The influence of culture on children’s immediate and delayed retrieval

Culture shapes children’s memories. However, scant attention has been given to the influence of culture on specific memory stages. Thus, we conducted two controlled experiments to examine cultural differences in memory recall at immediate and delayed retrieval phases. In Studies 1 and 2 (n = 217), 7- to 10-year-old Chinese and Euro-Canadian children watched a story involving both social- and individual-focused scenarios. Participants then recalled the story immediately afterwards (Study 1) and 5–7 days later (Studies 1 and 2). Findings reveal that Chinese children accurately reported more details from the social-focused events than did their Euro-Canadian counterparts in the immediate interview, and this result was replicated after a delay in both studies. Moreover, as expected, within-country comparisons showed that Euro-Canadian children had better memory for individual- than for social-focused events in both studies. Chinese children, however, showed better memory for social- than for individual-focused events only in the immediate interview in Study 1; their delayed retrieval was not affected by event focus. These findings reveal that cultural variations in memory are evident in both immediate and delayed retrieval. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Two field studies on the effects of alcohol on eyewitness identification,confidence, and decision times

In two field studies, bar tenants (Ns = 86 and 190, respectively) were successively approached by confederates C1 and C2 on a night out. Confederate C3 then presented participants with a six‐person target‐absent or target‐present lineup concerning C1 or C2 (immediate test). Several days later, participants viewed a lineup regarding the confederate they had not attempted to identify earlier (C1/C2; delayed test). An immediate compared with a delayed, sober identification test did not increase the risk of a false identification decision. A blood alcohol concentration of 0.06–0.07% best discriminated accurate from inaccurate decisions. Choosers with a blood alcohol concentration ≤ 0.06% showed excellent calibration and little overconfidence, and their confidence was a strong indicator of accuracy (i.e., good resolution). Choosers with a higher intoxication level displayed poor calibration and strong overconfidence. Nonchoosers were generally poorly calibrated. Combined analyses showed a negative effect of intoxication on one's ability to discriminate the target from nontargets.     

How elevated blood alcohol concentration level and identification format affect eyewitness memory: A field study

Research shows that alcohol has a small and inconsistent effect on eyewitness recall and no effect on witnesses' lineup decisions. Much of this literature has tested participants with low‐to‐moderate blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels, and no study has directly examined how identification procedure impacts intoxicated witnesses' decisions. In the present study, bar patrons' (N = 132) BAC levels were recorded before participating in a task. Midway through the task, they were interrupted by an intruder. Participants then recalled the incident via a staged interview and attempted to identify the intruder from a target‐present or target‐absent showup or lineup. Although elevated BAC levels (high as 0.24%) reduced the quantity and quality of information provided, BAC had no effect on witnesses' identification decisions regardless of format. Results highlight the importance of testing witness memory across a broad BAC spectrum and provide evidence that alcohol does not affect witnesses' identification ability.     

Strengthening concept learning by repeated testing

The aim of this study was to examine whether repeated testing with feedback benefits learning compared to rereading of introductory psychology key‐concepts in an educational context. The testing effect was examined immediately after practice, after 18 days, and at a five‐week delay in a sample of undergraduate students (n = 83). The results revealed that repeated testing with feedback significantly enhanced learning compared to rereading at all delays, demonstrating that repeated retrieval enhances retention compared to repeated encoding in the short‐ and the long‐term. In addition, the effect of repeated testing was beneficial for students irrespectively of working memory capacity. It is argued that teaching methods involving repeated retrieval are important to consider by the educational system.     

Autobiographical memory as a dynamic process: Autobiographical memory mediates basic tendencies and characteristic adaptations

Two studies tested whether autobiographical memory content and phenomenology mediate two consistent findings in the personality literature: Neuroticism and subjective health and Conscientiousness and achievement striving. In Study 1, participants (N = 162) retrieved and rated four memories and completed measures of Neuroticism and subjective health. In Study 2, participants (N = 345) retrieved and rated two memories and completed measures of Conscientiousness and achievement goals and study strategies. In both studies, memory content and phenomenology mediated the relations between personality and health and achievement in expected ways. For example, participants high in Neuroticism reported more somatic complaints because their memories were saturated with negative affective content. Discussion focuses on the utility of integrating trait and social–cognitive approaches to personality.     

