‘Earwitness’ voice recognition: Factors affecting accuracy and impact on jurors

Two studies were conducted examining voice recognition testimony and its impact on jurors. In the first experiment, subjects listened to a tape recording of a brief sales pitch. After a retention interval of either 0, 7 or 14 days, subjects were unexpectedly asked to pick the salesperson's voice out of a five-voice taped lineup. Retention interval did not have a significant effect on hit rates or false alarms. Accuracy and pre-lineup confidence were not significantly correlated, although accuracy was related to post-lineup willingness to testify. In the second experiment, undergraduate subjects were asked to read a summary of a trial, describing a situation similar to that studied in experiment 1; the independent variables were the presence of an earwitness, the gender and confidence of the earwitness, and the retention interval. Only the presence of an earwitness had a significant main effect upon mock jurors' verdicts. However, there was a significant interaction between witness confidence and witness gender when an earwitness identification was presented.     

Strengthening concept learning by repeated testing

The aim of this study was to examine whether repeated testing with feedback benefits learning compared to rereading of introductory psychology key‐concepts in an educational context. The testing effect was examined immediately after practice, after 18 days, and at a five‐week delay in a sample of undergraduate students (n = 83). The results revealed that repeated testing with feedback significantly enhanced learning compared to rereading at all delays, demonstrating that repeated retrieval enhances retention compared to repeated encoding in the short‐ and the long‐term. In addition, the effect of repeated testing was beneficial for students irrespectively of working memory capacity. It is argued that teaching methods involving repeated retrieval are important to consider by the educational system.     

Elementary school retention: An unjustifiable, discriminatory and noxious educational policy

The long and short term correlates of first and second grade retention are examined in relation to the variables of achievement and intelligence over a six year period. The retained and promoted control group were also compared in terms of relevant demographic variables: sex, race, initial intelligence, socioeconomic level of family, father absent, etc. The data led the authors to conclude that retention is an unjustifiable, discriminatory, and noxious educational policy.     

Very long-term retention of a novel

This study investigated the very long-term retention of a full-length novel originally studied as part of a university undergraduate course. One hundred and forty former students completed three tests designed to assess retention of Charles Dickens' Hard Times. Retention intervals ranged from 3 to 39 months. Subjects' responses when they were asked to report their most vivid and enduring memory of the novel were consistent with story grammar models which claim that components of a story which are higher in a hierarchy are remembered better than those lower in the hierarchy. A free recall test of the names and roles of the characters in the novel found that retention of both declined rapidly in the first few months following acquisition, that names were forgotten more quickly than roles, and that retention of both had stabilized above baseline before the longest retention interval. These data are interpreted in terms of a schema account of memory retention, in which retention of schematic knowledge (roles), but not non-schematic knowledge (names) can be mediated by abstract knowledge structures. The results of a fact verification test showed that memory for events of high importance in the novel was better than memory for events of low importance, consistent with models that suggest that texts and stories are represented hierarchically in memory. Confidence ratings also declined over time and showed that subjects generally assessed the accuracy of their responses correctly. The significant predictors of memory for the novel were retention interval and the mark obtained on a coursework essay on Hard Times.     

American undergraduate students' value development during the Great Recession

The Great Recession's influence on American undergraduate students' values was examined, testing Greenfield's and Kasser's theories concerning value development during economic downturns. Study 1 utilised aggregate‐level data to investigate (a) population‐level value changes between the pre‐recession (2004–2006: n = 824,603) and recession freshman cohort (2008–2010: n = 662,262) and (b) overall associations of population‐level values with national economic climates over long‐term periods by correlating unemployment rates and concurrent aggregate‐level values across 1966–2015 (n = 10 million). Study 2 examined individual‐level longitudinal value development from freshman to senior year, and whether the developmental trajectories differed between those who completed undergraduate education before the Great Recession (freshmen in 2002, n = 12,792) versus those who encountered the Great Recession during undergraduate years (freshmen in 2006, n = 13,358). Results suggest American undergraduate students' increased communitarianism (supporting Greenfield) and materialism (supporting Kasser) during the Great Recession. The recession also appears to have slowed university students' development of positive self‐views. Results contribute to the limited literature on the Great Recession's influence on young people's values. They also offer theoretical and practical implications, as values of this privileged group of young adults are important shapers of societal values, decisions, and policies.     

