Why do delayed summaries improve metacomprehension accuracy?

We showed that metacomprehension accuracy improved when participants (N = 87 college students) wrote summaries of texts prior to judging their comprehension; however, accuracy only improved when summaries were written after a delay, not when written immediately after reading. We evaluated two hypotheses proposed to account for this delayed-summarization effect (the accessibility hypothesis and the situation model hypothesis). The data suggest that participants based metacomprehension judgments more on the gist of texts when they generated summaries after a delay; whereas, they based judgments more on details when they generated summaries immediately after reading. Focusing on information relevant to the situation model of a text (the gist of a text) produced higher levels of metacomprehension accuracy, which is consistent with situation model hypothesis.     

Repetition effects in associative false recognition: Theme-based criterion shifts are the exception, not the rule

Previous reports have demonstrated that false memory for the critical items of associative lists decreases when lists are studied multiple times (Benjamin, 2001). In three experiments, we explored two hypotheses that might account for false memory reductions with repetition. Under an identification hypothesis, repetition decreases false memory because participants realise that critical items are absent from the list at encoding and thus reject them at test. Under a criterion shift hypothesis, repetition decreases false memory because it increases the discriminability of studied words from lures, causing participants to set a higher response criterion for positive recognition responses. Results uniquely supported the criterion shift hypothesis. Furthermore, results showed that participants only changed their criterion on separate recognition tests, not on an item-by-item basis within a single recognition test. The failure to establish separate criteria within a test increased false memory for repeated lists.     

Exploring the false recognition of category exemplars: Effects of divided attention and explicit generation

Two experiments used the category repetition procedure (Dewhurst & Anderson, 1999) to test the hypothesis that false remember (R) responses occur because participants generate associates to items presented at study. Participants in Experiment 1 studied the categorised lists either with full attention or whilst performing one of two secondary tasks (articulatory suppression or random number generation). Both secondary tasks led to a reduction in the number of false R responses, with random number generation producing the greater effect. Experiment 2 manipulated the presentation duration of study items and the instructions given to participants. The numbers of false R responses were not influenced by presentation duration, but increased when participants were explicitly instructed to make associations to study items. The findings support the view that false R responses are caused by the activation of semantic associates at encoding.     

Impaired memory for material related to a problem solved prior to encoding: suppression at learning or interference at recall?

Earlier research by the author revealed that material encoded incidentally in a speeded affective classification task and related to the demands of a divergent problem tends to be recalled worse in participants who solved the problem prior to encoding than in participants in the control, no-problem condition. The aim of the present experiment was to replicate this effect with a new, size-comparison orienting task, and to test for possible mechanisms of impaired recall. Participants either solved a problem before the orienting task or not, and classified each item in this task either once or three times. There was a reliable effect of impaired recall of problem-related items in the repetition condition, but not in the no-repetition condition. Solving the problem did not influence repetition priming for these items. These results support an account that attributes the impaired recall to inhibitory processes at learning and speak against a proactive interference explanation. However, they can be also accommodated by an account that refers to inefficient context cues and competitor interference at retrieval.     

The phonological similarity effect in immediate recall: Positions of shared phonemes

Earlier literature proposes two ways phonological similarity could harm immediate recall: (1) It could increase the degradation of the representations of items in memory, or (2) it could decrease the probability that a degraded representation is correctly reconstructed. A multinomial processing tree model for each hypothesis was used to analyze an immediate recall experiment. Both gave a good account of the data, but, of the two, results favor the hypothesis that the effect of phonological similarity is to impair reconstruction of degraded representations. A second issue is whether positions of repeated phonemes in phonologically similar items matter. We found that mere repetition of phonemes produced a phonological similarity effect. Repeated phonemes in the same positions appeared to produce a greater effect. A final finding is that when reading rate was preequated, phonological similarity affected memory span by changing the time taken to recall a list of span length.     

