Recall criterion does not affect recall level or hypermnesia: A puzzle for generate/recognize theories

Subjects studied a mixed list of 70 words that varied in imagery value and then received three successive tests. Also varied were instructions given to subjects prior to list presentation (imagery or semantic rehearsal) and the type of recall test (standard free recall, an uninhibited-recall procedure in which subjects were encouraged to free associate and to guess while recalling the list, and a forced-recall condition in which they were also told to write a large number of responses to fill the allotted spaces). Recall improved across the three tests in all conditions, but the improvement was greater for high-than for low-imagery words. In addition, hypermnesia (the improved recall across tests) was shown to occur following semantic rehearsal instructions as well as imagery instructions and to occur with low-imagery words, contrary to the imagery hypothesis of the effect. Most importantly, the large variation in recall criterion produced by manipulating instructions at test (as measured by intrusions) did not affect the overall level of correct recall or the magnitude of improvements across tests. Apparently, the assumption of generate-recognize theories that people generate much more information in free recall than they produce (due to a stringent criterion for recognition of the generated material) is false.     

Short- and long-term effects of marital disruption on children

The short- and long-term (5 years later) effects of parental marital disruption on the psychological adjustment of children were examined. A representative community sample of urban families (N = 1,034) in which 25-50% had experienced marital disruption constituted the sample. The effect of the presence and type of father figure in the home on children's adjustment, controlling for ethnic group and social class, was evaluated with respect to measures of psychological symptomatology (based on mother's report). Significant effects of the father figure variable on the dimensions measuring Noncompulsivity and Delinquency were found at both time periods. Children with natural fathers showed the least pathology on the Delinquency factor and those with surrogate fathers demonstrated the most disordered behavior on the Noncompulsivity factor. These findings complement previous research showing stability of antisocial behavior over time. Implications for preventive interventions and future research are discussed.     

The effect of cognitive reappraisal on the emotional memory trade-off

Emotional information is often remembered better than neutral information, but this enhancement can come at the cost of memory for non-emotional stimuli presented alongside emotionally salient items. Two encoding-related factors have been proposed to influence the magnitude of this trade-off: The intensity of the affective response to the scenes (which increases the trade-off) and the cognitive control exerted to process the scenes (which decreases the trade-off). The present study examined the relative importance of these two factors by assessing the effect of cognitive reappraisal on the magnitude of the trade-off effect. Cognitive reappraisal refers to the implementation of cognitive strategies to assist a person in changing the intensity of their response to an experience. Thus, reappraisal provides a way to assess both of the factors that are important for the elicitation of the trade-off. The results revealed that when participants were asked to view the scenes, without cognitive reappraisal, a robust memory trade-off occurred. But, when participants were asked to either heighten or decrease their emotional reactions via reappraisal, there was a reduction in the magnitude of the trade-off. These results suggest that the cognitive process of reappraising the scenes is sufficient to reduce the trade-off effect, even when such processing leads to an intensified affective response.