Parent Involvement in Early Intervention for Disadvantaged Children: Does It Matter?

This study investigated the association between parent involvement in early intervention and children's later school competence. Parents (N = 704) of children participating in the Chicago Longitudinal Study were interviewed retrospectively about their school involvement in preschool and kindergarten. Parents reported on the activities in which they participated and their frequency of program participation. Results indicated that even after controlling for family background, the number of activities in which parents participated in preschool and kindergarten was significantly associated with higher reading achievement, with lower rates of grade retention at age 14 (eighth grade), and with fewer years in special education. The frequency of parent involvement was only marginally associated with reading achievement but was associated with lower rates of grade retention and fewer years in special education. A confirmatory analysis indicated that teacher ratings of parent involvement in first and second grade were significantly associated with higher reading achievement in eighth grade, lower grade retention rates, and lower rates of special education placement through eighth grade. Findings support the benefits of parent involvement in early childhood programs.     

Premenstrual Symptoms in Young Japanese Women: Agency, Communion and Lifestyle Habits

This study aimed to examine associations between the traits of agency and communion and the severity of premenstrual symptoms in young Japanese women, considering lifestyle habits. The participants were 512 Japanese female undergraduate students in the Kansai area (mean age?=?18.5?years, SD?=?.9). The participants were assigned a self-administered questionnaire. Multiple regression analyses showed that higher levels in unmitigated agency were positively associated with total scores of premenstrual symptoms, as well as subscales of concentration, behavioral change, water retention, negative affect and arousal. Higher levels in communion were also positively associated with water retention. However, these associations were attenuated when lifestyle habits were taken into account, except for communion, which remained positively associated with water retention. A psychological approach for gender-related traits could be effective in treating premenstrual symptoms.     

Effects of Domain,Retention Interval,and Information Load on Young and Older Adults’ Visuospatial Working Memory

Age-related differences in visuospatial working memory were examined in 69 young adults and 49 older adults exposed to three pairs of tasks. Each pair consisted of one task involving information about the form or appearance of items and another task involving information about item locations. The first pair of tasks manipulated retention interval and required maintaining information about one item. The second pair also manipulated retention interval and required maintaining information about multiple items presented simultaneously. The third pair manipulated the number of sequentially presented items. Analyses of the first two pairs of tasks revealed significant age deficits in working memory for spatial locations but not in working memory for visual features. Notably, there were no age differences in the effect of retention interval on any of the four tasks, suggesting that visuospatial information is lost at similar rates in older and young adults. Analyses of the third pair of tasks revealed that, regardless of domain, increasing the amount of information impaired older adults’ memory performance to a greater extent than young adults’ performance. Thus, the present results suggest differences in basic working memory capacity in both domains, but a lack of age differences in rates of forgetting from working memory, and greater age-related deficits in the spatial domain than in the object domain.     

Pathways of Religious Assimilation: Second‐Generation Asian Americans’ Religious Retention and Religiosity

We explore the religious assimilation of different Asian American second‐generation religious groups by examining their rates of religious retention and levels of religiosity relative to the first generation and the general American population. In general, Asian Americans exhibit a pattern of generational religious decline: the second generation tend to have lower levels of both religious retention and religiosity compared to the immigrant generation. The second generation do not necessarily conform to the religious patterns of the general population. Rather, they follow different trajectories of retention and religiosity depending on the religion. We identify four different pathways of religious change among the second generation, and discuss how racial and religious differences mediate assimilation into American religion.     