比喻性成语对文章段落回忆的影响

本研究采用随意学习的实验范式,探讨了结句中是否包含比喻性成语以及被试的工作记忆容量大小对文章段落回忆成绩的影响.实验中所有被试被要求阅读6个说明体的文章段落,然后接受一个有提示的回忆测验.研究发现(1)所有被试对结句中包含比喻性成语的段落回忆成绩比结句中没有比喻性成语的段落好.(2)结句中是否包含比喻性成语和被试工作记忆容量之间存在着交互作用.若结句中包含比喻性成语,段落的回忆成绩不受被试工作记忆容量的制约,反之则会.这些结果可能表明,比喻性成语的某些特点,如形象性或易记性,作为一种辅助手段促进了被试对文章内容的记忆、保持和回忆.     

Overt repetition as a means of controlling rehearsal

Abstract.— Three different ways of using the concept of rehearsal were discussed. Examples were presented showing confusions in the literature due to a failure to distinguish these three definitions. A free recall experiment was conducted with the purpose of investigating three problems relating to the concept of rehearsal: ( a ) an unclear relationship between overt and covert repetition, ( b ) whether overt repetition excluded other control processes, and (c) whether a shallow repetition produces a permanent memory trace or not. Using a pronounced time pressure it was demonstrated first that overt repetition facilitated recall performance of recency items and that recall of primacy items was facilitated by covert repetition. Secondly, it was shown that overt repetition did not exclude other types of encoding. Finally, a shallow maintaining repetition did not produce a permanent memory trace. The results are interpreted as supporting a level of processing point of view rather than a multistore approach.     

Influence of recall procedures on the modality effect with numbers and enumerated stimuli

Experiment 1 extended J. S. Nairne and W. L. McNabb's (1985) counting procedure for presenting numerical stimuli to examine the modality effect. The present authors presented participants with dots and beeps and instructed participants to count the items to derive to-be-remembered numbers. In addition, the authors presented numbers as visual and auditory symbols, and participants recalled items by using free-serial written recall. Experiment 1 demonstrated primacy effects, recency effects, and modality effects for visual and auditory symbols and for counts of dots and beeps. Experiment 2 replicated the procedure in Experiment 1 using strict-serial written recall instead of free-serial written recall. The authors demonstrated primacy and recency effects across all 4 presentation conditions and found a modality effect for numbers that the authors presented as symbols. However, the authors found no modality effect when they presented numbers as counts of beeps and dots. The authors discuss the implications of the results in terms of methods for testing modality effects.     

Unchained Memory: Error Patterns Rule out Chaining Models of Immediate Serial Recall

Many models of serial recall assume a chaining mechanism whereby each item associatively evokes the next in sequence. Chaining predicts that, when sequences comprise alternating confusable and non-confusable items, confusable items should increase the probability of errors in recall of following non-confusable items. Two experiments using visual presentation and one using vocalized presentation test this prediction and demonstrate that: (1) more errors occur in recall of confusable than alternated non-confusable items, revealing a 'sawtooth' in serial position curves; (2) the presence of confusable items often has no influence on recall of the non-confusable items; and (3) the confusability of items does not affect the type of errors that follow them. These results are inconsistent with the chaining hypothesis. Further analysis of errors shows that most transpositions occur over short distances (the locality constraint), confusable items tend to interchange (the similarity constraint), and repeated responses are rare and far apart (the repetition constraint). The complete pattern of errors presents problems for most current models of serial recall, whether or not they employ chaining. An alternative model is described that is consistent with these constraints and that simulates the detailed pattern of errors observed.     

Individual differences in phonological learning and verbal STM span

A relationship between phonological short-term memory tasks (e.g., nonword repetition, digit span) and vocabulary learning in both experimental and real-life conditions has been reported in numerous studies. A mechanism that would explain this correlation is, however, not known. The present study explores the possibility that it is the quality of phonological representations that affects both short-term recall and long-term learning of novel wordlike items. In Experiment 1, groups with relatively good and poor span for pseudowords were established. The good group was found to perform better at explicit memory tasks tapping the incidental learning of a limited stimulus pool used in an auditory immediate serial pseudoword recall task. In Experiment 2, the results of Experiment 1 were replicated when experience of correct recall was controlled. In Experiment 3, the immediate recall performance of the good group was found to benefit more than that of the poor group from syllable repetition within stimulus pools. It is concluded that the efficiency of a process that creates phonological representations is related both to short-term capacity for verbal items, and to long-term phonological learning of the structure of novel phonological items.     

