Textbook passages commonly include elaborations (details supporting main ideas) with the assumption that elaborations will improve learning of the main ideas. However, elaborations increase text length, which subsequently increases the reading time of that text. These observations lead to the two focal questions of interest in the current study:…

There is an ongoing debate whether phenomena of disfluency (such as filled pauses) are produced communicatively. Clark and Fox Tree ("Cognition" 84(1):73-111, 2002) propose that filled pauses are words, and that different forms signal different lengths of delay. This paper evaluates this Filler-As-Words hypothesis by analyzing the…

Research has demonstrated that memory is prone to distortion and is occasionally untrustworthy. Explores the reasons for false memories and explains that memories are vulnerable to postevent information, which can be integrated into memories. False memories can also come from leading questions, word associations, and unconscious editing by the…

Describes how a behavioral system in Aplysia (marine snail) can be used to examine mechanisms of several forms of learning at different levels of analysis: behavioral, cell-physiological, ultrastructural, and molecular. Focusing on short-term sensitization, suggests how molecular mechanisms can be extended to explain long-term memory and classical…

Although memory researchers differ in exactly how they view the divisions of memory, there are numerous distinct types. One critical dimension in which memories differ is how long they last. Outlines various types of memories including long-term, short-term (i.e., working), and procedural memory, and discusses brain research that has led to…

Fleeting electrochemical connections made between brain cells help people remember the thoughts, skills, experiences, and knowledge that make them unique. Presents the dissection of the brain of a sheep, an animal in which brain structure and function are similar to that in humans, to demonstrate where these processes take place. (PVD)

Discusses research that may broaden understanding of how music of other styles and cultures is perceived and remembered. Experiments examined serve to isolate similarities and differences that exist across musical cultures and characterize their psychological effects and to study perception of compositional styles in Western music outside the…

Notes that variety of reaction time measures have been developed and studied as correlates of intelligence. Describes several of most widely used reaction time tests and reports summaries of their correlations with intelligence. Describes model that attempts to account for relationship between speed-of-processing and intelligence in terms of…

In recent years a number of models of depression have been proposed. Many of them have incorporated cognitive constructs to explain vulnerability, initiation, maintenance, and recovery from depression. In light of the wealth of experimental and clinical knowledge about depression, these models can be seen as having a limited focus and scope.…

Reviews recent memory development research and general principles of memory strategy development: (1) almost continuous nature of strategy acquisition; (2 and 3) trainability and effectiveness of strategies in younger children; and (4) reversion to nonproduction after instructed use. Argues that training should address children's knowledge and…

By studying forgetfulness in humans and monkeys, scientists are learning about the anatomy of normal memory. Results of amnesia studies, indicating that memory collapse occurs in a selective fashion depending on the cause, may help resolve a fundamental dispute among learning theorists. (JN)

Presents a hypothesis about the biochemical processes involved in memory storage. The postulated mechanism is initiated by a signal that is unusual but not unlikely to occur and produces an irreversible change in a key component of synaptic chemistry. Other features of the mechanism and experiments supporting the hypothesis are considered. (JN)

Draws on architecture and operation of human memory to better specify self-concept form and functioning. Translates these major components and processes of memory system into practice implications for targets and methods of change: declarative knowledge versus procedural knowledge, storage memory versus working memory, and role of sensory…

Alcohol abuse is linked strongly with neuropsychological deficits that may resemble deficits seen in head-injured individuals. Heavy daily drinking appears more damaging than episodic abusive consumption. Cognitive deficits associated with alcohol include abstraction, perceptuospatial, and problem-solving skills. For alcoholics younger than 40,…

Notes that some demented elderly people can still recall emotionally subjective past. Outlines case study that illustrates how emotional autobiographical memories of past events can be stimulated through individual use of reminiscence and counseling skills. Suggests that there are possible therapeutic effects attached to this approach and that…