读者追随目标信息建构情境模型

探讨文本阅读中读者追随目标焦点信息建构情境模型的过程。实验1采用“目标启动＋目标整合”的方式,探讨读者在显性焦点情况下的阅读是否会追随目标信息更新情境模型。实验2采用“目标启动＋目标未整合”的方式,探讨显性焦点下对目标信息进行的追随建构,是发生在目标焦点整合后还是在阅读进程中即时进行。实验2a运用动窗技术,实验2b则采用眼动技术来探讨这个问题。实验结果总的表明,在阅读过程中读者会追随目标焦点信息建构情境模型,并且这种建构是即时进行的     

文本阅读过程中目标焦点的预期推理

探讨文本阅读过程中目标焦点是否引起即时的预期推理。采用移动窗口技术,让被试阅读16篇含有目标信息的记叙文。实验1和实验2探讨已进入长时记忆中的尚未实现的目标是否作为阅读的焦点对阅读目标行为进行预期推理。实验3探讨已经实现的目标是否作为阅读的焦点对阅读目标行为产生预期作用。实验结果表明,对目标的预期推理是可以即时发生的,在目标未实现的情况下,读者会对目标信息进行预期推理;在目标已经实现的情况下,读者对有关目标的信息不产生预期推理。     

空间转换在记叙文阅读情境模型建构中的作用

采用探测词和事件分割范式探讨了空间转换与事件转换分离的情况下, 空间转换在记叙文情境模型建构中的作用。实验1a重复前人研究, 探讨空间转换对阅读时间和情境模型更新的影响, 并验证在空间转换对情境模型的影响的研究中, 采用多指标探测范式的合理性。实验1b探讨在空间转换与事件转换相分离的条件下, 空间转换对情境模型更新的影响; 实验2a探讨空间转换对事件分割的影响, 并验证在空间转换对情境模型的影响的研究中, 采用事件分割范式的合理性; 实验2b探讨空间转换与事件转换相分离的条件下, 空间转换对事件分割的影响, 从而验证空间转换对情境模型更新的影响。结果表明, 当空间转换与事件转换相分离时, 不引起情境模型的更新, 事件单元是建构记叙文心理表征的核心单元, 空间转换只有在标识事件转换的情况下, 才能引发读者更新情境模型。     

文本阅读中情境模型建构和更新的机制

采用移动窗口阅读技术探讨了文本阅读中情境模型建构和更新的机制。实验材料按照特征描述与目标行为 的关系总体上分为可能、不可能和重新可能三个版本。实验1主要探讨了文章开始部分有明显的焦点信息时情境模 型建构和更新的机制,检验了更新追随假设的合理性;实验2主要探讨了文章开始部分没有明显的焦点信息时情境 模型建构和更新的机制,检验了记忆基础文本加工理论的合理性;实验3使用再认探测任务,进一步检验了更新追 随假设和记忆基础文本加工理论的差异。实验结果表明,文本阅读中情境模型的建构和更新是一个双加工过程,在 自然阅读过程中,读者根据所阅读的信息不同会产生不同的信息加工活动,既会有记忆基础文本加工理论所支持的 协调性整合,也会有建构主义的更新追随假设所支持的焦点整合     

基于语境的预期推理构建的实验研究

两个实验用移动视窗技术,用目标句阅读时间和命名探测词两种指标来考察当文本中有两个情境模型时,读者是否会即时进行预期推理。结果表明,如果在支持性语境与引发推理的信息之间插入一个与支持性语境所描述的情境模型不同的,且与主人公目标有关的因果链上的情境模型的信息,则不管这个插入的情境模型在文本中的位置如何,也不管干扰信息的干扰水平高低,都会降低因果性预期推理在阅读中产生的可能性。     

现实驱动和情节驱动对时间信息表征的影响

采用动窗技术,探讨在记叙文理解中现实驱动和情节驱动对时间信息表征的影响.实验1验证了强印象假设中时间转换的效应,说明读者是根据对现实的期望来建构情境模型的,具体来说,读者采用现实驱动的加工方式表征情境模型中的时间信息.实验2探讨现实驱动和情节驱动对时间信息表征的共同影响,结果表明,读者根据故事情节产生的愿望在一定程度上改变了现实驱动所产生的时间转换的效应,证实了情节驱动在表征情境模型中的时间信息时的作用.     

