Catalog of scaled verbal material

Atotal of 172 studies presenting informationon scaledverbal material (letters, CVCs, words, ete.) were summarized and indexed. For each study, the following information was abstracted: kind of materials, type and number of subjects, task, and data presentation format. These studies were indexed accordingto the type of materials sealed and, within material type, by type of seale information (objective information, subjective rating, or subject production). All studies were from a readily accessible English language source.     

Unrepresentativeness of studies on memory of verbal material

Blakar, R. M. Unrepresentativeness of studies on memory of verbal material. Scand. J. Psychol., 1973, 14, 9–11. -The dominant traditions in studying memory of verbal material are criticized for lack of representativeness in that the stimulus material is particularistic, "meaningless" or presented out of relevant contexts, and presented more than once. When 27 letters were arranged in three lists of nine trigrams as (1) nonsense syllables, (2) common Norwegian words, and (3) a meaningful sentence of these words, and presented once in this order to seven subjects, mean number of letters recalled was 10, 23, and 27, respectively, indicating that the traditional and still dominant methods of research strip memory of one of its most effective means: the rules for grasping and organizing meaning.     

The hippocampus and memory of verbal and pictorial material

Recognition of words and kaleidoscope pictures showed a double dissociation of left and right hippocampal activity using magnetic source imaging (MSI). MSI has advantages over alternative imaging techniques that measure hemodynamic changes for identifying regional changes in brain activity in real time and on an individual subject basis without the need for image subtraction. In this study, lists of words or kaleidoscope pictures were presented for memorization followed by tests of list items and foils during which brain activity was recorded. There was greater activation in the left than the right hippocampus with abstract nouns (e.g., relief) and greater activation in the right than the left hippocampus with kaleidoscope pictures. This dissociation was evident on a case by case basis. This study demonstrates the specialization of the two medial temporal lobe (MTL) regions, including the hippocampi, for mnemonic processing of verbal and pictorial items that are difficult to encode verbally.     

Controlled recall of verbal material in temporal lobe epilepsy

This study used a guided process‐dissociation procedure to examine the contribution of controlled and automatic uses of memory to a cued‐recall task in 24 patients with unilateral temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE: 12 left‐sided; 12 right‐sided), and 12 neurotypical controls. In an inclusion task, participants attempted to complete three‐letter word stems using previously studied words, in an exclusion task they aimed to avoid using studied words to complete stems. Patients with left TLE produced fewer target completions under inclusion conditions. Completion rates were not significantly different under exclusion conditions. Estimates derived from process dissociation calculations, confirmed that the cued‐recall deficit in left TLE patients arose entirely from impairment in controlled memory processes. There were no group differences in the estimates of automatic processes. Recognition judgements of stems corresponding to studied words did not differ between the groups. Overall the results support the view that controlled and automatic memory processes are mediated by separable neural systems. Hippocampal and related structures within the left MTL are more important than corresponding right hemisphere structures for the controlled retrieval of verbal material. In contrast, the findings from this study do not suggest that the left and right temporal lobes make a differential contribution to automatic memory processing. The theoretical and clinical relevance of these findings are discussed.     

Developmental aspects of visual hemifield differences in perception of verbal material

The effect of acquisition of reading on visual field asymmetries for verbal material was investigated in school-age children. Contrary to the expectation that acquisition of differential scanning tendencies will operate on perceptual asymmetries, it was found that right visual field superiority which was independent of scanning direction appeared at the fifth grade. This, and the presence of slight left field superiority at the age when reading is initially acquired, suggests that hemispheric dominance and its attributes, parallel and sequential pattern recognition processes, is the major factor which determines the field preference for verbal material.     

The effects of ventriloquism on the right-side advantage for verbal material

Subjects were asked to recall one of two simultaneous messages coming from hidden loudspeakers situated either at 90° or at 45° from the median plane to the left and to the right. They were told that the messages were coming from two visible dummy loudspeakers which were also situated either at 90° or at 45°. Pre-stimulus cueing of the side to be recalled was given. Significant right-side advantage was obtained in the 90° real-fictitious condition, not in the other conditions. These results show that right-side advantage can be obtained with presentation over loudspeakers and unilateral recall, and dismiss a purely structural or purely cognitive view of lateral asymmetries in audition. Role of structural and cognitive factors is discussed.     

Lateral differences in tachistoscopic recognition of bilaterally presented verbal material.

When subjects have to report verbal material presented tachistoscopically simultaneously on both sides of a fixation point, right visual field superiority has been obtained in several experiments using a central task technique, i.e. where a stimulus presented at the fixation point had to be identified before reporting the rest of the material. Without a central task, left visual field superiority has generally been obtained. It has been suggested to attribute the difference to control of eye fixation by the central task. An alternative interpretation, that the central task modifies the order of attentional scanning was put to the test in Experiment I. With two normally printed words, right visual field superiority was obtained with a central task and left visual field superiority without it. It was predicted that with mirrored words, the opposite pattern would be obtained, yet here right visual field superiority was obtained both without and with a central task. Experiment II shows that the latter result is nevertheless dependent on scanning order, for it can be completely inverted through recall order instructions. It is concluded that lateral differences observed with bilateral presentation cannot be explained without taking account of optional processing priorities, but that the factors on which the latter depend are not yet fully understood.     

The influence of meaningfulness upon intentional and incidental learning of verbal material

The present investigation concerned the relationship between intentional and incidental learning of verbal material. Both task meaningfulness (sequential dependency of the material) and shifts in performance over time were examined for differential patterns under both types of learning conditions. Cover task performance consisted of the search for typographical errors across four paragraphs of a narrative, learning the recall and recognition of examples of categories of objects in the text. There was lack of support for the argument that incidental and intentional learning represent two distinct types; rather Ss responded similarly to increased task meaningfulness under both learning conditions and evidenced identical performance patterns over time. Results were interpreted within an intentional-attentional hypothesis of incidental learning.     

A cross-cultural study of recall of time-related and non time-related verbal material

Recall of time-related and non time-related verbal material by indigenous Papua New Guinean and expatriate European schoolchildren was compared, using a technique reported by Deregowski (1970). At Grade 2 level, the expatriate sample performed significantly better on time-related items, but there was no difference between the groups on the non-temporal items. A further study was conducted with Grade 4 subjects at Waigani multi-racial school and no difference was found between indigenous and expatriate subjects. Grade 4 students at Kila-Kila indigenous school performed at about the same level as Waigani Grade 2 subjects. The results were compared with those reported from Zambia by Deregowski.