Drawing on the theoretical and empirical foundations of two evolutionary models, we argue that, among humans and other mammals, a twofold selection process would parsimoniously account for sex-linked advantages in spatial contexts. In males, a superiority for both solving navigation-related spatial problems and understanding physical principles…

Structure was imposed on a tapping task by requiring participants to reproduce sequences of responses to icons organised in spatial clusters. A first experiment featured sequences either segregated or not segregated by clusters. Accuracy was higher for sequences segregated by clusters. Moreover, inter-response times were longer at cluster…

Limb apraxia is a common symptom of corticobasal degeneration (CBD). While previous research has shown that individuals with CBD have difficulty imitating transitive (tool-use actions) and intransitive non-representational gestures (nonsense actions), intransitive representational gestures (actions without a tool) have not been examined. In the…

We explored the effect of the degree of conceptual similarity between a witnessed event and an extra-event narrative on eyewitness suggestibility. Experiments 1A and 1B replicated Allen and Lindsay's (1998) finding that subjects sometimes intrude details from a narrative description of one event into their reports of a different visual event.…

A series of self-paced reading time experiments was performed to assess how characteristics of noun phrases (NPs) contribute to the difference in processing difficulty between object- and subject-extracted relative clauses. Structural semantic characteristics of the NP in the embedded clause (definite vs. indefinite and definite vs. generic) did…

When people perform a recognition memory task, they may avail themselves of different forms of information. For example, they may recall specific learning episodes, or rely on general feelings of familiarity. Although subjective familiarity is often valid, it can make people vulnerable to memory illusions. Research using verbal materials has shown…

We devised criterial recollection tests to investigate why testing memory for pictures elicits lower false recognition than testing memory for words. Subjects studied unrelated black words paired either with the same word in red font, a corresponding picture, or both. They then took three memory tests, always using black words: a recognition test…

We tested whether the distinctiveness effect in memory (superior memory for isolated or unusual items) only occurs with conscious recollection or could emerge with recapitulation of the type of processing that occurred at study even in the absence of recollection at test. Participants studied lists of categorically isolated exemplars. In…

Emerging evidence suggests that a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in childhood may disrupt the ability to abstract the central meaning or gist-based memory from connected language (discourse). The current study adopts a novel approach to elucidate the role of immediate and working memory processes in producing a cohesive and coherent gist-based text…

Memory difficulties in autism are observed mainly on measures like free recall, where test procedures provide no support for memory. When support is present, such as in cued recall, difficulties are less evident. Such observations may explain the mixed findings on source memory in autism. Bennetto, Pennington and Rogers (Child Development, 67,…

Verbal and spatial working memory were examined in high-functioning children, adolescents, and adults with autism compared to age and cognitive-matched controls. No deficit was found in verbal working memory in the individuals with autism using an "N"-back letter task and standardized measures. The distinction between the "N"-back task and others…

Evolution by natural selection may be characterized as a system in which a large store of genetic information will persist indefinitely while it remains coordinated with its environment but will continuously produce small random variations that are tested for environmental effectiveness. In any environment, effective variations will persist while…

Seven- and eight-year-old skilled and less-skilled comprehenders were compared on a sentence recognition task in two conditions varying in memory load and retention interval. Integration of story information during comprehension was indexed by inflated recognition errors of foils that had been constructed by integrating information across original…

In 3 experiments, the authors determined whether remembering a source dimension created a more complete internal reinstatement of the encoded event and thus cued access to other source dimensions. Results consistently showed that memory for the 2 source dimensions was correlated: correct responses on 1 dimension were typically associated with…

In this preliminary study we investigate gender differences in object location memory. Our purpose is to extend the results about object location memory obtained in laboratory settings to a real 3-D environment and to further distinguish the specific components involved in this kind of memory by considering the strategies adopted to perform the…