Encoding origin of the terminal asymmetry effect in recall

Jones (1976) found that the accuracy of recall of the order in which a series of pictures was seen was dependent upon the way in which recall was cued. For the latter part of a series, sequential position was a more effective cue for the recall of the corresponding picture than the picture was for sequential position. Two experiments reported here (testing altogether 100 subjects) investigated whether this terminal asymmetry effect (TAE) arises at encoding or only at retrieval. It was found that the TAE was affected by the conditions of presentation of the series but not by the post-presentation factors studied.     

APT PC and APT II: Experiment development systems for the IBM PC and Apple II

Systems for creating and running psychology experiments on an Apple II or IBM PC are described. Without programming, psychologists using the APT systems can construct and conduct an experiment, summarize the data, and revise the experiment. The systems are easily used by students but powerful enough to be used by psychologists in their research.     

Commentary: The role of intrapersonal psychological variables in academic school learning

Intellectual abilities may contribute up to 25% of the variance in measures of academic school learning. However, the role of intrapersonal variables other than cognitive ability (personality traits, motivational dynamic factors, transitory emotional states) has usually been considered as fairly trivial. Past research, to the contrary, suggests that under stressful conditions, the relative contribution of such intrapersonal factors may even become predominant in influencing achievement. When analyses are based on change scores rather than single-occasion measures (which include trait contamination variance), the influence of emotional states on learning is shown to be very significant indeed.     

“Level of Aspiration”: Preference for Time Versus Response Feedback and History Effects on the Setting of Personal Performance Standards

Human subjects responded on a computer keyboard and accumulated points according to fixed-ratio (FR) reinforcement schedules. In Experiment 1, subjects responded under a FR 500 schedule. Under baseline conditions satisfying the schedule requirement resulted in counter points and session termination. Subsequently, subjects could (a) choose to have a clock appear on the screen during the interreinforcement interval (IRI) as well as to enter a target time which they would attempt to better during that session, (b) choose to enter a target time or respond under baseline conditions, and (c) enter a target time and choose between having a clock appear throughout or at the end of experimental sessions. In Experiment 2, subjects responded under a FR 500 schedule, entered a target time each session, and could respond during the session to briefly produce either (a) clock feedback, or (b) the number of responses emitted by the subject. In Experiment 3, subjects responded under FR 250, 500, 1000, and 2000 schedule parameters, entered target times and responded for either clock or response feedback. Subjects (a) preferred responding under conditions in which target times were entered to responding under baseline conditions, (b) preferred to have the clock illuminated throughout rather than at the end of experimental sessions, (c) preferred response to clock feedback under all schedule parameters, (d) responded to having equaled or bettered a target time by lowering target time for the subsequent session, and (e) responded to having missed a target time by maintaining the same time during the subsequent session. The results were interpreted within the context of behavior analytic as opposed to more traditional personality theory.

     

Cognitive assessment: A multibehavior-multimethod-multiperspective approach

Clarifying methodological and assessment issues is fundamental to the further development of cognitive-behavioral approaches. The present work examines potential method confounds in several cognitive assessment techniques (e.g., self-statement inventories, postperformance videotape reconstruction) in light of social psychological research on objective self-awareness. On the basis of this analysis, a conceptual framework is proposed to organize research on the assessment of clinical cognition.