Natural Mentoring Relationships and the Adjustment to College among Underrepresented Students

This study investigated associations between natural mentoring relationships and academic performance via psychological distress among underrepresented college students attending an elite predominantly White institution (PWI). Specifically, this study explored whether the quantity of natural mentors possessed upon college entry, the retention of natural mentors across the first year of college, and overall changes in the number of natural mentors possessed during the first year of college predicted improvements in students' semester grade point averages (GPAs) via reductions in psychological distress. Participants in this study included 336 first‐year undergraduate students attending a selective PWI. Students were eligible to participate in this study if they were first‐generation college students, students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, or students from underrepresented racial/ethnic minority groups. Results of this study indicated that a greater number of retained natural mentoring relationships across the first year of college were associated with improvements in students' GPAs via reductions in symptoms of depression from the Fall to Spring semester. The results of this study suggest that institutional efforts to support the maintenance of preexisting mentoring relationships may be an effective approach to promoting the academic success of underrepresented college students during the first year of college.     

The influence of retrieval on retention

Four experiments tested the hypothesis that successful retrieval of an item from memory affects retention only because the retrieval provides an additional presentation of the target item. Two methods of learning paired associates were compared. In the pure study trial (pure ST condition) method, both items of a pair were presented simultaneously for study. In the test trial/study trial (TTST condition) method, subjects attempted to retrieve the response term during a period in which only the stimulus term was present (and the response term of the pair was presented after a 5-sec delay). Final retention of target items was tested with cued-recall tests. In Experiment 1, there was a reliable advantage in final testing for nonsense-syllable/number pairs in the TTST condition over pairs in the pure ST condition. In Experiment 2, the same result was obtained with Eskimo/English word pairs. This benefit of the TTST condition was not apparently different for final retrieval after 5 min or after 24 h. Experiments 3 and 4 ruled out two artifactual explanations of the TTST advantage observed in the first two experiments. Because performing a memory retrieval (TTST condition) led to better performance than pure study (pure ST condition), the results reject the hypothesis that a successful retrieval is beneficial only to the extent that it provides another study experience.     

A PROMISING MEASURE OF SEX BIAS: THE INCIDENTAL MEMORY TASK

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether differences in counselors' retention of information about a female and a male client in a previous study would also be obtained with a non-counselor sample. Two hundred eighteen undergraduate students participated in the present study. The findings indicated similarity between the under-graduates and counselors on measures of retention and question generation. In findings similar to those of the previous study, participants in this study retained less information under the female client conditions, p < .01, a result that indicates a possible negative valuation of female client concerns. The implication of the findings for counselor training is discussed; in particular, the findings support the utility of free-response measures for assessing sex role stereotyping.     

Detached and antagonistic: Pathological personality features and mate retention behaviors

Basic personality features have been found to be associated with a variety of romantic relationship outcomes including the strategies that individuals employ to retain their romantic partners. In the current studies, we were interested in determining whether pathological personality features were associated with mate retention behaviors. We examined the associations between the pathological personality features captured by the PID-5 and mate retention behaviors across two samples (i.e., an undergraduate sample and a community sample). Pathological personality features reflecting negative affect, detachment, and antagonism were associated with mate retention behaviors such that individuals who possessed these features were less likely to provide benefits to their partner and more likely to inflict costs on them. Discussion focuses on the implications of these findings and how they can influence the tactics that individuals employ to maintain their romantic relationships.     

Using tests to enhance 8th grade students' retention of U.S. history facts

Laboratory studies show that retention of information can be powerfully enhanced through testing, but evidence for their utility to promote long‐term retention of course information is limited. We assessed 8th grade students' retention of U.S. history facts. Facts were reviewed after 1 week, 16 weeks or not reviewed at all. Some facts were reviewed by testing (Who assassinated president Abraham Lincoln?) followed by feedback (John Wilkes Booth), while others were re‐studied. Nine months later, all students received a test covering all of the facts. Facts reviewed through testing were retained significantly better than facts reviewed through re‐studying, and nearly twice as well as those given no review. The best retention occurred for facts that were reviewed by testing after a 16‐week time interval. Although the gain in item was numerically small, due to floor effects, these results support the notion that testing can enhance long‐term retention of course knowledge. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effective recruitment of parents into family-focused prevention research: A comparison of two strategies

