Priming of semantic autobiographical knowledge: a case study of retrograde amnesia

The case of a 36-year-old man who suffers dense retrograde and anterograde amnesia as a result of closed-head injury that caused extensive damage to his left frontal-parietal and right parieto-occipital lobes is described. Patient K.C. has normal intelligence and relatively well-preserved perceptual, linguistic, short-term memory, and reasoning abilities. He possesses some fragmentary general knowledge about his autobiographical past, but he does not remember a single personal event or happening from any time of his life. He has some preserved expert knowledge related to the work he did for 3 years before the onset of amnesia, although he has no personal recollections from that period. Some features of K.C.'s retrograde amnesia can be interpreted in terms of the distinction between episodic and semantic memory, and in terms of the distinction between episodic and semantic autobiographical knowledge. K.C.'s semantic knowledge, but not his episodic knowledge, showed progressive improvement, or priming, in the course of the investigation.     

Individual differences in current events knowledge: Contributions of ability,personality, and interests

What accounts for individual differences in the sort of knowledge that people may draw on in everyday cognitive tasks, such as deciding whom to vote for in a presidential election, how to invest money in the stock market, or what team to bet on in a friendly wager? In a large sample of undergraduate students, we investigated correlates of individual differences in recently acquired knowledge of current events in domains such as politics, business, and sports. Structural equation modeling revealed two predictive pathways: one involving cognitive ability factors and the other involving two major nonability factors (personality and interests). The results of this study add to what is known about the sources of individual differences in knowledge and are interpreted in the context of theoretical conceptions of adult intelligence that emphasize the centrality and importance of knowledge (e.g., Ackerman, 1996; Cattell, 1971).     

The development of metamemory monitoring during retrieval: the case of memory strength and memory absence

This research examined the development of the ability to monitor memory strength and memory absence at retrieval. In two experiments, 7-year-olds, 10-year-olds, and adults enacted and imagined enacting a series of bizarre and common actions. Two weeks later, they completed a memory test in which they were asked to determine whether each action had been enacted, had been imagined, or was novel and to provide a confidence judgment for each response. Results showed that participants across age groups successfully monitored differences in strength between memories for enacted actions and memories for imagined actions. However, compared with 10-year-olds and adults, 7-year-olds exhibited deficits in monitoring of differences in memory strength among imagined actions as well as deficits in monitoring memory absence. Results underscore metamemory developments that have important implications for memory accuracy.     

Undifferentiation of somatic responses to emotions in a case of functional amnesia

The term functional amnesia (FA) has been proposed for cases of memory impairment presenting with severe retrograde amnesia in the absence of cerebral injury or history of psychiatric disturbance. Emotional flattening has often been reported alongside FA, however the mechanism of such a modification is unknown. This study aimed to explore the emotional processing in a rare case of a patient with FA complaining of severe emotional flattening. We presented ecological dynamic video stimuli conveying strong peaceful and fearful emotions to the patient and 13 controls. We then explored their emotional responses considering both conscious emotional judgements and automatic psychophysiological responses (skin conductance) and facial muscular activity (corrugator supercilii). Both patient P.P. and controls perfectly recognized the emotions conveyed by the films. However, P.P. failed to show an increased skin conductance and corrugator activity as found in controls during fearful film extracts compared with peaceful extracts. Taken together, these finding demonstrate the presence of an emotional deficit, characterized by a failure to generate appropriate somatic responses to positive and negative stimuli. Although this altered somatic processing did not interfere with PP's explicit recognition of emotion, it modified his emotional experience, thereby constituting a possible explanation for his emotional flattening. This study therefore suggests that FA is not limited to a mnemonic impairment, but is a more complex disorder, involving also the processing of emotionally loaded experiences.     

Personal memories for remote historical events: accuracy and clarity of flashbulb memories related to World War II

One hundred forty-five Danes between 72 and 89 years of age were asked for their memories of their reception of the news of the Danish occupation (April 1940) and liberation (May 1945) and for their most negative and most positive personal memories from World War II. Almost all reported memories for the invasion and liberation. Their answers to factual questions (e.g., the weather) were corroborated against objective records and compared with answers from a younger control group. The older participants were far more accurate than what could be predicted on the basis of results from test-retest studies using short delays. The "permastore" metaphor (Bahrick, 1984) provides a possible interpretation of this discrepancy. Participants with reported ties to the resistance movement had more vivid, detailed, and accurate memories than did participants without such ties. Ratings of surprise and consequentiality were unrelated to the accuracy and clarity of the memories.     

