Verbal and spatial acquisition as a function of distributed practice and code-specific interference.

Theories of memory must account for memory performance during both the acquisition (i.e., ongoing learning) and retention (i.e., following disuse) stages of training. One factor affecting both stages is whether repeated encounters with a set of material occur with no delay between blocks (massed) or alternating with another intervening task (spaced). Whereas the retention advantage for spaced over massed practice is well accounted for by some current theories of memory, theories of decay or general interference predict massed, rather than spaced, advantages during acquisition. In a series of 3 experiments, we show that the effects of spacing on acquisition depend on the relationship between primary and delay tasks. Specifically, massed acquisition advantages occur only in the presence of code-specific interference (the engagement in two alternating tasks both emphasizing the same processing code, such as verbal or spatial processing codes; e.g., learning letter-number pairs and reading text), whereas spaced acquisition advantages are observed only when code-specific interference is absent. These results present a challenge for major theories of memory. Furthermore, we argue that code-specific interference is important for researchers of the spacing and interleaving effects to take into consideration, as the relationship between the alternating tasks used has a substantial impact on acquisition performance.

Training, retention, and transfer of data entry perceptual and motor processes over short and long retention intervals.

In two experiments, subjects trained in a standard data entry task, which involved typing numbers (e.g., 2147) using their right hands. At an initial test (20 min or 6 months after training), subjects completed the standard task, followed by a left-hand variant (typing with their left hands) that involved the same perceptual, but different motoric, processes as the standard task. At a second test (2 days or 8 months after training), subjects completed the standard task, followed by a code variant (translating letters into digits, then typing the digits with their right hands) that involved different perceptual, but the same motoric, processes as the standard task. At test, for each of the three tasks, half the trials were trained numbers (old) and half were new. Repetition priming (faster execution times to old than new numbers) was found for each task, with extended delays only slightly decreasing the magnitude of the effect. Repetition priming for the standard task reflects retention of trained numbers, for the left-hand variant reflects transfer of perceptual processes, and for the code variant reflects transfer of motoric processes. There was, thus, evidence for both specificity and generalizability of training data entry perceptual and motoric processes even over very long retention intervals.

How much is remembered as a function of presentation modality?

According to a widespread claim used for teaching recommendations, students remember 10% of what they read, 20% of what they hear, 30% of what they see, and 50% of what they see and hear. Clearly, the percentages cannot be correct, and there is no empirical evidence for the ordering. To investigate the ordering, in a navigation paradigm, subjects were given messages instructing them to move in a grid of four stacked matrices by clicking a computer mouse. Three modalities were compared presented either once, see (visual arrows), hear (auditory words), read (visual words); twice in succession, see-see, hear-hear, read-read; or in two different successive modalities, see-hear, hear-see, see-read, read-see, hear-read, read-hear. Better performance was found for messages presented twice than once, but messages in the two modalities were not always better than twice in one modality. For the twice-presented messages, performance varied as a function of the second modality, with see best and read worst. However, the ordering for the first modality was not reliable and was inconsistent with the widespread claim. Thus, the widespread claim is clearly wrong, not only in its percentages, but also because of its lack of generality.

Further differentiating item and order information in semantic memory: students' recall of words from the "CU Fight Song", Harry Potter book titles, and Scooby Doo theme song.

University of Colorado (CU) students were tested for both order and item information in their semantic memory for the "CU Fight Song". Following an earlier study by Overstreet and Healy [(2011). Item and order information in semantic memory: Students' retention of the "CU fight song" lyrics. Memory & Cognition, 39, 251-259. doi: 10.3758/s13421-010-0018-3 ], a symmetrical bow-shaped serial position function (with both primacy and recency advantages) was found for reconstructing the order of the nine lines in the song, whereas a function with no primacy advantage was found for recalling a missing word from each line. This difference between order and item information was found even though students filled in missing words without any alternatives provided and missing words came from the beginning, middle, or end of each line. Similar results were found for CU students' recall of the sequence of Harry Potter book titles and the lyrics of the Scooby Doo theme song. These findings strengthen the claim that the pronounced serial position function in semantic memory occurs largely because of the retention of order, rather than item, information.

Memory load as a cognitive antidote to performance decrements in data entry.

In two experiments, subjects trained in data entry, typing one 4-digit number at a time. At training, subjects either typed the numbers immediately after they appeared (immediate) or typed the previous number from memory while viewing the next number (delayed). In Experiment 2 stimulus presentation time was limited and either nothing or a space (gap) was inserted between the second and third digits. In both experiments after training, all subjects completed a test with no gap and typed numbers immediately. Training with a memory load improved speed across training blocks (Experiment 1) and eliminated the decline in accuracy across training blocks (Experiment 2), thus serving as a cognitive antidote to performance decrements. An analysis of each keystroke revealed different underlying processes and strategies for the two training conditions, including when encoding took place. Chunking (in which the first and last two digits are treated separately) was more evident in the immediate than in the delayed condition and was exaggerated with a gap, even at test when there was no gap. These results suggest that such two-digit chunking is due to stimulus encoding and motor planning processes as well as memory, and those processes transferred from training to testing.

