The encoding specificity principle predicts that a change in context between input and test will adversely affect recognition memory. Experiment I tested this with sentences from a prose passage and no context effects were obtained. Experiments II, III, and IV compared context effects for words in random sentences versus connected discourse. In…

The effects of types of both memorized items and probes (digit, word, and dot pattern), using Sternberg's character-recognition procedure, were studied. Reaction time (RT) was a linear function of the set size of memorized items consistent with a serial search model. Response type (positive or negative) affected the encoding time (intercept of RT…

Good and poor sixth grade readers served as subjects. Experiment 1 tested for immediate spatial order memory of letters by giving children four or six consonants and having them place the letters in the order in which they had appeared in a just-viewed stimulus. The consonants composing the strings were either positionally redundant (R) or…

This paper describes an experiment which investigated the development of recall skills in 120 Caucasian, middle class children in the second, fourth, and sixth grades. Within each age group, four experimental groups were formed in which subjects were asked to remember and recall 16 nouns by: (1) forming mental representations of each word…

This investigation was intended to study the effects of some linguistic variables on child and adult memories for sentences when recall was prompted by nouns embedded in the sentences. Its purpose was to examine for developmental differences in sentence processing systems expected by psycholinguistic theory and research. A group of 64 subjects,…

This verbal memory study considers only simple sentences and examines learner performance under the two conditions of audio presentation and printed presentation. Learner performance is compared when required either to recognize sentences identical to those in the original list or, alternatively, to recognize non-identical sentences incorporating…

Five studies were conducted to investigate the relationship between short term memory (STM) and long term memory (LTM), and the relationship between STM and problem solving. In study I, the necessity of postulating separate learning processes for tasks which are traditionally classified as STM tasks as opposed to LTM tasks was investigated.…

Short and long-term retention in a visual recognition memory task was studied as a function of race using 39 10th grade inner-city high school students as subjects and random polygons as stimuli. It was hypothesized that a black subject confronted by an unfamiliar white adult and requested to take a test might be more aroused than a comparable…

Prior attitudes and personal involvement with the subject of a message do not necessarily affect a listener's recollection of the speech or his assessment of the speaker's position. This is the conclusion of a study in which subjects listened to messages presenting positions for, against, and neutral on the topic of legalizing the use of…

This study investigated developmental changes in memory performance for two contrasting populations in Urban and Rural Yucatan, Mexico. Subjects were divided into five groups defined by age, including children and adults. All urban S's were in school, while only the two younger rural groups were in school, and older rural S's had little or no…

The reflection-impulsivity (R-I) dimension of individual variation incognitive processes is discussed. A literature review focuses on studies that have supported the validity of the R-I dimension as a concept, and studies providing evidence of a direct relationship between the R-I dimension and visual scanningstrategies. This study compares the…

Retroactive interference (RI) in prose learning was investigated in an experiment where passages were constructed on the basis of a predetermined logical structure. This structure made it possible to operationally define similarity and assess the effects of RI for inferential information as well as that stated directly in the original passage.…

Since personnelmen (PNs) represent a major point of contact between the Navy and its enlisted men, the attitude a PN projects while performing his duties is believed to have an effect on his servicemen clients' satisfaction with the Navy and subsequent re-enlistment decisions. Because all rated servicemen must attend "A" school,…

The purpose of this study was to broaden the aptitude by treatment interaction paradigm. The relationship between memory span and performance in two different transfer conditions was examined, and task involvement and anxiety were considered as they contribute to the relationship between aptitudes and performance. (CK)

A study of twins was conducted to determine the presence of an hereditary component in short term memory and in three aspects of verbal divergent thinking--flexibility, fluency, and originality. Results showed the existence of a significant genetic component in the trait of short term memory, while none was found in verbal divergent thinking. (AG)