The relationship between working memory (WM) and language processing has been extensively investigated in cognitive research. Previous studies mostly obtain evidence from measuring the involvement of WM in complex syntactic structures reported with well-established processing asymmetry, e.g., relative clauses (RCs) in English. Rarely considered is…

We examined potentially selective offloading decisions when the external store has a limited capacity and how the surprising unavailability of offloaded information influences subsequent offloading decision-making and memory. In three experiments, learners were presented with to-be-remembered words paired with point values counting towards their…

Although cognitive offloading, or the use of physical action to reduce internal cognitive demands, is a commonly used strategy in everyday life, relatively little is known about the conditions that encourage offloading and the memorial consequences of different offloading strategies for performance. Much of the extant work in this domain has…

This review is aimed at synthesizing current findings concerning technology-based cognitive offloading and the associated effects on learning and memory. While cognitive externalization (i.e., using the environment to outsource mental computation) is a highly useful technique in various problem-solving tasks, a growing body of research suggests…

When we monitor our learning, often measured via judgments of learning (JOLs), this metacognitive process can change what is remembered. For example, prior work has demonstrated that making JOLs enhances memory for related, but not unrelated, word pairs in younger adults. In the current study, we examined potential age-related differences in…

People often need to update representations of information upon discovering them to be incorrect, a process that can be interrupted by competing cognitive demands. Because anxiety and stress can impair cognitive performance, we tested whether looming threat can similarly interfere with the process of updating representations of a statement's…

As humans, we use language with ease and speed, solving the complex computational problem of processing form and meaning seemingly without effort. This dissertation studies how the properties of language enable us to achieve this, by investigating what is computationally difficult about language, and what is easy. We first investigate the…

Prospective memory (PM) refers to the ability to remember to complete a task at the appropriate moment in the future. Past research has found reminders can improve PM performance in both laboratory and naturalistic settings, but few projects have examined the circumstances when and what types of reminders are most beneficial. Three experiments in…

Knowledge questions frequently are used in survey research to measure respondents' topic-related cognitive ability and memory. However, in self-administered surveys, respondents can search external sources for additional information to answer a knowledge question correctly. In this case, the knowledge question measures accessible and procedural…

Purpose: The purpose of the current study was to assess dual-task interference (i.e., changes between the dual-task and baseline condition) in a listening effort dual-task paradigm in normal-hearing (NH) adults, hearing aid (HA) users, and cochlear implant (CI) users. Method: Three groups of 31 participants were included: (a) NH adults, (b) HA…

Learning environments are undergoing a dynamic alteration with the robust impact of technological transformation. Therefore, adapting to dynamic learning settings has now become a key criterion for academic performance. The factors that we know have a detrimental effect on learners' academic performance and cognitive capacity are related to…

Extensive evidence supports the effectiveness of retrieval practice as a powerful method for promoting long-term learning. For students to obtain the maximum benefit from retrieval practice they need to incorporate the strategy into their study routines as a learning tool that is used early and often. Unfortunately, many students avoid retrieval…

This literature review explores the impact of music on tonal language learning, with a focus on Mandarin Chinese. Utilising searches across major databases such as ERIC (EBSCO), ProQuest Central, Google Scholar, and Web of Science from 2005 to 2024, we selected relevant peer-reviewed English-language articles examining music's role in aiding tone…

Models of statistical learning do not place constraints on the complexity of the memory structure that is formed during statistical learning, while empirical studies using the statistical learning task have only examined the formation of simple memory structures (e.g., two-way binding). On the contrary, the memory literature, using explicit memory…

Under cognitive load theory, time pressure/urgency-induced arousal is a major contributor to pupil dilation during cognition. However, pupillometric encoding studies have failed to consider the possible role of time pressure/urgency effects, instead often assuming that encoding dilations directly reflect encoding strength. To isolate possible…