The Visual Spatial Learning Test: Differential impairment during the premanifest and manifest stages of Huntington's disease

Visual spatial memory was assessed using the Visual Spatial Learning Test (VSLT) in individuals with mild to moderate Huntington's disease (HD), pre‐manifest gene carriers for HD, and demographically similar controls. The VSLT has been demonstrated to be a valid, normed measure of non‐verbal memory involving minimal motoric responses. The VSLT assesses immediate and delayed memory for designs, positions of the designs, and design/position associations. The HD group was significantly impaired (p < .05) relative to both the control and Pre‐HD groups on immediate and delayed memory for the designs, positions, and design/position associations. Although there were no differences between the Pre‐HD and control groups on immediate or delayed memory for designs or positions, the Pre‐HD group was significantly impaired (p < .05) relative to the control group on immediate and delayed memory for design/position associations. The results offer novel insight into a relatively unexamined memory deficit that may occur in gene carriers for HD prior to phenoconversion. The data indicate that the VSLT may be a useful measure of visuospatial memory during the premanifest and manifest stages of HD.     

Alcohol Intoxication Impairs Memory and Increases Suggestibility for a Mock Crime: A Field Study

Defendants and witnesses are often intoxicated by alcohol. We investigated whether memory and resistance to suggestive cues are undermined at blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) that were (close to) zero (M_BAC = 0.01%), moderate (M_BAC = 0.06%), or high (M_BAC = 0.16%). Participants (N = 67) were approached in bars and instructed to commit a mock crime. Immediately after this, their memory and susceptibility to suggestive questions were tested, and these were re‐tested during a sober follow‐up 3–5 days later. Compared with sober participants, moderate and severe intoxication was associated with lower levels of correctly recalled crime details during both test sessions (i.e. intoxicated and sober). Also, during both sessions, severely intoxicated participants displayed a greater tendency to go along with suggestive cues compared with sober participants. Thus, intoxication impaired memory and increased suggestibility during an immediate interview, and both effects persisted when sober again. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A meta‐analysis of the effects of acute alcohol intoxication on witness recall

There is widespread belief in the legal system that alcohol impairs witness testimony. Nevertheless, most laboratory studies examining the effects of alcohol on witness testimony suggest that alcohol may affect the number of correct but not incorrect details recalled. However, it is difficult to draw conclusions because sample sizes, testing paradigms, and recall measures vary between individual studies. We conducted a meta‐analysis to address this issue. We found alcohol intoxication had a significant and moderate sized effect on the number of correct details recalled (g = 0.40). The effect of alcohol on the number of incorrect details recalled was not significant. Further, the effect of alcohol on the recall of correct details was significantly moderated by multiple factors like intoxication level, the retention interval length between encoding and recall, and the types of questions asked (i.e., free recall vs. cued recall). We discuss the applied implications of the results.     

The impact of alcohol intoxication on witness suggestibility immediately and after a delay

Intoxicated witnesses are common, making it important to understand alcohol's impact on witness accuracy and suggestibility. Participants assigned to an immediate retrieval condition encoded and recalled in one of the three intoxication conditions: sober control, placebo, or intoxicated. Participants in the delayed retrieval condition were assigned to encode in one of the three intoxication conditions, returned a week later, and were assigned to retrieve in one of the three intoxication conditions. Intoxication condition at encoding was fully crossed with intoxication condition at retrieval in the delayed condition. Participants encoded a mock crime video and retrieved via a forced‐choice test, with answers already circled (purportedly by a prior participant); half of the precircled responses were incorrect. When recalling after a delay only, intoxication at encoding increased agreement with incorrect suggested answers and decreased accuracy. Results suggest intoxicated witnesses may benefit from being interviewed immediately rather than after a sobering delay.     

Investigating the role of E-contact and self-disclosure on improving Turkish-Kurdish interethnic relations

While recent research has started to pay more attention to the role of contact strategies on promoting intergroup harmony between Turkish and Kurdish communities, the effectiveness of a novel form of indirect contact strategy, E-contact—where participants engage in a cooperative and structured online interaction with an individual from the outgroup—has not yet been tested. Across two studies (N_{Study 1} = 110, N_{Study 2} = 176), we investigated the effects of E-contact among Turks on promoting positive attitudes and behavioral tendencies toward Kurds, testing outgroup trust and intergroup anxiety as mediators and incorporating a distinction between lower and higher self-disclosure conditions. As expected, E-contact led to more positive outgroup attitudes, as well as greater approach tendencies and decreased avoidance tendencies through increased outgroup trust (Studies 1 and 2) and reduced intergroup anxiety (Study 2). Study 2 also found that E-contact produced lower perceived interethnic conflict through increased outgroup trust. While both lower and higher personal disclosure conditions provided similar effects in the two studies, E-contact with heightened self-disclosure was especially effective at promoting more positive outgroup attitudes and reducing avoidance tendencies. Findings highlight potential benefits of using E-contact as a prejudice-reduction strategy in conflict settings.     

