The change probability effect: incidental learning, adaptability, and shared visual working memory resources

Statistical properties in the visual environment can be used to improve performance on visual working memory (VWM) tasks. The current study examined the ability to incidentally learn that a change is more likely to occur to a particular feature dimension (shape, color, or location) and use this information to improve change detection performance for that dimension (the change probability effect). Participants completed a change detection task in which one change type was more probable than others. Change probability effects were found for color and shape changes, but not location changes, and intentional strategies did not improve the effect. Furthermore, the change probability effect developed and adapted to new probability information quickly. Finally, in some conditions, an improvement in change detection performance for a probable change led to an impairment in change detection for improbable changes.     

Misleading cues improve developmental assessment of working memory capacity: The color matching tasks

The theory of constructive operators was used as a framework to design two versions of a paradigm (color matching task, CMT) in which items are parametrically ordered in difficulty, and differ only contextually. Items in CMT-Balloon are facilitating, whereas items in CMT-Clown contain misleading cues. Participants of ages 7–14 years and adults (N = 149) were studied. We found significant model-predicted graded differences in performance between the facilitating and misleading tasks, across and within age groups, expressing age versus items’ demand interactions. Younger children were differentially affected by contextual cues. Even though both task versions were highly correlated with a well-established developmental measure of attentional capacity, CMT-Clown, which contained misleading cues, was a better measure of working memory capacity. These results show a need to estimate degree of misleadingness whenever performance levels in working memory or mental attention tasks are compared and interpreted. Developmental profiles of both tasks are discussed in terms of contextual differences and neoPiagetian stages of development.     

High regularities in eye-movement patterns reveal the dynamics of the visual working memory allocation mechanism

With only two to five slots of visual working memory (VWM), humans are able to quickly solve complex visual problems to near optimal solutions. To explain the paradox between tightly constrained VWM and impressively complex human visual problem-solving ability, we propose several principles for dynamic VWM allocation. In particular, we propose that complex visual information is represented in a temporal manner using only a few slots of VWM that include global and local visual chunks. We built a model of human traveling salesman problem solving based on these principles of VWM allocation and tested the model with eye-movement data. Exactly as the model predicted, human eye movements during traveling salesman problem solving have precise quantitative regularities with regard to both the general statistical pattern of attentional fixations and how they vary across individuals with different VWM capacities. Even though VWM capacity is very limited, eye movements dynamically allocate VWM resources to both local and global information, enabling attention to fine details without loss of the big picture.     

Examination of the processing speed account in a population-based longitudinal study with narrow age cohort design

The processing speed account suggests that general slowing of mental processing speed results in an overall decline, especially age-related decline, in other cognitive domains. Support for the speed account comes mainly from cross-sectional studies with participants that vary in age (age-heterogeneous samples). This study investigated how well variations in processing speed predict change of episodic recall in a longitudinal framework and examined with the Narrow Age Cohort (NAC) design. Data were obtained from Betula, a population-based longitudinal study. Both 5-year (n= 490; Time 3 - Time 4) and 10-year follow-up results (n= 608; Time 1 - Time 3) were used. In both samples, which were subjected to prospective dementia screening, we found considerably weaker associations in longitudinal data compared to cross-sectional, and also weaker associations in age-homogeneous than in age-heterogeneous samples. The results provide little support for the speed account.     

Cognitive and linguistic skills in Swedish children with cochlear implants - measures of accuracy and latency as indicators of development

The purpose of the present study was to examine working memory (WM) capacity, lexical access and phonological skills in 19 children with cochlear implants (CI) (5;7-13;4 years of age) attending grades 0-2, 4, 5 and 6 and to compare their performance with 56 children with normal hearing. Their performance was also studied in relation to demographic factors. The findings indicate that children with CI had visuospatial WM capacities equivalent to the comparison group. They had lower performance levels on most of the other cognitive tests. Significant differences between the groups were not found in all grades and a number of children with CI performed within 1 SD of the mean of their respective grade-matched comparison group on most of the cognitive measures. The differences between the groups were particularly prominent in tasks of phonological WM. The results are discussed with respect to the effects of cochlear implants on cognitive development.     