部分线索效应中的记忆监控

通过三个实验,利用学习时间分配作为指标,考察了学习者对部分线索效应记忆监控的状况。实验1考察被试在单次学习条件下的学习时间分配情况,结果发现被试在两种条件下所使用的学习时间没有明显差异。这说明在一次学习后被试还不能对部分线索的消极作用进行有效控制。实验2中,经过多次学习后,被试在部分线索条件下使用了更多的学习时间。实验3在自控步调学习前加入回溯性任务难度判断任务,结果发现经过一次学习,部分线索组和自由回忆组的判断值虽无显著差异,但部分线索组的自控步调学习时间显著长于自由回忆组,并且其回忆成绩也显著提高,说明回溯性任务难度判断过程本身是学习时间分配的制约因素。研究说明,为了加速主体对部分线索的消极影响的控制,引导主体对学习任务进行难度判断是一种有效的手段。     

Effects of music on memory for text

Previous research has suggested that the use of song can facilitate recall of text. This study examined the effect of repetition of a melody across verses, familiarity with the melody, rhythm, and other structural processing hypotheses to explain this phenomenon. Two experiments were conducted, each with 100 participants recruited from undergraduate Psychology programs (44 men, 156 women, M age = 28.5 yr., SD = 9.4). In Exp. 1, participants learned a four-verse ballad in one of five encoding conditions (familiar melody, unfamiliar melody, unknown rhythm, known rhythm, and spoken). Exp. 2 assessed the effect of familiarity in rhythm-only conditions and of pre-exposure with a previously unfamiliar melody. Measures taken were number of verbatim words recalled and number of lines produced with correct syllabic structure. Analysis indicated that rhythm, with or without musical accompaniment, can facilitate recall of text, suggesting that rhythm may provide a schematic frame to which text can be attached. Similarly, familiarity with the rhythm or melody facilitated recall. Findings are discussed in terms of integration and dual-processing theories.     

Directed forgetting of a single item

In two experiments, we investigated directed forgetting of a single item. We presented participants with two phone numbers to remember and instructed half of the participants to forget the first phone number. The first number was either learned on a single trial (Experiment 1) or on three trials (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, there was evidence of directed forgetting as a result of differential encoding; the forget instruction affected recall and recognition for both phone numbers. In Experiment 2, the evidence favored differential rehearsal because the forget instruction affected recall but not recognition. These results indicate that instructions to forget can affect memory of single items.     

Interpersonal consequences of social anxiety

The behavioral manifestations of social anxiety may have implications for social outcomes. Unfortunately, little is known about how anxiety shapes social interaction. The present study examined social interactions in dyads consisting of either 2 nonsocially anxious (NSA) individuals or 1 socially anxious (SA) and 1 NSA individual. Behavior, self-reported affect, and perceptions were examined. In comparison with the interactions of NSA pairs, high levels of fidgeting, poor reciprocity of smiling behavior, more self-talk, and more frequent reassurance seeking and giving characterized interactions between SA and NSA participants. Both SA participants and their NSA partners rated their interactions as being less smooth and coordinated than did participants in NSA-NSA dyads. In addition, SA participants' reassurance seeking and self-talk correlated negatively with partner positive affect and perceptions of interaction quality. The authors discuss self-focused attention and the interpersonal consequences of social anxiety.     

Aging and the Ranschburg effect: no evidence of reduced response suppression in old age

Two experiments tested 1 aspect of L. Hasher and R. T. Zacks's (1988) reduced inhibition hypothesis, namely, that old age impairs the ability to suppress information in working memory that is no longer relevant. In Experiment 1, young and older adults were asked to recall lists of letters in the correct order. Half of the lists contained repeated items while half were control lists. Recall of nonadjacent repeated items was worse than that of control items. This Ramschburg effect was larger (i.e., greater response suppression) in older than in young adults. In Experiment 2, young and older adults were required either to recall the list or to report if there was a repeated item. Repetition detection was high and similar in the 2 age groups. When age differences in overall performance were taken into account, there was evidence of increased repetition inhibition with age in both experiments. Thus, contrary to the general reduced inhibition hypothesis, the specific process of response suppression during serial recall is not reduced by aging.     

