The way cognitive, event-related brain potentials (ERPs) can aid in further understanding of memory span change in children is discussed. ERPs are time-dependent changes in electrical activity of the brain (as recorded by scalp electrodes) following the presentation of a physical stimulus through auditory, visual, or somatosensory modalities. The…

Self-referenced content is generally remembered better and faster than information encoded in other ways. To examine how self-relevant information is organized in memory, three experiments were conducted, comparing the effects of target-first or word-first methodology. In the target-first condition, subjects (N=15) saw one of the two questions,…

The purpose of this study was to determine how cognitive style instructions to respondents of a survey instrument affected the resulting psychometric properties of the scale. It was hypothesized that a group which is instructed to carefully respond will have a mean score further from the neutral point, a larger standard deviation, and a higher…

Relationships between verbal ability, semantic category clustering, and speed of retrieval were studied. Lists of 30 words were presented individually to subjects with high- and low-verbal ability under free recall, delayed free recall, and clustering recall conditions. In the first stage of recall, high verbals displayed a significantly higher…

Some research on the stimulant effect of caffeine suggests that the amount of behavioral enhancement produced by caffeine may depend on subjects' prior experience with the task and the drug. A study was undertaken to test whether prior experience with a task while under the influence of caffeine would facilitate performance of that task. Male…

Three experiments assess the effects of variations of force and time on response latency on both simple and choice reaction time. The first two experiments demonstrate that, while latency does not vary as a function of force, increasing timing demands, by requiring that a response be maintained, led to increases in reaction time. These results led…

Nine subjects, 5 of whom claimed absolute pitch (AP) ability were instructed to rapidly strike notes on the piano to match randomized tape-recorded piano notes. Stimulus set sizes were 64, 16, or 4 consecutive semitones, or 7 diatonic notes of a designated octave. A control task involved motor movements to notes announced in advance. Accuracy,…

Assessments were made of the impact of various overt response modes on the problem-solving process. The Luchins Water Jar Problems were presented to undergraduate university students via interactive cathode ray tube computer terminals under four response mode conditions: Mnemonic Code, Multiple Choice (MC), Numerical List, and Constructed Response…

This study explored the differential effects of a noxious stimulus under two conditions of information concerning the time of occurrence of the stress and two conditions of receiving temporal information. (Author/RK)

Two models are considered for how people verify explicitly quantified sentences. To test the models, three reaction time experiments required subjects to verify statements quantified by some or all. The results show that some-statements took longer to verify than all-statements. (Author/DEP)

This report summarizes the research results and provides a reference. The basic question addressed was, "Is performance on multi-component tasks predicted by performance on the individual components performed separately?" In the first series of experiments, a dual task involving memory and verbal processing components to predict a…

A major factor in the American public's concern over unconventional drug use is its effect on traffic safety. This volume contains summaries of the latest experimental and epidemiological research on the interactions between drugs and driving behaviors. The experimental studies deal with the effects of drugs and cognition, coordination, reaction…

This study attempted to identify cognitive and behavioral deficits which might be unique to hyperactive children. Fifty children between the ages of 5 and 12 were subjects of the investigation. Four experimental groups were formed: Hyperactive (HA), Behavior Problem Children (BP), Severely Asthmatic Children (AC), and Normal Control Children (NC).…