Alcohol Intoxication and Metamemory: Little Evidence that Moderate Intoxication Impairs Metacognitive Monitoring Processes

There is minimal research on metacognition in alcohol‐intoxicated participants. Study 1 examined metacognition across sober, intoxicated, and placebo groups, with the intoxicated group's breath alcohol concentration reaching 0.074 g/210 L on average immediately prior to the metacognition task. Participants answered cued recall general knowledge questions and provided confidence ratings and feeling‐of‐knowing judgments. They then completed a recognition (i.e., multiple choice) version of the same task, indicating an answer and a confidence rating for each question. Findings suggest that metacognitive accuracy generally did not vary across intoxication levels, although the control group's retrospective confidence judgments better discriminated between accurate and inaccurate responses than the alcohol groups in the recognition task. Study 2 surveyed academic psychologists about their expectations regarding the relation between alcohol and metacognition. Study 1's results were counter to their expectations, as respondents generally predicted a relation would be present. We discuss the implications for alcohol and memory.Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Working memory and fluid intelligence as predictors of work engagement—Testing preliminary models

This study aimed to investigate the relationships between working memory capacity, fluid intelligence (Gf), and work engagement within the framework of the job demands–resources theory. Multioccupational employees (N = 175 in Study 1 and N = 383 in Study 2) completed sets of Gf, complex span, and n‐back tests, along with job resources and work engagement surveys. Structural equation modeling with latent variables and bootstrapping procedures revealed that complex span was indirectly positively related to work engagement via job resources, and n‐back was indirectly positively related to work engagement via job complexity. Moreover, the one common factor g composed of Gf, n‐back, and complex span was positively indirectly related to work engagement via job resources and job complexity. These results highlight that the cognitive capacities of employees should be given greater consideration as cognitive personal resources in models aimed at accounting for employee work engagement.     

A bright side of sadness: The depolarizing role of sadness in intergroup conflicts

Intractable conflicts constitute violent and threatening environments that lead to intense emotions and polarized attitudes. Sadness is one emotion frequently elicited by the price of such conflicts. This investigation characterized the effects of sadness on conflict‐related information processing and attitudes in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Findings from four experimental studies suggest that both incidental and integral sadness can induce a depolarization of political attitudes. In Study 1 (N = 163), sadness reduced the effect of political ideology on conflict‐related decisions. Sadness reduced the effect of political ideology on in‐group bias in resource allocation in Studies 2 (N = 213) and 4 (N = 274), willingness to negotiate in Studies 1 and 3 (N = 174), and openness to information supporting the out‐group's perspective (Study 4). Overall, in addition to its more negative implications, these results suggest that sadness (compared to both the non‐emotional and anger conditions) may have a bright side, since it may induce depolarization of political attitudes in intractable conflicts.     

Does alcohol loosen the tongue? Intoxicated individuals' willingness to report transgressions or criminal behavior carried out by themselves or others

Police commonly interview intoxicated suspects. This is concerning when suspects are innocent because intoxication often leads to a higher risk for impulsive decision making and reduces inhibition. However, the manner in which intoxication affects people's reporting of unethical or criminal actions carried out by themselves or others is unknown and was thus addressed in the current study. Participants (N = 116) were randomly assigned to one of six conditions based on a 2 (transgression: self, other) × 3 (alcohol condition: low‐to‐moderate intoxication, placebo, sober‐control) between‐participants design. After drinking their assigned beverages, participants were asked to disclose a transgression. No main effect of alcohol emerged. However, the odds that participants would report a transgression were significantly higher if they were asked to report a personal, rather than someone else's, transgression. Overall, low‐to‐moderate intoxication did not increase the likelihood of sensitive information disclosure in this initial study, but additional research is needed.     

Reduced autobiographical memory specificity as a mediating factor between general anxiety symptoms and performance on problem‐solving tasks

This study sought to further explain the association between general anxiety symptoms and impaired problem‐solving by testing whether this occurs, in part, through a reduced ability to retrieve event‐level, specific autobiographical memory (AM). Participants (N = 301; M age = 28.2 SD = 7.7, 55.8% female) completed assessments of the retrieval of specific AM, anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and rumination. They then completed the Means‐End Problem Solving Task, which assessed their ability to produce relevant problem‐solving steps. Participants who were higher in anxiety reported a lesser number of relevant problem‐solving steps, and this association was, in part, related to anxiety being associated with reduced AM specificity (after controlling for depressive symptoms). Rumination did not mediate anxiety and problem‐solving, nor anxiety and AM specificity. These findings provide further evidence that elevated anxiety is associated with reduced ability to retrieve specific AM, and a specific cognitive pathway through which anxiety may affect problem‐solving performance.     

