Filler siphoning theory does not predict the effect of lineup fairness on the ability to discriminate innocent from guilty suspects : reply to Smith, Wells, Smalarz, and Lampinen

Smith, Wells, Smalarz, and Lampinen (2017) claim that we (Colloff, Wade, & Strange, 2016) were wrong to conclude that fair lineups enhanced people’s ability to discriminate between innocent and guilty suspects compared to unfair lineups. They argue our results reflect differential-filler-siphoning, not diagnostic-feature-detection. But a manipulation that decreases identifications of innocent suspects more than guilty suspects (i.e., that increases filler-siphoning or conservative responding) does not necessarily increase people’s ability to discriminate between innocent and guilty suspects. Unlike diagnostic-feature-detection, fillersiphoning does not make a prediction about people’s ability to discriminate between innocent and guilty suspects. Moreover, we replicated Colloff et al.’s results in the absence of fillersiphoning (N=2,078). Finally, a model is needed to measure ability to discriminate between innocent and guilty suspects. Smith et al.’s model-based analysis contained several errors. Correcting those errors shows that our model was not faulty, and Smith et al.’s model supports our original conclusions

Boosting Long-term Memory via Wakeful Rest: Intentional Rehearsal is not Necessary, Automatic Consolidation is Sufficient.

<div><p>People perform better on tests of delayed free recall if learning is followed immediately by a short wakeful rest than by a short period of sensory stimulation. Animal and human work suggests that wakeful resting provides optimal conditions for the consolidation of recently acquired memories. However, an alternative account cannot be ruled out, namely that wakeful resting provides optimal conditions for intentional rehearsal of recently acquired memories, thus driving superior memory. Here we utilised non-recallable words to examine whether wakeful rest boosts long-term memory, even when new memories could not be rehearsed intentionally during the wakeful rest delay. The probing of non-recallable words requires a recognition paradigm. Therefore, we first established, via Experiment 1, that the rest-induced boost in memory observed via free recall can be replicated in a recognition paradigm, using concrete nouns. In Experiment 2, participants heard 30 non-recallable non-words, presented as ‘foreign names in a bridge club abroad’ and then either rested wakefully or played a visual spot-the-difference game for 10 minutes. Retention was probed via recognition at two time points, 15 minutes and 7 days after presentation. As in Experiment 1, wakeful rest boosted recognition significantly, and this boost was maintained for at least 7 days. Our results indicate that the enhancement of memory via wakeful rest is <i>not</i> dependent upon intentional rehearsal of learned material during the rest period. We thus conclude that consolidation is <i>sufficient</i> for this rest-induced memory boost to emerge. We propose that wakeful resting allows for superior memory consolidation, resulting in stronger and/or more veridical representations of experienced events which can be detected via tests of free recall and recognition.</p></div

Patient Flow in Peri-Operative Services: Analysis of Factors that Impact OR Turn Over Time

Introduction: The University Campus of UMass Memorial Medical Center has 16 operating rooms. The average Turn Over Time (TOT), defined as patient out of OR to next patient in, is 43 minutes. This is a source of dissatisfaction for the surgeons and has an impact on the patient experience. We did an observational study to map and time patient flow from the Surgical Admission Unit (SACU) to the Operating Room and the process for OR turn over and arrival of the next patient. The goal was to assess how the process could be modified to enhance the patient experience and improve surgeon satisfaction. Methods: Observation and hand recording of three rooms in the University OR was performed from 6/13/2011 – 8/5/2011 (Orthopedic and Neurosurgery cases). Time points for all processes directly involving the patient were collected. Data collection was done by three undergraduate students. Support for the students was provided by Orthopedics, Anesthesiology and Peri-Operative Services. Results: See Figure 1 for patient flow and turn over process map. Subsequent figures show time intervals from SACU to OR case completion, call for cleaning, completion of cleaning and arrival of next patient. Cleaning was complete in 18 minutes but TOT was 43 minutes because nondependent tasks were being performed in series (Figure 5). Summary: Nondependent tasks are being performed in series in the SACU and during OR turn over. There is an opportunity to decrease patient length of stay in the SACU. By doing parallel practice OR TOT can be decreased from 43 to 19 minutes if the anesthesia team is allowed to bring the patient in the room once the room is clean. This process can enhance the patient experience and improve surgeon satisfaction

Alcohol-induced retrograde facilitation renders witnesses of crime less suggestible to misinformation

RATIONALE: Research has shown that alcohol can have both detrimental and facilitating effects on memory: intoxication can lead to poor memory for information encoded after alcohol consumption (anterograde amnesia) and may improve memory for information encoded before consumption (retrograde facilitation). This study examined whether alcohol consumed after witnessing a crime can render individuals less vulnerable to misleading post-event information (misinformation). METHOD: Participants watched a simulated crime video. Thereafter, one third of participants expected and received alcohol (alcohol group), one third did not expect but received alcohol (reverse placebo), and one third did not expect nor receive alcohol (control). After alcohol consumption, participants were exposed to misinformation embedded in a written narrative about the crime. The following day, participants completed a cued-recall questionnaire about the event. RESULTS: Control participants were more likely to report misinformation compared to the alcohol and reverse placebo group. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that we may oversimplify the effect alcohol has on suggestibility and that sometimes alcohol can have beneficial effects on eyewitness memory by protecting against misleading post-event information

A direct test of the unequal-variance signal detection model of recognition memory

Analyses of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) almost invariably suggest that, on a recognition memory test, the standard deviation of memory strengths associated with the lures (sigma(lure)) is smaller than that of the targets (sigma(target)). Often, sigma(lure)/ sigma(target) approximately = 0.80. However, that conclusion is based on a model that assumes that the memory strength distributions are Gaussian in form. In two experiments, we investigated this issue in a more direct way by asking subjects to simply rate the memory strengths of targets and lures using a 20-point or a 99-point strength scale. The results showed that the standard deviation of the ratings made to the targets (S(target)) was, indeed, larger than the standard deviation of the ratings made to the lures (S(lure)). Moreover, across subjects, the ratio S(lure)/ S(target) correlated highly with the estimate of sigma(lure)/ sigma(target) obtained from ROC analysis, and both estimates were, on average, approximately equal to 0.80.</p

Protecting eyewitness evidence: Examining the efficacy of a self-administered interview tool

Given the crucial role of eyewitness evidence, statements should be obtained as soon as possible after an incident. This is not always achieved due to demands on police resources. Two studies trace the development of a new tool, the Self-Administered Interview (SAI), designed to elicit a comprehensive initial statement. In Study 1, SAI participants reported more correct details than participants who provided a free recall account, and performed at the same level as participants given a Cognitive Interview. In Study 2, participants viewed a simulated crime and half recorded their statement using the SAI. After a delay of 1 week, all participants completed a free recall test. SAI participants recalled more correct details in the delayed recall task than control participants

Apparatus for a Search for T-violating Muon Polarization in Stopped-Kaon Decays

The detector built at KEK to search for T-violating transverse muon polarization in K+ --> pi0 mu+ nu (Kmu3) decay of stopped kaons is described. Sensitivity to the transverse polarization component is obtained from reconstruction of the decay plane by tracking the mu+ through a toroidal spectrometer and detecting the pi0 in a segmented CsI(Tl) photon calorimeter. The muon polarization was obtained from the decay positron asymmetry of muons stopped in a polarimeter. The detector included features which minimized systematic errors while maintaining high acceptance.Comment: 56 pages, 30 figures, submitted to NI