Why is short-term sentence recall verbatim? An evaluation of the role of lexical priming

By showing that short-term sentence recall can be significantly affected by words encountered in an intervening distractor task, Potter and Lombardi (1990,Journal of Memory and Language, 29, 633–654) argue that short-term sentence recall is often verbatim because of the availability of recently activated lexical entries during the regeneration of the sentence from its conceptual representation. We show that similar effects can be obtained even when bilinguals perform an intervening task in a different language from that of sentence recall, or when monolinguals perform an intervening task upon pictures. Furthermore, we show that the presentation of a word in P&L’s distractor task does not, in any case, affect subsequent retrieval of a semantically related word as measured in a picture-naming task. We suggest that the effects on recall reported here and by P&L should be explained in terms of conceptual level interference at the time of recall. We also discuss the implications of our suggestion for the issue of the verbatimness of short-term sentence recall.     

Why is muscularity sexy? Tests of the fitness indicator hypothesis

Evolutionary scientists propose that exaggerated secondary sexual characteristics are cues of genes that increase offspring viability or reproductive success. In six studies the hypothesis that muscularity is one such cue is tested. As predicted, women rate muscular men as sexier, more physically dominant and volatile, and less committed to their mates than nonmuscular men. Consistent with the inverted-U hypothesis of masculine traits, men with moderate muscularity are rated most attractive. Consistent with past research on fitness cues, across two measures, women indicate that their most recent short-term sex partners were more muscular than their other sex partners (ds = .36, .47). Across three studies, when controlling for other characteristics (e.g., body fat), muscular men rate their bodies as sexier to women (partial rs = .49-.62) and report more lifetime sex partners (partial rs = .20-.27), short-term partners (partial rs = .25-.28), and more affairs with mated women (partial r = .28).     

Does mediator use contribute to the spacing effect for cued recall? Critical tests of the mediator hypothesis

When study is spaced across sessions (versus massed within a single session), final performance is greater after spacing. This spacing effect may have multiple causes, and according to the mediator hypothesis, part of the effect can be explained by the use of mediator-based strategies. This hypothesis proposes that when study is spaced across sessions, rather than massed within a session, more mediators will be generated that are longer lasting and hence more mediators will be available to support criterion recall. In two experiments, participants were randomly assigned to study paired associates using either a spaced or massed schedule. They reported strategy use for each item during study trials and during the final test. Consistent with the mediator hypothesis, participants who had spaced (as compared to massed) practice reported using more mediators on the final test. This use of effective mediators also statistically accounted for some – but not all of – the spacing effect on final performance.     

Why does working memory span predict complex cognition? Testing the strategy affordance hypothesis

We introduce and empirically evaluate the strategy affordance hypothesis, which holds that individual differences in strategy use will mediate the relationship between performances on a working memory (WM) span task and another cognitive task only when the same strategies are afforded by both tasks. One hundred forty-eight participants completed basic memory tasks and verbal span tasks that afford the same strategies, such as imagery and sentence generation, and completed reading comprehension tasks that afford different ones, such as self-questioning and summarization. Effective strategy use on WM span tasks accounted for variance in the span-memory relationship, but not for the span-comprehension relationship, supporting the strategy affordance hypothesis. Strategy use mediated the span-cognition relationship only when both tasks afforded the same strategies.     

Searching for Shereshevskii: what is superior about the memory of synaesthetes?

Some individuals with superior memory, such as the mnemonist Shereshevskii (Luria, 1968), are known to have synaesthesia. However, the extent to which superior memory is a general characteristic of synaesthesia is unknown, as is the precise cognitive mechanism by which synaesthesia affects memory. This study demonstrates that synaesthetes tend to report subjectively better than average memory and that these reports are borne out with objective testing. Synaesthetes experiencing colours for words show better memory than matched controls for stimuli that induce synaesthesia (word lists) relative to stimuli that do not (an abstract figure). However, memory advantages are not limited to material that elicits synaesthesia because synaesthetes demonstrate enhanced memory for colour per se (which does not induce a synaesthetic response). Our results suggest that the memory enhancement found in synaesthetes is related to an enhanced retention of colour in both synaesthetic and nonsynaesthetic situations. Furthermore, this may account for the fact that synaesthetic associations, once formed, remain highly consistent.     

Searching for Shereshevskii: What is superior about the memory of synaesthetes?

Some individuals with superior memory, such as the mnemonist Shereshevskii (Luria, 1968), are known to have synaesthesia. However, the extent to which superior memory is a general characteristic of synaesthesia is unknown, as is the precise cognitive mechanism by which synaesthesia affects memory. This study demonstrates that synaesthetes tend to report subjectively better than average memory and that these reports are borne out with objective testing. Synaesthetes experiencing colours for words show better memory than matched controls for stimuli that induce synaesthesia (word lists) relative to stimuli that do not (an abstract figure). However, memory advantages are not limited to material that elicits synaesthesia because synaesthetes demonstrate enhanced memory for colour per se (which does not induce a synaesthetic response). Our results suggest that the memory enhancement found in synaesthetes is related to an enhanced retention of colour in both synaesthetic and nonsynaesthetic situations. Furthermore, this may account for the fact that synaesthetic associations, once formed, remain highly consistent.     