The role of semantic knowledge in retrieval from episodic long-term memories: Implications for a model of retrieval

Two experiments were conducted, using a paired-associate recall reaction time paradigm, to assess the role semantic knowledge plays in retrieval of long-term episodic memories. In Experiment I, word frequency and meaningfulness were manipulated; high-frequency stimuli led to significantly longer reaction times, while meaningfulness had no significant effect. In Experiment II, the role of the distribution of preexperimental associates of the stimulus was further investigated by comparing retrieval time when the stimulus had either a high- or low-strength primary associate; the former resulted in longer reaction times. The implications of these results for a model of retrieval were discussed. Exhaustive search models were found inadequate, but viable parallel and serial self-terminating models were developed. In both of these models, retrieval time is a function of strength of the correct associate, relative to total strength of a restricted set of semantic associates of the stimulus.     

Neurogenesis interferes with the retrieval of remote memories: Forgetting in neurocomputational terms

In contrast to models and theories that relate adult neurogenesis with the processes of learning and memory, almost no solid hypotheses have been formulated that involve a possible neurocomputational influence of adult neurogenesis on forgetting. Based on data from a previous study that implemented a simple but complete model of the main hippocampal circuitry (Weisz & Argibay, 2009), we now test this model under different situations to better study the case of remote memories. The results of this work show that following neurogenesis, the new, ongoing memories in the hippocampus are better retained than when no neurogenesis occurs at all, while the older memories are affected (to a lesser extent) by a special type of interference that is different from interference that occurs with an increasing number of memories per se. This work adds a new point of analysis in support of the interference view that might lead to the forgetting of memories in the hippocampus as they are transferred to neocortex for long-term storage, consistent with the Complementary Learning Systems models of system-level consolidation. Attention should be directed to the specific causes of interference; the results of this work signal a type of distortion of remote memories that is produced by the birth and the growth of new processing units, which results in a subtly impoverished retrieval as new neurons become active. The proposals of this model fit well with some empirical findings that are related to the issue. In the future, as new evidence emerges, we believe that this biological process, which is largely related to learning and memory, will also help to shape our ideas about normal forgetting and its possible contributions to system consolidation.     

Group status is related to group prototypicality in the absence of social identity concerns

Based on self-categorization theory, group status should be positively related to group prototypicality when the relevant superordinate category is positively valued. In this case, high-status groups should be perceived to be more prototypical than low-status groups even in the absence of concerns about maintaining a positive social identity. To test this hypothesis, a minimal group study was conducted in which participants (N = 139) did not belong to any of the groups involved. Consistent with predictions, participants perceived high-status groups to be significantly more prototypical than low-status groups. Consistent with self-categorization theory's cognitive analysis, these results demonstrate that the relation between group status and group prototypicality is a relatively basic and pervasive effect that does not depend on social identity motives.     

Age, ability, and the role of prior knowledge on the acquisition of new domain knowledge: promising results in a real-world learning environment

Prior knowledge, fluid intelligence (Gf), and crystallized intelligence (Gc) were investigated as predictors of learning new information about cardiovascular disease and xerography with a sample of 199 adults (19 to 68 years). The learning environment included a laboratory multimedia presentation (high-constraint-maximal effort), and a self-directed at-home study component (low-constraint-typical performance). Results indicated that prior knowledge and ability were important predictors of knowledge acquisition for learning. Gc was directly related to learning from the video for both domains. Because the trajectory of Gc stays relatively stable throughout the life span, these findings provide a more optimistic perspective on the relationship between aging and learning than that offered by theories that focus on the role of fluid abilities in learning.     