Training specificity and transfer in time and distance estimation.

Learning is often specific to the conditions of training, making it important to identify which aspects of the testing environment are crucial to be matched in the training environment. In the present study, we examined training specificity in time and distance estimation tasks that differed only in the focus of processing (FOP). External spatial cues were provided for the distance estimation task and for the time estimation task in one condition, but not in another. The presence of a concurrent alphabet secondary task was manipulated during training and testing in all estimation conditions in Experiment 1. For distance as well as for time estimation in both conditions, training of the primary estimation task was found to be specific to the presence of the secondary task. In Experiments 2 and 3, we examined transfer between one estimation task and another, with no secondary task in either case. When all conditions were equal aside from the FOP instructions, including the presence of external spatial cues, Experiment 2 showed "transfer" between tasks, suggesting that training might not be specific to the FOP. When the external spatial cues were removed from the time estimation task, Experiment 3 showed no transfer between time and distance estimations, suggesting that external task cues influenced the procedures used in the estimation tasks.

Detecting letters and words in prose passages: a test of alternative theoretical accounts of the missing letter effect.

College students searched for either h or the in prose passages in which every h occurred in the test word the. In Experiment 1, passage versions differed in that the critical noun phrases were either the alone (i.e., in citation form as a noun referring to itself) or "the definite article." Many more detection errors occurred for letter than word target items, especially with "the definite article." In Experiment 2, passage versions differed in that a given noun phrase containing the test word the occurred as a subject in one version and an object in the other. Again, many more detection errors occurred when the target item was the letter h than when it was the letter sequence the. Also, with letter but not letter sequence targets, more detection errors occurred for object than subject noun phrases. In Experiment 3, passages were presented either in regular format or with all capital letters. Students made more detection errors with the regular than with the capitals format, many more errors occurred when participants searched for letters than for letter sequences, and the effect of target item was larger with regular than with capitals format. These findings suggest that accounts of detection errors in reading must include the influence of unitization and processing time or attentional allocation.

Empirically valid principles for training in the real world.

Four sets of cognitive psychology experiments are aimed to identify and empirically support principles of training intended to increase training effectiveness. Each set supports a different training principle: strategic use of knowledge (learning and memory are facilitated whenever preexisting knowledge can be used as a mediator in the process of acquisition), training difficulty (conditions that cause desirable difficulties during learning might facilitate later retention and transfer), mental practice (mental practice can retard forgetting and promote transfer of training, sometimes to a larger extent than can physical practice), and cognitive antidote (adverse effects of prolonged work on routine tasks can be mitigated by adding cognitive complications). The first 2 principles are focused on knowledge acquisition and the last 2 on skill acquisition. Nevertheless, the principles converge on similar prescriptions: Contrary to intuition and common practice, the trainer is recommended to increase the complexity of the training situation rather than use the simplest methods available.

Astronaut Candidate, Candidate-Like, and Undergraduate Subjects Compared on Retention and Transfer.

INTRODUCTION: The present study examined long-term retention and transfer of knowledge and skills, as well as the effect of cognitive load on retention and transfer, using a sample of astronaut candidates and two comparison groups. The first comparison group, recruited from Johnson Space Center, was similar in age, education, and general health to the astronaut candidate group; the second comparison group included university undergraduate students.METHODS:This study employed two different tasks-a simple perceptual-motor task involving data entry and a complex memory updating task requiring both prospective and retrospective memory. Subjects completed multiple sessions involving both tasks over a 500-d period, with test sessions involving transfer and/or a cognitive load manipulation. For the perceptual-motor task, transfer involved changes to the stimuli that increased intrinsic cognitive load or changes to the required motoric procedures. For the memory updating task, extraneous cognitive load was increased by the addition of a concurrent secondary task.RESULTS:For both the perceptual-motor and memory updating tasks, astronaut candidates and candidate-like subjects performed more accurately, with greater speed, and were less impacted by increased cognitive load than undergraduate students. Despite the generally superior performance of astronaut candidates and candidate-like subjects, they were more likely to experience negative transfer on the perceptual-motor task, whereas undergraduate students demonstrated positive transfer.DISCUSSION:Candidate-like subjects provided a more accurate approximation of astronaut candidate performance than did undergraduate students, especially with regard to negative transfer effects and cognitive load.Kole JA, Barshi I, Healy AF, Schneider VI. Astronaut candidate, candidate-like, and undergraduate subjects compared on retention and transfer. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2023; 94(12):902-910.

