Testing the Idea of Distinct Storage Mechanisms in Memory

This paper sets out quantitative foundations for testing the idea that memory is served by two distinct storage mechanisms, a short-term and a separate long-term store, using data from the single-trial free-recall experiment by Murdock and Okada (1970). In single-trial free recall one can observe which word is recalled next and how long that recall takes, but that is all. So justification for two separate stores must turn either on the probabilities of recall, or on the latencies, for particular serial positions in the stimulus list. (a) Nearly one-third of all recalls after the first are successors (Word n+1 immediately following recall of Word n). So recall is dominated, not by absolute serial position (as a short-term store would require), but by position relative to the preceding recall. (b) To a first approximation, all first recalls have the same latency distribution except for Word 1. A common latency distribution is compatible with a single store. An explanation is offered why Word 1 should take longer, in which Word 1 is the second retrieval from a common store. The idea of two separate stores appears to lack experimental support.     

Effects of Directed Thinking on Intentions to Engage in Beneficial Activities: Actions Versus Reasons1

An important application of psychological principles involves increasing intentions to engage in activities that, although admittedly beneficial, are often not initially appealing (e.g., studying, quitting smoking, dieting). The present study tests the utility of directed thinking as a tool for eliciting intentions to engage in such activities. Undergraduate students were directed to think either about the reasons why people should find studying enjoyable or about the actions that people might take to make studying enjoyable. Regardless of whether they thought as individuals or in cooperating dyads, students who thought about actions later reported greater intentions to spend time studying than did students who thought about reasons. The results have both theoretical and practical significance.     

The Effects of Feedback Equivocality on Escalation of Commitment: An Empirical Investigation of Decision Dilemma Theory1

The effects of feedback equivocality on escalation of commitment were examined in a laboratory study. Subjects had multiple opportunities to allocate money to market a software product. During the initial phase, subjects received feedback that was of either low or high equivocality. Half of the subjects in each equivocality level were given a standard by which to judge the feedback. In the second phase, all subjects received negative feedback. Consistent with Bowen's (1987) decision dilemma theory, subjects who received low equivocality feedback did not escalate allocations, and subjects who received high equivocal feedback escalated allocations. The presence of a standard or goal attenuated escalation. These results are consonant with a dynamic, temporally based account of escalation and are discussed in a synthesis of the literatures in behavior analysis, economics, forecasting, and psychology.     

SOMETHING TO OFFEND EVERYONE: TIPLER'S VISION OF IMMORTALITY

Abstract. Frank Tipler's The Physics of Immortality provides abundant cause for intellectual offense—including challenges to physics, to theology, and, seemingly, to common sense. Few philosophical conundrums remain unaddressed. Still, the book is stimulating and well presented.