The commentary by Treccani and Umilta (2011) on our recent paper in this journal (Fischer et al., 2010) usefully broadens the perspective on numerical cognition for a general readership and clarifies (or raises) some fundamental issues of cognitive representation. Our response to this commentary is organized into three main sections that focus…

According to signal detection theory (SDT), retrieval warnings may decrease false memory in the associative list paradigm either by inducing a conservative criterion shift or by decreasing the amount of evidence that critical theme words were studied. Fitting a SDT model to 12 existing datasets revealed suggestive evidence that warnings impact…

N. Stewart, G. D. A. Brown, and N. Chater presented a relative judgment model (RJM) of absolute identification, in which the current stimulus is judged relative to the preceding stimulus. S. Brown, A. A. J. Marley, and Y. Lacouture found that the RJM does not predict their finding of increased accuracy after large stimulus jumps, except at the…

The prefrontal cortex of the primate frontal lobes provides the capacity for judgment which can constantly adapt behavior in order to optimize its outcome. Adjudicating between long-term memory programs and prepotent responses, this capacity reviews all incoming information and provides an interpretation dependent on the events that have just…

Reviews the conceptual foundations of hypertext as developed by Vannevar Bush and discusses current applications of hypertext as information vision, database technique, and computer user interface. Criticisms of this indexing technique, its technological limitations, and possible future applications are discussed. (two references) (CLB)

B. B. Murdock (2006; see record 2006-08257-009) has interpreted remember-know data within a decision space defined by item and associative information, the fundamental variables in his general recognition memory model TODAM (B. B. Murdock, 1982). He has related parameters of this extended model to stimulus characteristics for several classic…

Comments on Needham's research of infant perception by focusing on the types of evidence needed to make inferences concerning infant cognition. Considers the history of scientific explanations of animal cognition as nearer to infant cognition, and the high level of creativity required in proposing and testing alternative explanations of infant…

Discusses Needham's findings by asserting that they extend understanding of infant perception by showing that the memory representations infants draw upon have bound together information about shape, color, and pattern. Considers the distinction between two senses of "recognition" and asks in which sense object recognition contributes to object…

The "raw data" that aesthetics is meant to explain is the aesthetic experience. People have experiences that they class off from other experiences and label, as a class, the aesthetic ones. Aesthetic experience is basic, and all other things aesthetic--aesthetic properties, aesthetic objects, aesthetic attitudes--are secondary in their importance…

Information processing research offers a solution to the ambiguity of many concepts in cognitive psychology. The author's definition of intelligence and the structure-of-intellect model offer a systematic collection of rigorously and operationally defined concepts. New evidence for discriminability of the model categories and views of memory and…

Provides a model for the process of invention and illustrates it through an analysis of Shakespeare's 33rd sonnet. (DD)

It is commonplace these days for those with axes to grind to hijack the organs of professional associations with diatribes on pet issues. When the American Psychological Association bestowed one of its most prestigious awards recently, the recipient launched into vitriol about past and continuing mistreatment of minorities to a degree that moved…

Teacher praise typically does not function as a reinforcer. Rather, it is reactive to and under the control of student behavior. Its effects must be understood using concepts from attribution and social learning/reinforcement theories. (Author/GK)

Reflects on Needham's findings on infants' object recognition and segregation. Examines the role for perceptual bias in explaining infant performance, places Needham's studies in historical perspective, and assesses their theoretical significance. Discusses the merits of positing different kinds of information sources for object segregation, and…

Argues that the possibility for surprise is the starting point for both effective writers and teachers and describes six elements that help create surprise: expectation, habit, ease, recognition, "pounceability," and acceptance. (MM)