Role of spatial location in learning face-name associations

When a face appears at a constant location, formation of a face-name association is facilitated. This facilitation was demonstrated in three experiments. Six subsequent experiments demonstrated that a constant location has its effect primarily because location acts as an additional cue for the name. This conclusion is contrasted with a hypothesis that proposes that a constant location directly strengthens the face-name association. The latter hypothesis does not fit the data as well as thelocation-as-cue hypothesis does.     

Physical therapists' nonverbal communication predicts geriatric patients' health outcomes

Two studies explored the link between health care providers' patterns of nonverbal communication and therapeutic efficacy. In Study 1, physical therapists were videotaped during a session with a client. Brief samples of therapists' nonverbal behavior were rated by naive judges. Judges' ratings were then correlated with clients' physical, cognitive, and psychological functioning at admission, at discharge, and at 3 months following discharge. Therapists' distancing behavior was strongly correlated with short- and long-term decreases in their clients' physical and cognitive functioning. Distancing was expressed through a pattern of not smiling and looking away from the client. In contrast, facial expressiveness, as revealed through smiling, nodding, and frowning, was associated with short- and long-term improvements in functioning. In Study 2, elderly subjects perceived distancing behaviors of therapists more negatively than positive behaviors.     

Reminding as a basis for temporal judgments

In the normal course of events, some events bring to mind earlier events. This reminding or, in the context of list learning experiments, study-phase retrieval can serve as a basis for the accurate judgment of the relative recencies of the two events in question. In this article, evidence for this position is presented in three experiments. By manipulations of encoding using visual imagery instructions and word associations, appropriate conditions were arranged for reminding to occur. The results of all three studies support the position that reminding provides a direct basis for later judgments of the relative recency of events.