A ten-year longitudinal examination of repetition priming, incidental recall, free recall, and recognition in young and elderly

The effects of age and time on nondeclarative and declarative memory in young and elderly were examined in a 10-year longitudinal study using tests of word-stem priming, incidental recall, free recall, and recognition. The elderly were significantly impaired on all tests, but no reliable longitudinal decrement by the elderly was detected for priming, incidental recall,or recognition. The elderly demonstrated a significant longitudinal decline in declarative memory as assessed by a test of free recall. While nondeclarative memory declines with age, the longitudinal findings are consistent with the view that declarative memory is more susceptible to the effects of aging.     

A pilot study of performance in young and middle-aged adults on verbal recall

The objective was to explore whether middle-aged adults (M age = 48.9 yr.; n = 26) differed on verbal recall from young adults (M age = 26.3 yr.; n = 26). Little data exist on the performance of middle-aged, healthy adults. Groups of young and middle-aged adults recalled words from the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test across six trials during a single session. The same 15 words were used for recall in Trials 1-5. Prior to the sixth trial, 15 distractor words were presented. Participants then recalled the original set of 15 words. No significant differences occurred on any of the recall trials. Although the power of this study was low, the effect of age is apparently quite small.     

Tower of Hanoi performance of retarded young adults and nonretarded children as a function of solution length and goal state

Three experiments were conducted with the Tower of Hanoi task to assess problem solving ability in 6-, 7-, 8-, and 10-year-old nonretarded children and mentally retarded young adults of varying maturational ages. In Experiment 1 we gradually reduced the number of moves required for solution until subjects could solve the 3-disk tower-ending problem. Although all groups experienced difficulty with the standard 7-move problem, all but the trainable retarded group readily solved the 6-move problem. The trainable group did not reach a comparable level of success until the 4-move problem. On the 7-move problem the retarded groups performed at the level of nonretarded groups that were maturationally $\text{1}\text{1}\text{2}$ to 3 years younger. An analysis of first moves indicated that subject groups differed in the strategies they used to solve the problems. In Experiment 2, practice effects were ruled out as a source of the superior performance on the 6- than on the 7-move problem. In Experiment 3, 7- and 10-year-old nonretarded children and mentally retarded young adults did not differ on 5-move problems in which configuration of the goal states was varied. A comparison of all 5-move problems judged to have the same depth of search requirements indicated that the tower-ending problems were significantly easier to solve than the partial-tower-ending problems, which in turn were easier than the flat-ending problems. A limited depth of search capacity sets boundaries on the use of sophisticated strategies and, to a large extent, accounts for the retarded groups' maturational lag.     

A longitudinal study of top-level executive performance

Competency ratings were obtained from a hybrid selection system on 98 top-level executives in a predictive validity design. Hierarchical linear modeling results indicated that "resource problem-solving-oriented" competency ratings predicted initial performance. "People-oriented" competency ratings predicted subsequent performance trends. Utility estimates suggested that the system generated an additional $3 million in annual profit per candidate selected. Groups of executives with similar performance trends were identified who had encountered qualitatively different situational circumstances. Findings imply that a model of executive performance must contain main effects for person (competencies) and situation (economic-industrial) characteristics on both subsequent performance and performance trends. Future research needs to examine which situational circumstances moderate relationships between executive competencies and initial performance or subsequent performance trends.     

Working memory, inhibition, and fluid intelligence as predictors of performance on Tower of Hanoi and London tasks

The contributions of working memory, inhibition, and fluid intelligence to performance on the Tower of Hanoi (TOH) and Tower of London (TOL) were examined in 85 undergraduate participants. All three factors accounted for significant variance on the TOH, but only fluid intelligence accounted for significant variance on the TOL. When the contribution of fluid intelligence was accounted for, working memory and inhibition continued to account for significant variance on the TOH. These findings support argument that fluid intelligence contributes to executive functioning, but also show that the executive processes elicited by tasks vary according to task structure.     

Suggestions for revised scoring of the Tower of Hanoi test

Detailed time and error analyses of the Tower of Hanoi (TOH) test was performed using four repeated assessments of eight children (ages 9-12 years), who had perceptual and problem solving deficits. The time before each move was measured. In addition to the traditionally counted time scores, new, relative time scores were computed in order to separate the planning time from the general reaction speed. New error scores were defined and sum scores of serious errors (perserative moves, illegal moves, and wrong results) and mild errors (self-corrected moves, almost performed moves, and interrupted trials) were computed. The relative planning time correlated positively with the achieved score, and negatively with the serious errors. The serious errors correlated negatively with the achieved score. The relative planning time seems to measure the quality of planning better than does the raw planning time, and it is a recommended score for TOH analysis. The value of new error scores requires additional research.     