The role of intonation for interrogative suggestibility

The detrimental consequences of suggestive witness manipulation have been frequently discussed in the literature. Notably, these discussions have been limited to the consequences of suggestive question types and interrogator conduct. This study is the first to investigate the influence of interrogator's intonation on interrogative suggestibility. Specifically, utilizing a modified German version of the forensic Gudjonsson suggestibility scale as dependent variable, we experimentally manipulated phrase‐final contours (low vs. high) and accentuation of details (neutral vs. emphatic) in the questions of the interrogator in a student sample (N = 88). Phrase‐final falling intonation contours increased suggestibility both through suggestive questions and through negative feedback. In contrast, accentuation of selected details increased only the latter. The combination of both tonal patterns only partially influenced suggestive response behavior after the exposure to interrogative pressure. However, particularly the combination of phrase‐final rising and neutral intonation consistently led to lowest interrogative suggestibility. Results are discussed in terms of their theoretical and applied implications for forensic contexts.     

Using an Individual Differences Approach to Examine Two Distinct Types of Suggestibility Effects

Two studies were conducted to examine relations between suggestibility effects studied in two commonly used research paradigms and a group of individual difference factors that have been theoretically linked to eyewitness suggestibility. In Study 1, we examined relations between the immediate acceptance of misinformation as measured by errors on misleading questions and individual differences in conformity, agreeableness, imagery ability, and memory. As predicted, the immediate acceptance of misinformation was associated with conformity but was not related to imagery ability. In Study 2, we examined relations between delayed retrieval errors produced during a classic misinformation paradigm and the same set of individual difference factors. Consistent with our predictions, delayed misinformation retrieval errors were related to imagery ability but were not related to conformity or agreeableness. Taken together, this predicted pattern of results across the two studies provides some preliminary evidence for an emerging distinction between these two types of suggestibility effects. Underlying theoretical, methodological, and practical issues related to the assessment of suggestibility effects are discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bottled memories: On how alcohol affects eyewitness recall

This study investigated how different doses of alcohol affected eyewitness recall. Participants (N = 126) were randomly assigned to three groups with different blood alcohol concentration (BAC), either a control group (mean BAC 0.00%, N = 42), a lower alcohol dose group (mean BAC 0.04%, N = 40), or a higher alcohol dose group (mean BAC 0.06%, N = 44). After consumption, participants witnessed a movie of a mock crime and were interviewed one week later. The main results showed that witnesses with the higher intoxication level recalled fewer details compared to witnesses with the lower intoxication level. The amount of alcohol consumed did not have an impact on the accuracy rate. No sex differences were found. The results are discussed in the light of past research. We conclude that more studies are needed before recommendations can be made to an applied setting.     

Self-relevance enhances susceptibility to false memory

Eyewitness testimony serves as important evidence in the legal system. Eyewitnesses of a crime can be either the victims themselves—for whom the experience is highly self-referential—or can be bystanders who witness and thus encode the crime in relation to others. There is a gap in past research investigating whether processing information in relation to oneself versus others would later impact people's suggestibility to misleading information. In two experiments (Ns = 68 and 122) with Dutch and Chinese samples, we assessed whether self-reference of a crime event (i.e., victim vs. bystander) affected their susceptibility to false memory creation. Using a misinformation procedure, we photoshopped half of the participants' photographs into a crime slideshow so that they saw themselves as victims of a nonviolent crime, while others watched the slideshow as mock bystander witnesses. In both experiments, participants displayed a self-enhanced suggestibility effect: Participants who viewed themselves as victims created more false memories after receiving misinformation than those who witnessed the same crime as bystanders. These findings suggest that self-reference might constitute a hitherto new risk factor in the formation of false memories when evaluating eyewitness memory reports.     

Effects of sleep on positive,negative and neutral valenced story and image memory

During sleep, emotional memories are preferentially strengthened. However, most studies on sleep and emotional memory focus on comparing negative valence with neutral valence stimuli. This study compared the sleep-dependent memory effects for stories and images, each comprising negative, neutral, and positive stimuli. It was hypothesized that a sleep effect would be seen for negatively and positively valenced stimuli. A novel story memory task (comprising three stories), and photographs from the Nencki Affective Picture database were presented for learning to 61 healthy adults (ages 18–25). They were tested for memory on the two tasks immediately, and then again after either a 2-hr nap (n = 31; 17 women, 14 men) or 2-hr wake period (n = 30; 13 women, 17 men). At second testing, the sleep condition had significantly better recall compared to the wake condition on both tasks. There was a relationship with valence only for the story task, with better performance for the sleep condition on the negatively and positively valenced texts, but not on the neutral text. There were no significant relationships between memory measures and sleep-stage duration and EEG power variables. The story memory findings support the hypothesis that memory consolidation prioritizes emotional memory, whether positively or negatively valenced.