Field dependence/independence and mental capacity: A developmental approach

In this study we tested a central theoretical assumption of J. Pascual-Leone's (1970, Acta Psychologica, 32, 301–345) model of cognitive development, that same-age field-dependent and field-independent children have the same developmental mental capacity. The study was conducted on a very heterogeneous population, regarding both social class and age, to allow for a large variance of performance scores. The theoretical assumption was strongly supported.     

Gesture Helps,Only If You Need It: Inhibiting Gesture Reduces Tip-of-the-Tongue Resolution for Those With Weak Short-Term Memory

People frequently gesture when a word is on the tip of their tongue (TOT), yet research is mixed as to whether and why gesture aids lexical retrieval. We tested three accounts: the lexical retrieval hypothesis, which predicts that semantically related gestures facilitate successful lexical retrieval; the cognitive load account, which predicts that matching gestures facilitate lexical retrieval only when retrieval is hard, as in the case of a TOT; and the motor movement account, which predicts that any motor movements should support lexical retrieval. In Experiment 1 (a between-subjects study; N = 90), gesture inhibition, but not neck inhibition, affected TOT resolution but not overall lexical retrieval; participants in the gesture-inhibited condition resolved fewer TOTs than participants who were allowed to gesture. When participants could gesture, they produced more representational gestures during resolved than unresolved TOTs, a pattern not observed for meaningless motor movements (e.g., beats). However, the effect of gesture inhibition on TOT resolution was not uniform; some participants resolved many TOTs, while others struggled. In Experiment 2 (a within-subjects study; N = 34), the effect of gesture inhibition was traced to individual differences in verbal, not spatial short-term memory (STM) span; those with weaker verbal STM resolved fewer TOTs when unable to gesture. This relationship between verbal STM and TOT resolution was not observed when participants were allowed to gesture. Taken together, these results fit the cognitive load account; when lexical retrieval is hard, gesture effectively reduces the cognitive load of TOT resolution for those who find the task especially taxing.     

Mental capacity,mental effort,and cognitive style

This study tests the relationship between two theoretical models of human attentional capacity: Pascual-Leone's mental capacity and Kahneman's mental effort. It was found that significant and positive correlations exist between the empirical measures of the above constructs, and the relationship is demonstrated via construct validation by showing that the two constructs relate in the same manner to the subject's cognitive style (i.e., field-dependence/independence).