Amnesia,rehearsal, and temporal distinctiveness models of recall

Classical amnesia involves selective memory impairment for temporally distant items in free recall (impaired primacy) together with relative preservation of memory for recency items. This abnormal serial position curve is traditionally taken as evidence for a distinction between different memory processes, with amnesia being associated with selectively impaired long-term memory. However recent accounts of normal serial position curves have emphasized the importance of rehearsal processes in giving rise to primacy effects and have suggested that a single temporal distinctiveness mechanism can account for both primacy and recency effects when rehearsal is considered. Here we explore the pattern of strategic rehearsal in a patient with very severe amnesia. When the patient’s rehearsal pattern is taken into account, a temporal distinctiveness model can account for the serial position curve in both amnesic and control free recall. The results are taken as consistent with temporal distinctiveness models of free recall, and they motivate an emphasis on rehearsal patterns in understanding amnesic deficits in free recall.     

The phonological loop unmasked? A comment on the evidence for a "perceptual-gestural" alternative

Jones et al. (Jones, Hughes, & Macken, 2006; Jones, Macken, & Nicholls, 2004) identify the interaction between phonological similarity, articulatory suppression, and stimulus presentation mode in verbal short-term memory as potentially providing important support for the phonological loop hypothesis. They find such an interaction but attribute it to "perceptual organization masquerading as phonological storage". We present data using shorter letter sequences and find clear evidence of the interaction predicted by the phonological loop hypothesis, which, unlike the evidence of Jones et al., is not limited to recency, and which provides continued support for the phonological loop hypothesis.     

The effect of verbal and graphic feedback on the data-recording behavior of direct care trainers

This study investigated the effects of individually delivered verbal and graphic (process) feedback alone and in combination with praise on the data-recording behavior of 12 direct-care trainers (DCTs) who recorded their reinforcer deliveries contingent on their clients' appropriate behavior. Also, the study examined the effect of the time of feedback delivery on subsequent DCT data-recording behavior. Correspondence checks were conducted and a three-phase multiple condition experimental design was implemented. All feedback conditions produced a difference in data-recording behavior. Time of delivery of feedback also appeared to have an effect on the amount of data recorded. ©1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social aggression and power relations among preschool children

Social agonism and dominance relations were assessed in two preschool groups. An average of 30 hours of observational data was obtained for each group during free-play over a six-week period. A Social Agonism Inventory describing specific initiation and response behaviors during episodes of social conflict was used to code agonistic activity. Dyadic interactions were examined to determine whether the resolution of agonistic interactions conformed to a linear model of social dominance. Although there were group differences in the relative frequency of different forms of conflict, systematic comparison of agonistic wins and losses re vealed similarly rigid and linear dominance structures at both preschools. The relation of aggression and dominance was empirically examined by comparing the initiation and receipt of agonism by high vs low dominance status children. Higher dominance status children engaged in more agonistic interactions, but a majority of these interactions were directed toward other high-ranking group members.     

A randomized clinical trial of a population- and transtheoretical model-based stress-management intervention.

Stress has been associated with a variety of chronic and acute conditions and with higher use of health care services. This research reports on 18-month outcomes of a randomized clinical trial of a stress-management program based on the transtheoretical model (TTM; J. O. Prochaska & C. C. DiClemente, 1986). A national sample of 1,085 individuals participated (age range = 18-91 years, M = 55.33; 68.9% female, 31.1% male; 84.8% Caucasian; 15.2% non-Caucasian). Both the treatment and control groups received assessments at 0, 6, 12, and 18 months. In addition to the assessments, the treatment group received 3 individualized reports (0, 3, 6 months) and a manual. The 18-month assessment was completed by 778 individuals (72%). A random effects model indicated that participants completing the study in the treatment group had significantly more individuals reporting effective stress management at follow-up time points than did completers in the control group. Results also indicate that the intervention had significant effects on stress, depression, and specific stress-management behaviors. Results provide evidence for the effectiveness of this TTM population-based stress-management intervention.