Short-term memory for Chinese characters and radicals

Short-term memory for Chinese radicals and characters, varying in orthographic complexity, frequency, and—for radicals—intercharacter frequency (the number of compound characters that contain the radical), was studied using an immediate free-recall task. When radicals or characters are relatively frequent, so that their pronunciations are well known by literate Chinese, they seem to be maintained in verbal form in short-term memory. For these stimuli, intercharacter frequency and complexity have relatively small influences on memory span. Stimuli low in frequency, with pronunciations that are not apt to be known, seem to be maintained in visual form in short-term memory. Memory span is much smaller for these stimuli and is influenced by both intercharacter frequency and complexity. Furthermore, short-term memory for relatively high-frequency characters is interfered with more by a verbal than by a visual intervening task, whereas the opposite is true for low-frequency characters.     

The psychology of self-esteem: Promise or peril?

The psychology of self-esteem bypasses consequential issues of everyday behavior and moral responsibility in favor of pursuing a global goal of enhanced self-esteem on the assumption that happiness, success, and responsible behavior will automatically follow. The goal is vague and ways of achieving it are confused and conflicting. Greater attention to concrete tasks and challenges and sensitivity to moral issues could help make therapy more clear, effective, and socially useful.     

Difficulty and familiarity norms for 192 single-solution word fragments

Normative data are presented for the probability of successfully completing 192 single-solution word fragments. Normative data on the familiarity of college students with the solution words are also given, along with estimates of word frequency from existing norms. Regression analyses were performed in order to predict fragment completion difficulty from familiarity, frequency, and several structural characteristics of the fragments. Familiarity, whether or not first and/or last letters appeared in the fragment, and the ratio of letters to missing letters in the fragment were included in the regression equation as significant predictors of difficulty for this fragment set.     

A review and critique of the process approach in neuropsychological assessment

This paper surveys the process approach literature with an emphasis on higher level cognitive functions like attention and concentration, learning and memory, and problem solving and executive functioning. In particular, it discusses organizational strategies and kinds of errors found on a variety of tests as well as behavioral, situational, and interpersonal issues as they relate to test procedures. It critiques the process approach and suggests future directions.     

The effect of alcoholic intoxication upon calorically induced oculogyral illusion

Ten male and 10 female subjects, half of whom were classified as “heavy” and half as “light” drinkers, ingested a 4-1 combination of tonic water and 80-proof vodka in an amount calculated to produce a state of moderate intoxication (average estimated peak blood alcohol level=.075). This resulted in an increased sensitivity (latency, magnitude, and duration) to the calorically induced “oculogyral illusion” (OGI) relative to a placebo (tonic water) condition. “Heavy” and “light” drinkers did not differ significantly on any of the measures. It was speculated that the alcoholic enhancement of the OGI was due either to a decreased ability to suppress vestibular nystagmus when attempting to fixate a visual stimulus or to the expenditure of extra-normal effort in order to maintain fixation.     

The family Re-Union initiative: a springboard for family-centered community building,locally and nationally

Family Re-Union is an ongoing conference series and family policy initiative launched in 1992 by Al and Tipper Gore. It has been the springboard for a new wave of family-centered community building efforts, including the development of an educational program to prepare a new generation of community builders. We summarize the history of this family-centered community building movement and discuss how it builds upon and differs from earlier approaches to community development. We describe Family Re-Union and some of the ongoing work it has fueled. And we suggest ways family professionals can take part in this work.     

Perceptual match effects in direct tests of memory: the role of contextual fan

The aim of the present study was to determine whether physical attributes of a memory representation would affect explicit memory performance and, if so, what type of factors would affect the size of a perceptual match effect. Subjects studied words in different, uncommon fonts and were later asked whether the word had been studied earlier. Words could be re-presented in the original font, a font studied with another word, or a font not seen earlier. In two additional experiments, we varied the numbers of words studied in the same unusual font (1 vs. 12 words per font). Recognition memory for the words was better if the test and study fonts matched, and this effect was larger for fonts not shared with other words. Moreover, old judgments were most likely to be classified as remember responses when words were re-presented in the same font when it had not been studied with other words. Although we found a significant effect of levels of processing, this factor did not interact with whether the font matched between study and test. These results are consistent with the predictions of the source of activation confusion model of memory and suggest that perceptual information operates according to the same memory principles as conceptual information.