Previous research by J. M. Hinson, T. L. Jameson, and P. Whitney (2003) demonstrated that a secondary task in a delayed discounting paradigm increased subjects' preference for the immediate reward. J. M. Hinson et al. interpreted their findings as evidence that working memory load results in greater impulsivity. The present authors conducted a…

The crucial role of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) in episodic memory is well established. Although there is little doubt that its anatomical subregions--the hippocampus, peri-, entorhinal and parahippocampal cortex (PHC)--contribute differentially to mnemonic processes, their specific functions in episodic memory are under debate. Data from…

The current study tested the development of working memory involvement in children's arithmetic strategy selection and strategy efficiency. To this end, an experiment in which the dual-task method and the choice/no-choice method were combined was administered to 10- to 12-year-olds. Working memory was needed in retrieval, transformation, and…

This study examined developmental trends in object and spatial working memory (WM) using heart rate (HR) to provide an index of covert cognitive processes. Participants in 4 age groups (6-7, 9-10, 11-12, 18-26, n=20 each) performed object and spatial WM tasks, in which each trial was followed by feedback. Spatial WM task performance reached adult…

This study demonstrates that experience and development interact to influence the ''cross-race effect.'' In a multination study (n=245), Caucasian children and adults of European ancestry living in the United States, Norway, or South Africa, as well as biracial (Caucasian-African American) children and adults living in the United States, were…

The purpose of the present study was to assess the extent to which reading disabilities (RD) in young adults are related to deficits in specific aspects of temporary storage of verbal information, namely, memory span and the central executive (CE) component of working memory. Thirty-two native Hebrew-speaking young adults with and without RD were…

It has been widely established that depressed mood states and clinical depression, as well as a range of other psychiatric disorders, are associated with a relative difficulty in accessing specific autobiographical information in response to emotion-related cue words on an Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT; J. M. G. Williams & K. Broadbent, 1986).…

This report describes the first of three stages in a study in the domain of problem solving: the definition and explication of schema knowledge. One objective of this research is to understand how schema knowledge is acquired and used in the chosen domain. The focus is on ways in which instruction influences the development of specific knowledge…

The "levels effect," the finding that the more central to the meaning of a passage an idea is the more likely that idea is to be retained, does not seem to hold for immediate recognition. Therefore, a study was conducted to test a model of information storage that predicted that when surface structure information was preserved in its…

Discusses the value of memorized factual material in science. Describes the use of mnemonic devices to facilitate memorization. Provides a list of 14 mnemonic devices commonly used in science other than ROY G. BIV, which is used to remember the colors of the visible spectrum. (CW)

Explores the central thesis of cognitive science that the mind is an information processor. Discusses the study of reading as an opportunity to gain insight into how that processor works. Provides several examples that illustrate some of the relationships between eye movement, short-term memory, and long-term memory. (TW)

A set of immediate memory-span tests, concept- and rule-learning tasks, and an IQ test were administered to adolescents. A color-form memory factor and IQ substantially predicted rule-learning proficiency. Effects of memory aids appeared to induce conceptual rules and serve as a base for rehearsing information. (Author/RD)

Explores the relationship between teenagers' working memory and school achievement. Experiments revealed significant correlations between the two, specifically in the field of foreign language. Includes descriptions of the experiments with accompanying statistical tables. (MJP)

Student teachers learned about teaching principles with the help of an instructional program that included classroom animation exemplars, where expert teachers demonstrate how to apply teaching principles to a classroom scenario. Some students learned by solely observing the classroom animations, whereas others were presented with the expert's…

Background: The study was conducted in an attempt to further our understanding of how working memory contributes to written arithmetical skills in children. Aim: The aim was to pinpoint the contribution of different central executive functions and to examine the contribution of the two subcomponents of children's written arithmetical skills.…