaustive search procedures in spatial-only and spatial- and picture-cue conditions. In Exp II, 32 2-yr-olds' performance with the same 2 search procedures was examined in a cue condition that eliminated spatial information. In Exp III, 64 2- and 3-yr-olds' performance with the control and exhaustive search procedures was examined in 2 array conditions that also eliminated spatial information. All experiments confirmed that even 2-yr-olds use picture cues to encode and search for the location of hidden objects. It was also found that while 2-yr-olds' delayed response performance was improved by exhaustive search procedures, this was not true for 3-yr-olds. Apparently, more complete search strategies contribute to the developmental change in young children's localization performance. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's early ability to solve perspective-taking problems.

Piaget and B. Inhelder (1967 [1948]) claimed that, until 9 or 10 yrs of age, children had great difficulty with perspective taking. J. Huttenlocher and C. C. Presson (1979) showed, however, that these problems were linked to conflict between actual and imagined frames of reference; asking what object occupied a specified location with respect to a hypothetical observer (item questions) led to much better performance. The present experiments extend these findings to younger children: 5-yr-olds (Exp 1); 4-yr-olds, for near and far locations but not left and right (Exp 2); 4-yr-olds for left–right questions (Exp 3); and 3-yr-olds (Exp 4). In addition, Exp 4 showed that memory was not the basis for answering. These data show clearly that preschool children can indicate locations relative to another position. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On forgetting the locations of things stored in special places.

Addressed the problem encountered in everyday memory of forgetting the location of an object intentionally stored in a special location for future retrieval in 3 experiments, using 127, 36, and 92 undergraduates, respectively. Exp I was designed to capture the phenomenon; Exp II was designed as a further test of whether unusual locations are harder to remember than common ones; Exp III tested a prediction that follows from the notion that the use of common locations benefits from the use of a generation-recognition strategy. Results support the hypothesis that such forgetting is likely to occur when 2 conditions are met at the time of encoding: (a) a judgment that the location is very memorable and (b) a judgment that the location is an unlikely one for the object. It is argued that an auxiliary generation-recognition strategy cannot be relied on when one forgets an unlikely location. It is suggested that the 2 conditions most likely to induce people to store things in unlikely locations are the desire to hide them from others and a misapplication of a distinctiveness theory of memory to associative recall. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spatial memory for objects and words.

Examined in 4 experiments whether spatial location information is more likely to be encoded with the memory representation of objects than of words. 16 objects or the 1-word verbal labels for each were studied on a matrix display, followed by a recall test and then a relocation test. In each experiment, an independent variable known to affect item recall was introduced to test whether spatial location memory would concomitantly vary for both objects and words. In Exp I, with 48 2nd graders, 48 5th graders, and 48 high school juniors and seniors, recall of both objects and words increased with age of the Ss. However, relocation accuracy increased for objects but not for words. In Exp II, with 64 4th graders and 64 high school juniors and seniors, visual imagery instructions generally improved memory for words without affecting relocation accuracy. In Exps III (with 56 undergraduates) and IV (with 80 adults, aged 26.2–52.3 yrs), prolonging the test delay diminished recall for objects and words. However, relocation accuracy decreased only for the objects. In each experiment, item memory was affected independently of location memory for words but not for objects. The results suggest that different processes are involved in encoding item and location information for words but not for objects. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of limited recall of variability on intuitive judgments of change.

Two studies tested the hypothesis that reduced recall of variability will alter intuitive judgments of change. In the 1st study, 53 undergraduates received a series of values said to represent the mental health of several individuals and were asked to remember either the average or the range of values for each of the individuals. Either immediately thereafter or 1 wk later, Ss assessed the degree of change represented by a new value, based on their recall of the prior series. It was predicted that when recall was delayed, Ss who had been instructed to remember the average would make greater change judgments than those who had been instructed to remember the variability. Results support the hypothesis. Exp II (81 Ss) replicated these effects with a different type of change judgment (change in a city) and provided evidence that natural encoding operated similarly to average encoding. Implications for a variety of social perception processes are discussed. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of gist versus verbatim memory in sentence recognition: Effects of lexical familiarity, semantic content, encoding instructions, and retention interval.

Fuzzy-trace theory is used to explore children's memory and comprehension of sentences describing spatial or linear relationships. Recognition tests were given immediately and after a 1 wk delay, and test sentence truth, wording (original and novel), and premise–inference status were varied. When children were instructed to recognize only verbatim sentences (Exp 1), premise recognition (memory) was independent of systematic misrecognition of true inferences (reasoning), and experimental manipulations (delay; spatial vs linear stimuli) drove memory and reasoning in opposite directions. Therefore, verbatim memories were not semantically integrated with gist, such as inferences. When children were specifically instructed to process gist (Exp 2), however, memory and reasoning were positively dependent. Results are discussed from the perspectives of constructivism, theories of suggestibility, and fuzzy-trace theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory for faces and the circumstances of encounter.

Conducted 3 experiments to examine the possibility that eyewitness identifications may be biased because persons may be much better able to recognize a face than to recall where they saw it. In Exp I, 14 college students were asked both to recognize 50 facial photographs seen 2 days before and to recall in which of 2 distinctive rooms they had been seen. Strong recognition and minimal recall were found. Exp II (64 college students) and III (146 college students) modeled more closely the usual criminal identification situation with mugshot and lineup sessions occurring after the initial encounter with the suspects. Ss in Exp II were aware they would need to remember the Ss' faces; in Exp III, they were not aware of this need. Both experiments provided evidence of considerable confusion in mugshot and lineup identifications as well as a lack of correlation between eyewitness accuracy and confidence. In addition, there were strong mugshot-induced biases in Exp III that could have a bearing on questions of legal procedure and admissibility of evidence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Activation of semantic and phonological codes during reading.

