On the role of imagery in linear syllogistic reasoning

Summary The functional role of imagery in linear syllogistic reasoning has not yet been convincingly established. Shortcomings of previous theories and research are discussed. A conceptual analysis of the imagery position leads to the differentiation of modality-specific, analogical-representational, and process perspectives. To obtain evidence relevant to the first and third of these perspectives, a Stroop-type interference paradigm was used in combination with self-paced successive presentation of task components (premises and question of linear syllogisms). Effects of interference information and task components upon response time were consistent with the process reconceptualization of the imagery position.     

Memory for metaphor by nonfluent bilinguals

The purpose of this study was to investigate memory for metaphors by nonfluent bilinguals under different orientation conditions. In Experiment 1 beginning bilinguals were asked to either (1) translate into English the figurative meanings of metaphors in the second language (L2); (2) translate into English the literal meanings of these same metaphorical sentences; (3) translate these metaphorical sentences into English-no specific instructions as how to translate given; (4) translate into English a similar list of nonmetaphorical sentences; (5) copy in L2 the list of metaphorical sentences; or (6) copy in L2 the list of nonmetaphorical sentences. Subjects' memory for these sentences was measured on a cued recall test. In Experiment 2 monolingual subjects did language tasks similar to conditions 1, 5, and 6 in Experiment 1. In both experiments, recall was best in the first condition and worst in the fifth condition. In Experiment 1 recall was also poorer in the second condition than in the other translation conditions. The implication is that the task for this condition requires subjects to process materials in a counterintuitive manner.     

Fluency versus conscious recollection in the word completion performance of amnesic patients

To examine the relative contribution of fluency and recollection to the word completion performance of amnesics, we administered a task in which patients were told specifically not to utilize previously presented words during stem completion (an Exclusion condition). This condition was contrasted with a standard word completion task in which patients were encouraged simply to complete the stem with the first word that came to mind (an Inclusion condition). Since the exclusion condition necessitated controlled respecification of the initial presentation, it was hypothesized that amnesics would be less able than controls to exclude study list items. Consistent with this hypothesis, the results indicated that the amnesics' performance, unlike that of the alcoholic controls, did not significantly differ as a function of task condition. To examine whether amnesics' conscious recollection could be enhanced, Experiment 2 presented the study list five times. The amnesics now were able to exclude a significant number of items from the study list; however, they still did so considerably less frequently than alcoholic controls. For the alcoholic controls, increasing the number of study trials had little additional effect on their exclusion performance, but it significantly enhanced their inclusion performance. Taken together, these findings suggest that for control subjects, word completion performance is likely mediated by a combination of fluency and recollection, while for amnesic patients, performance is almost exclusively based on the fluency with which an item comes to mind.     

Psychologists' evaluations of individual assessments: A comparison on the basis of graduate training and professional affiliation

Recent research on individual psychological assessments for personnel decision-making purposes has indicated a great deal of variability in practice. This study compared the responses of psychologists who evaluated the same set of assessment protocols on the basis of graduate training and professional affiliation. Results indicated few differences in evaluations of those assessed or in the way assessments were conducted. Concerns about training for and the practice of individual assessment are discussed.