Serial position effects in 2-alternative forced choice recognition: Functional equivalence across visual and auditory modalities

Two experiments examined Ward, Avons and Melling’s (2005) proposition that the serial position function is task, rather than modality, dependent. Specifically, they proposed that for backward testing the 2-alternative forced choice (2AFC) recognition paradigm is characterised by single-item recency irrespective of the modality of the stimulus presentation. In Experiment 1 the same nonwords sequences, presented both visually or auditorially, produced qualitatively equivalent serial position functions with 2AFC testing. Forward testing produced a flat serial position function, whilst backward testing produced two-item recency in the absence of primacy. In order to rule out the possibility that the serial position functions for visual stimuli were the product of sub-vocal rehearsal, Experiment 2 employed articulatory suppression during the presentation phase. Serial position function equivalence was again observed together with a modest impairment in overall recognition rates. Taken together, these data are consistent with the Ward et al. proposition and further support the existence of a visual memory that can facilitate storage of visual-verbal material e.g. Logie, Della Sella, Wynn, and Baddeley (2000). However, the observation of two-item recency contradicts the original Duplex account of single-item recency traditionally observed for backwards recognition testing of visual stimuli (Phillips and Christie, 1977)

Serial position functions for recognition of olfactory stimuli

Two experiments examined item recognition memory for sequentially presented odours. Following a sequence of six odours participants were immediately presented with a series of 2-alternative forced choice (2AFC) test odours. The test pairs were presented in either the same order as learning or the reverse order of learning. Method of testing was either blocked (Experiment 1) or mixed (Experiment 2). Both experiments demonstrated extended recency, with an absence of primacy, for the reverse testing procedure. In contrast, the forward testing procedure revealed a null effect of serial position. The finding of extended recency is inconsistent with the single-item recency predicted by the two-component duplex theory (Phillips and Christie, 1977). We offer an alternative account of the data in which recognition accuracy is better accommodated by the cumulative number of items presented between item learning and item test

Switching between chewing-gum and no-gum at learning and retrieval does not accentuate error production in free recall

Three experiments compared chewing gum to a no gum condition to examine further the finding (Anderson, Berry, Morse & Diotte, 2005) that switching flavour between learning and recall encourages error production independently of free recall. In order to encourage error production, participants in Experiment 1 were told to guess responses at recall, participants in Experiment 2 were required to recall categorised word lists and in Experiment 3 participants repeated the same learning-recall combination on four immediately successive occasions and were required to recall different categorised word lists on each. The experiments produced universally null effects. Consistent with previous research, for correct recall, there were no independent effects of chewing gum for learning or recall and nor was their evidence of context dependency. Error production was not biased towards the inconsistent learning-recall contexts even when participants switched successively between the learning-recall contexts. Finally, there was no evidence that extended temporal exposure to chewing gum was an important determinant of context-dependent memory effects

The comic, not the comedy: effect of joke-origin-induced expectancy on cognitive humour.

Objectives: The present set of experiments examined whether humour expectancy (determined by the joke teller) impacts the humour evaluation of jokes. Design: Across four experiments, participants rated jokes purportedly delivered via celebrity comedians or celebrity non-comedians. The effect of joke-origin was further examined across variables of prior joke rating (high/low) and type of joke (incongruity/nonsense). The dependent variable was humour rating (0-100). Method: Four-hundred and thirty-four Coventry University Psychology undergraduates participated and were given a series of jokes to rate that were purportedly delivered by celebrity comedians or celebrity non-comedians. Results: Ratings of the same jokes were found to be significantly higher when purportedly delivered by comedians compared to non-comedian (Experiment 1). These effects were replicated with a repeated measures design with comedian and non-comedians matched upon prior like-ability ratings (Experiment 2). Furthermore, these effects were robust across jokes previously rated as funny/unfunny and across both incongruity/nonsense joke types (Experiment 3). However, this effect is removed if the name of the celebrity is obscured (Experiment 4). Conclusion: These experiments demonstrate that cognitive humour ratings are influenced by the origin of the joke, wherein knowledge of that celebrity determines expectancy of humour. This effect is contingent on the name of the joke-teller being presented, suggesting that a schema of that individual is activated with expectancy driven by past experiences of that individual

Qualitative differences in the immediate recognition memory for wine and visual matrices

Objectives: The present study examined short-term recognition for gustatory stimuli (wines) and investigated the proposition that serial position effects are qualitatively equivalent across stimulus types (Ward et al., 2005). Design: Two experiments examined serial position effects for a single yes/no recognition task with gustatory (Experiment 1) and visual stimuli (Experiment 2). Methods: Two experiments were conducted (n=24 in each) each comprising 18 trials. Participants were presented with sequences of three wines (Experiment 1) or three matrices (Experiment 2). Each item was presented for five seconds with a five-second ISI (incorporating a palette cleanse). Following the three items, participants received a single recognition probe. Results: Recognition for wine revealed strong primacy with an indication of recency. In contrast, recognition for non-verbal stimuli (abstract matrices) revealed strong recency and no primacy. Conclusions: The primacy advantage reported for wines is consistent with the first item bias reported for wine preference judgments (Mantonakis et al., 2009). Furthermore, the qualitatively different serial position functions for gustatory stimuli (compared to non-verbal visual stimuli) is consistent with a model in which short-term memory for gustatory stimuli operate differently to that of other stimulus types

Consumption of a high n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid diet during gradual mild physiological stress in rats.

n-3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3PUFAs) may be beneficial for anxiety and depression under stressful conditions. Studies however, typically utilise physical or sudden physiological stress, while gradual physiological stress is also relevant to human conditions. Using deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) administration to induce gradual physiological stress, this study investigated the impact of n-3PUFAs under gradual physiological stress in rats. Animals (aged 2 months) (N=8-12/group) received daily injections of DOCA or vehicle and were concurrently fed a high n-3PUFA or control diet for eight weeks. Behavioural measures were taken throughout. Behavioural tests and physiological measures were conducted after six and eight weeks respectively. DOCA administration decreased plasma renin, plasma proteins and relative adrenal weight, and increased water intake, relative kidney weight, and anxiety in the open field. These findings demonstrate disruptions to the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, a result of mild physiological stress, that also impact on anxiety behaviours. No effects of n-3PUFAs were found

The use of algorithms to predict surface seawater dimethyl sulphide concentrations in the SE Pacific, a region of steep gradients in primary productivity, biomass and mixed layer depth

Dimethyl sulphide (DMS) is an important precursor of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), particularly in the remote marine atmosphere. The SE Pacific is consistently covered with a persistent stratocumulus layer that increases the albedo over this large area. It is not certain whether the source of CCN to these clouds is natural and oceanic or anthropogenic and terrestrial. This unknown currently limits our ability to reliably model either the cloud behaviour or the oceanic heat budget of the region. In order to better constrain the marine source of CCN, it is necessary to have an improved understanding of the sea-air flux of DMS. Of the factors that govern the magnitude of this flux, the greatest unknown is the surface seawater DMS concentration. In the study area, there is a paucity of such data, although previous measurements suggest that the concentration can be substantially variable. In order to overcome such data scarcity, a number of climatologies and algorithms have been devised in the last decade to predict seawater DMS. Here we test some of these in the SE Pacific by comparing predictions with measurements of surface seawater made during the Vamos Ocean-Cloud-Atmosphere-Land Study Regional Experiment (VOCALS-REx) in October and November of 2008. We conclude that none of the existing algorithms reproduce local variability in seawater DMS in this region very well. From these findings, we recommend the best algorithm choice for the SE Pacific and suggest lines of investigation for future work