Models for within-proposition representation tested by cued recall

A model is presented to account for the data from incremental cuing experiments that have been carried out to identify the representation of propositions in memory. In such experiments subjects first learn a list of sentences and are afterward cued for recall with words from the learned sentences. The model proposed distinguishes between a memory structure and stimulus and response processes. The all-or-none tendency in the data is captured by a Gestalt-like memory code. The model is compared with the stochastic theory of Anderson and Bower and the fragmentation hypothesis of Jones.     

A three-component analysis of the modality effect in single-trial free recall

Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe Unversität, Frankfurt am Main, West-Germany In single-trial free recall a superiority of acoustical over visual presentation has been observed in the recency part of the serial position curve. The rehearsal-buffer model by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) was modified to distinguish between three different explanations that are discussed in the literature. The application of the model allowed some of the parameters to vary across modes of presentation while other parameters were held constant. A model assuming either a precategorical acoustical storage or additional processing for visually presented items gives a better account of the results than does a model derived from a two-store hypothesis.     

Gender and handedness effects on hedonicity of laterally presented odours

The effect of lateral presentation of odours on the hedonic evaluation is reported using a range of different substances. The hypothesis that hedonic evaluation of odours depends on stimulated nostril and on gender and handedness is tested using psychophysical methodology. A total of 51 untrained subjects evaluated 16 substances with different hedonic valences. Each odour substance was presented to the subjects four times, twice at each nostril using a balanced experimental design. Effects of gender and handedness, and interactions, are observed. Some parallels with the perception of visual emotional stimuli are suggested. Hedonic processing of odour stimuli is concluded to be an emotional, rather than an analytical task.     

Selection of Patients for Group Psychotherapy

The concept of projective identification is reviewed, and its application to family and group systems is noted. Projective identification is then applied as a construct central to couples' groups, particularly useful in sorting out dynamics within couples, between couples, and toward the group-as-a-whole and its leader(s). Clinical examples are provided from a couples group co-led by the author, with indications of how this perspective on disavowal, interaction, and containment can be utilized therapeutically to provide a stimulus for intrapsychic and interpersonal change. The couples group offers a unique forum for working with projective identification, where this process presents a challenge to the therapist regarding the multiple levels from which to select appropriately and to “contain” skillfully.     

A test of independence of dimensions in multidimensional scaling

Models for multidimensional scaling use metric spaces with additive difference metrics. Two important properties of additive difference metrics are decomposability and intradimensional subtractivity. A prediction was derived from these properties and tested experimentally. Rectangles varying in area and shape served as stimuli. Dissimilarity judgments were obtained by both rating and pair comparison procedures. The assumptions of the model were violated by most of the Ss. Apparently this violation was due to an interaction between the two dimensions.     

Signal identification: The comparison of two competitive theories

Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics - On each of a series of random trials, 10 observers had to identify which of two possible tones of different amplitude had been presented. Two theories...     

A test of the assumptions of multidimensional scaling by separating sensitivity and response bias

Summary This study investigates one of the main assumptions underlying multidimensional scaling models. It is tested whether the violation of decomposability found in previous studies can be explained by variation in sensitivity or in response bias. Rectangles of different shape served as stimuli in an experiment using a matching procedure. In addition the probability for presenting pairs of identical stimuli was varied. The data were analysed by a model separating response bias and sensitivity. Six versions of the model with different numbers of parameters were applied. The results suggest that the violation of decomposability comes from variation in sensitivity and not in response bias.This research was supported by a grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft to the first author. All computing was done on the Telefunken TR 440 of the Deutsches Rechenzentrum Darmstadt.     

Limits on the role of retrieval cues in memory for actions: Enactment effects in the absence of object cues in the environment

Verb-object phrases (open the umbrella, knock on the table) are usually remembered better if they have been enacted during study (also called subject-performed tasks) than if they have merely been learned verbally (verbal tasks). This enactment effect is particularly pronounced for phrases for which the objects (table) are present as cues in the study and test contexts. In previous studies with retrieval cues for some phrases, the enactment effect in free recall for the other phrases has been surprisingly small or even nonexistent. The present study tested whether the often replicated enactment effect in free recall can be found if none of the phrases contains context cues. In Experiment 1, we tested, and corroborated, the suppression hypothesis: The enactment effect for a given type of phrase (marker phrases) is modified by the presence or absence of cues for the other phrases in the list (experimental phrases). Experiments 2 and 3 replicated the enactment effect for phrases without cues. Experiment 2 also showed that the presence of cues either at study or at test is sufficient for obtaining a suppression effect, and Experiment 3 showed that the enactment effect may disappear altogether if retrieval cues are very salient.     

Measures of spatial memory and routes of learning

Spatial memory was investigated in two experiments by direct methods. Methods included scaling of distances, estimation of bearings, and positioning of objects. Participants learned small-scale configurations under different orders of presentation. In Exp. 1, routes included a shortest path, i.e., a traveling salesman solution, a random sequence, and a path that maximized distances. In Exp. 2, spatial and temporal distances varied independently. It was analyzed whether the different methods yielded the same information. For bearing estimates a new scaling procedure was developed. Computations resulted in two-dimensional Euclidean solutions in close correspondence with the stimulus configuration. In addition, solutions showed an effect of temporal conditions of learning.     

Primary tumors of the nervous system in the light of an epidemiologic analysis

On a territory of 5 districts of western Poland with 3.097 thousands of inhabitants the annual incidence rates per 100 thousands of population as well as the prevalence rates of primary neoplasms have been determined. The results of our investigation have shown that multiforme glioblastomas and astrocytomas occurred in the investigated population with the highest annual incidence rates, whereas the highest prevalence rates were found for hypophyseal adenomas, to be followed by astrocytomas, meningiomas and glioblastoma multiforme. The obtained results are critically discussed and compared with epidemiological data presented by other authors who based on records from neurosurgical departments and autoptic sections, it is concluded that the presented results do reflect objectively the epidemiological situation of Poland.