协作抑制的作用机制：来自编码阶段的证据

协作抑制是指当人们在一个记忆小组中一起提取信息的时候,小组提取的信息总量比等量个体提取的信息总量要少。本研究采用经典的协作抑制研究范式和两次提取任务,考察编码方式和学习次数对协作提取任务的影响,进一步将考察协作抑制的产生机制作为总研究目的。结果表明,编码方式相同条件下出现协作抑制,而编码方式不同条件下协作抑制消失,显示协作抑制的出现与否依赖于认知条件的改变;无论是学习一次还是学习两次,在第一次小组提取中出现协作抑制,而在第二次个人提取中协作抑制消失,在使用困难学习材料时也得到同样的研究结果。研究结果支持协作抑制的提取策略破坏假说。     

Mood-states, recall and subjective comprehensibility of medical information in non-patient volunteers

Factors were investigated related to the comprehensibility, recall and retention of medical information, using non-patient volunteers. At the first session, subjective comprehensibility, immediate recall and the mood-states of anxiety, depression and hostility were measured. A week later recall, anxiety, depression and hostility were reassessed. In terms of percentages of idea-units recalled, immediate recall was 44% and delayed recall was 31%. Immediate (though not delayed) recall and also subjective comprehensibility were negatively correlated with both anxiety and depression as measured at the first, but not the second session, thus highlighting the primacy of immediate mood-state in influencing recall. There was no relation between subjective comprehensibility and either of the recall scores. The results imply that subjective comprehensibility and recall are relatively independent, a result apparently inconsistent with Ley's model of compliance, but suggest that both can be influenced by depressed or anxious moods. Taken together with other findings, our results could support a curvilinear relation between anxiety and recall. To maximize recall and comprehensibility, at least within a certain range of anxiety levels, anxiety and depression at the time the instructions are presented should be minimized. In a clinical setting, this may be relevant to improving patient compliance.     

Children's serial recall errors: implications for theories of short-term memory development

Three experiments examined developmental changes in serial recall of lists of 6 letters, with errors classified as movements, omissions, intrusions, or repetitions. In Experiments 1 and 2, developmental differences between groups of children aged from 7 to 11 years and adults were found in the pattern of serial recall errors. The errors of older participants were more likely to be movements than were those of younger participants, who made more intrusions and omissions. The number of repetition errors did not change with age, and this finding is interpreted in terms of a developmentally invariant postoutput response inhibition process. This interpretation was supported by the findings of Experiment 3, which measured levels of response inhibition in 7-, 9-, and 11-year-olds by comparing recall of lists with and without repeated items. Response inhibition remained developmentally invariant, although older children showed greater response facilitation (improved correct recall of adjacent repeated items). Group differences in the patterns of other errors are accounted for in terms of developmental changes in levels of output forgetting and changes in the efficiency of temporal encoding processes.     

Assessing the effect of lexical variables in backward recall

In a recent study, Bireta et al. (2010) suggested that when participants are required to recall lists of items in the reverse order, more attention is devoted to the recall of order at the expense of item information, leading to the abolition of item-based phenomena (the item and order trade-off hypothesis). In order to test the item and order trade-off hypothesis, we manipulated 4 lexical factors that are well known to influence item retention. The effects of word frequency, of lexicality, of semantic similarity, and of imageability were tested in forward and backward recall. All 4 phenomena were maintained in backward recall, which contradicts the item and order trade-off hypothesis. Instead, we suggest that backward recall might rely on semantic retrieval strategies.     

Visual Hebb repetition effects survive changes to both output order and concurrent articulation*

Building upon the work of Guerrette, Guérard, and Saint-Aubin [(2017). The role of overt language production in the Hebb repetition effect. Memory and Cognition, 45(5), 792–803. doi:10.3758/s13421-017-0693-4], we examine the effect of output order on the visual Hebb repetition effect. We limit opportunities for forward recall at test by using a novel positional recall procedure, employing non-verbal visual stimuli, and requiring participants to undertake concurrent articulation (CA). During encoding, participants received sequences of six unfamiliar-faces. Every third sequence, participants received the same faces in the same serial order (the Hebb sequence). At test, participants were required to either select the faces in their order of original presentation (SR) or recall the serial position of each individually re-presented face tested in a randomised order (PR). For both recall conditions, and following CA, the Hebb repetition effect persisted, demonstrating that the Hebb repetition effect is not dependent upon forward recall.