The effects of testing the relationships among relational concepts.

Many concepts are defined by their relationships to one another. However, instructors might teach these concepts individually, neglecting their interconnections. For instance, students learning about statistical power might learn how to define alpha and beta, but not how they are related. We report two experiments that examine whether there is a benefit to training subjects on relations among concepts. In Experiment 1, all subjects studied material on statistical hypothesis testing, half were subsequently quizzed on relationships among these concepts, and the other half were quizzed on their individual definitions; quizzing was used to highlight the information that was being trained in each condition (i.e., relations or definitions). Experiment 2 also included a mixed training condition that quizzed both relations and definitions, and a control condition that only included study. Subjects were then tested on both types of questions and on three conceptually related question types. In Experiment 1, subjects trained on relations performed numerically better on relational test questions than subjects trained on definitions (nonsignificant trend), whereas definitional test questions showed the reverse pattern; no performance differences were found between the groups on the other question types. In Experiment 2, relational training benefitted performance on relational test questions and on some question types that were not quizzed, whereas definitional training only benefited performance on test questions on the trained definitions. In contrast, mixed training did not aid learning above and beyond studying. Relational training thus seems to facilitate transfer of learning, whereas definitional training seems to produce training specificity effects.

The effects of spatial representation on memory for verbal navigation instructions.

Three experiments investigated effects of mental spatial representation on memory for verbal navigation instructions. The navigation instructions referred to a grid of stacked matrices displayed on a computer screen or on paper, with or without depth cues, and presented as two-dimensional diagrams or a three-dimensional physical model. Experimental instructions either did or did not promote a three-dimensional mental representation of the space. Subjects heard navigation instructions, immediately repeated them, and then followed them manually on the grid. In all display and experimental instruction conditions, memory for the navigation instructions was reduced when the task required mentally representing a three-dimensional space, with movements across multiple matrices, as compared with a two-dimensional space, with movements within a single matrix, even though the words in the navigation instructions were identical in all cases. The findings demonstrate that the mental representation of the space influences immediate verbatim memory for navigation instructions.

Memory for details about people: familiarity, relatedness, and gender congruency.

This study examines factors that influence memory for details about people. In two experiments, subjects learned fictitious details about familiar (friends, relatives) and/or unfamiliar individuals, and were tested both immediately and after a 1-week delay. To control for a confounding between familiarity and genetic relatedness in Experiment 1, in Experiment 2 specific relationships (identical twin, first cousin, acquaintance) were assigned to unfamiliar individuals. Across experiments, retention was enhanced for familiar compared to unfamiliar individuals, for friends/acquaintances compared to relatives, for more closely than distantly related individuals, and for individuals of the opposite gender as the subject.

Item and order information in semantic memory: students' retention of the "CU fight song" lyrics.

University of Colorado (CU) students were tested on memory for the "CU Fight Song" in order to examine serial position effects in semantic memory while controlling for familiarity across positions. In Experiment 1, students reconstructed the order of the nine lines of the song. Students with previous exposure to the song performed better and showed a more bowed serial position function than did students with no knowledge of the song. Experiment 2 added a task assessing memory of item information. One word was removed and replaced with a blank in each line, and an alternative word was offered as an option, along with the correct word. Students selected the word that fit into each blank and then reconstructed the order of the lines. There was a bow-shaped curve for order reconstruction, but not for item selection, which implies that the serial position function in semantic memory stems from order, rather than item, information.

Intention to respond in a special way offers some protection against forgetting associations.

In a continuous memory-updating paradigm, subjects studied name-color associations and were tested later for the color associate given the name. The default color response was made in one location, but on predesignated trials the response was required to be made in a special location. Memory for the color associated with a given name was assessed after short and long retention intervals when both default and special responses were required. Separate measures were examined of memory for the intention to respond in a particular way (default or special) and of memory for the color associations paired with the names. Memory for color associates was better overall with short than with long retention intervals and was better when special (rather than default) responses were required, especially at the long retention interval. These results imply that the requirement to respond in a special way protects associations from loss due to forgetting.

Pairing words with syntactic frames: syntax, semantics, and count-mass usage.

Two experiments examined English speakers' choices of count or mass compatible frames for nouns varying in imageability (concrete, abstract) and noun class (count, mass). Pairing preferences with equative (much/many) and non-equative (less/fewer) constructions were compared for groups of teenagers, young adults, and older adults. Deviations from normative usage were, for all ages, larger for count than for mass nouns, for the non-equative than for the equative construction, and for abstract count than for concrete count nouns. These results indicate that mass syntax is not a developmental default, support proposals that mass syntax is more flexible than count syntax, verify the non-prescriptive use of less with count nouns, and extend the interaction of syntax and semantics in noun classification to older ages, with older adults showing a reduced reliance on semantics. Knowledge of frame compatibility and knowledge of noun class are also shown to be largely independent.

