The retention of nouns,adjectives, and verbs of sentences

This research compared the retention of nouns, adjectives and verbs of sentences. A model of the structure underlying the retention of sentences and in which deep structure constituent propositions are hierarchically related, was used to make predictions concerning the retention of these word classes. The model was not supported by the data and it was determined that latencies to recognize the words of a previously presented sentence were the same for all classes of words. This result indicated that for recognition (but not necessarily for other memory tasks), each word of a sentence is seperately or equally accessible (as long as inter-word imagery is the same). However, a further experiment showed that, although word class is not a variable, the image-arousing capacity of a word is. Latencies and error rates were much lower for high-imagery words than for low-imagery ones. The findings on error rates in recognizing words were interesting and pointed to a different model where the meaning representations and syntatic functions of words have an active role in sentence retention.     

Presence of meaning,search for meaning,religiousness, satisfaction with life and depressive symptoms among a diverse Israeli sample

The present study explored the structure and correlates of meaning in life (MIL) among an Israeli sample. The sample consisted of 559 adults. The average age of participants was 48.24 and 61.3% of them were females. Participants provided demographic information and completed measures of MIL, satisfaction with life, and depressive symptoms. The MIL Questionnaire showed a very good fit for the proposed 2-factor model (i.e. presence of meaning, search for meaning) to the data collected from the current sample. Presence of meaning correlated positively with both search for meaning and satisfaction with life, and negatively with depressive symptoms. Search for meaning was positively and weakly tied to satisfaction with life, but was unrelated to depressive symptoms. Religiousness appeared as a significant moderator between the two meaning factors, and between them and life satisfaction. Specifically, as religiousness became stronger: (a) the link between presence of meaning and search for meaning became weaker; (b) the link between presence of meaning and life satisfaction became stronger and (c) the link between search for meaning and life satisfaction became weaker. The findings suggest that there are differential implications of presence search for meaning on the health and well-being, and the important role religiousness plays in this regard.     

Artificial grammar learning is facilitated by distributed practice: Evidence from a letter reordering task

Cognitive Processing - Previous studies have shown that distributed practice—a training strategy that is known to facilitate memory—is likely to result in greater learning than massed...     

Qualitatively distinct factors contribute to elevated rates of paranoia in autism and schizophrenia

A converging body of clinical and empirical reports indicates that autism features elevated rates of paranoia comparable to those of individuals with paranoid schizophrenia. However, the distinct developmental courses and symptom manifestations of these two disorders suggest that the nature of paranoid ideation may differ between them in important and meaningful ways. To evaluate this hypothesis, we compared patterns of responses on the Paranoia Scale between actively paranoid individuals with schizophrenia (SCZP), individuals with schizophrenia who were not actively paranoid (SCZNP), adults with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and healthy controls. Despite an overall similar level of heightened paranoia in the ASD and SCZP groups, discriminant correspondence analysis (DiCA) revealed that these groups were characterized by unique underlying factors. Paranoia in the SCZP group was defined by a factor based upon victimization, suspicion, and threat of harm. Whereas paranoia in the ASD group was partially characterized by this factor, it was distinguished from SCZP by an additional pattern of responses reflective of increased social cynicism. These findings indicate that paranoia in ASD is supported by qualitative factors distinct from schizophrenia and highlight mechanistic differences in the formation of paranoid ideation that may inform the development of disorder-specific treatments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Distinct Facial Characteristics Differentiate Communicative Intent of Infant‐Directed Speech

Adults and infants can differentiate communicative messages using the nonlinguistic acoustic properties of infant‐directed (ID) speech. Although the distinct prosodic properties of ID speech have been explored extensively, it is currently unknown whether the visual properties of the face during ID speech similarly convey communicative intent and thus represent an additional source of social information for infants during early interactions. To examine whether the dynamic facial movement associated with ID speech confers affective information independent of the acoustic signal, adults' differentiation of the visual properties of speakers' communicative messages was examined in two experiments in which the adults rated silent videos of approving and comforting ID and neutral adult‐directed speech. In Experiment 1, adults differentiated the facial speech groups on ratings of the intended recipient and the speaker's message. In Experiment 2, an original coding scale identified facial characteristics of the speakers. Discriminant correspondence analysis revealed two factors differentiating the facial speech groups on various characteristics. Implications for perception of ID facial movements in relation to speakers' communicative intent are discussed for both typically and atypically developing infants. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of visuospatial short-term memory in the second half of the 1st year

Eighty 5.5- to 12.5-month-old infants participated in 4 delayed-response procedures challenging shortterm visuospatial memory (STVM), 2 that varied the time between presentation and search and 2 that varied the number of locations. Within each type of challenge, 1 task required a gaze response and 1 required a reach response. There was little improvement in STVM performance from 5.5 to 8 months and linear improvement in the percentage correct from 8 to 12 months, with overall STVM performance accounting for 66% of the variance in age. Improvement in searching multiple locations lagged behind improvement in spanning longer delays. Memory scores did not vary for the visual and manual tasks. Perseveration was greatest for reach responses, increased with challenge, and decreased with age. ((c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved)     

Search processes in answering questions about stories: A possible model

Anderson's (1976) ACT theory was slightly modified and applied to Wh-question answering and to natural prose materials. Assuming Anderson's memory representation of sentences, the hearing or reading of a question activates the memory representations of the content words in the question. Activation fromall the content words spreads in parallel along paths linking those words and the words to the proposition node. Activation from the different content words intersects at a node. After intersection, the labels on the paths leading to the intersection are checked, and if the labels are appropriate, the answer is given. In the case of negative questions, questions whose answer is not told because the answer is not in the story, the situation is more complex. The model generated 10 predictions, for both positive and negative questions, and all predictions were supported. In line with all previous research, negative questions, collapsed over all variables, took longer to respond to than positive questions, also collapsed over all variables. This was interpreted as a more extensive search taking place with negatives.     

Fading of Affect Associated with Negative Child‐Related Memories Varies by Parental Child Abuse Potential

Positive memories tend to hold their affective intensity across time better than negative memories, a phenomenon referred to as the fading affect bias (FAB). An initial study explored this bias in the context of parents' affective responses to memories involving their children. Specifically, parents (N = 90 for Study 1) were asked to recall three positive events and three negative events involving their children. Next, parents rated how positively or negatively they felt when each event occurred and at recall. Results revealed that parents at high risk of physical child abuse showed a smaller FAB than low‐risk parents. The smaller FAB effect observed among high‐risk parents occurred largely because affect associated with negative child‐related events faded minimally over time. This risk moderation effect did not emerge in a second study in which parents (N = 90 for Study 2) recalled general events that were not limited to events involving children. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.