Source misattributions may increase the accuracy of source judgments

Misattribution of remembered information from one source to another is commonly associated with false memories, but we demonstrate that it also may underlie memories that accord with past events. Participants imagined drawings of objects in four different locations. For each, a drawing of a similarly shaped object was seen in the same location, a different location, or not seen. When tested on memory for objects' origin (seen/imagined) and location, more false "seen" responses, but also more correct location responses, were given to imagined objects if a similar object had been seen, versus not seen, in the same location. We argue that misattribution of feature information (e.g., shape, location) from seen objects to similar imagined ones increased false memories of seeing objects but also increased correct location memories, provided the misattributed location matched the imagined objects' location. Thus, consistent with the source-monitoring framework, imperfect source-attribution processes underlie false and true memories.     

Analogical reasoning in working memory: Resources shared among relational integration,interference resolution,and maintenance

We report a series of experiments using a pictorial analogy task designed to manipulate relational integration, interference resolution, and active maintenance simultaneously. The difficulty of the problems was varied in terms of the number of relations to be integrated, the need for interference resolution, and the duration of maintenance required to correctly solve the analogy. The participants showed decreases in performance when integrating multiple relations, as compared with a single relation, and when interference resolution was required in solving the analogy. When the participants were required to integrate multiple relations while simultaneously engaged in interference resolution, performance was worse, as compared with problems that incorporated either of these features alone. Maintenance of information across delays in the range of 1-4.5 sec led to greater decrements in visual memory, as compared with analogical reasoning. Misleading information caused interference when it had been necessarily attended to and maintained in working memory and, hence, had to be actively suppressed. However, sources of conflict within information that had not been attended to or encoded into working memory did not interfere with the ongoing controlled information processing required for relational integration. The findings provide evidence that relational integration and interference resolution depend on shared cognitive resources in working memory during analogical reasoning.     

The effect of the frequencies of three consecutive content words on eye movements during reading

The frequencies of three consecutive content words were simultaneously varied in the first sentence of a two-sentence passage. Various eye movement measures of first-pass processing (first-fixation duration, gaze duration, and go-past time) all revealed frequency effects for all three words. The size of the effect did not differ significantly across the three words on either first-fixation duration or gaze duration, but it increased markedly for go-past time from the first to the second word, possibly indicating an accumulation of the difficulty of processing. In addition, there was a delayed effect of the frequency manipulation: For the sentences with three low-frequency words, processing at the beginning of the next (second) sentence was lengthened. (The beginning of the second sentence was always at least four words from the last of the frequency-manipulated words.) These findings indicate that word frequency has effects beyond initial lexical access in reading. A list of the experimental items and supplemental analyses may be downloaded from www.psychonomic.org/archive.     

The time course of plausibility effects on eye movements in reading: evidence from noun-noun compounds

Readers' eye movements were monitored as they read sentences containing noun-noun compounds that varied in frequency (e.g., elevator mechanic, mountain lion). The left constituent of the compound was either plausible or implausible as a head noun at the point at which it appeared, whereas the compound as a whole was always plausible. When the head noun analysis of the left constituent was implausible, reading times on this word were inflated, beginning with the first fixation. This finding is consistent with previous demonstrations of very rapid effects of plausibility on eye movements. Compound frequency did not modulate the plausibility effect, and all disruption was resolved by the time readers' eyes moved to the next word. These findings suggest (contra Kennison, 2005) that the parser initially analyzes a singular noun as a head instead of a modifier. In addition, the findings confirm that the very rapid effect of plausibility on eye movements is not due to strategic factors, because in the present experiment, unlike in previous demonstrations, this effect appeared in sentences that were globally plausible.     

Contrast adaptation implies two spatiotemporal channels but three adapting processes

The contrast gain control model of adaptation predicts that the effects of contrast adaptation correlate with contrast sensitivity. This article reports that the effects of high contrast spatiotemporal adaptors are maximum when adapting around 19 Hz, which is a factor of two or more greater than the peak in contrast sensitivity. To explain the discrepancy, the predictions made by parallel versus cascaded models of spatiotemporal processing are compared. It is demonstrated that a parallel two-temporal channel model, in which the adaptive attenuation of a channel is proportional to its response, cannot explain the effects of adaptation on threshold contrast but that a cascaded model can. The cascaded model suggests that the visual system temporally encodes spatiotemporal signals via an adaptive transient encoding process that lies in cascade with an adaptable two-temporal channel system of sustained versus transient processes.     

Extending the e-z reader model of eye movement control to chinese readers

Chinese readers' eye movements were simulated in the context of the E-Z Reader model, which was developed to account for the eye movements of readers of English. Despite obvious differences between English and Chinese, the model did a fairly good job of simulating the eye movements of Chinese readers. The successful simulation suggests that the control of eye movements in reading Chinese is similar to that in an alphabetic language such as English.     

A treatment trial of an information package to help patients accept new dentures

Intolerance of dentures can be very distressing and difficult to treat. Therefore, 44 patients, having had partial or total dental clearance, completed the Brief Symptom (Psychiatric) Inventory, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Allocated alternately, each patient had treatment as usual or watched a video containing information, recapitulated in a leaflet, based on the Self Regulatory Model of health beliefs explaining the experiences of wearing dentures and how to tolerate them. They were then fitted with dentures. Two and six weeks later, although both groups expressed favourable expectations of their dentures, the control group deteriorated continually on all measures, correlated with a decline in self-reported dental functioning. The video group improved on all measures except Satisfaction with Life. Therefore, our study is unique in showing that appropriate management of patients can arrest (1) clinically significant distress which can be occasioned by the replacement of teeth by dentures and (2) the development of complaints which may be seen as spurious. Experimental procedures are suggested to determine the influences which have brought this about in our study.     

Real Donors, Real Consent: Testing the Theory of Reasoned Action on Organ Donor Consent

In an attempt to apply the theory of reasoned action (TRA) to the process underlying organ donor consent, participants completed questionnaires concerning their affective responses to organ donation, as well as their intentions to donate. Participants were given the opportunity to sign an organ donor card. Those who chose to sign the card had more positive attitudes about donation, perceived donation as something that their reference group would encourage, and had stronger intentions to consent to signing a card. The current investigation extends the organ donor literature by using a true behavioral outcome measure indicating consent. Moreover, the pattern of results between attitudes, norms, intention, and behavior illustrates the usefulness of applying the TRA to yet another health-related behavior.     

Social outcomes in childhood brain disorder: a heuristic integration of social neuroscience and developmental psychology

The authors propose a heuristic model of the social outcomes of childhood brain disorder that draws on models and methods from both the emerging field of social cognitive neuroscience and the study of social competence in developmental psychology/psychopathology. The heuristic model characterizes the relationships between social adjustment, peer interactions and relationships, social problem solving and communication, social-affective and cognitive-executive processes, and their neural substrates. The model is illustrated by research on a specific form of childhood brain disorder, traumatic brain injury. The heuristic model may promote research regarding the neural and cognitive-affective substrates of children's social development. It also may engender more precise methods of measuring impairments and disabilities in children with brain disorder and suggest ways to promote their social adaptation.