Visual selection and response selection without effector selection in tasks with circular arrays.

Charles Eriksen and colleagues conducted influential visual-search experiments with circular arrays for which the responses were either vocal naming or unimanual left-right switch movements. These methods have the advantages of the stimuli being equidistant from a centered fixation point and allowing study of visual selection and response selection when effector selection is not required, as in the more typical case in which responses are key presses of distinct fingers. Other researchers have used similar spatial arrangements, but with aimed movements of the limb or of a mouse-controlled cursor to study effects of stimulus identification, visual search, spatial stimulus-response compatibility, response-effect compatibility, and practice/transfer in isolation and jointly. We systematically review studies in these areas that include visual selection and response selection and execution, and examine implications of their results for the role of effector selection. Also, we illustrate that as one moves from simpler to more complex tasks, the results are consistent with a basic information-processing framework in which stimulus identification and selection of a target response location are distinct from selecting, planning, and moving an effector to the targeted location.

Exploring specificity of speeded aiming movements: Examining different measures of transfer.

Participants were trained and tested to move a mouse cursor from a start position to targets on a circular display in a perceptual-motor reversal condition, with horizontal, but not vertical, reversals. During training, some participants (experimental) moved to two targets either along a single diagonal axis (D1) or along both axes (D2). For D2, return movements from the targets were in the same direction as instructed movements to unpracticed targets. Others (control) trained on all targets. Testing always involved all targets. At test, movement times (to reach the target after leaving the start position) were shorter on trained than on untrained targets, especially for the D1 condition, documenting training specificity. However, movement times in the experimental conditions to new targets during testing were shorter than those in the control condition during training, documenting transfer of learning, with more transfer for D2 than for D1. Initiation times (to leave the start position after target onset) showed no transfer. The results provide evidence that specificity and transfer are not mutually exclusive and depend on the measure used to assess performance.

Contextual memory and skill transfer in category search.

In three experiments, we examined transfer and contextual memory in a category search task. Each experiment included two phases (training and test), during which participants searched through category and exemplar menus for targets. In Experiment 1, the targets were from one of two domains during training (grocery store or department store); the domain was either the same or changed at test. Also, the categories were organized in one of two ways (alphabetically or semantically); the organization either remained the same or changed at test. In Experiments 2 and 3, domain and organization were held constant; however, categories or exemplars were the same, partially replaced, or entirely replaced across phases in order to simulate the dynamic nature of category search in everyday situations. Transfer occurred at test when the category organization or domain was maintained and when the categories or exemplars matched (partially or entirely) those at training. These results demonstrate that transfer is facilitated by overlap in training and testing contexts.

Learning and memory for sequences of pictures, words, and spatial locations: an exploration of serial position effects.

A serial reproduction of order with distractors task was developed to make it possible to observe successive snapshots of the learning process at each serial position. The new task was used to explore the effect of several variables on serial memory performance: stimulus content (words, blanks, and pictures), presentation condition (spatial information vs. none), semantically categorized item clustering (grouped vs. ungrouped), and number of distractors relative to targets (none, equal, double). These encoding and retrieval variables, along with learning attempt number, affected both overall performance levels and the shape of the serial position function, although a large and extensive primacy advantage and a small 1-item recency advantage were found in each case. These results were explained well by a version of the scale-independent memory, perception, and learning model that accounted for improved performance by increasing the value of only a single parameter that reflects reduced interference from distant items.

The effect of an external and internal focus of attention on dual-task performance.

Only a few research studies using reaction time (RT) measures have clearly shown that an external focus of attention requires fewer attentional resources than an internal focus of attention. The present experiments used combinations of auditory and motor tasks to examine the relation between the direction of the focus of attention (external/internal) and attentional demand on accuracy. Participants concurrently performed a dart throwing task and either a tone estimation task (Experiments 1 and 2) or a manual force production task (Experiments 3 and 4). In Experiment 1 with a between-subjects design there was a nonsignificant trend for spatial errors in dart throwing to be reduced when focus was directed externally, as opposed to internally, but only in the dual-task condition. In Experiment 2 with a within-subject design both the internal and external focus conditions showed reduced errors in the dual-task conditions compared with the single-task conditions. The correlations between the actual and estimated tones were strong and positive in both experiments (at least .90). In Experiment 3, focusing externally on either task resulted in better force production accuracy than did focusing internally. In Experiment 4, an external focus on either task resulted in better throwing accuracy than did an internal focus. Overall, the results are consistent with the predictions of the constrained action and conscious processing hypotheses that an external focus of attention lowers attentional demands relative to an internal focus of attention, but focus of attention effects also depend on the overall attentional demands of the tasks involved. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).