Gains and losses in action memory.

Enacting action phrases (SPT for subject-performed task) produces better free recall than only learning the phrases verbally (VT for verbal task). A widespread explanation of the enactment effect is based on the distinction between item-specific and relational information. There is widespread agreement that the main reason is the excellent item-specific encoding by enactment. However, there is little direct evidence in the case of free recall. The role of relational information is less clear. We suggest that content-based relational encoding is better in VTs than in SPTs. In three experiments, in which multiple free recall testing used item gains and losses as indices of item-specific and content-based relational encoding, respectively, these assumptions were confirmed. Consistently more gains (indexing better item-specific encoding) and more losses (indexing poorer relational encoding) were observed in SPTs than in VTs (Experiments 1 and 2). Furthermore, it was demonstrated that the content-based relational information underlying losses is not identical with order-relational information (Experiment 2). In Experiment 3, it was shown that an item-specific orienting task for VTs produced an equivalent number of item gains and losses as did the SPT condition.     

Beyond the two-strategy model of skilled spelling: Effects of consistency, grain size, and orthographic redundancy

Most models of spelling assume that people rely on two procedures when engaging in spelling: a lexical look-up procedure that retrieves spellings in their entirety, and a nonlexical procedure that constructs spellings with a set of phoneme-grapheme rules. In the present research, we investigated whether larger sized subsyllabic relationships also play a role in spelling, and how they compare to small-sized phoneme-grapheme relationships. In addition, we investigated whether purely orthographic units can explain some of the variance typically attributed to the mapping between sound and spelling. To do this, we ran five spelling experiments, two using real words and three using nonwords. Results from the experiments showed that there were independent contributions of both phoneme-grapheme and larger sized subsyllabic sound-spelling relationships, although the effect of phoneme-grapheme-sized relationships was always stronger and more reliable than larger sized subsyllabic sound-spelling relationships. Purely orthographic effects were also shown to affect word spelling, but no significant effects were found with nonword spelling. Together, the results support the hypothesis that a major constraint on spelling comes from phoneme-grapheme-sized relationships.     

Axiomatic Theories of Partial Ground I

This is part one of a two-part paper, in which we develop an axiomatic theory of the relation of partial ground. The main novelty of the paper is the of use of a binary ground predicate rather than an operator to formalize ground. This allows us to connect theories of partial ground with axiomatic theories of truth. In this part of the paper, we develop an axiomatization of the relation of partial ground over the truths of arithmetic and show that the theory is a proof-theoretically conservative extension of the theory PT of positive truth. We construct models for the theory and draw some conclusions for the semantics of conceptualist ground.     

Putting a Price tag on Healthy Behavior: The Monetary Value of Sports Participation to Individuals

This study estimates the monetary value of sports and physical activity applying the compensation variation method. While previous studies put a price tag on various health conditions, this study assigns a monetary value to healthy behavior, such as participation in sports and physical activity. Data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (1992–2013) are used for the analysis (n = 191,828). A generalized ordered response model is estimated to take the heterogeneity in the dependent variable, a single-item life satisfaction measure, into account. The results show that females (males) would be willing to forgo between €195 and €840 (€330 and €790) of their monthly net income in order to participate in sports and physical activity several times a year. A higher frequency of participation is associated with higher monetary values: females (males) are willing to forgo between €552 and €1281 (€491 and €1483) of their monthly net income to participate in sports or exercise at least once a month and between €577 and €1471 (€577 and €1662) to participate at least once a week, respectively, compared to not participating at all. Evidently, participation in sports and physical activity improves individuals’ life satisfaction and is of substantial value to individuals. The findings have implications for health economists, policy makers, and the courts. This study contributes to the literature examining the relationship between sports participation and well-being.     

Lack of free choice reveals the cost of multiple-target search within and across feature dimensions

Having to look for multiple targets typically results in switch costs. However, using a gaze-contingent eyetracking paradigm with multiple color-defined targets, we have recently shown that the emergence of switch costs depends on whether observers can choose a target or a target is being imposed upon them. Here, using a similar paradigm, we tested whether these findings generalize to the situation in which targets are specified across different feature dimensions. We instructed participants to simultaneously search for, and then fixate, either of two possible targets presented among distractors. The targets were defined as either two colors, two shapes, or one color and one shape. In one condition, only one of the two targets was available in each display, so that the choice was imposed. In the other condition, both targets would be present in each display, which gave observers free choice over what to search for. Consistent with our earlier findings, switch costs emerged when targets were imposed, whereas no switch costs emerged when target selection was free, irrespective of the dimension in which the targets were defined. The results are consistent with the operation of different modes of control in multiple-target search, with switch costs emerging whenever reactive control is required and being reduced or absent when displays allow for proactive control.