记叙文中因果连贯对空间情境模型回溯建构的促进

采用移动窗口阅读技术探讨记叙文理解中因果关系对于空间信息加工的作用。实验1和2的自变量是故事中空间信息与故事结果的因果关系,采用相关样本t检验对不同条件下探测词的反应时进行统计分析,结果表明因果关系不仅会影响文本明确提及的空间信息的加工而且能够促进隐含的空间关系建构情境模型。实验3的自变量是故事中物体与位置词的空间关系,采用相关样本t检验对不同条件下位置探测词的反应时进行统计分析,结果进一步表明空间情境模型是读者为保持故事因果连贯回溯建构的而不是在阅读进程中的实时建构。实验4中空间关系的复杂程度增大,结果发现当故事中空间信息的文本距离较远时即使有保持因果连贯的需要,读者仍无法回溯建构空间模型。     

主角情绪和时间信息对情境模型加工的影响

采用移动窗口技术探讨了情境模型加工中主角情绪与时间转换因素对情境模型加工的影响。实验1采用单因素被试内设计, 结果显示, 关键句的阅读时间模式为：放松-放松=担心-放松<放松-担心=担心-担心。实验2采用4×2两因素被试内设计, 结果在担心-担心模式下大的时间转换比小的时间转换的阅读时间长, 而时间转换因素对于主角情绪状态是担心-放松、放松-放松和放松-担心模式的加工没有影响。实验结果表明, 读者在阅读语篇时实时追踪主角的情绪状态, 出现了部分的情绪转换效应。阅读中读者体验到的积极的情绪状态有利于情境模型的建构, 相反, 体验到的消极的情绪状态会妨碍情境模型的建构。时间转换因素在一定程度上影响了对主角情绪状态的加工, 主角担心-担心的情绪状态在大的时间转换条件下, 前后两种相同的消极情绪可能会产生一种叠加效应, 使读者的情境模型加工更加困难; 而在小的时间转换条件下, 读者对从放松转向担心的情绪状态的加工会花费更多的认知资源。     

空间情境模型的更新：认知方式的影响

采用前照应解决(anaphora resolution)与学习探测相结合的实验范式以及移动窗口技术探讨不同认知方式个体的空间情境模型更新能力的差异。实验1发现, 场依存性被试在高预见性条件下表现出空间距离效应, 低预见性条件下则没有; 而场独立性被试刚好相反。实验2通过在关键句中提示路径房间的一个物品深入探讨更新过程中不同认知方式个体更新模式的差异, 结果发现, 两类被试在低预见性记叙文中都表现出了明显的空间距离效应。这表明, 场独立性个体的空间情境模型更新能力高于场依存性个体的更新能力。     

文本阅读中数量比较信息整合的过程与内容

引入数量比较信息,采用移动窗口阅读技术对文本阅读中推理的过程与内容进行研究。实验1探讨当文本阅读中存在数量比较信息时,是否能够进行即时整合,实验2和实验3分别探讨了数量比较信息即时整合的过程与内容。结果发现:当文本阅读中存在数量比较信息时,读者能够进行即时的信息整合,这种整合是自下而上的,支持记忆基础文本加工理论,如果时间足够,这种整合能够达到量化程度。     

Infants' memory processing of a serial list: list length effects

Six-month-olds, trained with a three-mobile serial list, exhibit a primacy effect 24 h later. In three experiments, we demonstrated that increasing list length impairs their memory for serial order. In all experiments, 6-month-olds were trained with a five-mobile list. In Experiment 1, infants failed to exhibit a primacy effect on a 24-h delayed recognition test, recognizing mobiles from all serial positions. In Experiment 2, infants did exhibit a primacy effect on a reactivation (priming) test, suggesting that they may originally have encoded serial-order information. Experiment 3 confirmed that serial-order information was represented in infants' training memory. After the reactivation treatment, infants were precued with one list member and tested for recognition of another. When precues specified valid order information, infants recognized test mobiles from the later serial positions. The memory dissociation for serial order on delayed recognition and reactivation tests adds to the growing evidence that young infants possess two functionally distinct memory systems.     

Auditory List Memory in Rhesus Monkeys

Auditory memory of 2 rhesus monkeys was tested in a serial probe recognition task. Lists of four environmental or natural sounds were followed by a retention interval and a test. The test matched one of the list items on half of the trials. The retention interval was varied across sessions. Six experiments showed similar results and changes in the serial position function. At short retention intervals, there was good memory for first list items (primacy effect) and poor memory for last list items. At intermediate retention intervals, memory improved for last list items (recency effect). At long retention intervals (20 s and 30 s), the recency effect was strong, and the primacy effect had dissipated. These auditory primacy and recency effects and their changes with retention interval were opposite to those for visual memory. Implications for processes and mechanisms of memory are discussed.     

Epinephrine enhancement of human memory consolidation: interaction with arousal at encoding

Abundant evidence indicates that endogenous stress hormones like epinephrine and cortisol modulate memory consolidation in animals. Despite this evidence, there has been no demonstration that endogenous stress hormones modulate memory consolidation in humans. In the present study, healthy subjects viewed a series of 21 slides, and immediately after received an intravenous infusion of either saline or epinephrine (40 or 80 ng/kg/min). Memory for the first three (primacy) and last three (recency) slides viewed was assessed with an incidental free recall test one week later. Epinephrine dose-dependently increased memory for the primacy slides, but did not affect memory of the recency slides. A subsequent experiment involving new subjects revealed significantly higher electrodermal responses to the primacy compared with recency slides. These findings support the view (Gold & McGaugh, 1975) that endogenous stress hormones modulate memory consolidation for experiences that induce their release. Additionally, they suggest that in humans these hormones may interact with the degree of arousal at initial encoding of information to modulate memory consolidation processes for that information.     