Absorbed in thought: the effect of mind wandering on the processing of relevant and irrelevant events

This study used event-related potentials to explore whether mind wandering (task-unrelated thought, or TUT) emerges through general problems in distraction, deficits of task-relevant processing (the executive-function view), or a general reduction in attention to external events regardless of their relevance (the decoupling hypothesis). Twenty-five participants performed a visual oddball task, in which they were required to differentiate between a rare target stimulus (to measure task-relevant processes), a rare novel stimulus (to measure distractor processing), and a frequent nontarget stimulus. TUT was measured immediately following task performance using a validated retrospective measure. High levels of TUT were associated with a reduction in cortical processing of task-relevant events and distractor stimuli. These data contradict the suggestion that mind wandering is associated with distraction problems or specific deficits in task-relevant processes. Instead, the data are consistent with the decoupling hypothesis: that TUT dampens the processing of sensory information irrespective of that information's task relevance.     

Rotating objects to recognize them: A case study on the role of viewpoint dependency in the recognition of three-dimensional objects

Successful object recognition is essential for finding food, identifying kin, and avoiding danger, as well as many other adaptive behaviors. To accomplish this feat, the visual system must reconstruct 3-D interpretations from 2-D “snapshots” falling on the retina. Theories of recognition address this process by focusing on the question of how object representations are encoded with respect to viewpoint. Although empirical evidence has been equivocal on this question, a growing body of surprising results, including those obtained in the experiments presented in this case study, indicates that recognition is often viewpoint dependent. Such findings reveal a prominent role for viewpointdependent mechanisms and provide support for themultiple-views approach, in which objects are encoded as a set of view-specific representations that are matched to percepts using normalization procedures.     

Understanding inference as a source of knowledge: children's ability to evaluate the certainty of deduction, perception, and guessing

Three experiments investigated children's understanding of inference as a source of knowledge. Children observed a puppet make a statement about the color of one of two hidden toys after the puppet (a) looked directly at the toy (looking), (b) looked at the other toy (inference), or (c) looked at neither toy (guessing). Most 4-, 5-, and 6-year-olds did not rate the puppet as being more certain of the toy's color after the puppet looked directly at it or inferred its color than they did after the puppet guessed its color. Most 8 and 9-year-olds distinguished inference and looking from guessing. The tendency to explain the puppet's knowledge by referring to inference increased with age. Children who referred to inference in their explanations were more likely to judge deductive inference as more certain than guessing.     

Nuanced aesthetic emotions: emotion differentiation is related to knowledge of the arts and curiosity

The ability to distinguish between emotions is considered indicative of well-being, but does emotion differentiation (ED) in an aesthetic context also reflect deeper and more knowledgeable aesthetic experiences? Here we examine whether positive and negative ED in response to artistic stimuli reflects higher fluency in an aesthetic domain. Particularly, we test whether knowledge of the arts and curiosity are associated with more fine-grained positive and negative aesthetic experiences. A sample of 214 people rated their positive and negative feelings in response to various artworks including positive and negative themes. Positive ED was associated with the embracing sub-trait of curiosity that reflects engagement and enjoyment of novelty and complexity, but was unrelated to artistic knowledge and perceived comprehension. Negative ED was associated with higher curiosity and particularly more knowledge of the arts. This relationship was mediated by appraised comprehension suggesting that deeper engagement with art, by those with more art knowledge, is associated with more fine-grained emotional experiences. This finding extends ED beyond well-being research and suggests that more nuanced emotional experiences are more likely for those with expertise in the arts and motivation for exploration.     

Increasing confidence in remote autobiographical memory and general knowledge: extensions of the revelation effect

In recognition tests, items presented in unusual ways (e.g., degraded, revealed in stages, or presented as anagrams) are often judged to be old more than are intact items. This revelation effect has been observed only in episodic judgments about the occurrence or frequency of relatively recent events. The present work extends the boundary conditions of this effect. In three experiments, subjects unscrambled anagrams in the context of answering questions about their childhood (e.g., broke a dwniwo playing ball) or while answering questions pertaining to world knowledge (e.g.,fastest animal-elpraod). In each case, a revelation effect was observed: Solving an anagram increased confidence in remote autobiographical memories and in memory for world facts. These results contradict claims that the effect is an episodic memory phenomenon and challenge existing explanations of the revelation effect.     