The Effects of Incentives on Visual–Spatial Working Memory in Children with Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Working memory is one of several putative core neurocognitive processes in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The present work seeks to determine whether visual–spatial working memory is sensitive to motivational incentives, a laboratory analogue of behavioral treatment. Participants were 21 children (ages 7–10) with a diagnosis of ADHD-combined type. Participants completed a computerized spatial span task designed to assess storage of visual–spatial information (forward span) and manipulation of the stored information (backward span). The spatial span task was completed twice on the same day, once with a performance-based incentive (trial-wise feedback and points redeemable for prizes) and once without incentives. Participants performed significantly better on the backward span when rewarded for correct responses, compared to the no incentive condition. However, incentives had no effect on performance during the forward span. These findings may suggest the use of motivational incentives improved manipulation, but not storage, of visual–spatial information among children with ADHD. Possible explanations for the differential incentive effects are discussed, including the possibility that incentives prevented a vigilance decrement as task difficulty and time on task increased.     

Nature and facts about natural and artifactual categories: Sex differences in the semantic priming paradigm

There is abundant evidence from behavioral and neurophysiological experiments for the distinction of natural versus artifactual categories and a gender-specific difference: women’s performances in cognitive tasks increase when natural categories are used, whereas men’s performances increase with artifactual categories. Here, we used the semantic priming paradigm to study retrieval processes by presenting category labels as primes and exemplars as targets. Overall, in two experiments we found larger priming effects for natural than for artifactual categories. In addition, females showed positive priming effects for natural but negative effects for artifactual categories, whereas males showed positive priming effects for both categories. This pattern matches with that from other tasks and can be interpreted as evidence that the findings from these other tasks are, at least partially, indeed due to different representations or processing modes for males and females and not (exclusively) due to—for example—different familiarity with a category. In a further experiment, we showed that the found pattern for females can be manipulated by focusing on perceptual vs. functional features. The results can be interpreted as first evidence that there are (eventually in addition to different “crystallized” semantic structures) specific default processing modes that differ for males and females.     

关键字母法对英文词汇记忆效能的制约因素初步研究

通过干预范式和中介刺激法,选择89名初中一年级学生为被试,采用一系列自编的材料和工具,初步探讨了关键字母法对英文词汇记忆效能的制约因素.结果表明:(1)无论从短期看,还是从长期看.难以识别关键字母,会在一定程度上制约关键字母法的效能,不过,该因素的制约作用并不显著;(2)无论从短期看.还是从长期看,无论为准确的回忆,还是为大致的回忆,难以提取关键字母释义是制约关键字母法的显著因素.中介刺激法,作为本研究的突出特征,试图继承和发展维果茨基所创立的双莺刺激法.     

A comparison of backward and forward spatial spans

The standard Corsi blocks task is frequently used to measure the capacity of visuospatial working memory, but the implications of the use of both forward and backward recall are still unclear. In the present study, we showed that the backward Corsi task is particularly powerful in discriminating between low- and high-spatial-ability individuals and involves different processes from those involved in the forward task. From a sample of 425 participants we selected one group of 20 high-spatial-ability participants and one of 20 low-spatial-ability participants. The results demonstrated that a backward spatial span offers specific information not available from a forward spatial span, and that there was no facilitation due to a descending format. In particular, in the low-spatial-ability group, performance was generally poorer, but backward Corsi recall was lower than forward recall, and participants did not show any advantage following the descending presentation format—which in some contexts is considered to reduce proactive interference. We conclude that the backward Corsi task has specific value and that the assumption of fully parallel verbal and visuospatial working-memory systems can lead to a variety of misunderstandings.