We employ tools of complexity theory to examine the effect of cognitive variables, such as working-memory capacity, degree of field dependence-independence, developmental level and the mobility-fixity dimension. The nonlinear method correlates the subjects' rank-order achievement scores with each cognitive variable. From the achievement scores in…

Since the identification of the FMR1 gene basic research has been focused on the molecular characterization of the FMR1 gene product, the fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). Recent developments in fragile X research have provided new insights and knowledge about the physiological function of FMRP in the cell and the nerve cell in…

This article presents a multilevel model of group learning that focuses on antecedents and consequences of interpersonal congruence, transactive memory, and feedback processes. The model holds that members' self-verification motives and situational conditions (e.g., member diversity and task demands) give rise to identity negotiation behaviors…

A robust finding in the cross-cultural research is that people's memories for faces of their own race are superior to their memories for other-race faces. However, the mechanisms underlying the own-race effect have not been well defined. In this study, a holistic explanation was examined in which Caucasian and Asian participants were asked to…

Two experiments used both irrelevant speech and tones in order to assess the effect of manipulating the spatial location of irrelevant sound. Previous research in this area had produced inconclusive results (e.g., Colle, 1980). The current study demonstrated a novel finding, that sound presented to the left ear produces the greatest level of…

Children are nearly as sensitive as adults to some cues to facial identity (e.g., differences in the shape of internal features and the external contour), but children are much less sensitive to small differences in the spacing of facial features. To identify factors that contribute to this pattern, we compared 8-year-olds' sensitivity to spacing…

Several competing theories of short-term memory can explain serial recall performance at a quantitative level. However, most theories to date have not been applied to the accompanying pattern of response latencies, thus ignoring a rich and highly diagnostic aspect of performance. This article explores and tests the error latency predictions of…

In the present paper, we develop and apply a technique, based on the logic of process dissociation, for obtaining numerical estimates of item and order information. Certain variables, such as phonological similarity, are widely believed to produce dissociative effects on item and order retention. However, such beliefs rest on the questionable…

Two studies are presented that adopt a novel approach to determining whether verbal short-term memory performance is causally related to vocabulary acquisition in childhood. This involves examining whether verbal short-term memory measures are more closely related to the absolute level of individuals' vocabulary, or the rate at which vocabulary…

The existence of a rostrocaudal gradient of medial temporal lobe (MTL) activation during memory encoding has historically received support from positron emission tomography studies, but less so from functional MRI (FMRI) studies. More recently, FMRI studies have demonstrated that characteristics of the stimuli can affect the location of activation…

This study examined language and executive functions (EF) in high-functioning school-aged individuals with autism and individually matched controls. Relationships between executive, language, and social functioning were also examined. Participants with autism exhibited difficulty on measures of expressive grammar, figurative language, planning,…

We investigated sex effects and the effects of educational attainment (EA) on the covariance structure of the WAIS-III in a subsample of the Spanish standardization data. We fitted both first order common factor models and second order common factor models. The latter include general intelligence ("g") as a second order common factor.…

This article analyzes if working memory (WM) is especially important to understand "g." WM comprises the functions of focusing attention, conscious rehearsal, and transformation and mental manipulation of information, while "g" reflects the component variance that is common to all tests of ability. The centrality of WM in individual differences in…

Although children with neurodevelopmental disorders frequently present with reduced short-term memory functioning, the relationship between perisylvian morphology and verbal short-term memory functioning has received limited attention. Thus, examining this relationship in children with neurodevelopmental disorders was the focus of this exploratory…

When people discuss their memories, what one person says can influence what another personal reports. In 3 studies, participants were shown sets of stimuli and then given recognition memory tests to measure the effect of one person's response on another's. The 1st study (n=24) used word recognition with participant-confederate pairs and found that…