Modality and phonological similarity effects in serial recall: Does one’s own voice play a role?

Results of two experiments showed that the modality effect in serial recall of word lists is sharply reduced by high interitem phonological similarity and that the extent of this reduction is much the same irrespective of whether the lists are spoken by the subject or the experimenter. These findings contradict an account of the modality effect recently proposed by Richardson (1979), but the data are entirely consistent with the belief that the effect originates in echoic memory.     

Knowledge of one's own responding and the relation of such knowledge to learning: A developmental study

First-, third-, fifth-grade children, and college students (ages 6, 8, 10, and 19 years) acquired a paired-associate list under the study-test procedure to a one error-less trial criterion. In addition, as each pair was presented the individual indicated whether he/she had that pair correct on the immediately preceding trial (postdiction responses). The data were interpreted in terms of a discrimination-utilization hypothesis which postulates that individuals discriminate their own correct and incorrect responses on a given trial and use this information for distributing processing effort on the subsequent trial. Analyses involving the accuracy of postdiction responses, the relation of postdiction accuracy to acquisition, and the consideration of the acquisition data in terms of a two-stage model led to the conclusion that older children and adults may use the discrimination-utilization strategy but younger children tend not to use it, probably because of both mediation and production deficiencies.     

The use of microprocessors in a timeshared computer facility for research,development, and teaching

The use of microprocessors in a timeshared computer facility at the Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, is described for applications in research, development, and teaching. Modes of usage are described, as are the advantages of microprocessor interfaces for on-line experimentation.     

The importance of semantics in auditory representations

The purpose of the present study was to examine the nature of auditory representations by manipulating the semantic and physical relationships between auditory objects. On each trial, listeners heard a group of four simultaneous sounds for 1 sec, followed by 350 msec of noise, and then either the same sounds or three of the same plus a new one. Listeners completed a change-detection task and an object-encoding task. For change detection, listeners made a same-different judgment for the two groups of sounds. Object encoding was measured by presenting probe sounds that either were or were not present in the two groups. In Experiments 1 and 3, changing the target to an object that was acoustically different from but semantically the same as the original target resulted in more errors on both tasks than when the target changed to an acoustically and semantically different object. In Experiment 2, comparison of semantic and acoustic effects demonstrated that acoustics provide a weaker cue than semantics for both change detection and object encoding. The results suggest that listeners rely more on semantic information than on physical detail.)     

Experience and information loss in auditory and visual memory

Recent studies show that recognition memory for sounds is inferior to memory for pictures. Four experiments were conducted to examine the nature of auditory and visual memory. Experiments 1–3 were conducted to evaluate the role of experience in auditory and visual memory. Participants received a study phase with pictures/sounds, followed by a recognition memory test. Participants then completed auditory training with each of the sounds, followed by a second memory test. Despite auditory training in Experiments 1 and 2, visual memory was superior to auditory memory. In Experiment 3, we found that it is possible to improve auditory memory, but only after 3 days of specific auditory training and 3 days of visual memory decay. We examined the time course of information loss in auditory and visual memory in Experiment 4 and found a trade-off between visual and auditory recognition memory: Visual memory appears to have a larger capacity, while auditory memory is more enduring. Our results indicate that visual and auditory memory are inherently different memory systems and that differences in visual and auditory recognition memory performance may be due to the different amounts of experience with visual and auditory information, as well as structurally different neural circuitry specialized for information retention.     

Religiosity and Subjective Well-Being Among Old People: Evidence from a Transitional Country

Applied Research in Quality of Life - Using data from the 2011 Vietnam National Aging Survey, we examined whether religion is associated with subjective well-being (i.e. happiness or life...     

Effects of Interspersing Briefer Mathematics Problems on Assignment Choice in Students with Learning Disabilities

Within- and between-series designs were combined and used to evaluate the effects of interspersing briefer math problems (i.e., one-digit by one-digit multiplication, 1 × 1) with more time-consuming problems (i.e., two-digit by one-digit multiplication, 2 × 1) on time allocation to one of two concurrent computer-delivered mathematics computation assignments in four high school students with specific learning disabilities in mathematics. The computer presented students with a choice of 2 × 1 problems with 1 × 1 problems interspersed every third problem (i.e., experimental assignment) or 2 × 1 problems without interspersal (i.e., control assignment). Visual and statistical analysis showed that students allocated a greater percentage of their time to the interspersal assignments. These results support previous research on the matching law and problem completion rates and suggest that students' preference for assignments can be improved through the interspersal technique. Discussion focuses on future research and applied educational implications for curricula construction and task sequencing.     

The Kawa River Model: Applying Theory to Develop Interventions for Combat and Operational Stress Control

This article proposes the implementation of the occupational therapy Kawa (Japanese for river) model to promote “culturally relevant” client-centered care for combat and operational stress control services provided in the military context. Currently, the occupational therapy literature lacks a culturally sensitive approach to address the military service members’ experiences with combat and operational stress. A review of the Kawa model features are provided within a case study for a military service member affected by combat and operational stress. This theoretical article offers a pragmatic method for infusing occupational therapy theory to address the cultural aspects of military service members in recovery.