Children's face recognition memory: More evidence for the cross-race effect.

It is well established that own-race faces are recognized more accurately than cross-race faces. However, there are mixed results regarding the developmental consistency of the cross-race effect. White and Black kindergarten children, 3rd graders, and young adults viewed a Black and a White target individual. One day later, recognition memory for each target was tested with a 6-person lineup. The interaction of race of participant by race of target face on Ag scores was significant, demonstrating an overall cross-race effect. The 2nd-order interaction with age did not approach significance: for each age group, own-race identification was more accurate than cross-race identification. The age consistency of the cross-race effect in light of the significant main effect of age suggests quantitative but not qualitative differences in face memory processing at various ages. For children, as well as adults, own-race faces are recognized more accurately than cross-race faces. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory for items and their spatial locations by young and elderly adults.

112 15–18 yr olds and 112 62–75 yr olds studied a spatial display that included 16 items in specific locations. The items were either small objects or the 1-word verbal label for each. Two tests followed to independently assess free recall of the items and the accuracy of spatial relocation. Young Ss were more accurate on both tests. This finding was consistent for both verbal and visual items. The age differences in memory are explained in terms of age differences in encoding and rehearsal strategies. This study resolves, in part, the conflicting results regarding age differences in spatial memory accuracy reported by P. D. McCormack (see record 1982-23301-001) and M. Perlmutter et al (1981). (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory for real-world scenes: The role of consistency with schema expectation.

This study tested the generalizability of the consistency effect to real-world settings. The consistency effect refers to the finding that items inconsistent with expectations are better recalled and recognized than items consistent with expectations. In two experiments, subjects walked into a graduate student's office or a preschool classroom. Half of the items in each setting were consistent with expectations about that setting, and half were inconsistent. A recall and a same-changed recognition memory test followed immediately or 1 day later. In both experiments, the consistency effect was affirmed; items inconsistent with expectations were significantly better recalled and recognized than items consistent with expectations. This result is discussed in terms of differences in the encoding processes that operate on inconsistent and consistent items. The present study extends the generalizability of results from picture memory studies to real-world settings. (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)     

Cognitive Maps and Urban Form

This article presents research confirming the generalizability of previous research on urban form and memory for buildings. Additional structural characteristics, including landscaping and unique architectual style, enhance memory for buildings above and beyond the original features developed by Appleyard. It is also shown that elderly residents use some of the same physical features as younger adults to remember buildings but rely more heavily on historical cues and ease of pedestrian access as salient building characteristics. Finally, memory for the location of structures as a function of physical and sociocultural features is examined for the first time in the literature. Different structural features influence location memory than influence verbal memory for buildings.     

Children's memory for auditory and visual information on television.

Examined the relationship between children's cognitive processing of video and audio information on TV. 96 5-yr-olds viewed a videotaped segment of Sesame Street followed by comprehension and recognition tests. Ss viewed experimental segments in which (a) the audio and video tracks were from the same segment (A/V match), (b) the audio and video tracks were not from the same segment (A/V mismatch), (c) the video track was presented alone, or (d) the audio track was presented alone. This design allowed unconfounded comparisons of modality-specific processing. In the A/V mismatch condition, memory for audio information was reduced more than memory for video information. However, comprehension and recognition of audio information was similar in the audio-only and A/V match conditions. Results suggest that in regular TV programs, the video information does not interfere with processing the audio information but is more salient and memorable than the audio material. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Picture memory: Recognizing added and deleted details.

When people are presented simple and complex pictures and then tested in a same–changed recognition test with a simple or complex form of each, d′ is greater for the simple than the complex picture (Pezdek & Chen, 1982). The results of three experiments confirm the robustness of this "asymmetric confusability effect" and test a model of the processes underlying this effect. According to the model, pictures are schematically encoded such that the memory representation of both simple and complex pictures is similar to the simple form of each. In Experiment 1, a sentence was presented that described the central schema in the picture prior to subjects' viewing each picture. This manipulation exaggerated the asymmetric confusability effect; schematic processing thus underlies the effect. Results of Experiment 2 refute the hypothesis that the effect results from subjects erroneously anticipating a recall test rather than a recognition test. Furthermore, although some of the nonschematic elaborative information in complex pictures is stored in memory, it is difficult to retrieve to verify that something is missing when complex presentation pictures are changed to simple test pictures (Experiment 3). Thus, although people are able to distinguish large sets of old pictures from new distractor pictures, their ability to detect missing elaborative visual details is more limited. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's mathematics achievement: The role of parents' perceptions and their involvement in homework.

Two studies examined the accuracy of parents' assessment of their children's mathematics performance and how this relates to the time parents spend on children's homework. Fourth, 5th, and 6th graders completed a mathematics test. Their parents then predicted their child's test performance. Parents overestimated their children's mathematics scores (Study 1: 17.13%; Study 2: 14.40%). The time parents spent helping their children with mathematics homework was unrelated to children's mathematics performance, parents' predictions of their children's mathematics performance, and the accuracy of parents' predictions of their children's mathematics performance. Although increasing parents' knowledge of their children's mathematics competency should remediate poor mathematics performance of U.S. children, neither homework nor traditional report cards effectively inform parents regarding their children's mathematics performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)