Recognition memory: One-component strength functions In the “short-term to long-term transition region”

Experimental manipulationofthe upper bound on the retention interval (30 sec, with average duration of 11 sec, vs. 2 min, with average duration of 18 sec) failed to produce evidence for independent adjustment of initial long-term and short-term storage strengths. Very accurate strength functions of retention time were obtained; these were fitted equally well by a two-component equation and a one-componentequation derived from a theory postulating sequential employment of an active attentional buffer and a one-trace passive storage system. The latter theory appears to be capable of accounting for both post-attentional and two-phase experimental strength data, using fewer free parameters than strength theories which postulate the simultaneous existence of short-term and long-term traces. Other arguments for two traces are also discussed In relation to the postulate of a single post-attentional trace.     

On the independence of positive and negative affect within hour-to-hour experience

This research investigates the hypothesis that the rates of positive and negative affect in a person's life are independent. Whereas prior research on this issue has relied upon people's recollections, a source of information subject to distortion, this research employs reports obtained from immediate experience. Members of an adolescent and an adult sample carried electronic pagers for 1 week and filled out reports on their immediate affective states upon receipt of signals sent to them at random times. The frequencies of positive and negative affective states for each person were then computed from this pool of time samples. The findings reveal strong internal consistency in each person's rates of positive and negative affect. However, congruent with the independence hypothesis, these frequency rates of positive and negative affect were not correlated with each other. The findings dispel the possibility that the results of prior research were affected by distortions of recollection, and they suggest that the occurrence of positive and negative affect in a person's life are independent, not only from week to week, but also from day to day and hour to hour.This research was carried out with support from the Psychiatric Research Fund of Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center. The author wishes to express his appreciation to Norman Bradburn, Mark Freeman, Nancy Bradney, Randy Larsen, and Ed Diener for comments on an earlier draft of this paper. The author is indebted to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Ronald Graef for use of the data from the adult sample.     

The structure and correlates of self-reported symptoms in 11-year-old children

Self-reports of DSM-III symptomatology were obtained from 792 11-year-old children using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC). We report results concerning 13 subscales derived from the DISC. Factor-analysis of the subscales suggested a broad distinction between externalizing and internalizing disorder for boys' self-report. For girls, two separate internalizing factors representing anxiety and depression emerged. We also found sex differences in correlates of self-reported disorder. Finally, we examined agreement between child and parent and teacher reports. Overall, agreement was relatively low, although somewhat higher for child-parent than for child-teacher.The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit is supported by the Medical Research Council of New Zealand and the Departments of Education and Health, and involves several departments of the University of Otago. Much of the data are gathered by voluntary workers from the Dunedin community. The authors are indebted to the many people whose contributions make this ongoing study possible.     

Low-cost microcomputer networking: How to get high throughput on a low budget

A very low-cost, high-throughput laboratory data acquisition and experiment control system may be configured by using a star network architecture with a low-cost microcomputer as network controller and one or more microprocessor-based single-board controllers as satellites. A network of this type, using Apple II microcomputer ($1,500 with 48K RAM and one minidiskette drive) as main node and up to seven KIM-1 microcontrollers ($159 each) as satellites is described, and its development is discussed in detail.     

Switching time between overt and covert speech: Generative attention

Four experiments investigated a new phenomenon: the existence of a very large switching time effect that occurs from rapidly alternating between overt and covert (mouthed) speech. This is referred to as an intensity switching effect, and the time taken for each switch is, in itself, long enough for a spoken or mouthed character (letter or digit) to be produced. In Experiments 1 and 2, the intensity switching effect was shown to be different from the switching that occurs between categories of materials (letters and digits) because it is both much larger and much more resistant to practice effects. The intensity switching effect was also shown to be distinct from a memory load effect, since it holds even for perceptually available lists. In Experiments 3 and 4, the issue of a peripheral vs. a central origin of intensity switching was addressed. Evidence was found for a central origin. In addition, two models -of response intensity representation were contrasted: a symbolic or digital model, with intensity altered by parameter substitution, and an analog model, with intensity represented by a moving pointer on an intensity continuum. The results supported the symbolic model. It is concluded that the intensity switching effect is a measure of control processes at work in altering the intensity parameters of the vocal response system.     

A watched pot sometimes boils: a study of duration experience

The ‘watched pot’ phenomenon — the lengthening of duration experience when one is attentively and perhaps impatiently waiting for some event to occur — was studied in three experiments. In them, each observer attended for a duration of 270 sec to a liquid-containing beaker on an electrical burner. Observers who were told that the experiment concerned time perception (prospective paradigm) reproduced the duration as longer than those told that it concerned visual perception (retrospective paradigm). In the prospective paradigm, reproductions were longer if the liquid did not boil than if it did, and an interruption (task-unrelated questioning) shortened reproductions if the liquid did not boil but had no effect if it did. In the retrospective paradigm, if there was boiling or questioning or both, reproductions were longer than if there was neither. Results have implications for hypotheses about duration experience.     

On choosing an inexpensive microcomputer for the experimental psychology laboratory

This report compares currently available. Inexpensive (minimum stand-alone disk-based con-figuration under $2,000), mass-produced microcomputers from the viewpoint of their applicability as experiment control, stimulus generation, and data collection devices for the experimental psychology laboratory.     

Summation of response rates to discriminative stimuli associated with qualitatively different reinforcers

In Experiment I, a four-ply multiple schedule was used to study the effects on rate of responding in rats of food, water, and food and/or water reinforcement under different deprivation conditions. Food and water were associated separately with different stimuli, the combination of which was associated with food and water together, or with food or water randomly. Rates in the presence of the combined stimuli were consistently intermediate to the rates generated by the separate stimuli, a result seemingly incompatible with a "summation" hypothesis. Experiment II was a simplified systematic replication of Experiment I, verifying the major findings.     

Feature saliency and recognition memory for schematic faces

Memory for schematic faces was studied using a recognition memory paradigm. Ss indicated whether two faces, separated by delays of 6, 12, or 18 sec, were the same or different. Theoretical interest centered on the effects of component feature saliency on response bias and detectability. The main results were that there were fewer misses and more false alarms on the more salient features. Analysis showed that the main effect of feature saliency was on response bias, not detectability.