A longitudinal study of personality change in young adulthood

The present research examined personality continuity and change in a sample of young men and women assessed at the beginning and end of college. Two-hundred seventy students completed measures of the Big Five personality traits when they first entered college and then 4 years later. Analyses indicate small- to medium-sized normative (i.e., mean-level) changes, large rank-order stability correlations, high levels of stability in personality structure, and moderate levels of ipsative (i.e. profile) stability. Overall, the findings are consistent with the perspective that personality traits exhibit considerable continuity over time, yet can change in systematic ways.     

A neuropsychological study of dissociation in cortical and subcortical functioning in obsessive-compulsive disorder by Tower of Hanoi task

Several biological models of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) have focused on the roles frontal cortex and basal ganglia dysfunctions play in the expression of the disorder. From a neuropsychological point of view, previous reports have underlined the possible involvement of the prefrontal cortex in declarative functions and the basal ganglia in procedural ones. A possible dissociation of cortical and subcortical functioning has been studied using the Hanoi Tower Task to explore different neuropsychological aspects of problem-solving procedures. Our results indicate that differential cortical and subcortical dysfunctions could contribute to OCD pathophysiology and that procedural and declarative forms might be independent of each other.     

Effects of orientation on Rey complex figure performance

An experiment was performed that examined the impact of stimulus orientation on performance on the Rey complex figure. A total of 48 undergraduates (24 men, 24 women) were randomly assigned to one of four Rey figure orientation groups (0 degrees, 90 degrees, 180 degrees, and 270 degrees ). Participants followed standard procedures for the Rey figure, initially copying it in whatever orientation group they were assigned to. Next, all participants performed a 15-20 min lexical decision experiment, used as a filler task. Finally, and unbeknownest to them, participants were asked to recall as much of the figure as they could. As expected, results revealed a main effect of Task (F = 83.92, p < .01), in which copy performance was superior to recall performance. However, the main effect for orientation was not significant, nor did orientation interact with task (Fs < .68, ps > .57). The results are important from an applied setting, especially if testing conditions are less than optimal and a fixed stimulus position is not possible (e.g., testing at the bedside).     

Job crafting and job performance: A longitudinal study

In this three-wave study (N = 288), we examined whether job crafting intentions and work engagement led to actual job crafting behaviours and, in turn, to higher levels of prospective work engagement and job performance. We used the Job Demands-Resources model as a theoretical framework and defined job crafting as the self-initiated changes that employees make in their job demands and resources. One month after reporting their job crafting intentions, respondents rated their actual job crafting behaviours. Again one month later, they rated their levels of work engagement, in-role performance, and organizational citizenship behaviour towards individuals (OCBI). Results of structural equation modelling showed that job crafting intentions and work engagement significantly related to actual job crafting, which, in turn, related to higher levels of work engagement, while controlling for job characteristics. Results further showed that engaged employees performed better on their in-role tasks but did not perform more OCBIs. The findings suggest that employees can increase their own work engagement and job performance through job crafting.     

A computational model of frontal lobe dysfunction: working memory and the Tower of Hanoi task

A symbolic computer model, employing the perceptual strategy, is presented for solving Tower of Hanoi problems. The model is calibrated—in terms of the number of problems solved, time taken, and number of moves made—to the performance of 20 normal subjects. It is then "lesioned" by increasing the decay rate of elements in working memory to model the performance of 20 patients with lesions to the prefrontal cortex. The model captures both the main effects of subject groups (patients and normal controls) performance, and the subject groups (patients and normal controls) by problem difficulty interactions. This leads us to support the working memory hypothesis of frontal lobe functions, but for a narrow range of problems.     

Relationship between choice reaction time and the Tower of Hanoi test.

The aim of this study was to examine a possible relation between the speed of information processing, as measured by simple and choice visual RT, and problem-solving, as measured by the Tower of Hanoi test. For 20 normal teenagers, performing all tests, significant correlations were found between choice RT and both measures of performance on the Tower of Hanoi, number of disk moves, and time taken to complete the task. Simple RT was correlated with Completion time but not with the number of moves, while the reverse pattern was discerned for decision time. Choice movement time was also associated with both measures, but simple movement time was not. These results are consistent with the hypothesis of a common neurobiological basis to information-processing speed and executive functions.     