Why is working memory related to fluid intelligence?

Nearly 1,000 adults performed a battery of cognitive tests and working memory tasks requiring simultaneous storage and processing of information. Because the amount of to-be-remembered information, or set size, varied randomly across trials, the relation between fluid intelligence and working memory could be examined across different levels of complexity and across successive trials in the working memory tasks. Strong influences of fluid intelligence were apparent in the simplest versions and on the initial trials in the working memory tasks, which suggests that the relation between working memory and fluid intelligence is not dependent on the amount of information that must be maintained, or on processes that occur over the course of performing the tasks.     

Are attentional resources a mediator for sex differences in memory?

The divided attention paradigm was used to investigate sex differences in encoding and retrieval processes of memory. Participants performed a memory and reaction time (RT) task under full attention and two divided attention conditions, that is, at encoding and retrieval. Results revealed that females recalled significantly more words than males under the full attention and divided attention at encoding conditions. Results further showed that secondary task costs were larger for males than females during divided attention at retrieval. Furthermore, regardless of sex, recall was best under full attention and worst under divided attention at encoding conditions. In relation to the RT task, RTs were shorter under full attention and longer under the divided attention at retrieval condition. Overall, these results show that females recall more words than males possibly due to a more severe effect of reduced attention during encoding than retrieval for males. The current findings thus suggest that a reduction in attentional resources may mediate sex‐related decreases in word recall.     

Is the focus of attention in working memory expanded through practice?

This article reinvestigates the claim by P. Verhaeghen, J. Cerella, and C. Basak (2004) that the focus of attention in working memory can be expanded from 1 to 4 items through practice. Using a modified version of Verhaeghen et al.'s n-back paradigm, Experiments 1 and 3 show that a signature of a one-item focus, the time cost for switching between items in working memory, persists over practice. Verhaeghen et al. reported a shift over practice from a step function to a linear slope of reaction times over set size and argued that it reflects the expansion of the focus. With an improved counterbalancing scheme, a continuously increasing slope was found even without practice in Experiment 2. The results question the hypothesis that the focus is expanded through practice. They are in line with predictions from a model that distinguishes a one-item focus from a direct-access region holding about 4 items.     

Are first impressions lasting impressions? An exploration of the generality of the primacy effect in memory for repetitions

In five experiments, we investigated the primacy effect in memory for repetitions (DiGirolamo & Hintzman, 1997), the finding that when participants are shown a study list that contains two very similar versions of the same stimulus, memory is biased in the direction of the version that was presented first. In the experiments reported, the generality of the effect was examined by manipulating the orientation and features of the repeated stimuli. The results confirmed that the effect is reliable when stimulus changes affect the accidental properties of the stimulus (properties of the stimulus that give information about distance or angle but do little to aid in identification). However, the effect was not found when changes were made to other aspects of the stimulus. The results suggest that the primacy effect in memory for repetitions is not robust across all stimulus changes and converge with previous findings that have demonstrated that such properties of stimuli as orientation and size are represented differently in memory than are other stimulus characteristics.     

An evaluation of the Italian version of the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence

This study examined the psychometric properties of an Italian version of the Fagerstr?m Test for Nicotine Dependence in a sample of 593 smokers who were enrolled in a randomized Phase IV clinical trial to compare bupropion to placebo. This version was administered at baseline, and from each participant an expired air carbon monoxide (CO) measure was taken. Spearman correlations between the Total score and CO concentration were .27 in the combined sample and .27 and .25 among men and women. With respect to the internal consistency reliability, the coefficient alpha was low (alpha= .55) in the combined sample and among men (.59) and women (.50). While the Total score predicted abstinence at 7 wk., it was not significantly related to continuous abstinence at 12 mo. postrandomization. The properties of the Italian version of the Fagerstr?m Test for Nicotine Dependence appear to be consistent with other versions described in the literature.     

How lexical is the lexicon? Evidence for integrated auditory memory representations

Previous research has shown that lexical representations must include not only linguistic information (what word was said), but also indexical information (how it was said, and by whom). The present work demonstrates that even this expansion is not sufficient. Seemingly irrelevant information, such as an unattended background sound, is retained in memory and can facilitate subsequent speech perception. We presented participants with spoken words paired with environmental sounds (e.g., a phone ringing), and had them make an “animate/inanimate” decision for each word. Later performance identifying filtered versions of the words was impaired to a similar degree if the voice changed or if the environmental sound changed. Moreover, when quite dissimilar words were used at exposure and test, we observed the same result when we reversed the roles of the words and the environmental sounds. The experiments also demonstrated limits to these effects, with no benefit from repetition. Theoretically, our results support two alternative possibilities: (1) Lexical representations are memory representations, and are not walled off from those for other sounds. Indexical effects reflect simply one type of co-occurrence that is incorporated into such representations. (2) The existing literature on indexical effects does not actually bear on lexical representations – voice changes, like environmental sounds heard with a word, produce implicit memory effects that are not tied to the lexicon. We discuss the evidence and implications of these two theoretical alternatives.     