Examined coding processes involved in reading connected text in 3 experiments with 54 Ss who read text passages and occasionally responded to lexical-decision probes. Exp I focused on semantic and surface codes. Results suggest that the activation of semantic codes increased over time, whereas surface codes did not. In addition, Ss who were instructed to remember the exact wording of the passages showed stronger activation of surface codes than did Ss who read for comprehension. Exps II and III explored the role of phonological codes in reading. Results from Exp II indicate that phonological codes were activated by specific words in a passage; however, Exp III results fail to demonstrate that phonological codes were activated by the more general passage context. Combined results suggest that reading involves several coding systems that are activated according to time and reading instruction constraints. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recall and stem-completion priming have different electrophysiological correlates and are modified differentially by directed forgetting.

The notion that different aspects of memory are assessed by explicit and implicit memory tests was supported by behavioral and electrophysiological results. In a study–test procedure, 24 Ss were instructed to remember some words and to forget other words. Free recall and cued recall were better for words associated with the remember instruction, whereas directed forgetting did not influence stem completion (an implicit memory test). Event-related brain potentials elicited during study differed as a function of subsequent memory performance for free recall and cued recall, but not for stem completion. These results implicate encoding differences in the distinction between the 2 types of memory test. Factors governing whether explicit retrieval affects performance on an implicit memory test, mechanisms that may underlie directed-forgetting effects, and the importance of electrophysiological correlates of memory are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory-strategy learning and maintenance in preschool children.

This study examined preschool children's abilities to maintain the use of a newly learned organizational study–recall strategy in tasks administered immediately after training and 3 and 7 days after training. 36 4- and 5-yr-olds were assigned to training and control conditions after performing study–recall tasks in a baseline session. Training included demonstration and practice in using the strategy, encouragement to apply the strategy in new tasks, a rationale for strategy use, feedback about strategy effectiveness, and incentive for effortful performance. Ss in training groups showed marked increases in study-sorting, group-naming, and category self-cuing activities in posttraining tasks. The majority of the training Ss were able to remember and sequentially perform at least 3 of the 4 instructed strategy activities in the immediate and 3-day posttraining sessions. Training also served to improve recall, but recall improvements were modest relative to posttraining gains in study-strategy activities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contamination of facial memory through exposure to misleading composite pictures.

In Exp I, 46 male and 51 female undergraduates witnessed a filmed incident and later described the target. Results show that Ss who observed a composite containing misleading information (either incorrect hair or an added moustache) were significantly more likely to misreport hairstyle and the presence of a moustache than those who did not. In Exp II, 210 17–65 yr old Ss observed a filmed incident and were tested for their recall and recognition of the target either immediately or after delays of 2 or 7 days. Significant bias, consistent with the content of the misleading composite, was present for both cued recall and choice of mug shot in a photo spread. The effect did not increase over delay but was greater when the composite was seen just prior to recall than immediately after the incident. Implications concerning interference with the memory of the witness who produced the composite and for other witnesses exposed to the misleading composite are discussed. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences in selective attention among prereaders: A key to mirror-image confusions.

Exp I investigated the position that mirror-image confusions reflect an inability to attend to low-salient cues. 84 3–5 yr olds were given 3 problems: mirror-image matching, shape-detail matching, and consistent left–right ordering on a picture-naming task. With nonlearners, performance was reassessed following explicit instructions. This rendered Ss divisible into levels: spontaneous, instructed learners, and nonlearners. As predicted, most 3-yr-olds fell into identical categories across all low-salient problems, either instructed learners or nonlearners. The 4–5 yr olds were spontaneous or instructed learners but did not exhibit concordance across all problems. It is suggested that for these Ss, level differences reflected differences between nonreaders already attending to reading cues and those not yet attending. Exp II, with the 4–5 yr olds from Exp I, identified the nonreaders, who were given a letter-series and letter-writing task. Significant-levels agreement occurred among the prereading tasks involving attention to individual shape details. The ordering problem showed level concordance only with tasks involving left–right scanning. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Change in visual memory following discrimination learning.

Studied visual recognition memory for the size of circles for evidence of active memory change in 3 experiments with 34 paid volunteers and 83 undergraduates. In Exp. I the remembered difference in size between 2 circles which had been discriminated on the basis of size increased, while the remembered difference in size between the same 2 circles discriminated on the basis of brightness did not. In Exp. II, the remembered size of the smallest of 4 circles discriminated by size changed from 1 day to 1 wk. Each S in Exp. III inspected either 1 or 2 circles and was asked to remember their size. There was more memory distortion when 2 circles were remembered, but the distortion did not change over time. The evidence suggests that memory will actively change after a visual discrimination task. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Directed forgetting of trauma cues in adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse with and without posttraumatic stress disorder

The authors used a directed-forgetting task to investigate whether psychiatrically impaired adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse exhibit an avoidant encoding style and impaired memory for trauma cues. The authors tested women with abuse histories, either with or without posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and women with neither abuse histories nor PTSD. The women saw intermixed trauma words (e.g., molested), positive words (e.g., confident), and categorized neutral words (e.g., mailbox) on a computer screen and were instructed either to remember or to forget each word. Relative to the other groups, the PTSD group did not exhibit recall deficits for trauma-related to-be-remembered words, nor did they recall fewer trauma-related to-be-forgotten words than other words. Instead, they exhibited recall deficits for positive and neutral words they were supposed to remember. These data are inconsistent with the hypothesis that impaired survivors exhibit avoidant encoding and impaired memory for traumatic information.     

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)     

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)