Adolescent depressed mood and young adult functioning: A longitudinal study

The present study examined two aspects of depressed mood in adolescence: (1) stability across the adolescent years and (2) ability to predict functioning in young adulthood. Participants included 82 Caucasian individuals (46 females and 36 males) who were assessed one time per year for 4 consecutive years during adolescence (mean age at initial assessment = 13.5 years) and again during young adulthood (mean age = 19). The results indicated that depressed mood, as measured by the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), remained relatively stable across at least 3 consecutive years of data collection during adolescence. In addition, adolescent CDI scores predicted young adult functioning in each of four areas: prosocial competence, self-esteem, externalizing problems, and internalizing problems.This study was supported, in part, by the William T. Grant Foundation and the University of Georgia's Institute for Behavioral Research.     

A longitudinal study of gendered vocabulary and communicative action in young children

Development of children's vocabularies for gender-typed words and communicative actions was investigated longitudinally from 13 to 36 months and in a group of 9.5-month-olds. Vocabularies of gendered words were assessed using lists of adult-rated gender-typed words from the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDI; L. Fenson et al., 1994). At 24 to 36 months, girls' and boys' productive vocabularies contained more same-gender-typed words than other-gender-typed words. Receptive vocabulary gender-differential effects were apparent among boys at 18 months. At 13 and 18 months, gender-typed differences were apparent in communicative actions. The research reveals the utility of unobtrusive, nonexperimental measures for assessing gender-related knowledge and behavior in young children.     

Repeated assessment of the Tower of Hanoi test: reliability and age effects

The purpose of this research was to analyze the effects of repeating an executive function test. Three versions of the Tower of Hanoi (TOH) test were repeated three times each, with test-retest intervals of 2 months. Two groups of children participated in the research (7.7 and 11.6 years, n = 22 and n = 28). Repeating the assessment improved the performance and decreased the total performance time in both of the groups. The older participants improved their performance faster than the younger ones. The reliability of all the scores, besides the error scores, seemed to be satisfactory after the first few assessments. The stability of the scores was maintained through all the assessments. The planning time did not explain the variations of the achieved score. The reasons for the initially low reliabilities are discussed, and modifications for the test administration and scoring are suggested.     

Tower of Hanoi: evidence for the cost of goal retrieval.

Past research on the Tower of Hanoi problem has provided clear evidence for the importance of goal-subgoal structures in problem solving. However, the nature of the traditional Tower of Hanoi problem makes it impossible to determine whether there is any special cost associated with storing or retrieving goals. A variation of the Tower of Hanoi problem is described that allows one to determine separately if there is an effect of how long a goal has to be retained on storage time or how long ago it was formed on retrieval time. This paradigm provides evidence for an effect of retention interval on retrieval time and not on storage time. An ACT-R (Adaptive Control of Thought-Rational) simulation of these data is described, which treats goal memory as no different from other memories.     

Complex decision making: A longitudinal study of process and performance

Two studies using a computer-simulated, strategy-formulation game and business students were conducted using simultaneous verbal protocols. It was found that a number of information-processing and information-evaluation thought processes were significantly related to game performance. Consistent with what is known about individual decision making, the present results suggest that, for the task used in this study, individuals who engage in causal analysis perform better than those who do not. But those who focus on negative emotions, blindly repeat previously successful decisions, and engage in illogical through processes perform more poorly than those who do not. Causal replication using real managers within organizational settings, however, is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn from this research.     

Examining the effects of grade retention on student reading performance: A longitudinal study

Grade retention is an intervention that has received increasing scrutiny as policies, practices, and results of research diverge. This longitudinal study examines the reading growth trajectories of students (n = 147) from first- through eighth-grade. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analytic procedures provide unique insights regarding the relative reading growth curves among retained students, similarly achieving but promoted students, and a random sample of students. The results revealed that retained students did not experience a benefit in their growth rate (relative to either the preceding year, or to similarly performing but promoted students), and made less progress compared to the randomly selected group of students. While consistent with the extant empirical evidence failing to support the effectiveness of grade retention, these findings warrant careful consideration given both the longitudinal design and the analytic procedures.     

A longitudinal study of negative affect and self-perceived competence in young adolescents.

In a 4-wave, 2-year longitudinal design, the authors obtained measures of negative affect (NA) and self-perceived competence from 220 boys and 216 girls who were 7th graders at the beginning of this study. NA was operationalized as the common dimension underlying self-reports of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and negative emotions. Self-perceived competence consisted of 2 higher order constructs: a well-behaved/good-student factor and an attractive/athletic/popular factor. Structural equation modeling revealed very high stability estimates for all constructs. Nevertheless, self-perceived competence in the attractive/athletic/popular domain predicted changes in NA. Conversely, NA predicted changes in self-perceived competence in the well-behaved/good-student domain. The primacy of NA versus self-cognitions depends, in part, on the type of self-cognitions being examined.