Is visual short-term memory object based? Rejection of the “strong-object” hypothesis

Is the capacity of visual short-term memory (VSTM) limited by the number of objects or by the number of features? VSTM for objects with either one feature or two color features was tested. Results show that capacity was limited primarily by the number of colors to be memorized, not by the number of objects. This result held up with variations in color saturation, blocked or mixed conditions, duration of memory image, and absence or presence of verbal load. However, conjoining features into objects improved VSTM capacity when size-orientation and color-orientation conjunctions were tested. Nevertheless, the number of features still mattered. When feature heterogeneity was controlled, VSTM for conjoined objects was worse than VSTM for objects made of single features. Our results support a weak-object hypothesis of VSTM capacity that suggests that VSTM is limited by both the number of objects and the feature composition of those objects.     

What is the best strategy for retaining gestures in working memory?

This study aimed to determine whether the recall of gestures in working memory could be enhanced by verbal or gestural strategies. We also attempted to examine whether these strategies could help resist verbal or gestural interference. Fifty-four participants were divided into three groups according to the content of the training session. This included a control group, a verbal strategy group (where gestures were associated with labels) and a gestural strategy group (where participants repeated gestures and were told to imagine reproducing the movements). During the experiment, the participants had to reproduce a series of gestures under three conditions: “no interference”, gestural interference (gestural suppression) and verbal interference (articulatory suppression). The results showed that task performance was enhanced in the verbal strategy group, but there was no significant difference between the gestural strategy and control groups. Moreover, compared to the “no interference” condition, performance decreased in the presence of gestural interference, except within the verbal strategy group. Finally, verbal interference hindered performance in all groups. The discussion focuses on the use of labels to recall gestures and differentiates the induced strategies from self-initiated strategies.     

Is visual short-term memory object based? Rejection of the "strong-object" hypothesis

Is the capacity of visual short-term memory (VSTM) limited by the number of objects or by the number of features? VSTM for objects with either one feature or two color features was tested. Results show that capacity was limited primarily by the number of colors to be memorized, not by the number of objects. This result held up with variations in color saturation, blocked or mixed conditions, duration of memory image, and absence or presence of verbal load. However, conjoining features into objects improved VSTM capacity when size-orientation and color-orientation conjunctions were tested. Nevertheless, the number of features still mattered. When feature heterogeneity was controlled, VSTM for conjoined objects was worse than VSTM for objects made of single features. Our results support a weak-object hypothesis of VSTM capacity that suggests that VSTM is limited by both the number of objects and the feature composition of those objects.     

Identification,localization, and “iconic memory”: An evaluation of the bar-probe task

The partial report tachistoscopic task has been used to define “iconic memory,” a labile image-like precategorical visual store. Six interrelated partial report studies are reported that challenge the construct. On each trial, subjects were shown an eight-letter pseudoword (representing one of four orders of approximation to English) and a bar probe indicating which letter to report. The probe was delayed systematically, and the experiments included both mask and no-mask conditions. All three variables-familiarity of the material, masking, and delay of the probe-affected accuracy of report. Delaying the probe, for example, reduced accuracy by increasing location errors. Delaying the mask increased accuracy by reducing both location and item errors, but it did not reduce the location errors until its effect on item errors had reached asymptote. Across the stimulus array, however, masking reduced accuracy at all delays by increasing location errors. Finally, the greater accuracy associated with higher orders of approximation to English was complemented by a decrease in item errors, but the familiarity factor had no effect on location errors. Taken together, even though the task has been used to define the idea, the results indicate that the bar-probe task cannot be explained in terms of a simple iconic memory concept. Instead of a simple image-like buffer, the explanation requires a feature buffer, an “intelligent” letter identification process, and a postidentification character buffer. Iconic memory is a construct that oversimplifies the information processing system used in the bar-probe task.     

Professional judgement in the assessment of risk: is there a role for systemic practice?

Risk assessment is an example of professional decision‐making pared to its stark essentials. Political pressures towards accountability and the need for defensible decisions encourage a ‘tick‐box’ approach to risk assessment, but this can create unrealistic expectations of certainty. In practice, as technological approaches produce ever more complex formal tools for assessing risk, their effectiveness remains dubious while our human decision‐making apparatus is marginalized. This article examines whether we should respect our ability to apprehend complex multi‐stranded narrative realities intuitively, with the hope that such intuitions might contribute to professional decision‐making. This idea is explored with reference to a case study.