Abstract

Recent literature highlights the need for more effective recruitment and retention strategies in prevention research. This article reports an investigation of the effectiveness of two recruitment strategies for a family-focused substance abuse prevention study. The first strategy offered prospective participants two points at which they could make a decision about their level of involvement in the research project and required only a limited initial time commitment. The second strategy required an initial commitment to participate in all phases of the project. The investigation was conducted with 208 rural families participating in the pilot phase of a five-year prevention study. There were three primary findings. First, both strategies were effective, yielding higher recruitment rates than would be predicted from relevant literature. Second, the strategy requiring a limited time commitment showed significantly higher rates of recruitment into the pretest, but was associated with significantly lower posttest retention rates. Third, data trends emerged but there were no statistically significant differences between the two recruitment strategy groups across a range of intervention participation indicators.     

The testing effect: The role of feedback and collaboration in a tertiary classroom setting

Successful retrieval on a test compared to just re‐studying material improves long‐term retention—a phenomenon called the ‘testing effect’. This study investigated the role of feedback and collaborative testing on the retention of course material in a tertiary educational setting. Tested material was better retained relative to non‐tested material (testing effect), and feedback facilitated correction of errors. Group testing produced higher performance on the initial, but not final test performance, compared to individual testing. This set of findings suggests that to encourage long‐term retention, educators should utilise individual formative testing with feedback; theoretical implications are also discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of mindfulness-based interventions for health and social care undergraduate students – a systematic review of the literature

Health and social care undergraduate students experience stress due to high workloads and pressure to perform. Consequences include depression and burnout. Mindfulness may be a suitable way to reduce stress in health and social care degree courses. The objective of this systematic review is to identify and critically appraise the literature on the effects of Mindfulness-Based Interventions for health and social care undergraduate students. PubMed, EMBASE, Psych Info, CINAHL, The Cochrane Library and Academic Search Complete were searched from inception to 21st November 2016. Studies that delivered Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, or an intervention modelled closely on these, to health or social care undergraduate students were included. Eleven studies, representing medicine, nursing and psychology students met the inclusion criteria. The most commonly used measurement tools were; the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire and the General Health Questionnaire. Short term benefits relating to stress and mood were reported, despite all but one study condensing the curriculum. Gender and personality emerged as factors likely to affect intervention results. Further research with long-term follow-up is required to definitively conclude that mindfulness is an appropriate intervention to mentally prepare health and social care undergraduate students for their future careers.     

What does it take to have a positive impact on minority students' college retention?

This paper describes the Young Scholars Program (YSP), which seeks to expand the pool of African American and other underrepresented minority youth who aspire to attend college, and to help them meet entrance requirements and successfully obtain a college degree. Quarter-by-quarter data for the first two groups of YSP students entering The Ohio State University were promising. Their retention rates approximated university averages, while comparison groups showed lower levels of retention. It was concluded that the many facets of the Young Scholars Program, as well as the students' positive reputation among family members, peers, and teachers, produced strong motivation, ability, and determination to succeed.     

Does adaptive training work?

People intuitively alter the allocation of study time between items of varying difficulty, and such adaptive learning methods are widely used in education and in commercially available memory training programs. We investigated the effectiveness of a computer‐based adaptive learning system that utilises spacing and repetition effects by presenting difficult items with short gaps to establish fast learning, and easy items with long intervals to optimise long‐term retention. The immediate and delayed effects of adaptive training on cued recall were investigated relative to a control condition of non‐adaptive, random spacing. Adaptive training produced significantly higher immediate and delayed recall rates than random spacing. These results encourage the use of adaptive training in education and rehabilitation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of early grade retention: Effect modification by prior achievement and age

This study examines the effects of early grade retention and different effects according to prior achievement and age. Within a population of children at risk of early retention, we compared the development throughout primary school in mathematics achievement after kindergarten retention, first-grade retention, and continuous promotion. Analyzing data from a large-scale longitudinal study using covariate balancing propensity score weighting, the findings revealed that early grade repeaters would score higher in mathematics if they were promoted each year instead. However, the effects diminished or even disappeared in the long term. Compared to kindergarten retention, first-grade retention was found to be more harmful for the mathematics development of younger children specifically.