The onset of childhood amnesia in childhood: A prospective investigation of the course and determinants of forgetting of early-life events

The present research was an examination of the onset of childhood amnesia and how it relates to maternal narrative style, an important determinant of autobiographical memory development. Children and their mothers discussed unique events when the children were 3 years of age. Different subgroups of children were tested for recall of the events at ages 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 years. At the later session they were interviewed by an experimenter about the events discussed 2 to 6 years previously with their mothers (early-life events). Children aged 5, 6, and 7 remembered 60% or more of the early-life events. In contrast, children aged 8 and 9 years remembered fewer than 40% of the early-life events. Overall maternal narrative style predicted children's contributions to mother–child conversations at age 3 years; it did not have cross-lagged relations to memory for early-life events at ages 5 to 9 years. Maternal deflections of the conversational turn to the child predicted the amount of information children later reported about the early-life events. The findings have implications for our understanding of the onset of childhood amnesia and the achievement of an adult-like distribution of memories in the school years. They highlight the importance of forgetting processes in explanations of the amnesia.     

The micro-politics of identity formation in the workplace: The case of a knowledge intensive firm

Summary This essay has been by necessity a gloss of a complex look at the relations of power, control, and personal identity construction in a workplace. Features of the nature of the work process combine with social strategies to construct a reproductive self-referential system. Corporate organizations are central institutions in contemporary life; they make developmental decisions for individuals and for society as a whole. While they are in this sense political to the core, we have not done enough to understand how this politics works or to explore its relation to people in a democratic society. Using a phenomenologically-based communication analysis enables a sensitive analysis of the multiple forms of power and domination as they exist in corporate sites. Although I have given only an outline of one case study here, this example suggests that phenomenologically-based projects can show harmful and unwarranted control, and can be a first step to fostering corporate practices that lead to decisions which are less wasteful of resources and more fully accomplish the goals of democratic society.Funding for the research project from which the case study was derived was provided by the Rickart Malmsten Foundation (Sweden).     

Soft constraints in interactive behavior: the case of ignoring perfect knowledge in-the-world for imperfect knowledge in-the-head

Constraints and dependencies among the elements of embodied cognition form patterns or microstrategies of interactive behavior. Hard constraints determine which microstrategies are possible. Soft constraints determine which of the possible microstrategies are most likely to be selected. When selection is non-deliberate or automatic the least effort microstrategy is chosen. In calculating the effort required to execute a microstrategy each of the three types of operations, memory retrieval, perception, and action, are given equal weight; that is, perceptual-motor activity does not have a privileged status with respect to memory. Soft constraints can work contrary to the designer’s intentions by making the access of perfect knowledge in-the-world more effortful than the access of imperfect knowledge in-the-head. These implications of soft constraints are tested in two experiments. In experiment 1 we varied the perceptual-motor effort of accessing knowledge in-the-world as well as the effort of retrieving items from memory. In experiment 2 we replicated one of the experiment 1 conditions to collect eye movement data. The results suggest that milliseconds matter. Soft constraints lead to a reliance on knowledge in-the-head even when the absolute difference in perceptual-motor versus memory retrieval effort is small, and even when relying on memory leads to a higher error rate and lower performance. We discuss the implications of soft constraints for routine interactive behavior, accounts of embodied cognition, and tool and interface design.     

Limits on the role of retrieval cues in memory for actions: Enactment effects in the absence of object cues in the environment

Verb-object phrases (open the umbrella, knock on the table) are usually remembered better if they have been enacted during study (also called subject-performed tasks) than if they have merely been learned verbally (verbal tasks). This enactment effect is particularly pronounced for phrases for which the objects (table) are present as cues in the study and test contexts. In previous studies with retrieval cues for some phrases, the enactment effect in free recall for the other phrases has been surprisingly small or even nonexistent. The present study tested whether the often replicated enactment effect in free recall can be found if none of the phrases contains context cues. In Experiment 1, we tested, and corroborated, the suppression hypothesis: The enactment effect for a given type of phrase (marker phrases) is modified by the presence or absence of cues for the other phrases in the list (experimental phrases). Experiments 2 and 3 replicated the enactment effect for phrases without cues. Experiment 2 also showed that the presence of cues either at study or at test is sufficient for obtaining a suppression effect, and Experiment 3 showed that the enactment effect may disappear altogether if retrieval cues are very salient.