Mind and material engagement

Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences - Material Engagement Theory (MET), which forms the focus of this special issue, is a relatively new development within cognitive archaeology and...     

Retrieval-induced facilitation: initially nontested material can benefit from prior testing of related material

Classroom exams can assess students' knowledge of only a subset of the material taught in a course. What are the implications of this approach for long-term retention? Three experiments (N = 210) examined how taking an initial test affects later memory for prose materials not initially tested. Experiment 1 shows that testing enhanced recall 24 hr later for the initially nontested material. This facilitation was not seen for participants given additional study opportunities without initial testing. Experiment 2 extends this facilitative effect to a within-subjects design. Experiment 3 demonstrates that this facilitation can be modulated by conscious strategies. These results have implications for educational practice and the theoretical developments of the testing effect, associative memory, and retrieval inhibition.     

Distinguishing characteristics of orally transmitted material when compared to material transmitted by literary means

Controversy surrounds the relationship between the three Synoptic Gospels written by Mark, Matthew and Luke. In particular, researchers on the New Testament disagree about whether the similarities between these three Gospels can be attributed to copying from a common information source, or whether they are due to a reliance on common oral traditions. Two experiments were conducted to investigate the characteristics that might distinguish material that was orally transmitted from that which was copied. In Experiment 1, participants were asked to write short narratives about recent and historic events, using (a) no external sources (b) an external source which was to be returned before the narrative was written, or (c) an external source which was retained while the narrative was written. Results showed that long sequences of common verbatim text occurred only when external sources could be retained while the account was written, suggesting behaviour indicative of copying. In Experiment 2, however, different genres of material were examined (jokes, aphorisms, and poetry). Results showed that while long sequences of more than 18 words in verbatim sequence might be evidence of copying where narrative material is concerned, it is not necessarily true for poetry or aphorisms, where it is possible to transmit from memory more than 18 words in exact sequence. We conclude that when Gospel instances of long sequences of similar material are examined, copying is a likely explanation. But such instances only represent a small proportion of the total number of parallels. The majority of parallel traditions appear to rely on memory, consistent with the experimental evidence presented here. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

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.