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.     

Dissociable parietal systems for primacy and subsequent memory effects

The frequently observed superior memory for the first items on a list is referred to as primacy. The aetiology of this effect in terms of cognitive processes and their neural substrate is subject to an ongoing debate. However, the brain areas generally involved in successful encoding are well described by subsequent memory studies in which activity during encoding is correlated with memory performance. We employed an object-location association paradigm to differentiate the neural correlate of the primacy from the subsequent memory effect. Activity in the intraparietal sulcus predicted memory performance across all encoding positions. Increased activity in the inferior parietal lobe and angular gyrus resulted exclusively in a more efficient encoding of the first item presented. These areas are part of the ventral frontoparietal network involved in stimulus driven attention. Our results implicate the relatively elevated attention to the first item probably due to its contextual distinctiveness, as a major contributor to the primacy effect.     

The role of working memory in the development of emotion comprehension

This study investigated the relationship between emotion comprehension, grammar comprehension, and working memory capacity in children between 5 and 11 years (n= 130), testing the hypothesis that working memory has a role in the development of emotion comprehension. We replicated the correlation between emotion comprehension and grammar comprehension, and found that working memory capacity correlates with both of these variables (also with age statistically controlled). The significant effect of age on emotion comprehension was eliminated when working memory capacity was co‐varied. In a regression analysis of emotion comprehension scores, when working memory capacity was entered as a predictor, no additional variance was significantly accounted for by grammar comprehension, gender, or age. A structural relations model, in which the paths from working memory capacity to emotion comprehension and from working memory capacity to grammar comprehension account fully for the correlation between grammar and emotion comprehension, fit the data well. However, working memory capacity was not equally related to all components of the Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC) ( Pons & Harris, 2000 ), the relationship being significant only for some of them. In particular, working memory capacity has a decisive role in the transition from understanding external to mental aspects of emotions. It is concluded that the development of working memory has a considerable impact on the development of emotion comprehension.     

Serial position effects in implicit memory for multiple-digit numbers

Serial position effects in implicit and explicit memory were investigated in a short-term memory task. A study list composed of four, spatially distributed, two-digit numbers was presented, followed by an item recognition task (explicit test) and an implicit memory task in which participants were asked to verify a simple addition equation where the presented answer was either primed or not primed by one of the number pairs in the study list. Similar serial position effects were observed in explicit and implicit memory, with faster response times for correct decisions on the first than on the later list positions. The presence of a primacy effect but no recency effect is consistent with previous studies of explicit memory with visual presentation. The results suggest that similar principles of temporal information processing govern priming and episodic short-term memory.     

Making judgments in a two‐sequence cue environment: The effects of differential cue strengths,order sequence,and distraction

Consumers frequently evaluate multiple sequential cues of varying strengths in order to draw inferences about a product's quality. The results of three experiments show that when consumers are not distracted, they judge a product's quality more favorably following a strong–weak cue sequence relative to a weak–strong sequence (a primacy effect). However once consumers are distracted from the evaluation task, the primacy effect reverses to a recency effect, whereby consumers judge a product's quality more favorably following a weak–strong cue sequence. Process tests suggest that distraction crowds consumers' short-term working memory and inhibits the spontaneous rehearsal and the subsequent recall of the cue presented first in the information sequence.     

Individual differences in television comprehension

Two experiments explored individual differences in memory and comprehension for adults presented information on television. Experiment 1 tested the correlation between comprehension of television and reading with young adults. The ability to comprehend these two forms of media was significantly correlated (r = .69). This finding is contrary to results from our previous study with third and sixth graders (Pezdek, Lehrer, & Simon, 1984). Experiment 2 probed two specific individual differences factors as predictors of television comprehension. The results were that good television comprehenders (1) had higher visual/spatial ability, as assessed by psychometric test performance, and (2) were more likely to utilize an imagery-based strategy in the sentence-picture verification task of Clark and Chase (1972) (e.g., “STAR IS ABOVE PLUS”). These results suggest differences in the comprehension processes that operate on information presented in different forms of media.     

Effects of Psychological Distance and Need for Cognitive Closure on Impression Formation

Based on theoretical and empirical similarities between Construal level theory of psychological distance and the Need for cognitive closure (NFC) theory, it could be hypothesized that psychological distance and NFC represent constructs that overlap to some degree. Since both theories describe judgmental behavior in terms of schematic processing, we hypothesized that primacy effect, a schema-driven phenomenon, is strengthened under the heightened NFC and psychological distance. We tested this hypothesis in an impression formation experiment while manipulating psychological distance and measuring NFC. Low NFC and psychological closeness reflect preference for situationally specific, contextually rich information, and therefore their joint effect resulted in reliance on all available information regardless of their position in a sequence. High NFC and psychological distance produced a preference for clear, schematic, stable knowledge, and therefore weighed first information more, which resulted in the primacy effect.